# If D.C. were destroyed where would the capital be moved to? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 23, 2014, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005 "2014-12-23T10:51:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/21 "2014-12-23T15:50:06Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > It looks like everybody’s assuming that, but I have to assume that big business will decide this for us. I’d vote for New York City. There’s plenty of big business outside NYC, but NYC is unlikely for other reasons. There’s the enormous cost and lack of space, plus the political opposition would be heavy. The animosity towards east coast government is a large part of modern politics, and I’m not sure New Yorkers would even want the capital there even if it was located upstate in Yonkers. There are plenty of Midwest locations that aren’t political hotspots. It’s just difficult to believe anything too far south, north, east or west won’t be found unacceptable by the rest of the country. I have no doubt the choice will be a major re-election topic and the politicians will lean toward the will of the people in this case and take their bribes from Midwest businesses. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/22 "2014-12-23T15:52:25Z")
Is it worth mentioning Area 51? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/23 "2014-12-23T15:58:25Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Is it worth mentioning Area 51? Isn’t that where the ‘real’ capital is now? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/24 "2014-12-23T16:02:06Z")
In order to get the relocation through Congress, the criteria would be relatively inexpensive land, ease of transportation, and ability to border or sprawl into multiple states, preferably red, blue, and purple. I think these point to Cleveland, Cincinnati, St. Louis, or possibly Omaha. Detroit would present a great deal of readily available land. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/25 "2014-12-23T16:16:32Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > I’ve seen several writers over the years use what is effectively Denver. I think Denver was the new capital in one of Robert Heinlein’s novels. It seemed more easily defended in the event of a missile attack. But is that still the most realistic danger? On other hand, rising tides due to climate change seem more likely and Denver’s altitude would be an advantage there. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/26 "2014-12-23T16:21:58Z")
My dad has long been of the opinion that the federal government should be broken up. With modern communications I don’t see why that couldn’t be done. Dept of Ag = Omaha Dept of Energy = Houston Veteran’s Affairs = Tampa Dept of State = NYC Dept of the Treasury = Chicago Attorney General = St Louis Dept of the Interior = Denver Dept of Commerce = Los Angeles Dept of Labor = Philadelphia Dept of HHS = Phoenix Dept of Housing and Urban Development = Cleveland Dept of Education = Atlanta Dept of Homeland Security = San Diego Make Congress and the President reside in KC or Minneapolis or whatever. It’d get some congresscritters on board getting all those jobs for their districts, I’ll tell you that. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/27 "2014-12-23T16:29:09Z")
For the longest time, Steelville, Missouri was the population center of the U.S., as signs posted outside town on Missouri 19 tell you. Based on **FairyChatMom** ’s post, it looks like the population center has moved a bit south and west to… somewhere else. Nevertheless, Steelville would never work. Driving through there is a pain in the ass, especially on Saturdays during tourist season. There’s a delicious BBQ restaurant there, though. I vote St. Louis. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/28 "2014-12-23T16:31:29Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > I’ve seen several writers over the years use what is effectively Denver. Other than in the Hunger Games books? And without the destruction and rebuilding of civilization in between? It would have to be a swing state, probably a swing city, making the move worth the Congresscritters’ while, and probably closer to the current population center. An existing city to reduce the cash outlay, which would be huge anyway. I’ll go with MacKinley Kantor’s alt-history _If the South had Won the Civil War_ and say Columbus is still a good candidate. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/29 "2014-12-23T16:32:18Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > My dad has long been of the opinion that the federal government should be broken up. With modern communications I don’t see why that couldn’t be done. I’ve long thought that would be a good idea. Existing and new Federal Districts spread around the country would serve to keep the government from being located in a far away place for most of the country. A few places could have a Capitol Building large enough for all of congress to meet, and the larger departments could be spread among several cities (although I’d prefer they weren’t so large). It would also mean our representatives could spend more time in their home districts, and more readily visit other states as well. There are security issues to consider. This would have the drawback of providing more targets for small scale attacks, but also eliminate a single location as a target for a large-scale attack. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/30 "2014-12-23T16:37:32Z")
Well, it’s not like my dad - he’s working on being a loony old coot with an MBA from Harvard…a dangerous combination - had a specific plan in mind. He just rants about centralization of government bureaucracies. And on that, as I said, modern communications could make it easy to do. There’s really no need for Agriculture and Defense to be located half a mile from each other. I do think there’d be benefits from it. Place Energy down in oil country and Veteran’s Affairs in retirement central. You get the idea. I’m flexible on the specific regions, but I think some plan would be good. Placing Agriculture in Manhattan, for example, would be silly. But placing Treasury and State might make sense (though that breaks my no-more-than-one-per-city rule). ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/31 "2014-12-23T16:50:13Z")
Actually, there are damn good reasons why government agencies should be headquartered near each other. Let’s face it: teleconferences basically suck, and they aren’t going to get any better. Or, to put it another way, just because the United States maintains 200 embassies all across the world doesn’t mean that the State Department doesn’t need a headquarters. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/32 "2014-12-23T16:53:13Z")
NYC, Boston or Kansas City. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/33 "2014-12-23T16:58:04Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Other than in the Hunger Games books? And without the destruction and rebuilding of civilization in between? Heinlein was already mentioned (I think it’s in a couple of his novels–but not necessarily Future History) and I know I’ve seen at least one other author. Seriously, what’s wrong with Denver? Perhaps we can make several new districts, each one comprising several states–13 sounds good. But district sounds weird, how about we call them Commonwealths instead? ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/34 "2014-12-23T17:01:42Z")
DC is technically not part of Virginia, since it would be a conflict of interest to have a state be able to set rules on the capital. If they move back to some big city like NY or Philly, does that mean the city gets annexed out of the state? And since DC has no representative, wherever its going to be located in, if its a city, gets that population taken out of Congress. There’d be a lot of politicking on the location I think ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/35 "2014-12-23T17:48:08Z")
Why would they move it at all, rather than rebuilding on the same location? They’d have to relocate temporarily, but eventually they’d have to rebuild a full set of government buildings anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/36 "2014-12-23T17:51:46Z")
Problem with moving to an existing city is that the Federal Government is going to need a LOT of real estate. Unless you plan to raze half the city to let them build a new White House, Capital Building, etc, don’t plan on it moving to an existing place. I’d almost vote for Bumfuck, Kansas, but given that the Tea Party is burning that place down, I’d hate to hand them a ton of Fed money to subsidize their madness. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/37 "2014-12-23T17:54:28Z")
I’d put the temporary capital in Greenbriar while rebuilding DC. Why would you NOT rebuild DC? There wouldn’t be all the infighting about putting stuff here or there, you could build a really impressive comet memorial and be pretty sure that whatever the odds of another comet hitting the Easth, the odds of another comet hitting exactly the same spot musty be infinistesimal. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/38 "2014-12-23T18:00:42Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Why would they move it at all, rather than rebuilding on the same location? They’d have to relocate temporarily, but eventually they’d have to rebuild a full set of government buildings anyway. It’s currently a land-filled ex-swamp. Following a comet hit big enough to take out the entire shebang, it’s going to be wide spot in the Potomac. Simpler just to rebuild somewhere else. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/39 "2014-12-23T18:03:27Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Why would they move it at all, rather than rebuilding on the same location? They’d have to relocate temporarily, but eventually they’d have to rebuild a full set of government buildings anyway. > [@kunilou](#): > > I’d put the temporary capital in Greenbriar while rebuilding DC. Why would you NOT rebuild DC? There wouldn’t be all the infighting about putting stuff here or there, you could build a really impressive comet memorial and be pretty sure that whatever the odds of another comet hitting the Easth, the odds of another comet hitting exactly the same spot musty be infinistesimal. Wouldn’t a comet leave one hell of a big impact crater? That and other environmental changes would probably make rebuilding on the site impractical. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005/40 "2014-12-23T18:13:21Z")
Intercourse, Pennsylvania. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-d-c-were-destroyed-where-would-the-capital-be-moved-to/708005.md?page=3)