Historic Canal Square & Rock Creek Park

Historic Canal Square
The Canal Square Building was originally built in 1842 to serve as a shipping warehouse for barge traffic on the bustling C&O Canal. The building later served as a coopers shop (the art of crafting casks to hold such goods as flour, wine and gunpowder) and was then converted into a factory for manufacturing & printing punched card tabulating machines by Herman Hollerith.

These machines developed by Hollerith were then used in the 1890 census, saving the government 2 years and millions of dollars. The success of Hollerith's Tabulating Company led to mergers with several other companies and eventually the creation the "International Business Machines Corporation" or IBM. The formation of IBM and the machines created in the Canal Square Building lead historians to refer to it as "the birthplace of the original computer." Today the Canal Square Building serves as home to many offices and the renowned Washington DC restaurant, Sea Catch.

Rock Creek Park
Rock Creek Park was established through an act of Congress under President Benjamin Harrison on September 27, 1890 and is considered one of the oldest American national parks. Today Rock Creek Park is 1,754 acres; more twice the size of New York's Central Park. The park is a popular destination among DC residents for jogging and cycling but also contains: a golf course, equestrian trails, sport venues, a nature center and planetarium, an outdoor concert venue, picnic and playground facilities and the National Zoo.