Set between the U.S. Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial, the 309-acre National Mall is the country’s most-visited national park. It hosts numerous events throughout the year, including the annual Cherry Blossom Festival and D.C.’s 4th of July festivities. Expected to open this year are improvements at the Tidal Basin, new exhibits at the Jefferson Memorial, a newly restored historic carousel with ties to the Civil Rights Movement, a new 15,000-square-foot innovative museum under the Lincoln Memorial, and a revitalized Hirshorn Sculpture Garden.
The National Mall is lined with monuments and statues honoring former presidents, founding fathers, military branches, armed conflicts, women veterans of the Vietnam War, and notable Americans like Martin Luther King Jr. and Alice Paul and Alva Belmont, leaders of the Women’s Suffrage movement. A Soldier’s Journey, a sculpture wall at the WWI Memorial, is the longest free-standing bronze sculpture in the Western Hemisphere, at approximately 58 feet long. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum tells the story of the Holocaust through artifacts, films, photos, and oral histories, and offers faculty seminars and workshops. Many of the Smithsonian Institution museums are located along the Mall—all offer free admission (some require tickets for timed entries), and most have indoor and/or outdoor event space for groups of all sizes.
The National Museum of Natural History can host 2,000 reception guests utilizing the four-story rotunda and additional galleries. Space at the National Museum of American History includes a 264-seat theater, a rooftop terrace with a capacity of 350 guests, exhibit halls with a capacity of 500 for receptions, and smaller rooms for daytime meetings and luncheons. The National Air and Space Museum, which is projected to complete its eight-year, multimillion-dollar renovation projects by this summer, can accommodate 2,500 guests reception style, 350 banquet style, or 485 theater style. In addition, the museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington Dulles International Airport can host 5,000 for receptions or 1,000 for banquets. Event space at the National Museum of African American History and Culture includes Heritage Hall, with a capacity of 2,500 for receptions, a 350-seat theater, and additional gallery, atrium, and terrace spaces. The National Museum of the American Indian has indoor and outdoor event space to host intimate dinners or large events with 3,500 guests, utilizing the entire building. Following a $40 million renovation, the National Archives Museum features new exhibits and four conference rooms seating 20-65 people, a 290-seat theater, and the Rotunda Galleries, which can accommodate 250 for receptions and 200 for banquets. The International Spy Museum offers behind-the-scenes tours, speakers, teambuilding experiences, and 18,000 square feet of
function space, including a ballroom seating 350 for dinners, a rooftop terrace with a capacity of 200 for receptions, and the
museum lobby for receptions.
Hotels near The National Mall include Hilton DC National Mall The Wharf, with 367 guest rooms and 21,189 square feet of event space, including a ballroom seating 650 theater style, and Hyatt Place Washington DC/National Mall, with 214 guest rooms and five meeting rooms totaling 2,100 square feet, plus additional pre-function space.
The American Pharmacists Association headquarters, which is the only privately owned real estate on the National Mall, features the 3,600-square-foot Potomac View Terrace, with space to seat 250 people for dinners, as well as several smaller conference and gallery spaces.
