Off the Mall: Heritage Tourism
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. has a grandeur all its own. From the Capitol
to the Lincoln Memorial and all the monuments and museums in
between, the capital city is a tourism magnet. But these famous
sites are often overcrowded, resulting in long waiting lines
and tired visitors. Like Chicago, Washington holds within its
boundaries dozens of communities rich with ethnic, cultural,
architectural, and historical attractions. Cultural Tourism DC (formerly DC Heritage Tourism
Coalition), a group of more than 160 arts,
heritage and neighborhood organizational members, believes D.C. visitors are eager
for an experience that takes them beyond the major
sights for authentic experiences that put them in touch with
the uniqueness of the city. But tourists don’t know what
there is to see or how to find it.
The answer to that dilemma began in 1999 with an inventoryof Washington’s
cultural resources. Cultural Tourism DC completed a three-year
collaborative effort that linked scholars, community residents,
local historians, neighborhood stakeholders, and interested citizens
in the process of asset mapping—identifying the people
and places that enrich communities and constitute resources for
economic development. The result was a comprehensive publication,
Capital Assets,
A Report on the Tourist Potential of Neighborhood Heritage and
Cultural Sites in Washington, D.C. It identifies assets around
the city away from the Mall, including 60-plus local museums;
more than 650 buildings, historic sites, and parks that are listed
in the National Register of Historic Places; more outdoor sculpture
than Chicago; ethnic festivals; and restaurants with foods from
at least
50 cultures.
The publication is the distillation of a database organized
by neighborhood and by theme, and includes more than twelve areas
of interest ranging from African American sites, the Civil War
and religious institutions to architecture, parks and gardens,
and the homes of prominent figures. What sets this publication
apart—and makes it invaluable to policy makers, planners,
the tourism industry and residents—is that it groups the
city’s heritage and cultural attractions according to their
state of tourism readiness. Some sites, such as house museums,
are open regularly and already provide tourist experiences. Many
others, such as Civil War forts, parks, historic cemeteries,
buildings of architectural merit or historical significance,
and outdoor murals, are uninterpreted, hard to find, or not open
to visitors. Other important assets, such as the 1910 Howard
Theater, are empty, in disrepair and even in danger of demolition.
Capital Assets identifies these places and alerts people to the
need to encourage preservation and to develop successful heritage
tourism programs to help in that goal. In its own words, Capital
Assets is a “call to action.”
Washington, D.C. has a grandeur all its own. From the Capitol
to the Lincoln Memorial and all the monuments and museums in
between, the capital city is a tourism magnet. But these famous
sites are often overcrowded, resulting in long waiting lines
and tired visitors. Like Chicago, Washington holds within its
boundaries dozens of communities rich with ethnic, cultural,
architectural, and historical attractions. Cultural Tourism DC (formerly DC Heritage Tourism
Coalition), a group of more than 160 arts,
heritage and neighborhood organizational members, believes D.C. visitors are eager
for an experience that takes them beyond the major
sights for authentic experiences that put them in touch with
the uniqueness of the city. But tourists don’t know what
there is to see or how to find it.
of Washington’s
cultural resources. Cultural Tourism DC completed a three-year
collaborative effort that linked scholars, community residents,
local historians, neighborhood stakeholders, and interested citizens
in the process of asset mapping—identifying the people
and places that enrich communities and constitute resources for
economic development. The result was a comprehensive publication,
Capital Assets,
A Report on the Tourist Potential of Neighborhood Heritage and
Cultural Sites in Washington, D.C. It identifies assets around
the city away from the Mall, including 60-plus local museums;
more than 650 buildings, historic sites, and parks that are listed
in the National Register of Historic Places; more outdoor sculpture
than Chicago; ethnic festivals; and restaurants with foods from
at least
50 cultures.
The publication is the distillation of a database organized
by neighborhood and by theme, and includes more than twelve areas
of interest ranging from African American sites, the Civil War
and religious institutions to architecture, parks and gardens,
and the homes of prominent figures. What sets this publication
apart—and makes it invaluable to policy makers, planners,
the tourism industry and residents—is that it groups the
city’s heritage and cultural attractions according to their
state of tourism readiness. Some sites, such as house museums,
are open regularly and already provide tourist experiences. Many
others, such as Civil War forts, parks, historic cemeteries,
buildings of architectural merit or historical significance,
and outdoor murals, are uninterpreted, hard to find, or not open
to visitors. Other important assets, such as the 1910 Howard
Theater, are empty, in disrepair and even in danger of demolition.
Capital Assets identifies these places and alerts people to the
need to encourage preservation and to develop successful heritage
tourism programs to help in that goal. In its own words, Capital
Assets is a “call to action.”
