We try to keep this list of historic house museums for the District of Columbia current, but it is best to check directly with the museums for their hours and other information.

If you know of a historic house museum not in our list, please submit it.

If you are the director of a museum in our listings and you would like to claim your listing so you are able to maintain your listing yourself, please email us at info@vpa.org and we will set you up.

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Decatur House

    Built in 1818-1819, the Decaturs' home was the first private residence in the White House neighborhood. Thereafter known as Decatur House, it was a nearly square three-story town house constructed with red brick in the austere Federal fashion of the day. Read More

    Dumbarton House

      Built during the tumultuous presidencies of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the house has been restored to show it as it might have appeared during the time of its first resident, Joseph Nourse, who served as Register of the U.S. Treasury for the first six Presidents of the United States. The museum presents an unusual opportunity to catch a… Read More

      Dumbarton Oaks

        Dumbarton Oaks is situated on land that formerly was part of a 1702 land grant patented by Colonel Ninian Beall (1625-1717) as the Rock of Dumbarton. In 1801, William Hammond Dorsey (1764-1818) acquired twenty acres from a Beall decedent and built a house, which survives, in part, as the central core of the present Dumbarton Oaks. The property subsequently… Read More

        Cedar Hill

          Frederick Douglass spent his life fighting for justice and equality. Born into slavery in 1818, he escaped as a young man and became a leading voice in the abolitionist movement. People everywhere still find inspiration today in his tireless struggle, brilliant words, and inclusive vision of humanity. Douglass's legacy is preserved here at Cedar Hill, where he lived his… Read More

          Heurich House

            The Heurich mansion was built in 1892-4 for German-American immigrant Christian Heurich (1842-1945), whose brewery was the largest in DC and a household name. It is the city's best-preserved example of Richardsonian Romanesque residential architecture and one of the most landmarked interiors in DC. The mansion incorporated many technological advancements, including metal speaking tubes, electric lighting, burglar alarms, and… Read More

            Hillwood

              Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887-1973), heir to the Post cereal fortune, was the founder of Hillwood Museum and Gardens, her former twenty-five acre estate in Washington, DC. Read More

              Mary McLeod Bethune Council House

                The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site commemorates the life of Mary McLeod Bethune and the organization she founded, the National Council of Negro Women. Read More

                Old Stone House

                  Built circa 1766, Old Stone House is the oldest structure on its original foundation in Washington, DC. Read More

                  The Octagon Museum

                    The oldest museum in the United States devoted to architecture and design, the Octagon Museum enables the American Architectural Foundation to increase public awareness of the power of architecture and its influence on the quality of our lives. This building was designed by Dr. William Thornton for Col. John Tayloe III, and was constructed between 1799 and 1801. Read More

                    White House

                      If you are the actual winner of the presidential election, you get to live here for 4 years. Read More

                      Tudor Place

                        Tudor Place Historic House & Garden preserves the stories of six generations of descendants of Martha Washington, and the enslaved and free people who lived and worked at this Georgetown landmark for nearly two centuries. Read More

                        Womens National Democratic Club

                          Built in 1894, the home of the Woman's National Democratic Club, also known as the Whittemore House, was placed on the DC Register in 1964 and on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 as a landmark of importance that contributes significantly to the cultural heritage and visual beauty of the city Read More

                          Woodrow-Wilson-House

                            When Woodrow Wilson and his wife Edith retired from the White House in 1921 they made this house their home. Just off the beaten path of Embassy Row in the heart of Washington, D.C. the house is historically preserved - a time capsule from 1924 that is open daily to visitors. Read More