Sometime, somewhere, somehow, in the last 22 years, I heard that Washington D.C. was known for their doors. I was told that Washington D.C. had colorful, vibrant, exciting doors at every turn. Doors to homes, doors to government buildings, doors to theaters. Now, it has yet to be confirmed if D.C. is actually known for their doors or if it is another fact that appeared in my head one day and decided to stay there, but either way, I have noticed in the last few weeks that Washington D.C. actually has some pretty sweet doors. Here are a few of my favorites, with where the doors lead, in what context I discovered these doors, and a rating for each door:
(Disclaimer: This post was originally going to be Dogs of D.C. but there are NO DOGS IN WASHINGTON D.C. This is apparently not the top place to raise a dog. I have only been able to document a single dog on this trip. I will, however, include a photo of this dog at the bottom of the post, for readers’ enjoyment.)
Door #1: Department of Justice door
Location: The Department of Justice, located near the Federal Triangle metro stop and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.
Context: We didn’t visit the Department of Justice, but I spotted this door during our city orientation, right at the beginning of our trip here. We were wandering around this area and I think this was the first time I realized that there is more to Washington D.C. than museums and politicians. There are dozens of other offices and individuals within those offices that affect our country each day.
Door rating: I give this door a 7/10. I do enjoy the design on the door, but it is a bit dull. Also, I don’t see any door handles so I am questioning its user-friendly nature.
Door #2: Africa Room door at the Kennedy Center
Location: The Africa Room, one of the reception rooms in The Kennedy Center
Context: We saw this door while on our tour of the Kennedy Center. It is surrounded by gorgeous art in the room, but the lovely carvings on the door enhance the room. Our tour guide even stood behind the door to hold it closed so we could take photos!
Door rating: I give this door a 9/10. The carvings on the door are gorgeous and even the doorknobs are exquisite, but I do wish this door could be seen by more people. So, this door is losing 1 point based on its location.
Door #3: House door in the Georgetown neighborhood
Location: Georgetown neighborhood, close to Georgetown University.
Context: I saw this door while I was exploring the Georgetown neighborhood on one of our free days. As we got closer to our free days, my more introverted side was definitely starting to come out and I was ready for some solo exploration. So, on our free Saturday morning, I got up and walked 45 minutes to Georgetown University and explored the neighborhood as I walked. While it was a lot of walking that day, I loved getting some time to leisurely look around and see the gorgeous architecture and stop in some of the fun stores. And you bet I stopped at Georgetown Cupcakes at 10am (although possibly unpopular opinion, I found the cupcakes at Baked and Wired to be more tasty).
Door rating: I give this door a 6/10. I enjoy the white archway and window above the door, but the red is a bit bland. I could have gone for a bright yellow or orange.
Door #4: Ben’s Chili Bowl restaurant door
Location: Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street.
Context: I actually saw this door (more like entrance in this case) twice during our month here. First, after our Attucks Adams Walking Tour on one of our first days, and then again when I got lunch with a friend from George Washington University. When I went here for the first time, our tour guide from the Attucks Adams tours ate with us, after raving about the place on the tour! The second time I went here, my friend pointed out that one of the original owners, Virginia Ali, was behind the counter, still working at the business. It is a delicious, fun, and wonderful place!
Door rating: I give this door a 10/10. First, I am a bit obsessed with the food here. It was probably the best burger I had all month. Second, I love the fun design above the door and the bright red theme!
Door #5: The door to Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office (!!!)
Location: Dirksen Senate Building
Context: Like Ben’s Chili Bowl, I got to see this door twice as well. First, when our class was walking around the senate building finding our Senators’ doors (so basically stalking our Senators), then during Amy Klobuchar’s Minnesota Morning on our first Thursday here. On that Thursday, we woke up very early on a long day and made our way over to this building and chatted with some of Amy Klobuchar’s staffers and supporters before going into her office to meet her! After hearing about our class, she started showing us the art in her office and talked with us – I shook her hand and it was life-changing.
Door rating: I give this door a 12/10. It is a normal door, but it is Amy Klobuchar’s door so naturally it is amazing.
Door #6: Shop door in the Georgetown neighborhood
Location: Everards Clothing in the Georgetown neighborhood
Context: A few of us decided to walk around Georgetown after our site visit with Halcyon Arts Lab and saw this adorable store front, so naturally we went in and explored. It was an upscale clothing shop way out of any of our budgets, but we ended up talking to the owner for a bit and learned that every US President except for Ronald Reagan has bought a suit from this store!
Door rating: I give this door an 8/10. While the clothes out front are super eye-catching and cute, it makes for a bit of a tight squeeze getting into the store.
Door #7: Door to the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
Context: We visited the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) as a site visit about halfway into the month. We had a tour of this museum, then did a curation exercise and learned about the museum and career paths of some of the employees. SAAM was probably my favorite art museum visit!
Door rating: I give this door a 5/10. It’s arches are pretty #basic for Washington D.C.
Door #8: Door to Baked and Wired in Georgetown
Location: Baked and Wired, also in the Georgetown neighborhood
Context: This cupcake shop was recommended four times to me, so of course I had to check it out. I have to admit, I got three cupcakes from here over the course of the month. While the door is just a normal glass door, I am including it because you can see the beautiful, tasty cupcakes through the glass, which was an excellent marketing strategy. My favorite cupcake there was Karen’s Birthday – chocolate cupcake with cream cheese frosting.
Door rating: I give this door a 10/10…I just really love cupcakes.
And the winner is…
Amy Klobuchar’s door! One of my favorite (and most unexpected) parts of this trip was getting to meet incredible people like Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, as well as various staffers from other offices. Seeing her door open like that was inspiring. It’s wonderful to know that the people representing us are allowing us to interact with them, making them seem more human.
And as promised…this is the one dog I was able to document. His name is Ziggy and I met him outside the Smithsonian Folkways Records building after our site visit there. He is 7 months old and is training to be a service dog for his owner with diabetes. Currently, Ziggy is working on being more comfortable in her office. Good boy, Ziggy!
