From George Washington to Barack Obama, many U.S. presidents have had a distinct impact on our fair city. So on this day that’s dedicated to them, we look back through history to see which president did what for D.C.

The Nats might stink as a baseball team, but the four presidents that serve as their official team mascots are pretty universally loved. Soon you’ll be able to try out for your chance to be one of them.

Here at DCist, we’re always happy to pass along publicity stunts which dabble in the surreal. That said, we were excited to see this image, taken yesterday inside Union Station’s Grand Atrium, land in our inbox last night. Wax figures of all 44 presidents (click here to see a high-res version) were set up to promote Madame Tussauds‘ soon-to-open U.S. Presidents Gallery — “the only place in the world where people can see and interact with all 44 U.S. Presidents.” (How many can you name without cheating?) It’s also nice to know that Lyndon Johnson’s wax figure continues to smash the Unintentional Comedy scale — Johnson’s sullen facial expression and positioning behind the rest of the group makes it look like he’s just photobombing the whole thing on his way to catch the train to New Carrollton.

February 6, 2011 marks what would have been Ronald Reagan’s 100th birthday — and while there’s plenty of national chatter about celebrations of the Gipper’s centennial, some legislators in Maryland apparently want to bring it closer to home. According to P.J. Orvetti, seven of the state’s senators have proposed legislation which would make February 6 “Ronald Reagan Day” in the state, an occasion on which Maryland residents would be urged “to observe Ronald Reagan Day in a proper manner.”

As we turn the calendar over to February, some people are beginning to get excited about the arrival of spring training in but a couple of weeks. But here at DCist, we know that the baseball season — and warmer temperatures, of course — is really creeping up on us when we get an email telling us that the Nationals are holding auditions for the Racing Presidents. And that day, my friends, was today.

As Abraham Lincoln, David Selby has the weight of the union on his shoulders in “The Heavens Are Hung in Black.” Photo by T. Charles Erickson. In the handy study guide that accompanies the world premiere production of The Heavens Are Hung in Black, now running at the newly reopened Ford’s Theatre, playwright James Still observes that his subject, Abraham Lincoln, is “probably the most written-about person in the world after Jesus.” If that’s…