Visit
Proceeds from tours, events & exhibits go to support our heroes & artist-in-residence program.
Tours (on-line reservations required)
We provide a forum for artists to go national and global. Devoid of velvet ropes & glass borders, visitors are
able to immerse themselves in the creative process & experience the exhibits up close and personal.
Hours: daily 11am - 3:30pm - Close 5pm. Tours based on availability.
Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Bring a shopping bag. Everything is for sale.
Top 5 historic venues to explore - in the world! -Smithsonian.com
Create your own adventure when you explore the museum and its collection of more than 20,000 books and other donated items on your own. Tour through our themed rooms and search for secret doors, signed guitars, memorabilia, art and much more on this one-of-a-kind journey.
Bring your own shopping bags. Everything is for sale!
Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Tickets at the door add $5/person
Top 5 historic venues to explore - in the world! -smithsonian.com
Think with your heart, feel with your mind and have a blast as you search the main floor looking for designated items found only at The Mansion, from music to above and beyond. Prizes additional. Includes self-guided tour of our themed rooms and secret doors.
Bring your own shopping bags. Everything is for sale!
Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Tickets at the door add $5/person
Top 5 historic venues to explore - in the world! -smithsonian.com
Decorated for Halloween just for this hunt - come celebrate the BOO season on this zany treasure hunt. Have fun searching for Autumn & Halloween themed items found only at The Mansion. Prizes additional. Includes self-guided tour of our themed rooms and secret doors.
Bring your own shopping bags. Everything is for sale!
Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Tickets at the door add $5/person
Top 5 historic venues to explore - in the world! -Smithsonian.com
As a former rooming house for J. Edgar Hoover's G-Men, The Mansion is steeped in history and intrigue. From spies to secret passageways you'll put your super sleuth skills to the test as you search the main floor for designated items found only at The Mansion. Prizes additional. Includes self-guided tour through our themed rooms and secret doors.
Bring your own shopping bags. Everything is for sale!
Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Tickets at the door add $5/person
Top 5 historic venues to explore - in the world! - Smithsonian.com
Get your mustache on (don't worry we'll give you one) and join in the fun on this zany hunt around The Mansion. You'll put your super sleuth skills to the test as you search for designated items found only at The Mansion. Prizes additional. Includes a mustache to wear and a self-guided tour through our themed rooms and secret doors.
Bring your own shopping bags. Everything is for sale!
Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Tickets at the door add $5/person
Top 5 historic venues to explore - in the world! -Smithsonian.com
Home to singers, songwriters, over 60 signed guitars, rare authentic rock memorabilia, photographs and more, The Mansion has music at it's core. From the Grateful Dead to The Beatles to The Stones and beyond you'll put your knowledge of music to the test as you search all four floors for Rock & Roll items found only at The Mansion. Prizes additional. Includes self-guided tour through our themed rooms and secret doors.
Bring your own shopping bags. Everything is for sale!
Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Tickets at the door add $5/person
Top 5 historic venues to explore - in the world! -Smithsonian.com
"Each person must live their life as a model for others." ~Mrs. Rosa Parks
Celebrate the life of Mrs. Rosa Parks on this journey. A resident of The Mansion for over a decade Mrs. Parks was a mother figure and mentor to Founder, H.H. Leonards. Her presence at The Mansion has left an indelible mark on us. Visit her favorite rooms, view mementos, and hear inspiring stories of how she touched us all.
Bring your own shopping bags. Everything is for sale!
Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Tickets at the door add $5/person
Top 5 historic venues to explore - in the world! -Smithsonian.com
This is the only tour that includes the ultra-private Penthouse Suite. Join our experienced docents on this private tour through at least 60 of our 100 rooms and many secret doors to experience the creative process.
Bring your own shopping bags. Everything is for sale!
Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Tickets at the door add $5/person
Food & Beverage Tours (on-line reservations required)
Hours: See individual tours. Close 5pm. Tours based on availability. For groups of 10 or more. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Top 5 historic venues to explore - in the world! -Smithsonian.com
Groups of 10 or more will enjoy our delicious continental breakfast (sweet breads, yogurt, granola, fresh fruit
hot coffee, hot tea, hot chocolate) and engage in a short discussion to learn the history and philosophy of The Mansion. Afterwards tour through our themed rooms and behind secret doors to experience the creative process.
Bring your own shopping bags. Everything is for sale!
Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Must be booked on-line at least one week in advance.
Top 5 historic venues to explore - in the world! -Smithsonian.com
Magic exists, not just in the mind.
Have a blast when you join us for a glass of champagne or sparkling cider and tour through our themed rooms and secret doors to experience the creative process.
Bring your own shopping bags. Everything is for sale!
Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Way more fun than an amusement park - explore The Mansion's winding hallways and themed rooms searching for secret doors on this one-of-a-kind fun filled journey. Enjoy delicious home baked cookies and a glass of milk. Then embark on a treasure hunt searching for designated items to find.
Bring your own shopping bags. Everything is for sale!
Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Top 5 historic venues to explore - in the world! -Smithsonian.com
We offer a variety of tour packages so you can add the historic O Street Museum in The Mansion on O Street to your DC itinerary - please inquire.
Events Author & Performer Archives
Proceeds from tours, events & exhibits go to support our heroes & artist-in-residence program.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Jim Gilmore has created a unique and useful tool to help improve our observational skills. His "Six Looking Glasses" provide a set of skills to master in order to enhance the way we look at the world around us. These include the ability to:
- Survey and scan to see the big picture
- Compare and contrast to overcome personal bias
- Spot significance in any scene
- Scrutinize numerous details
- Uncover potential opportunities
- See whatâs in the mind's eye
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jim Gilmore coauthored the highly influential book, The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage (Harvard Business School Press). Now published in nineteen languagesâthe book spawned worldwide interest in experience design, experiential marketing, and customer experience management.
Jim's other book, Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want (Harvard Business Review Press), prompted TIME magazine in a March 2008 cover story to name its insight on the subject as one of "Ten ideas that are changing the world."
Jim is co-founder of Strategic Horizons LLP, based in Aurora, Ohio. He is a Batten fellow and adjunct lecturer at the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia, a visiting lecturer in Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California, as well as a teacher at Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
He is a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, an alumnus of Procter & Gamble, and, before co-founding Strategic Horizons LLP, was head of CSC Consulting's Process Innovation practice.
MAIN STREET SMARTS
There's a world of difference between receiving a Master of Business Administration degree and actually launching and running a successful small business. Even those with the highest level of academic expertise don't necessarily have the "street skills" and hands-on experience it takes to drive a profitable company. In his new book, Main Street Smarts, successful entrepreneur and business leader David Morgan provides the real-world, street-smart tactics needed to take your small business to the next level.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Morgan is the cofounder and COO of STS International, where he oversees worldwide operations for rapid design, development and deployment of cutting-edge antiterrorism and physical security technologies, medical simulation training applications and professional engineering services. Through his strategic leadership, STS has grown significantly by penetrating new and emerging markets through a diversified client base in 18 countries across four continents. A former firefighter and paramedic, Morgan also serves on the advisory boards for several companies and regularly speaks about entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland Smith School of Business and Georgetown University Law School. He recently coauthored a book with his brother Daniel Morgan, an active duty infantry colonel in the U.S. Army, titled Chasing The White Rabbit: A Discovery Of Leadership In The 21st Century(Advantage Media Group, January 2016).
1:00 pm
Musicians no entrance fee. If you would like to attend a jam and you are not a musician, please reserve the "friends & family jam & tour".
(for musicians only)
11:00 am
Musicians no entrance fee. If you would like to attend a jam and you are not a musician, please reserve the "friends & family jam & tour".
11:00 am
Musicians no entrance fee. If you would like to attend a jam and you are not a musician, please reserve the "friends & family jam & tour".
Channel your inner rock star with other musicians in the business. You know who you are: lawyers, doctors, lobbyists by day - but around the clock, always a rock star in your heart.
Musicians no entrance fee. If you would like to attend a jam and you are not a musician, please reserve the "friends & family jam & tour".
Exhibits Artist Archives
These exhibits are included in all tours.
The first-ever collaboration between acclaimed contemporary artist Shepard Fairey and the estate of legendary photographer Jim Marshall. In it, Fairey interprets Marshall's iconic photography from the 1960's, including images of Johnny Cash, Cesar Chavez, and Fannie Lee Chaney, with five new works, vividly depicting the humanity behind some of our country's enduring social justice issues: Voting Rights, Mass Incarceration, Workers' Rights, Gun Culture, and Two Americas.
The art of American Civics gives a face to these issues to cultivate dialogue and encourage vigorous solutions to problems that have divided the country and eroded the core of the American ideals.
Learn more
Generously donated by Michael Jensen, President/Founder Jensen Communications Inc.
Jensen Communications, Inc. is a media, marketing and management firm specializing in public relations serving a diverse range of clients in entertainment, business, cause-related politics and the arts.
Learn more
Opening Soon
French born photographer Sandrine Lee has lived, studied and worked in NYC for over a decade. Via her husband, Will Lee, she has entered the music world and made it her main photographic playground.
Filmmaker, author, photographer and recipient of more than 100 national and international awards for his work, Chip's images appear in the book Enough To Go Around - Searching for Hope in Afghanistan, Pakistan & Darfur. An exhibition of his images premiers at the 2011 World Peace Festival and this fall at O Street Museum Foundation.
This event benefits Relief International and
O Street Museum Foundation
Gerald's art can be found in the National Gallery of Art, The White House, and the Treasury Department, as well as over one hundred corporate collections worldwide.
"The O Museum has challenged my creativity and championed my art. Every artist's dream is to find a receptive audience for their work. Twenty-five years ago, carrying 10 tiny collages into this mysterious house on O Street I found that audience; always saying "Do what is in your heart."
Nina Miller loves all animals, some people, music, books, sparkly things, and all things vintage. Perpetually getting lost, but with a strong inner-compass, she resides in Nashville with her little monster, Oliver.
Founded in 2002, The Gibson Foundation is committed to making the world a better place for children by creating, developing and supporting programs and other non-profit organization in their efforts to advance education, music and the arts, the environment and health and welfare causes. Nina is the Executive Director of The Gibson Foundation.
Nomad Indigenous Mexican Art & Culture Exhibit
This wonderous collection showcases mexican contemporary indigenous arts & crafts, created by world renowned artists, and has exhibited in Montreal, Boston and New York. The D.C. exhibit is supported by the Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington DC.
Born one of 14 children in Persia, 1948, Elieâs religious affiliation prohibited him from painting, learning to read, and write. It wasn't until he was in the Israeli army, that he became an artist.
Despite his family disowning him for becoming an artist, he sent 80% of his earnings to them, until their death.
Abrahami's delicate watercolors and oil paintings, combining eastern and western traditions, have been exhibited in various galleries throughout the world and acquired by some of the most important collections in the world, including the Metropolitan Museum, the Guggenheim Museum and the British Museum. He resides in Paris and his work is in major museum collections, globally.
Mersad Berber is one of the greatest and most distinctive Bosnian painters and graphic artists. His inspiration is derived from Bosnia, its Ottoman past, and its people. An honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts, he has received approximately 50 awards and he has had exhibits in cities all over the world, from London and Madrid, New York to Moscow, Jakarta and New Delhi.
Membership
Immerse yourself in the creative process when you become a member of the O Street Museum. Explore the ever-changing architecture, themed rooms and secret doors. Listen to one of the largest private rock music collections in the area. View up-close-and-personal more than 1500 pieces of art, photographs and sculpture by artist like Fredrick Hart, Gerald Johnson, R.E. Gorman, Frederick Remington, Chip Duncan, Mersad Berber and Elie Abrahami. Marvel more than 60 signed Gibson guitars from rock icons like Bob Dylan, The Boss, U2, Rolling Stones, Les Paul and more. Delight in rare memorabilia including letters from Mrs. Rosa Parks. J.Edgar Hoover, Abraham Lincoln and John Lennon, a revolver from Pirates of the Caribbean, signed movie scripts and more. Browse more than 20,000 books including ones authored on-site and rare first editions. The list of things that will inspire your imagination is endless at the O Street Museum - it is always new, always changing, always growing - and so will you.
When you become a member you will be providing the support necessary to share and preserve our evolving collections.
NOTE: All benefits are effective for one year.
Individual
$125.00/year - Membership benefits listed below for one person.
- Glass of champagne and one free visit to The Museum
- 20% off tours (food tours excluded)
- 10% discount on museum purchases every time you visit
- Advance notice & purchase opportunities for intimate concerts & author series
Family/Dual
$250.00 - Membership benefits listed below for two adults
All the Individual benefits plus:
- 10% discount on Mansion food tours
- 1 private docent-led tour for 2
Angel
$750.00 - Membership benefits listed below for one person
All the Individual benefits plus:
- 10% discount on food tours
- 2 tickets to the SRO Concert of your choice
- 1 private docent-led tour for 4
- 2 seats at annual Founder's Dinner
Winged O Society
Members of the Winged O Society are among the museum's leading supporters donating not just funds but their valuble time, providing the foundation necessary to share, build, and perserve our programs. Their support goes directly to our programs including Artists-in-Residence, Jammin', OKids, SRO Concerts, and our evolving collections.
Winged O members recieve all of the benefits of membership listed above as well as the following:
Rising Stars
$5,000
- Invitations to unique events including private amnesia dinners, concerts, and private docent led tours
- 4 tickets to the SRO Concert of your choice
- 4 seats at annual Founder's Dinner
- Recognition links and logos on our website, and in our communications vehicles
All-Stars
$10,000
- Invitations to unique events including private amnesia dinners, concerts, and private docent led tours
- 6 tickets to the concert or speaker of your choice
- 6 seats at annual Founder's Dinner
- Private Penthouse Tour for 6
- Recognition links and logos on our website, and in our communications vehicles
Rock Stars
$25,000 - and beyond
- Invitations to unique events including private amnesia dinners, concerts, and private docent led tours
- 8 All-Access Passes & front row seats to every concert & speaker
- 8 seats at annual Founder's Dinner
- Private Penthouse Tour for 8
- Private art consultation with The Museum's Founder
- Naming opportunity at The Museum
- Recognition links and logos on our website, and in our communications vehicles
In our Collection
Les Paul Artifacts
Photo: Thomas Faivre-Duboz Paris, France
(Les Paul Live @ Iridium Jazz Club / NYC)
A legendary guitarist, recording artist, scientist and inventor, Les Paul left trademark innovations on everything he touched.
Though he is famous for being a jazz-pop icon, it is his inventions that changed the face of music today. One of pioneers of sound recording, his genius developed revolutionary engineering techniques such as close miking, echo delay, overdubbing and multitracking and the first 8-track tape recorder.
Yet his crowning achievement was driven by his desire to create a stringed instrument that could make electronic sound without distortion. It took almost a decade of work to create his solid bodied instrument - the Gibson Les Paul. Gibson's Les Paul Standard went on to become the most popular of all models of electric guitar. It is Les Paul's pursuit of engineering excellence in the science of sound, as well as his musical genius, that we honor at the O Street Museum Foundation.
You can see a one-of-a-kind, hand painted, personally signed Les Paul guitar when you visit the museuem. In keeping with the whimsy and humor of the OSMF, Les signed his guitar, upside down.
In our Collection
Roger Maris Rookie Year
Cleveland Indians travel suitcase
Best known as the man who broke Babe Ruth's single-season home run record - Maris set the new record after a spirited season-long duel with fellow New York Yankee Mickey Mantle.
Like all artists, athletes require talent, determination and vision to become champions. It is their belief in themselves to be the best that we honor through a collection of rare sports memorabilia that includes Roger Maris' travel suitcase.
Featured Artist
Eli Abrahami
Born one of 14 children in Persia, 1948, Elie's religious affiliation prohibited him from painting, learning to read, and write. It wasn't until he was in the Israeli army, that he became an artist.
Despite his family disowning him for becoming an artist, he sent 80% of his earnings to them, until their death.
He resides in Paris and his work is in major museum collections, globally.
generous support from:
