LOCAL AREA

More than four million people visit the cemetery annually, many coming to pay final respects at graveside services, of which nearly 100 are conducted each week, Monday through Friday. A first stop on a trip to the cemetery should include the Visitors Center, located by the cemetery entrance, where maps, guidebooks, exhibits, information services (to include grave locations), a bookstore, and restrooms can be found.

The mission of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is to develop and produce United States currency notes, trusted worldwide. As its primary function, the BEP prints billions of dollars - referred to as Federal Reserve Notes - each year for delivery to the Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve operates as the nation's central bank and serves to ensure that adequate amounts of currency and coin are in circulation.

The Museum’s Permanent Exhibition The Holocaust spans three floors of the Museum building. It presents a narrative history using more than 900 artifacts, 70 video monitors, and four theaters that include historic film footage and eyewitness testimonies.The exhibition is divided into three parts: “Nazi Assault,” “Final Solution,” and “Last Chapter.”The narrative begins with images of death and destruction as witnessed by American soldiers during the liberation of Nazi concentration camps in 1945.

The Iwo Jima Memorial, also known as the U. S. Marine Corps War Memorial, honors the Marines who have died defending the United States since 1775. The Iwo Jima Memorial is located near Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC.

Since opening in 1971, the Kennedy Center has continued its efforts to fulfill his vision—presenting the greatest performers and performances from across America and around the world, nurturing new works and young artists, and serving the nation as a leader in arts education.

The Verizon Center is home to the Washington Wizards, Capitals, Mystics and the Georgetown University Basketball Team.

The Masonic Temple is located in Alexandria, VA.

The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.

Among the collections are irreplaceable national icons, examples of everyday life and scientific material vital to the study of the world's scientific and cultural heritage. The objects in Smithsonian collections range from insects and meteorites to locomotives and spacecraft. The scope is staggering and only a small portion of the Smithsonian's collections (less than 2 percent) is on display in the museums at any given time. Many collections are acquired and solely used for research purposes.

Deliberately setting aside the controversies of the war, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial honors the men and women who served when their Nation called upon them. The designer, Maya Lin, felt that “the politics had eclipsed the veterans, their service and their lives.” She kept the design elegantly simple to “allow everyone to respond and remember.”

The Washington Monument is the most prominent structure in Washington, D.C. and one of the city's earliest attractions. It was built in honor of George Washington, who led the country to independence and then became its first President. The Monument is shaped like an Egyptian obelisk, stands 555’ 5 1/8” tall, and offers views in excess of thirty miles. It was finished on December 6, 1884.

The World War II Memorial commemorates the sacrifice and celebrates the victory of "the greatest generation." Friedrich St. Florian’s winning design balances classical and modernist styles of architecture, harmonizes with its natural and cultural surroundings, and connects the legacy of the American Revolution and the American Civil War with a great crusade to rid the world of fascism.