Things to see and do Côte Est Etats-Unis

It is the heart of the American legislature and at the same time the heart of the country in the federal capital. The building itself consists of a huge dome (imitation of the Rome Pantheon) and two wings, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The dome, recently renovated, consists of more than 4000 tons of cast iron.

In 1791, President George Washington, in collaboration with the French architect L'Enfant, decided that the Capitol would be built at the meeting point of the four main districts of Washington. The construction was entrusted to the German architect Henry Latrobe. However, in 1815, the English destroyed what had been erected. Architect Charles Bulfinch took over and completed the construction of a part of the building in 1824. The whole was completed only in 1867. At the top of the Capitol Throne the statue of Liberty (an eagle on the head of the woman and a leg of the animal hide her ear), emblem of the freedom of individuals and the end of slavery in Washington in 1863. The statue, inspired by Greek and Roman models, was carried out in 1855 by sculptor Thomas Crawford.

To learn more about the history of the construction of the Capitol and the training of the Congress, an exhibition recounts the life of the institution on the ground floor of the building. Attention, since it is a federal building, security checks can be drastic at the entrance.

It is the oldest public building in the Columbia district. The White House is the official residence and the office of the POTUS (President of the United States) and FLOTUS (First Lady of the United States). This building in Aquia sandstone was built between 1792 and 1800. The site was chosen by George Washington, the first president of the United States who died shortly before the end of construction. Although originally white, the building was repainted following the fire that ravaged it in 1814 on the occasion of the Burning of Washington (Washington Fire) by English soldiers in the framework of the Anglo-American war of 1812. James Madison, then president, and his wife found refuge in the small town of Brookeville in Maryland.

In total, the White House has 6 floors and 132 rooms, and it has a swimming pool and a green. The administration offices are located in the west wing, and among them the president's famous oval office. After carrying the names of «President's Palace», «President's House» and «Executive Palace», she was officially named «White House» in 1901 by President Theodore Roosevelt. The last major renovation took place in 1989 and required more than two thousand liters of white paint. It was the last time that the building was fully repainted, whereas in the middle of the twentieth century, the exterior of the White House was systematically repainted every four years before each investiture ceremony. During the great renovation, the building had to be stripped of the many layers of paint that made it difficult to maintain. At the White House Information Center, you will find brochures in French describing the interior of the presidential house, since it is unfortunately impossible to visit. Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump in January 2017, it is not unusual to see groups of demonstrators waving signs in front of the White House grids.