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Like so many features of the area, the C&O Canal grew from a dream of George Washington’s as a gateway to commerce with the US lands to the west (“west” meaning Ohio at the time). Coal, flour, fur, timber, whiskey, iron ore, and other goods traveled on barges, towed by mules walking along canalside paths. The canal’s commercial days are over, but its entire length from Georgetown to Maryland has been turned into one of the most beloved national parks. Visitors can experience the beauty and serenity of the canal by walking about a block south from M Street, NW and turning west onto the towpath. The National Park Service Visitor Center for the C&O has terrific guidance for enjoying the canal. Guided tours and seasonal mule-powered barge rides on the canal are offered.
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This elegant Federal-style house, with its Philip Johnson-designed wing, houses a world-renowned collection of Byzantine and pre-Columbian artifacts. El Greco’s Visitation is here also, possibly the Spanish master’s last painting. The house and museum are surrounded by acres of gorgeous landscaping (see Dumbarton Oaks).
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This venerable institution sits on its hill overlooking Georgetown and the Potomac like a medieval citadel, its stone towers seemingly brooding with age. Yet the university is one of the most progressive in the country. Among the many interesting buildings here is the 1875 Healy Hall, built in an elaborate Flemish Renaissance style with surprising spiral adornment. Visitors can obtain campus maps and suggestions for strolls from the booth at the main gates.
Elegant Georgetown House
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The 1866 church construction was built to house a congregation founded to serve the boatmen and support staff of the C&O Canal. The simple but extremely elegant design brings back the mid-19th century, although admittedly without the raucous bustle that must have accompanied the canal at its peak. The grounds are beautifully peaceful. The church offers poetry readings, theater performances, and concerts. Today’s congregation has a serious devotion to community service and outreach.
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This intersection is surrounded by the main shopping, entertainment, dining, and bar-crawling areas of Georgetown. The attractive shops of Georgetown Park include hundreds of retailers selling cool urban clothes, jewelry, fine wine, art and antiques, and countless other specialties. Restaurant food of every description is available, from modern gourmet to street window kebabs.
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Little attractions and oddities abound on this street, which is noted for its exemplary architecture. Best seen from the sidewalk on 28th Street, NW, the house at No. 2726 has an outstanding mosaic by Marc Chagall, a friend of the former owner. The elegant Federal house at No. 3038 was home to Ambassador Averill Harriman, who lent the house to Jacqueline Kennedy after her husband’s assassination. She later bought the elaborate 1794 Thomas Beall house across the street. Lessons in 19th-century architecture can be learned from the Federal houses at Nos. 3327 and 3339, the Second-Empire home at No. 3025–7, and the Victorian homes of Wheatley Row at Nos. 3041–45.
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The cemetery has a great diversity of graves and mausoleums in a Victorian garden setting. Its Gothic Revival chapel and the Van Ness Mausoleum are on the National Register of Historic Places.
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This remarkable residence dating from 1766 looks a little incongruous standing directly in the heart of the shopping area, but it provides a captivating window into 18th-century life. The National Park Service provides tours and fascinating demonstrations of the crafts and tasks of colonial families.
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This house museum would be remarkable for its beauty even without its historic interest. Completed in 1816, the house was built by Thomas Peter, son of a Georgetown tobacco merchant, and Martha Custis Peter, granddaughter of Martha Washington. The Peter family occupied the house for six generations and provided hospitality to many prominent guests. The formal gardens are exceptional.
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Dockside cafés, good restaurants, lovely views of the Potomac and the Kennedy Center, the Watergate complex, and the Thompson boathouse, walkways for strolling, and benches for resting make the harbor a magnet for Georgetowners on warm evenings. The Washington Harbor residential and commercial building is an architectural exuberance designed by Arthur Cotton Moore and Associates.
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