WASHINGTON DC
The contributions of African Americans to the landscape
and culture of our nation's capital runs deep. From
Benjamin Bannaker, a free African-American scientist and
surveyor who was part of the team that surveyed the origi-
nal borders of the District of Columbia to President Barack
Obama, this city is the embodiment of the African-
American experience.
The newest hotel on the DC landscape, is also the city's
largest hotel – the 1,175-room Marriott Marquis Washington,
DC, developed by Norm Jenkins. Jenkins who is African-
American, is president of Capstone Development, LLC
Washington now boasts a hotel inventory of nearly 30,000
rooms.
The monuments and memorials that pay homage to the
African-American experience are many – the African American
Civil War Memorial and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
are two of the better known.
The National Museum of African American History and
Culture, scheduled to open in 2016, will be a place where
all Americans can learn about the richness and diversity of the
African-American experience, what it means to their lives and
how it helped us shape this nation.
The Frederick Douglass National Historic Site is adminis-
tered by the National Park Service and sits at 1411 W. St,
SE in the Anacostia neighborhood of DC. Douglass lived in
the house he nicknamed Cedar Hill for 22 years until his
death.
Many of DC's major attractions are free like the
Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the
Vietnam Memorial to name a few, and many are within walk-
ing distance of one another.
The Walter E. Washington Convention Center is the pre-
miere gathering place for meetings and conventions including
the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation held each
September. This 2.3 million sq. ft. facility has over 700,000
sq. ft. of exhibit space, 198,000 sq. ft. of meeting space in
77 rooms, and a 52,000-sq. ft. ballroom.
The northeastern region is a vast land of culture and her-
itage. It's the epicenter of this great country. Most of our form-
ative history and culture is found in the lands that make up this
region of the country. Its place in the global community is
unmatched.
As the financial, media, cultural and government center of
the world it's understandably the destination of choice for
tourists, meetings and conventions.
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
Photo
Credit:Washington
DC
CVB
C
O
N
T
A
C
T
I
N
F
O
R
M
A
T
I
O
N
ConnecticutOfficeofTourism–(888)CT-VISIT/ ctvisit.com
DelawareTourismOffice–(866)284-7483/ visitdelaware.com
MaineOfficeofTourism–(888)624-6345/ visitmaine.com
MarylandOfficeofTourism–(866)639-3526/ visitmaryland.org
MassachusettsOfficeofTravelandTourism–(800)227-MASS/ massvacation.com
NewHampshireDivisionofTravelandTourismDevelopment–(603)271-2665/ visitnh.gov
NewJerseyDivisionofTravelandTourism–(800)VISIT-NJ/ visitnj.org
NewYorkStateDepartmentofEconomicDevelopment–(800)CALL-NYS/ iloveny.com
Ontario,Canada–(800)–ONTARIO/ ontariotravel.net
VisitPennsylvania–(800)VISIT-PA/ visitpa.com
RhodeIslandTourismDivision–(800)556-2484/ visitrhodeisland.com
VermontDepartmentofTourismandMarketing–(800)VERMONT/ vermontvacation.com
DestinationDC–(202)789-7000/ washington.org
B M & T ••• November/December 2014 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com
33
