National Postal Museum

(City Post Office)
Massachusetts Avenue and North Capitol Street, NW

1914 Graham and Burnham
1992 renovation: Shalom Baranes Associates; museum interior: Florance Eichbaum Esocoff King

entrance fee: free (part of the Smithsonian Institute)

I had to do a double take. The metro billboard looked like a cross between an ad for the Spy Museum and an episode of CSI. “Did that say the National Postal Museum?!”

I had heard of it, but really, could a museum about stamps be all that interesting? The sign said something about postal detectors and pictured a green-monochromatic photo of a guy in a lab coat. This was high-tech. Wasn’t the Museum located in just a closet of a space in some building near Union Station? I had to do some sleuth work of my own and go investigate.



Near Union Station? Yeah, um, the building was designed by the same architect as Union Station and is directly west of it. This beautiful building was recently (and successfully) renovated. From a narrow hallway, I descended the escalator into a large atrium drenched in sunlight. I was shocked. This is no closet. Just see for yourself:


For stamp afficionados and the curious alike, this museum is worth a trip if mail’s your thing. Everything you ever wanted to know about the history of our postal service is in this building. Wanting to see the “spy” exhibit, I breezed through everything else until I stumbled upon this incredibly fascinating placard:


Registered mail!!! I still can't believe it. Can you imagine being the one to handle that package?

This bit of trivia greeted me as I entered the area dedicated to crime. Ever since the Anthrax scare and unabombers, I've come to realize the importance of mail and safety can never be underestimated. But I don’t really think much about USPS's involvement in our national security on a daily basis. This hands-on exhibit gives you a taste for what they do to protect us and their involvement in catching criminals. Go ahead, take a gander. This museum's first class.