Mike Rugel takes us on a tour of some of his favorite DC museums. He holds a masters degree from the Museum Studies department at George Washington University, and works at the National Museum of American Jewish Military History. Edited by John A. Vlahides
Everyone knows the Smithsonian and DC’s other major museums, but the city’s smaller treasures of art, history, and science merit attention too—especially the weird ones. Venture away from the Mall and discover collections that reveal a lesser-known Washington. Best of all, many of them are free.
DC has a long line of eccentric locals and colorful characters who had nothing to do with government, but nonetheless played an important role in the city’s history. Take for instance Christian Heurich, who made his fortune with the Heurich Brewing Co. He poured his profits into the circa-1890 Brewmaster’s Castle, an impeccably preserved, late-Victorian mansion. The fortress-like exterior evokes antiquity, but inside is the finest technology of the day, including then-state-of-the-art fireproofing (Heurich was deathly afraid of fire: none of the house’s stunning fireplaces has ever been lit). Other quirky details include a basement-level breakfast room built to resemble a German tavern, complete with German wisdom on the wall like, ‘He who has never been drunk is not a good man.’ So comfortable was Heurich that he remained in residence until his death at 102 years old.
No one wrote as eloquently about the 19th-century African-American experience as Frederick Douglass. In 1877, a few years before Heurich built his castle, the writer and former slave bought a mansion atop a hill near the banks of the Anacostia River, using money he’d earned from publishing and public-service work. The National Park Service has recently reopened the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site at Cedar Hill. Once stark-white, the house has been repainted a shade of brown that Douglass himself selected in the 1890s. With its large front porch and gabled roof, the house evokes Victorian splendor: Douglass wanted to show the world that a black man could live as well as a white. In addition to the usual house tour, the site features exhibits on Douglass’ achievements, most notably his rise from Maryland slave to civil rights icon.
From the Frederick Douglas house, it’s a short hop to the Anacostia Community Museum. Though it’s administered by the Smithsonian, the museum is a world apart from the behemoths on the Mall. The small, rotating exhibits cover DC and neighborhood history; African-American art; and the Anacostia community, providing an opportunity to see works by lesser-known artists whose work isn’t often exhibited elsewhere.
Back downtown, the National Geographic Museum at Explorer’s Hall houses a stunning collection of thrilling photography, from nature and wildlife works to ethnographic studies. Other exhibits focus on artifacts (or replicas) that give insight into natural history and worldwide cultures. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to work in the field for National Geographic, check out the installations on the explorers, and gain new-found appreciation for the adventurer’s hard work.
DC has a dynamic and happening small-gallery scene. Georgetown’s Govinda Gallery showcases some of the world’s best music photography, by photographers with a keen eye for capturing casual backstage shots, soulful performances, and the quickness of a candid moment. Subjects of past shows have included Fugazi, the Beatles, and Muddy Waters, giving the viewer an up-close look into the world of celebrity. The diverse exhibits change often and feature only one photographer at a time; check the website to make sure you’re into what’s showing.
Star-architect Philip Johnson designed the former residence of David and Carmen Kreeger, which has been converted into the Kreeger Museum. Most people come for the Impressionist works, but don’t overlook the (more) impressive assemblage of African and 20th-century art, including works by Picasso. And if you’re an architecture buff, the house itself is reason enough to visit: it features Johnson’s modular design technique—a series of interconnected cubes—and every public room is adorned with great art.
Conservatives: Ever wanted to take aim at Michael Moore? Then you’ll love the NRA’s National Firearms Museum, in Fairfax, VA. Some of the weapons are downright works of art, with detail work so elegant, you might forget that they were designed to kill. Aside from a seemingly endless collection of guns, most contained in cases lining the walls, some displayed in historical context in recreated battle and hunting scenes, the museum also pays tribute to stalwart icons of the NRA like Teddy Roosevelt and Charlton Heston—sans the ‘cold, dead hand.’
Stoners: Ever wanted to take aim at Nancy Reagan? Check your hostility at the door of the DEA Museum, across from the Pentagon City Mall, and mock the cheesy recreations of a ’70s-era head shop and a ’90s crack house. Though the goal is prevention, the bongs, razor blades, and other out-of-context drug paraphernalia are displayed without the least bit of irony—which makes them doubly amusing. Though the agency’s miserable failures are not highlighted, many luridly fascinating stories about drugs and death are: the main exhibit traces the history of drugs in American culture, starting with the 1840s opium craze, sparked by Chinese workers imported to build the Transcontinental Railroad.