National Postal Museum
A free Smithsonian museum beside Union Station, showing Pony Express relics, airmail planes, and a world-class stamp collection. Great for families.
The museum is housed in the former City Post Office building, completed in 1914. The atrium displays early airmail planes, along with mail wagons, railway mail cars, and other artifacts that trace American postal history from the colonial era through the Pony Express to airmail. The William Gross Stamp Gallery on the second floor holds one of the world's leading stamp collections, including rarities such as the Inverted Jenny. Children can also design their own stamps in the interactive area. It is open daily from 10:00 to 17:30, and admission is free. Right next to Union Station, it is about a 2-minute walk from Union Station on the Metro Red Line, and it can be visited on the same day as the U.S. Capitol and the Library of Congress.
Opening hours
Daily 10:00–17:30
Nearby sights
- United States Capitol
- United States Supreme Court Building
- Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building
- National Gallery of Art
- National Air and Space Museum
- National Archives Museum
- Eastern Market
- Ford's Theatre