Downtown Walk
Downtown can be divided into several sections, each with its own personality. The wedge-shape area south of Pennsylvania Avenue, north of Constitution Avenue, and east of 15th Street is the Federal Triangle, the neighborhood's serious side with its imposing gray buildings and all-government mentality. Penn Quarter, Downtown’s party side, makes up the area directly to the north of Pennsylvania Avenue. Here restaurants and bars mix with popular museums and a thriving theater district. Chinatown gives the neighborhood an international flair, while immediately to the east Judiciary Square acts like a stern older uncle frowning about all the goings-on.
Federal Triangle and Judiciary Square
Begin at Metro Center, the core of D.C.'s Metro system and its busiest station. From here take 12th Street south to Federal Triangle, just a short walk away. Constructed between 1929 and 1938, this mass of government buildings consolidated government workers in one place. The neighborhood was formerly known as Murder Bay for its notorious collection of rooming houses, taverns, tattoo parlors, and brothels. When city planners moved in, they chose a uniform classical architectural style for the new buildings. As you pass by, give a nod to the John A. Wilson Building, Internal Revenue Service Building, Department of Justice, and Apex Building, which houses the Federal Trade Commission. These buildings are not open to the public.
Ahead of you, the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center houses the most secure food court you will ever see. You need to show a photo ID and go through a security checkpoint. The Capitol Steps perform their political comedy sketches here on Friday and Saturday nights. The Old Post Office Pavilion, saved from demolition in 1973, is under construction; the Trump family is transforming it into a luxury hotel scheduled for opening in 2016. The observation deck in the clock tower also will reopen to the public upon completion of the project.
Slightly hidden across the street from the Department of Commerce is a delightfully shady oasis, Pershing Park, home of the Reserve Officers Memorial, which provides a pleasant area with picnic tables and a pond. Diagonally across the street, Freedom Plaza, named in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., has been home to many protests, from King's own "Resurrection City" of the Poor People's March to the more recent Occupy D.C. movement. The site's stone is inlaid with a map from L'Enfant's original 1791 plan for the Federal City. To compare L'Enfant's vision with today's reality, stand in the middle of the map's Pennsylvania Avenue and look west. L'Enfant had planned an unbroken vista from the Capitol to the White House, but the Treasury Building, begun in 1836, ruined the view. Turning to the east, you can see the U.S. Capitol sitting on the former Jenkins Hill.
Follow Pennsylvania Avenue, the nation's symbolic Main Street, known for inaugural and other parades and civic demonstrations, toward the Capitol. On your left you'll see the J. Edgar Hoover Federal Bureau of Investigation Building, which is not open to the public. On the right, the National Archives preserves the original Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Besides displaying these hallowed documents in an eerie, vaultlike environment, the Archives house a lesser-known, yet vibrant lineup of events, documentaries, and exhibits illuminating American history. The seven-level Newseum consists of 15 galleries showcasing 500 years of journalism history with dramatic multimedia displays. The spectacular stone-and-glass edifice next door is the Canadian Embassy.
Fourth Street leads to Judiciary Square, where city and federal courthouses thrive, as well as the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. To the west, the engaging Marian Koshland Science Museum explores the scientific issues that make the news. Across F street is the National Building Museum, known as much for its impressive interior hall as for its exhibits on architecture and the building arts. The Old Adas Israel Synagogue on 3rd Street is the oldest synagogue in D.C.
A couple of blocks to the west, new galleries, restaurants, and other cultural hot spots have taken over much of the real estate. Look out for the Shakespeare Theatre Company's performing arts center, Sidney Harman Hall. The area surrounding the Verizon Center sports arena has movie theaters, restaurants, and shops. Expect crowds on weekend evenings as they gather around street performers. From here, you're only a block away from the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro stop; continue north on 7th Street to Chinatown.
Chinatown and Penn Quarter
Chinatown begins just north of the Verizon Center. This compact neighborhood is marked by the ornate, 75-foot Friendship Arch at 7th and H streets and Chinese characters on storefronts such as Ann Taylor Loft and Starbucks. Nearly every Cantonese, Szechuan, Hunan, and Mongolian restaurant has a roast duck hanging in the window, and the shops here sell Chinese food, arts and crafts, and newspapers. Nearby, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library is the only D.C. building designed by the illustrious modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. From here detour west on G Street and north on 13th Street to see the National Museum of Women in the Arts and its showcase of works by female artists from the Renaissance to the present (it has the only Frida Kahlo in the city), and don't miss its changing outdoor sculpture installation by women artists alongside the building on New York Avenue.
South of Chinatown, below G Street, Penn Quarter begins. This neighborhood continues to expand and remains one of the hottest addresses in town for nightlife and culture. The National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum are the main cultural draws. The fun and interactive International Spy Museum across the street displays the largest collection of spy artifacts in the world, and the interactive Crime and Punishment Museum definitely makes CSI fans happy.
A block west along E Street brings you out to Washington's theater district, home to the venerable Ford's Theatre National Historic Site, the Warner Theatre,which has its own walk of fame on the sidewalk out front, and the National Theatre.Meanwhile, nearby on 7th and D streets, the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Companyoffers young adults a hip theatrical alternative.
Tours of Ford's Theatre National Historic Site, the Center for Education and Leadership, and the Petersen House take you back to the night of Lincoln's assassination and explore the lasting legacy of his presidency. John Wilkes Booth and his coconspirators plotted the dirty deed at Suratt Boarding House a few blocks away at 604 H Street NW.
