A friend who is going to be in DC next week (for a conference, with some extra time added) asked me for suggestions on things to do in the city during the shutdown.

I came up with these ideas:

Mount Vernon

In no particular order or personal interest or preference:

Dumbarton Oaks
Woodlawn Plantation (and Frank Lloyd Wright's Pope Leighey House)
Arlington Cemetery
Folger Shakespearean Library
National Geographic Museum
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Woodrow Wilson House
Spy Museum
Museum of the Bible
Textile Museum

The clock tower and observation deck in the Old Post Office Building is also the site of the president's hotel.

Somehow The Government Services Administration found the money to keep open the one NPS function that happened to be located in one of Donald Trump's hotels. You couldn't pay me to go there. Meanwhile parts of the National Mall look like a trash dump and smell like cesspool.

Hillwood Estate

hillwood is closed. Not shut down—some sort of seasonal upkeep.

The sights and new restaurants along the Wharf and also Yards Park near the stadium. And last I checked, Georgetown was still a fine place to go.

A local station -- WAMU -- did some research:
https://wamu.org/story/19/01/04/from...-the-shutdown/

Thanks for all the suggestions. The WAMU list is full of things I will put on my DC "to do" list.

I was checking on some places in this thread and found that Woodlawn Plantation and the FLW Pope Leighey House are closed for the season. Tours start again in April, Friday through Monday.

If you run out of things to see in Washington DC, hop on Amtrak to Baltimore. Take the Charm City Circulator (free) south from the Amtrak station to the Inner Harbor. See the National aquarium and a few other things in the area

That's too bad. There is a needlework show hosted there in late winter which used to give you access to both Woodlawn & the P-L House. Not good for the friend who will be in DC next week though. I haven't been in quite a few years and admit to being a bit skeptical when invited but, really, it was quite interesting. Good chance to see the houses. Not so much the gardens.

>>>>If you run out of things to see in Washington DC, hop on Amtrak to Baltimore. Take the Charm City Circulator (free) south from the Amtrak station to the Inner Harbor. See the National aquarium and a few other things in the area