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African American Civil War Memorial
At the center of a granite plaza, the bronze statue of rifle-bearing troops is DC's first major art piece by black sculptor Ed Hamilton. The sculpture 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 7000 white soldiers who served alongside them. Use the directory to locate individual names within the regiments.
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Alexandria Black History Resource Center
Memorabilia documenting the black experience in Alexandria are on display at this small resource center (enter from Wythe St). Pick up a brochure for self-guided walking tours of important local sites. In the next-door annex, the Watson Reading Room has a wealth of books and documents on African American topics. The African American Heritage Park (Holland Lane) is worth a stop to see headstones from a 19th-century black cemetery.
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Anacostia Museum
Originally a neighborhood gathering place, the Anacostia Museum expanded into a regional heritage center celebrating black history and culture and is now operated by the Smithsonian Institution. Rotating exhibits focus on the transatlantic slave trade, the earliest free black communities in the New World and art, photography and sculpture by black artists. There are free concerts, films and workshops during Black History Month (February).
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Arlington House
Robert E Lee resided in this gracious home set high on the hills overlooking the Potomac River. His home and part of his 1100-acre property were confiscated after he left to command the Confederate Army of Virginia, and Union dead were buried around the house to spite him. After the war, the family sued the federal government for reimbursement and received it. The historic house has been open since 1817 for public tours.
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Arthur M Sackler Gallery
Big shot New York research physician, medical publisher and philanthropist Dr Arthur M Sackler had more than a little obsession with the aesthetic Asian art world - over his lifetime he gathered more than 1000 pieces, including centuries-old ceramic, jade and bronze creations. Following his 1987 death he bequeathed these items, along with around US$4 million to build a gallery to house them, to the Smithsonian.
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B'nai B'rith Klutznick Museum
The museum's ground floor houses one of the country's largest Judaica collections, covering history and culture from antiquity to present and including rarities like a 1556 Torah scroll. Exhibits address subjects such as early Jewish settlement in the US, the Holocaust, and Jews in American history and the arts. The newest exhibit is the National Jewish American Sports Hall of Fame. Behind the museum is a tranquil sculpture garden.
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Basilica Of The National Shrine Of The Immaculate Conception
The largest Catholic church in the Western Hemisphere (and some say the Catholic answer to the Washington National Cathedral), this huge church accommodates 6000 worshipers. In addition to its unearthly size, the Marian shrine sports an eclectic mix of Romanesque and Byzantine motifs, from classical towers to a mosque-like dome, all anchored by a 329ft minaret-shaped campanile. A large gift shop sells religious literature, rosaries and statues.
Read more about Basilica Of The National Shrine Of The Immaculate Conception
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Battery Kemble Park & Glover Archbold Park
Glover is a sinuous, winding 190-acre park, extending from Van Ness St NW in the Tenleytown area down to the western border of Georgetown University. Further west, skinny Battery Kemble Park separates the wealthy Foxhall and Palisades neighborhoods of far northwestern DC. Managed by the National Park Service, the park preserves the site of a little two-gun battery that helped defend western DC against Confederate troops during the Civil War.
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Benjamin Banneker Park
This park honors Benjamin Banneker, a free black, self-taught astronomer and mathematician. Banneker and another man, Andrew Ellicot, were hired by George Washington in 1791 to help lay out the 10-sq-mile plot that would define the District by using celestial calculations. Pierre L'Enfant then designed the city with Banneker and Ellicot's settings. It's a grassy circular spot near the Waterfront. You'll need to drive there.
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Bethune Council House
One of 17 children born to poor ex-slaves on a cotton farm in South Carolina in 1875, Mary McLeoad Bethune founded a school training teachers to serve the African American community, served as President FDR's special advisor on minority affairs and became the first black woman to head a federal office. Her Washington home has been transformed into an archive and research center and small museum.
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Bike The Sites
Knowledgeable guides lead tours of DC's major landmarks, as well as more specialized options, such as over and under Washington bridges or to Civil War sites. Additional tours vary with the season. The price includes bikes and all necessary equipment.
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Black Fashion Museum
This eclectic little museum showcases the work of black designers past and present. Here you can see slaves' dresses, the dress Rosa Parks wore during her historic bus ride, and the handiwork of unsung seamstresses who costumed famous figures from Mary Todd Lincoln to Jackie Kennedy.
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Blair & Lee Houses
The 1824 Blair House has been the official presidential guesthouse since 1942, when Eleanor Roosevelt got sick of tripping over dignitaries in her White House. A plaque on the front fence commemorates the bodyguard killed here while protecting President Truman from a 1950 assassination attempt by Puerto Rican pro-independence terrorists.
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C&O Canal & Towpath
On a hot summer day, do as locals do and head to the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and its towpath for a day of hiking, biking or canoeing. Within Georgetown's central zone, the canal is crisscrossed by walkways and bridges and lined with old warehouses and factories turned into upscale retail and entertainment complexes. The blocks between Thomas Jefferson and 31st Sts feature converted mid-19th century artesian houses.
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Capitol
It's definitely a toss-up when it comes to which is Washington's most iconic image, the Capitol or the White House. We're going to have to put on the Team Capitol jersey - there's just nothing quite like the sight of the towering 285ft cast-iron dome topped by the bronze Statue of Freedom, ornate fountains and marble Roman pillars set on sweeping lawns and flowering gardens that just screams this is DC.
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Cathedral Of St Matthew The Apostle
The sturdy red-brick exterior doesn't hint at the marvelous mosaics and gilding within this 1889 Catholic cathedral, where JFK was laid in state and his funeral mass held. Between stained glass, murals and scintillating Italianate mosaics, almost no surface is left undecorated. Evening's the best time to visit, when flickering candles illuminate the sanctuary, but you can attend Mass on Sunday morning or slip in almost any time to look around.
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Christ Church
Since 1773, this red-brick Georgian-style church has welcomed worshippers including George Washington and Robert E Lee. The interesting churchyard cemetery contains the mass grave of Confederate soldiers.
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City Museum Of Washington, Dc
This fun interactive museum in the historic Carnegie Library highlights the local side of DC: the people, events and communities that have shaped it since its founding. Exhibits explore specific neighborhoods and ethnic groups, or specific themes. An extensive library open to the public has old photographs, maps and other archives. The film, a funny look at the juxtaposition between the federal city and local DC, is a great introduction for kids.
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Constitution Gardens
Originally planned to be a Rivoli-style amusement park, Constitution Gardens - really just a grove of trees - is a shady place for a stroll. In its midst, a small pool is punctuated by a tiny island holding the Signers' Memorial, a plaza honoring those who signed the Declaration of Independence. At the northeast corner of the gardens is an intriguing, aged stone cottage from the days when the Washington City Canal flowed through this area.
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Corcoran Gallery Of Art
In a beautiful 1897 beaux-arts building overlooking the Ellipse, the Corcoran exhibits American and European masterworks, with an emphasis on 19th- and early-20th-century American artists. Special exhibits often focus on particular artists or historical themes, such as Lichtenstein's sculptures and drawings or the art of the Harlem Renaissance. The Corcoran is particularly known for its surveys of historic and modern photography.
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Dc Ducks
In a classic case of defense conversion, amphibious land/water vehicles carry tourists on a waddle around the city streets and float along the Potomac. The 90-minute tour departs from Union Station and features visits to the Mall and monuments, as well as the corniest jokes available.
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Dea Museum
Those interested in (or disgusted by) the never-ending US War on Drugs might enjoy a visit to the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Museum (the latter group will only appreciate it in a twisted way for its full frontal propaganda). Exhibits range from Target America, which tries badly to link terrorism and drugs together, to an elaborate timeline display on the history of drugs in America.
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Decatur House
This storied house was designed in 1818 by Benjamin Latrobe for naval hero Stephen Decatur. 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. A tour shows you the house's austere architectural charms and details the lives of not only its famous tenants - including Martin Van Buren and Henry Clay - but also the slaves who waited upon them.
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Department Of The Interior Museum
Responsible for managing the US's natural resources, the Department of the Interior operates this small but excellent museum educating the public about its current goals and programs. It includes landscape art, Indian artifacts and photos and exhibits on wildlife and resource management. Reserve in advance for guided tours of the building itself, which contains 25 tremendous New Deal murals from the 1930s and 1940s. Photo ID needed to enter.
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District Of Columbia Arts Center
This grassroots center offers emerging artists a space to showcase their work, from theater to multimedia creations. The 750-sq-ft gallery features rotating visual arts exhibits; plays and other theatrical productions take place in the 50-seat black box theater. It's worth checking the website to see if anything interesting is going on, as this homegrown initiative introduces you to some wonderful, still obscure artists.
