Things to Do in North America

Designed by American architect Willoughby Edbrooke, this enormous Romanesque Revival building was the largest office building in D.C. when it opened in 1899. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it was far from beloved in its own era. Considered dowdy by the time it opened for business, when architectural fashion had turned to rounded, more romantic Beaux-Arts design, it was soon abandoned in favor of a new mail depot building over by Union Station; 15 years after it was built, it was commonly referred to as the “old” post office.

By the late 1920s, popular sentiment in Washington was that the building should be torn down, but the Great Depression prevented the demolition; instead, the Old Post Office was left to molder for about 40 years. In the 1970s, it was saved by community support and the National Endowment for the Arts, which now has its headquarters here; in addition to a few other government agencies, the Pavilion houses several restaurants, eateries, shops and services.

Free tours of the Pavilion’s 315-foot clock tower, which offers 360-degree views of downtown Washington, are given daily by National Park Service Rangers; tours meet by the glass elevators on the Pavilion’s stage level.

Despite its modern-day popularity, the Pavilion has proved a financial liability for the city. In 2012, real estate developer (and reality show star) Donald Trump announced he’d been approved to renovate the Pavilion into the Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C., which will include 250 hotel rooms, a conference center, a spa, restaurants and a museum dedicated to the building's history.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places  and often called merely  "Old Town", this graceful valley swath beside the San Gabriel Mountains was first developed in the 1880s by railroad barons and hoteliers intent on luring winter-weary, cultured Easterners out west. Their efforts were ultimately successful, and Old Town Pasadena remains full of museums, scholarly institutions and well-manicured public spaces created by wealthy tourists who simply never left.

Old Town Pasadena today includes a popular mixed-use commercial district known for a largely upscale mix of restaurants and chain stores, as well as inexpensive and plentiful public parking. Along the main shopping streets, Orange Grove and Fair Oaks Boulevards, the buildings are largely examples of Art Deco architecture from the 1920s, carefully restored during the district's urban revival in the 1980s.

Fanning out from the commercial center, area attractions include the Norton Simon Museum, home to the eclectic and fabulously expensive art collection of millionaire industrialist Norton Simon; the Pasadena Museum of California Art, a modern, spare and expertly-curated museum where each exhibition provides an in-depth history of a single facet of the state; the Pasadena Playhouse, a Spanish Colonial Revival-style theater with a mosaic-inlaid dome, perfect acoustics and a rotating stage; the Gamble House, a 1908 Arts & Crafts mansion that was joinery-built without a single traditional nail, designed for the co-founder of Procter & Gamble by famed architecture firm Greene & Greene and Vroman's, the largest and oldest independently-run bookstore in Southern California.

Approximately 15 minutes south of downtown Washington, the 18th-century Old Town – the local nickname for the historic center of Alexandria -- hugs the western bank of the Potomac and blends the area’s cultural melting pot with America’s Colonial era. Originally laid out in 1749, this condensed commercial district full of cobbled streets and the well-preserved 18th century buildings features boutique and mall shopping, restaurants, nightlife, and lots of opportunities for sightseeing.

Many of the neighborhood’s most popular dining destinations offer sustainable takes on American cuisine, like Hank’s Oyster Bar and Restaurant Eve, and vintage pubs and taverns harken back to the area’s early days. Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican and Afghan eateries are common sights in Old Town, reflecting a steady influx of immigrants to Alexandria since the late 1980s.

Local attractions include steamboat tours on the Potomac; Colonial homes that offer daily tours, such as the Carlyle House (1753); and the Torpedo Factory Art Center, which used to be a center for munitions manufacturing and now houses a warren of artists’ studios.  From 7 a.m. to 12 noon every Saturday, one of the country’s oldest farmers’ markets is held in Old Town’s Market Square.

Free 24-hour parking passes called “proclamations” are available at the Alexandria Visitors Center (221 King Street), provided only to non-Alexandria residents. Proclamations are valid at two-hour metered spaces around Old Town and may be renewed once.

The area’s Metrorail stop is King Street-Old Town, which serves the Yellow Line from downtown Washington, D.C. From the King Street station, visitors can catch the Free King Street Trolley, which is free to ride, runs every 15 minutes, and stops at 20 different points around Old Town.