October Walking Tours
From hidden alleyways to green spaces to architectural gems, you’ll discover more about Capitol Hill on one of our four October walking tours.
The volunteer-led tours resume October 4-5. September tours sold out, so grab a spot while you can! Buy tickets on Eventbrite.
Here are our offerings:
October 4 at 10 a.m. Capitol Hill Architecture: Learn about the changing tastes and practical decisions that informed builders’ choices. This is one of our oldest walking tours.
October 4 at 1 p.m. SE Alleys: Capitol Hill has many hidden alleys and charming one-block streets. Take a trip back in time to explore the workaday world of past residential and industrial uses and some of our most diverse populations. Another of our oldest walking tours.
October 5 at 1 p.m. Between Marion and Providence Parks: When Pierre L’Enfant developed his 1791 plan for the City of Washington, he established a network of public spaces and squares, linked by broad avenues. The residential neighborhood around the blocks that turned into Marion and Providence Parks (popularly referred to as Turtle and X Parks) has evolved into a rich tapestry of houses, schools, churches and buildings old and new, which we will explore on this tour. This incorporates some of our parks and infrastructure tour.
October 5 at 1 p.m. NE Alleys: The lifestyles, occupations, and shenanigans of the inhabitants; early industrial uses; and efforts both to eliminate and to preserve alley dwellings.
Walking Tours
We are offering four tours in October and all happen rain or shine. The tours are 1.5-2 miles of flat city street walking. Make sure to check the time – all but one are at 1pm. The tours all take 1.5-2 hours, depending on the group.
October 4 at 10:00am
Capitol Hill Architecture – Learn about the changing tastes and practical decisions that informed the builders’ choices. This is one of our oldest walking tours. Starts at 324 East Capitol Street NE.
October 4 at 1:00pm
SE Alleys – Capitol Hill has many hidden alleys and charming one-block streets. Take a trip back in time to explore the workaday world of past residential and industrial uses and some of our most diverse populations. This is one of our oldest walking tours. Starts at 233 12th Street SE
October 5 at 1:00pm
Between Marion and Providence Parks – When Pierre L’Enfant developed his 1791 plan for the City of Washington, he established a network of public spaces, squares, linked by broad avenues. The residential neighborhood around the squares that turned into Marion and Providence Parks has evolved into a rich tapestry of houses, schools, churches, buildings old and new, which we will explore on this tour. This is a redeveloped parks and infrastructure tour. Starts at 500 E Street SE (in front of police station).
October 5 at 1:00pm
NE Alleys – The lifestyles, occupations, and shenanigans of the inhabitants; early industrial uses; and efforts both to eliminate and to preserve alley dwellings. The tour starts at triangle park bounded by the 600 blocks of Massachusetts & Constitution Avenues NE.
CHRS Board of Directors Meeting
Preservation Cafe: An Evening With the L’Enfant Trust
Preservation Cafe: An Evening With the L’Enfant Trust
Do you notice these metal plaques on Capitol Hill homes and wonder what they mean? They indicate a preservation or conservation easement — a legal agreement in which an owner donates the easement to protect the property against demolition, neglect or insensitive alterations.
Join us September 25 for a free online talk with folks from the L’Enfant Trust, which holds most of the easements on the Hill. They’ll share insights on how to donate an easement, what makes a property eligible, and the responsibilities of easemented property owners.
They’ll also tell us about a program you may not know about — its transformational Historic Properties Redevelopment Program in Historic Anacostia. Since 2013, the program has rehabilitated deteriorated, vacant historic properties into affordable home ownership opportunities for the community.
This Preservation Cafe will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 25. Sign up via Eventbrite to get the Zoom link.
House Expo 2025
Have you been thinking about undertaking a home improvement project? Or do you just have questions about your home? Help and answers will be available at the FREE Capitol Hill Restoration Society annual House Expo in the North Hall of Eastern Market on Saturday, November 1, from 9 a,m, – 3 p,m.
September walking tours
Strap on your walking shoes, because we’re bringing back our popular guided walking tours of Capitol Hill. We’ll offer four tours on September 6 and 7 featuring Southeast alleys, notable people, one block with many stories, and the Civil War and before. Buy tickets on Eventbrite, and grab them before they sell out.
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