Area Attractions:

Marine Barracks Washington is located in the heart of Barracks Row and offers free performances every Friday night from May through August. Reservations are recommended.

Navy Yard is located on the south end of Barracks Row. Public entrance is on 11^th and O Streets, SE.

Navy Museum holds a large collection of maritime history and artifacts. Don’t miss the self-guided tour of the U.S.S. Barry too. Public entrance is on 11^th and O Streets, SE.

DC Sail, Washington DC’s community sailing program, is run by the National Maritime Heritage Foundation. They provide sailing lessons, boat rentals, fleet racing and charter cruises on the Washington Channel and Potomac River for both youth and adults – just a few blocks from Barracks Row.

Eastern Market and Eastern Market Flea Market is Washington’s oldest operating market house and a Victorian treasure. The market house is open Tuesday through Sunday, and the outdoor market is open Saturdays and Sundays.

A guided tour is available twice a month on the second and fourth Saturdays from April through October. Visit Washington Walks and click on the Saturday tours of Capitol Hill. Tickets are $10 cash, and reservations are not needed.

Tour of Duty Heritage Trail is a self-guided heritage trail, interpreting the history of 8^th Street, Marine Barracks, Navy Yard, the south side of Capitol Hill, and Eastern Market. You can walk the trail on your own or with a brochure available at these locations.

Tour of Duty – A Heritage Trail
Tour of Duty: Barracks Row Heritage Trail is Washington, DC’s third neighborhood heritage trail. It consists of 16 poster-sized illustrated signs, which combine story-telling with historic images. 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.

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 church, where Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams worshipped

Trail booklets providing additional information are available at local merchants and organizations. To have a look at the trail guide in PDF click here.

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.

Tour of Duty Brochure Distribution Points

1. FedEx Kinko’s – 715 D Street, SE
2. Groovy DC – 428 8^th Street, SE
3. Trattoria Alberto – 506 8^th Street, SE
4. Capitol Hill Veterinary Clinic – 520 8^th Street, SE
5. Capitol Hill Bikes – 709 8^th Street, SE
6. Navy Yard Valet – 755 8^th Street, SE
7. Wrenn’s Barber Shop – 1005 8^th Street, SE
8. Levi’s Port Café – 1102 8^th Street, SE

How to Get to Barracks Row?

METRO:  If taking METRO, get off at the Eastern Market Station (Blue or Orange lines). As you exit the station, walk straight ahead for about ½ a block then turn right onto 8^th Street, SE and you are there!

From the south (VA): Take I-395 across the 14^th St. Bridge; bear right over the bridge onto Eisenhower (SW) Expressway; exit at 6^th Street SE, the first exit beyond South Capitol Street.  At the bottom of the ramp continue two blocks to 8^th Street SE.  Turn left and you are in the heart of Barracks Row.

From the west (VA): Take I-66 to Rosslyn, Virginia, and Rt. 110 to 1-395 north, then follow direction from the south (see above).

From the north (MD): Take Baltimore/Washington Parkway and continue onto I-295.  Exit at the Pennsylvania Avenue (East) exit.  You will be going east on Pennsylvania Avenue, into Anacostia and you need to turn back into Capitol Hill, so a U-turn can be made at the second light to go back westbound on Pennsylvania Avenue.  Go to 8^th Street SE and turn left and you are on Barracks Row.

From the east (MD): Take either US Rt. 50 or I-495 to I-295, and follow directions from the north.

From Northwest and Northeast DC:  Get onto Pennsylvania Avenue SE (east side of the Capitol) and proceed to 8^th Street, SE.  Turn left after the Eastern Market Metro Plaza onto 8^th Street and you are on Barracks Row.