Alexandria's History". Alexandria Historical Society. Archived from the original on April 4, 2009 . Retrieved April 4, 2009. a b Tindall, William (1907). Origin and government of the District of Columbia. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 26–28. Official records for Washington, D.C. were kept at 24th and M Streets NW from January 1872 to June 1945, and at Reagan National Airport since July 1945. [94] The Old Post Office, a Standout on Pennsylvania Avenue". Streets of Washington. April 15, 2012. Archived from the original on September 9, 2022 . Retrieved September 8, 2022. The city's local government, particularly during the mayoralty of Marion Barry, has been criticized for mismanagement and waste. [277] During his administration in 1989, Washington Monthly magazine labeled the district "the worst city government in America". [278] In 1995, at the start of Barry's fourth term, Congress created the District of Columbia Financial Control Board to oversee all municipal spending. [279] Mayor Anthony Williams won election in 1998 and oversaw a period of urban renewal and budget surpluses. [ citation needed]

a b c "The L'Enfant and McMillan Plans". National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 27, 2011 . Retrieved May 27, 2008. Union Station is the city's main train station and serves approximately 70,000 people each day. It is Amtrak's second-busiest station with 4.6million passengers annually and is the southern terminus for the Northeast Corridor, which carries long-distance and regional services to New York Penn Station and points in New England. As of 2023, Union Station is the ninth-busiest rail station in the nation and tenth-busiest in North America.

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV". U.S. Census Bureau. U.S. Department of Commerce. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012 . Retrieved April 12, 2017. Demographic Characteristics of the District and Metro Area" (PDF). DC Office of Planning/State Data Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 29, 2019 . Retrieved July 7, 2018.

The city is home to many non-profit organizations that engage with issues of domestic and global importance by conducting advanced research, running programs, or advocating on behalf of people. Many of these organizations are headquartered or have major offices in the city. Among these organizations are the UN Foundation, Human Rights Campaign, Amnesty International, and the National Endowment for Democracy. [ citation needed]a b Ramroth, William (2007). "The City Beautiful Movement". Planning for Disaster. Kaplan. p. 91. ISBN 978-1-4195-9373-4. Georgetown Historic District". National Park Service. Archived from the original on July 2, 2008 . Retrieved July 5, 2008. Congress passed the Organic Act of 1871, which repealed the individual charters of the cities of Washington and Georgetown, abolished Washington County, and created a new territorial government for the whole District of Columbia [48] and making "the city of Washington...legally indistinguishable from the District of Columbia." [15]