Things to do in DC

http://travel2.nytimes.com/top/features/travel/destinations/unitedstates/washingtondc/sight_listings.html Overview This city, which calls to mind politicking, back-
scratching, and delicate diplomatic maneuvering, is itself
the result of a compromise. Tired of its nomadic existence
after having set up shop in eight locations, Congress voted
in 1785 to establish a permanent Federal city. Northern
lawmakers wanted the capital on the Delaware River, in
the North; Southerners wanted it on the Potomac, in the
South. A deal was struck when Virginia's Thomas Jefferson
agreed to support the proposal that the federal government
assume the war debts of the colonies if New York's Alexander
Hamilton and other Northern legislators would agree to locate
the capital on the banks of the Potomac.

George Washington himself selected the site of the capital, a
diamond-shape, 100-square-mile plot that encompassed the
confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers. It took the
Civil War -- and every war thereafter -- to energize the city,
by attracting thousands of new residents and spurring building
booms that extended the capital in all directions. Streets were
paved in the 1870s, and the first streetcars ran in the 1880s.
Memorials to famous Americans like Lincoln and Jefferson
were built in the first decades of the 20th century, along with
the massive Federal Triangle, a monument to thousands of less-
famous government workers.

Washington is one of the world's few planned capitals. It also
happens to be one of the most beautiful. And though the federal
government dominates many of the city's activities and buildings,
there are places where you can leave politics behind. Most of the
sights travelers want to see are in fashionable Dupont Circle,
Georgetown, the Downtown area, the eclectic Adams-Morgan
neighborhood, The Mall and Capitol Hill, Cleveland Park, and
Foggy Bottom. Arlington and Alexandria, both in Virginia, are
equally important for visitors to see.

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Best in 3 Days (from Fodors) Day 1 Head directly to the Mall.
Start at either end -- the Capitol or the Lincoln Memorial -- and
walk leisurely to the opposite end. You won't have time to explore
everything along the way, but you'll walk past or have in sight
most of the attractions Washington is famous for: the Lincoln
Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial, the Tidal Basin and Jefferson Memorial, the
Washington Monument, the White House, most of the Smithsonian
museums (including the Freer Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian
Institution Building), the National Gallery of Art, and the Capitol.
(Please note tours of the White House are suspended until further
notice; call ahead: 202/208-1631.)

(From NYTimes - The Mall [Between 1st & 22nd Streets and
Constitution & Independence Avenues] also connects the White
House and the Capitol, the legislative and the executive. It is lined
with the museums that hold the country's cultural treasures, from
the Spirit of St. Louis to the Hope Diamond.)

http://travel2.nytimes.com/top/features/travel/destinations/unitedstates/washingtondc/sight_details.html?vid=1107942623854
The Apex Building 7th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. NW The
triangular Apex Building, completed in 1938, is the home of
the Federal Trade Commission. The relief decorations over
the doorways on the Constitution Avenue side depict agriculture
(the harvesting of grain, by Concetta Scaravaglione) and trade
(two men bartering over an ivory tusk, by Carl Schmitz).

Michael Lantz's two heroic statues, on either side of the rounded
eastern portico, each depict a muscular, shirtless workman
wrestling with a wild horse and represent man controlling trade.

Just across 6th Street is a three-tier fountain decorated with
the signs of the zodiac; it's a memorial to Andrew Mellon. As
secretary of the treasury, Mellon constructed the $125 million
Federal Triangle. (A deep-pocketed philanthropist, Mellon was
the driving force behind the National Gallery of Art, just across
Constitution Avenue.)
http://www.ftc.gov/index.html
Metro: Archives/Navy Memorial.-Fodors

http://travel2.nytimes.com/top/features/travel/destinations/unitedstates/washingtondc/sight_details.html?vid=1083747027745
Capitol Building East end of Mall Phone: 202-224-3121 Capitol
switchboard; 202-225-6827 guide service Before heading to the
Capitol, pay a little attention to the grounds, landscaped in the
late 19th century by Frederick Law Olmsted, a co-creator of New
York City's Central Park. On these 68 acres are both the city's
tamest squirrels and the highest concentration of TV news
correspondents, jockeying for a good position in front of the
Capitol for their "stand-ups."

A few hundred feet northeast of the Capitol are two cast-iron
car shelters, left from the days when horse-drawn trolleys
served the Hill. Olmsted's six pinkish, bronze-top lamps directly
east from the Capitol are worth a look, too.The design of the
building itself was the result of a competition held in 1792;
the winner was William Thornton, a physician and amateur
architect from the West Indies. With its central rotunda and
dome, Thornton's Capitol is reminiscent of Rome's Pantheon.

This similarity must have delighted the nation's founders, who
sought inspiration from the principles of the Republic of Rome.
The cornerstone was laid by George Washington in a Masonic
ceremony on September 18, 1793, and in November 1800,
both the Senate and the House of Representatives moved
down from Philadelphia to occupy the first completed section:
the boxlike portion between the central rotunda and today's
north wing. (Subsequent efforts to find the cornerstone
Washington laid have been unsuccessful, though when the
east front was extended in the 1950s, workers found a knee
joint thought to be from a 500-pound ox that was roasted at
the 1793 celebration.)

By 1807 the House wing had been completed, just to the
south of what's now the domed center, and a covered
wooden walkway joined the two wings. North and south
wings were added in the 1850s and 1860s to accommodate
a growing government trying to keep pace with a growing
country. The elongated edifice extended farther north and
south than Thornton had planned, and in 1855, to keep the
scale correct, work began on a taller, cast-iron dome.

President Lincoln was criticized for continuing this expensive
project while the country was in the throes of the Civil War,
but he called the construction "a sign we intend the Union
shall go on." This twin-shell dome, a marvel of 19th-century
engineering, rises 285 feet above the ground and weighs
4,500 tons. It expands and contracts up to four inches a day,
depending on the outside temperature. The allegorical figure
atop the dome, often mistaken for Pocahontas, is called Freedom.

Sculptor Thomas Crawford had first planned for the 19½-
foot-tall bronze statue to wear the cloth liberty cap of a freed
Roman slave, but Southern lawmakers, led by Jefferson Davis,
objected. An "American" headdress composed of a star-
encircled helmet surmounted with an eagle's head and feathers
was substituted. A light just below the statue burns whenever
Congress is in session.

Tours of the Capitol start under the center of the Rotunda's
dome. At the dome's center is Constantino Brumidi's 1865
fresco, Apotheosis of Washington. The figures in the inner
circle represent the 13 original states; those in the outer
ring symbolize arts, sciences, and industry. The flat, sculpture-
style frieze around the Rotunda's rim depicts 400 years of
American history and was started by Brumidi in 1877.

While painting Penn's treaty with the Indians, the 74-year-
old artist slipped on the 58-foot-high scaffold and almost fell
off. Brumidi managed to hang on until help arrived, but he
died a few months later from the shock of the incident. The
work was continued by another Italian, Filippo Costaggini,
but the frieze wasn't finished until American Allyn Cox
added the final touches in 1953.

The Rotunda's eight immense oil paintings are of scenes from
American history. The four scenes from the Revolutionary War
are by John Trumbull, who served alongside George Washington
and painted the first president from life. Twenty-nine people
have lain in state or in honor in the Rotunda, including ten
presidents, from Abraham Lincoln to Ronald Reagan. The most
recently honored were the two U.S. Capitol policemen killed in
the line of duty in 1998.Tours begin on the west front of the
Capitol in a special screening facility. They run Monday through
Saturday from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM. The free timed-entry
tickets are distributed, one ticket per person, starting at 9 AM
at the Capitol Guide Service kiosk on the grounds, off First
Street SW. Free gallery passes to watch the House or Senate
in session can be obtained only from your senator or
representative's office; both chambers are closed to the
public when Congress is not in session. Note that there is a
strict limit to the baggage and possessions that can be
brought into the building: there are no facilities for checking
personal belongings. If you're planning a visit, call ahead to
check the status of tours and access; security measures may
change. http://www.aoc.gov/. COST: Free. Metro: Capitol
South or Union Station.-Fodors

http://travel2.nytimes.com/top/features/travel/destinations/unitedstates/washingtondc/sight_details.html?vid=1083747027601

J. Edgar Hoover Federal Bureau of Investigation Building
10th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Phone: 202-324-3447
Tours of the building's interior have been suspended for
renovations until 2005 but it's still worth walking past this
hulking structure, decried from birth as hideous. Even Hoover
himself is said to have called it the "ugliest building I've ever
seen." Opened in 1974, it hangs over 9th Street like a poured-
concrete Big Brother. Those hoping for a dose of espionage
history can walk a block to the International Spy Museum.
http://www.fbi.gov/. Metro: Federal Triangle or Gallery
Place/Chinatown.-Fodors

International Spy Museum 800 F Street, NW
VISITING HOURS 24 March - 14 August 2005: 9 am to 8 pm,
Last Admission for: the Permanent Exhibition 6 pm. General
Admission $14.00. http://www.spymuseum.org/siteintro.asp

http://travel2.nytimes.com/top/features/travel/destinations/unitedstates/washingtondc/sight_details.html?vid=1107942624059
Supreme Court Building 1 1st St. NE, Washington, DC, USA
Phone: 202-479-3000 It wasn't until 1935 that the Supreme
Court got its own building: a white-marble temple with twin
rows of Corinthian columns designed by Cass Gilbert. In 1800
the justices arrived in Washington along with the rest of the
government but were for years shunted around various rooms
in the Capitol; for a while they even met in a tavern. William
Howard Taft, the only man to serve as both president and
chief justice, was instrumental in getting the court a home of
its own, though he died before it was completed.

The Supreme Court convenes on the first Monday in October
and remains in session until it has heard all of its cases and
handed down all of its decisions (usually the end of June). On
Monday through Wednesday of two weeks in each month,
the justices hear oral arguments in the velvet-swathed court
chamber. Visitors who want to listen can choose to wait in
either of two lines. One, the "three- to five-minute" line,
shuttles you through, giving you a quick impression of the
court at work. If you choose the other, and you'd like to stay
for the whole show, it's best to be in line by 8:30 AM. The
main hall of the Supreme Court is lined with busts of former
chief justices; the courtroom itself is decorated with allegorical
friezes. http://www.supremecourtus.gov/. COST: Free
OPEN: Weekdays 9-4:30. Metro: Union Station or Capitol
South.-Fodors

http://travel2.nytimes.com/top/features/travel/destinations/unitedstates/washingtondc/sight_details.html?vid=1083747027973

The White House Phone: 202-208-1631; 202-456-7041
24-hr information line This is surely the best-known address
in the United States: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Pierre-
Charles L'Enfant called it the President's House; it was known
formally as the Executive Mansion; and in 1902 Congress
officially proclaimed it the White House after long-standing
common usage of that name. Irishman James Hoban's plan,
based on the Georgian design of Leinster Hall in Dublin and
of other Irish country houses, was selected in a 1792 contest.

The building wasn't ready for its first occupant, John Adams,
the second U.S. president, until 1800: George Washington,
who seems to have slept everywhere else, never stayed here.
The building has undergone many structural changes since
then. Andrew Jackson installed running water. James Garfield
put in the first elevator. Between 1948 and 1952, Harry
Truman had the entire structure gutted and restored, adding
a second-story porch to the south portico. Selected public
rooms on the ground floor and first floor are open to visitors
who make arrangements in advance through their member
of Congress. The tour includes several rooms on the ground
floor and, on the State Floor, the large white-and-gold East
Room, the site of presidential social events.

In 1814 Dolley Madison saved the room's full-length portrait
of George Washington from torch-carrying British soldiers
by cutting it from its frame, rolling it up, and spiriting it out
of the White House. (Dolley, no fool she, also rescued her
own portrait.) One of Abraham Lincoln's sons once harnessed
a pet goat to a chair and went for a ride through the East
Room during a reception.The Federal-style Green Room,
named for the moss green watered silk that covers its walls,
is used for informal receptions and "photo opportunities" with
foreign heads of state.

Notable furnishings here include a New England sofa that once
belonged to Daniel Webster and portraits of Benjamin Franklin,
John Quincy Adams, and Abigail Adams. The president and his
guests are often shown on TV sitting in front of the Green
Room's English Empire mantel, engaging in what are generally
described as "frank and cordial" discussions.The elliptical Blue
Room, the most formal space in the White House, is furnished
with a gilded Empire-style settee and chairs that were ordered
by James Monroe. (Monroe asked for plain wooden chairs, but
the furniture manufacturer thought such unadorned furnishings
too simple for the White House and took it upon himself to
supply chairs more in keeping with their surroundings.)

The White House Christmas tree is placed in this room each year.
(Another well-known elliptical room, the president's Oval Office,
is in the West Wing of the White House, along with other executive
offices.)The Red Room is decorated as an American Empire-style
parlor of the early 19th century, with furniture by the New York
cabinetmaker Charles-Honoré Lannuier. The marble mantel is
the twin of the one in the Green Room. The State Dining Room,
second in size only to the East Room, can seat 140 people. It's
dominated by G. P. A. Healy's portrait of Abraham Lincoln,
painted after the president's death. The stone mantel is inscribed
with a quote from one of John Adams's letters: "I pray heaven
to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall
hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever
rule under this roof."

In Teddy Roosevelt's day a stuffed moose head hung over the
mantel. Please note that the White House changes its rules for
visitors whenever it chooses, but usually only for security
reasons. It is always best to call ahead for information, or to
look at the White House web site. http://www.whitehouse.gov/.
Metro: Federal Triangle.-Fodors
Online tour: http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/whtour/

Day 2
Visit at least two museums that interest you. Among the
most interesting are the National Museum of Natural History,
the National Air and Space Museum, and the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum. Take time out for a leisurely
paddleboat ride in the Tidal Basin.

DEA Museum 700 Army Navy Drive Arlington, VA 22202
Phone (202) 307-3463 Housing a large Artifact collection
that deals with the history of drugs and law enforcement
up to present time. Museum Hours are from Tues-Friday,
10am to 4pm http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/deamuseum/index.html

Freer Gallery of Art / Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Smithsonian
Institution Phone: 202.633.4880 The Asian Art of Games -
The galleries are located on the National Mall, the grassy area
between the Capitol and the Washington Monument.

The Sackler Gallery is located at 1050 Independence Ave,
SW. The Freer Gallery of Art is located at Jefferson Drive
at 12th Street, SW. The two museums are connected by an
underground exhibition space. Hours are from 10 AM to
5:30 PM every day and admission is free.
http://www.asia.si.edu/

Rules of the Game - Saturday, May 7, 2005, 2:30 pm,
Sackler, level 1 Learn how to play chess, go, and
backgammon from authorities of local game centers and
associations. These "coaches" explain the challenges and
strategies of each game.

Day 3
Your third day can be spent exploring trendy Georgetown.
There are sights to see, Georgetown University among
them, but people come here mainly to shop, eat, bar-hop,
and watch other people. (From NYTimes - "See the gardens
of the Georgetown property of Dumbarton Oaks, the former
home of Robert and Mildred Bliss, donated to Harvard in
1940. It is reached by walking away, uphill, from Georgetown's
busy shopping streets, past the rows of brick and ice-cream-
colored Federal town houses, through the windows of which
one glimpses lives of luxury and order". . .

"The gardens are memorably magnificent, in all seasons:
they are reached through the elaborate wrought-iron gates
that open to the public daily in the afternoon. The masterpiece
of the garden designer Beatrix Farrand (a niece of Edith
Wharton), who worked in collaboration with the imperious
Mildred Bliss for more than 30 years, the winding pathways
and landscaped terraces that stretch down the far side of the
hill within the enclosure represent a glorious melding of
European and American traditions. "According to the British
garden historian Jane Brown, ''Dumbarton Oaks is a garden far,
far superior to either Sissinghurst Castle or Hidcote Manor in
design, and it ranks (as they cannot) with the greatest gardens
in the world.'' . . . The beds are designed to flower for much of
the year, from the earliest banks of forsythia to the last, late
velvety roses, chrysanthemums and pansies. But the unfurling
of spring is, in its frank gaudiness, particularly to be savored.

Magnolias, plum blossoms, wisteria, azaleas, riotous tulips
abound. Endless rows of heavy-headed peonies bloom in unison
in one of the broad bedding fields. And, as if in Proustian evocation
of young girls in flower, Farrand and Bliss's plan provides not
simply a softly trembling tunnel of cherry blossoms along which
to meander, but beyond, farther down the hillside, a veritable
field of these frilly pink flowers.)

Rock Creek Park http://www.nps.gov/rocr/piercemill/
Tour the park by foot, horse, bike or car. The Park is open
during daylight hours, 7 days a week.
Nature Center and Planetarium: Wednesday through Sunday,
9:00 AM-5:00 PM. Call 202-895-6070 for more information.
Old Stone House:
Wednesday through Sunday, 12:00 to 5:00 PM.
Peirce Mill: Closed for repairs until further notice.
Peirce Barn: Saturday and Sunday, 12:00 to 4:00 PM.

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http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/stones/stones2.html
"One of the oldest houses remaining in the Washington area,
the Old Stone House at 3051 M Street NW, in Georgetown,
is made of rock from Little Falls Quarry. The house was built
in 1764 by Christopher Layman, a cabinetmaker. A good
example of pre-Revolutionary architecture, this historic house
has been restored to show the life of working-class people of
that period; it is open to visitors. "

"Several buildings at the National Zoo on Connecticut Avenue
NW, including the Panda House, the Elephant House, and the
Mane Restaurant, are also built of these crystalline rocks. "
Open Wed.-Sun. 12-5. Admission is free, but limited to 25
persons in the house at one time. Nearest Metro stop is at
Foggy Bottom. Commercial parking is available next door.
For further information call 202-426-6851 http://www.nps.gov/olst/

"Between 1825 and 1850 when the Chesapeake and Ohio
Canal was planned and built, Georgetown was still a distinct
town, separated from Washington by 2 miles of farmland
and swamps. Piedmont crystalline rock was used for most
of the construction, including the walls and locks of the canal,
the bridges over it, and the abutments and piers of the
Aqueduct Bridge, which carried canal boats across the
Potomac River to the Alexandria Canal on the other side.

The bridge was abandoned in 1923, and in 1962 the piers
were blasted out to a depth of 12 feet below the waterline.
The massive north abutment of the Aqueduct Bridge and a
part of the pier nearest the Maryland shore can still be seen
upstream from Key Bridge.

In Georgetown, the walls and locks of the Chesapeake and
Ohio Canal, and one of the original bridges crossing it, are
preserved. The bridge, built in 1831, carries Wisconsin
Avenue across the canal. It is of local crystalline rock faced
with blocks of Aquia Creek sandstone, another of the
important building stones in early Washington. "

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Walking tours complete with maps, descriptions, and
pictures from the U.S. Geological Survey
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/stones/tour.html

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http://travel2.nytimes.com/top/features/travel/destinations/unitedstates/washingtondc/sight_details.html?vid=1083747037829

Chinatown Bounded by G, H, 5th, and 8th Sts.,
Washington, DC, USA If you don't notice you're entering
Washington's compact Chinatown by the Chinese characters
on the street signs, the ornate, 75-foot-wide Friendship Arch
spanning H Street might clue you in. Though Chinatown's main
cross-streets may appear somewhat down-at-the-heels, this
area borders many blocks undergoing revitalization, and it's
still the place to go for Chinese food in the District. Cantonese,
Szechuan, Hunan, and Mongolian are among the regional styles
you'll find here.

Nearly every restaurant has a roast duck hanging in the window,
and the shops here sell Chinese food, arts and crafts, and
newspapers. Most interesting are traditional pharmacies
purveying folk medicines such as dried eels, powdered bones,
and unusual herbs for teas and broths believed to promote
health, longevity, and sexual potency.
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown.-Fodors

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2000 Pennsylvania Avenue NW It's a shame that so many
important historical buildings fail to survive as a city matures.
The row of residences on Pennsylvania Avenue between 20th
and 21st streets escaped the fate of the Seven Buildings by
being incorporated -- literally -- into the present.

The Victorian houses have been hollowed out and refurbished
to serve as the entryway for a modern glass office structure at
2000 Pennsylvania Avenue. The backs of the buildings are
under the sloping roof of the development, preserved as if in a
terrarium. Metro: Foggy Bottom.-Fodors

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Tourmobile DC Ducks is the newest, most exciting way to see
Washington. Climb aboard an authentic, fully restored 1942
"Duck" and let the adventure begin! Ducks depart hourly from
Union Station. The 90 minute, fully narrated tour covers the mall,
museums, monuments, splashing down in the Potomac. $27-$30

Combination Duck and Trolley $51-$58 2640 Reed Street -
Washington D.C. 20018 Telephone: (202) 832-9800
http://www.historictours.com/washington/dcducks.htm

Old Town Trolley -A fully narrated tour of Washington DC
covering over 100 points of interest with "On and Off*"
privileges at 16 conveniently located stops. $25.20 -$28
http://www.trolleytours.com/ reduced price at this site

There is also a Monuments by Moonlight Trolley Tour
Departing Union Station, 50 Massachusetts Ave. NE at
7:30pm during spring and summer months. Touring for
2 1/2 hours, professional tour guides tell entertaining
anecdotes and historical information along with a sprinkling
of bewitching ghost stories of the spirits who haunt our
nation’s capitol. Onboard you’ll see some of the city’s most
popular monuments such as the Capitol Building, the White
House, the Jefferson Memorial and Washington Monument.
The trolley will also make stops at the FDR Memorial, the
Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial, the
Korean War Memorial and the Iwo Jima Memorial, allowing
you to see these sights in a different light. http://www.historictours.com/washington/default.htm

Metro System Metrobus operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week Metrobus fares $1.25 Regular $3.00 Express or get a
Regional one day pass $3.00 Get a full day of unlimited rides
regionwide on regular Metrobuses and other local buses. On
express buses, the pass covers $1.25 of $3.00 fare.
Pass expires at 3 a.m.

Metrorail Opens: 5 a.m. weekdays, 7 a.m. weekends Closes*:
midnight Sunday-Thursday, 3 a.m. Friday-Saturday nights
Metrorail fares Regular fare (In effect on weekdays from
opening to 9:30 a.m., 3-7 p.m. and 2 a.m. to closing) $1.35
minimum $3.90 maximum Reduced fare (All other times)
$1.35 minimum$1.85 mid-range$2.35 maximum Transfers
Use it within two hours for a free ride on Metrobus Metrobus
to Metrobus — If you pay your fare with cash, ask your driver
for a free transfer. Metrorail to Metrobus — Get a free transfer
when you enter the Metro station. It’s worth 90¢ off your bus
fare, if you pay your fare with cash. http://www.wmata.com/

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ART
Isamu Noguchi: Master Sculptor Date: February 10,
2005 - May 08, 2005 Time: 10:00 am - 5:30 pm Location:
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden - 7th Street at
Independence Ave, SW Metro: L'Enfant Plaza,(Blue, Green,
Orange, Yellow) Smithsonian,(Blue, Orange) Fee: Free
Description: Exhibition - first museum show in over 30
years to focus on Noguchi’s sculpture - features about 50
sculptures and 25 works on paper. Curated by Hirshhorn’s
Valerie Fletcher and co-organized by the Hirshhorn and the
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, exhibition is
accompanied by an illustrated 240-page catalogue and free
brochure.

National Gallery of Art 6th St. and Constitution Ave. NW
202-737-4215 nga.gov Docent led Tours of the 19th century
French Collection. May: Wed, Fri, Sat & Sun 2:30 pm.
Free Admission. Meet at Rotunda, West Building. Metro:
Archives-Navy Memorial; Judiciary Square. Also featured
are Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre as well as an exhibition
with works by Matisse, Braque, Derain, and de Vlaminck.

The Jacqueline Kennedy "At Home in Washington " Tour
May 7 UC Tours 380 Taylor St. NE Suite T34 202-526-3384
Five-hour bus tour commemorating the Washington
period in the life of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy and
emphasizing how deeply she was influenced by so many
things French. In 1941 she was a middle school student
here; 20 years later she was the First Lady. The tour
views some of her favorite places and includes a
commemorative gift and itinerary keepsake. 10 am - 3 pm.
$40 per person. Meet at Union Station, Massachusetts and
North Capitol Sts. NE. Metro: Union Station. uctours.com

Modigliani: Beyond the Myth The Phillips Collection
1600 21st St. NW 202-387-2151Modigliani, the quintessential
bohemian artist living on the edge of conventional society and
active in the avant-garde in early 20th-century Paris, was also
a serious and gifted artist, known for his portraits with elegantly
elongated features. This exhibition probes the rich cultural and
religious heritage that informed the Italian-Jewish artist’s work
and inspired his singular style.

The Phillips Collection is the final destination for this acclaimed
exhibition, with nearly 100 paintings, sculptures, and drawings
on loan from U.S. and international collections—including 25
works exclusive to the Phillips’s presentation. Tues.— Sat., from
10 am — 5 pm, Thurs.10 am — 8:30 pm, Sun. noon — 7 pm
(closed Monday). Admission to Modigliani is $14 For tickets,
please visit ticketmaster.com or call 1-800-551-SEAT.
Metro: Dupont Circle. phillipscollection.org

The Corcoran 500 17th Street, NW 202.639.1700 For
more than 90 years, the Corcoran Gallery of Art with
14,000 art objects has charted the extraordinary course of
American art through its Biennial exhibitions. Building on
the success of the 47th Biennial, this exhibition moves
beyond the issue of media as a primary defining feature.

The 48th Biennial: Closer to Home takes as its focus
contemporary artists making use of traditional arts
methods, favoring earnest individual expression and
historically resonant aesthetic dialogue over high-tech
media. Also hosting one of the few major holdings of its
kind in the United States, the Corcoran's William A.
Clark Collection of Italian Renaissance maiolica is
outstanding because of its quality, variety, and condition.
The Corcoran's collection contains works made in all of
the major centers of Italian Renaissance production
including Faenza, Urbino and Tuscany.
http://www.corcoran.org/ Open Wednesday to Monday
10am to 5pm Open ThursdayUntil 9pm Admission$6.75
Sunday Gospel Brunch Seating begins at 10:30 a.m.
Musicians perform between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Brunch is
priced at $23.95 for adults includes general admission to
the museum.