Since the White House was first occupied by President John Adams in 1800, influential people and organizations—or those who hoped to have influence—have bought property and built homes and offices along the streets surrounding the White House. For more than two centuries this neighborhood has been the setting for political decision making and diplomacy, for social gatherings and protests, for wartime expediencies and peacetime hospitality. In front of the White House, across Pennsylvania Avenue, is Lafayette Square and its park, the centerpiece of many of Washington’s and the nation’s most historic sites. That these structures have survived is owing to the modern preservation movement, and it is timely that the exhibition coincides with the fiftieth anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. We invite you to learn about these historic landmarks and then to walk the President’s Neighborhood to see them for yourself.

The key sites within Lafayette Square featured in the exhibition include: Blair House, The President’s Guest House, Dolley Madison House, Decatur House, Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Hay-Adams Hotel, St. John’s Episcopal Church, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and U.S. Treasury Department.

Closed for the following holidays: Memorial Day – May 30; Independence Day – July 4; Labor Day – September 5