Program of the 122nd Annual Meeting

January 3—6, 2008
Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., Points of Interest

 

 

National Monuments and Federal Buildings

The following information about points of interest is compiled from the web sites indicated.

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum complex and research organization. Composed of 19 museums, eight research centers, and the National Zoo, the Smithsonian’s exhibitions offer a glimpse into its vast collection numbering over 142 million objects. Visit the web site to link to individual museums. These include African Art, Air and Space, American Art and Renwick Gallery, American Indian, Anacostia (African American history and culture), Freer and Sackler Galleries (Asian art), Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (modern and contemporary art), National Zoo, Natural History, Portrait Gallery, Postal Museum, the Patent Office Building, and Smithsonian Institution Building (the Castle). The National Museum of American History is closed for renovation and the Arts and Industries building is closed in preparation for renovation.

Admission to all Smithsonian museums and the zoo is free. Museums are open every day of the year except December 25, most from 10:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m. (check individual web sites for those of interest). The Smithsonian Information Center, located in the Castle, is open 8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. The use of public transportation, including taxis, is recommended as free parking is limited and posted times are enforced. Many museums are located near the Smithsonian Metro Station on the Blue and Orange Lines; use the Smithsonian Museums exit.

The National Gallery of Art, closely associated with but administratively separate from the Smithsonian museums that surround it, is one of the world’s preeminent art galleries. Located on the National Mall between Third and Seventh Streets at Constitution Avenue, N.W., the Gallery is open Monday through Saturday 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. and Sunday 11:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. Entrances to the West Building are on the Mall, on Constitution Avenue at 6th Street, and on 4th Street. The entrance to the East Building is on 4th Street. The East and West Buildings are connected by an underground concourse with a moving walkway. The closest Metrorail stations are Judiciary Square on the Red Line and Smithsonian on the Blue and Orange Lines.

Many of the monuments and historic sites are administered by the National Park Service (NPS). Visitors can visit the NPS web site for information on operating hours, ticket requirements, and public transit. Sites include the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site, and the Sewall-Belmont House National Historic Site. Memorials include the Lincoln Memorial, the National Mall, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site and the House Where Lincoln Died (Petersen House), the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the National World War II Memorial.

Most major attractions are open for public tours, although the White House and the Pentagon are open only for prearranged groups. Public tours of the White House are available for groups of 10 or more. Requests must be submitted through one’s Member of Congress and are accepted up to six months in advance. These self-guided tours are available from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis approximately one month in advance of the requested date. Tours are free of charge. The White House Visitor Center is open seven days a week 7:30 a.m.–4:00 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. For the most current tour information, please call the 24-hour line at 202-456-7041.

Guided tours of the Pentagon are free and are available to schools, educational organizations, and other select groups by reservation only. Tours are conducted Monday through Friday during normal working hours. The tour route is approximately one and one half miles in length and lasts for approximately 90 minutes. Groups interested in touring the Pentagon should contact the Pentagon Tour Office at 703-697-1776.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation tour at the J. Edgar Hoover Building is presently closed and no date has been set for its reopening.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (202-874-2330) offers public tours from Monday through Friday. Groups depart in 15-minute intervals between 9:00–10:45 a.m. and 12:30–2:00 p.m. Individuals should line up at the Visitors’ Entrance on 14th Street and should allow 45 to 50 minutes for the tour. Attendees who would like to visit the Visitors’ Center only must enter on the 14th Street side of the building at the Visitor’s Entrance. The center is open 8:30 a.m. –3:30 p.m., and contains exhibits and shops where items such as uncut currency, shredded currency, collectors’ editions, and novelty items can be purchased.

Arlington National Cemetery is open daily 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Paid parking is available, accessible from Memorial Drive (cost is $1.25 per hour for the first three hours and $2 per hour thereafter). The Arlington National Cemetery Metro Station is regularly served during all hours the cemetery is open. The station also has a Tourmobile stop. A first visit to the cemetery should include the Visitors Center, located by the cemetery entrance, where maps, guidebooks, exhibits, information services, and restrooms can be found.

Washington also has two National Trust for Historic Preservation Historic Sites, Decatur House and Woodrow Wilson House. Decatur House (202-842-0920; 748 Jackson Place, N.W.) is one of the oldest surviving homes in Washington, D.C., and one of only three remaining houses in the country designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the father of American architecture. Scholars can use the research collections by appointment, which includes particular strengths in Federal architecture and decorative arts and on the Stephen Decatur and Edward Beale families. It is open for visits and tours from Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., and Sunday, noon–4:00 p.m. Guided tours depart on the hour and half hour. Admission is a suggested $5 for the house tour and $5 fee to see the current exhibit. Decatur House is located one block north of the White House. From the Blue or Orange Lines, exit at Metrorail’s Farragut West Station, 17th Street exit, and walk one block south. From the Red Line, exit at Farragut West Station, Connecticut and K Street exit, and walk two blocks south.

Woodrow Wilson House (202-387-4062; 2340 S Street, N.W.) is Washington, D.C.’s only presidential museum. The Wilsons’ home offers a glimpse into the life of an educator, scholar, and world statesman. Located on Embassy Row, the house is open from Tuesday through Sunday 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Admission is adults $7.50, seniors $6.50, students $3, and children under 7 free. From Dupont Circle Metrorail Station, walk north on Massachusetts Avenue five blocks, turn right onto 24th Street, then right onto S Street, and proceed to 2340 S Street.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA; 866-325-7208) is the repository for the permanently valuable records of the federal government as well as presidential papers and historical materials, including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. The downtown Washington National Archives building is located at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. between 7th and 9th Streets, N.W. The rotunda and exhibit halls are open daily 10:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Visitors should exit at Metrorail’s Archives/Navy Memorial Station on the Yellow or Green Line. The Archives building is across the street on Pennsylvania Avenue. If members want to research while in Washington, hours are Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. The research entrance is on Pennsylvania Avenue and the Rotunda entrance, which includes the Exhibit Hall, is on Constitution Avenue.

National Archives at College Park (Archives II) is located at 8601 Adelphi Road near the University of Maryland’s College Park campus. It has the same research hours as the downtown Washington building. There is a staff shuttle bus service that researchers may use on a space-available basis, operating between Washington, D.C., and the College Park buildings. Departures from Washington and College Park are on the hour between 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Public transit—subway and bus—are also available to Archives II.

If AHA members want to look at records at either facility, they will need to apply for a researcher identification card, which is valid for one year. An applicant must show official identification that includes a photograph (driver’s license, passport, school, or employment identification), proof of address, and complete a form giving full name, permanent address, telephone number, and a brief description of the proposed research topic. To find out more about researching at NARA facilities, consult its web site for Information for Research at the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. and Information for Researchers at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland.

The United States Capitol Complex (www.aoc.gov; www.uschs.org) is comprised of the Capitol, the House and Senate office buildings, the Library of Congress buildings, the Supreme Court building, and the U.S. Botanic Garden. Work is ongoing on a new Capitol Visitor Center, an underground facility to be located beneath the Capitol’s east front plaza, so visitors will encounter construction around the Capitol building.

The Capitol is located on Capitol Hill at the east end of the Mall. It is open for guided tours only. Tours are conducted 9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Visitors must obtain free tickets for tours on a first-come, first-served basis at the Capitol Guide Service kiosk located along the curving sidewalk southwest of the Capitol (near the intersection of 1st Street, S.W., and Independence Avenue). Ticket distribution begins at 9:00 a.m. daily. Ticketholders will be directed to the South Visitor Receiving Facility, which is located south of the Capitol; from there they will proceed to the Capitol to begin their tour. Maximum tour size is 40 people. The Congressional Special Services Office provides information about tours for the disabled by telephone at 202-224-4048 (voice) or 202-224-4049 (TDD). Both the House and Senate Galleries are open for observation when Congress is in session. Contact your local member of Congress for a pass. For more information call 202-225-6827.

The Capitol complex includes three major office buildings and two annex buildings for the House of Representatives and three major office buildings for the Senate. On the House side are the Cannon House Office Building (to the south of the Capitol bounded by Independence Avenue, 1st Street, New Jersey Avenue, and C Street, S.E.), the Longworth House Office Building (to the south of the Capitol bounded by Independence Avenue, New Jersey Avenue, C Street, S.E., and South Capitol Street), and the Rayburn House Office Building (southwest of the Capitol bounded by Independence Avenue, South Capitol Street, C Street, S.W., and 1st Street, S.W.). On the Senate side are the Russell Senate Office Building (to the north of the Capitol bounded by Constitution Avenue, 1st Street, Delaware Avenue, and C Street, N.E.), the Dirksen Senate Office Building (to the northeast of the Capitol on a site bounded by Constitution Avenue, C Street, 1st Street, and 2nd Street, N.E.), and the Hart Senate Office Building (northeast of the Capitol on a site bounded by Constitution Avenue, C Street, 1st Street, and 2nd Street, N.E.).

The Library of Congress (202-707-8000) has a Visitors’ Center inside the west front entrance on the ground level of the Thomas Jefferson Building. Docent-led scheduled public tours are offered Mondays through Saturdays in the Great Hall of the Thomas Jefferson Building.Tours are free and reservations are not required. For more information on guided tours, ask at either of the information desks in the Visitors’ Center of the Jefferson Building. Visitors should use the Capitol South Metro Station, served by the Orange and Blue lines, which is near the corner of 1st and C Streets, S.E.

Some of the most historic items from the library’s vast collection are on display on a rotating basis in the “American Treasures of the Library of Congress” exhibition located in the Southwest Gallery and Pavilion on the second floor of the Great Hall of the Jefferson Building. Individual items change from time to time for preservation reasons. The Gutenberg Bible and the Great Bible of Mainz are on permanent display on the first floor of the Great Hall. Other changing exhibits are mounted in public areas and reading rooms in the three buildings.

Most of the Library’s collections are housed in closed stack areas within the three library buildings on Capitol Hill. The James Madison Building is located on Independence Avenue S.E., between 1st and 2nd Streets and is open 8:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m. on Saturdays. The John Adams Building, at 2nd Street, S.E. between Independence Avenue and East Capitol Streets, is open 8:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursdays and from 8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The Thomas Jefferson Building, located on 1st Street, S.E. between Independence Avenue and East Capitol Streets, is open 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. All Library of Congress buildings are closed Sundays.

Users of the public reading rooms, the Computer Catalog Center, and Copyright Office public service areas (where copyright resources are used) are required to have a Reader Identification Card issued by the library. The cards are free and can be obtained by presenting a valid driver’s license, state-issued identification card, or passport at the Reader Registration Station in Room LM 140, on the first floor of the Madison Building near the Independence Avenue entrance. The Reader Registration Station’s hours are 8:30 a.m.–9:00 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday and 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday. Researchers must register in person at the Reader Registration Station; the library cannot accept registrations via mail, telephone, or the Internet. Possession of a valid Reader Identification Card is a minimum requirement for public users of the library’s reading rooms. Some reading rooms have supplemental registration procedures or conditions of use. For more information about the requirements in a particular reading room, contact that reading room. For a list of the 20 reading rooms, visit the LOC web site.

Researchers do not have direct access to the closed stack areas of the collections and must submit requests for materials. In order to identify what is desired and what the library has, patrons consult the library’s online and card catalogs, reference sources, and reference librarians. Once materials are identified, researchers submit online or manual request slips. Available requested materials are then delivered to requesters at desks in the various reading rooms or are kept in holding areas for later pickup. Delivery times vary from one reading room to another, and retrieval of materials may frequently take as long as 60 to 90 minutes. For materials stored at a location other than one of the Capitol Hill buildings, delivery times can stretch to 24 hours or more. For more information about the delivery times in a particular reading room, contact that reading room.

The Supreme Court (One First Street, N.W.) is open for tours. Exhibits 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 9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. It is closed Saturdays and Sundays. Take Metro’s Orange or Blue Lines to Capitol South or the Red Line to Union Station.

Established by Congress in 1820, the United States Botanic Garden is one of the oldest botanic gardens in North America. It is open daily 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Admission is free. The Conservatory main entrance is located at 100 Maryland Avenue, S.W. Visitors are welcome in Bartholdi Park from dawn until dusk and can access it from any of the three bordering streets—Independence Avenue, Washington Avenue, or 1st Street. The use of public transportation is encouraged. Take Metrorail Blue or Orange line to Federal Center Southwest or Capitol South Stations.

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Museums and Galleries

In addition to Washington’s numerous national monuments and federal buildings, there are many other museums and galleries throughout the city that also have distinctive collections. A representative, brief list follows:

Corcoran Gallery of Art (500 17th Street, N.W.; 202-639-1700) is Washington’s first art museum and one of the three oldest museums in the United States. Open 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. Thursday; closed Tuesday. Two special exhibitions will be on display at the time of the AHA’s annual meeting. Ansel Adams will showcase Adams’ extraordinary range and span his six-decade career. Rarely exhibited prints will be presented along with several of his iconic landscapes. Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life, 1990–2006 will feature many of Leibovitz’s best-known portraits of public figures but will also highlight images of artists and architects as well as reportage from the siege of Sarajevo in the early 1990s and the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. Special exhibition admission adults $14, students $10, and children aged 6 and under free. Near the Farragut West (Orange and Blue Lines, 17th Street exit) and Farragut North (Red Line, K Street exit) Metro Stations.

Folger Shakespeare Library (202-544-4600; 201 E. Capitol Street, S.E.). The Folger is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, collections of other rare Renaissance books and manuscripts on all disciplines—history and politics, theology, exploration, law, and the arts. Open Monday through Saturday 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Admission is free. Docent tours of the building and the current exhibition are available on Monday through Friday at 11:00 a.m. and on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. at no charge and with no prior arrangement. Take Metro’s Blue or Orange Lines to the Capitol South Station or the Red Line to Union Station.

The Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection (1703 32nd Street, N.W.; 202-339-6401), administered by Harvard University, holds rich Byzantine and Pre-Columbian collections.The museum is closed for renovation until 2008, but the gardens are open daily 2:00–5:00 p.m. except Mondays and inclement weather. Admission is free. Several Metrobus lines (30, 32, 34, 36, D2, D4, M12) come within two blocks of the entrance, which is on 32nd, N.W., one block east of Wisconsin Avenue, between R and S Streets.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (2700 F Street, N.W.; 202-416-8340). Located on the banks of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., at the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue, N.W., and the Rock Creek Parkway and accessible by Metrorail and Metrobus. The Foggy Bottom/George Washington University Station (23rd and I) is the closest stop. It is a seven-minute walk from the station via New Hampshire Avenue, or individuals can use the free Kennedy Center Show Shuttle (signs are toward the left after exiting the escalator). It departs every 15 minutes from 9:45 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday; from 10:00 a.m. to midnight Saturdays; and noon to midnight Sundays and holidays. Free tours are offered 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, departing from the parking plaza on Level A.

The National Aquarium of Washington, D.C. (202-482-2825; 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., in the U.S. Department of Commerce Building). Open daily 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Admission $5 adults and $2.50 children 2–10.Take Metrorail’s Orange or Blue Lines to Federal Triangle.

The Newseum (555 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.) will open later in the fall (the planned October 15 opening date was pushed back). Take Metro’s Green or Yellow Line to the Archives/Navy Memorial-Penn station, turn left, and walk toward Pennsylvania Avenue. Turn left onto Pennsylvania Avenue, walking toward the Capitol and cross Seventh Street. The Newseum is located at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street. Visit the web site for new opening date, visiting hours, and ticket information.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts (1250 New York Avenue, N.W.; 202-783-5000) is the only museum in the world dedicated exclusively to recognizing the contributions of women artists. Its permanent collection is comprised of more than 3,000 works providing a comprehensive survey of art by women from the 16th century to the present. See the web site for special exhibitions during the AHA’s annual meeting. Open Monday–Saturday 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. and Sunday noon–5:00 p.m. Adults $10, 60 and over $8, students $8, and youth 18 and under free. Take Metro’s Red, Blue, or Orange lines to Metro Center. Use the 13th Street exit and walk two blocks north.

The Phillips Collection (202-387-2151; 1600 21st Street, N.W.). Open Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., until 8:30 p.m. on Thursdays, and Sunday 11:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. The Phillips is America’s first museum of modern art, opening in 1921. It has works by van Gogh, Monet, Degas, Cezanne, Vuillard, Bonnard, Braque, Picasso, Matisse, Klee, Homer, Eakins, Ryder, O’Keeffe, Marin, Dove, and Rothko. During the AHA’s meeting, Impressionists by the Sea will focus particularly on the work of Claude Monet, and will also feature major works by Édouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Berthe Morisot, and Gustave Courbet, along with James Abbott McNeill Whistler and John Singer Sargent. Free admission Tuesday–Friday; weekend admission is $10 adults, $8 students and seniors 62 and over, free to children 18 and under. Take Metrorail’s Red Line to the Dupont Circle Station, Q Street exit. At the top of the escalator, go left on Q Street one block to 21st Street. The museum entrance is located halfway up 21st Street on the left.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (202-488-0400; 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, S.W.). Open 10:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m. daily including weekends. No passes are necessary for entering the museum building, special exhibitions, the interactive Wexner Learning Center, and other museum resources.Most first-time visitors spend an average of two to three hours in this self-guided exhibition. From the Marriott and Omni, take Metro’s Red Line from Woodley Park Station to Metro Center (four stops). Go to lower platform and take the Blue or Orange Line (toward Addison or New Carrollton) two stops to Smithsonian. The museum is located one block from the Smithsonian Metro Station, just south of the intersection of 14th Street and Independence Avenue, S.W., between 14th Street and Raoul Wallenberg Place.

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Performing Arts

While politics often commands center stage in Washington, D.C., the range and richness of the area’s performing arts and all of its stages are sometimes overshadowed. For savvy visitors, however, the promise of the region’s theater, dance, and music scene are powerful attractions.

There are numerous theatres, including:


Consult the League of Washington Theaters web site (alphabetical listing under “Members” link) for theatres’ web sites and information on productions during annual meeting dates. TICKETplace is the Washington area’s only authorized one-half price ticket outlet. TICKETplace is located at 407 Seventh Street, N.W. between D and E Streets midway between the Archives (Yellow/Green Lines) and Gallery Place (Red/Yellow/Green) Metrorail stations. It is open Tuesday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Online sales are are available Tuesday through Friday from 12:00 noon–4:00 p.m. only. The onsite service charge is 12 percent of the full price of the ticket and the online service charge is 17 percent of the full price of the ticket. Individuals must purchase tickets in person or online; there are no ticket sales by telephone.

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Foreign Embassies

Washington, D.C., is also home to more than 150 embassies, chancelleries, and diplomatic residences. Many embassies offer guided tours with prior notification. Embassy phone numbers are available by calling directory assistance at 202-555-1212. A comprehensive listing of embassies is also available online at www.embassy.org.

 

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Last Updated: October 29, 2007 2:20 PM