I live in Washington, DC, the Nation’s Capital. There is something about this city that is magical and I think it starts with the great domed building at the center of it – the Capitol – as well as its surrounding area known as Capitol Hill. I lived on Capitol Hill for a year and absolutely loved it.
I am also quite familiar with the Capitol itself, having worked on Capitol Hill and having taken visitors on tours during my tenure as an intern for the Senate. Anyone can take a tour of this great building and see where the earliest lawmakers once stood. There are dozens of rooms located underneath and endless tunnels going from the Capitol to the surrounding legislative buildings.
There is even a subway system underground just for Capitol Hill workers. It’s really amazing, especially when you think about the important events that have taken place there… the introduction of current legislation, the passing of new laws, the meeting of powerful people, even the funerals of great leaders. I’ll never forget when I stood in line to view President Reagan’s coffin as he lay in state. The reverence and respect that was in the room as hundreds of mourners filed past was palpable.
The Capitol is also huge. There are 540 rooms over approximately 16 1/2 acres of floor space (I looked that one up). It gets three to five million visitors a year – that’s a lot of tours!
If you look past the Capitol building, you can see the surrounding neighborhood of Capitol Hill. The churches, the convenience stores, the mom & pop restaurants, the Starbuck’s, and the many parks.
The living arrangements are all pretty similar, given the lack of space in the city. Capitol Hill is comprised mostly of what we call “row houses” which look a lot like this:
In fact, they look exactly like this. Row after row of houses. They’re not your traditional house of course since they are long and skinny. But they are very well made. You might be literally right beside your neighbor, but chances are you won’t hear them through the thick walls.
When I lived on Capitol Hill, I lived in a free-standing building over a garage. It was great because it was a big square room, not long and skinny, so it was definitely different. Since no space on Capitol Hill is wasted, the garage was located in the back of an alley where a row of houses met. See, there’s no real parking in the city so these houses would have either street parking or alley parking, if you were lucky. I was always amazed at those houses that cost over a million dollars yet had no driveway or place to park a car.
We can’t talk about Capitol Hill without mentioning Eastern Market. On the weekends, Eastern Market was the place to go. It offered fresh vegetables, local artwork, furniture, you name it and it was there. If you went on Saturday mornings and got in line early, you could get some of the best pancakes in the area. Of course if you didn’t get there early, you’d better be prepared to wait in line a while.
And we can’t forget the wildlife found in this quiet part of town. Squirrels and pigeons practically run the place. And dogs – I’ve never seen so many dogs! Capitol Hill is known for being very pet-friendly. Which is funny if you think about it. Fitting those big dogs into those small rowhouses. Somehow it works.
I loved living on Capitol Hill. It was in the city but it was also its own little world. You could walk a few blocks and visit Union Station or hop on the Metro to take you downtown. Or you could just walk down the street to one of the many parks and play with your dog. There is a little bit of something for everyone here. Like I said before… it’s magical.
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