A World War II documentary titled 'Boomtown DC', a part of 'This is America' series, compares Washington DC to an industrial boomtown where the big business is government. 1930's and 1940's cars parked along a tree-lined street in a Washington DC neighborhood with homes visible. A cat jumps down from a wall behind a neighborhood home, with the U.S. Capitol seen in the background. Scene changes to U.S. Capitol building exterior close up. Close up views of souvenir stand trinkets in Washington DC, including banners, snow globes, and postcards of buildings and monuments of the city. View on the National Mall in Washington DC toward the Lincoln Memorial, interrupted by temporary wartime elevated walkways erected between buildings of the rapidly expanding Navy Department on either side of the National Mall. Smoke stacks from the chimneys of a factory superimposed over various images of buildings in the city. A woman exiting a voting booth, followed by a man entering the same voting booth and closing the curtain. A US Army guard standing outside the White House. Exterior view of the newly completed Department of State building (then called "Main State" and later known as the Harry S. Truman building housing the State Department.) Exterior of the newly built Pentagon War Department building in Arlington Virginia. Sign "War Department" on the War Department building at 21st and Virginia Avenues. Exterior view of a Navy Department building, then exterior view of the Treasury Department building. Close up view of hands holding and flipping through a stack of IRS individual tax return documents, then of hands sorting through a stack of U.S. government bonds. View of the Justice Department, and then view of sign on the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Scientists in a laboratory operate various equipment and run tests. A scientist near some beakers and test tubes in the lab. Scientists look through microscopes. View of underground rifle range in the FBI building as personnel practice marksmanship. View toward shooters on the range during firing, and toward targets. US Army guard in front of the Executive Office Building (also housing some State Department functions at that time). Exterior view of the Department of Labor building and sign. View of the U.S. Office of War Information building (OWI) with sign "US Information" inscribed in large letters on the top of the building (possibly the "Temporary V Building" of the OWI?) Exterior view of the Supreme Court Building. View of Declaration of Independence document on display. Exterior view of U.S. Capitol, then view of House of Representatives in session. U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt seated at a desk signs a document. Citizens and workers walking on streets of Washington DC. Some people enter the Department of Agriculture building. Men and women enter the Office of War Information. Civilian and military hats being hung on a hat rack. Hand reaches for a 1940's era telephone. Women filing papers, views of filing cabinets. Close-up of 1940s era typewriters in use.
Clip compares Washington DC to an industrial boomtown where the big business is government, during World War 2. Men and women working in offices. A young woman seated at a desk and doing clerical work. Identification cards of civilian women working for the U.S. Army. Pedestrians and workers walking on a street of Washington DC. Buildings along street sides. People at the entrance of Union Station. A woman identified as Phyllis Hood joins others in a Diamond Taxi cab leaving Union Station. Woman exits the taxi and looks at various buildings as she seeks a place to live in Washington. Boards on buildings read: 'No Vacancy', 'No Rooms' and 'Filled Up'. Wearing a fur coat and hat, she stops and sits on her suitcase, removes a shoe, and rubs her tired feet. She talks to a police officer on a traffic corner, who directs her to the U.S. Office of Information. She is seen inside the main hallway of the Office of Information. They direct her to an availble room at the former French Embassy building at the intersection of 16th Street and Kalorama Road NW in Washington DC, by Meridian Hill Park. She enters the building which that narrator says serves as a hotel for girls. She talks to a receptionist in the main hall lobby and then ascends the stairs. Phyllis Hood along with two other girls seated inside a room. They talk amongst themselves and relax. Woman hangs nylon stockings from a hanger to dry. The women going to sleep at night and turning out bedside lights. A large room with an operations maps, and clocks on the curved wall showing time in various international cities.
China's Eternal First Lady Madame Chiang Kai Shek arrives in Washington DC, United States. She is greeted by U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor Roosevelt. She sits in a car. Exterior of the U.S. Capitol. Madame Chiang Kai Shek meets officials. She addresses the House of Representatives. The members of the House of Representatives applaud.