Dupont and Kalorama Neighborhood Gems: Walking Tour

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Saturday, July 25 - 12:30pm - 4:30pm

Cost: $72.00 per person

Explore with a guide the historic neighborhood of Dupont Circle and Kalorama to see architectural gems, learn local lore, and provide insights that you would otherwise miss. You’ll be charmed by the neighborhood’s unique blend of international tone, think-tank sophistication and casual lifestyle.

Dupont Circle/Kalorama was once the fashionable address for Gilded Age tycoons, diplomats, politicians and sophisticated socialites. Between the end of the 19th century and World War I (1914-1918), they flaunted their wealth and status by building grand winter mansions and town homes around the neighborhood’s centerpiece circle. The Great Depression of the 1930s brought many changes to the area, but the splendid residences remain. Today they are homes to embassies, social clubs, private offices and institutions—not to mention time machines straight back to a lavish past.

Walking distance: 1.7 miles

Difficulty: A relatively easy walk, with one short hill

A few places you may visit and learn about will include:
Brewmaster’s Castle – Designed for a self-made millionaire, local brewer and real estate mogul (1846-1948), it was the first fireproof residence in Washington, built of poured concrete and reinforced steel. Step back in time as you tour this unusual house museum, in which the family’s original art and furnishings are on display.

The Walsh-McLean House – A fabulous Beaux-Arts style, 60-room mansion, built in 1902 for rags-to-riches gold miner Thomas F. Walsh. At the time, it was Washington’s most expensive residence.

The Anderson House – The main floor is embellished with portraits and murals of family heroes. You can almost see the ghosts in long gowns waltzing around the magnificent two-story ballroom.

Also on your walk is the Townsend House (now the Cosmos Club), Masaryk Park (named for the founding father of free Czechoslovakia), the Textile Museum, and of course, Embassy Row, with a fine display of colorful national fl ags and small plaques noting the nation occupying each embassy.

You’ll visit the Woodrow Wilson House. A tour of this “unpretentious” presidential museum, with its 1920 Victrola and other charming artifacts, reveals the lifestyle of the well-heeled during the Roaring ’20s.

Tour stops will vary based on venue availability.

Parts of this tour are not wheelchair-accessible. Contact CSI at 703.584.2460 for more information.