White House Area Walk
Seeing everything this neighborhood has to offer could easily occupy the greater part of a day, so prioritize and be prepared to walk. Beginning at the White House, visitors can explore the neighborhood, either by checking out the monuments on the Mall or by heading west toward the government buildings. When the sun is shining, the monuments are particularly enticing, whereas tours of some of the government buildings are available in almost any weather. Many sites require advance reservations and few are kid-friendly, but history and art buffs should not miss these hidden gems.
Whether you choose to focus on monuments or government buildings, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts offers spectacular evening performances. Within this thriving cultural center and memorial to the late president, six different theaters present music, dance, opera, and dramatic arts from around the country and the world. If you arrive at the Kennedy Center by 6 pm, you can catch one of the free performances offered daily on its Millennium Stage.
Core White House Area
Arriving at either the Farragut West or McPherson Square Metro stop, take a short walk to the trees and flower beds of Lafayette Square, an intimate oasis amid the bustle of Downtown Washington. The park was named for the Marquis de Lafayette, the young French nobleman who came to America to fight in the Revolution. His statue is in the southeast corner of the park, not far from the large statue of Andrew Jackson, the oldest equestrian statue in D.C.
Every president since Madison has visited nearby St. John's Episcopal Church constructed in 1816. The Decatur House, just west of the square, was the first private residence on Lafayette Square, and now houses the David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History and a museum shop. The only existing slave quarters in Washington remain on display in the two-story dependency in the rear of the property; tours are offered on Monday.
Looking south through the park's gardens, the White House beckons. White House tours should be scheduled well in advance. For up-to-date information on tours, visit the National Park Service website (nps.gov/whho/planyourvisit/white-house-tours.htm) or stop at the White House Visitor Center, at 1450 Pennsylvania Avenue, just east of 15th Street NW.
Two imposing buildings flank the White House: the Treasury Building to the east and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to the west. Robert Mills, the architect responsible for the Washington Monument and the Patent Office (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum), designed Treasury's Greek Revival architecture and the grand colonnade that stretches down 15th Street. The building's southern facade has a statue of Alexander Hamilton, the department's first secretary. The granite edifice of the Eisenhower Building looks like a wedding cake styled after the Louvre. Built as a headquarters of the State, War, and Navy departments, it now houses offices for the vice president and other members of the executive branch. The building was the site of both the first presidential press conference in 1950 and the first televised press conference five years later.
As you go past the Executive Office Building, note the green canopy marking the entrance to Blair House, built in 1824. Known as "The President's Guest House," visiting heads of state use this residence as their temporary home. During the restoration of the White House, President Truman and his family stayed here, and it's believed that he fired General MacArthur while in the Lee Dining Room. Farther along Pennsylvania Avenue, the Renwick Gallery, the third-oldest Smithsonian building and an extension of the American Art Museum, exhibits American crafts and decorative arts. It is currently closed for renovation and expected to reopen in late 2015 or early 2016.
Seventeenth Street leads to the recently renamed Corcoran Contemporary, National Gallery of Art.The beaux arts building, which is closed and being renovated after being acquired by George Washington University and the National Gallery of Art, will eventually focus mainly on contemporary works. One block west, at 18th Street, the Octagon Museum exhibits portray life in the city at the birth of the nation’s new capital.
You could detour here to the left, cut across the Ellipse, and see the White House and its perfect south lawn and vegetable garden from the south side. On the southern end stand the Boy Scouts Memorial and a weather-beaten gatehouse, once on Capitol Hill. By the southeast corner of the White House lawn, the Tecumseh Sherman Monument depicts the Civil War general mounted on his steed, surrounded by four sentries.
Down 17th Street, you can step into the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) headquarters. A tour lets you peek into a few of the 31 period rooms—each decorated in a style unique to one state and one time period—and the beaux arts auditorium now used as a genealogy library. The museum on the first floor hosts changing exhibitions.
Continuing south on 17th Street, you will come to the headquarters of the Organization of American States, which is made up of nations from North, South, and Central America. A patio adorned with a pre-Columbian-style fountain and lush tropical plants is a good place to rest when Washington's summer heat is at its most oppressive.
A Monumental Stroll
To see some of Washington’s famous monuments, carefully cross Constitution Avenue to reach the tranquillity of the National Mall, home of D.C.'s Monumental Core. Heading east, you can't miss the Washington Monument. The huge obelisk built in memory of George Washington dominates the skyline. You can enjoy wonderful views of the nation's capitol from the top of the monument, 500 feet high; it's best to reserve tickets in advance as the same-day tickets often go quickly.
To the west, stop at the World War II Memorial and continue along the Reflecting Pool, with the imposing Lincoln Memorial dominating the view ahead of you. On either side are the Korean War and Vietnam Veterans memorials and Constitution Gardens. If you can, make time to visit the Tidal Basin, home to the Roosevelt and Jefferson memorials, and the city’s newest memorial, honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Each spring, usually between late March and early April, the cherry trees around the Tidal Basin burst into pink-and-white blooms. The city celebrates the beauty of this gift from Japan with a two-week Cherry Blossom Festival.
Government Buildings
If you choose to forgo the monuments, take Constitution Avenue to the west. The headquarters of many government departments and national organizations reside along the blocks between E Street and Constitution Avenue west of the Ellipse. Several offer tours or exhibits for the public, but always check whether advance reservations are required, and bring photo ID.
Virginia Avenue takes you off Constitution Avenue and up past the Department of the Interior, which contains a museum with exhibits based on the work of its branches, such as the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey. Reservations are required for the Department of the Interior's murals tour, depicting American history and landscapes. Created during the Great Depression, these murals were funded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. Turn left on C Street to the Federal Reserve Building, which offers group tours for those who want to see the inside of the Fed, and occasionally hosts public exhibitions of its art collection. Set back from the Fed, you'll find the National Academy of Sciences. It offers two galleries of science-related art. Robert Berks's sculpture of Albert Einstein outside the building has broader appeal and is a shady resting spot; the creator of the theory of relativity looks—dare we say?—cuddly.
You must reserve a tour at the State Department three months in advance, but it's worth the effort. A docent takes you to the top floor's Department of State's Diplomatic Reception Rooms—usually reserved for heads of state and special honorees. The great halls and gathering spaces are furnished with American decorative arts and antiques from the 18th and 19th centuries. These valuable furnishings are not museum pieces, but are actually used for entertaining dignitaries. Away from the White House and federal buildings, northern Foggy Bottom is the home of George Washington University. The university has no separate campus, but occupies many of the modern buildings and 19th-century houses between 19th and 24th streets south of Pennsylvania Avenue.
Near the Kennedy Center along the water, the Watergate made history on the night of June 17, 1972, but the apartment-office complex doesn't look so scandalous in person. Famous—and infamous—residents have included Attorney General John Mitchell and presidential secretary Rose Mary Woods of Nixon White House fame, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, as well as such D.C. insiders as Jacob Javits, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Bob and Elizabeth Dole, and Monica Lewinsky.
If looking at the Potomac makes you yearn to get out on the water, the Thompson's Boat Center at the end of Virginia Avenue rents canoes, sailboats, and kayaks in the warmer months. Bike rentals are also available.
