Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(
www.archives.gov
;
700 Constitution Ave NW; 10am-7pm mid-Mar-early Sep, to 5:30pm early
Sep-mid-Mar)
It's hard not to feel a little in awe of the big three documents in the
National Archives: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of
Rights, plus one of four copies of the Magna Carta. Taken together, it becomes clear just
how radical the American experiment was for its time. The Public Vaults, a bare scratch-
ing of archival bric-a-brac, make a flashy rejoinder to the main exhibit.
International Spy Museum
MUSEUM
( 202-393-7798;
www.spymuseum.org
; 800 F St NW; adult/child $20/15; 9am-7pm; ;
Gallery Place-Chinatown)
You like those bits in the Bond movies with Q? Then you'll like
the immensely popular International Spy Museum. All the undercover tools of the trade
on display make this place great for (secret) history buffs. Get there early.
National Building Museum
MUSEUM
(
www.nbm.org
;
401 F St NW; adult/child $8/5; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat, from 11am Sun, tours daily
11:30am, 12:30pm & 1:30pm; ; Judiciary Sq)
Devoted to architecture and urban design,
this underappreciated museum is appropriately housed in a magnificent 19th-century edi-
fice modeled after the Renaissance-era Palazzo Farnese in Rome. Four stories of orna-
mented balconies flank the dramatic 316ft-wide atrium, and the gold Corinthian columns
rise 75ft high. Rotating exhibits on different aspects of the built environment are hidden
in rooms off the atrium.
Renwick Gallery
MUSEUM
(
www.americanart.si.edu/renwick
; 1661 Pennsylvania Ave NW; 10am-5:30pm; ; Farragut
West)
Near the White House, the Renwick Gallery is set in a stately 1859 mansion
and exhibits a superb collection of American crafts and decorative-art pieces. Highlights
include some over-the-top works such as Larry Fuente's extravagantly kitsch
Game Fish
and Beth Lipman's ethereal
Bancketje (Banquet)
.
Old Post Office Pavilion
LOOKOUT
(
www.oldpostofficedc.com
;
1100 Pennsylvania Ave NW;
10am-8pm Mon-Sat, to 7pm Sun;
Federal Triangle)
If you don't want the hassle of the lines at the Washington Monu-
