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This 1897 building is among the finest Beaux Arts designs in the United States. Note the atrium with its exquisite symmetrical stairway. The art collection inside includes some of the very best of American and European masterworks. In the American art collection, works by the Hudson River School and the Luminists are especially strong.

This is another Second Empire building, but on a mammoth scale. Many people consider its highly embellished style and daunting proportions – 300,000 sq ft (27,871 sq m) of office space on five stories – to be magnificent, but Mark Twain called it “the ugliest building in America.” The Departments of State, Navy, and War were housed here on its completion in 1888. Today it is home to offices for executive branch employees and the vice president.

Another gleaming white design by Paul P. Cret, architect of the Folger Shakespeare Library (see Folger Shakespeare Library and Theater). The Federal Reserve System is the central banking authority in the United States, regulating and facilitating both banking and the flow of currency and financial transactions.

A memorial to President John F. Kennedy, this huge performance complex – the largest in the country – presents the best expressions of the artistic culture he loved so well. National and international stars perform opera, concerts, musical comedy, drama, jazz, dance, and ballet, and even experimental multimedia productions. Located overlooking the Potomac, its terraces and rooftop restaurant have dazzling views.

The OAS’s beautiful building, with its three round-topped arches, is one of the area’s architectural delights. The OAS Art Museum of the Americas has a permanent collection of Western Hemisphere art that is one of the most important in the US. The Organization of American States is a cooperative association of all 35 countries of the hemisphere to promote economic development, protect human rights, and strengthen democracy.

This Smithsonian museum is a gem, with its displays of fine craft works. The second-floor Grand Salon served as a ballroom and site for special events when the Corcoran Gallery was located here before 1897. The room has been completely refurbished and a modern lighting system installed. The 1859 structure, named after its architect, James Renwick, Jr, is a marvelous Second Empire-style building.

This unique and graceful building houses the oldest architecture museum in the country. The house was completed in 1801 – one of the first private residences to be built to Pierre L’Enfant’s plan – and provided shelter to President James Madison and his family while workers were rebuilding the White House after its destruction during the War of 1812. The exhibitions of the museum focus especially on the early Federal period of architecture, principally from 1800 to 1830. The finest display is the restoration of the house itself, designed by William Thornton, the original architect of the US Capitol, as a second home for John Tayloe III, a wealthy friend of George Washington.

Beautiful from any angle and still glowing from its repainting in the 1990s, the White House is a symbol of US political power and of democracy throughout the world.

The Greek-Revival style of this old building, designed in 1833, suggests a Temple of Money, and the imposing interior design confirms the seriousness with which the republic has always treated its currency. The restored Salmon P. Chase Suite and the Andrew Johnson Office reflect the gravity of official actions during and after the Civil War. The burglar-proof vault is always a hit with visitors because of the beauty of its cast-iron walls and its demonstration of the low security needs of a simpler day.