Education and Culture of Washington

*~* Institutions of Higher Learning *~*
It was George Washington’s dream that the capital city host a national university. Congress, however, was reluctant to fund such an entity.

As a result, while a number of institutions have aspired to national roles, none has been favored with a national mandate.

Founded in 1789, Georgetown University is the oldest Roman Catholic university in the United States.

The George Washington University was founded in 1821 by Baptists as Columbian College.

Gallaudet University is the only liberal arts university in the world specifically for deaf and hearing-impaired students.

Former Union general Oliver Otis Howard founded Howard University as a predominately black university in 1867.

The two other private universities in the city are the Catholic University of America and American University.

Also, the city opened the University of the District of Columbia with congressional approval by consolidating a teacher’s college, a city college, and a technical institute.

In the Virginia suburbs are George Mason University and Northern Virginia Community College; in the Maryland suburbs are the University of Maryland at College Park, Montgomery College, and Prince George’s Community College.

The Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area links most of the area’s public and private institutions of higher learning. Through the consortium, a student enrolled in one institution may take courses provided at another institution.

*~* Religious Sites *~*
There are many churches in the Washington area, the most impressive of which is the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, more commonly known as the National Cathedral.

Another imposing church is the Roman Catholic Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, a blend of Byzantine and Romanesque architecture that stands on the grounds of Catholic University in northeastern Washington.

Other famous churches include New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, where Lincoln worshiped; Saint John’s Episcopal Church, known as the Church of the Presidents because it has been attended by numerous presidents; the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle, attended by President Kennedy; and Christ Church, where Thomas Jefferson worshiped.

Outside the city is the Washington Temple of the Church of Latter-day Saints, completed near the Capital Beltway in Maryland in 1974.

*~* Museums *~*
The most famous museum in Washington is the Smithsonian Institution. With help from a gift from Englishman James Smithson, Congress chartered the Smithsonian in 1846.

The Smithsonian is a collection of many different institutions that are world-famous for their art, historical, and scientific collections.

The National Museum of African Art was the first museum in the United States devoted exclusively to African art.

The National Museum of Natural History houses many of the world’s most famous gems, and the National Museum of American History traces the development of the United States through scientific, technological, and cultural exhibitions.

The National Air and Space Museum has aeronautical exhibits that include the original craft used by the Wright Brothers and the Mercury capsule in which astronaut John Glenn orbited the Earth.

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden contains notable paintings and sculptures by 19th- and 20th-century European and American artists.

The Arts and Industries Building and the Freer Gallery of Art house fine collections of American and Asian art.

Another major art collection, the National Portrait Gallery, is in a building with the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which houses American paintings, sculptures, graphics, folk art, and photographs from the 18th century to the present.

Over time, the Smithsonian has evolved from being the so-called nation’s attic into a far-ranging and diverse set of research and educational facilities.

Other important collections in Washington include the National Gallery of Art, one the nation’s chief art galleries, with major collections of European and American paintings; the Dumbarton Oaks Museum, with a collection of pre-Columbian and Byzantine art; the National Building Museum, dedicated to American achievements in architecture, construction, engineering, and design; and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, which provides information about the persecution and murder of Jews in Europe during World War II.

There are also several venerable private institutions, such as the Corcoran Gallery of Art, launched in the 1880s through the bequest of banker William W. Corcoran, and the Phillips Collection, opened in 1921 near DuPont Circle as the city’s first modern-art museum.

The Historical Society of Washington, D.C., located in a 19th-century mansion built by beer magnate Christian Heurich, is the only institution dedicated solely to the preservation and interpretation of Washington’s rich local history.

*~* Libraries *~*
The Library of Congress is the national library of the United States and includes a record of every book printed in the United States.

Among its priceless documents are the first draft of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and an early draft of the Declaration of Independence as composed by Thomas Jefferson and corrected by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin.

The library’s music collection contains original manuscripts, ranging from a Ludwig van Beethoven sonata to the score of the musical Oklahoma!, as well as a large collection of instruments.

The affiliated Folger Shakespeare Library contains 79 first folios (early printings) of Shakespeare’s plays.

Other distinguished libraries in Washington include the Founders Library at Howard University, with 50,000 volumes relating to black history and culture.

*~* The Performing Arts *~*
Washington provides many outlets for the performing arts.

The National Theatre, opened in 1835, hosts new theatrical productions.

The Arena Stage, founded in 1950, opened a new facility in the early 1970s as part of redevelopment of the city’s southwest area and has achieved worldwide recognition for its productions.

Also starting in the early 1970s, the Elizabethan Theatre of the Folger Library began offering Shakespearean productions.

Twenty years later the Shakespeare Theatre opened to enthusiastic audiences in the restored Lansburgh Department Store on Seventh Street downtown.

One really big boost for the city’s arts came in 1971 with the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

The center includes the Opera House, the Concert Hall, and the Eisenhower Theater, and also provides a home for the National Symphony Orchestra, the Washington Ballet, and the American Film Institute’s National Film Theater. The opening of the center stimulated the creation of a number of smaller theaters serving diverse interests.

In the suburbs, the Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts in Virginia and Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland have become major performance centers.

*~* Cultural Events *~*
Washington hosts many annual events, including the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which celebrates the blossoming of the Japanese cherry trees in the Tidal Basin.

The Hispanic Festival has taken place each summer in Washington since 1970.

The Mall hosts an annual Fourth of July fireworks display and the National Folk Festival.

The city also celebrates the Chinese New Year, Columbus Day, and Saint Patrick’s Day with parades.