Blog

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

August 1, 2023

See Who's Laying Around Congressional Cemetery

When Pierre L’Enfant made his plan for the new capital city, he thought of everything, a canal, a house for the president, where Congress would meet,...

July 17, 2023

A White Supremacist Welcome to Washington

The Connecticut Avenue gateway to Washington DC is second only to Memorial Bridge in its beauty. A broad treelined street leads to a large fountain t...

July 11, 2023

A NEW SACRED SPACE: BLACK LIVES MATTER PLAZA

One of the first things people ask me when they talk about visiting Washington is whether they can visit Black Lives Matter Plaza. The answer is alway...

July 11, 2023

Motorcade Spotting

One of my favorite things to do in Washington is trying to guess who’s in a passing motorcade. The president’s motorcade is easy to spot: Two identica...

July 11, 2023

Hammers and Helicopters: Getting Ready for Inauguration

In Washington, we know how to do big events. Between marches and international meetings, we have lots of practice. But nothing beats an inauguration....

July 11, 2023

Big Blue Hahn/Cock

Here’s something you don’t see every day: A fifteen foot blue rooster. After spending eighteen months crowing over London’s Trafalgar Square, Katharin...

July 11, 2023

Memorial on the Edge of Town

You’ve probably driven by this memorial dozens of times and not noticed it. Between Memorial Bridge and National Airport (on your right heading south...

July 11, 2023

Rent-a-Panda

One of the highlights of any family’s tour of Washington is seeing Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, the pandas at the National Zoo. But unlike other animals t...

July 11, 2023

The Capitol’s Christmas Tree

Since 1970 the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service has provided the Architect of the Capitol with Christmas trees. The source of the trees rot...