Washington D.C.

TheTimeline of

through Urban Development and Planning

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1751 - Georgetown neighborhood established
1776 – Declaration of Independence ratified

1788 – Constitution ratified and Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17 allows for a federal District to be created as the nation’s capital

1791 – President George Washington selects Washington DC as the site for the capital and Pierre Charles L’Enfant designs the plan for the city

1802 – Charter granted making Washington a municipal government

1814 – The British burn the White House and other prominent buildings in Washington during the War of 1812

1817 – White House rebuilt and the President moves back to Washington

1824- The Capitol Rotunda is completed

1846 – Smithsonian founded

1848 – Cornerstone of the Washington Monument is laid

1850 – Chesapeake and Ohio Canal are completed

1861 – Civil War begins

1862 – Congress abolishes slavery with the passage of the 13th Amendment

1865 – General Lee surrenders to General Grant on April 8th; President Lincoln is assassinated at Ford’s Theatre on April 14th

1867- Development of Washington’s park system begins

1884 – The Washington Monument is finally completed after work was halted at times due to insufficient funding

1897 – Library of Congress opens

1900 – Potomac River is dredged leading to the creation of the Tidal Basin; Washington celebrates its centennial

1901 – McMillian Plan created for development of the National Mall

1907 – Union Station opens

1912 – Cherry trees, a gift from Japan, are planted in the Tidal Basin

1914 – Lincoln Memorial construction begins                                 

1920 – Zoning Commission and the first zoning regulations are created

1922 – Lincoln Memorial completed

1929 – Federal Triangle construction begins

1941 – World War II begins

1942 – Massive construction in order to fill wartime needs for housing and office space

1943 – Jefferson Memorial and Pentagon are completed

1954 – Following the Brown v. Board of Education decision, Washington becomes the first major city to integrate its schools

1960 – First time population declines from the previous year in the city’s history

1961 – 23rd Amendment is passed allowing Washington DC residents the right to vote for President

1963 – More than 200,000 March on Washington to hear Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech

1965 – Capital Beltway completed

1967 – Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is created

1970 – Washington DC gains an elected delegate to the House of Representatives

1972 – Break in at the Watergate office complex

1981 – President Reagan shot and nearly killed in assassination attempt outside the Washington Hilton

1982 – Vietnam Memorial erected and Washington Convention Center opens

1992 – House approves Washington DC for statehood but Senate does not

1993 – Holocaust Memorial Museum opens

1995 – Pennsylvania Avenue is closed to traffic in front of White House

2001 – September 11th terrorist attack destroys part of the Pentagon

2003 – New Convention Center opens

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Source: Gilmore, M. (2007, October). A timeline of washington dc history. Retrieved from http://www.h-net.org/~dclist/timeline1.html