The Washington Post

D.C. History: Get an Earful

Download the tour free at http://www.culturaltourismdc.org, http://www.audisseyguides.com/washingtondc or from iTunes (search for “Cultural Tourism DC”). For details, call 202-661-7581.
It’s the great irony of living in Washington: Ask a resident why the Washington Monument is two colors, and you’ve got a pretty small chance of getting the correct response.
With the Lincoln bicentennial kickoff this month, Cultural Tourism D.C. has created its first do-it-yourself tour to get acquainted with the city as Lincoln might have known it, as well as how we see it today. No bus, no trolley, no admission fees. The Civil War to Civil Rights Audio Tour is experienced via your MP3 player.
The three-part tour was launched this week, kicking off what will be a series of “audio journeys” tied to those ubiquitous Heritage Trail signs on city sidewalks. Download one or all three of the hour-long “loops” (narrated by NPR’s Korva Coleman, with guest appearances by the Wizards’ Caron Butler and others), print a map from the Web site, then flit along the Downtown Heritage Trail to hear all sorts of minutiae about the city.
Take the Center Loop segment of the tour, and you’ll find yourself at the old Patent Office. Why? Because of one famous inventor, Abraham Lincoln, the only president to have a patent issued in his name (for a device to lift boats over shoals). On the East Loop (which starts at Sixth and D streets NW), hear about immigration. And on the West Loop (which starts at G between 13th and 14th streets), hear about the Freedom Riders, civil rights activists who journeyed to the South on buses out of the Old Greyhound Bus Station.
The best part: Each stop is discrete, so you can start or stop anywhere. (As for the Washington Monument: The colors reflect different quarry stones used after a 25-year construction hiatus.)

Link to live story.