The Heart of the Nation (1940s)

hangover washington district of columbia capital of the united states we shall view this beautiful city the pride of every american from the clouds and from the ground thus observing it to the best advantage we soar over the capital the senate and house of representatives office buildings and the congressional library they house the legislative and judicial branches of the government which plan and enact the laws of the land should the plane encounter sudden air pockets don't be alarmed congrats may be in session here's a close-up of the house office building where congressmen do their heavy thinking in this structure each representative has an office in which to transact the government's official business the senate office building is just across the capitol ground both buildings are constructed of beautiful white marbles and are connected with the capital by underground railways we abandoned flights to stroll in pennsylvania avenue thomas jefferson who first knew it as a marshy lane lined it with poplars and now the proud street carries the nation's greats to the doors of the capitol this magnificent structure stands on capitol hill from which radiate 21 broad avenue the cornerstone was laid by washington himself but the building was not fully completed until the end of the civil war adjoining the capitol ground is the impressive congressional library where 50 miles of shells hold more than a million books and pamphlets its outer walls present a remarkable display of the sculptor's are these magnificent figures wrought by man's hand favorably compared to the masterpieces of the world they represent true american art in its highest form and the government has spared no pains in making this building truly beautiful only from the air can its beauty be fully appreciated next to the capitol and the white house this is the most popular public building in washington who says all is not gold that glitter this great dome is coated with 23 carat gold behind the capital stands the peace monument one of the newer and more impressive of the city's works of art it was erected to commemorate the peace which marked the close of the world war flying along pennsylvania avenue we see the classic treasury building where uncle sam keeps his bulging pocketbook the vaults hold millions upon millions of the nation's wealth america's forefathers reached back into the ages for the design of the treasury one of the loveliest buildings in washington the treasury was erected on the spot where the forceful andrew jackson the seventh president firmly stuck his cane upon the ground to fix its sight put it there he ordered and they did its bloody birds hopped to the white house and across the framed lawn to the state and war building the country's nerve center in time of war the department of state and the war department occupy its 500 rooms and as for corridors adding them together they are two miles long the treasures kept here include the original copies of the constitution of the united states and the declaration of independence also the armchair in which jefferson wrote the declaration here are the state and war building in the foreground the treasury in the background and between them the white house the resident was painted white in 1814 after the british had partially burned it but it was the strength who gave the lovely structure its delightfully descriptive name officially it was the earliest building completed in washington john adams and his wife abigail were its first occupants nearby lies dupont circle center of a district of magnificent homes and the embassies of foreign nations it is an historic part of the city mellow with a memory of great names this striking building of grecian design is a government patent office records of millions of events kept here here's the world's largest printing plan accomplished what rivers of ink flow here mostly into the congressional record and how the congressmen love it in this drab decaying building was committed a crime which shocked the world here in ford's theater lincoln was shot down on that evil april night of 1865. again in the air we fly over the mall now being actively developed into the sweep of beauty dreamed by its planners over a century and a quarter ago on our way rears that shaft of glory to the glamorous memory of the first president in its simple austere beauty the washington monuments 555 feet in heightscape loopholes near the top afford panoramas over the city hills and rivers from the northern end of the mall we see the monument down a vista of unforgettable beauty across the lagoon the shaft faces a deathless tribute great america the exquisite lincoln memorial is the greatest monument ever erected to the memory of one man the great emancipator fittingly each of the 36 states in the union when he died is represented by a pillar thus did the reconstructed land play heartfelt homage within is the superb statue of lincoln flank runs tablets bearing his exalted utterances the spirit of lincoln seems too brood beside the river which so often held his anguished thoughts in the halloween years from 61 to 65 indeed all is quiet along the potomac the bridge to virginia is a memorial to francis scott key author of the star-spangled banner for he lived nearby it leads to arlington where sleep the nations warrior dead arlington originally was the estate of the gallant robert e lee whose mansion now is a national shrine it was from here that he departed to lead his cause the amphitheater reverent in its beauty stands amid tall virginia cedars decided as the country's memorial to its world war hero the tomb of the unknown soldier seen at the top 16 miles from the city he founded on the opposite bank of the potomac stands mount vernon where the father of his country lived and died and where his body lies in tombs the nation now holds his home in trust for the ages the modest george washington wanted to call the capital federal city but the young nation lovingly ignored him and gave it his great name whenever and wherever americans pronounce the name they pay homage to the undying glory of washington and like the man the city remains first in peace first in war first in the hearts of his countrymen so foreign