Things to Do in Washington Dc

Every museum has a mission, and the African-American Civil War Museum makes the point that for some, the Civil War was about secession versus union, but for others, it was a matter of breaking human bondage.

The museum illustrates their message through a stunning permanent collection of photographs, documents, and some audiovisual programs, which follows African American history from the Civil War through the Civil Rights movement. The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Project allows visitor to search for ancestors in databases of black troops, regiments, and battles.

Nearby is the African-American Civil War Memorial. At the center of a granite plaza, the bronze statue of rifle-bearing troops is surrounded on three sides by the Wall of Honor, listing the names of 209,145 black troops who fought in the Union Army, as well as the 7,000 white soldiers who served alongside them. Use the directory to locate individual names within the regiments.

When Larz Anderson, a wealthy American diplomat, died in 1937, his widow donated their 50-room mansion - the Anderson House - and its contents in Dupont Circle to the Society of the Cincinnati - a prestigious male-only organization for descendants of officers in the American Revolutionary War, of which Larz was a long-time active member. By 1939, the Society opened it to the public as a museum and library, showcasing the Andersons' impressive collection of Chinese, Japanese, French, and Italian art, as well as the importance of the family in American history.

The stately Anderson House was designed in the Beaux-Arts style and has been described as a "Florentine villa in the midst of American independence." The Anderson House was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996 and is considered to be one of the city's hidden treasures. Today, the Anderson House serves as the Society's headquarters and aims to preserve Larz's legacy of patriotic service and entertaining guests and offers several free concerts a year in the grand ballrooms and on the expansive grounds.

The J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building, also known as the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Headquarters, is the brain of the FBI’s activities around the world. The building, named after Hoover, who was the first FBI director, is located downtown in Washington DC, within walking distance of many other popular attractions. It also has a unique history, including a story that the famous FBI crime laboratory may have also been used as a smoking lounge. 

The FBI has multiple locations, each of which handles various parts of the organization. The headquarters centralizes and coordinates activities at the highest levels. It serves as a hub for intelligence and information gathering. It’s also the location that takes the lead for the FBI during times of crisis or emergency. 

Centered around an elegant traffic circle at the intersection of Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts Avenues, this upscale yet urban neighborhood is full of refined pursuits, as well as much of the city’s gay community. While here, be sure to soak up the people-watching scene around the fountain at Dupont Circle itself, and stop into the unique Kramer Books & Afterwords, a combination café and well-curated bookstore.

Dupont Circle’s graceful marble fountain was designed and built by the same architectural team behind the Lincoln Memorial. Installed in 1921, the fountain replaced a memorial statue of Civil War rear admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont that was moved to the prominent Du Pont family’s estate in Wilmington, Delaware.

In the neighborhood surrounding the traffic circle and fountain, you can feast your eyes on Impressionist masterpieces at the elegant Phillips Collection; tour the 19th-century Anderson House, the lavish home of a former diplomat; and explore awe-inspiring exhibits at the National Geographic Society. Catch a contemporary play at the renowned Studio Theatre, settle in for an artfully prepared dinner at the intimate Obelisk, or enjoy some fancy cocktails at the chic, multi-level Eighteenth Street Lounge.

Set in Capitol Hill in a unique building that blends Streamline Moderne and Greco Deco, this independent research library contains the world’s largest collection of William Shakespeare’s printed works. Endowed by Shakespeare memorabilia collector Henry Clay Folger (a former chairman of the Standard Oil Company and a member of the Folger Coffee family), the library was opened 316 years to the day after the Bard’s death, on April 23, 1932.

In addition to its permanent collections and rotating art exhibits, the Library houses the three-tiered, Elizabethan-style Folger Theater, which each season stages three of Shakespeare’s plays, as well as literary readings and lectures.

The 8,000-employee office of the Secretary of State is responsible for America’s relations with foreign governments, and operates the U.S.’s diplomatic missions abroad. Open since 1947 in the Art Moderne-style Harry S. Truman Building, the State Department, as it is more commonly known, is also concerned with assisting and protecting American citizens and businesses in other countries.

While the State Department is a functioning office and not generally open to the public, 45-minute tours of the 18th-and 19th-century furniture, fine and decorative art in the elegant Diplomatic Reception Rooms are offered on Monday-Friday, 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 2:45 p.m. Reservations for these free tours must be made about 90 days in advance of your visit via phone at or online. 

Designed in 1818 for the War of 1812 naval hero Stephen Decatur, Decatur House holds the honor of being the first and last house on Lafayette Square to be occupied as a private residence. Decatur is best remembered for his skills fighting Barbary pirates; sadly these failed him when he was killed in a duel a year after moving into his new home.

Architecturally, it’s an interesting mash-up of austere Federal and wedding cake Victorian influences. Inside, the house museum displays a permanent collection of Federalist and Victorian furnishings. You’ll also learn about the lives of its most famous tenants - including Martin Van Buren and Henry Clay - and the slaves who waited on them.

In the southeast corner of Lafayette Square, check out the likeness of Marquis de Lafayette, who became a revolutionary war general at age 19. Although Lafayette was branded a traitor in his native France, he was considered a hero in young America. In the northeast corner is a memorial to Tadeusz Kosciusko, an engineer in George Washington’s army. The sculpture is one of the most provocative in town.

This distinctive 1892 Victorian home in Dupont Circle, the first fireproof building in the city, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Often referred to as the Brewmaster’s Castle, this ornate concrete and steel fortress was built and owned by the head of the Christian Heurich Brewing Company; this company ran from 1872-1956 and was once the largest employer in D.C.

Christian Heurich, a German immigrant, rose to prominence in D.C. society as a result of his company’s success, and this 31-room mansion was the major showplace of his wealth. State-of-the-art in its day, it features indoor plumbing, heated hot water, and an elevator. Its well-preserved interior is a microcosm of life in a late 19th-century Dupont Circle mansion, which at that time was the “it” address for the city’s rich and famous.

Set out front of the National Academy of Sciences Building, this whimsically enormous memorial of Albert Einstein contemplating the universe was dedicated on April 22, 1979 to mark the centennial of the scientist’s birth.

The 4-ton bronze statue of Einstein depicts him holding a paper inscribed with his three most important contributions to science: the photoelectric effect, the theory of general relativity, and the equivalence of energy and matter (e=mc2). The uniquely mottled texture of the statue’s bronze is the signature style of its sculptor, Robert Berks, who also created the famous bust of JFK found in the lobby of the nearby Kennedy Center.

The memorial’s 28-foot-wide black granite base is inlaid with over 2,700 metal studs, which were mapped out by astronomers from the U.S. Naval Observatory and meant to represent the stars, planets and more as they appeared on the dedication date..

Cedar Hill was the Anacostia neighborhood home of famed orator, writer and abolitionist Frederick Douglass between 1878 and his death in 1895. Filled with gifts from famous friends like Abraham Lincoln and Harriet Beecher Stowe, one of the home’s most distinctive features is a series of paintings that depict Douglass’ European and American travels, as well as significant events in African-American history.

Family photos around the home reflect Douglass’ two marriages, one lasting 44 years to a black woman his own age, the other to a white women’s rights activist 20 years his junior. Thought to be bi-racial and the son of his own slave master, Douglass defined his two marriages as divided between the backgrounds of his own two parents.

Better known for nightlife than tourist attractions, this diverse, funky neighborhood is proof that D.C. has a soul. Once an exclusively African-American part of town, Adams Morgan was formally named in 1958 for two then-recently-desegregated elementary schools in the area: Thomas P. Morgan and John Quincy Adams. Now home to a large cross-section of the city’s Latino populations (including Mexican, Salvadorean and Brazilian), as well as African restaurants and hopping jazz clubs, this is an area chock-full of flavor, color, and independently-owned businesses.

Centered around Columbia Road and 18th Street, it can make an excellent end to a day’s exploration of nearby Dupont Circle, the U-Street Corridor, or both. In the evenings, check out Habana Village for salsa dancing and Cuban food; Ghana Cafe for West African cuisine and, on the weekends, live African music; or local landmark Madams Organ for live jazz, blues and soul food.

If you can only get here during the day, though, try to come on a Saturday for the outdoor Latin Quarter market at Columbia and 18th, or take a wander by the elegant statues in Meridian Hill Park, once considered as a possible location for the White House.