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Washington on Foot Fourth Edition: Twenty-Three Walking Tours of Washington, D.C. and Old Town Alexandria
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$ 11.66
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| Retail Value |
$ 14.95 |
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$ 3.29 (22%) |
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| Item Number |
433004 |
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Item Description...
The best way to see—really see—any city is on foot. This perennial favorite has been completely revised and updated to offer 23 walking tours of Washington's neighborhoods, complete with user-friendly maps and architectural illustrations. Familiar monuments and museums are all here, side-by-side with lesser-known historic residential neighborhoods. More than just a collection of tours, Washington on Foot offers history, culture, architectural information, background on urban planning in DC, and much more. It's the complete city in a tidy package and the only “outdoor” Washington guidebook you need, ideal not only for visitors, but for locals who truly want to get to know their city.
“A delightful ‘must’ for anyone wanting to explore the nation’s capital.”—Washington Times
“This guidebook is one of the best.”—Washingtonian
“Excellent maps.”—New York Times
“A wealth of information, attractive maps, and line drawings of various points of interest.”—Washington Post
John J. Protopappas, president of the Fraser Forbes Company, lives in Waterford, Virginia. Alvin R. McNeal, Manager of Property, Planning, and Development with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, lives in Washington, DC. |
Item Specifications...
Pages 224
Dimensions: Length: 8.84" Width: 5.34" Height: 0.69"
Weight: 0.85 lbs.
Binding Softcover
Release Date Apr 17, 2004
Publisher Smithsonian Books
ISBN 1588341151
EAN 9781588341150
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Availability 0 units.
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Reviews - What do our customers think?
 | My grades: an A in architecture, a B in history May 6, 2007 |
This is a fine resource for visitors and local residents who are curious about the buildings in Washington, D.C. -- not only the much-visited downtown monuments and museums, but also the often-overlooked federal government complexes and residential structures. In addition to being an excellent reference from an architectural viewpoint, the book reveals much about the history behind the development of the city and its neighborhoods dating back to the colonial era.
The book offers 23 walking tours, each covering a specific area of the city. Most of the walks are located downtown or in the Northwest quadrant. Also included are tours of the Southwest waterfront; the Anacostia neighborhood in Southeast; nearby Alexandria, Virginia; and Takoma Park, Maryland. With a few exceptions, tours are designed to cover about two miles and last one to two hours. Each tour chapter, written by one of various local authors, contains a thumbnail overview of the tour area, a map keyed to a list of important buildings and sites, detailed descriptions of each site, and attractive line drawings of selected notable buildings.
The site descriptions are typically one paragraph long and contain facts and observations related to the site's architecture and design, along with a brief history of the site's development and past ownership. The text is terse, if somewhat aridly written. Throughout the book, great care is paid to basic architectural information: for nearly every major site, the book lists the primary architect(s), date of construction, and distinguishing design features. Such information is probably of interest to the book's co-editors, who have backgrounds in urban development and planning, but for me (and I suspect for most people) the amount of building detail provided can be excessive at times; I would rather have seen more information of a social or cultural nature.
Other shortcomings: I wish the maps were larger and labeled more sites by name instead of merely by number. And a few more drawings would be nice.
Be aware that this is not the best guidebook for a casual tourist wishing to hit the capital's major attractions. Nor is it an ideal survey of the city's neighborhoods and history. It is, however, potentially quite useful for those who wish to increase their knowledge of Washington's diverse buildings and neighborhoods -- taking in the sights and scenes not from a passing tour bus, but from the unhurried vantage point of a pedestrian. | | | Write your own review about Washington on Foot Fourth Edition: Twenty-Three Walking Tours of Washington, D.C. and Old Town Alexandria
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