Carter G. Woodson Home to Reopen as Museum
The National Park Service will reopen the Washington rowhouse of the scholar who launched Negro History Week after its pandemic-era closure.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in African-American
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The National Park Service will reopen the Carter G. Woodson Home in Washington, D.C., to the public on November 7, 2026, with a free open house from 9 AM to 5 PM. The site had been closed since the pandemic and has been restored into a museum complex.
Why it matters
The reopening restores public access to a site tied to Woodson's work in Washington, where his studies were centered. The restored complex also adds a museum, visitor center, classrooms, and headquarters for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
Admission to the Carter G. Woodson Home is free, though advanced tour registration carries a $1 booking fee. The restored house has three preserved floors, and its first exhibition room screens a 10-minute biopic about Woodson.
The players
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the federal agency that operates the Carter G. Woodson Home as a historic site and oversaw its restoration.
Carter G. Woodson
Carter G. Woodson was a historian who launched Negro History Week in 1926 and was the second Black scholar to earn a PhD from Harvard University, after W.E.B. Du Bois.
The details
The restored complex at 1538 Ninth Street NW in the Shaw neighborhood includes a museum, visitor center, gift shop, and classrooms. Visitors can tour the three preserved floors of the rowhouse, where six videos on the third floor address sharing history.
Timeline
1926: Woodson launches Negro History Week.
November 7, 2026: The house reopens with a free open house from 9 AM to 5 PM.
November 10, 2026: The site begins Tuesday through Saturday hours from 9 AM to 5 PM.
Culture Shift
The reopening of Woodson's home reflects a continuing public interest in preserving sites tied to Black intellectual history, following the 1926 launch of Negro History Week that later expanded into Black History Month. The restored complex extends that legacy by pairing the historic rowhouse with classrooms and the headquarters of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
Washington residents and visitors can tour the restored Woodson home for free during the November 7 open house, or book an advanced tour for a $1 fee. The Tuesday through Saturday hours starting November 10 give visitors a regular schedule to plan around.
The takeaway
Visitors planning a trip should note the free open house on November 7 and the Tuesday through Saturday schedule beginning November 10. Booking an advanced tour carries a $1 fee and is a practical way to secure a visit time.
What happens next
The house reopens to the public with a free open house on November 7, 2026, and the site begins Tuesday through Saturday hours on November 10, 2026.
Further reading
Explore more African-American culture coverage to see how Woodson's legacy fits into the broader history of Black American life.
More information
Reserve an advanced tour through Carter G. Woodson Home tour ticket reservations.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Washingtonian.
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