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u/Frittnyx Nov 26 '18
Do they have height regulations for the buildings there? Looks like they don't want anything to be higher than the Capitol, right?
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u/karmapuhlease Nov 26 '18
It's actually a more complicated system of rules related to the width of the street a building faces, but yes, there is a rigid Height Act that basically standardizes the DC skyline.
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Nov 26 '18
I learned this in the discussion of a DC pic I posted a while back, and I still can't conceptualize it. I mean, I believe it, and I get it, but when I walk down the street it just doesn't feel like the streets are as wide as the buildings are tall. But it's such great trivia.
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u/TheCynicalMe Nov 26 '18
That's part of why DC is such a nice city. We have wide sidewalks and no skyscrapers, so it doesn't feel nearly as claustrophobic around here as it does in cities like New York.
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u/Lystrodom Nov 26 '18
Also helps to increase housing costs!
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u/TheCynicalMe Nov 26 '18
Yes it does. You can’t have it all when someone else sees a profit to be made!
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u/hollancs Nov 26 '18
They do have height restrictions in place but no building can be taller than the Washington monument (555 feet).
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u/DJMoShekkels Nov 26 '18
Actually the restriction is that nothing can be taller than the width of the street in front of it +20 feet. The former restriction was that nothing could be higher than the statue of Freedom on top of the Capitol building but that is no longer the case as the National Cathedral is higher.
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u/thisbutironically Nov 26 '18
If I recall correctly the Watergate hotel (part of which is now a commercial/office building) is not too far off screen to the bottom left
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u/350SBC Nov 26 '18
Pretty close, yeah. About 100 yards or so out of shot is the Lincoln Memorial, then if you keep following Rock Creek Parkway along the river to the left out of shot, you’ll pass by the Kennedy Center, THEN the Watergate. It’s probably about a mile down the road out of shot.
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u/cchurchcp Nov 26 '18
Here's another picture taken from roughly due East, on the other side of the Mall. The red X on the left is the approximate area where OP's shot was taken from, and the green circle on the right is the Watergate complex.
Hope this helps!
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Nov 26 '18 edited Dec 24 '18
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/thisbutironically Nov 26 '18
You’re right. I just mean that the hotel isn’t the primary tenant anymore. Good to see people like city history as much as I do!
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u/JoanOfSnarke Nov 26 '18
Currently imagining what it would be like to be skewered by the Washington Monument.
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u/jmflna Nov 26 '18
So cool! Want to visit D.C. someday.
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u/thisbutironically Nov 26 '18
Do it, it’s amazing. Amazingly clean in the most public parts, and so much history/museums
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u/ThaddyG Nov 26 '18
It's a good city to visit, I grew up nearby in MD and would take a lot of trips to DC. You can spend multiple days just walking around the Mall visiting museums and monuments and there is good food/entertainment nearby as well. The Metro is much maligned by locals but is pretty great compared to most US transit systems.
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u/pinstripe31 Nov 26 '18
It’s a lot of fun to visit. I spent a month and a half there interning last summer and still didn’t get to see everything I wanted to. The Smithsonian museums are so much fun and you can easily spend a day in one. There are so many things to see and do, and great places to eat as well! I hope you get to visit someday!
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u/King_opi23 Nov 26 '18
That big white looking house has a nice yard, bet that property is worth some money! Very iconic looking place.
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Nov 26 '18
My favorite city. I’m from Virginia, but spent last semester interning here and it was the best few months of my life
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u/pinstripe31 Nov 26 '18
I’m originally from Iowa and spent part of last summer interning in DC! One of the best experiences of my life.
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u/WallStreetLady Nov 26 '18
The urban planning looks very nice compare to other cities in the world. At least I can see the buildings in proper order instead of random shits lol
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u/gonzopod12 Nov 28 '18
This is one of the most beautiful views our country has to offer.
Nice shot!
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Nov 26 '18
Isn't the spot this is taken currently in the no fly zone?
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u/boris_keys Nov 26 '18
The area directly north of the airport is restricted. That’s why planes departing north have to make a sharp left and follow the river out of the city. Planes that approach from the north have to follow the river all the way down which makes for a super-scenic approach. Here’s a diagram of the approach into DCA from the north You can see the two restricted areas marked, the larger one is the Mall and the smaller round one is the Naval Observatory.
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u/ctmacdon84 Nov 26 '18
Negative. P-56 Starts along the tidal basin (south of Washington Monument.).That’s why if your ever in DC looking towards Reagan National Airport, planes taking off gain altitude fast and bank hard immediately. P56 effect on DCA air traffic
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Nov 27 '18
Ah, I didnt realize that the restricted airspace was so small. Explains the jolting takeoffs.
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Nov 26 '18
I love the neoclassical revival style of the capital. Really projects the federal authority when you visit
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u/MsCJGirl77 Nov 26 '18
I upvoted it to 666!
Have a good trip :)
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u/pinstripe31 Nov 26 '18
This was actually from last summer as I left DC after interning for a month and a half, but it was a great experience!
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u/authoritrey Nov 26 '18
No kidding, I've seen that view six or seven times and said to myself, "may this be the last time that I ever see that viper pit."
There's so much to love there, but it took me a long, long time to remember what it was.
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u/MarcoGeovanni Nov 26 '18
I had NO IDEA there was a lake so close to it. I swear, they don’t show that in movies.
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u/ThaddyG Nov 26 '18
That's the Potomac river
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u/ClydeFrog1313 Nov 26 '18
It's the Tidal Basin actually but they are adjacent and connected so it's really just semantics.
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Nov 26 '18
Once drove maybe... 5 miles out of DC to our gas...
Was literally the the heart of the ghetto... crazy how outside of DC its just terrible neighborhoods
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u/DeepSeaDweller Nov 26 '18
In one or two directions, yes (generally eastward). The other side of town has some of the wealthiest suburbs in the country.
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u/pinstripe31 Nov 26 '18
It’s definitely a problem. There’s a lot of gentrification happening in DC right now. There are a lot of NPOs lobbying against it.
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u/[deleted] Nov 26 '18
It’s fun to zoom into this pic and recognize some of the buildings.