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The 9 Best Government Buildings in National Mall, District of Columbia (DC)
Washington DC is a hub for American politics and history. Attracting as many school field trips as it does travelers the district offers a peek into the country’s democratic origin. There are plenty of free museums to take advantage of but the real draw here is the memorials and monuments dedicated to great American leaders. Spend some contemplative time at the Reflecting Pool within the National Mall, among the most patriotic places in the country.
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1. Supreme Court
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,480 reviews
A Corinthian-style building where the final guardians of the Constitution deliberate.
Reviewed By cordyroy - Naples, United States
Walking around this beautiful building you are constantly reminded the history is being made with every decision passed down from the Supreme Court of the United States. The introductory film was very interesting and the lecture given in the courtroom was very informative. Both spoke to the process by which a case is presented to and decided upon by the court.
2. Library of Congress
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 9,003 reviews
Though the Library of Congress doesn't own every book ever published, it sure has most of them, with 532 miles of shelves and 115 million items, with 7,000 added each working day.
Reviewed By MrsBear49 - Poole, United Kingdom
As part of our visit to the Capitol building we saw there were tunnels leading to the Library of Congress so decided to explore. It is a beautiful building and it is important to remember to look up at the ceilings which are very decorative. The library offers lots of wonderful photo opportunities and also houses the books of Thomas Jefferson along with a number of other interesting exhibitions including a beautifully preserved Gutenberg Bible. The actual library is not accessible but can be seen from the viewing gallery. The amazing thing is that all this is free.
3. Smithsonian Institution Building
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,538 reviews
The world's largest museum and research complex is actually comprised of 19 museums and the National Zoo, with subjects that vary from African Art to the postal service, sculpture to space exploration.
Reviewed By 877jacquif
The Castle, site of the Smithsonian Museums’ Visitor Centre, is like a heavenly haven in the heat of a mid-summer visit to the National Mall. Located near the middle of the south side of the Mall, it’s perfectly placed either to get your bearings at the start of a visit to the Smithsonian Museums, or to take a break out of the sun in summer (or the cold in winter presumably). There is handy info there on all the other museums and a shop selling souvenirs from across the museum estate. There’s also a small café serving beverages and cakes and crisps and so on. Don’t expect to get a big nutritious meal there, but you will find snacks which will keep body and soul together until your next meal. The loos are also a bonus. There wasn’t a lot of info there about the building itself, which was (just so you know) designed by James Renwick Jr, who’s also responsible for a lot of the churches in Manhattan, and completed in 1855. Parts of it later burned down in 1865; the blaze taking with it all of Smithson’s letters. But it opened again in about 1867 and is now a great place to stop off on the National Mall.
4. Department of State
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 53 reviews
Reviewed By SOBO101
If you have an interest in where the Diplomats meet at the Department of State, this is a 45 minute tour for you. Apply to visit, online, in advance. You will learn about and see period furniture and art. The rooms are beautiful. And you will learn a little history as well.
5. Eisenhower Executive Office Building
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 108 reviews
Reviewed By Beukel
When we visited the White House Christmas tree side, we can’t help noticing this beautiful building. We entered the lawb and able to walk on the garden and also visited the memorial in front. Such a remarkable infrastructure indeed!
6. Senate and House Office Buildings
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 230 reviews
Reviewed By TSANAND1976 - Hyderabad, India
A magnificent building which is a must see in the US Capital. The place can be accessed by a short walk from the Union Station, else any cab will take you there. The Building itself is impressive but not as Gigantic and marvellous as Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi or Parliament in New Delhi. However the place is very neatly maintained. In order to go into the senate one must reach by morning 8AM and the number of visitors are restricted. It is important that the entry ticket must be retained till the visit is over and I repeat do not throw it away. The short film gives a insight to the History of USA. The guided tour was excellent and specially the main hall. Overall an excellent and must visit place in Washington DC.
7. White House
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 8,112 reviews
One of America's most recognizable historical and political symbols is also the home and office of the President of the United States.
Reviewed By GPTravel73 - Kingswinford, United Kingdom
Whilst in Washington DC you cannot miss the opportunity to see the White House, to go inside, you need to book at least three months in advance and if you are British you will need to contact the american emabssy in London first. Across the road from the White House, is the White House Gift shop which is well stocked with many gifts / souvenirs, a couple of blocks down from the gift shop is the White House Visitors Centre, so if you don't get access to the White House itself this is the next best thing. Glad we were able to make it, take plenty of photographs but at the time of this review the White House is having new fencing / barricades erected hence views may be restricted.
8. United States Department of the Treasury
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 105 reviews
Reviewed By 428davem
First, before I begin sharing information about the actual Treasury building tour… Let me make crystalline clear that this is NOT The Bureau of Engraving and Printing, where they print money, and where everyone and their brother stands in line for that frequently-given and common tour. There is clearly some confusion about that, so if you’re looking for BEP info... it’s better-found under that attraction’s listing and not here. With that said – I’d like to share with you about our experience on this UNcommon tour. It is only offered two or three times a week, on Saturday mornings, and with limited group size (20 total or less IIRC). You MUST arrange this some weeks in advance, through your Congressperson‘s or Senator’s office… With FBI background check. When you contact your congressional office, the staffer who sets up tours may or may not be familiar with this one, as it is rather unusual for people to ask for it. I was told that ours was the first one our rep had set up in at least a couple years. If the first intern you reach says they don’t do these...ask them to check with someone else. ;) If you have toured the Pentagon, the State department diplomatic reception rooms, FBI bldg, or the like…The background check process is similar. Actual tour security is pretty serious; remember, the treasury building is right next-door to the White House, and its entrance is less than 100 yards from the WH east entrance. This would explain why they ran the bomb dogs through the building after our tour, I guess! Like many of these gov bldg tours, there are no photos inside...so you’d have to just take my word that I was leaning on the office door of then-current Secy of Treasury Jack Lew, and was sitting at the grand conference table where world financial leaders circled to stem the 2008 financial crisis. (Both true.) All docents are either current or former Treasury employees, sharing their deep knowledge of the building and its history on their own free time. They inform you at the beginning of the tour that this is a working building, and that we will be going through actual working offices… So we shouldn’t peep or snoop at papers laying on anyone’s desk. Okey-doke! The architecture is majestic, as you might expect. You’ll also see the grand room where Grant’s inauguration ball was held, legend Salman P Chase’s office (preserved with his furniture), and Chase’s former secretary’s office which he generously allowed President Andrew Johnson to use as a temporary Oval Office while Mary Lincoln still occupied the WH in mourning (Chase wouldn’t give up his OWN office!)... You’ll see and go through what used to be THE US Treasury vaults. You’ll walk hallways that echo with the footsteps of legends. And you’ll be one of only a few thousand people a year to go on this tour. You can also be one of the millions who tour BEP...AND know the difference between the two! ;) Seriously, Treasury is an outstanding and moving tour, well worth the effort to schedule. Please take the time to do so.
9. Tariff Building
This former post office headquarters was also the site of the first public telegraph office, where Samuel Morse wired the message, What hath God wrought, and where Congress met after the British burned the Capitol down in 1812.
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