When Robert E. Lee left the Union army to lead the Confederate army, his sumptuous estate was converted into a cemetery – Arlington National Cemetery, and he was never able to return. His home, still on the grounds of the cemetery, has been maintained as a monument in honor to him and his family. When President Abraham Lincoln attended the theater one night in April of 1865, he was shot to death. Now the Ford Theater is open to the public for education as well as for theater presentations. These are just two examples of the wide range of historic buildings maintained and open for visitors in the DC area.
Washington DC | Historic Buildings
- Arlington House
- Arlington House, home of the famous Confederate general Robert E. Lee and his family, is located in the Arlington National Cemetery, 200 acres of which was originally owned by the Lee family.
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- Bureau of Engraving and Printing
- You'll see millions of dollars being printed during a tour of the Washington DC Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
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- Capitol Building
- The majestic dome and Rotunda marking the heart of the U.S. Capitol Building not only symbolize the power of the legislative branch of the greatest democracy in the world, but also determine the...
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- Dumbarton House
- Built during the presidencies of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in Georgetown, the Dumbarton House is a stunning example of the Federal style, or "Adamesque" style of the architecture of the emerging republic. Originally the home of Joseph Nourse, the Register of the U.S.
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- Ford’s Theater
- It was April 14, 1865, and Our American Cousin was playing at Ford’s Theatre. President Abraham Lincoln was at the new, fabulous theater, open only two years. But history cannot be changed, so we know that John Wilkes Booth stepped into his president's box, and shot him to death.
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- John F. Kennedy Center
- Since its opening in 1971, the Kennedy Center has established this performance venue as one of the premier in the U.S., hosting not only well-known national and international performers and artists but also promising new artists.
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- Mount Vernon Estate
- Mount Vernon Estate is the family home of the nation’s first president George Washington. Located along the shores of the Potomac River in Virginia, the grounds and home have been lovingly...
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- Old Ebbitt Grill
- The Old Ebbitt Grill is old, true: established in 1856, it has been serving presidents and has acted as popular watering hole for a myriad of political insiders, celebrities, and just plain DC residents. But nothing is "old" about its current brand of hospitality or food.
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- Old Stone House
- Among so many impressive historic buildings, the Old Stone House appears rather humble, and it is: it’s a simple 18th Century dwelling that was the home of common people, but it is the...
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- Sewall-Belmont House
- The home of Alice Paul, author of the Equal Rights Amendment who worked unceasingly for women's suffrage, the Sewall-Belmont House is a National Historic Landmark on Capitol Hill.
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- Supreme Court
- The U. S. Supreme Court, the highest body of the judiciary arm of the federal government, is housed in the Supreme Court Building, designed of Corinthian marble in a style to match other congressional buildings, and constructed in 1935.
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- The Pentagon
- The five-sided, five-story Pentagon building is the headquarters for the Department of Defense and in every way, the operative adjective is "immense." Billed as being "virtually a city in itself,"...
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- The Willard Hotel
- An elegant and historic fixture in Washington, the Willard Hotel has been hosting dignitaries and the rich and famous for more than 150 years. The hotel is centrally situated to the degree that it may seem as if it is a government building itself, two blocks east of the White House.
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- Tudor Place
- Another historic home originally owned by a relative of George Washington, the Tudor Place Historic House and Garden was built in 1816 on land purchased with an $8,000 inheritance from George Washington to Martha Custis Peter, his granddaughter.
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- U.S. Treasury Building
- The U.S. Treasury Building is the third oldest federally occupied building in Washington DC (after the Capitol and the White House). It houses the Department of the Treasury, a U.S. Cabinet department established in 1789 to manage government revenue.
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- Union Station
- Since its opening in 1907, Union Station not only served to consolidate the city's railroads (Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad) in one location, it created an impressive, grand entrance to the city.
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- Washington National Cathedral
- Conceived in 1792 by Pierre l'Enfant as a "great church for national purposes," actual planning and construction of the National Cathedral didn't begin until a century later, and it was not until a...
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- White House
- The White House, while planned by President George Washington and city architect Pierre l’Enfant, was never lived in by Washington, but has housed every single U.S. president since his successor John Adams moved in 1801.
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