Things to do nearArlington House

Arlington House was built between 1803 and 1818 by George Washington Parke Custis, the adopted grandson of George Washington, as a memorial to the first president and a working plantation overlooking the federal city. The Greek Revival structure, designed by architect George Hadfield, is defined by its broad front portico and thick columns, which give it a monumental presence unusual for a private residence of that era. Custis filled the house with Washington family relics and artwork, many of which are represented today through careful historical research and reproduction. His daughter Mary Anna Custis married Robert E. Lee here in 1831, and the couple made Arlington House their primary home for nearly thirty years before the Civil War forced them to leave in 1861.

The National Park Service now administers the site and has undertaken extensive restoration of the interior, including the family parlors, Lee's office, and the kitchen outbuildings. Exhibits throughout the house address the full complexity of life at Arlington, including the stories of the more than sixty enslaved individuals who lived on the property, whose histories are documented and interpreted with care.

From the front lawn, the panorama of the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the Capitol dome spread across the horizon in a single sweeping glance. The surrounding grounds of Arlington National Cemetery provide a contemplative setting that deepens the experience of the house itself. Arlington House stands as one of the most historically layered sites in the Washington region, where the origins of the nation, the tragedy of the Civil War, and the lives of people both celebrated and long overlooked converge in one place.