On: Why Is the Pentagon a Pentagon?

[nommm-nommm]

>instantly recognizable and nameable. Washington D.C. is rich in those.

I'm curious as to what other instantly recognizable and nameable buildings are in Washington D.C. to a non-American. I can think of the Pentagon and the White House. I can't really think of any others I would think a non-American would immediately recognize and be able to name. The Capitol, maybe? The Washington Monument?

I'm also wondering, with time, if the rebuilt World Trade Center will become just as recognizable. It certainly is striking in the Manhattan skyline, but it just doesn't seem "the same" to me for some reason I can't put my finger on.

[wyldfire → nommm-nommm]

Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, respectively. (American, guessing from the recognizable structures that show up in our cultural exports)

[Symbiote → wyldfire]

Nope. I couldn't identify those, and I visited DC when I was about 14.

The Washington Monument (the big obelisk thing?), the White House, and the Pentagon -- the last as much because it's used in the news in the same way that "10 Downing Street" is, but unlike a London street, the Pentagon is a unique, distinctive structure.

[7952 → wyldfire]

They are commonly shown in tv and films but I doubt many outside the US could actually name them.

[interfixus → wyldfire]

That just about sums it up, yes. Not too bad for one city.

[rconti → wyldfire]

And they're on our currency :)

[throwawayish → nommm-nommm]

That Obelisk thing and the house with the Lincoln figure in it that is in the same park (or whatever).

[djtriptych → throwawayish]

That park or whatever: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Mall