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Saint Elizabeth's Hospital

Why visit a mental hospital? Because the historic grounds and buildings are beautiful (if a little run-down and creepy). On top of that, you can see some great views from here of the D.C. skyline. The hospital was founded in 1852 as the first major government-run mental institution, and at its peak housed 7,000 patients, which at one point included both President Lincoln's and President Garfield's assassins. The hospital still operates, but on a much reduced scale. The Department of Homeland Security has plans to relocate here in 2021. Construction may have already started, as money for the purpose was requested in the 2016 Federal budget. You aren't really supposed to drive into the facility, but a little smooth talking at the gate may get an architecture buff inside. The east campus, owned by the District instead of the federal government, is being redeveloped. The centerpiece of the east campus is a newly opened arena that became home to the Capital City Go-Go, the NBA G League farm team of the Washington Wizards, in 2018 and the WNBA's (women) Washington Mystics in 2019. (The WNBA season falls during the NBA offseason.) The complex also serves as the practice facility for the Wizards, whose parent company also owns the Mystics and Go-Go.

Address: 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE
Website: sehcommunity.org (opens in a new tab)

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Listing from Wikivoyage: Washington, D.C./Anacostia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Updated 28 Sept 2026. Something wrong? Tell us.

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EatAnacostia
Player's Lounge
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Sun-Thu 11AM-12:30AM, Fri Sat 11AM-2AM
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Anacostia Museum
The Smithsonian's least visited museum, far from the Mall, is a small but superbly exhibited tribute to Anacostia and D.C. "East of the River", and also to African-American history.
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America's Islamic Heritage Museum
Much of the museum's content is displayed on a series of panels covering a diverse set of personalities including Estevanico, Omar ibn Said, Hajj Ali, Yarrow Mamout, and Mohammed Alexander Russell Webb. It makes note of America's unique ethnic groups and migration patterns, including the hard to define Melungeons and the immigration of Bosnian Muslims starting in the 19th century. There is an extensive section on the Nation of Islam with old newspapers, photographs and other memorabilia.
12-5PM Tue-SunAdults $7, Students and seniors $5
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Fort Stanton Overlook
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