The first university for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the world occupies a lovely manicured campus of bucolic green and Gothic accents north of Capitol Hill. Notable buildings include College Hall, an antique vision in brownstone, and Chapel Hall, a gorgeous Gothic structure that screams academia. The American football huddle was invented here when the Bisons (the school team) noticed other teams were trying to interpret their sign language while they plotted their plays.

Gallaudet is a bilingual institution that provides instruction in both American Sign Language and English. The Metro station is about a half-mile west.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. National Public Radio

0.78 MILES

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2. Union Station

0.85 MILES

DC's main rail hub, a 1907 beaux-arts beauty designed by Daniel Burnham, is an eye popper. The Grand Concourse is patterned after the Roman Baths of…

3. Union Station Plaza

0.91 MILES

This grassy space with a large fountain cascade spreads in front of Union Station. The area is also known as Columbus Circle, since the fountain is a…

4. National Postal Museum

0.92 MILES

The Smithsonian-run Postal Museum is way cooler than you might think. Level 1 has exhibits on postal history from the Pony Express to modern times, where…

6. Emancipation Memorial

1.1 MILES

Freed black slaves raised the funds to erect this 1876 memorial, which portrays the snapping of slavery’s chains as Abraham Lincoln proffers the…

7. Lincoln Park

1.11 MILES

Lincoln Park is the lively center of Capitol Hill’s east end. Joggers and stroller-pushing families zip past the Emancipation Memorial, a statue of a…

8. Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial

1.12 MILES

The memorial, DC’s first statue of a black woman, honors the educator and founder of the National Council of Negro Women.