Virtual Tours

Inside Georgetown: From Port to Prestige

Founded forty years before Washington DC, Georgetown began as a gritty port city, famously dismissed by Abigail Adams as a “dirty little hole.” It has since evolved into one of the District’s most prestigious and architecturally rich neighborhoods.

Trace Georgetown’s transformation from an 18th-century working waterfront to an elite residential enclave shaped by commerce and conflict. Discover the neighborhood’s Civil War–era role, when elegant townhouses became hospitals and Georgetown stood at the crossroads of a divided nation. From the colonial simplicity of the Old Stone House to the Gothic grandeur of Georgetown University, this tour reveals the rags to riches transformation of this storied enclave. Highlights include:

Old Stone House – Built in 1765, the oldest home in Washington still standing on its original foundation and a rare glimpse into Georgetown’s colonial past.

The Car Barn – An imposing former streetcar terminal and enduring architectural landmark.

Georgetown University – The nation’s first Catholic college, with Healy Hall’s iconic Gothic spires dominating the skyline.

Chesapeake & Ohio Canal – Once the gritty backbone of Georgetown’s economy, now a tranquil historic corridor.

Jackie Kennedy House – A stately Federal-style residence that helped ignite Georgetown’s preservation movement.

Volta Bureau – Established by Alexander Graham Bell to advance research in hearing and speech, preserving his legacy beyond the telephone.

Deep in the District: DC’s Neighborhoods

Locals often draw a distinction between Washington and DC. “Washington” is the federal city—monuments, memorials, and grand government architecture. “DC,” however, is where the city’s true character lives. Beyond the National Mall, Washington’s more than 100 distinct residential neighborhoods form a patchwork shaped by people, planning, and profound change.

Venture off the monumental core to explore the District’s diverse neighborhoods, from the carefully preserved streets of Georgetown to the dramatically altered (and often overlooked) Southwest Waterfront. Discover how architecture, preservation, and displacement have shaped everyday life in the District. Neighborhoods include:

Georgetown – Cobblestone streets, canals, and colonial-era architecture reveal the District’s earliest history.

LeDroit Park – Originally a white-only Victorian neighborhood built in the shadow of Howard University, this enclave became a center of Black intellectual life and community leadership.

Dupont Circle – Gilded Age mansions turned embassies reflect extravagant wealth, ambition, and the delicate fates of Washington’s elite.

Mount Pleasant – A layered neighborhood shaped by streetcar development, immigration, and fierce activism.

Southwest Waterfront – Once a working-class enclave, radically reshaped by urban renewal and ongoing redevelopment.

Millionaires Row to Embassy Row: Gilded Age Washington

Massachusetts Avenue charts Washington’s transformation from a quiet capital to a showcase of Gilded Age ambition. From opulent mansions to storied embassies, this three-part virtual series follows the architectural evolution of Dupont Circle’s “Millionaires Row” into today’s Embassy Row, revealing the designers, tycoons, and tastemakers who shaped its legacy.

With few restrictions to limit extravagance, one unspoken rule prevailed: elegance was measured in columns, towers, and just a touch of envy. The result is a kaleidoscope of styles, from stately Neoclassical palaces to whimsical Arts & Crafts gems, showing how architecture, ambition, and history converged in one of DC’s most captivating neighborhoods.

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Part 1: Dupont Circle to Sheridan Circle

Virtually stroll through the heart of Embassy Row, where marble-clad mansions once flaunted the fortunes of Washington’s Gilded Age elite. Highlights include:

Dupont Circle Fountain – A neighborhood centerpiece honoring one of the country’s wealthiest families, a clever marketing stunt in marble.

Patterson Mansion – A symbol of media power and social influence, where high society mingled amid refined architecture and eccentric décor.

Blaine Mansion – An imposing residence housing multiple Washington power players beneath one impressive mansard roof.

Walsh McLean Mansion – Now the Embassy of Indonesia; a lavish Baroque mansion and former home of Evalyn Walsh McLean, famed for the Hope Diamond.

Alice’s Palace – Residence of Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Teddy Roosevelt’s famous it-girl daughter, known as the “other Washington Monument.”

Anderson Mansion – A Beaux-Arts masterpiece, formerly home to America’s wealthiest couple, now headquarters of a prestigious heritage society.

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Part 2: Sheridan Circle and Kalorama

Explore Kalorama, a leafy enclave where statesmen, industrialists, and socialites sought grandeur with privacy and style.

Everett Mansion – A Beaux-Arts mansion built by the “bottle cap king,” later sparking a musical legacy that echoes far beyond DC.

Alice Pike Barney Studio – The artistic salon of painter Alice Pike Barney, who brought the avant-garde to Millionaire’s Row.

Christian Hague House – Now the Embassy of Cameroon, designed by one of DC’s most prolific Gilded Age architects.

The Phillips Collection – Steel magnate Duncan Phillips’ former mansion, transformed into a pioneering museum that introduced modern art to America.

Edward Lind Morse Studio – The whimsical studio of artist Edward Lind Morse, son of Samuel Morse, known locally as “the Hobbit House.”

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Part 3: Off the Row

Discover Northwest DC’s Gilded Age homes, from Neoclassical palaces to Romanesque castles, offering a living catalog of the era’s love for excess and eclecticism.

Heurich House – The “Brewmaster’s Castle,” a striking Renaissance Revival mansion built DC’s most successful brewer.

Frasier Mansion – A Beaux-Arts home and original headquarters of L. Ron Hubbard’s Church of Scientology.

Henderson’s Castle  – A flamboyant, fortress-like mansion built by socialite Mary Foote Henderson, now sadly demolished.

Wardman House  – A stately Georgian Revival residence of developer Harry Wardman, whose real estate empire defined early 20th-century DC.

Red Top  – A Queen Anne gem brimming with turrets and gables, once the summer home of President Grover Cleveland built for his scandalously young wife.

Pennsylvania Avenue: From Murder Bay to Main Street

Pennsylvania Avenue may be the nation’s most iconic street, but its history stretches far beyond parades and protests. This virtual tour traces the corridor linking the White House to the U.S. Capitol—from the crime-ridden neighborhood of “Murder Bay” to a grand boulevard at the heart of  the capital. Once home to brothels, saloons, and gambling halls, the Avenue has been repeatedly reshaped through urban reform, historic preservation, and monumental design.

From Neoclassicism to Brutalism, Pennsylvania Avenue now reveals a fascinating architectural timeline in brick, marble, and concrete. Explore the buildings and planning decisions that turned a notorious district into a symbol of the capital’s civic ambition and evolving identity.

The White House – The world’s most famous residence, reshaped by fire, war, modernization, and ego. 

Federal Triangle – A monumental Neoclassical complex that replaced “Murder Bay” in a dramatic sweep of 20th-century government urban planning.

Eisenhower Executive Office Building – A bold French Second Empire masterpiece that pushed its architect, and the city, to the brink.

Old Post Office Tower – A Romanesque Revival behemoth saved from demolition with one of the city’s best views.

Edgar Hoover FBI Headquarters – A stark Brutalist icon of the Cold War era, designed with security and institutional power in mind.

Temperance Fountain – A quirky relic of a passionate, if misguided, 19th-century reformer.

Rock Creek Park: Washington’s Urban Oasis

Rock Creek Park may feel wild, but the story of the nation’s first urban national park stretches far beyond the trees. Established in 1890, its 2,000 acres have served Indigenous communities, powered mills, nurtured orchards, fueled early industry, and even helped defend the capital during the Civil War. Later, the Olmsted Brothers shaped the landscape with their signature rustic “parkitecture,” designing many of the bridges, roads, and trails that define the park today.

On this virtual tour, explore the layered history of one of DC’s most beloved natural oases. Discover hidden homes, secret presidential retreats, and the people, industries, and design vision that shaped this remarkable urban refuge. bHighlights include:

Peirce Mill – A beautifully restored 1820s gristmill that powered Washington’s early agriculture and industry.

Boulder Bridge – A quintessential example of Olmsted-era “parkitecture,” blending seamlessly into the rugged landscape.

Peirce-Klingle Mansion – A historic 18^th century home turned ranger headquarters, anchoring more than a century of change.

Smithsonian National Zoo – Founded in 1889 to protect endangered species, this pioneering urban zoo sits along Rock Creek’s winding banks.

Pulpit Rock – One of the park’s most dramatic natural features, shaped by geologic forces and a favorite hike of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Fort DeRussy – A Civil War era earthwork fortification quietly hidden within the park’s dense woods.

The Smithsonians: America’s Architectural Story

The Smithsonian Institution, often called the nation’s attic, has shaped the character of the National Mall since 1855. Founded from the bequest of James Smithson, a British scientist and political radical who never set foot in the United States, the Institution reflects his vision of a public trust for knowledge and discovery.

Discover the architecture, construction, and cultural significance of these iconic institutions, from the Gothic Smithsonian Castle to the modern National Museum of African American History and Culture. Each building represents a chapter of American design, from Romanesque and Victorian to Neoclassical and Brutalist. Learn how architects, patrons, and policymakers shaped the museums, forming a dynamic timeline of American design. Highlights include:

Smithsonian Castle & Garden – The Gothic Revival centerpiece and administrative heart of the Institution, anchoring the Mall’s early architectural landscape.

Arts and Industries Building – A Victorian-era marvel, once the Smithsonian’s main exhibition space and a showcase of 19th-century innovation.

National Museum of Natural History – A defining example of Neoclassical design, this 2-million-square-foot museum has surprisingly controversial origins.

Freer Gallery of Art – The Smithsonian’s first dedicated art museum (added somewhat begrudgingly) with serene early-20th-century design highlighting Asian art.

Hirshhorn Museum – A Brutalist icon devoted to modern and contemporary art, and a controversial addition to the National Mall.

National Air and Space Museum – A monumental modernist structure blending scale and clarity to display the nation’s most popular collection.

Museum of the American Indian – Curved forms and warm stone evoke Native landscapes, heritage, and storytelling.

National Museum of African American History and Culture – A striking modern design, inspired by African art and cultural motifs.

Southwest Waterfront: Paper Town to Urban Renewal

Washington DC’s Southwest Waterfront is a study in contrasts, preserving some of the city’s oldest architecture while hosting its largest private development project. Originally laid out in the 1770s as “Carrollsburg,” it began as a aspirational neighborhood only on paper. Southwest is host to the oldest continuously operating fish market in the country, the city’s first rowhomes, and even a “honeymoon house” built for Martha Washington’s granddaughter. By the 1830s, the Potomac’s banks teemed with commerce, and during the Civil War the waterfront played a key military role. Post-war the waterfront slipped into decline, cut off from the rest of Washington by the Washington Canal, railroad tracks, and ultimate a six lane highway.

In the 20th century, Southwest suffered massive displacement and demolition during urban renewal, with over 23,000 mostly Black and Jewish residents removed to make way for highways and large-scale developments. Today, a new wave of projects is reshaping the neighborhood again, blending historic architecture with modern design. Highlights include:

Thomas Law House – One of DC’s earliest Federal-style homes, a rare survivor from the 18th century.

Titanic Memorial – A striking Beaux-Arts tribute honoring those lost at sea.

River Park Apartments – Early modernist housing reflecting postwar urban design ideals.

Wheat Row – 18th-century rowhouses, among the oldest in the city.

Capitol Park Towers – Mid-century residential complex emblematic of urban renewal.

Arena Stage – Pioneering performing arts venue blending modern design with cultural impact.

The Wharf – Revitalized waterfront combining recreation, dining, and adaptive reuse.

Municipal Fish Market – Continuously operating for over two centuries, connecting history to the present.

Tiber Island Cooperative – Brutalist-era housing reflecting mid-century planning philosophies.

Hidden Memorials: Washington’s Obscure Landmarks

Venture beyond the city’s famous monuments to uncover tiny, often overlooked markers dotted across DC. From a three-foot stone pier marking Jefferson’s envisioned center of the nation to a 170-year-old Japanese pagoda among the cherry trees, this tour reveals the hidden stories behind some of Washington’s most unusual historic objects.

This two-part series explores downtown Washington’s most unusual and often overlooked monuments, memorials, and markers—objects that reveal forgotten ambitions, unlikely friendships, and unexpected chapters in the city’s past.

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Part 1: Downtown Oddities

The Washington Monument towers 555 feet above the Federal Capital, but scattered in its shadow are far stranger, smaller stories. Just steps away, a squat stone marker denotes where Thomas Jefferson once hoped would be the center of the world. Nearby, a 170-year-old Japanese stone pagoda hides among the cherry trees, while a neglected fountain along Pennsylvania Avenue recalls a neighborhood once known as “Murder Bay.” Highlights include:

Jefferson Pier – A modest stone marker that once represented Thomas Jefferson’s vision for the geographic center of the world.

Japanese Pagoda – A 19th-century stone pagoda gifted to the U.S., quietly symbolizing early international friendship.

First Air Mail Marker – A small but powerful reminder of aviation pioneers who flew through dangerous conditions to deliver the mail.

Original FDR Memorial – A simple piece of stone that reflects how Franklin Roosevelt wished to be remembered—very differently from today’s expansive memorial.

Titanic Memorial – A dramatic statue honoring the men who perished aboard the Titanic, tucked away along the waterfront.

Temperance Fountain – A quirky relic of 19th-century reform movements, built to promote sobriety through public drinking water.

Bartholdi Fountain – A cast-iron showpiece by the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty, once a centerpiece of the capital.

Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During WWII – A powerful tribute honoring loyalty and sacrifice amid incarceration and injustice.

Freedom Bell – A lesser-known bell that echoes themes of liberty while quietly challenging who freedom was historically meant for.

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Part 2: Offbeat Statues off the Mall

From a pocket park honoring a pop star–turned–politician to the capital’s only female equestrian statue, Washington is full of memorials that defy expectations. Long before today’s rigorous approval process, the 19th and early 20th centuries allowed for far more experimentation—resulting in monuments to middling presidents, forgotten reformers, failed projects, and complicated allies.

Venture beyond the National Mall to uncover the stories behind these curious additions to Washington’s commemorative landscape—and what they reveal about changing values, politics, and public memory. Highlights include:

Joan of Arc Statue – The only equestrian statue of a woman in Washington, celebrating a French heroine with transatlantic symbolism.

Sonny Bono Park – A tiny urban park honoring the entertainer-turned-congressman, and one of the city’s most unexpected memorials.

Inlet Bridge – A rarely noticed structure tied to ambitious—but ultimately unrealized—plans for Washington’s waterways.

Boy Scouts of America Memorial – A dramatic sculptural tribute reflecting early 20th-century ideals of citizenship and service.

Oscar Straus Memorial – Honoring a diplomat and reformer whose legacy is often overlooked despite his national impact.

Americans Disabled for Life Memorial – A modern memorial using quotes and space to center lived experience over heroics.

James Buchanan Memorial – A restrained monument to one of the nation’s most controversial presidents, quietly tucked away near Meridian Hill.

Freedom Plaza – A vast civic space layered with maps, quotes, and symbols that reflect Washington’s identity as both city and capital.

Built to Inspire: The Evolution of the National Mall

Over nearly 250 years, the National Mall has evolved into the symbolic heart of the nation’s capital. Envisioned by the founding generation as a grand stage for democracy, it was designed to express the ideals of a new republic through landscape, architecture, and monumentality. Progress, however, was slow and uneven. Less than forty years after Washington’s founding, Charles Dickens dismissed the capital as a “City of Magnificent Intentions.” Over time, pastureland, mudflats, and military training grounds were transformed—through conflict, compromise, and reinvention—into one of the world’s most recognizable civic landscapes.

This two-part virtual program traces the Mall’s physical and symbolic evolution, exploring how monuments and memorials reflect shifting ideas of nationhood, memory, power, and public space, from the earliest plans for the capital to monuments still on the drawing board today.

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Part 1: The National Mall from Vision to World War II

From L’Enfant’s original plan to the emergence of iconic landmarks like the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, Part I traces the Mall’s slow and often uncertain transformation from an unfinished idea into a monumental landscape—mirroring a young nation still defining itself.

L’Enfant Plan – More than a city map, L’Enfant’s vision for the capital was a radical and controversial expression of power and symbolism, leaving behind alignments that still shape the city today.

U.S. Capitol Building – Beneath its familiar dome lies a story of rival architects, redesigns, and architectural sleight of hand, revealing how the Capitol became a carefully staged symbol of unity and tension.

The White House – Shaped by fire, war, modernization, and ego, the executive mansion hides layers of reinvention and controversial design decisions behind its restrained façade.

Washington Monument – This deceptively simple obelisk carries a complex story of interrupted construction, shifting styles, and 19th-century debates over how a young nation should honor its heroes.

McMillan Plan – A sweeping redesign that erased much of the Mall’s messy past, reasserting classical order and aligning the landscape with City Beautiful ideals.

DC’s Cherry Trees – More than a seasonal spectacle, the cherry trees represent early cultural diplomacy and a deliberate use of landscape to humanize monumental space.

Lincoln Memorial – Designed as a classical temple, its architecture, orientation, and inscriptions transformed it into both a shrine to Lincoln and a stage for American history.

District of Columbia War Memorial – Often overlooked, this intimate domed memorial honors local service while revealing how commemoration evolved after World War I.

Thomas Jefferson Memorial – Conceived amid global war, this Roman-inspired monument became a battleground between tradition and modernism, exposing anxieties about national identity and architectural change.

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Part 2: The National Mall from World War II to the Future

Part II examines the postwar transformation of the Mall into a space of reflection, activism, and expanded historical narratives—shaped by modern memorials, evolving design philosophies, and ongoing debates over representation.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial – Maya Lin’s radical design rejected heroic monumentality in favor of abstraction, permanently changing how architecture could express grief and national trauma.

Korean War Veterans Memorial – Blending sculpture, landscape, and inscription, this immersive memorial reinforces the war’s lingering ambiguity as “the Forgotten War.”

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial – Breaking with tradition, this memorial tells history through movement, water, and texture across a series of experiential outdoor “rooms.”

National World War II Memorial – Centered on symmetry, water, and scale, this memorial balances triumph and loss—while its long path to completion reveals the challenges of monumentalizing “the good war.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial – Carved from a “Stone of Hope,” this memorial transforms words into architecture, anchoring the Civil Rights Movement within the monumental core.

Desert Storm & Desert Shield Memorial (Under Construction) – Still taking shape, this project raises urgent questions about how—and when—to commemorate recent conflicts.

Women’s Suffrage National Monument (In Planning) – Long absent from the Mall, the planned monument challenges historic gaps in commemoration and prompts debate over visibility, equity, and monumental space.

Montgomery Meigs: Soldier, Engineer, Architect, Patriot

Montgomery C. Meigs (1816–1892) left a lasting mark on Washington DC. As Quartermaster General during the Civil War, he supplied millions of Union soldiers, introduced innovations like standardized clothing sizes, and transformed Arlington into a national cemetery. Earlier, as an Army engineer, he modernized the city’s infrastructure—including the aqueduct system that still brings fresh water to the capital.

As an architect, Meigs oversaw the U.S. Capitol expansion, including its iconic cast-iron dome, and designed the Pension Office (now the National Building Museum). His life’s work blends military ingenuity, civic planning, and monumental architecture—visible across the city today. Highlights include:

U.S. Capitol Dome – The cast-iron dome remains Meigs’ crowning architectural achievement.

Capitol Expansion – Oversaw the addition of the wings and interior redesigns.

Union Arch Bridge – A key transportation and engineering landmark connecting the city.

Pension Office / National Building Museum – Monumental design honoring Union soldiers’ service.

Arlington National Cemetery – Converted the Lee estate into a cemetery; includes his own tomb, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the McClellan Gate.

U.S. National Museum (Arts and Industries Building) – Early Smithsonian museum reflecting Meigs’ vision for public knowledge.

Civil War Quartermaster Work – Managed supply, logistics, and innovations that supported millions of soldiers.