Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Library

Washington, DC


Designed by famed modern architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, this low-slung, sleek central branch of the DC public-library system is an important community and cultural center. It is closed for renovations until mid-2020, when it is scheduled to reopen with new features, including creative spaces for music production and art-making, a cafe and a rooftop event space.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Washington, DC attractions

2. Ford’s Theatre

0.15 MILES

On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln here. Free timed-entry tickets provide access to the site, which has four parts: the…

3. Petersen House

0.16 MILES

After being shot at Ford’s Theatre, Lincoln was carried across the street to Petersen House. Its three tiny, unassuming rooms create a moving personal…

4. Friendship Arch

0.16 MILES

Colorful, dragon-decorated Friendship Arch – the largest single-span arch in the world – marks the entrance to DC's Chinatown.

5. Chinatown

0.16 MILES

DC’s dinky Chinatown is anchored on 7th and H Sts NW. It was once a major Asian American entrepôt, but today most Asian Americans in the Washington area…

7. Federal Bureau of Investigation

0.22 MILES

DC's concrete, brutalist FBI headquarters should be seen, if only to say you have laid eyes on the single ugliest building in the entire District. When it…