Distinctly A City Washington Has Dressed Up Its Historical Attractions, And The High-tech Boom Has Nurtured A Culture That Transcends Politics. Even U Street Swings Again.

WASHINGTON — Americans have always been fascinated by the presidency and the men who have taken on the role, despite our assertions that we care little for the trappings of power. A television drama based on the work of the president and West Wing aides has become a hit, upstaged only by the remarkable drama of the recent presidential electoral cliffhanger.

So there was no small measure of relief (and some fireworks - genuine, not political) on Jan. 20 as the first president of the millennium took the oath at the West Front of the Capitol and proceeded down Pennsylvania Avenue to his new office.

President Bush's place of business may be the same as it has been for many of his predecessors. But the capital has changed a lot since the leadership last turned over in 1993. Washington is now, more than it ever has been, a city in its own right, with a history and culture that carries on independent of politics.

It's also a fine place to live. This may account - at least a bit - for the eagerness of presidential aspirants to take up residency in the White House. The house itself never looked better, despite turning 200 years old in November. Almost all the public rooms were redecorated for the occasion, a $1.78 million process that took eight years. The changes are subtle - flowered drapes for the State Dining Room, a trompe l'oeil wallpaper border in the Blue Room.

Hillary Clinton marked the birthday by ordering new china, with a yellow border, depicting the house itself, the first time the building has been featured on White House china. The new service debuted at a Nov. 9 dinner presided over by Mrs. Clinton (now Sen. Clinton) on a day when confusion prevailed as to who would succeed the Clintons.

At the time, President Clinton noted how the "President's Palace" had been built to survive turmoil: "The masons laid the stone foundation more than four feet thick. Like our nation's founders, these men were building a monument to freedom, and they wanted it to last."

Monuments to presidents past have been refurbished, too. The Washington Monument reopened last year after extensive improvements, including work on the observation deck, now less claustrophobic and offering better views.