The suffrage HQ where Alice Paul fought for women's equality.
Photo: Eric T Gunther · CC BY 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Steps from the U.S. Capitol and across the street from the Supreme Court stands one of the oldest houses on Capitol Hill — built in 1799, once home to Albert Gallatin, Jefferson's Treasury secretary, and partly burned by British troops in 1814. For more than 90 years it was the headquarters of the National Woman's Party. Belmont–Paul Women's Equality National Monument preserves the Sewall-Belmont House, the home and workplace of suffragist leader Alice Paul and the base from which the militant wing of the women's movement ran its campaigns. There is a neat irony in the address: the party moved here in 1929 only because construction of the Supreme Court had forced it out of its old headquarters on the site opposite.
It's free and indoor — a comfortable all-weather stop. Galleries tell the story of the suffrage movement, the 19th Amendment, and the long battle for the Equal Rights Amendment, which Paul wrote in 1923 and then pushed from this house for the rest of her life. Her preserved office evokes the White House pickets and the 'Silent Sentinels.' The entry hall's stained-glass fan window lights the portraits and busts of suffrage leaders, and the collection holds protest banners and the 'jail door' pins awarded to women arrested while picketing.
It's a small house museum with short days: Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with free ranger-led tours at 10 and 2 and no reservations needed. Turn up on a Wednesday and you'll find the door shut. It's a powerful hour on Capitol Hill, easily paired with the Capitol, Supreme Court, and Library of Congress. Reach it by Metro; there's no parking. Treat it as the place of struggle and remembrance it is.
One of the oldest houses on Capitol Hill — built in 1799, home to Treasury secretary Albert Gallatin, burned in part by the British in 1814 — and the National Woman's Party headquarters for more than 90 years, steps from the Capitol and Supreme Court.
Insider tipLook at its neighbor — the house sits directly beside the Hart Senate Office Building, a striking juxtaposition of the suffrage struggle next to the seat of federal power.
Plan a trip to this spot →Tells the story of the suffrage movement, the 19th Amendment (1920), and the long fight for the Equal Rights Amendment, which Alice Paul wrote in 1923 and campaigned for from this house from 1929 onward.
Insider tipThe exhibit traces the ERA's full arc — from 1923 through its failed ratification window — connecting past and present debates.
Plan a trip to this spot →The preserved workspace where the more militant wing of the movement strategized the White House pickets and the 'Silent Sentinels' campaign.
Insider tipAsk a ranger about the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession on Pennsylvania Avenue — a defining action planned from this milieu.
Plan a trip to this spot →The restored stained-glass fan window lights the Hall of Portraits — busts and paintings of suffrage leaders — in an entry hall kept as it appeared when Alice Paul lived and worked here.
Insider tipThe most photogenic interior — visit on a sunny afternoon when light pours through the fan window.
Plan a trip to this spot →A remarkable collection of suffrage artifacts — the purple, white, and gold protest banners carried outside the White House, and the 'jail door' pins awarded to women arrested while picketing.
Insider tipSlow down and read the labels — the objects carry remarkable individual stories. A ranger tour at 10 or 2 draws them out further.
Plan a trip to this spot →The National Woman's Party was the more militant, confrontational counterpart to the mainstream movement; Alice Paul brought nonviolent direct action, pickets, and hunger strikes.
Insider tipPair this stop with a Smithsonian women's-history exhibit to see both the mainstream and militant wings of the movement.
Plan a trip to this spot →Humid subtropical Washington, D.C.: hot, humid summers (July–August highs in the high 80s with afternoon thunderstorms) and mild-to-cold winters (January lows around freezing, occasional snow), with rain spread year-round and a late-spring peak. Because it's an indoor house museum, it's a comfortable rain-or-shine stop — and the cherry blossoms peak late March–early April.
On Capitol Hill at 144 Constitution Ave NE — free, Metro-accessible.
On Capitol Hill next to the Hart Senate Building, steps from Union Station and the Capitol. Free, with self-guided visits and ranger-led tours at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. that need no reservation. Metro: Union Station (Red) to the north or Capitol South (Blue/Orange/Silver) to the south — an urban site with no parking. About an hour, longer with a tour.
No lodging — it's an urban monument. Stay anywhere in D.C.
Stay anywhere transit-connected — Capitol Hill, Downtown, or Penn Quarter put you within walking or Metro distance.
Booking tipChoose lodging near a Metro station; there's no parking at the monument.
Is it free?
Yes — admission is free.
What is it?
The longtime headquarters of the National Woman's Party and the home and workplace of suffragist Alice Paul — now a museum of the women's-suffrage and Equal Rights Amendment story, in the historic Sewall-Belmont House, one of the oldest homes on Capitol Hill.
Who were Alice Paul and the NWP?
Alice Paul was a leading suffragist who founded and led the National Woman's Party, the militant wing of the movement known for White House pickets ('Silent Sentinels'), the 1913 suffrage parade, and direct-action tactics. She wrote the Equal Rights Amendment in 1923, at the party's earlier headquarters on the site the Supreme Court now occupies, and led the fight for it from this house after the party moved in in 1929.
How do I visit?
It's open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. — closed the rest of the week, which is the mistake most visitors make. Reach it by Metro (Union Station or Capitol South); there's no parking on site.
How long does a visit take?
About an hour self-guided, or longer on a ranger-led tour — those run at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and need no reservation.
Can I combine it with other sights?
Yes — it sits in the heart of Capitol Hill, easily paired with the U.S. Capitol, Supreme Court, Library of Congress, and the National Mall.
Pick your vehicle, line up the stops on the way in and out, and carry the whole route in your pocket.
