Although downtown Washington, D.C. has retained little of its Civil War-era character, if you know where to look, the events of Abraham Lincoln’s time in the city come to life, whether you are looking at a modern office building or a Victorian row house.
This walking tour steps back into Lincoln’s time as U.S. president.
Washington, D.C. in Abraham Lincoln’s day
The busy streets filled with Washingtonians going about their business and slow-moving, congested traffic are not that different today than they would have been in the 1860s, when the president himself strolled the cityexcept that 21st-century Washingtonians benefit from sidewalks upon which to tread and paved thoroughfares on which to drive. In Lincoln’s day it would have been a muddy slog!
Not just another assassination tour
However you make your way, the climax of Lincoln’s Washington story was tragic: he was the first American leader to be assassinated just as the U.S. Civil War concluded. Honor his legacy during this walk that includes sites such as:
- St. John’s Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square
- the site of the home of Lincoln’s secretary of state, William H. Seward
- the White House
- New York Avenue Presbyterian Church
- Ford’s Theatre
- and more!
