About America's 250th
As America celebrates its 250th birthday, here’s how to enjoy—and endure—the festivities in the Washington area.
Josiah Henson Museum and Park
location_on11410 Old Georgetown Rd., North Bethesda
languageWebsite
After escaping slavery in 1830, Reverend Josiah Henson became an author, abolitionist, speaker, and Underground Railroad conductor whose autobiography inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Built on the former plantation where Henson was once enslaved, this site offers exhibits and artifacts that tell the story of his life and times.
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
location_on1411 W St., SE
languageWebsite
After becoming a US marshal in 1877, abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass made his home at a 21-room Anacostia estate, Cedar Hill, until his 1895 death. Guided tours of the preserved house and nine-acre grounds, managed by the National Park Service, run Tuesday through Saturday. Virtual tours are also available online.
Julia Child’s Georgetown Home
location_on2706 Olive St., NW
Built in 1869 near Rock Creek, this pale-yellow wooden house served as the legendary TV chef’s 1950s base amid her sojourns in France. Child called the house her “Little Jewel,” and inside, she worked on the manuscript for Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Today, there are no tours at the private residence—but it remains Instagrammable, with the genteel, cozy look of a place you’d expect the magnetic chef to live and cook.
Go-Go Museum & Café
location_on1920 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., SE
languageWebsite
DC is a city of many museums, but none celebrates local culture like this storefront in Anacostia. Founded last year by activist Ronald Moten and devoted to the drum-heavy party jams that have been at the center of Black life in DC for decades, the museum offers live performances and interactive exhibits including an interactive, AI-powered digital renderings of Backyard Band’s Big G and EU’s Sugar Bear.
The Miracle Theatre
location_on535 Eighth St., SE
languageWebsite
Opened in 1909, this little Capitol Hill movie house is the oldest in DC—and one of the oldest in the nation. After a decades-long stint as a church, it’s once again a cinema, showing classics like Star Wars, Casablanca, Groundhog Day, and Roman Holiday. With its red curtains and nostalgic vibes, the Miracle looks like the kind of theater you’d see in a film.
The Jim Henson Collections
location_on8270 Alumni Dr., College Park
languageWebsite
Get to know the father of America’s greatest treasures—the Muppets, of course—through his alma mater’s archives. Schedule an appointment with the University of Maryland’s Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library to watch nearly 70 videos that chronicle Henson’s entertainment career, including a recording of Miss Piggy’s television debut. Other treats include sketches by longtime Muppet costume designer Polly Smith and the papers of Professor Edward Longley, who taught puppetry to Henson and his wife, Jane.
President Lincoln’s Cottage
location_on140 Rock Creek Church Rd., NW
languageWebsite
If Abraham Lincoln is your favorite President, you’ll want to see this hidden gem just three miles from the White House. Lincoln spent his summers in the 34-room “cottage” on the grounds of the Soldiers’ Home, a retirement community for enlisted veterans. The museum offers tours of the house and the 250-acre campus, as well as exhibits about the Lincolns’ lives.
Wok and Roll
location_on606 H St., NW
languageWebsite
In 1865, Confederate sympathizer Mary Surratt met with John Wilkes Booth in her Greek Revival boardinghouse and helped furnish him with the gun he used to kill President Lincoln. Today, the house is occupied by this Chinatown restaurant, where you can eat General Tso’s chicken and sing karaoke in English, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. It’s a perfect encapsulation of how DC’s deep history casually coexists with our modern city.
Surratt Historic Site and Museum
location_on9118 Brandywine Rd., Clinton
languageWebsite
Once used as a farmhouse, tavern, hotel, and secret Confederate safe haven, the Surratt House (yep, same Mary!) is infamous as the place where John Wilkes Booth fled after assassinating the President. For America’s 250th, this museum is offering a special exhibit, “Remembering We the People: Race and Resistance in Civil War Maryland.”
Chrysalis Vineyards
location_on39025 Little River Tpk., Middleburg
languageWebsite
Pinot Noir. Cabernet Sauvignon. Norton? You bet. America’s oldest native grape variety isn’t widely known today, but it goes all the way back to the 1820s and the nascent days of Virginia’s wine culture. Prohibition later killed off most of the state’s wine production, but it has since returned—and Chrysalis is one of a few vineyards trying to preserve the past with Norton wines that carry the scent of cherries and raspberries.
National Deaf Life Museum
location_on800 Florida Ave., NE
languageWebsite
You probably know that Washington is home to Gallaudet University, the world’s first institution of higher learning for deaf people. Less well known is this on-campus museum, which occupies the lovely 19th-century Chapel Hall. One exhibit, “History Through Deaf Eyes,” traces the country’s history by following the experiences of deaf Americans.
This article appears in the June 2026 issue of Washingtonian.
