Top Things to do in Upper Northwest
Top 10 Specialty Museums in Upper Northwest, District of Columbia (DC)
Washington DC is a hub for American politics and history. Attracting as many school field trips as it does travelers the district offers a peek into the country’s democratic origin. There are plenty of free museums to take advantage of but the real draw here is the memorials and monuments dedicated to great American leaders. Spend some contemplative time at the Reflecting Pool within the National Mall, among the most patriotic places in the country.
Restaurants in Washington DC
1. Black Fashion Museum
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1 reviews
Appointment-only museum displaying the evolving saga of black fashion through costumed mannequins, display cases, picture frames and photo albums.
2. National Museum of Women in the Arts
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 369 reviews
Founded in 1981 and opened in 1987, the National Museum of Women in the Arts is the only museum solely dedicated to celebrating the achievements of women in the visual, performing and literary arts. The museum's collection features 4,500 works from the 16th century to the present created by more than 1,000 artists, including Mary Cassatt, Frida Kahlo, Alma Thomas, Lee Krasner, Louise Bourgeois, Chakaia Booker and Nan Goldin, along with special collections of 18th-century silver tableware and botanical prints. NMWA is located at 1250 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., In a landmark building near the White House.
Reviewed By jaseaton - Silver Spring, United States
We love this museum. They have a small but sensational gift shop which celebrates a mix of beautiful art objects and tstotchkes with liberal feminist attitude and humor (two things that don’t always go together). They had a special exhibit of Judy Chicago’s work on meditations about her own (and the planet’s) death. Not my favorite show of hers, but always worth seeing. The staff are friendly and helpful. The displays are easy to take in in an afternoon. And they have special events such as Sunday brunches once a month and weddings many weekends.
3. National Air and Space Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 23,307 reviews
Note to visitors: Starting Oct 7, 2019, please enter through the Jefferson Drive entrance (National Mall side). The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum maintains the largest collection of historic air and spacecraft in the world.
Reviewed By 834samp - Lexington, United States
This museum was awesome as was our tour guide Glennyce who was very knowledgeable of all aspects of our country's aviation history from the Wright Brothers flight at Kitty Hawk to our ongoing space exploration of today. Early aviation by the Wright Brothers, Amelia Earhart, and Charles Lindbergh was covered thoroughly as was the race to space with the Soviets. Don't miss this museum if you go to D.C.
4. The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 60 reviews
Please note that the museum is temporarily closed due to the evolving COVID-19 situation. Check the museum's website for the latest information. Focused on art, history, and culture, the museum showcases The Textile Museum’s textile collections from around the globe and the Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection of artifacts that trace the founding and evolution of Washington, D.C.
Reviewed By lapaz97 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
A continuation of the old Textile Museum near Dupont Circle, this version offers greater facilities and galleries for textile display. Well worth a visit.
5. Rock Creek Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 281 reviews
Not just a park in the city, but a kind of leisurely museum, with a scattering of Civil War forts, a cemetery and a 19th-century mill within its bounds.
Reviewed By michaeljE3760TZ - Washington DC, United States
I have lived in DC for 23 years and 21 of those in Mt. Pleasant which is just 5 minutes away from access to Rock Creek Park where Peirce Mill is located. On weekends and holidays, portions of the main road through the park, Beach Drive is closed off to motor vehicle and on warm summer days is filled with bikers, joggers, walkers, skaters/bladers, and puncuating by picnickers at park sites scattered in between the closed off roads. There is the mill, the creek itself, which is beautiful in winter snow, many miles of trails through the woods, a horse stable that offers riding lessons, a golf course that meanders through the trees in a rustic oasis with few others around, and the National Zoo is in the park as well. I like to drive down to the mill and go sit beside the low dam wall with a sandwich on a sunny Saturday afternoon and just breathe the fresh air, looking across the mowed meadow of green grass and daffodils in dapples sunlight through the trees, with a cool breeze blowing along the creek (it can be 10 degrees cooler down here on hot summer days), and gaze at the craftmanship of the old stone mill and its waterwheel. One of the very best things about Washington DC and a true gift for me to live practically in it!
6. United States Navy Memorial and Naval Heritage Center
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 194 reviews
A statue of The Lone Sailor peers over this memorial, which consists of a plaza bearing a granite world map flanked by waterfalls and fountains. The heritage center contains exhibits on naval history.
Reviewed By daff0dil74 - Saint Louis, United States
This Navy Memorial honors everyone who served in a US naval capacity. I entered my submariner husband in the Navy Log there so that his grandchildren, great grandchildren and those who come after will be able to connect with him and who he was, in years ahead. Registration was easy to do: just need a photo, with time and location noted, and basic information ( name, rank, serial number, etc). . Once entered in this archive the information can be brought up on computer’s there, and on your computer devices at home, anytime, anywhere. If you’ve been a Navy family the two statues there will be an emotional tug. The Lone Sailor and his Seabag stands outside on the Seven Seas plaza; and the “ Homecomig” statue of sailor, wife and child is inside in the archives area. Have a tissue in your pocket if they are a poingnant reminder of ‘ been there, done that’.
7. National Postal Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,114 reviews
Reviewed By Rosebud39631 - Ponchatoula, United States
This is a super fun place for kids to see as well as adults. There are many postal vehicles to see and games to play. Mail service in the making from the pony express to today is represented. A great place to visit. You can even make your own postage stamp.
8. President Lincoln's Cottage
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 546 reviews
Known as the "Cradle of the Emancipation Proclamation," President Lincoln's Cottage is Abraham Lincoln's summer residence where he lived and worked for over a quarter of his presidency and made some of his most important decisions, including developing the Emancipation Proclamation. Located on a picturesque hilltop in Northwest Washington, DC on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home, the Cottage is open for tours 362 days a year. Guided tours offer visitors an intimate view of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency and private life. Visitors are also invited to browse exhibits in the adjacent Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center. Tickets are required for entry to the Cottage, and advanced ticket purchase is strongly recommended.
Reviewed By clarebG4257SS
The home is on the grounds of what, in the past, was referred to as the Old Soldier’s home and the grounds include a cemetery that predates Arlington Cemetery and where some soldiers in the Civil War now rest. It is very peaceful and easy to imagine why Lincoln enjoyed long stays at the house. Simple and lovely, the private foundation intends to acquire period furniture and furnishings and asks for donations at the end of the tour. Great tour guide and stories so we were moved and thankful to experience this spot in Lincoln’s life. He rode on the grounds the day before he was assassinated. There’s a bronze statue of the President and one of his horses outside and a mural inside of special moments and people. So glad I was there.
9. Bob Hope Gallery of American Entertainment
10. Octagon Museum
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 33 reviews
The Octagon Museum was built between 1798-1800 by John Tayloe at the suggestion of George Washington. In 1814, the house was offered to President Madison as temporary quarters after the White House was burned in the War of 1812. The Treaty of Ghent was signed there, thus ending the war.
Reviewed By ashoki172 - Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Architecture formed the cornerstone of the North American Political Arena.... the historic residential typology that housed the American Institute of Architects before they formally shifted to their new home in 1973
TAGS
