Full Name
Arlington
Area
41 sq km
16 sq miles
Population
189,453
Time Zone
GMT/UTC -5 ()
Languages
English (essential)
American English encompasses a multitude of regional accents of differing degrees of intelligibility.
Spanish (other)
Spanish has effective dual-language status in parts of southern California, New Mexico, Texas and Miami.
Native American languages (other)
There are 400,000 speakers of Native American dialects.
Currency
US Dollar (US$)

With more than 260,000 people buried, Arlington National Cemetery has the second-largest number of people buried of any national cemetery in the United States. Each year, Arlington National Cemetery conducts approximately 5,400 burials. The largest of the 130 national cemeteries is the Calverton National Cemetery, on Long Island, near Farmingdale, N.Y. That cemetery conducts more than 7,000 burials each year.

Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton designated Arlington Mansion and 200 acres of ground immediately surrounding it officially as a military cemetery June 15, 1864.

Veterans from all the nation's wars are buried in the cemetery, from the American Revolution through the Persian Gulf War and Somalia. Pre-Civil War dead were reinterred after 1900.

Arlington National Cemetery and Soldiers Home National Cemetery are administered by the Department of the Army. All other National Cemeteries are administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, or the National Park Service.

The flags in Arlington National Cemetery are flown at half-staff from a half hour before the first funeral until a half hour after the last funeral each day. Funerals are normally conducted five days a week, excluding weekends.

In addition to in-ground burial, Arlington National Cemetery also has one of the larger columbariums for cremated remains in the country. Four courts are currently in use, each with 5,000 niches.

When construction is complete, there will be nine courts with a total of 50,000 niches; capacity for 100,000 remains. Any honorably discharged veteran is eligible for inurnment in the columbarium.

Funerals, including interments and inurnments, average 20 a day.

On January 20, 1961 on the east front of the United States Capitol, the 43 year old, vibrant John Fitzgerald Kennedy stood and took the oath to become the 35th President of the United States of America. He told the world that day "To let the word go forth from this time and place to friend and foe alike, that the Torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans..." His charisma and energy created a new era of hope for the world.

And then on November 22, 1963, the Earth stopped as citizens of the world heard of the assassination of this beloved leader. It is rare that individuals who were alive on that tragic day cannot remember exactly where they were when they heard the fatal news. Images of his beautiful and heroic wife, Jacqueline, and their two children, Caroline and John, instantly flash into one's memory as you recall the funeral procession heading from Saint Matthew's Cathedral into Arlington National Cemetery. And it was his courageous widow Jacqueline, with the help of his brother Robert, who knelt on a hillside in Arlington National Cemetery and lit a flame which throughout all eternity will carry John Kennedy's legacy of hope from generation to generation. John Fitzgerald Kennedy now rests beside his widow Jacqueline and two of their children who predeceased them.

And resting only a short distance away, beneath a simple, white wooden cross, is his brother Robert Francis Kennedy, who for but a few short years carried that Torch and again brought the world hope for a brighter tomorrow. His promise for a better world tragically ended when he, too, was assassinated on June 6, 1968 after he had just won the Democratic Primary for the presidency in California.

Sometimes referred to as the "nation's attic," common and unusual items, inventions from average American citizens to U.S. Presidents are donated to the American History Museum showcasing our nation's cultural, scientific and technological heritage. View inaugural ball gowns donated by First Ladies from Jacqueline Kennedy to Hillary Rodham Clinton, Dorothy's famous ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz, Mr. Roger's sweater, Fonzie's leather jacket, Edgar Bergen's dummy "Charlie McCarthy, " Edith and Archie Bunker's chairs from the hit television show, All in the Family. In addition, see Lincoln's top hat, the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the "Star Spangled Banner" and the Foucault pendulum, which demonstrates the rotation of the earth.

Millions of visitors from all over the world consider a visit to Washington, DC incomplete without experiencing the White House. This stately, palatial structure which has been home to all of America's Presidents and First Families (except George and Martha Washington) has become an international symbol of the US presidency. In all of the world, the White House stands alone as the only home of a head of state open to the people on a regular basis. Images of America's past and present embodied in the walls of this 132 room mansion-- from Franklin D. Roosevelt's fireside chats, or Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sedat and Monachem Begin signing the Middle East Peace Accord, to Abraham Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation, personify the White House as the spirit and hope of America.

White House Visitor Center

Open Daily: 7:00 AM until 4:00 PM
(Except New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day)

Located inside the north end of the Department of Commerce Building between 14th & 15th Streets on Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House Visitor Center serves the visitors to the White House, as well as those who are unable to tour the House and want to learn more about its history.

Construction of the Department of Commerce Building began on October 4, 1927, more than a decade after the creation of the Department, whose offices were scattered among a number of facilities throughout the city. On July 10, 1929, President Herbert Hoover laid the cornerstone. When the building was completed in January 1932, it was the largest office building in the world.

Walk through six permanent exhibits relating to the White House including the First Families In the White House, Symbols and Images, White House Architecture, White House Interiors, Working White House, and Ceremonies and Celebration.