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WASHINGTON DC TOURISM GUIDE

Whether new, old, or tried and true, there's much to do in the capital. Now comes the hard part: figuring out where you want to go and what to see first.

After September 11, 2001, Washington D.C. is slowly starting to get a handle on workable security precautions. Some of the ugly construction that has encumbered the town and jammed up traffic -- especially near the Capitol and the White House -- has gone away or been minimized, as workers complete the underground Capitol Visitors Center and the aesthetically pleasing, pedestrian-friendly plaza in front of the White House. In other places, new barriers have appeared, the latest being a series of security walls surrounding the Washington Monument and several memorials. Parking lots are off limits on the Ellipse, at the Jefferson Memorial, and at the Lincoln Memorial. Expect lines at tourist attractions -- security clearances, no matter how efficient, do take time. At many attractions, like the Smithsonian's National Air and Space, Natural History, and American History museums, and at most government buildings, staff search handbags, briefcases, and backpacks and you must walk past metal detectors, which means that during the busy spring and summer seasons, you may be standing in line outside, as you wait your turn to pass through security. So pack your patience, but otherwise carry as little as possible, and certainly no sharp objects. Museums and public buildings rarely offer the use of lockers.

Bureau of Engraving & Printing

This is where they will literally show you the money. A staff of 2,600 works around the clock churning it out at the rate of about $700 million a day. Everyone's eyes pop as they walk past rooms overflowing with new greenbacks. But the money's not the whole story. The bureau prints many other products, including 25 billion postage stamps a year, presidential portraits, and White House invitations.

Many people line up each day to get a peek at all the moola, so arrive early, especially during the peak tourist season.

Tickets for general public tours are generally not required from October through February; simply find the visitors entrance at 14th and C streets. March through September, however, every person taking the tour must have a ticket. To obtain a ticket, go to the ticket booth on the Raoul Wallenberg (formerly 15th Street) side of the building and show a valid photo ID. You will receive a ticket specifying a tour time for that same day, and be directed to the 14th Street entrance of the bureau; you are allowed as many as eight tickets per person. Booth hours vary, depending on whether tickets sell out for the day.

The 45-minute guided tour begins with a short introductory film. Then you'll see, through large windows, the processes that go into the making of paper money: the inking, stacking of bills, cutting, and examination for defects. Most printing here is done from engraved steel plates in a process known as intaglio, the hardest to counterfeit, because the slightest alteration will cause a noticeable change in the portrait in use. Additional exhibits include bills no longer in use, counterfeit money, and a $100,000 bill designed for official transactions (since 1969, the largest denomination printed for the general public is $100).

After you finish the tour, allow time to explore the Visitor Center, open from 8:30am to 3pm (until 7:30pm in summer), where exhibits include informative videos, money-related electronic games, and a display of $1 million. Here, too, you can buy gifts ranging from bags of shredded money -- no, you can't tape it back together -- to copies of documents such as the Gettysburg Address.

The Capitol

The Capitol is as majestic up close as it is from afar. For 135 years it sheltered not only both houses of Congress, but also the Supreme Court and, for 97 years, the Library of Congress as well. When you tour the Capitol, you'll learn about America's history as you admire the place in which it unfolded. Classical architecture, interior embellishments, and hundreds of paintings, sculptures, and other artworks are integral elements of the Capitol. The 30-minute tour takes you to the Crypt, the Rotunda, and National Statuary Hall. (For in-depth description and information about the history and art of the Capitol, go to www.aoc.gov and click on the link "Visiting the Capitol.")

On the massive bronze doors leading to the Rotunda are portrayals of events in the life of Columbus. The Rotunda -- a huge 96-foot-wide circular hall capped by a 180-foot-high dome -- is the hub of the Capitol. The dome was completed, at Lincoln's direction, while the Civil War was being fought. Ten presidents have lain in state here. On the walls are eight immense oil paintings commemorating great moments in American history, such as the presentation of the Declaration of Independence and the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. In the dome is an allegorical fresco masterpiece by Constantino Brumidi, Apotheosis of Washington, a symbolic portrayal of George Washington surrounded by Roman gods and goddesses watching over the progress of the nation. Brumidi was known as the "Michelangelo of the Capitol" for the many works he created throughout the building. (Take another look at the dome and find the woman directly below Washington; the triumphant Armed Freedom figure is said to be modeled after Lola Germon, a beautiful young actress with whom the 60-year-old Brumidi conceived a child.) Beneath the dome is a trompe l'oeil frieze depicting major developments in the life of America, from Columbus's landing in 1492 to the birth of the aviation age in 1903. Don't miss the sculptures in the Rotunda: a pensive Abraham Lincoln, a dignified Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a ponderous trinity of suffragists Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott -- these and others are represented here.

The National Statuary Hall was originally the chamber of the House of Representatives. In 1864, it became Statuary Hall, and the states were invited to send two statues each of native sons and daughters to the hall. There are 99 statues in all, New Mexico being the sole state to have contributed one statue. Because of space constraints, only 38 statues reside in the Hall, with the remaining scattered throughout the corridors of the Capitol. It's interesting to discover whom each state has chosen to honor: they range from Vermont's Ethan Allen, the Revolutionary War hero who, in fact, founded the state of Vermont, to Missouri's Thomas Hart Benton, not the 20th-century artist famous for his rambunctious murals, but his namesake and uncle, who was one of the first two senators from Missouri and whose anti-slavery stance in 1850 cost him his Senate seat. Guess how many women are represented: eight, including Montana's Jeannette Rankin, the first woman to serve in Congress.

The Crypt of the Capitol lies directly below the Rotunda and is used mainly as an exhibit space.

Following the tour, you are allowed to linger on the first floor, and to wander past the Old Supreme Court Chamber, which has been restored to its mid-19th-century appearance. The Supreme Court met here from 1810 to 1860; busts of the first four chief justices are on display: John Marshall, John Rutledge, John Jay, and Oliver Ellsworth, and so are some of their desks, believed to have been purchased in the 1830s. The justices handed down a number of noteworthy decisions here, including that of Dred Scott v. Sandford, which denied the citizenship of blacks, whether slaves or free, and in so doing precipitated our Civil War.

You will not see them on your tour, but the south and north wings of the Capitol hold the House and Senate chambers, respectively. The House of Representatives chamber is the largest legislative chamber in the world, and the setting for the president's annual State of the Union addresses.

Ford's Theatre & Lincoln Museum

On April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was in the audience at Ford's Theatre, one of the most popular playhouses in Washington. Everyone was laughing at a funny line from Tom Taylor's celebrated comedy, Our American Cousin, when John Wilkes Booth crept into the president's box, shot the president, and leapt to the stage, shouting "Sic semper tyrannis!" ("Thus ever to tyrants!") With his left leg broken from the vault, Booth mounted his horse in the alley and galloped off. Doctors carried Lincoln across the street to the house of William Petersen, where the president died the next morning.

The theatre was closed after Lincoln's assassination and used as an office by the War Department. In 1893, 22 clerks were killed when three floors of the building collapsed. It remained in disuse until the 1960s, when it was remodeled and restored to its appearance on the night of the tragedy. Except when rehearsals or matinees are in progress, visitors can see the theatre and trace Booth's movements on that fateful night. Free 15-minute talks on the history of the theatre and the story of the assassination are given throughout the day. Be sure to visit the Lincoln Museum in the basement, where exhibits -- including the Derringer pistol used by Booth and a diary in which he outlines his rationalisation for the deed -- focus on events surrounding Lincoln's assassination and the trial of the conspirators. Thirty minutes is plenty of time to spend here.

The theatre stages productions most of the year.

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Opened in 1971, the Kennedy Center is both the national performing arts centre and a memorial to John F. Kennedy. Set on 17 acres overlooking the Potomac, the striking facility, designed by noted architect Edward Durell Stone, encompasses an opera house, a concert hall, two stage theatres, a theatre lab, and as of late 2005, a theatre devoted exclusively to family productions. But that's just for now: The Center is in the midst of a really big expansion and eventually will add two new buildings to the 8-acre front plaza, and better connect the centre to the rest of the city, and to the National Mall, in particular.

The best way to experience the Kennedy Center is to attend a performance. But the Center also offers free 50-minute guided tours, which include some restricted areas.

Tours depart from the Tour desk, located across from the lower level gift shops. You tour the Hall of Nations, which displays the flags of all nations diplomatically recognised by the United States. Throughout the centre you'll see gifts from more than 40 nations, including all the marble used in the building (3,700 tons), which Italy donated. First stop is the Grand Foyer, scene of many free concerts and programs and the reception area for all three theatres on the main level; the 18 crystal chandeliers are a gift from Sweden. You'll also visit the Israeli Lounge (where 40 painted and gilded panels depict scenes from the Old Testament); the Concert Hall, home of the National Symphony Orchestra; the newly remodeled Opera House; the African Room (decorated with beautiful tapestries from African nations); the Eisenhower Theater; the Hall of States, where flags of the 50 states and four territories are hung in the order they joined the Union; the Performing Arts Library; and the Terrace Theater, a bicentennial gift from Japan. If there's a rehearsal going on, the tour skips the visits to the theatres.

Add another 15 minutes after the tour to walk around the building's terrace for a panoramic view of Washington.

The Kennedy Center's grand expansion can be quite the mess. Try not to let it bother you. The centre's performances and tours continue uninterrupted. The construction affects the parking situation, which is limited. Until construction is completed, you should avoid driving here. If you do, you can expect to pre-pay a flat rate of $15.

Library of Congress

The question most frequently asked by visitors to the Library of Congress is: Where are the books? The answer is: on the 532 miles of shelves located throughout the library's three buildings: the Thomas Jefferson, James Madison Memorial, and John Adams buildings. Established in 1800, "for the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress," the library today serves the nation, with holdings for the visually impaired (for whom books are recorded on cassette and/or translated into Braille), research scholars, college students -- and tourists. Its first collection of books was destroyed in 1814 when the British burned the Capitol (where the library was then housed) during the War of 1812. Thomas Jefferson then sold the institution his personal library of 6,487 books as a replacement, and this became the foundation of what would grow to become the world's largest library.

Today, the collection contains a mind-boggling 128 million items. Its buildings house more than 29 million catalogued books, 57 million manuscripts, 12 million prints and photographs, 2.7 million audio holdings (discs, tapes, talking books, and so on), about a million movies and videotapes, musical instruments from the 1700s, and the letters and papers of everyone from George Washington to Groucho Marx. Its archives also include the letters, oral histories, photographs and other documents of war veterans from World War I through the present, all part of its Veterans History Project; go to www.loc.gov/vets to listen to or read some of these stories, especially if you plan on visiting the National World War II Memorial.

Just as impressive as the library's holdings is its architecture. Most magnificent is the ornate Italian Renaissance-style Thomas Jefferson Building, which was erected between 1888 and 1897 to hold the burgeoning collection and establish America as a cultured nation with magnificent institutions equal to anything in Europe. Fifty-two painters and sculptors worked for 8 years on its interior. There are floor mosaics of Italian marble, allegorical paintings on the overhead vaults, more than 100 murals, and numerous ornamental cornucopias, ribbons, vines, and garlands. The building's exterior has 42 granite sculptures and yards of bas-reliefs. Especially impressive are the exquisite marble Great Hall and the Main Reading Room, the latter under a 160-foot dome. Originally intended to hold the fruits of at least 150 years of collecting, the Jefferson Building was, in fact, filled up in a mere 13 years. It is now supplemented by the James Madison Memorial Building and the John Adams Building.

On permanent display in the Jefferson Building's Great Hall are several exhibits: The American Treasures of the Library of Congress rotates a selection of more than 300 of the rarest and most interesting items from the library's collection -- like Thomas Jefferson's rough draft of the Declaration of Independence with notations by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams in the margins, and the contents of Lincoln's pockets when he was assassinated. Be sure to obtain a free audio wand before you view the American Treasures exhibit, so that you can listen to audio treasures: a Duke Ellington recording, an excerpt of Martin Luther King's delivery of his "I have a dream" speech, and so on.

Across the Great Hall from the American Treasures exhibit is one that showcases the World Treasures of the Library of Congress. Its multimedia display of books, maps, videos, and illustrations invites visitors to examine artifacts from the library's vast international collections. Tucked away in a corner of the Jefferson Building is another permanent exhibit, the Bob Hope Gallery of American Entertainment, which presents on a rotating basis, film clips, memorabilia, and manuscript pages from a collection that the comedian donated to the library in 2000. The Gershwin Room houses George and Ira Gershwin memorabilia, including a piano, desk, music manuscripts, and other of the American jazz composers' prized possessions.

If you are waiting for your tour to start, take in the 12-minute orientation film in the Jefferson's visitors' theatre or browse in its gift shop.

Also, be sure to pick up a calendar of events when you visit. Concerts take place in the Jefferson Building's elegant Coolidge Auditorium. The concerts are free but require tickets, which you can obtain through Ticketmaster (tel. 800/551-SEAT). Across Independence Avenue from the Jefferson Building is the Madison Building, which houses the Copyright Office, the Mary Pickford Theater, a venue for classic film screenings, a cafeteria and the more formal Montpelier Room restaurant, which are open for lunch weekdays.

Anyone over high-school age may use the library's collections, but first you must obtain a user card with your photo on it. Go to Reader Registration in Room LM 140 (street level of the Madison Building) and present a driver's license or passport. Then head to the Information Desk in either the Jefferson or Madison buildings to find out about the research resources available to you and how to use them. Most likely, you will be directed to the Main Reading Room. All books must be used on-site.

National Archives

The Rotunda of the National Archives displays our country's most important original documents: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights (collectively known as the Charters of Freedom). Until recently, however, it wasn't possible to get a very good look at these documents, and when you did, you had to view the Constitution one page at a time. A superb renovation, known as "The National Archives Experience," has transformed the Rotunda and installed new display cases that allow all visitors, but especially children and those in wheelchairs, much better viewing of the Charters. And, for the first time, you are able to see all four pages of the Constitution in one visit. The renovation adds 14 new document cases that trace the story of the creation of the Charters and the ongoing influence of these fundamental documents on the nation and the world. Further, a restoration of Barry Faulkner's two larger-than-life murals brings the scenes to vivid life. One mural entitled The Declaration of Independence, shows Thomas Jefferson presenting a draft of the Declaration to John Hancock, the presiding officer of the Continental Congress; the other, entitled The Constitution, shows James Madison submitting the Constitution to George Washington and the Constitutional Convention.

In late 2004, the National Archives debuted Public Vaults, an exhibit that features interactive technology and displays of documents and artifacts to explain the country's development in the use of records, from Indian treaties to presidential websites. You can listen to recorded voices of past presidents as they deliberated over pressing issues of the time and you can scour newly declassified documents. The William C. McGowan Theater, during the day, continually runs dramatic films illustrating the relationship between records and democracy in the lives of real people, and at night, serves as a premier documentary film venue for the city. The Lawrence F. O'Brien Gallery rotates exhibitions of Archives documents.

As a federal institution, the National Archives is charged with sifting through the accumulated papers of a nation's official life -- billions of pieces a year -- and determining what to save and what to destroy. The Archives' vast accumulation of census figures, military records, naturalization papers, immigrant passenger lists, federal documents, passport applications, ship manifests, maps, charts, photographs, and motion picture film (and that's not the half of it) spans 2 centuries. Anyone age 16 and over is welcome to use the National Archives centre for genealogical research -- this is where Alex Haley began his work on Roots.

The National Archives building itself is worth an admiring glance. The neoclassical structure, designed by John Russell Pope (also the architect of the National Gallery of Art and the Jefferson Memorial) in the 1930s, is an impressive example of the beaux arts style. Seventy-two columns create a Corinthian colonnade on each of the four facades. Great bronze doors mark the Constitution Avenue entrance and four large sculptures representing the Future, the Past, Heritage, and Guardianship sit on pedestals near the entrances. Huge pediments crown both the Pennsylvania Avenue and Connecticut Avenue entrances to the building.

The Pentagon

Damaged in the shocking September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in which a hijacked commercial jet crashed into the building, killing 125 people working at the Pentagon, and 64 more people aboard the plane, the Pentagon building has been restored. At this writing, the Pentagon remains closed for general public tours, although school and military groups may be able to arrange for tours.

The Pentagon is the headquarters of the American military establishment. This immense five-sided structure was built during the early years of World War II. It's one of the world's largest office buildings, housing approximately 23,000 employees. For their convenience, it contains a complete indoor shopping mall, including two banks, a post office, an Amtrak ticket office, a beauty salon, a dry cleaner, and more. It's a self-contained world. There are many mind-boggling statistics to underscore the vastness of the Pentagon -- for example, the building contains enough phone cable to circle the globe three times.

The Petersen House

After he was mortally wounded at Ford's Theatre, the doctors attending Lincoln had him carried out into the street, where boarder Henry Safford, standing in the open doorway of his rooming house, gestured for them to bring the president inside. So Lincoln died in the home of William Petersen, a German-born tailor. Now furnished with period pieces, the dark, narrow town house looks much as it did on that fateful April night. It takes about 5 minutes to troop through the building. You'll see the front parlor where an anguished Mary Todd Lincoln spent the night with her son, Robert. In the back parlor, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton held a cabinet meeting and questioned witnesses. From this room, Stanton announced at 7:22am on April 15, 1865, "Now he belongs to the ages." Lincoln died, lying diagonally because he was so tall, on a bed the size of the one in the room. (The Chicago Historical Society owns the actual bed and other items from the room.) In 1896, the government bought the house for $30,000 and it is now maintained by the National Park Service.

The Supreme Court of the United States

The highest tribunal in the nation, the Supreme Court is charged with the power of "judicial review": deciding whether actions of Congress, the president, the states, and lower courts, in other words, of all branches of government and government officials, are in accordance with the Constitution, and with applying the Constitution's enduring principles to novel situations and a changing country. Arguably the most powerful people in the nation, the Court's chief justice and eight associate justices hear only about 75 to 100 of the most vital cases of the 8,000- to-9,000 petitions for writ certiorari submitted to the Court each year. The Court's rulings are final, reversible only by an Act of Congress.

Hard to believe, but the Supreme Court -- in existence since 1789 -- did not have its own building until 1935. The justices met in New York, Philadelphia, and in assorted nooks of the Capitol until they finally got their own place. Architect Cass Gilbert designed the stately Corinthian marble palace that houses the Court today. Best known for his skyscrapers, like New York's 761-foot-high Woolworth Building, completed in 1913, Gilbert was an interesting choice for the Supreme Court commission in a city where Congress restricts building height to 160 feet.

You'll have plenty of time to admire the exterior of this magnificent structure if you're in town when the Court is in session and decide to try and see a case being argued, because you have to wait in line (sometimes for hours) on the front plaza of the building. But please try! The experience is extremely worth the wait. People queue in every city for tickets to concerts and sports events. But only in Washington does a wait in line grant one the privilege of watching and listening to the country's nine foremost legal experts nimbly and intensely dissect the merits of both sides of an argument, whose decisions can affect profoundly both the person and the nation. The standing-in-line, itself, brings with it the same sort of thrill that builds in collective anticipation of a great performance.

Here's what you need to know: Starting the first Monday in October, continuing through late April, the Court "sits" for two weeks out of every month to hear arguments, Monday through Wednesday, two to four arguments each day, from 10am to noon, and from 1 to 2pm or 3pm. You can find out the specific dates and names of arguments in advance by calling the Supreme Court (tel. 202/479-3211) or, better yet, by going to the website, www.supremecourtus.gov, where the argument calendar and the "Merits Briefs" (case descriptions) are posted.

Plan on arriving at the Supreme Court at least 90 minutes in advance of a scheduled argument during the fall and winter, and as early as three hours ahead in March and April, when schools are often on spring break and students lengthen the line. (Dress warmly; the stone plaza is totally exposed and can be witheringly cold.) Controversial cases also attract crowds; if you're not sure whether a particular case has created a stir, call the Court information line to reach someone who can tell you. The Court allots only about 150 first-come, first served seats to the general public, but that number fluctuates from case to case, depending on the number of seats that have been reserved by the lawyers arguing the case and by the press. The Court police officers direct you into one line initially; when the doors finally open, you form a second line if you want to attend only 3 to 5 minutes of the argument.

The justices release opinions on an ongoing basis throughout the term, on every third Monday and, if any are ready, on argument days -- the opinions are delivered before the arguments begin. Then, mid-May to late June, you can attend brief sessions (about 15 min.) at 10am on Monday, when the justices release remaining orders and opinions for the term. Again, you must stand in line on the front plaza to enter the building.

Leave your cameras, recording devices, and notebooks at your hotel; they're not allowed in the Courtroom. Note: But do bring quarters. Security procedures require you to leave all your belongings, including outerwear, purses, books, sunglasses, and so on, in a lower level checkroom where there are coin-operated lockers that accept only quarters.

Once inside, pay close attention to the many rituals. At 10am, the marshal announces the entrance of the justices, and all present rise and remain standing while the justices take their seats (in high-backed, cushioned swivel chairs, by the way) following the chant: "The Honorable, the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! All persons having business before the Honorable, the Supreme Court of the United States, are admonished to draw near and give their attention, for the Court is now sitting. God save the United States and this Honorable Court!" Unseen by the gallery is the "conference handshake"; following a 19th-century tradition symbolising a "harmony of aims if not views," each justice shakes hands with each of the other eight when they assemble to go to the bench. The Court has a record before it of prior proceedings and relevant briefs, so each side is allowed only a 30-minute argument.

When the Court is not in session, you can tour the building and attend a free lecture in the courtroom about Court procedure and the building's architecture. Lectures are given every hour on the half-hour from 9:30am to 3:30pm. After the talk, explore the Great Hall and go down a flight of steps to see the 24-minute film on the workings of the Court. On the same floor is an exhibit highlighting the "History of High Courts Around the World," on display indefinitely. Allow about an hour to tour. A gift shop and a public cafeteria are open to the public.

Smithsonian Museums

Wealthy English scientist James Smithson (1765-1829), the illegitimate son of the duke of Northumberland, never explained why he willed his vast fortune to the United States, a country he had never visited. Speculation is that he felt the new nation, lacking established cultural institutions, most needed his bequest. Smithson died in Genoa, Italy, in 1829. Congress accepted his gift in 1836; 2 years later, half a million dollars worth of gold sovereigns (a considerable sum in the 19th century) arrived at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. For the next 8 years, Congress debated the best possible use for these funds. Finally, in 1846, James Polk signed an act into law establishing the Smithsonian Institution and authorising a board to receive "all objects of art and of foreign and curious research, and all objects of natural history, plants, and geological and mineralogical specimens . . . for research and museum purposes."

Since then, private donations have swelled Smithson's original legacy many times over. Although the Smithsonian acquires approximately 70% of its yearly budget from congressional allocations, the institution depends quite heavily on these monies from private donors. Of the 16 Smithsonian museums in the Washington, D.C., area, 10 are on the Mall. The National Zoological Park is also a Smithsonian property, as are 2 additional museums in New York City. The institution is planning to open at least one more Smithsonian museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, but that's a long way off: Officials are still deciding on a site for the museum.

The Smithsonian's collection of nearly 142 million objects spans the entire world and all of its history, its peoples and animals (past and present), and America's attempts to probe into the future. So vast is the collection that Smithsonian museums display only about 1% or 2% of the collection's holdings at any given time. Its holdings, in every area of human interest, range from a 3.5-billion-year-old fossil to inaugural gowns worn by the first ladies. Thousands of scientific expeditions sponsored by the Smithsonian have pushed into remote frontiers in the deserts, mountains, polar regions, and jungles.

To find out information about any of the Smithsonian museums, call tel. 202/633-1000 or TTY 202/357-1729. The information specialists who answer are very professional and always helpful. The Smithsonian museums also share a website, www.si.edu, which helps get you to their individual home pages.

Union Station

When you visit Union Station you're stepping into the heart (or at least a major artery) of everyday Washington life. Located within walking distance and full view of the Capitol, the station is a vital crossroads for locals, including Hill staffers who debark the Metro's Red Line at its stop here ("Union Station" is the station name, naturally); commuters, who ride MARC and Amtrak trains from more distant locales, like Baltimore-area residents who walk or Metro here to shop, work, dine, or dawdle; and travelers from all over who arrive and depart by train all day long. Paths collide, quite literally sometimes, as ambling visitors and people running to catch a train crisscross the same ground.

When it opened in 1907, this was the largest train station in the world. It was designed by noted architect Daniel H. Burnham, who modeled it after the Baths of Diocletian and Arch of Constantine in Rome. Its façade includes Ionic colonnades fashioned from white granite and 100 sculptured eagles. Graceful 50-foot Constantine arches mark the entranceways, above which are poised six carved fixtures representing Fire, Electricity, Freedom, Imagination, Agriculture, and Mechanics. Inside is the Main Hall, a massive rectangular room with a 96-foot barrel-vaulted ceiling, an expanse of white-marble flooring, and a balcony adorned with 36 Augustus Saint-Gaudens sculptures of Roman legionnaires. Off the Main Hall is the East Hall, shimmering with scagliola marble walls and columns, a gorgeous hand-stenciled skylight ceiling, and stunning murals of classical scenes inspired by ancient Pompeiian art. (Today this is the station's most pleasant shopping venue: less crowded and noisy, with small vendors selling pretty jewelry and other accessories.)

In its time, this "temple of transport" has witnessed many important events. President Wilson welcomed General Pershing here in 1918 on his return from France. South Pole explorer Rear Admiral Richard Byrd was also feted at Union Station on his homecoming. And Franklin D. Roosevelt's funeral train, bearing his casket, was met here in 1945 by thousands of mourners.

But after the 1960s, with the decline of rail travel, the station fell on hard times. Rain caused parts of the roof to cave in, and the entire building -- with floors buckling, rats running about, and mushrooms sprouting in damp rooms -- was sealed in 1981. That same year, Congress enacted legislation to preserve and restore this national treasure, to the tune of $160 million. The remarkable restoration involved hundreds of European and American artisans who were meticulous in returning the station to its original design.

Today, Union Station is once again vibrant, handling upwards of 25 million people yearly. About 120 retail and food shops on three levels offer a wide array of merchandise. And you'll be happy to find that most of the offerings in the Food Court are not fast-food joints but an eclectic mix of restaurants. The skylit Main Concourse, which extends the entire length of the station, is the primary shopping area as well as a ticketing and baggage facility. A nine-screen cinema complex lies on the lower level, across from the Food Court. You could spend half a day here shopping, or about 20 minutes touring. Stop by the visitor kiosk in the Main Hall.

Washington National Cathedral

Pierre L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the capital city included "a great church for national purposes," but possibly because of early America's fear of mingling church and state, more than a century elapsed before the foundation for Washington National Cathedral was laid. Its actual name is the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. The church is Episcopal, but it has no local congregation and seeks to serve the entire nation as a house of prayer for all people. It has been the setting for every kind of religious observance, from Jewish to Serbian Orthodox.

A church of this magnitude -- it's the sixth largest cathedral in the world, and the second largest in the U.S. -- took a long time to build. Its principal (but not original) architect, Philip Hubert Frohman, worked on the project from 1921 until his death in 1972. The foundation stone was laid in 1907 using the mallet with which George Washington set the Capitol cornerstone. Construction was interrupted by both world wars and by periods of financial difficulty. The cathedral was completed with the placement of the final stone on the west front towers on September 29, 1990, 83 years (to the day) after it was begun.

English Gothic in style (with several distinctly 20th-century innovations, such as a stained-glass window commemorating the flight of Apollo 11 and containing a piece of moon rock), the cathedral is built in the shape of a cross, complete with flying buttresses and 110 gargoyles. It is, along with the Capitol and the Washington Monument, one of the dominant structures on the Washington skyline. Its 57-acre landscaped grounds have two lovely gardens (the lawn is ideal for picnicking), four schools, a greenhouse, and two gift shops.

Over the years, the cathedral has been, and continues to be, a truly historic place. Services to celebrate the end of World Wars I and II were held here. It was the scene of President Wilson's funeral (he and his wife are buried here), as well as President Eisenhower's. Helen Keller and her companion, Anne Sullivan, were buried in the cathedral at her request. And during the Iranian crisis, a round-the-clock prayer vigil was held in the Holy Spirit Chapel throughout the hostages' captivity. When they were released, the hostages came to a service here. President Bush's National Prayer and Remembrance service on September 14, 2001, following the cataclysm of September 11, was held here.

The best way to explore the cathedral is to take a 30-minute guided tour; they leave continually from the west end of the nave. You can also walk through on your own, using a self-guiding brochure available in several languages. Call about group and special-interest tours, both of which require reservations and fees (tel. 202/537-5700). Allow additional time to tour the grounds or "close" and to visit the Observation Gallery, where 70 windows provide panoramic views. Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon tours are followed by a high tea in the Observation Gallery for $22 per person; reservations required. Call tel. 202/537-8993.

The cathedral hosts numerous events: organ recitals; choir performances; an annual flower mart; calligraphy workshops; jazz, folk, and classical concerts; and the playing of the 53-bell carillon.

The White House

It's amazing when you think about it: This house has served as a residence, office, reception site, and world embassy for every U.S. president since John Adams. The White House is the only private residence of a head of state that has opened its doors to the public for tours, free of charge. It was Thomas Jefferson who started this practice, which is stopped only during wartime. The war on terrorism caused the administration in 2002 to close the White House for public tours for about 2 years. Thankfully, the White House is once again open for public tours, though not walkup tours.

An Act of Congress in 1790 established the city, now known as Washington, District of Columbia, as the seat of the federal government. George Washington and city planner Pierre L'Enfant chose the site for the White House (or "President's House," as it was called before whitewashing brought the name "White House" into use) and staged a contest to find a builder. Although Washington picked the winner -- Irishman James Hoban -- he was the only president never to live in the White House. The structure took 8 years to build, starting in 1792, when its cornerstone was laid, and its facade is made of the same stone that was used to construct the Capitol. In 1814, during the War of 1812, the British set fire to the White House, gutting the interior; the exterior managed to endure only because a rainstorm extinguished the fire. What you see today is Hoban's basic creation: a building modeled after an Irish country house (in fact, Hoban had in mind the house of the Duke of Leinster in Dublin).

Alterations over the years have incorporated the South Portico in 1824, the North Portico in 1829, and electricity in 1891, during Benjamin Harrison's presidency. In 1902, repairs and refurnishings of the White House cost nearly $500,000. No other great change took place until Harry Truman's presidency, when the interior was completely renovated, after the leg of Margaret Truman's piano cut through the dining room ceiling.

In 1961, Jacqueline Kennedy formed a Fine Arts Committee to help restore the famous rooms to their original grandeur, ensuring treatment of the White House as a museum of American history and decorative arts. Presidents through the years have put their own stamp on the White House, one recent example being President George W. Bush's addition of the T-ball field to the South Lawn.

Highlights of the tour include the Gold-and-White East Room, the scene of presidential receptions, weddings (Lynda Bird Johnson, for one), and other dazzling events. This is where the president entertains visiting heads of state and the place where seven of the eight presidents who died in office (all but Garfield) laid in state. It was also where Nixon resigned. The room's early-18th-century style was adopted during the Theodore Roosevelt renovation of 1902; it has parquet Fontainebleau oak floors and white-painted wood walls with fluted pilasters and classical relief inserts. Note the famous Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington that Dolley Madison saved from the British torch during the War of 1812. The portrait is the only object to have remained continuously in the White House since 1800 (except during times of reconstruction).

You'll visit the Green Room, which was Thomas Jefferson's dining room but today is used as a sitting room. Mrs. Kennedy chose the green watered-silk-fabric wall covering. In the Oval Blue Room, decorated in the French Empire style chosen by James Monroe in 1817, presidents and first ladies have officially received guests since the Jefferson administration. It was, however, Van Buren's decor that began the "blue room" tradition. The walls, on which hang portraits of five presidents (including Rembrandt Peale's portrait of Thomas Jefferson and G. P. A. Healy's of Tyler), are covered in reproductions of early-19th-century French and American wallpaper. Grover Cleveland, the only president to wed in the White House, was married in the Blue Room. This room was also where the Reagans greeted the 52 Americans liberated after being held hostage in Iran for 444 days, and every year it's the setting for the White House Christmas tree.

The Red Room, whose satin-covered walls and Empire furnishings are red, is used as a reception room, usually for afternoon teas. Several portraits of past presidents and a Gilbert Stuart portrait of Dolley Madison hang here. Dolley Madison used the Red Room for her famous Wednesday-night receptions.

From the Red Room, you enter the State Dining Room. Modeled after late-18th-century neoclassical English houses, this room is a superb setting for state dinners and luncheons. Below G. P. A. Healy's portrait of Lincoln is an inscription written by John Adams on his second night in the White House (FDR had it carved into the mantel): "I Pray Heaven to Bestow The Best of Blessings on THIS HOUSE and on All that shall here-after Inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under this Roof."

Note: Even if you have successfully reserved a White House tour for your group, you should still call tel. 202/456-7041 before setting out in the morning; in case the White House is closed on short notice because of unforeseen events. If this should happen to you, you should make a point of walking by the White House anyway, since its exterior is still pretty awe-inspiring. Stroll past it on Pennsylvania Avenue, down 15th Street past the Treasury Building, and along the backside and South Lawn, on E Street.

The White House Visitor Center

Even -- and especially -- if you're unable to tour the White House, you should stop here. The Visitor Center opened in 1995 to provide extensive interpretive data about the White House and to serve as a ticket-distribution center (though that function is suspended indefinitely). It is run under the auspices of the National Park Service and the staff is particularly well informed. Try to catch the 30-minute video about the White House, Where History Lives, which provides interior views of the presidential precincts (it runs continuously throughout the day). Before you leave the Visitor Center, pick up a copy of the National Park Service's brochure on the White House, which tells you a little about what you'll see in the eight or so rooms you tour and a bit about the history of the White House. The White House Historic Association runs a small shop here. The association operates an informative website, www.whitehousehistory.org. Before you leave the Visitor Center, take a look at the exhibits, which include:

Architectural History of the White House, including the grounds and extensive renovations to its structure and interior that have taken place since its cornerstone was laid in 1792.

Symbol and Image, showing how the White House has been portrayed by photographers, artists, journalists, political cartoonists, and others.

First Families, with displays about the people who have lived here (such as prankster Tad Lincoln, who once stood in a window above his father and waved a Confederate flag at a military review).

The Working White House, focusing on the vast staff of servants, chefs, gardeners, Secret Service people, and others who maintain this institution.

Ceremony and Celebration, depicting notable White House events, from a Wright Brothers' aviation demonstration in 1911 to a ballet performance by Baryshnikov during the Carter administration.

White House Interiors, Past and Present, including photographs of the ever-changing Oval Office as decorated by administrations from Taft through Bush.


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