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The theater where Lincoln was shot on April 14, 1865 (see March on Washington), has been restored by the federal government and is now a memorial to the president and his love of theater and music.

Stephen Decatur was a renowned naval hero when he built this Federal-style town-house in 1818, but he was killed in a duel 14 months after he moved in. It now evokes the life of 19th-century middle-class America.

George Washington was a patron of this former tavern. The older of the two colonial buildings, dating from 1770, was a going concern six years before the Declaration of Independence. The second building houses a restaurant that serves food typical of the 18th century.

Andrew Carnegie’s campaign to build libraries across America (he funded 1,679 in all) changed the country forever. This magnificent Beaux Arts building has been fully restored and is operated by the Historical Society of Washington, DC.

The 28th president was exhausted and demoralized when he left office in 1921, but this Georgian Revival house must have done much to restore his spirits. It now gives a delightful insight into 1920s American life.

Frederick Douglass and his wife Anna became the first African-American family in Anacostia when they moved into this estate in 1877. Born a slave, Douglass became America’s most effective anti-slavery speaker. Accessible by Tourmobile (see Tour Bus Lines).

The renowned teacher and advocate for women’s and African-Americans’ rights bought this Victorian townhouse – now a National Historic Site – in 1935. It is still furnished with her possessions.

The oldest surviving structure in DC, this evocative little building holds demonstrations of crafts and skills of pre-Revolutionary life, such as sheep-shearing, and cooking on an open hearth.

This astounding Beaux Arts mansion from 1905 is decorated in the eccentric style of its original resident, Ambassador Larz Anderson. Its 600-ft (180-m) long ballroom is spectacular.

The 1800 construction date makes this enchanting home one of the oldest on Capitol Hill, and a National Historic Landmark. It is now a museum of women’s emancipation.