(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The many historical sites in Washington D.C. have the hallmarks of centuries-long political struggles and materialized historic decisions that culminated in the United States leading the world.
The National Mall in downtown Washington spans nearly 500,000 sq. meters; its tourist attractions receive approximately 24 million visitors a year. These include Washington Monument, the National World War II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial and other landmarks that reflect the US wars.
The Washington Monument, an obelisk standing 554 feet tall (about 160 meters), was built between 1848 and 1888 to commemorate George Washington - the first American president and once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.
Its location in front of the Congress reflects the constant power struggle between the Democratic and the Conservative parties.
The naming of the nearby Capitol Reflecting Pool reflects the desire of dozens of protests calling for woman rights, civil rights, indigenous people's rights and rejecting racism. Some of these protests were staged in 1925 and 1982 and included ones in support of the racist movement Ku Klux Klan.
The site of the Pool was once the scene of many protests against the wars staged by the United States thousands of miles away including the Vietnamese war. Advocates of the homosexuals' rights to marriage plan to stage a demonstration at the site late this week.
In the vicinity of the Pool there is the Lincoln Memorial - a 5.8-meter high structure built in 1914-1922 in honor of the 16th US president Abraham Lincoln. The Memorial alongside with Lincoln became a symbol of anti-racism; it was chosen by Martin Luther King as venue of his public speech "I Have a Dream" in 1963.
To the south of the Pool and Memorial stands the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, dedicated to Thomas Jefferson - an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the third US president.
The site hosts a lot of cultural events, foremost among which is the spring
Cherry Blossom Festival from March 28 to April 12.
The festival commemorates the Japanese Cherry trees, called "Prunus serrulata," which were dedicated by Tokyo to Washington in 1912.
The National Mall also includes memorials of the major wars fought by the US such as the WWII, the Korean War (1950-1953) and Vietnam War (1955-1975).
Though these landmarks did not set records in size or cost, their historical symbolism materialize the political struggles in the United States in past and attract growing numbers of visitors from inside and outside the country every year.
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