At time of sesquicentennial celebrations of the city of Washington DC: City development planning underway by the Planning Commission in Washington DC. Animated map of Washington DC by the National Geographic Society. Statue in a park. National Commission of Fine Arts members study sites for the Equestrian statues at Arlington Memorial Bridge. The commission members are seen walking across the Arlington Memorial Bridge from the Virginia side to the Washington DC side. View of the Lincoln Memorial and 1940s era cars in traffic circle and on Arlington Memorial Bridge. Commission members examine mock-ups of equestrian statues atop pylons at the Washington DC entrance to the bridge. (In 1951, the Arts of War Sculptures, named Sacrifice and Valor, by Leo Friedlander, were erected in those positions). National Capital Park and Planning Commission personnel are seen working at drafting tables in their offices in the Department of the Interior building. The Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission members meets in the Lord Calvert Mansion in Riverdale for future planning. Exterior view of the Lord Calvert Mansion. Inside, the commission meets and a man points to and explains a chart on traffic control. The chart, dated September 1947, shows traffic flow into Washington DC during the "peak hour" of traffic, during which 58,000 automobiles pass through the area being studied. Elevated, aerial view from the U.S. Capitol Dome looking out across the city of Washington DC and on to the Potomac River and Virginia on the other side of the river.
1940s views of new housing units in the form of residential apartment buildings east of Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. Apartments with parking garages under them across the South Capitol street bridge near the Oxon Hill area. A 1940s sedan car pulls into a parking garage under an apartment building. Next view is out Maryland Avenue and over Bladensburg Avenue to the northeast, showing apartments and other buildings in the Greenbelt area. Car traffic is seen driving through the University of Maryland campus. Apartment construction underway in areas near the University of Maryland. Construction of Colonial Village, with aerial and ground level views of the site. Traffic driving along the Mount Vernon Highway with the Potomac River beside it (later George Washington Parkway). Apartment building construction in Alexandria. Busy traffic scene of commuters arriving in Washington DC on a work day. People get on and off trolley car lines in Washington, D.C. Other commuters wait to board a bus. Late 1940s automobile traffic on street in Washington, D.C.
Traffic in Washington DC in late 1940s. Narrator notes that traffic jams from 5 PM to 5:30 PM on the mall and Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. Cars crossing the mall area. A woman driver waits for a passing street car at 15th and Pennsylvania Avenue. Streetcars or trolleys are seen, together with cars and buses, and view of traffic jam on Pennsylvania Avenue. View of L'Enfant's grave marker.
Monuments in Washington DC. A DC-6 airliner and an Eastern Airlines Lockheed Constellation airliner land at the the Washington National airport. Passengers deplane. Aerial view of the Memorial bridge. Traffic moves on the Whitehurst Freeway. Construction of the District of Columbia Courthouse. Aerial view of the Pentagon building. View of Senate Office building. A car leaving the parking garage at the Hecht Company building. Temporary WWII era buildings on the mall in Washington, D.C. Children from the school safety patrol band of Fairview NJ play. Kids from Morgantown, West Virginia safety patrol marching.
Construction of District of Columbia schools. Suburban homes in Washington, D.C. Mount Vernon in Virginia.
Sesquicentennial festivities in Washington DC. Crowds gathered on the East Capitol Plaza during Washington Sesquicentennial festivities. American flag flutters atop the flagpole in front of the Capitol Dome. Tourists leave buses on streets. They visit the Jefferson Memorial. Abraham Lincoln statue at the Lincoln Memorial. Tourists visit parks.
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