Woodland in Southeast Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
A Museum Without Walls
| | Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum | |
For more than 50 years, the Anacostia Community Museum has reached beyond its walls to serve its community: you.
Inside the museum, you will find engaging exhibits and public programs created by and for members of the community.
Outside, you will find a living exhibit, created by Smithsonian Gardens, which connects the museum to the surrounding neighborhoods and environment.
Explore this outdoor exhibit to discover more about the people, places, and plants that make this area unique.
About the Anacostia Community Museum
Founded in 1967, the Anacostia Community Museum is a museum of, for, and by the people. It promotes the coming together of diverse people and perspectives to learn from, empower, and uplift one another to create a more tolerant, unified metropolitan community. Discover more at anacostia.si.edu.
About Smithsonian Gardens
As a vital and vibrant part of the Smithsonian experience, Smithsonian Gardens engages people with plants and gardens, informs on the roles both play in our cultural and natural worlds, and inspires appreciation and stewardship. Smithsonian Gardens is an American Alliance
this page online
Convening Conversations
The Anacostia Community Museum brings together diverse voices to celebrate our past and discuss important issues facing our community today. The museum seeks to answer critical questions, such as:
Where do we come from?
Who are we as a people?
What is our heritage?
On whose shoulders do we stand?
How can we enrich our community?
[Captions:]
Right: In 2017, the museum celebrated its 50th anniversary with a community block party.
Left: Anacostia Community Museum historian Louise Daniel Hutchinson leads a class at an Anacostia elementary school in 1971.
Right: Members of Washington, DC's Jamaican community meet with museum staff to develop the exhibition, Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, DC, in 1994.
Left: Gardeners tend to their plants on the grounds of the Anacostia Community Museum.
Background illustration: The swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor) supports hundreds of native animal species, including more than 500 species of caterpillar.
Erected by Smithsonian
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Education • Horticulture & Forestry. A significant historical year for this entry is 1967.
Location. 38° 51.426′ N, 76° 58.622′ W. Marker is in Southeast Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in Woodland. It is at the intersection of Fort Place Southeast and Pearson Place Southeast, on the right when traveling east on Fort Place Southeast. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1901 Fort Pl SE, Washington DC 20020, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Upper South, in the Mid-Atlantic, in the Tidewater, and in the Chesapeake Bay Region. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Anacostia River: Pride and Preservation (a few steps from this marker); Welcome to the Demonstration Garden (a
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), November 4, 2025
3. The Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum
Another marker is no longer nearby. Thurgood Marshall (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been permanently removed).
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. An identical marker stands on the grounds of the Anacostia Community Museum.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), November 4, 2025
4. Welcome! sign on the grounds of the museum
The Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum (ACM) aspires to illuminate and share the untold, and often overlooked stories of people furthest from opportunity in the Greater Washington D.C. region. Our mission is to tell stories of everyday people making impactful changes, who use their collective power to tackle complex issues and advance a more equitable future for all. While local in nature, these stories are relevant to people and communities across our nation.
Visitors to the museum can expect to leave more informed and inspired to effect change in their own communities. At ACM, we seek to learn, examine, and interrogate the local, economic and environmental issues confronting the D.C. region; to share all aspects of a vibrant local history; and to celebrate local creativity. We do this with and alongside others and through immersive and thought-provoking experiences, inclusive of multiple perspectives. We inspire people to see that change is possible in the face of adverse circumstances, by telling the stories of those who have lived and achieved it. By connecting the past to the present, our work seeks to engage more of us to act and influence the world around us.
At ACM, we celebrate stories of resiliency, joy, and strength. Our hope is to affirm, uplift, and inspire those who visit us to translate their ideas into action. We invite you to join us in our collective work to build a more equitable future for all.
Visitors to the museum can expect to leave more informed and inspired to effect change in their own communities. At ACM, we seek to learn, examine, and interrogate the local, economic and environmental issues confronting the D.C. region; to share all aspects of a vibrant local history; and to celebrate local creativity. We do this with and alongside others and through immersive and thought-provoking experiences, inclusive of multiple perspectives. We inspire people to see that change is possible in the face of adverse circumstances, by telling the stories of those who have lived and achieved it. By connecting the past to the present, our work seeks to engage more of us to act and influence the world around us.
At ACM, we celebrate stories of resiliency, joy, and strength. Our hope is to affirm, uplift, and inspire those who visit us to translate their ideas into action. We invite you to join us in our collective work to build a more equitable future for all.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 4, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 4, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 31 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on November 4, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
