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FACTS
Open every day
(except December 25)10:00 am to 5:30 pm
Admission is always free!
Street Address:
National Postal Museum
2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E.
Washington, DC 20002
Tel: (202) 633-5555MAP
- Collections
- Collection Database
- Collection History
- Collection Plan
- Collection Projects
- Object Donations
- Object Loans
- Object Spotlights
- Photographic Archives
- Preservation
The national collection illustrates and invites research into United States philately and postal operations. It contains prestigious postal issues and specialized collections, archival postal documents and three-dimensional objects that trace the evolution of the postal services.
- Exhibits
The National Postal Museum is divided into galleries that explore America's postal history from colonial times to the present. Visitors learn how mail has been transported and the wondrous diversity of postage stamps.
- Research
- Museum Library
- Appointments to Research Objects
- Maynard Sundman Lecture Series
- Symposiums and Lectures
- Research Funding
- Industry White Papers
- Finding Guides
- Research Articles
- Articles from EnRoute
- Topical Reference Pages
- Smithsonian Magazine Online
- External Research Links
The Museum supports a wide variety of interdisciplinary research projects which address topics of importance such as current and future postal operations, as well as philatelic and postal history. Our efforts are a resource and point of reference for research and wider investigation by historians throughout the United States and the world.
Location and Directions
The Museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., except December 25. Admission is free.
Where we are
Street Address
National Postal Museum
2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20002
Mailing Address
National Postal Museum
P.O. Box 37012 MRC 570
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Tel: (202) 633-5555
Public transportation
Take Metro's Red Line to Union Station. As you exit the station, the National Postal Museum will be across the street. For a detailed Metrorail street map, please visit the Metro website.
For inexpensive and convenient bus service through downtown Washington, DC with stops adjacent to the National Postal Museum and Union Station, try the DC Circulator Bus. For a detailed route map and current schedule information, visit: www.dccirculator.com.
The DC Circulator Bus National Mall Route conveniently connects the National Postal Museum and Union Station to the Smithsonian museums on the National Mall, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial. It costs just $1 to board the Circulator. Riders who pay using a SmarTrip® card will be able to re-board the Circulator for free within two hours from the time they first board the bus. The National Mall route does not operate on July 4. The National Mall Route Union Station stop (Stop #1) is located at the intersection of E Street and Massachusetts Avenue, NE.
http://nationalmall.dccirculator.com
Taxis
Museum visitors can usually find taxis either in front of the museum or in front of Union Station.
Airport Ground Transportation
Reagan National Airport (DCA)
Dulles International Airport (IAD)
Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)
driving
From Maryland Arriving from the East
Follow New York Avenue (west) into the city.
Turn left on First Street, N.E.
Drive about 12 blocks to the National Postal Museum.
The Museum will be on your right at the corner of Massachusetts
Avenue and North Capitol Street.
From Maryland Arriving from the West or North
Take the Capitol Beltway
Exit on New Hampshire Avenue (south)
Follow New Hampshire Avenue, which will turn into North Capitol Street when you enter the District of Columbia.
Keep driving south on North Capitol to Massachusetts Avenue. The Museum will be on your left at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and North Capitol.
From Virginia
Follow I-395 north
Take the Massachusetts Avenue exit
Turn right onto Massachusetts Avenue (going east)
The National Postal Museum will be on your left at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and North Capitol Street.
Parking
Street Parking is available near the Museum and all-day paid parking is available at Union Station, located next to the Museum.
