Meet Your DC Design Team
Carolyn Muraskin – Founder & Tour Guide
A former architectural designer, Carolyn left her drafting desk and started DC Design Tours in 2015. She prefers talking about buildings to drawing them and can spot a mansard roof a mile away. Carolyn is a graduate of the University of Maryland Architecture Program and lives in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of DC (so named for former resident and President Grover Cleveland) with her family. She has a passion for all things brick and mortar. When not guiding, you can find Carolyn counting columns at the National Building Museum (there are 152) and traipsing through Rock Creek Park looking for Civil War remnants.
Sam Bowersox – Tour Guide
An enthusiast for architectural design and a well crafted story, Sam came to Washington DC to work with exciting history and great people. Originally from the blue grass state, he graduated from Northern Kentucky University with a bachelors in history and a focus in museum studies. When he isn’t daydreaming about historic drama or talking a mile a minute, you’ll find him playing board games or reading.
Christine Phillips – Tour Guide
A lover of history and design, Christine arrived in DC from North Carolina in 1999 with a passion for this city and its many stories. She holds a Masters of Architecture from the NC State College of Design, focusing on conservation and preservation, and she worked for several prominent DC architecture firms before her kids came along. Having an inherent curiosity for the story of a place led her into guiding. When not reading about Washington history, you will find Christine birdwatching at local hotspots or wandering around DC’s neighborhoods with her family.
Kim Vacca – Tour Guide
As a city planner for the District and self-proclaimed urbanist, Kim’s love for design is blurred between her professional and personal interests. Kim moved to DC in 2018, a long-made promise to herself after visiting in college and experiencing the District’s beauty and diversity of neighborhoods, architecture, and culture. Since then she’s worked on development projects in all eight wards, with a specific focus on the design of public space. On weekends, she can be found biking our urban trails, enjoying Malcolm X Park, or eating at the infinite number of mouth-watering local restaurants. If you’re new to town, look no further for a recommendation; she has a Google Pin for everything!
Mark Riddle – Tour Guide
In the area since 2001, Mark has always been struck by Washington’s fascinating history and unique stories. Mark worked as an elementary music teacher for several years before going back to get a second undergraduate degree, this time a BFA in Interior Design with a minor in Art History. Still an educator at heart, Mark is thrilled to be able to share the stories and culture that shaped this remarkable area. When not walking the city, Mark can be found renovating his 1941 Wardman home, working in the garden, or taking orders from his two rescue dogs.
Ellery Ammons – Tour Guide
With a passion for places, both how they’re designed and the stories of their streets, Ellery loves continuously learning and sharing Washington, DC’s history and design story. Originally from Memphis, TN, she holds degrees in Urban Studies and Political Science from Rhodes College (making DC the perfect fit!) and loves architecture, historic preservation, and art history. When she’s not giving tours, you can find her biking around town, shopping for vintage décor, and enjoying the city’s numerous public parks, trails, and forests.
Sara Johnson – Marketing Manager
A California transplant, Sara has called D.C. home for more than a decade. She covered architecture for five years at Architect magazine, and holds a B.A. in English from U.C. Berkeley. Her writing has also appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, CityLab, DCist, San Francisco, and other publications. When she’s not tagging along on a tour snapping photos, she’s probably still wandering around D.C. neighborhoods snapping photos.
See What Our Guests Have to Say!
The tour of Dupont Circle/Embassy Row was amazing! Christine has such a wealth of knowledge of architecture and the history. She's super sweet and had us laughing while teaching the group. It was my second of the Design Tours and can't wait for the next one!
– Kimberly Gordon | Google ReviewsHad a wonderful time and learned a lot. My family took the walking tour (led by Christine) from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. She made the tour enjoyable for everyone, including my 6-year-old daughter. I highly recommend this for families that want to visit the “must sees” and want a better understanding of how Washington D.C. was initially developed and how it has evolved over time.
– Bryan Vernetti | Google ReviewsGreat tour! It's was a great day to get introduced to Union Station and Capitol Hill building architecture and history. Tour started in time and ended on time. Sam is a great guide with passion, energy, and information.
– Vicki James | Google ReviewsTerrific tours from our guide Carolyn - we did both a tour of the main monuments and a tour of Arlington Cemetery. Carolyn tweaked the tours to suit our interests and stamina, held the kids (and adults) in rapt attention, answered all our questions and shared lots of details and history we would not otherwise have known. Strongly recommended.
– Sophie Birshan | Google ReviewsWe booked Monuments and Memorials, Georgetown and Capitol Hill tour during independence day weekend. All 3 of them were so amazing! Our guide, Sam, was knowledgeable and full of energy. If you want to know history, understand architectural details and hear stories, then I highly recommend DC Design Tours. Our experience exploring Washington DC via these guided public walking tours was very enriching.
– Mrunal Vaze | Google ReviewsIncredible tour of Georgetown with both insightful information about the design and architecture, but also a rich history of the community. Sam, our guide, was informative and made the tour fun. His passion for history and architecture came shining through.
– David Wallis | Google ReviewsThis tour was everything I was hoping for and more (found on IG)! I lived in Georgetown decades ago, but didn’t have a chance to experience it like this. Passing by and admiring architecture is one thing, but learning about it is another. And you don’t know what you don’t know! Every trip to DC, I look forward to enjoying a different one…
– Peter Zolpher | Google ReviewsWe had a wonderful experience with DC Design Tours. Our team of real estate agents went on this tour to learn a little history and architecture about DC. We truly learned so much and had so much fun. The bus was gorgeous and our guide was so knowledgeable and personable. Highly recommend!!
– Mel Korobkin | Google ReviewsMy family did the DC Museum tour with Sam this Sunday. He was great. Meeting us in front to Smithsonian castle and walking and talking us thru the architecture and history of all the museums on the mall. Very knowledgeable and willing to answer any questions. Thanks Sam.
– Peter Zolper | Google ReviewsFantastic tour! Sam made the cherry blossom tour of the DC tidal basin so much more then a walk amongst the cherry blossoms. He really made the monuments and whole area come to life too! I will be recommending all of the DC Design tours to visitors and neighbors here! And Sam gave me plenty of time to snap pictures to my hearts content, a real bonus on a guided tour! Thanks for the wonderful experiencence!
– Laurie Leach | Google ReviewsBeautiful walking tour of the cherry blossoms. Unfortunately we weren’t able to the splendor due to the bad weather a few days prior to the the tour. Our guide was very informative!
– Aphrodite F. | Google ReviewsI've been on two DC design tours in the last month and I am so impressed! I am a local and I love architecture and I have learned so much history about my community. These tours are fantastic! You should absolutely go! Don't question it.
– Julia Farber | Google ReviewsThe Georgetown and National Mall tours were so good. Sam was our guide on both tours and he was great. I learned so much and highly recommend.
– A. Mendoza | Google ReviewsOur tour guide Sam was incredible. I told him he should do Podcast. Was able to navigate between tour questions and general questions beautifully and seamlessly. Love the restaurant recommendations. Would highly recommend this tour to anyone.
– Aaron Hass | Google ReviewsWe live nearby in Maryland and have been to Georgetown numerous times. Sam made it’s history and beauty to come alive with his very informative and entertaining presentation. 2.5 hours flew by. Highly recommend.
– Svetlana Andreyev | Google ReviewsWe did the private tour of DuPont Circle and Embassy Row with Carolyn. It was amazing. She’s very knowledgeable and did an excellent mix of history and architecture. I wish I could do a tour with her everyday of my trip. I will be using DC Design Tours anytime I’m back in DC.
– Carmen Echols | Google ReviewsCarolyn was a wonderful guide for our family group of seven. We would definitely use her on our next trip to DC. And I’ve already recommended her to several friends. Thanks for perfect experience.
– Anne G. | Google ReviewsOur tour of Georgetown's architecture was absolutely amazing! Carolyn's knowledge of the history of Georgetown is deep and her added stories about little known snippets of American history added a wonderful touch of humor. I would highly recommend taking one of the custom tours for a few hours that you will never forget!
– Susan F. | Google ReviewsThe tour was amazing. Carolyn was nice and knowledgeable. She was sincere about the good and bad of DC, very descriptive and had great suggestions. Took time to hear our story and made personalized suggestions on other tours we should take with them. We definitely will be back to take more tours with Carolyn.
– Josh T. | Google ReviewsWe had a wonderful experience with DC Design Tours. Our team of real estate agents went on this tour to learn a little history and architecture about DC. We truly learned so much and had so much fun. The bus was gorgeous and our guide was so knowledgeable and personable. Highly recommend!!
– Mel K. | Google ReviewsFour of us went on a National Cathedral-Cleveland Park Cherry Blossom tour with Carolyn. It was very informative and fun. Carolyn is so prepared and knowledgeable, you can tell she has a background in architecture and has studied the neighborhood history. We are looking forward to booking another tour soon.
– Ben & Patti S. | Google Reviews