Walking Tour: Southwest with Best Address

Join us and Best Address to learn about mid-century modern architecture in Southwest Washington, DC, where you'll find some of the best examples in the city!

Southwest Washington has a long and interesting history. One of the first neighborhoods to be developed in Washington, it became a thriving community for Black Washingtonians and then was destroyed by "Urban Renewal." From there it fell on tough times again until the Wharf redeveloped it yet again. Southwest is known for some of the finest examples of mid-century modern architecture in Washington. On the tour, you’ll enjoy: 

• the story of how the wealthiest man in America was bankrupted by his DC investments,  
• work by Cloethial Woodard Smith, the most important woman architect in DC history, 
• the place where famed doctor Walter Reed proved the causes of yellow fever,  
• famed local architect Charles Goodman's modernist aluminum masterpieces, 
• monumental efforts to remember the men who died on the Titanic, 
• early buildings that earned global superstar architect I.M. Pei his first awards, 
• the most important regional theater in the United States, 
• and so much more! 

Learn more about... 

• Brutalism at the National Building Museum: https://nbm.org/exhibitions/capital-brutalism/.
• Cloethial Woodard Smith in Washington History Magazine. Kathleen James-Chakraborty, Washington History, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Fall 2023), pp. 8-21.
• The Old Southwest of Clarice Smith in Washington History Magazine. Jane F. Levey, Washington History, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Fall 2022), pp. 26-43.  
• Teaching Southwest DC from the DC History Center’s Clarice Smith Neighborhood History Project. 

RESERVATIONS: Required and limited to twenty-five (25) participants. If cost is a barrier to this program, please email us at programs@dchistory.org to discuss alternative options.
REFUNDS: If you are no longer able to attend this tour, refunds are available on a case-by-case basis via email to programs@dchistory.org. You will be responsible for the fees.
ACCESSIBILITY: Please note that this tour covers about several blocks of southwest DC. If you require accommodations for a disability, please email the DC History Center at programs@dchistory.org with your request as soon as possible for us to discuss options. Street noise and navigability can be challenging for attendees. We are committed to making events accessible for all participants.

TOUR GUIDE

Thanks to Joe Himali, the revenue from this tour will be donated to the DC History Center’s fundraiser for our upcoming exhibition, Class Action: The Fight for Equal Education in the Nation’s Capital. Learn more about our exhibit campaign. 

DC HISTORY CENTER PROGRAMS ARE SUPPORTED BY: