District of Columbia Real Estate Listings | District of Columbia Moving Services

Washington, D.C., is by its very nature a place apart, at once the most important city in the United States and the least represented in government. Nestled between Virginia and Maryland along the Potomac River, the nation’s capital is known for imposing federal buildings, wonderful museums, prestigious universities and world-famous monuments. Polyglot and multicultural, the District of Columbia is home to a transient population of movers and shakers who make the country go.

Beneath the bustling, shape-shifting federal city that doubles its population with each morning’s commute and changes its composition every election year, however, there exists another Washington, a quiet city of neighborhoods that may be the capital’s truer self. Washington’s second face is marked by shady streets lined with old brownstones, strong community life and a vibrant music scene. There are few lovelier places to walk on a spring day than Washington’s peaceful back streets, far from the tourists lining the National Mall.

Washington was founded in 1790 to keep the federal capital outside of the influence of the states, with its location much closer to the nation’s center than its predecessors of Philadelphia and New York. The city was burned by the British during the war of 1812, so that most of the city’s important buildings date from after this time. Originally a 100 square mile diamond straddling the Potomac, D.C.’s present boundaries were set when Alexandria and Arlington were retroceded to Virginia in 1847.

Ironically, living in the seat of government has meant that Washington’s citizens have very little say in government. Directly ruled by Congress for much of the city’s history, Washingtonians have no vote in the House or Senate and have had the right to vote in presidential elections only since 1961. They’ve elected their own mayor and city council since 1973, but Congress still controls the purse strings, which explains the “Taxation Without Representation” motto on many D.C. license plates.

During the 60s and 70s, D.C. was at the heart of the nation’s African-American arts and culture movements, earning the nickname “Chocolate City.” Today, cultural life in the nation’s capital is as vigorous and multi-faceted as the city’s population, from the exhibits and art filling the museums that populate the Mall to jazz clubs in Georgetown, from ballet and theater at the Kennedy Center to a thriving punk and indie scene.

While Washington, D.C., will always be defined by its central role in our nation’s government and world affairs, the soul of the city is that of a quaint Southern town. This dichotomy explains much of the city’s charm. At once busy and laid-back, cosmopolitan and down-home, glittering white marble and homey red brick, Washington thrives to a unique beat all its own.