DC Area Galleries and Museums

DC Pages / DC Galleries and Museums

• National Air and Space Museum  - The infamous Air and Space museum is home to everything from the Wright brother's plane to the space shuttle. A must see in Washington, DC.
• Anacostia Museum - Anacostia has a rich and interesting legacy. Visit the museum Web site to learn more.
• Arts and Industries Building - A landmark structure of red brick and Ohio sandstone, the Arts and Industries Building (originally known as the U.S. National Museum) was designed in a High Victorian style by the Washington architectural firm of Cluss and Schulze. Opened in 1881 in time for the inaugural ball of President James A. Garfield, the building was constructed to exhibit materials acquired from the nation's Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia. The name of this museum was derived from the theme of that exposition; the statue above the entrance depicts the figure of Columbia protecting the two seated figures of Science and Industry.
• National Archives  - Our Mission is to ensure ready access to essential evidence . . . that documents the rights of American citizens, the actions of federal officials, and the national experience.
• Baltimore Railroad Museum - Take a nostalgic journey into America's past at the B&O Railroad Museum, located at the historic site of the Mt. Clare Shops. From this historic site sprang so many innovations that it was considered the "Railroad University" by many. The B&O was America's first chartered rail common carrier, dating to February 28, 1827 and it was also at our site where Samuel F.B. Morse sent his famous telegraph message --"What hath God wrought? -- from Washington, DC along the B&O's right of way in 1844.  
• National Building Museum  - The world we build for ourselves -- from our homes and offices and factories to our parks, our roads, our cities as a whole -- is the subject of the National Building Museum, the only institution in the United States dedicated to American achievements in architecture, construction, engineering and design.
• Capitol Children's Museum  - Capital Children's Museum fosters children's love of learning by encouraging exploration, creativity, imagination, expression, and discovery. The Museum gives all children the opportunity to realize their potential by giving them the freedom to learn in their own way, at their own pace.
• Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum -Colorful links to information, programs, exhibitions, as well as their fine collections.
•  Dumbarton Oaks - The Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection is housed in a nineteenth-century Federal-style house built on the crest of a wooded valley in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C. The name combines a reference to the original great oaks on the site, several of which are still standing, with the eighteenth-century name "Dumbarton," taken from the Rock of Dumbarton in Scotland. The property had been acquired by Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss in 1920. Twenty years later, they conveyed the house, gardens, and their collections to Harvard University. The institution now has important research resources in the areas of Byzantine studies, the history of landscape architecture, and Pre-Columbian studies. The collections of Byzantine and Pre-Columbian art and the rare books and prints relating to the gardens are on public display.
• FBI  - The FBI originated from a force of Special Agents created in 1908 by Attorney General Charles Bonaparte during the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. The two men first met when they both spoke at a meeting of the Baltimore Civil Service Reform Association. Roosevelt, then Civil Service Commissioner, boasted of his reforms in federal law enforcement. It was 1892, a time when law enforcement was often political rather than professional.
• Folger Shakespeare Library  - The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library. Opened in 1932, the Folger was a gift to the American people from Henry Clay Folger and his wife Emily Jordan Folger. A major center for scholarly research, the Folger houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, in addition to a magnificent collection of other rare Renaissance books and manuscripts on all disciplines--history and politics, theology and exploration, law and the arts. The collection, astonishing in its range and variety, consists of approximately 280,000 books and manuscripts; 27,000 paintings, drawings, engravings and prints; and musical instruments, costumes and films.
• Ford's Theatre & House Where Abraham Lincoln Died  - On the night of April 14th, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth. The President died in the early hours of April 15th in the small back bedroom of a boarding house across the street. The theater in which Lincoln was shot and the house where he died are preserved today as Ford's Theatre National Historic Site.
• Frederick Douglass National Historic Site - From 1877 to 1895, this was the home of Frederick Douglass, the Nation's leading 19th-century African American spokesman. Visitors to the site will learn more about his efforts to abolish slavery and his struggle for Human Rights, Equal Rights and Civil Rights for all oppressed people. Among Frederick Douglass' other achievements, he was U.S. minister to Haiti in 1889. Authorized Sept. 5, 1962, as Frederick Douglass Home; redesignated Feb. 12.1988.
• Freer Gallery of Art - The Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery are the two national museums of Asian art at the Smithsonian Institution. The Freer also houses a collection of 19th-century and early 20th-century American art, including the world's largest group of works by James McNeill Whistler. The galleries are located on the National Mall, which is the two-mile-long park extending from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day except Dec. 25, and admission is free.
• National Geographic Society  - At Explorers Hall you can discover the past, look to the future, and get a taste of adventure as only the National Geographic Society can provide it. Geographica, a permanent exhibit about the earth and its geography, allows you to touch a tornado; explore the solar system; get the latest weather update; or experience the perils of Robert E. Peary’s journey to the North Pole. You can also take a simulated flight 23,000 miles (37,007 kilometers) above the earth in Earth Station One, an interactive video program presented in a 72-seat amphitheater centered around an 11-foot (3.35-meter) freestanding globe.
• Hirshorn Museum of Art and Sculpture Garden- A popular place to go in Washington. Great gift shop. Museum contains an original Picasso. Lots of  abstract paintings and sculptures. Links to the overview, what is current and the collections they have. They also have a sculpture garden across  
• Holocaust Museum - Dedicated to the history of the holocaust, the museum documents the immense struggles of the jews and the final solution instituted during World War II.
• International Gallery  - The gallery presents exhibitions that deal with significant topics from various disciplines or cultural perspectives. The gallery offers educational programming in conjunction with most exhibits. Resource rooms, containing hands-on activity tables, reading areas, and videos, are developed by the education staff to reinforce and enhance the content of the exhibitions. Teacher workshops are offered when appropriate, as well as hands-on workshops, family-day activities, lectures, and demonstrations.
• Library of Congress Exhibits - Has every single book that has ever been published, as well as some great archives. A must for history buffs and book worms a like.
• Museum of African Art - Nice cover page. Gives the history of the Museum as well as a list of their exhibits. A great cultural site to see.
• Museum of American Art - A really nice web site. A truly great place to see some of the exhibits with out having to go there. The page contains many links. I must spend more time there later. A MUST for bookmarks and art buffs.
• Museum of American History Nice photo page cover. My favorite museum next to Hirshorn. A lot of neat and interesting things to see.
• Museum of American Jewish Military History  - The National Museum of American Jewish Military History, under the auspices of the Jewish War Veterans of the USA, documents and preserves the contributions of Jewish Americans to the peace and freedom of the United States, educates the public concerning the courage, heroism and sacrifices made by Jewish Americans who served in the armed forces, and works to combat anti-Semitism. We have included in our website, some pictures from our different collections, please take a look at them.
• Museum of the American Indian  - The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian is dedicated to the preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of Native Americans. Established by an Act of Congress in 1989, the museum works in collaboration with the Native peoples of the Western Hemisphere to protect and foster their cultures by reaffirming traditions and beliefs, encouraging contemporary artistic expression, and empowering the Indian voice.
• Museum of American History - The Museum offers three floors of exhibitions that explore the rich diversity of American history, from "After the Revolution: Everyday Life in America, 1780-1800" to the "Information Age: People, Information, and Technology."
• Museum of Natural History - The Smithsonian Natural History Web is an internet resource compiled and maintained by the staff of the National Museum of Natural History. Here you will find documents and data about Museum research and the national collections, which comprise more than 120 million scientific specimens and cultural artifacts from around the world. You will also find information about programs and projects at the Museum or produced in cooperation with other organizations, supporting the Museum's mission of understanding the natural world and our place in it.
• Museum of Women in the Arts - The National Museum of Women in the Arts brings recognition to the achievements of women artists of all periods and nationalities by exhibiting, preserving, acquiring, and researching art by women and by educating the public concerning their accomplishments.
• National Gallery of Art - The National Gallery of Art is an independent organization that is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution. It houses one of the finest collections in the world illustrating Western European and American achievements in painting, sculpture, and the graphic arts from the late Middle Ages to modern times. In addition to works on permanent display, special loan exhibitions are presented in the Gallery's two magnificent buildings. The two buildings are known as the West Building and the East Building. They are linked via a paved plaza and an underground concourse with a moving walkway.
• National Postal Museum - The National Postal Museum is located on the lower level of the historic City Post Office Building, which was constructed in 1914 and served as the Washington, D.C., post office from 1914 through 1986. The museum occupies 75,000 square feet of the building with 23,000 square feet devoted to exhibition space. The museum also houses a 6,000-square- foot research library, a stamp store and a museum shop.
•  National Portrait Gallery  - The concept of an American national portrait gallery is as old as our republic. During the Revolutionary War, Charles Willson Peale took upon himself the mission of creating a gallery to portray the great men of his era. The first official gesture toward assembling a national portrait collection was made in 1857, when Congress commissioned George Peter Alexander Healy to paint a series of presidential portraits for the White House; however, it was not until about a century later that the National Portrait Gallery was finally established. It is housed in the Old Patent Office Building, one of the oldest government structures in Washington, on the very site that Pierre Charles L'Enfant--in his original plan for the city--had designated for a pantheon to honor the nation's immortals. The act of Congress creating the National Portrait Gallery in 1962 stated that it would function as "a free public museum for the exhibition and study of portraiture and statuary depicting men and women who have made significant contributions to the history, development, and culture of the people of the United States, and the artists who created such portraiture and statuary."
• Navy Museum  - The Navy Museum was established in 1961 and opened to the public in 1963. As one of 14 Navy museums throughout the country, it is the only one that presents an overview of U.S. Naval history. Permanent and temporary exhibitions commemorate the Navy's wartime heroes and battles as well as its peacetime contributions in exploration, diplomacy, space flight, navigation and humanitarian service.
• Old Stone House - The Old Stone House built in 1765 is the oldest building in Washington, D.C. It is open for tours Tuesday through Sunday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Ranger lead talks are available upon request and group tours may be reserved by calling 202-426-6851. Come and learn how the people of Georgetown lived when it was a major tobacco seaport. Admission is free.
• Sackler Gallery of Art - Links including educational programs, membership, exhibitions, and what is new. Great Japanese and Persian exhibits. Beautiful. Definitely a book mark.
• Smithsonian Institute - Links to the many museums within the Smithsonian organization. Makes for a great for an over all guide to the institution and it many subsidiaries.
• Woodrow Wilson House Museum  - This web service provides information on the National Trust for Historic Preservation and its projects at the Woodrow Wilson House Museum in Washington, D.C.