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The Folger Library
is home to the world's best collection of Shakespeare's works and a center
for studies in Renaissance literature, art, history and science. There
is a wondrous three-tiered Elizabethan innyard theater. Plays by
Shakespeare and modern playwrights are regularly staged at the Elizabethan
Theatre.
You can see the area
where President Lincoln came under fire during the Civil War and where
approximately 900 soldiers were killed, wounded or reported missing. Although
no visible evidence of the original fort remains, the partial reconstruction
of Ft. Stevens you see today was done by the Civilian Conservation Corps
in 1937.
Historic Congressional
Cemetery is the United States' first national cemetery. Founded
in 1807, it is the final resting place of more than 70,000 military and
civilian people who helped in the development of Washington, DC and the
United States. There are many famous and infamous people interred
here including J. Edgar Hoover, John Philip Sousa, Mathew Brady, Elbridge
Gerry, William Thornton, Robert Mills and Adelaide Johnson.
 World's
Largest Chair
The giant chair,
made of solid mahogany from Honduras, was a gift from Bassett Furniture
Industries, to honor the Curtis brothers' outstanding leadership and service
to the public. The chair was dedicated on the site at V Street and
Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, SE on July 7, 1959. Recently restored
to its original splendor, the chair stands 19.5 feet tall and weighs 4,600
pounds. If it is not the largest chair — it has yet to be disputed
— it remains a testament to good craftsmanship of days gone by. The
Curtis Brothers Furniture store is no longer there, but this treasured
landmark has delighted visitors for decades.
The museum presents
the entire sweep of Jewish culture and history. The permanent collection
is among the largest and most outstanding in this country, displaying
contemporary paintings and sculpture, ritual objects and folk art. Exhibitions
highlight art, history, ethnography exploring Jewish culture within the
context of other cultures. There also is a Jewish American Sports Hall
of Fame.
See America's money
being printed! After the tour, visit the Visitor's Center, where you can
buy a variety of items, including uncut sheets of currency.
This museum, located
next to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, memorializes the Nazi annihilation
of six million Jewish people along with gypsies, homosexuals and other
political opponents. It was designed by James I. Freed of I.M. Pei
and Associates.
Established in 1908
during the Theodore Roosevelt administration, the FBI is dedicated to
solving the nation's interstate crimes and is one of the most popular
stops in Washington. Take a peek inside the crime laboratories where
you will see weapons used by some of the most well-known gangsters in
America. Watch a presentation about the top priorities among the
bureaus 200 jurisdictions and check out the computer room. At tour's
end you will see a live firearms demonstration. There is no admission
charge. [Note: Unfortunately, tours are not presently being given
because of security concerns; we hope that this will change soon.]
Hillwood captures
a vanishing American lifestyle and a gracious way of living that is rarely
seen today. The mansion, along with auxiliary buildings, set amid
25 acres of landscaped gardens and woodlands, was the final residence
of Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887-1973). Post collected fine and
decorative arts to embellish her many homes. She amassed the largest
collection of Imperial Russian objects outside the former Soviet Union.
Hillwood is best known today for these outstanding collections.
The oldest synagogue
in Washington (1876) now houses the Small Jewish Museum displaying local
Jewish history in changing exhibits. The building was dedicated
with President Ulysses S. Grant in attendance and has been used as a synagogue,
church, and carry-out sandwich shop! In 1969, the synagogue was
moved to its present site. The building is listed on the National
Register of Historic Places and features a restored sanctuary.
Changing and permanent
interactive exhibits provide a fascinating insight for all into our planet
and the work of the renowned Geographic Society. Start out testing
your knowledge by taking the computerized Geo-Quiz about the earth and
its inhabitants. Afterward, view a brief introductory movie. The
computerized World Atlas allows visitors to learn about any country in
the world, its inhabitants, culture and economic resources and to see
pictures taken for the magazine in various countries. Another major
highlight is Earth Station One, an amphitheater that simulates an orbital
flight 23,000 miles above the earth. The heart of the exhibit is
an 11-foot free-standing globe that depicts the earth's topography.
Under the auspices
of the Jewish War Veterans of the USA, the museum displays exhibitions
documenting the courage and heroism of Jewish Americans who have served
in the armed forces of the United States. Current and future exhibitions
include I Remember: Recollections on the End of World War II; Major
General Julius Klein: His Life and Work; The Jewish War Veterans
of the United States Celebrate One Hundred Years: 1896-1996; and An
American Sailor and A Jew: The Life and Career of Commodore Uriah Phillips
Levy, USN (1792-1862).
Compare a smoker's
lung to a coal miner's lung, see the bullet that took Abraham Lincoln's
life as well as fragments of his skull and a lock of his hair, touch a
real brain or the inside of a stomach if you dare. Try on a pregnancy
garment that makes you feel what it's like to be with child, view skeletons
and skulls and a stomach-shaped hairball surgically removed from inside
a 12-year-old girl. There are live leeches, the world's most comprehensive
collection of microscopes dating to the 1600's, a display of kidney stones,
a brain still attached to a spinal cord suspended in formaldehyde, and
medical artifacts and instruments important in the development of medicine
and today's modern hospital.
You'll be introduced
to an attractive display of ships, aircraft and naval history. Plus
a wide-screen movie, At Sea, about what its like to serve on an
aircraft carrier. There is also a Navy and nautical gift shop with
special family discounts on products for children of all ages. The
Naval Museum opened in 1963 and is housed in the former 600-foot long
Breech Mechanism Shop of the old Naval Gun Factory. Exhibits offer
a look at the traditions and contributions of the Navy throughout American
history. Popular attractions include the fully rigged fighting top
from the frigate Constitution, a submarine room with operating
periscopes and a variety of large guns which can be elevated and aimed
by the visitor.
Created by doll house
collector Flora Gills Jacob who believes that toys of the past reflect
social history, the collection includes a miniature East Baltimore rowhouse.
Also on view are a six-story New Jersey dolls' apartment house and
a replica of President Theodore Roosevelt on safari. There is an
admission charge. The museum's gift shop sells a variety of dolls
and doll houses for all kinds of collectors.
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Folger
Shakespeare Library