Our Capital: History everywhere

There are so many ways to visit your nation’s capital. So much to see and do. As steward of many historic buildings in Washington, DC, GSA has contributed greatly to the preservation of these sites and buildings, an integral part of our nation’s history. Visit these landmarks via the web and in some cases, where the building is open to the public, in person.

Explore Washington, DC

This page has the location of many of GSA’s most significant Washington, D.C. properties.

Lafayette Square

This seven-acre park across from the White House, first known as President’s Square, is named in honor of Marquis De Lafayette, the 19-year-old French nobleman who befriended George Washington and volunteered as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. At the park’s edge is a collection of 19th century townhouses once home to Washington, D.C.’s elite, including First Lady Dolley Madison, whose house was the second most visited residence in Washington during the 1840s.

National Register Travel Itineraries

Spotlighting different geographic regions and themes across the country, the National Park Service (NPS) National Register Travel Itineraries invite visitors to experience the many significant places in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture, from Route 66 to a multi-state tour of American Latino heritage to Civil War era cemeteries. Each of the more than 60 itineraries is a self-guided tour to more than 3,000 historic places, many of which are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Several of these itineraries focus on the Washington, DC area, and include buildings stewarded by GSA.

Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site

Known the world over as the heart of the nation’s capital, Pennsylvania Avenue has been a backdrop to American history as presidential inaugural parades, victory marches, and political protests have walked its route. Rumor has it that Thomas Jefferson named the avenue after the nation’s capital was relocated from Philadelphia to Washington, DC, to appease hurt feelings. The avenue, created on swampland in 1792, was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.