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The "Madams of DC" Guided Walking Tour

By Off the Mall Tours
10 out of 10
Free cancellation available
Price is NZ$50 per adult
See tickets
Features
  • Free cancellation available
  • 2h 30m
  • Mobile voucher
  • Instant confirmation
Overview

This tour is offered the first and third Friday of the month. Check website for exact schedule. All tours available for private tours.

The Madams in DC walking tour gives you a totally unique side of DC's history that you won't hear anywhere else. The Civil War completely transformed the capital, and turned Pennsylvania Avenue into a red light district lined with bawdy houses, taverns, theatres, and commercial ventures. Hard to imagine, now that it's lined with monolithic government buildings! You'll learn about how the women who worked in these brothels made their way in life, and even had an impact on affairs of government.

Activity location

  • Waldorf Astoria Washington DC
    • 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
    • 20004, Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
    • 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
    • 20004, Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Check availability

The "Madams of DC" Guided Walking Tour
  • Activity duration is 2 hours and 30 minutes2h 30m
    2h 30m
  • English
Language options: English
Starting time: 7:00 pm
Price details
NZ$50.45 x 1 AdultNZ$50.45
Total
Price is NZ$50.45
Until Thu, 17 Jul

What's included, what's not

  • What's includedWhat's included2 hours of fascinating information by an experienced guide. No entry fees necessary.

Know before you book

  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Service animals allowed
  • Public transport options are available nearby
  • Transport options are wheelchair accessible
  • All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
  • Not recommended for travellers with spinal injuries
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • Guests must be able to be on their feet for at least 2 hours.

Activity itinerary

Freedom Plaza (Pass by)
Where Freedom Plaza is now once used to be the notorious area 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.
Waldorf Astoria Washington DC
  • 15m
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 area.
The National Archives Museum
  • 10m
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.
IOOF Temple Building
  • 20m
  • Admission ticket not included
We'll stop for a drink at Hill Country BBQ (*cost of drink 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!
National Gallery of Art
  • 10m
The former site of Marble Alley, where two of DC's highest paid Madams had a vicious rivalry.
National Museum of the American Indian
  • 10m
An archaeological 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.

Location

Activity location

  • LOB_ACTIVITIESLOB_ACTIVITIESWaldorf Astoria Washington DC
    • 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
    • 20004, Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • PEOPLEPEOPLE1401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
    • 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
    • 20004, Washington, District of Columbia, United States

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