DC gets devastated in Hollywood celluloid more often than our metropolis ’s football game team does on the field ( here ’s hoping for the fall season ) . But it make sense that our metropolis , despite its smallish stature , gets topple more frequently than a colossus like New York – the Leader of the Free World domicile here , after all , which iskind ofa bounteous deal . Plus , we ’ve receive the most recognizable monument in the country , and more decision - make bigwigs than you may excite aDie Hardbox set at . So we ’re saying farewell to summertime ( and summertime blockbusters ) by celebrating that whiz of chilling excitement that comes with watching your own city ( and if you ’re lucky , your own business office building ) get eradicate on screen . Naturally , this tale ispackedwith pillager , so read at your own risk …
11. Arlington Memorial Bridge, Arlington National Cemetery, Theodore Roosevelt Island, Crystal City, Pentagon
Times destroyed:1Movies : Captain America : The Winter SoldierThis is a cheat , consider Marvel retconned the substantial world , but in one fell slide , S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ take out half of Northern Virginia . At the launching of the helicarriers , Captain America and his squad have to fight down Hydra to regain control and foreclose monumental character assassination . The side effect is that they bring down the helicarriers in the Potomac , destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ , the bridge circuit , and most of the adjacent shoreline . It ’s one of the best scenes in a Marvel movie … and the DC - adjacent terms is colossal .
10. Dulles International Airport
Times destroyed:1Movies : exit Hard 2 : break down HarderYeah , Dulles is out in Reston , but if you ’re flying anywhere abroad , this is the airport you take . InDie Hard 2 : Die Harder(still a magnificent championship for a continuation ) , the aerodrome is destroyed by a 747 plummeting into the runway , amply load with passengers , as a warning to authority that they want to release a military dictator from an unidentified Central American country . John McClane also destroy an entire terminal while taking out a team of highly trained troops dress as house painters . It ’s with child ' XC action mechanism , with lots of explosions , gunshots , and John McClane narrowly escaping death while saving the day .
9. Air Force One
Times destroyed:1Movies : Air Force OneThis is in Gary Oldman ’s " I Can Play Anyone " menses , and in Air Force One , he portray a crafty Russian terrorist . His squad occupy control of the most famous plane in the world in a audacious fashion , pack weapon and supplies and impersonating the staff of the jet . They hold the president , played by Harrison Ford , and his family surety on board , and while the damage to the plane itself is initially hold to hummer fix , the situation escalates with Ford turning into Action - pa with a semi - robotic weapon . finally , they regain control of the plane and attempt to evacuate in an awful tethered transfer once the bum is damage . Ford makes it across , then everyone in the room ( include the way you ’re in ) jump up with a fist - pump , and the C-130 they ’re on is the new Air Force One , while the original crashes into the ocean . manna from heaven .
8. The Jefferson Memorial
Times destroyed:1Movies :X - Men : Days of succeeding PastInX - military man : Days of Future Past , Magneto run on a violent disorder in the third turn of the film , in which we witness him really unleashing his mutant top executive . That power – the ability to control metal items – is in full effect as he throw cranes , car , and monument into the fart , damage the Jefferson Memorial , arguably our urban center ’s prettiest . finally , he moves RFK Stadium , twisted up like ruby-red vine , and lands it on and around the White House . It ’s … impressive .
7. The Capitol Hill Parking Lot
Times destroyed:2Movies : Clear and Present Danger , Live Free or Die HardGood riddance , honestly ; this parking lot is a genuine eyesore . The lot where our representatives park , on the easterly side of the National Mall and justly in front of the Capitol building , is a total a sendup . It was destroyed most notably inLive gratis or Die severely , when terrorists settle that bazookas , C4 , and machine throttle fire is the way to bring chaos to the nation ’s Washington . Timothy Olyphant ’s pre - Heath Ledger try at the madcap baddie is good , but you cognise he ’s going to fall back . It ’s in all probability the fourth bestDie Hardmovie , but that ’s not to say it ’s bad – the over - the - top natural process is still acute .
6. The FBI Federal Building
Times destroyed:2Movies : Arlington RoadandThe SiegeAs much as we love Denzel , we may have to skipThe Siege , because that ’s feeling too close to menage right now . or else , we ’ll be rewatchingArlington Road : it ’s under - apprehended , and follows Jeff Bridges , Tim Robbins , and Joan Cusack in a thriller set in the suburban area of DC . While we normally detest to give away the ending , this movie is 17 years erstwhile , so come on : the FBI headquarters collapse after Tim Robbins detonates a turkey in Jeff Bridges ' automobile trunk . This aggressiveness will not bear , Isle of Man .
5. The Washington Monument
Times destroyed:3Movies:2012 , Independence Day , and Jonah HexThrow outJonah Hexand watchIndependence sidereal day … or this summertime ’s sequel . The best part about a Roland Emmerich pic is always the spectacle : when city - sized UFO vacillate above most of the world ’s major cities and unleash massive destruction , it ’s beautiful and awful at the same clip . The plot is usually a little simple , but that ’s only the medicament to get you your sugar : vast battles , great special effects , and authoritative " round up the full guys " storytelling . In the most notable scene , the green destructo - shaft from the UFO beat into the Monument , clear it burst like one epical water system balloon .
4. The Lincoln Memorial
Times destroyed:5Movies : Logan ’s Run , Night at the Museum 2 : Battle of the Smithsonian , Planet of the Apes(2001),Transformers : Dark of the Moon , andThe mean solar day the Earth Stood Still(1951)This is the most trafficked of the monuments to former presidents , primarily because it ’s the easy to get to . InLogan ’s Run , society is lived literally underground because we messed everything up . So that we do n’t over - consume everything , at 31 years sure-enough , you ’re recycled . Logan , hoping to escape this destiny , attempts to escape with his partner ( Jenny Agutter ) , and stop up above dry land , where Washington , DC was long ago rendered unlivable . Iconic DC buildings have fall in everywhere , and the Lincoln Memorial has vines , trees , and the earthly concern reclaiming the once - beautiful memorial .
3. The White House
Times destroyed:8Movies:2012 , The Day After Tomorrow , Earth vs. the Flying Saucers , G.I. Joe : Retaliation , Independence Day , Mars Attacks ! , Olympus Has Fallen , Superman II , White House Down , andX - Man : solar day of Future PastThis place was destroyed once in real liveliness , and was nearly falling apart when Truman came to the residence . The most iconic devastation in motion-picture show , however , is probably in the originalIndependence Day , where model were recreated so that the White House could be blown up like an M-80 in a mailbox , but with more fire … plus , it looks amazing on Blu - Ray . But if you require an one-time , quainter experience of watching the capital get destroyed , go forEarth vs. the Flying Saucers . It ’s more than a footling cheesy – the acting will make you snigger , but man do they attempt . The UFO models are surprisingly ripe for the time ( 1956 ) , and during the final act , an occupation is being talk terms between the humans and visitors ( comically named " Marvins " ) . The occupier then tear off with their variation of a destructo - shaft , taking out the White House , the ceiling of the Capitol Building , and damage the National Monument .
2. The National Mall
Times destroyed:9Movies : Earth vs. the Flying Saucers , G.I. Joe : Retaliation , Independence Day , Jonah Hex , Mars Attacks ! , Olympus Has go down , White House Down , andX - Men : Days of Future PastIn a good year , the plaza oscillates between being genuinely beautiful and looking like a run - down baseball outfield . While out - of - towners might not get how or why , DC resident incline to feel really cut - up when that slip of pot and reflecting pool are destroy – the Mall is the moxie that connect some of the best museums , monument , and computer architecture in the nation , after all . White House Downis belike the movie that best seize the telescope of it , and really fork out an adrenaline hurry . In the first act , a retrofitted cargo plane flies into the city go after by super acid : the lading plane ’s pilots lower Gatling guns , take out the jets , and tear apart most of the Mall in a nearly continuous pelting of bullets , scale , and wholesale spark , leave no one to hold it . This leads into an violation on the White House , which is right on top of the Mall : buses and drivel trucks explode , blowing out safety planetary house , tearing apart the skirt trees , and laying the smack down .
1. The US Capitol Building
time destroyed:9Movies : Day After Tomorrow , Earth vs. the Flying Saucers , G.I. Joe : Retaliation , Independence Day , Olympus has Fallen , Superman II , White House Down , andX - Men : Days of Future PastThis building really is gorgeous , right ? And it gets destroyed in so many imaginative ways : catastrophic mood change ( Day After Tomorrow ) , alien invasion ( Earth vs. the Flying Saucers , Independence Day , andSuperman II ) , and through fantastical agency ( X - hands : day of Future Past ) . The chilling looping of the Capitol Building ’s wipeout ask the infiltration , coup , and dismantle of a system that has bring , albeit sometimes frustratingly , for over 200 years . When the structures of this representation of majority rule are crushed by those who would see everything ruined , it can be weirdly grievous . It ’s afflictive to see the Cobra flags drop from the White House and Capitol Building – even if it ’s just in aG.I. Joesummer smash hit .
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White House Down|Columbia Pictures
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Twentieth Century Fox/Youtube
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Columbia Pictures/Youtube
Paramount Pictures/Youtube
20th Century Fox/Youtube
Sony Pictures/Youtube
