National Portrait Gallery & Smithsonian American Art Museum - Private Historical Tour

Hello and welcome to Washington! If you are interested in a private, personable, and historical tour, I'll show you how Washington expanded from a sleepy national capital to a vibrant international capital. I first moved to Washington as a child in 1973 (and still remember everyone talking about the Watergate scandal). I fell under the sway of the city’s history and charm during Washington’s preparations for the 1976 Bicentennial (and the opening of “the Great Society Subway”—today’s Metro). I did not, however, grow up here: after my father retired from Federal Service, I grew up in upstate New York and attended high school in Mexico as an exchange student. In college, I got back to Washington briefly by interning in the House of Representatives. Then, after working as a journalist and a teacher (in a Japanese public high school), I was hired by a Japanese newspaper to be a reporter for their Washington Bureau. As a member of the Washington Press Corps, I covered politics in-depth and learned (among many things) that journalism did not have as bright a future as other interesting work in Washington that required a graduate degree. So, I spent five years in Chicago and earned a Doctorate in American History (specializing in social and political history)—after which my wife and I moved back to Washington in 1999. We bought a small post-war “cottage,” which we renovated as our family grew and as I pursued a career in the Federal Government. Before retiring in 2025, I served as a U.S. representative to the OECD for many years. Retirement affords me the opportunity to be a writer by night and meet new people and share stories as a tour guide by day. My excellent experience with Tours by Locals around the world led me to choose to be a guide for the platform. In particular, I believe that the company’s private, tailored tours allowed our family to make the best use of our limited time in foreign cities, seeing and learning from smart and engaging guides who let us set the start time we wanted, see just those places we wanted to see, and have all our questions answered—all at our own schedule and pace. In short, having spent over three decades navigating the halls of Washington, I can offer you the benefit of a private guide who knows the backways and backstories of the city. I can share both my personal experiences as well as historians’ interpretations of how Washington has developed and works today. We can walk in the footsteps of the suffragettes’ marching for women’s right to vote, explore the U.S. Botanic Garden (and learn about David Fairchild's introduction of flowering cherry trees, horseradish, nectarines, and pistachios to the US) or discover some of DC’s lovely tucked-away gardens, see Jefferson’s personal library or where Douglas MacArthur commanded tanks against the Bonus Expeditionary Forces besieging the Capitol, or we can take in the highlights of the Mall’s amazing museums. I’m also always happy to share my families’ favourite spots for a coffee/tea (and a sweet) when we’re downtown as well as our favourite restaurant recommendations for dinner. The tours listed in my Profile are all walking tours, but they can all be customized to your particular preferences and expectations. District of Columbia Tour Guide License #TGL40000804 Note that DC tour guides cannot give tours inside the White House, Capitol, or the National Cathedral.