We asked our faculty and authors to share with us some of their favorite things about living in our nation’s capital. Their responses are posted in “Faculty Favorites”
Bob Healy (bio), a senior editor at Congressional Quarterly, shares his favorites.
Most interesting places
- Hillwood Museum, former home of Marjorie Post, formal gardens and lavish Russian Art. web site, 4155 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 202-686-5807
- Tudor Place in Georgetown, late 18th century estate with lovely gardens. web site, 1644 31st Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-965-0400
- Dumbarton Oaks and Dumbarton House in Georgetown.
- Dumbarton Oaks has some of the most magnificent gardens on the East Coast and a wonderful collection of pre-Columbian art in a jewel box gallery designed by Philip Johnson (now closed for renovation, but will reopen soon), web site, 1703 32nd Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-339-6401
- Dumbarton House is an 18th century mansion now owned by the Colonial Dames. web site, 2715 Q Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-337-2288
- Kreeger Museum in Foxhall – personal art collection in another Philip Johnson building. web site, 2401 Foxhall Road NW, Washington, DC, 202-337-3050
- Anderson House Museum, home of the Society of the Cincinnati, a grand early 20th century mansion. web site, 2118 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 202-785-2040
- You will notice a pattern here – I am very fond of historic houses, to round out the list are the two National Trust houses in DC
- Decatur House is “one of the oldest surviving homes in Washington, DC.” web site, 1610 H Street, NW, Washington, DC, 202-842-0920
- Woodrow Wilson House, web site, 2340 S Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-387-4062
Fun things to do
- Walk around looking for unusual carvings on buildings.
- The stone cat atop the roof of the House at Massachusetts and Florida Avenues NW
- The lions on the front of a house on the south side of Massachusetts Avenue between 17th and 18th Streets NW
- The handbells carved into the keystone over the door of a house off Logan Circle
- The turtles supporting a column of a building at the National Zoo (the Zoo also has a large pink granite eagle that was once over the entrance to the now demolished Penn Station in New York – see “Eagle Eye.” ) web site, 3001 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC
- Having cocktails in the summer on the roof terrace of the Washington Hotel. web site, 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 202-638-5900
- Free outdoor movies at several venues in the summer: (Screen on the Green on the mall; Films on The Vern, movies at Mount Vernon campus of GW (web site); at Strathmore Hall in Bethesda (web site, 10701 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD, WaPo 2007), and elsewhere).
- The Capital Fringe Festival in the summer – dozens of live theatrical events all over town. web site
- Walking or riding a bike along the C&O Canal towpath (C&O Canal Bicycling Guide) or Rock Creek Park (web site).
- Picnic and a show at Wolf Trap. web site, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna, VA, 703-255-1900
Favorite Restaurants (I can’t limit myself to five)
- David Greggory, web site, 2030 M Street NW, corner of 21st and M Streets, NW, Washington, DC, 202-872-8700 [Yelp]
- Poste Moderne Brasserie, web site, 555 8th Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-783-6060 [TCEDG | Yelp]
- Firefly, web site, 1310 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 202-861-1310 [openlist]
- Bistro D’Oc, web site, 518 10th Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-393-5444 [TCEDG | openlist]
- Blue Duck Tavern, web site, 1201 24th Street NW (in the Park Hyatt), Washington, DC, 202-419-6755 [WaPo]
- Ardeo in Cleveland Park, web site, 3311 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 202-244-6750 [Yelp | openlist]
- Jaleo, web site, 480 7th Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-628-7949 [TCEDG | openlist]
- Zaytinya, web site (flash), 701 9th Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-638-0800 [TCEDG | Gayot]
- 15RIA, web site, 1515 Rhode Island Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 202-742-0015 [openlist | WaPo]
For more, see our Visiting Washington DC pages and other Faculty Favorites.
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