Washington, DC is truly a place of so many treasures and hidden gems. One of those places is the Anderson House, located on Massachusetts Avenue. Now, this place is really for the American history gurus of the world, specifically the American Revolution.

I went here last month and found it informative, fascinating and beautiful. Let’s go over WHAT the Anderson House actually is first.

The building itself offers rooms to those whom are members of the Society of Cincinnati, tours for tourists like us and ample opportunities for students to learn about American History as well.

Society of Cincinnati:

And what is the Society of Cincinnati, you ask? The Society of the Cincinnati is the oldest hereditary and patriotic organization in the United States. It was founded in 1783 by officers of the Continental Army who had served in the American Revolution.

Tours/Costs:

The prices for The Anderson House are very reasonably priced and can be seen below:

Adults (19+) — $12
Seniors (65+) — $9
D.C. Residents (with ID) — $9
Active-Duty Military (with ID) — $9
College Students (with ID) — $6
Young Adults (13-18) — $6
Children (0-12) — Free
Society of the Cincinnati members (plus 1 guest) — Free
American Revolution Institute Associates (plus 1 guest) — Free

Self-guided tours are not permitted, and the guided tours say that they are an hour long, but we were lucky enough to get a very eager, informative and educated guide, making our tour closer to the 1.5-2 hour mark. Some of the others in the tour had to leave early, (so if you do need to leave early, just let your guide know and he’ll lead you out; no problem).

Hours:

Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday, 12 – 4 p.m.

Each tour will begin about 15 minutes past the hour.

When I arrived, I got there a little bit early, so I was able to view the “Revolutionary Beginnings” Exhibit that was there, as I waited for the guide to come get us. When you visit, they may have a different exhibit as they generally rotate exhibits at the Anderson House.

The first room we had gone to was actually past the entrance where we were met with a beautifully carpeted staircase, and several paintings of some of the members on the wall. Personally, it was funny to me that one of them was holding a COVID mask! Not because I think COVID was funny at all, but rather because it’s just such a real and unique touch that I don’t often see in such realistic paintings. Maybe “ironic” is a better word to use here, either way it made me chuckle a little.

The next room, and possibly my favorite was the ballroom. This is where the original owners of the house would host parties and on one of the balconies, there was actually a secret doorway, which I thought was really neat- because once again, who in this day and age has a secret doorway in their home!?

As you can likely see, here- it wasn’t just American-focused art, but rather they displayed art pieces from China (left photo, above the fireplace). This room really showed the architecture of the time.

Just to the left was the sunroom and overlooking garden. I am always astonished by these buildings, as it’s just so vastly different than the types of homes in the present day. I often think how magnificent and elegant the homes look (and also how tiring it may be to clean them) and yet it was simply just different times!

The library wasn’t too far away and again, housed a stunning chandelier and paintings of members around the room.

The dining room was upstairs, past the painting to Isabel and Larz (which you can see displayed in the photo of the ballroom) and it showed such elegance and opulence. Something interesting that I noted was the focus on symmetry in all of the rooms. In that time period, it was very important that if there was a window, a door, etc., they would need to put something on the opposite side of the room to “balance” it out. I don’t know when or why we lost that, but somewhere along the way, we absolutely did.

You can see the large tapestries lining the wall, the draping curtains and once again- the massive chandelier over the dining room table. I don’t know why, I’ve always thought chandeliers were fascinating to look at, but for myself, I would never want one in my house. When I was a child, my mother accidentally knocked ours over- and besides, it looks like an awful lot of dusting!

The hallway was difficult to take good pictures of due to the lighting, but it was a very fascinating place to be- there were a lot of artifacts collecting by the couple that were displayed here.

The next room was somewhat of a “waiting room” for the guests. And MY GOODNESS! What a waiting room it was. This level of opulence really did remind me of my time at Newport Mansions in Rhode Island.

And the very last room we visited before returning down the stairs and back to the main entrance also contained artifacts and elaborate paintings and symbolism on the wall and ceilings.

And of course, the staircase was no joke! Whoo!

And thus, that pretty much concluded our tour. There were some rooms I left out, not because they’re not magnificent or impressive, but because I don’t want to give a tour through a free blog when you can go there yourself, experience the Anderson House, learn about the many facts, tidbits and information that I left out (I focused more on the photos and rooms than the HISTORY) and support the cause.

Do I recommend the Anderson House?

I do! I thought it was a swell experience and I especially recommend it for those interesting in learning more about American History and the Revolution OR for parents who want to teach their kids about it!

Website: https://www.societyofthecincinnati.org/

Address: 2118 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008

Cheers Friends & Travelers!

~ Backroad Butterflies ~

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