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National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
The memorial on Judiciary Sq commemorates the 14,500 US police officers killed on duty since 1794. In the style of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, names of the dead are carved on two marble walls curving around a plaza; new names are added during a moving candlelight vigil each year in May. Peeking over the walls, bronze lion statues protect their sleeping cubs (presumably as law enforcement officers protect us).
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Octagon Museum
Designed by William Thornton (the Capitol's first architect) in 1800, this is a symmetrically winged Federal structure designed to fit an odd triangular lot. Knowledgeable docents show you the Octagon's hidden doorways, twin staircases and period furniture. Upstairs galleries host exhibits on architecture and design; downstairs exhibits explain the careful archaeological work required to restore this and other old houses.
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Odyssey Cruises
Odyssey has the only ship designed to fit underneath all of the Potomac's historic bridges; it cruises up past Arlington Cemetery, the Lincoln Memorial, the Kennedy Center and Georgetown.
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Old Executive Office Building
Truman called it 'the greatest monstrosity in America;' Hoover griped that it was an 'architectural orgy.' Yet the ornate Old Executive Office Building (officially known as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building) delights visitors today. It was designed by Alfred Mullet in the 1870s to house State, War and Navy Department staff. His design was roundly blasted, and poor Mullet killed himself two years after its completion.
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Old Post Office Pavilion
The landmark 1899 Old Post Office Pavilion - nicknamed 'Old Tooth' for its spiky clock tower - is a downtown success story. Threatened with demolition during much of the 20th century, the Romanesque building was restored in 1978 and became a key attraction. Now its beautiful, bunting-draped, 10-story central atrium holds shops, a large food court, a discount-ticket counter and government agencies. Go up to the 270ft-high observation deck.
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Old Stone House
Sitting incongruously in the midst of Georgetown's shopping drag is DC's oldest surviving building. Built in 1765 as a one-room house, it's since been a boardinghouse, tavern, brothel and shop. It was almost demolished in the 1950s, but a persistent (albeit false) rumor that L'Enfant used it as a workshop while designing DC saved it for posterity. The Park Service now maintains it as an example of 18th-century life.
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Pentagon
The US Department of Defense is housed in what may be the world's biggest office building, built in just 16 months during WWII. About 25,000 people work within its more than a dozen miles of corridors, its five sides surrounding a 5-acre courtyard. This formidable edifice appears impenetrable, an impression that was proven wrong on September 11, 2001, when American Airlines flight 77 crashed into its side. Open only for prearranged group tours.
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Pentagon Memorial
In the fall of 2005 the Pentagon unveiled a new memorial to the 184 victims of the attack on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. The poignant memorial plaza occupies almost 2 acres on the west side of the Pentagon building, representing each victim with a pool of light and an inscription read facing either the Pentagon or the sky. The Age Wall on the plaza's western edge grows in proportion to the ages of the victims, who ranged from three to 71.
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St Mary's Episcopal Church
Built in 1887, St Mary's was home to the first black Episcopal congregation in DC. James Renwick, designer of the Smithsonian Castle, created the beautiful red-brick building especially for the congregation.
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Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States convenes in an imposing 1935 all-marble building designed by Cass Gilbert. The seated figures in front of the building represent the female Contemplation of Justice and the male Guardian of Law; panels on the 13,000lb bronze front doors depict the history of jurisprudence. Downstairs is an exhibit on the history of the court and a striking statue of John Marshall, fourth Chief Justice.
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Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Set on the south bank of the Tidal Basin, this memorial honors the third US president, political philosopher, drafter of the Declaration of Independence and founder of the University of Virginia - Thomas Jefferson. Designed by John Russell Pope to resemble Jefferson's library, the rounded, domed monument was initially derided as 'the Jefferson Muffin.' Inside is a 19ft bronze likeness; excerpts from Jefferson's writings are etched into the walls.
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Titanic Memorial
Near the Waterfront's south end, Waterside Park contains this memorial honoring the men who sacrificed their lives to save the women and children aboard the sinking ship. Just south is Fort Lesley J McNair, an army post established in 1791 and burned by the British in 1814. The Lincoln-assassination conspirators were hung at McNair in 1865; it now houses the National Defense University and National War College (closed to the public).
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Treasury Building
The 1836 Greek-revival colossus (each of its 30 36ft-high columns was carved from a single granite block) is decorated as befits a treasury, with golden eagles, ornate balustrades and a two-story Cash Room, constructed with eight types of marble. US currency was printed in the basement from 1863 to 1880. Unfortunately tours of the building have been suspended, but the website offers a virtual tour under Education.
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Washington DC Martin Luther King Jr Memorial
Ground breaking was expected to start in the fall of 2006 for this new memorial honoring America's most influential Civil Rights leader. It will be located on the Tidal Basin and convey themes of democracy, justice and hope - all cornerstones of MLK's teachings. The design includes a crescent-shaped stone wall with sermon inscriptions and a central Stone of Hope featuring a 30ft-tall likeness of Dr King. The memorial is expected to open in 2008.
Read more about Washington DC Martin Luther King Jr Memorial
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Washington Monument
Strangely, this pale, quite phallic, obelisk needling the sky near the Mall's west end was originally conceived as an equestrian statue to honor George Washington, the country's first president. We guess it grew a little big for its britches. At 555ft the monument is not only the tallest building in DC (by federal law no structure can reach above it), it is also the tallest masonry structure in the world!
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Washington National Cathedral
A national cathedral in a country premised upon the separation of church and state is an unusual idea. So, by definition, the National Cathedral, run by the Episcopal diocese but paying tribute to many faiths and peoples, is an unusual place. Martin Luther King Jr gave his last Sunday sermon here; now it's the standard place for state funerals and other high-profile events. In many critics' eyes, it is the country's most beautiful chruch.
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Waterside Park
A few historic homes - curiosities in this neighborhood - survived the 1950s urban clearance. The Law House (1252 6th St SW) is a Federal-style row house built by one of the first DC land speculators in 1796. From the same period, the Wheat Row houses (1313-1321 4th St SW, south of N St SW) have human-scale brick facades that add warmth to the neighborhood.
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White House
Every US president since John Adams has lived in this 132-room mansion at America's most famous address. Its stature has grown through the years: no longer a mere residence, it's now the central icon of the American presidency.
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