Each year the National Civic Art Society offers a series of walking tours in the Washington, D.C. area. To be notified about future tours, sign up for our newsletter. Custom tours are also available on request. Please contact info@civicart.org or call (202) 670-1776. Below please find information on our 2025 series.
Walking tours of washington, D.C. Architecture
The National Civic Art Society cordially invites you to take part in our 2025 walking tour series of Washington, D.C.’s architecture.
About the tour guide: Jeanne Fogle is a Washington, D.C. historian who was born in the nation’s capital, where her family has lived for more than 150 years. She has authored three books on Washington, D.C.’s social and architectural history: Two Hundred Years: Stories of the Nation’s Capital, Proximity to Power, Neighbors to the Presidents Near Lafayette Square, and Washington, D.C., a Pictorial Celebration. Fogle serves as an adjunct professor of Washington History and Regional Tour Guiding and Tour Managing at NOVA. Her great-grandfather George F. W. Strieby was an accomplished fresco artist whose work adorns the U.S. Capitol.
Tours are 1.5 hours in length and start at 10:00am. Tours are limited to 25 persons. The cost per tour is $10. NCAS members, students, interns, and Hill staffers may obtain free tickets by e-mailing info@civicart.org. If you have any questions, please e-mail info@civicart.org or call (202) 670-1776. Tours take place rain or shine.
Registration is required. Register HERE.
Tour 1. SATURDAY May 3 - 10:00am-11:30 – EMBASSY ROW ARCHITECTURE
Embassy Row architecture on Massachusetts Ave. NW was described as “Washington’s . . . modern-day palaces . . . the way nations of the world wish to present themselves to other countries.” These elegant mansions of the Gilded Age fell on hard times during the Great Depression. By the 1940s, foreign legations moved in and started a trend of relocating the diplomatic community to this section of Massachusetts Ave. NW. On this tour, we can appreciate a century of resplendent architecture.
Meet at the southeast corner of 21st and P Streets NW.
Tour 2. SATURDAY May 10 - 10:00am-11:30 – WASHINGTON BRUTALISM
The use of Brutalist architecture in federal buildings was meant to make a statement. Washington can claim to have the first federal building in the United States built in the Brutalist style. It was described as “bold and beautiful” by President Johnson, and “a lasting architectural asset to our capital city and the country.” Why was Brutalism so proudly revered, then suddenly reviled? On this tour, we will see these early Brutalist buildings that were built under the government’s Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture.
Meet at the southeast corner of Independence Ave. & 3rd St. SW.
Tour 3. SATURDAY May 17 - 10:00am-11:30 – ARCHITECTURE OF THE NATIONAL MALL
The architecture of the National Mall is wildly divergent in style and rich in history. The museum buildings serve but a small part of the Smithsonian Institution’s mission and position as the largest museum and research complex in the world. Each building adds to the Smithsonian story of 167 years of progress and change. The buildings house innumerable treasures, but also serve as cultural icons of the age in which they were built. On this walk, we will take an architectural journey from 1849 to 2016.
Meet at the top of the Smithsonian Metro Station (Mall exit).
Tour 4. SATURDAY May 24 - 10:00am-11:30 – LESSER-KNOWN MEMORIALS
The lesser-known and often missed memorials near the U.S. Capitol present a great diversity in artistic styles and different ways of acknowledging our humanity. They serve to help us remember the good as well as the turbulent times in America’s history and history of the world. The memorials are dedicated to heroes and past presidents, to grand ideals, to the beauty of the future, to times of regret, or to serve as reminders of wars past and present. On this tour, we will visit some overlooked memorials.
Meet at the southwest corner of 7th and Independence Ave. S, (near the L’Enfant Metro Station exit).
Tour 5. SATURDAY May 31 - 10:00am-11:30 – FEDERAL-STYLE HOUSES IN GEORGETOWN
Federal-style houses in Georgetown dating from 1790-1830 are abundant. The American Federal-style of architecture was advanced under Thomas Jefferson’s considerable influence. In 1800 when congress moved to Washington, Georgetown was well-established with 300 wooden buildings, and 400 brick buildings of which about 200 from this period remain. Georgetown developed a distinct type of urban dwelling. On this tour we will see delicately scaled, simply ornamented, beautiful brick homes.
Meet at 28th Street and Pennsylvania Ave. NW, in front of the Four Seasons Hotel.
Register HERE.