Address: 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Pricing: Free
Phone: 866-272-6272
Hours: Mon, Tues, Sat, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Wed-Fri, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. (closed Sunday)
How To Get There:
From Washington National Airport, start out going NORTH on S SMITH BLVD. Take the exit toward GW PARKWAY NORTH. Merge onto GEORGE WASHINGTON MEMORIAL PKWY N/GW PKWY N. Merge onto I-395 N/US-1 N toward WASHINGTON (Crossing into DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA). Keep LEFT to take US-1 N via EXIT 1 toward NAT'L MALL. Turn RIGHT onto CONSTITUTION AVE NW/US-1/US-50. Turn LEFT onto 9TH ST NW. Turn RIGHT onto PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW. 700 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW is on the RIGHT.
Parking:$20-$35 at nearby lots
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The National Archives Building: Home to the Charters of Freedom
Home to the original United States Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., houses some of the most important political and social documents from modern human history.
Part of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), an independent agency of the federal government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records, the National Archives includes not just the public building along the National Mall in downtown Washington, but regional facilities across the country as well as virtually all the presidential libraries from the past 100 years. The building on the National Mall was opened in 1935.
The Archivist of the United States, currently David Ferriero of New York, maintains the official documentation of amendments to the U.S. Constitution enacted by state legislatures, and he holds the legal authority to declare when the constitutional threshold for passage has been reached, and therefore when an act has become an amendment.
Although the most famous documents held by the National Archives are the Constitution and Declaration, many of NARA's most requested records are frequently used for research in genealogy. This includes census records from 1790 to 1930, as well as ships passenger lists and naturalization records.
The National Archives Building also exhibits other important American historical documents such as the Louisiana Purchase and the Emancipation Proclamation, as well as collections of photography and other historically and culturally significant American artifacts.
The Archives building also hosts a copy of the 1297 Magna Carta confirmed by Britain’s King Edward I. These are displayed to the public in the main chamber of the National Archives, which is called the “Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom.”
Flash photography of the documents is prohibited, because over time flashes can fade the documents. There are no lines to see individual documents (although there is a line to reach the rotunda itself) at the National Archives, and visitors are allowed to walk from document to document as they wish. Check the National Archives web site for special exhibitions and any restrictions in visiting hours.
- by Jim Brown , Washington Reporter for HelloMetro
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Jim Brown Jim Brown is a longtime freelance aviation, travel and destination writer and communications professional. A former reporter for Aviation Daily, Air Safety Week and World Airline News, Jim served for more than 15 years as a senior public relations executive for American Airlines, TWA and AirTran Airways.
