Saturday, April 21, 2007, [b]Across the City[/b]http://www.culturaltourismdc.org/calendar2532/calendar_show.htm?doc_id=469941
Are you interested in getting out and meeting more people in the city?
Join Cultural Tourism DC for more than 60 free walking tours (and a few bike and boat tours) in 18 neighborhoods across Washington, DC.
What you need to know:
All tours are free.
Reservations are not required, with the exception of the bike tours and a few others. Just show up!
Consider taking Metrobus, Metrorail, or the Circulator. Most tours are readily available via public transportation.
Tours are held rain or shine.
Visit the City Guide at washingtonpost.com to check special features and post a review.
SATURDAY, APRIL 21
Anacostia by Bike: The River and the RidgeSaturday 8:30 am – 12:30 pmMeet at the Harbor Police parking lot at the south end of Water Street, SWReservations required: 202-518-0524 or waba@waba.orgThis 26-mile ride combines a tour of the Anacostia River Walk Trail with the spine of the Potomac Ridge. See Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, historic Anacostia, the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, and the Anacostia Community Museum. Participants should expect rough pavement, hills, and traffic, which will be heavy in spots. Helmets are mandatory. Bring water, food, and ID. Led by volunteer Jon Fleming and presented by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.
Explore Florida Market/Capital City Market Saturday 9 – 11 am
Meet outside the north entrance of New York Avenue Metro station (exit to Florida Avenue)The Florida Market is the city’s major wholesale food distribution center. Walkers will visit two Korean restaurants and vendors inside the DC Farmers Market building. The tour will also address development issues, such as increased demand for urban living. Led by Richard Layman and presented by Citizens Planning Coalition, Frozen Tropics weblog, and Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space weblog.
Spies of Georgetown Walking Tour Saturday 9:30 am – 12 noon
Meet outside the Georgetown Public Library, corner of Wisconsin Avenue and R Street, NWReservations required: 703-569-1875 or jcbessette@aol.com Discover a different side of high-profile, fashionable Georgetown: espionage and intrigue. This tour will highlight sites associated with spies and counterspies, and will include personalities as diverse as Alger Hiss, “Wild Bill” Donovan, James Angleton, and Allen Dulles. Led by professional tour guide Carol Bessette and presented by Spies of Washington Tours.
Capitol Hill Saturday 10 am – 12 noon
Meet outside Eastern Market Metro station
Most people think of Capitol Hill as a place of business, law, and politics. But “the Hill” is much more. Find out who has called Capitol Hill home over the years and visit the “other” Lincoln memorial. Spot the contemporary row houses among the authentic Victorian ones, but plan to snack when we end at the ever-popular Eastern Market. Led by professional tour guide Sarah Fischer and presented by Washington Walks.Note: This is a popular tour!
Capitol Hill: A Half-Century of Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, and Transgendered History
Saturday 10 – 11:30 am
Meet outside Mr. Henry’s at Sixth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
Capitol Hill's GLBT tour discusses the development of the club scene along Pennsylvania Avenue, the Metropolitan Community Church on Seventh Street, and the birth of women’s clubs. Highlights include the first gay “super” clubs, Lammas (the de-facto women’s center of its day), the Furies collective, and drag shows on Capitol Hill. Led by John Olinger, Ph.D. and presented by The Rainbow History Project.
Mt. Vernon Triangle
Saturday 10 am – 12 noon, Noon - 2pm
Meet in front of the Old City Library/City Museum (Eighth and K Streets, NW)
Mt. Vernon Triangle is one of the city’s newest historic districts, a developing mix of 19th-century residential and commercial buildings and new high-rise apartments. We will explore the remnants of the old neighborhood as they are incorporated into new developments, discuss the area’s history, and visit some nearby sites of interest. Led by Hayden Wetzel and presented by DC Preservation League.
Logan CircleSaturday 11 am – 1 pm
Meet outside McPherson Square Metro station (14th Street exit)
Few Washington neighborhoods have witnessed as breathtaking a renaissance as Logan Circle, the city’s only unaltered Victorian residential district. It evolved from rural obscurity to an enclave of architectural splendor, home first to affluent whites and later to African American residents. Led by professional tour guide Carolyn Crouch and presented by Washington Walks.
History of Our Waterways Cultural Cruise
Saturday 11:30 am – 2 pm
Meet at the gazebo outside the Gangplank Marina, 600 Water Street, SW
Reservations required: 202-547-1250 or lgossens@NMHF.org
Join the National Maritime Heritage Foundation for a fun and educational cruise on the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers. Relax aboard our 65-foot schooner as we set sail and enjoy the sights from a new perspective and learn about the DC Waterfront. Led by Carl Cole and presented by the National Maritime Heritage Foundation.
Georgetown on the Underground Railroad
Saturday 12 noon – 1:30 pm
Meet in the garden of the Old Stone House at 3051 M Street, NW
Mary Kay Ricks, author of the recent book, Escape on the Pearl: the Heroic Bid for Freedom on the Underground Railroad, will highlight the people and places in Georgetown connected with the infamous 1848 escape when nearly 80 fugitives attempted to flee Washington aboard a schooner. Presented by A Tour DC.
Mt. Vernon Triangle
Saturday 12 noon – 2 pm
Meet in front of the Old City Library/City Museum, Eighth and K Streets, NW
Mt. Vernon Triangle is one of the city’s newest historic districts, a developing mix of 19th-century residential and commercial buildings and new high-rise apartments. We will explore the remnants of the old neighborhood as they are incorporated into new developments, discuss the area’s history, and visit some nearby sites of interest. Led by Hayden Wetzel and presented by DC Preservation League.
Dupont Circle's Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, and Transgendered History Uncovered
Saturday 12:30 – 2 pm
Meet at the Community Building, counterculture HQ, at 1724 20th Street, NW
Join for us for a tour focusing on how community developed in the Dupont Circle area beginning in the early 1970s. Visit significant sites such as the three homes of Lambda Rising, the California Kitchen, and We’wha’s N Street home. The tour includes women’s history sites Lammas and Tess, and highlights the growth of Dupont’s club scene. Led by Rainbow History Project Founder Mark Meinke and presented by the Rainbow History Project.
Discover Foggy Bottom East and The George Washington University
Saturday 1 – 3 pm
Meet in front of the Gelman Library, 2130 H Street, NW
The university’s campus includes many historical buildings that were once hotels, apartment complexes, businesses, and private residences. The tour includes discussion of the area. Led by G. David Anderson, George Washington University archivist and historian.
Embassy Row Saturday 10am till 12 noon and 1 – 3 pm
Meet outside Dupont Circle Metro station (Dupont South exit by the pay phones)
This walk features some of the most impressive turn-of-the-century residences in the city (today, most house embassies and consulates). Imagine fabulous wealth, extravagant parties, and scandals of the past while glimpsing the life led by Washington’s diplomatic community today. The walk concludes at the Phillips Collection, a private mansion-turned-art-museum. Led by professional guide Mary Anne Hoffman and presented by Washington Walks.
Note: This is a popular tour!
Reel Washington: Bikes, Camera, Action!
Saturday 1 – 4:30 pm
Meet at the rear plaza of the Old Post Office Pavilion, 12th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW
Reservations required: 202-842-BIKE or www.bikethesites.com
You’ve seen the Exorcist, All the President's Men, No Way Out, Broadcast News, and others filmed in Washington. Join us by bike to find out where and how they were filmed. We’ll utter the famous lines, reveal the famous gaffes (where is the Georgetown subway station?) and provide enough Washington film trivia to satisfy your favorite movie junkie. Led by Sarah Fischer and presented by Bike the Sites.
Special Instructions: Optional bike rentals $20. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time. Minimum age: 13 years.
Before Harlem, There Was U Street Saturday 10.30am - 12.30 and 1:30 – 3:30 pm
Meet outside U Street/African-Amer Civil War Memorial/Cardozo Metro station (13th Street exit)
Take a walk along Washington’s “Black Broadway,” where Duke Ellington grew up and was inspired, and where musical greats such as Cab Calloway and Dizzy Gillespie played into the wee hours of the morning. Here in the shadow of Howard University, African Americans created a strong community that produced leaders for the city and the nation. Led by professional guide Phyllis Fleming and presented by Washington Walks and Cultural Tourism DC.Note: This is a popular tour!
Capitol Hill
Saturday 1:30 – 3:30 pm
Meet outside Eastern Market Metro station
Most people think of Capitol Hill as a place of business, law, and politics. But “the Hill” is much more. Find out who has called Capitol Hill home over the years and visit the “other” Lincoln memorial. Spot the contemporary row houses among the authentic Victorian ones, but plan to snack when we end at the ever-popular Eastern Market. Led by professional tour guide Dwane Starlin and presented by Washington Walks.
Note: This is a popular tour!
Within Sight of the White House: Hooker’s Division and Murder Bay
Saturday 1:30 – 3:30 pm
Meet outside Federal Triangle Metro station
The Classical Revival buildings of the Federal Triangle stand today atop historic and, at times, rather infamous foundations. The area formed an integral part of L’Enfant’s grand vision for the Federal City, but unfortunately deteriorated into a notorious slum known as Hooker’s Division and Murder Bay. Led by Michael Kelly and Heidi Dietze and presented by National Park Service - National Mall & Memorial Parks.
Note: This program contains adult subject matter
Old Takoma Park
Saturday 2 – 4 pm
Meet at Takoma Metro station
Explore the residential and commercial origins of the suburban community founded by B.F. Gilbert in 1884. Landmarks include the 1911 Carnegie branch library, some of the neighborhood’s oldest homes, and one of the few remaining original 1791 boundary stones marking the federal border. Led by neighborhood resident Diana Kohn and presented by Historic Takoma, Inc.
Southwest Waterfront
Saturday 2:30 – 4:30 pm
Meet outside Waterfront-SEU Metro station
Since Pierre L’Enfant drafted the first city plans for the District of Columbia, Southwest has been home to a diverse community that has included wealthy speculators, free blacks, and European immigrants. Learn how urban renewal brought wholesale change and reinvention. Led by professional tour guide Carolyn Crouch and presented by Washington Walks.
For more events, and Sunday April 22nd events, please visit their website here.
Brookside Gardens Exercise Session!
