Holidays through History

Saturday, December 1, 2012 

4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Come celebrate the holidays at Tudor Place, Dumbarton House, Woodrow Wilson House, and Anderson House!  Stroll through the four mansions and delight in their holiday ambiance and festive decorations that interpret traditional holiday celebrations from the Federal period through the Gilded Age. 

Tudor Place Historic House & Garden is an elegant Federalist estate in Georgetown. Designed by Dr. William Thornton, architect of the first U.S. Capitol building, completed in 1816, the mansion was among the first designated National Historic Landmarks. From 1805 to 1983, it was home to six generations of the Peter family, beginning with Thomas and Martha Custis Peter, Martha Washington's granddaughter. The Tudor Place rooms will be decorated for a festive 1920s Christmas, with treasured holiday decorations from the Custis-Peter family on show throughout. Enchanting holiday music from Seraphim and, in the Dower House, card-making for children and light refreshments add to the festivities. Tudor Place is at 1644 31st Street, Northwest.

At Anderson House, a grand Beaux-Arts mansion completed in 1905, visitors will learn about Gilded Age Christmas traditions at the turn of the 20th century through the eyes of Ambassador Larz and Isabel Anderson, one of the era's most distinguished couples. Visitors are invited to stroll through the festively decorated house, where each room will present a different theme--including decorations, gift giving, entertaining and charity. Traditional holiday music will be performed live throughout the evening in the Ballroom. Children can make ornaments to take home, and light refreshments will be served in the Winter Garden. Guests will also have the opportunity to view the exhibition, The American Revolution at Sea (through December 29), which explores the significance of the naval aspect of the Revolutionary War.  Anderson House is located at 2118 Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest.

Dumbarton House is a fine example of Federal period architecture, circa 1800, which will be decorated in elegant and simple Federal-period style with greenery and an elaborate dining table. The formal Parlor will come alive with period music performed by musicians for the four-hour event.  Visitors can also view the exhibit Metamo'rphosis I: Jewelry and Fine Metalware, the first of a series that takes objects from the Dumbarton House collection and transforms their design elements into unique new forms. Guests will be invited to partake of light refreshments and crafts for all ages in the contemporary Belle Vue Room ballroom.  Dumbarton House is located at 2715 Q Street, Northwest.

Woodrow Wilson House, was the final home of our 28th President. Furnished as it was in Wilson's time, the fashionable 1915 house just off Embassy Row is a living textbook of modern American life in the 1920s -- from sound recordings to silent films, from flapper dresses to zinc sinks. A splendid nine-foot tree, heavily adorned with electric lights, will fill the solarium and radiate through the Palladian window at the top of the foyer stairs. While at Wilson House, guests will have the opportunity to explore the new exhibition, 1912, An Election to Remember. Woodrow Wilson House is located at 2340 S Street, Northwest.

Shuttle bus transportation will be provided between sites.

Tickets:

Complimentary to Members of Tudor Place, Dumbarton House, Woodrow Wilson House, Anderson House

Non-Member Tudor Place-Only Ticket: Adult: $10.00 Child: $5.00

Non-Member Four-Museum Pass:

Adult: $16.00 with advanced reservation. $20.00 at the door,

Child: $10.00

Advanced reservations sold until Friday, November 30 at 4 p.m.