Off the Mall Tours is a unique walking tour company that brings a fresh perspective to the history of the nation's capital. After one of our tours, our guests are delighted with their newfound understanding of the multi-layered and multi-cultural heritage of the "shining city on the hill." To really understand Washington, you need to "get Off the Mall!"
The Madams of DC Walking tour takes you on a journey down Pennsylvania Avenue, one of DC's more notorious red light districts during the Civil War. The arrival of thousands of soldiers coming to the capital to train also meant a huge increase in prostitutes, and some of these women rose to a level of prosperity and infamy that would never be seen again. Learn their story on this unique walking tour! The tour also makes a half way stop at a local bar.
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this tour
Pass By: Freedom Plaza, 1455 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington DC, DC 20004-1008
Where Freedom Plaza is now once used to be the notorious neighborhood known as Murder Bay. As we walk through this spacious open area currently used for festivals and music events, you'll hear all about the taverns, gambling houses, and brothels popular with Northern Arm soldiers that used to stand there.
Stop At: Waldorf Astoria Washington DC, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004, USA
On the block where the Trump International Hotel, formerly the Old Postal Office building, currently stands, was the 11th Street strip, a subsection of the Red Light district on Pennsylvania Avenue where the Military Provost Guard harassed and arrested some of the raucous Madams in the neighborhood.
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: The National Archives Museum, 700 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington DC, DC 20408-0001
Continuing in our journey through time, you'll learn about the lives of prostitutes in Civil War DC and the part they played in society, as we pass by the former site of the largest central urban Market in DC.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: IOOF Temple Building, 419 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20004, USA
We'll stop for a drink at Hill Country BBQ (*cost of beverage not included), across the street from the International Order of Odd Fellows Temple. The IOOF supported the arts, and the art of having a good time. It was common to see the higher class working girls walking into a grand party hosted by the Odd Fellows, on the arm of an Army Officer. Scandalous!
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: National Gallery of Art, Constitution Ave NW 6th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington DC, DC 20002
The former site of Marble Alley, where two of DC's highest paid Madams had a vicious rivalry.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: National Museum of the American Indian, 4th St SW Independence Ave SW, Washington DC, DC 20560
An archeological dig discovered the remains of DC most notorious, and yet charitable, Madams. The tour ends at this, the most glamorous of DC's Civil War-era pleasure houses.
Duration: 10 minutes
