RELATED PROGRAMS
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Decatur House offers the following ongoing programs in related to its Lafayette Square neighborhood:

A FREE Cell PhoneTour
Half Had Not Been Told to Me: The African American History of Lafayette Square

Lafayette Square is a unique landscape with a rich African American history -
a history that is unfortunately not often told. Decatur House is proud to offer a new audio walking tour highlighting the rich but little-known African American history of the capital’s most famous neighborhood. ‘Half Had Not Been Told to Me’: The African American History of Lafayette Square is a special tour narrated by Togo D. West, Jr., former Secretary of the Army and Veterans Affairs, and funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities and by corporate partners Coca Cola and Occidental International.

This self-guided tour will be offered indefinitely, free of charge, seven days a week, using a surprising technology - the cell phone. Participants only need a cell phone and tour map, available at Decatur House, and they will be on their way to exploring the compelling sites, sounds, and stories of those who lived and worked, played and protested, all within the shadow of the president.

Pick up tour information and a map during Decatur House’s opening hours.

School Program:
Walking and Drawing: A Tour of Lafayette Square
Part of the DC Arts & Humanities Collaborative "Arts for Every Student" (AFES) Program

There's no other place in Washington quite like Lafayette Square and it can be a unique classroom for students. Participants will learn about the history of the neighborhood around the White House, identify the characteristics of architectural styles, and compare building design and decoration as the sketch and discuss three historic buildings: the White House, Decatur House and its attached slave quarters, and the Renwick Gallery.

Available: Monday-Friday year-round, weather permitting
Contact: Katherine Malone-France, 202.842.0920