Spanish Steps

This guide to the Spanish Steps in Washington, D.C. asks why generations of couples have chosen this staircase to propose, then traces its start as a practical fix: in 1911, architect Robert E. Cook was hired to solve a hill too steep for a road between S Street and Decatur Place. You'll hear how the City Beautiful movement inspired a public staircase in place of a street, and how its four curving Beaux-Arts levels came to share a nickname with Rome's more famous steps. Listen for the lion-head fountain at the center — it's older than the tradition itself.