Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Table of Contents
Great Experiences on Capitol Hill and Northeast D.C. | Getting Here | Planning Your Time | Quick Bites | Nearest Public Restroom | Capitol Hill Walk | Capitol Hill with Kids
The people who live and work on “the Hill” do so in the shadow of the edifice that lends the neighborhood its name: the gleaming white Capitol. This is where political deals and decisions are made. Lining the streets behind these venerable buildings are some of the bars and pubs where off-duty senators, members of Congress, and lobbyists do some of their business.
Beyond these grand buildings lies a vibrant and diverse group of neighborhoods with charming residential blocks lined with Victorian row houses and a fine assortment of restaurants, bars, and shops, not to mention D.C.’s favorite market and newest sporting attraction. A little farther afield, the rapidly gentrifying H Street Corridor to the north and east offers hip, happening, and edgy shopping, dining, and nightlife.
Great Experiences on Capitol Hill and Northeast D.C.
The Capitol: See democracy in action. Watch congressmen and -women debate, insult, and wrangle their way through the job of making laws in the House and Senate chambers.
Eastern Market: One of D.C.’s most beloved weekend destinations is the place to pick up fresh produce, flowers, and locally made crafts.
The Hawk ’n’ Dove: Order a pint and listen in as congressional staffers gripe about their famous bosses and locals debate the Redskins’ Super Bowl chances at this quintessential D.C. bar and Capitol Hill institution. Closed for renovations at this writing, it’s scheduled to reopen later in 2012.
The Library of Congress: Take a break from debate to contemplate the Gutenberg Bible, the lavishly sculpted Great Hall, and the splendor of the gilded Main Reading Room.
The Supreme Court: Round out your firsthand look at the three branches of government by watching the justices hear precedent-setting arguments.
United States Botanic Garden: Wrinkle your nose at the corpse flower, explore the jungle, gawk at the orchids, or stroll the paths of the new National Garden.
Getting Here
From the Red Line’s Union Station, you can easily walk to most destinations on Capitol Hill. From the Blue and Orange lines, the Capitol South stop is close to the Capitol and Library of Congress, and the Eastern Market stop leads to the market and the Marine Corps Barracks. Bus numbers 30, 32, 34, 35, 36, and Circulator buses run from Friendship Heights through Georgetown and Downtown to Independence Avenue, the Capitol, and Eastern Market. A streetcar, which is slated to come into service in July 2013, will link Union Station with H Street’s nightlife. Street parking is available.
Planning Your Time
Touring Capitol Hill should take you about three hours, allowing for about an hour each at the Capitol, the Botanic Garden, and the Library of Congress.
If you want to see Congress in action, contact your legislator (or your country’s embassy, if you are visiting from abroad) in advance, and bear in mind that the House and Senate are usually not in session in August.
Supreme Court cases are usually heard October through April, Monday through Wednesday, two weeks out of each month.
Quick Bites
Library of Congress’s Madison Building Cafeteria.
Breakfast and lunch are served on the sixth floor, with a stunning view. | Madison Building, Library of Congress,
Independence Ave., SE,
between 1st and 2nd Sts.,
Capitol Hill | 20003 | 202/707–8300 | www.loc.gov | Sat. and Sun. | Station: Capitol South.
Tortilla Cafe.
Inexpensive Salvadoran/Mexican specialties include an all-day breakfast. | 210 7th St. SE,
Capitol Hill | 20003 | 202/547–5700 | www.tortillacafe.com.
The food court at Union Station offers everything from pizza to sushi.
Nearest Public Restroom
Union Station has several public restrooms, as does the Capitol Visitor Center and Supreme Court. The Folger Shakespeare Library also offers facilities for free.
Capitol Hill Walk
Capitol Hill’s exact boundaries are disputed. Although most say it’s bordered to the west, north, and south by the Capitol, H Street NE, and I Street SE, respectively, extending east only to 14th Street, some real-estate speculators argue that the trendy neighborhood extends east to the Anacostia River. What’s clear is that Capitol Hill’s historic-preservation movement is hard at work, restoring more and more 19th-century houses and fighting the urban blight that creeps in around the edges of this historic part of Washington.
There’s a lot to see here, but you can easily explore the streets in a couple of hours. A good place to start is Union Station, easily accessible on the Metro Red Line. The Beaux-Arts station, modeled after a Roman bath, dominates the northwest corner of Capitol Hill. Thanks to a restoration project completed in 1988, the city’s main train station has turned into a minimall, with shops, restaurants, and bike rentals. In the station’s front plaza sits a steely-eyed Christopher Columbus at the base of a column on the Columbus Memorial Fountain, designed by Lorado Taft.
Next door, the National Postal Museum will delight philatelists. The Smithsonian takes a playful approach to stamp collecting and the history of the U.S. Postal Service with its interactive exhibits. On the other side of Union Station, the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building is worth a quick peek. The atrium, designed by architect Edward Larabee Barnes, encloses a garden of bamboo five stories tall.
Following Delaware Avenue south, you come right up to the Capitol, the point from which the city is divided into quadrants: northwest, southwest, northeast, and southeast. North Capitol Street, which runs north from the Capitol, separates northeast from northwest; East Capitol Street separates northeast and southeast; South Capitol Street separates southwest and southeast; and the Mall (Independence Avenue on the south and Constitution Avenue on the north) separates northwest from southwest.
The massive U.S. Capitol sits majestically at the east end of the Mall, and is the foremost reason to visit Capitol Hill. Although the free tour (tours.visitthecapitol.gov) takes you through the impressive rotunda, Statuary Hall, and Old Senate Chamber, to see your legislators at work you need to arrange in advance for (free) gallery passes—contact your senator or representative’s office. If you’re a visitor from outside the United States, contact your embassy. Stop in at the Capitol Visitor Center, located underneath the Capitol, for guided tours, information, and to view the 13-minute orientation film. Enter on the east side of the building. The imposing buildings to the north and south of the Capitol house the offices of senators and representatives.
In front of the Capitol, three monuments flank a reflecting pool. In the center the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial is one of the largest sculpture groups in the city. To the south stands the James A. Garfield Monument, and to the north a Peace Monument commemorating sailors who died in the Civil War. Across Constitution Avenue a monolithic carillon forms the Robert A. Taft Memorial, dedicated to the longtime Republican senator and son of the 27th president.
Across from the Garfield Memorial, the United States Botanic Garden is the oldest botanic garden in North America. After touring the conservatory, be sure to wander through the rose, butterfly, water, and regional gardens of the National Garden. Another lovely spot, the Bartholdi Fountain, was created by Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, sculptor of the Statue of Liberty. The aquatic monsters, sea nymphs, tritons, and lighted globes all represent the elements of water and light.
Continue east on Independence Avenue, then north on 1st Street, where the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court sit side by side. The Library of Congress has so many books, recordings, maps, manuscripts, and photographs that it actually takes three buildings to get the job done. The Jefferson Building is only part open to the public. Here you can view the Great Hall, peek into the Main Reading Room, and wander through changing exhibitions related to the library’s holdings. You can line up to hear oral arguments inside the Supreme Court Building when court is in session, but portions of the majestic building’s first two floors are worth visiting year-round, with exhibits, lectures, a visitor’s film, gift shop, and small cafeteria.
Behind the Library of Congress, the Folger Shakespeare Library holds an enormous collection of works by and about Shakespeare and his times, as well as a reproduced 16th-century theater and gallery that are open to visitors (the books are not). North of the Folger on 2nd Street, the Sewall-Belmont House was the headquarters of the historic National Woman’s Party and contains exhibits and artifacts from the suffrage and women’s rights movements.
South and East of the Capitol
Away from the Capitol, you’ll find some enticing attractions, including one of D.C.’s oldest communities and a thriving market. This area is well served by the Metro, though you can get around on foot.
East of 2nd Street, the neighborhood changes dramatically from large-scale government buildings to 19th-century town houses. Among them is the first Washington home of the abolitionist and writer Frederick Douglass, at 320 A Street NE, which you can visit by appointment.
Follow Pennsylvania Avenue south between 2nd and 4th streets to the main commercial thoroughfare. Restaurants, bars, and coffee shops frequented by those who live and work on the Hill line these blocks. Reaching Seward Square, take C Street one block to Eastern Market on the corner of 7th Street; it has been a feature of D.C. life since 1873. The main building, gutted by fire in 2007, has reopened after a $22-million restoration and modernization project. Here you can find an array of farmers, flower vendors, and other merchants who sell their fresh produce and crafts to locals and tourists alike. The market is open all week, but really buzzes on weekends. Seventh Street takes you back to Pennsylvania Avenue, the Eastern Market Metro station, and to the historic Barracks Row neighborhood. Along 8th Street, Barracks Row was the first commercial center in Washington, D.C. The Barracks were built after 1798 and rebuilt in 1901, but this neighborhood housed a diverse population of newly arrived immigrants even before the Civil War. On the north side of the street you’ll find the barracks and, opposite, a variety of shops and restaurants. The Marine Corps Barracks and Commandant’s House, the nation’s oldest continuously active marine installation, is the home of the U.S. Marine Band. On Friday evenings from May through August you can attend the hour-long ceremony performed on the parade deck by the Marine Band (the “President’s Own”) and the Drum and Bugle Corps (the “Commandant’s Own”). You can reserve a seat (at www.marines.mil), but it’s not really necessary—there’s usually plenty of room.
Right at the end of 8th Street, on the bank of the Anacostia River, you will find the 115-acre Washington Navy Yard, the Navy’s oldest outpost onshore. On its premises are the Navy Museum and Art Gallery, which chronicles the history of the U.S. Navy and exhibits Navy-related paintings, sketches, and drawings. From the Navy Yard, walk to the new Southeast Waterfront Riverwalk, where the decommissioned U.S. Navy destroyer Barry is open for touring. The Navy Yard visitor’s entrance is at 11th and O streets SE. It’s a little farther west along M Street SE to the new Nationals Park, home of the Washington Nationals. Opened in spring 2008, the ballpark cost more than $600 million. It offers interactive tours on nongame days and throughout the off-season. From here it’s just a short walk to the Navy Yard Metro station.
Northeast D.C.
On the outskirts of Capitol Hill you’ll find gritty neighborhoods improving at varying rates. Although there are sights worth exploring here, some of them are a long walk from the Capitol—drive or take public transportation instead. The new streetcar link from Union Station eastward along H Street, under construction at this writing, should be operational in the summer of 2013.
The H Street Corridor, also known as the Atlas District, after the Atlas Performing Arts Center, is a diverse, edgy, and evolving stretch of nightlife between 12th and 14th streets NE. This is a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood with restaurants, shops, and bars opening, and a younger crowd moving in. Here you’ll find a mix of the original, the hip, and the unexpected. In September it’s the venue for the annual H Street Music Festival, celebrating the developing arts, entertainment, and fashion scene.
Following E Street east to 17th Street, you will find the Congressional Cemetery, established in 1807 “for all denomination of people,” which was the first national cemetery created by the government. You can take a self-guided walking tour of the premises. Farther upriver, and due east from the Capitol on East Capitol Street, RFK Stadium is the home of the D.C. United soccer team.
Farther to the north, the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and Franciscan Monastery are open for tours of the buildings and tranquil gardens. Get there by car, H6 bus, or take the Metro to Brookland station. Although there is no food service at the shrine, restaurants and a market can be found nearby on 12th Street NE.
Capitol Hill with Kids
Capitol Hill offers plenty for kids to do. After they’ve had their fill of history, they can commune with nature, hit a home run, and sample sweet treats.
There are lots of locally made toys and games to see and touch at Eastern Market. Street performers entertain while kids indulge in blueberry pancakes with ice cream at the Market Lunch counter.
At the United States Botanic Garden, kids can become Junior Botanists; they receive a free adventure pack with cool tools to use during their visit and afterwards at home, as well as access to a secret website. There’s also a family guide available.
Catch a game at Nationals Park or take a tour on a nongame day. You’ll see the Nationals dugout, the clubhouse, and press box, plus you can throw a pitch in the bullpen and test out the batting cages.
Or take a tour with DC Ducks: during the 1½-hour ride in an amphibious vehicle over land and water, a wise-quacking captain mixes historical anecdotes with trivia.
Previous Chapter | Beginning of Chapter | Next Chapter | Table of Contents