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27th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Photobiology
Grand Hyatt
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Washington, D.C.: |
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Guides to the Washington, D.C. Area
Sightseeing Sites
Restaurant Guides (from www.yahoo.com)
MAPS OF D.C. AND ENVIRONS
It is almost impossible to get lost in Washington, DC. Streets running north
and south are consecutively numbered from Capitol Street (or a line running
north and south through the Capitol building) starting with 1st street. Streets
running east and west are consecutively lettered from the Mall (or a line
running east and west through the Capitol building) starting with "A" street.
While numbers are unlimited, when the alphabet runs out, the streets are
named in alphabetical order after people with two-syllable last names, then
three-syullable last names, then trees and flowers. Meanwhile, diagonal streets
are named after States. The only tricky part is to know that the city is
divided into four quadrants, NW, NE, SW, and SE. Thus if someone says they
will meet you at "5th & D", you need to ask which quadrant in order to
figure out which of the four possibilities they mean. NOTE: IF A QUADRANT
IS NOT SPECIFICALLY STATED, THE NW QUADRANT IS ALMOST ALWAYS MEANT.
AIR AND GROUND TRANSPORTATION
Airline Information: Most major airlines offer a number of flights
with convenient schedules into the 3 major airports serving the District
of Columbia area -
Washington
National,
Washington
Dulles and
Baltimore-Washington.
Rail Transportation: There is
Amtrak service to Washington, D.C. Service
to both Union Stations and the Capitol is available.
Local Ground Transportation: To get to the Grand Hyatt and to get
around town, use the Metro System. 64
Metrorail stations are located close to major businesses, entertainment and
government centers. Trains run every few minutes from 5:30 a.m. until midnight
on weekdays and from 8 a.m. until midnight on Saturdays and Sundays.
Pick up a free Metro System Pocket Guide at any Metrorail station
when you arrive in Washington and it will provide you with a map and list
of points of interest. Metrobus (offering over 350 bus stops) combines with
Metrorail to provide transportation service throughout the District and
surrounding areas of Maryland and Virginia.
MetroRail offers direct service to Washington National Airport and
Union Station (Amtrack). The
Grand Hyatt Washington has underground access to the Metro Subway and the
cost from Washington National Airport is $1.10. The hotel concierge is available
to answer any of your questions concerning the Metro.
If you prefer, Taxi Service is available from the major airports.
The cost is approximately $12 from Washington National and $40
from Dulles and $50 from Baltimore
International.
Another option from Dulles is an Airport Shuttle service (the
Washington
Flyer). Vans leave the airport every hour on the hour and the cost is
approximately $16. However, you will need to make one transfer. From National
Airport, Super Shuttle can take you to the hotel at a cost of $8 with no
transfers. From Baltimore International, there is
Airport Express
by advance reservations only at a cost of $30.
HOTEL LOCATION
The Grand Hyatt
Washington, site of ASP '99 is conveniently located ten minutes from
Washington National Airport and 45 minutes from both the Washington-Dulles
Airport and the Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
At
1000
H Street, the hotel is a 10 minute walk from the Mall, Smithsonian Museums
and Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson and Vietnam Veterans Memorials. The United
States Capitol, Supreme Court, Library of Congress, House and Senate Office
buildings are just a 12 minute walk away. The Hyatt is convenient to shopping,
theater, and restaurants.
Printable single page factsheet describing the Grand Hyatt Washington and its facilities in PDF format (requires free Acrobat reader).
AREA ATTRACTIONS
Washington - the Grand Design
A Masterpiece of planning, Washington, DC fans out from the banks of the
Potomac River in broad diagonal avenues, handsome parks, squares and circles.
Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French-born engineer who served under General
Washington in the Revolution, laid out the capital in 1791.
Inside the Capitol dome, a compass stone marks the zero point from which
Washington streets are numbered and lettered. As if radiating from an ornate
domed hub, the city's boulevards resemble spokes of a wheel.
Today Washington, DC stands as the world's first national capital established
by law and planned prior to its construction.
Washington - A Monumental City
The very cornerstone of American heritage is symbolized in the many marble
buildings, memorials and monuments, in addition to numerous shrines, statues
and other symbols of national fame. The federal district alone numbers more
than 2,000 prominent government buildings.
The grandiose archways, classical columns, domes and porticos distinguishing
many of the district's federal structures echo the tastes of the nation's
founding fathers. They embraced the Renaissance tradition and preferred a
large open and dignified scale. Today the nation's capital mirrors the grandeur
of classical Rome and Greece and gives meaning to the expression that
"architecture is frozen music".
Among the most famous . . . . . . .
Towering Doric columns grace the
Lincoln Memorial. Patterned
after a Greek temple, the 36 outside columns represent the Union of the 36
states that Lincoln helped preserve as one nation. On a clear day, Lincoln's
statue is visible in the Reflecting Pool below.
The Washington Monument
honors the country's first President and Chief Executive. At 555 feet high,
the commanding obelisk ranks as the tallest stone-and-masonry structure in
the world. Elevator rides to the top are available every five minutes. (Open
daily 8 a.m. until midnight).
The Capitol Dome
was built from plans drawn by a physician, William Thornton, who in 1792
captured the $500 first prize in a "design the Capitol contest". The idea
to cap the columns with sculptured ears of corn and leaves of tobacco was
the idea of the Benjamin Latrobe, director of the building's construction
under President Thomas Jefferson. These motifs represent the new republic's
pride in its New World Products. (Continuous tours daily 9:00 a.m. to 3:45
p.m.).
The Jefferson Memorial
incorporates some of Thomas Jefferson's own architectural designs for the
rotunda and columns. A 19-foot bronze statue of the third President stands
beneath the rotunda which is inscribed with inspiring passages from his writings.
The famous address, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, marks the site of the
White House. Home
to the President of the United States, it was built in 1792. In 1814, the
mansion nearly burned to the ground when British troops invaded the capital.
During reconstruction of the house a coat of heavy white paint was used to
cover the blackened exterior and from then on it became known as "the White
House".
(Tours
Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. until Noon).
Other famous designs: the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial and
Supreme
Court (when in session, open Monday through Wednesday 10:00 a.m. to 3:00
p.m. - limited seating - first come first served).
Washington - City of Sights
Arlington National Cemetery
- Thousands of headstones mark the graves of American soldiers who fought
in battles from the Revolution to the present. It is located just across
the Arlington National bridge. The Iwo Jima Statue is here as is the grave
of John F. Kennedy.
Embassy Row - Although foreign embassies are located all over the
city, the greatest concentration of the capital's 150 embassies are located
between Scott Circle and Wisconsin Avenue.
Smithsonian Institution National Mall
- This complex is the worlds largest museum with some 100 million objects
spread throughout dozens of buildings (the "Castle" is probably the most
famous). Museum hours are generally from 10:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. everyday.
Unless you are spending a great deal of time in Washington, you will need
to choose which of the 12 museums in the complex appeal to your personal
range of interests. The most popular are the
Arts and
Industries Building, the National Air
and Space Museum, the
Museum of American
History, the Museum of Natural History
and the National Gallery of Art.
Other sights: The
Pentagon, National Archives, Library
of Congress,
Explorers
Hall (National Geographic Society),
Treasury Department, the
Georgetown
Historic District, the FBI (Federal
Bureau of Investigation), Mount
Vernon (George Washington's Estate, 16 miles, the
Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts, Washington National
Catherdal and the
National
Zoo.
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