Blog

Name: Off The Record Tours
Address: Washington, D.C.
Telephone: 202-255-5685

November 6, 2026

Washington DC Attractions You Should Skip

Washington has a remarkable ability to turn a perfectly pleasant visit into a list of obligations. You must see this memorial. You must visit that mus...

Elmgreen & Dragset's sculpture 8, a swimming pool standing on end, in the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden

November 2, 2026

A First Look at the Hirshhorn’s Renovated Sculpture Garden

The first thing that grabs your attention at the renovated Hirshhorn Museum Sculpture Garden is a swimming pool standing on end. It’s called 8, by the...

October 27, 2026

A First Look at DC's Desert Storm & Desert Shield Memorial

Desert Shield and Desert Storm, often called the Persian Gulf War, is now remembered at a new memorial on a corner of the National Mall in Washington,...

September 29, 2026

What Should First-Time Visitors Know Before Going to Washington, DC?

Washington is safe. Despite what you hear from the president, Washington, DC has never been safer. Crime is down, but more importantly, the places tou...

September 24, 2026

A First Look at the Lincoln Memorial Undercroft

Lincoln Memorial undercroft opened this summer. The best part is a look at this vast vaulted space with 122 concrete columns that support the chamber...

September 24, 2026

The Clover Adam’s Grave: Grief and Transcendence

What I believe is the most beautiful work of funerary art is found in Rock Creek Cemetery. It memorializes Marian Hooper Adams, known as Clover to her...

February 23, 2026

Assassination with a Side of Lo Mein

The story of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination is well known. What’s less known is the role this Chinese restaurant played in the saga. What today is Wo...

September 30, 2024

Sonny Bono Park

Washington DC is known for memorials to great Americans – Abraham Lincoln, Mary McLoud Bethune, Franklin Roosevelt, and Sonny Bono. Yes, Sonny Bono is...

September 30, 2024

Markers at Arlington National Cemetery: Size Doesn't Matter

In the off season, I enjoy randomly walking through Arlington National Cemetery. I love the quiet dignity of the honored dead at rest in their final f...