Historical Buildings and Sites
The history of our country is evident in so many places in and around Washington, DC. The most-visited buildings include the Capitol and the White House. But there are plenty more that figure prominently in America's growth and development as a nation. My office can help arrange tours for certain sites, including the Capitol. To visit the Capitol, click here to fill out and submit a Tour Request Form through my office.
Ford's Theatre/Petersen House
(202) 426-6924
511 10th Street, NW (between E and F Streets), Washington, DC
Hours and Admission
9am-5pm daily, closed December 25
Petersen House 9:30am-5:30pm daily
Closed December 25
Ford's Theatre offers a limited number of free, same-day tickets at the Ford’s Theatre Box Office beginning at 8:30 a.m. These daily tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Advance individual tickets may be obtained $3.00 through the Ford's Theatre website.
Admission charged for play performances.
The theatre offers a number of different tours for visitors include self-guided tours of the museum, guided tours by National Park Service Rangers. One popular tour, offered from March-October, is the "History on Foot" tour which recreates the investigation led by Washington Metropolitan Police Detective James McDevitt in the hours just after the assassination of President Lincoln.
The site of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in April of 1865 has been open to the public since 1968. The building itself has a colorful history, having started as a Baptist church. After Lincoln’s assassination, the theatre was closed, but served intermittently as a museum, office space and storage facility. A restoration effort started in 1954 brought the theatre back, and theatrical events still performed on its stage. At the museum located in the theatre, you will find artifacts related to the assassination, including the gun and knife used by John Wilkes Booth in the attack.
The Petersen House, where the mortally-wounded Lincoln was taken after the attack and later died, is located directly across the street from the Theatre.
Library of Congress
(202) 707-8000
101 Independence Avenue, SE, Washington, D.C.
Hours and Admission
8:30am-4:30pm Monday-Saturday
No admission charged
Tours scheduled by congressional offices occur Monday-Friday at 9:45am, 11:45am and 1:45pm.
Public tours of the library are also offered Monday-Saturday and no reservation is needed.
My office may also be able to schedule a tour for you if you wish.
Home of the Congressional Archives, the Library of Congress consists of three buildings: the Adams, the Thomas Jefferson and the James Madison. The Jefferson Building is named after the 3rd President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, who, in 1814, sold his personal library of 6,487 books to the LOC to rebuild the library’s collection that was destroyed when British troops burned the Capitol during the War of 1812. The LOC is the most ornate of the buildings and is home to the spectacular Reading Room.The lobby on the first floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building of the is remarkable; the Great Hall is constructed of white Italian marble, with a stucco ceiling accented with a twenty-three karat gold leaf. A tour of this building won't leave you disappointed!
Mount Vernon (George Washington's home)
(703) 780-2000 3200
Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, Mount Vernon, VA 22121
Hours and Admission
April-October: 9am-5pm
November-March: 9am-4pm
Admission charged
Home and final resting place of America's 1st President, George Washington. During the time that Washington lived here (more than 45 years), Mount Vernon was an 8,000-acre plantation, which was divided into five farms; each was a complete unit. The farm where Washington and his family lived was called the "Mansion House Farm," and is the part of the plantation that we refer to today as "Mount Vernon." Washington inherited the property from his older half-brother, who named the property in honor of his commanding officer, Admiral Edward Vernon of the British navy.
Interactive Exhibit: "Be Washington: It's Your Turn to Lead"
Ongoing
George Washington's Mount Vernon
3200 Mount Vernon Hwy
Mt. Vernon, VA
$18/Adults; $17/Seniors; $11/Youth (6-11); $0/Children under 5
National Archives 
(866) 272-6272
700 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20408
Between 7th and 9th Streets, NW
Hours and Admission
10am-5:30pm Daily
Closed Thanksgiving Day and December 25
No admission charged
Millions of documents are created in the course of government business, but less than three percent are so important for legal or historical reasons that they are kept forever. It is in the National Archives that you will find some of those documents, including the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution, which are in display in the Exhibit Hall. You can also make arrangements to visit the Research Room to conduct your own research in the textual and microfilm records kept at the National Archives. You can view what documents are available here. The Archives were collected starting in 1926.
While no tickets are needed, the lines form early during spring and summer months.
To skip the line line, reservations may be made, for a modest fee, by visiting the National Archives Museum website.
Union Station
(202) 289-1908
50 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20002
Hours and Admission
Union Station is open to the public 24 hours
Open to the public but no public tours are offered
Union Station, a grand example of Beaux Arts design, was completed in 1907. Its name comes from its role in pulling together the depots of separate railroad companies, which had previously been located on the National Mall. It was an important entry point to the city until air travel gained popularity. The design is symbolic of a gateway, marking it as a gateway to Washington, DC. Roman legionnaires stand watch on a ledge in the main entry hall of Union Station.
The building fell into disrepair and was in danger of being shut down and demolished, until the Department of Transportation undertook restoration efforts in 1984. Now, more than 32 million people visit the building each year, an average of 90,000 per day. It serves as a major transportation hub for Amtrak, the Metro subway, and regional communiter train and bus lines.
U.S. Capitol
(202) 226-8000 Automated visitors' information line
To schedule a tour, call (202) 224-6142 to schedule a tour through my office or fill out the Tour Request Form.
Hours and Admission
8:30am-4:30pm Monday-Saturday (including most federal holidays)
No admission charged
My office offers staff-guided tours at 10:00 and 2:00 every weekday, though we are more than happy to adjust those times to your schedule. With at least 21 days’ advance notice, we are also able to reserve passes on Saturdays.The U.S. Capitol Guide Service also offers tours.
You can book a tour online at Visit The Capitol or you can pick up same-day tickets in the Capitol Visitors Center. Tours operate Monday-Saturday, 9 AM to 3:30 PM. Please be aware of security guidelines and prohibited items in the U.S. Capitol.
In advance of a Capitol tour, the U.S. Capitol Historical Society's website offers a wealth of information about the Capitol's art and exhibits such as the National Statuary Hall Collection, murals within the Capitol corridors painted by Allyn Cox, and the large 12' x 18' paintings within the Rotunda to complement your tour.
Another resource with information about the architecture, art and grounds of the U.S. Capitol is the Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) website. The AOC is the steward responsible for the maintenance, operation, and preservation of many of our nation’s most recognizable landmarks of democracy and government including the U.S. Capitol and its grounds, the U.S. Supreme Court, Library of Congress and the U.S. Botanic Gardens.
U.S. Capitol Exterior Tours
Meet outside of the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center near the bottom of the north ramp to the entrance.
Hours and Admission
Monday-Saturday at 1:00pm
No admission charged.
No passes or reservations are needed.
Tours of the exterior of the U.S. Capitol are offered Monday through Saturday at 9am and 10am. Visitors will explore the Capitol building and grounds on a 50-minute guided tour.
U.S. Supreme Court
(202) 479-3211
1 First Street, NE, Washington, D.C.
Hours and Admission
Monday-Friday 9am-4pm
Closed weekends and federal holidays
No admission charged
You can visit the Supreme Court building and tour portions of the interior without a reservation. My office can schedule a congressional reservation (for up to six people), offered only at 12:30pm with check-in at 12:15pm. The tour includes a 30-minute lecture held in the Supreme Court Chambers, on days when the Court is not in session. The same lecture is offered to the general public every hour on the half-hour, 9:30am-3:30pm Monday-Friday. However, court business may conflict with the schedule, so please check the tour telephone line for updates. Contact my office for additional information.
The cornerstone of the U.S. Supreme Court building was laid in 1932 and the building was completed in 1935. It was the first time in our country’s history that the nation’s highest court had its own building. It is worth noting that the construction was done for less than what Congress funded, so money was returned to the Treasury. Initially, the Court met in the Merchants Exchange Building in New York City, and later in Chambers located in the U.S. Capitol. The Court is in session October-April. Courtroom seats are available on a first come first served basis, every hour on the half-hour.
Washington National Cathedral
(202) 537-6200
3101 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016
Hours and Admission
Monday-Friday: 10am-5:30pm; Tours begin at 10:15am
Saturday: 1-am-4:00pm; Tours begin at 10:15am
Sunday: Worship services at 8am, Guided tours at 1pm.
Admission charged; Sunday tours are free.
The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul took 83 years to build, officially completed in 1990. In 2007, it was voted one of the top three most beautiful buildings in the U.S. by the American Institute of Architects. It has been the site of a number of Presidential funerals, with more than 150 interred (including Helen Keller, her tutor Anne Sullivan and President Woodrow Wilson). The National Cathedral is an Episcopal church that was chartered by Congress; it celebrated its Centennial in 2007. Although the word “national” is in its title, the cathedral is not funded by any public monies. It was built with private funds and operated today through donations, gifts and revenue from its shops and other endeavors.
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C.
The White House Visitors Office 24-Hour Hotline at (202) 208-1631
Hours and Admission
Tours are available Tuesday-Thursday, 7:30am to 11:30am 11:00am
Friday-Saturday, 7:30am - 1:30pm
No admission charged
Please note that while my office is able to assist you with scheduling a tour, there are times when tours may be canceled without prior notice from the White House. For more information, please visit: www.whitehouse.gov
The White House offers self-guided tours to patrons on a first-come-first-served basis. Reservations are required to tour the White House. Please contact my office for assistance in securing a tour reservation for your party. Upon request, my office will be asked to provide the White House with security information about each member of your party (including children). Upon submission of your request by my office, you will receive an email from the White House asking for this information, and the link provided in the link in the email will expire after 8 days.
Due to extremely limited availability, it is highly recommended that tour requests be submitted as early as possible. Requests can be submitted up to three (3) months in advance and no less than 21 days in advance. If your party requests a visit that is less than 21 days away, the White House will not approve the tour request.
Every President since John Adams has lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, one of the most famous addresses in the world. The White House is also the only private residence of a head of state that is open to the public. President George Washington oversaw construction of the building, but never resided in it. The White House survived a fire set by British troops in 1814, and another fire in the West Wing in 1929. The White House is six stories and includes 132 rooms, 35 bathroom and six levels, with 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, eight staircases and three elevators. While it’s now known as The White House (officially given by Theodore Roosevelt in 1901), it has also been known as the President’s Palace, the President’s House, and the Executive Mansion. Self-guided tours include the East Room and the Blue Room.
A visit to the White House Visitors Center, located at the southeast corner of 15th and E Streets, is also a great stop and will greatly enhance your tour experience.
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