| Visiting Washington
Washington,
D.C., is a very exciting place to visit to get a thrilling understanding
of our country's history. If you visit, please feel free to contact
my office for help with your travel plans. My office can provide
congressional tour tickets to Third District residents for the White House, the galleries
of the United States Capitol and the Kennedy Center. Although these
tickets are plentiful, you should call well in advance of your visit
for advice on how to plan your visit. For more information about these tours, please see the entries below. Unfortunately, individual tours of the the FBI Headquarters have been suspended until further notice. More information is available from the tourism offices of the city of Washington, D.C.
 United
States Capitol
Individuals or groups interested in participating in a guided tour of the Capitol must obtain a timed-entry pass from the kiosk located at the southwest corner of the Capitol grounds, near the U.S. Botanic Garden building. If the House of Representatives is in session during your visit, you are also encouraged to obtain a visitors gallery pass from my office, which will allow you to view the House members at work.
Visitors are encouraged to call the Capitol Guide Service recorded information line at (202) 225-6827 for the most up-to-date public tour information. If you have any other questions, please call my office at (202) 225-3831.
 White
House
After a long period of suspension following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, tours of the White House have been expanded to include parties of 10 or more people, regardless of age or type of group. Tour requests must be submitted through my Washington office at least one month in advance and will be accepted up to six months in advance. These self-guided group tours can be scheduled from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays. If you do not have 10 people in your group, it may be possible for my office to combine your request with requests from other groups to meet the 10-member threshhold. For more information or to schedule a tour, please contact my Washington office at (202) 225-3831.
White
House Visitor Center
Open to all, the center, located at 1450 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, is
open seven days a week from 7:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. and features many
aspects of the White House, including its architecture, furnishings,
first families, social events, relations with the press and world
leaders, as well as a thirty-minute video. Allow between 20 minutes
to 1 1/2 hours to explore the exhibits. The White House Historical
Association also sponsors a sales area. Please note that restrooms
are available, but food service is not.
 World War II Memorial
The World War II Memorial is the first national memorial dedicated to all who served during the Second World War. The memorial, established by the American Battle Monuments Commission, honors all military veterans of the war, the citizens on the home front, the nation at large, and the high moral purpose and idealism that motivated the nation's call to arms. The Second World War is the only 20th-century event commemorated on the Mall's central axis. As with all other memorials and monuments (except for the Washington Monument) located on or near the National Mall, this memorial is open 8 a.m. to 12 midnight daily, but closed Dec.25. For more information, contact the National Park Service at (202) 426-6841.  U.S. Botanic Garden
Located at the southwest corner of the U.S. Capitol grounds, the
U.S. Botanic Garden recently underwent an extensive renovation and it one of our nation's best
collections of plant life. Admission to all public areas of the U.S. Botanic Garden is free. The
Conservatory is open 10 AM - 5 PM daily. The Conservatory main entrance is on Maryland Avenue, SW.
Visitors are welcome in Bartholdi Park (across Independence Avenue from the Conservatory) from dawn
until dusk and can access it from any of the three bordering streets - Independence Avenue, Washington
Avenue or First Street
 Bureau
of Engraving and Printing
The Bureau is located at 14th and C Streets
SW. See how currency and stamps are printed. Public tours are available
Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., leaving every 20 minutes.
Extended public tour hours are available during the months of June,
July and August. The building is closed for tours on weekends and
holidays. You may contact the Bureau at (202) 874-3019 for further
information on public tours. There are also limited Congressional
tours, which can be scheduled through my Washington office, which
can also assist in scheduling tours of the U.S. Mints in Denver and
Philadelphia.
 Federal
Bureau of Investigation
Due to security concerns, tours of the FBI Headquarters have been
suspended indefinitely. For updates on its possible reopening, please
call (202) 324-3447.
 The
Kennedy Center
Located at New Hampshire Avenue at Rock Creek Parkway NW. Congressional
tours are available through my Washington office. Public tours are
conducted daily from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and leave every 15 minutes.
Visitors should go to the Tour Lounge, Parking Level A. You may contact
the tour office at (202) 416-8340. Or, take a virtual tour by clicking
here:
 Library
of Congress
Jefferson Building, First Street and Independence Avenue SE. Docent-led
scheduled public tours of the Great Hall of the Thomas Jefferson Building
of the Library of Congress are offered Monday through Saturday at
10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., with an additional
3:30 p.m. tour Monday though Friday. Tours are free and reservations
are not required. For more information on guided tours contact the
Visitor Services Office.
Special group tours can be prearranged through the Visitor Services
Office for groups of 10 to 60 participants. These tours are available
only by reservation, Monday through Friday, and can begin as early
as 9 a.m. or as late as 1 p.m. The Library also offers Congressional tours, which can be scheduled through my Washington office.
 Pentagon
Due to security concerns, unfortunately the Pentagon Tour Program
is suspended for everyone except certain groups of students. If you
have any questions about tour guidelines, we recommend that you contact
the Pentagon Tour Office at (703) 695-3324. If you wish to write instead,
the address is: Pentagon Tour Office, Office of the Assistant Secretary
of Defense (Public Affairs), The Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301. For
a virtual tour of the Pentagon, click here:
 Supreme
Court
Located at First Street and East Capitol Street NE, the Supreme
Court offers a variety of educational programs. Exhibits, which are
changed periodically, and a theater, where a film on the Supreme Court
is shown, are located on the ground floor. Lectures in the Courtroom
are typically given every hour on the half-hour, on days that the
Court is not sitting, beginning at 9:30 a.m. and concluding at 3:30
p.m. The building is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through
Friday. It is closed Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays.
The business of the Court or unforeseen factors such as inclement
weather may affect public access to the building, requiring changes
in the Courtroom lecture schedule and/or the building's hours of
operation. To obtain updated information on visiting the Court,
including any schedule changes, please call (202) 479-3211.
 Arlington
Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is open to the public at 8 a.m. 365
days a year. From April 1 to Sept. 30 the cemetery closes at 7 p.m.;
the other six months it closes at 5 p.m. Visit the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier, the Amphitheater, the Curtis-Lee Mansion (formerly the home
of Robert E. Lee) and the graves of Presidents John F. Kennedy and
William Howard Taft. Changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier occurs every hour on the hour during the winter and every
half-hour during the summer. (703) 607-8052.
 DC
Chamber of Commerce
Located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. The DC Chamber of Commerce provides
information, including maps, about sightseeing, hotels and restaurants.
For more information, call 866-DCISFUN (324-7386).
 Holocaust
Museum
Located at 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW, the entrance is located
off 14th Street south of Independence Avenue. Open daily from 10 a.m.
to 5:30 p.m., with extended hours on some days. Check here
for more detailed information. Free tickets
are available in limited quantity on a first-come first-serve basis
on the day of the tour. The box office is located on the 14th Street
side of the museum and opens at 10:00 a.m. For advance tickets call
(800) 400-9373 or visit www.tickets.com for information on how to
obtain tickets for a small service fee. Please keep in mind that you
will need at least two hours to view the museum.
 Memorials
and Monuments
All memorials and monuments (except for
the Washington Monument) located on or near the National Mall are
open 8 a.m. to 12 midnight daily, but are closed Dec.25. For more
information, contact the National
Park Service at (202) 426-6841.
 Jefferson
Memorial
Located at the south bank of the Tidal Basin. This familiar structure,
pictured on the obverse side of the nickel coin, was completed in
1939 to honor our nation's third president.
 Korean
War Veterans Memorial
Located on the southwest end of the Mall, near the Lincoln Memorial, this memorial honors the 36,570 American lives that were sacrificed during the conflict that took place from 1950 - 1953. Dedicated in 1995..
 Lincoln
Memorial
Located at the west end of the National Mall in West Potomac Park
at the foot of 23rd Street NW, this memorial honors our nation's 16th
president. Dedicated on Memorial Day 1922 after eight years of construction,
it contains a larger-than-life seated statue of Abraham Lincoln, along
with inscriptions of his Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural
Address.
 Franklin
D. Roosevelt Memorial
Located near the Jefferson Memorial and Potomac River. Open 8 a.m.
to 12 midnight daily, except closed Dec.25. The Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Memorial is one of the newest and most expansive memorials in the
nation. Yet, its shade trees, waterfalls, statuary, and quiet alcoves
create the feeling of a secluded garden rather than an imposing structure.
The memorial is divided into four outdoor galleries, or rooms, one
for each of FDR's terms in office. The rooms are defined by walls
of red South Dakota granite and by ornamental plantings; quotations
from FDR are carved into the granite. Water cascades and quiet pools
are present throughout.
 Vietnam
Veterans Memorial
Located on the northwest side of the National Mall near the Lincoln
Memorial on Henry Bacon Drive and Constitution Avenue NW. Dedicated
in 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial serves as a testament to the
sacrifice of American military personnel during one of this nation's
least popular wars. The purpose of this memorial is to separate the
issue of the sacrifices of the veterans from the U.S. policy in the
war, thereby creating a venue for reconciliation. The Memorial also
includes the Three Servicemen Statue and the Vietnam Women's Memorial.
 Washington
Monument
Located off of 15th Street NW on the National
Mall. Hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., seven days
a week. In order to enter the Washington Monument, tickets are required.
The ticket system is administered through the National Park Reservation
Service (NPRS). Reservations for the Washington Monument may be between
10 a.m. and 10 p.m. by calling (800) 967-2283 or at Reservations. Those making advance reservations will
be charged $1.50 per ticket, plus a $.50 service charge per order.
This Monument to our nation's first president rises 555 feet about
ground level, making it the tallest structure in the District of Columbia.
 National
Archives
Located at 7th Street and Constitution
Avenue, the exhibit halls of the National Archives Building in downtown
Washington, DC, have reopened as of Sept. 17, 2003, after more than
two years of renovations. Visitors now are welcomed to a new, state-of-the-art,
National
Archives Experience, where original versions of the Declaration
of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights and
other National Archives documents are complemented by media presentations,
computer interactives and immersive environments.
You may also view these documents and
get other information through the Archives' Charters
of Freedom website.  National
Gallery of Art
Located between 3rd and 9th Street, NW on Constitution Avenue. The
East and West Galleries of the National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture
Garden encompass all aspects of the visual arts. Open Monday through
Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission
is free. Some exhibits require free, timed-entry passes. For general
information, call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device
for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176.
 Smithsonian
Institution
Free admission to all Smithsonian museums and galleries, although
free, timed-entry passes for some exhibits are required. Most museums
are open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily, except the Castle, which opens
at 9 a.m. Closed Dec.25. For information, call (202) 357-2020.
Anacostia Neighborhood Museum 1901
Fort Place SE
Arts and Industries Museum 900 Jefferson
Drive, SW
The Castle (Smithsonian Information Center)
1000 Jefferson Drive SW
The Freer Gallery of Art/Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
1050 Independence Ave. SW.
The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
7th and Independence Ave., SW
National Air and Space Museum 7th
and Independence Ave. SW
National Museum of African Art
950 Independence Ave. SW
National Museum of American Art
8th and G Street NW (Closed for renovations until 2004)
Museum of American History
14th and Constitution Ave. NW
Museum of Natural History 10th and
Constitution Ave. NW
Museum of the American Indian 3rd
Street and Independence Avenue. (Under construction)
National Portrait Gallery 8th and
F Street NW (Closed for renovations until 2004)
National Postal Museum North
Capitol Street and Massachusetts Avenue NE (next to Union Station)
National Zoological Park 3001 Connecticut
Ave. NW
Renwick Gallery
17th and Pennsylvania Street NW
 Tourmobile
Service
The National Park Service has concessionaire-operated guided tourmobiles
that travel from Capitol Hill to Arlington Cemetery and points in
between with unlimited reboarding privileges the day of the ticket
purchase. Tourmobile operates daily 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call
for rates, call (202) 554-5100 or (888) 868-7707.
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