Tour of Duty: Barracks Row Heritage Trail 16 poster-sized illustrated signs combine story telling with historic images to let you discover the history of this neighborhood.

The first sign is located at the Eastern Market Metro station plaza (Seventh Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, SE). The 90-minute, self-guided tour proceeds down Eighth Street, loops through the residential neighborhood, and ends at Eastern Market.

Walkers are encouraged to follow the trail at their own pace, sampling neighborhood character, businesses, and restaurants along the way.

For more information about this heritage trail, email us at Trail@CulturalTourismDC.org or call 202-661-7581.

What You'll See

When celebrated composer John Philip Sousa walked the streets of Barracks Row, people called this neighborhood Capitol Hill-Navy Yard.

U.S. Marines and the U.S. Navy gave the community its unique flavor. Here Washington's oldest and largest industrial plant – the Navy Yard with its ship-testing facilities and massive gun factories – attracted laborers, engineers, sailors, and civilians for more than a century.

These residents developed businesses, churches, synagogues, and institutions that continue to support today's community. We invite you to experience today's thriving Barracks Row in the company of its lively past.

Along the way, you'll see:

• March King John Philip Sousa's birthplace and training ground
• The oldest continuously manned Marine installation in the nation
• Home of the first woman White House correspondent, Emily Edson Briggs
• Washington City's oldest Episcopal congregation. Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams were worshippers

Would you prefer to take a guided tour of Capitol Hill?

Take a closer look at the trail map.

Download the trail map pdf.

Sneak Peek

Check out the video below for a peek at this remarkable neighborhood tour, produced by Tatiana Petrone and Alice Lee. These American University students created the travelogue as part of their documentary film class taught by Brent Hurd, summer 2007.

Tell us what you think! Email the students at triplekite@gmail.com and hapalemur@hotmail.com, or us at trail@CulturalTourismDC.org.

Get Your Trail Booklet

Trail booklets providing additional information are available for free at the following local merchants and organizations:

• Capitol Hill Bikes, 709 Eighth Street, SE
• Capitol Hill Books, 657 C Street, SE
• Capitol Hill Veterinary Clinic, 520 Eighth Street, SE
• Congressional Cemetery, 1801 E Street, SE
• D.C. Visitor Information Center, Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
• Ellington’s on Eighth, 424 8th Street, SE
• Levi's, 1102 Eighth Street, SE
• Navy Museum, Washington Navy Yard (Use gate at 11th and O Street, SE)
• Navy Yard Valet, 755 Eighth Street, SE
• Southeast Branch D.C. Public Library, 403 Seventh Street, SE
• Trattoria Alberto, 506 8th Street, SE
• Washingtoniana Division, Martin Luther King Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW

Download the trail booklet pdf.

Download the Spanish trail booklet pdf.

You can also obtain your guide online! A $5 shipping and handling fee applies.

Each trail was conceived with the active involvement of neighborhood organizations and residents. For Tour of Duty: Barracks Row Heritage Trail, Barracks Row Main Street and the Capitol Hill Restoration Society served as local partners. Kim Prothro Williams served as working group historian.

Tour of Duty: Barracks Row Heritage Trail is a project of Cultural Tourism DC in collaboration with Barracks Row Main Street and the Capitol Hill Restoration Society. Funding was provided by the Department of Housing and Community Development, District Department of Transportation, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, and U.S. Department of Transportation. Additional cooperation provided by the National Park Service.

If you liked Tour of Duty: Barracks Row Heritage Trail, you may also enjoy:

• Battleground to Community: Brightwood Heritage Trail
• City Within a City: Greater U Street Heritage Trail
• Civil War to Civil Rights: Downtown Heritage Trail
• Cultural Convergence: Columbia Heights Heritage Trail
• Midcity at the Crossroads: Shaw Heritage Trail
• River Farms to Urban Towers: Southwest Heritage Trail
• Roads to Diversity: Adams Morgan Heritage Trail
• A Self-Reliant People: Greater Deanwood Heritage Trail
• Village in the City: Mount Pleasant Heritage Trail

For more information, please email: trails@CulturalTourismDC.org.

Tour of Duty Heritage Trail booklet (832K) [download]
Tour of Duty Heritage Trail map (98K) [download]