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Show C IT Y 0 f W A S II I N G T 0 N. 47 for the accomn1odation of congrcf.'>; in it alfo arc to be the principal public o!licc in the executive dep. rtment of the government, together with the court of jtdhcc . The plan on which this building is begun is grand and extenG.vc; the cxpenfe of building it is cHimatecl at a million of dollars, equal to two hundred and tvvcuty -five thoufand p ounds iterling. The hou fc for the r.efidence of the prefid cnt il:m s north-weft of the capitol, at the di fl:ance of aboL t one mile and a half. It is .fituatcd upon a riGng ground not £tr from the Patowmac, anJ commands a mofl: beautiful profpeCJ: of the river, and of the rich country beyond it. One hundred acres of ground, towarJs the river, arc le ft adj oining to the houfe for plcafure grounds. South of this there is to be a large park or mall, which i to run in an caiterly direction from the river to the capitol. The buildings on c.ithei· fide of this ma ll arc all to be leg< 1 in their kind; amongfl: the number it is propoft:d to ha ve houfes built at the public expcnfc for th~.; accommodation of the forcig.n minifl:ers. &c. On the eafiern branch a large fpot is laid out for a marine hofpital and gardens. Various other parts arc appointed for churches, theatres, colleges, &c. The ground in general, within the limits of the city, is agreeably undulated i but none of th.e rifings arc fo great as to become objcels of inconvenience .in a town. The foil is chiefly of a ydlowi01 clay mixed with gravel. There are numbers of excellent fprings in the city, and water js readily had in moD: places by digging wells. Here are two D:reams likewifc, wh.i h run through the city, Reedy Branch ami Tjbcr Creek;* The perpendicular height of the fource of the latter, above the level of the tide, is two hundred and thirty-fix fsc t. By the regulations puhli£hc:d, it was fcttled that all the houfcs Q ould be built of brick or fionc; th walls to be thirty feet high, and to be built parallel to the line of the :fl:rcet, but either upon it or .. Upon the gr.<nting pofTciTion of wa rte lands to any pcrfon, commonly called the location of land s, it is ufu l l tO give p:trti cul ar names to different fpots, anti alfo to the creeks and ri ve rs. On tht: original location of the ground now allotted for the feat of the federal city, this creek received thr name of Tiber Creek, and the identica l !'pot of gr untl. on which the capitol now fl J.nds was called I' om e. This anecdote is Jela tctl. by many as a certain prognoll.rc of the fu turt: magnificence of this city, which is to be, as it were, a fccond Rome. withdrawn. |