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No Beer—But I Can Touch the Capitol Dome?

People are flocking to two new $600-million-plus taxpayer-funded attractions—the Capitol Visitor Center, which is marking its first summer, and Nationals Park, marking its second. How do these expensive new landmarks compare?

Written by Garrett M. Graff | Published on July 23, 2009

–	Nationals Park	Capitol Visitor Center
Total Cost	More than $611 million	$621 million
Time To Construct	22 months	6 years
Dirt Excavated	340,948 cubic yards	650,000 cubic yards
Overall Size	14 acres	5 acres
Major Booster	Former DC mayor Tony Williams	Former Architect of the Capitol Alan Hantman
Controversy	Not only was it expensive and taxpayer-funded, but the Nationals’ owners withheld millions in rent in 2008, saying the ballpark wasn’t “substantially complete.”	Not only was it expensive and taxpayer-funded, but senator Jim DeMint charged that it failed to honor “our religious heritage that has been critical to America’s success.”
Entrance Fee	$5 to $335	Free
Statuary Feature	Baseball greats such as the Washington Senators’ Frank Howard	State heroes such as Utah’s Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor of the television
Respected But Hapless Leader	Manny Acta	Nancy Pelosi
Oversize Icon	The Racing Presidents	Statue of Freedom
Fun Sideshow	PlayStation Pavilion	11-foot-tall touchable model of Capitol dome
Typical Souvenir	Baseball cap	Replica of the US Constitution
Cost Of A Half-Smoke	$6.50 ($6.75 if ordered “all the way” with chili, mustard, and onions)	$4.95
Chili Dog	$7.50 (bottled or draft with souvenir cup)	There is none
Beer	675 toilets and urinals	172 toilets and urinals
Bathroom Facilities	47-by-101-foot HD scoreboard	19-by-34-foot orientation-movie screen
Largest Single-Day Crowd	40,386 (opening day 2009)	19,500 (April 20, 2009)
Estimated Annual Attendance	2,320,400 (2008)	3 million (projected for 2009)

This article first appeared in the July 2009 issue of The Washingtonian. For more articles from that issue, click here.

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Garrett M. Graff