Education and Culture

Washington has numerous institutions of higher learning, including Georgetown University, George Washington University, Howard University, American University, the Catholic University of America, and the University of the District of Columbia.

In libraries Washington has few rivals. The Library of Congress has probably the world's largest collection of books, manuscripts, and documents. Also in Washington are scores of governmental libraries, a large municipal library, and numerous university and private libraries. The Folger Shakespeare Library has one of the world's finest and largest collections relating to Shakespeare and Elizabethan England.

Of Washington's numerous museums, the largest and most famous are part of the Smithsonian Institution. On the Mall are the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museums of American History, of Natural History, and of the American Indian. Major art collections of the Smithsonian are housed in numerous galleries. The National Gallery of Art is widely recognized as one of the world's great art museums. Also notable are the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art, the National Portrait Gallery, the American Art Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the Renwick Gallery. Other public art collections are in the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Phillips Collection. Dumbarton Oaks, administered by the trustees of Harvard University, has a notable collection of Byzantine and pre-Columbian art.

Washington's many specialized museums include the Textile Museum, the U.S. Navy Memorial Museum, the City Museum of Washington, D.C., and the Millwood Museum, noted for its Russian and French decorative art. Ford's Theatre, where President Lincoln was shot, has been restored to its original appearance and serves as a museum and theater. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has exhibits pertaining to the Holocaust of World War II.

The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is the home of the National Symphony Orchestra and has facilities for the presentation of opera, drama, dance, and films. Plays and musicals are also presented at the Arena Stage and National Theatre. Concerts at the Jefferson Memorial, the Capitol, the National Gallery of Art, and the Phillips Collection enrich the city's cultural life.