National Postal Museum, Unique Stamps and Personalized Postal Experience
2 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002
4.3
Introduction
The National Postal Museum in the United States is located next to the Washington Union Station and was established in 1993 by the United States Postal Service and the Smithsonian Institution. The building was constructed by Graham and Burnham, and was originally the site of Washington Central Post Office. Though not very large, this beautiful and tidy museum presents a complete view of the American postal system for stamp collectors, and provides travelers with a novel way of communication. The post office can send your greetings from your travels to all around the world in one stop. Items mailed from here have a special postmark from the museum. In the museum's gift shop, you can purchase commemorative items such as first day covers from many years ago.
The museum displays many valuable exhibits, including the evolution of mailboxes, short films on sorting letters, people's ways of communication and communication tools, transportation vehicles such as wagons and airplanes, a technology center where you can choose stamp designs to send to your email, and undelivered mail affected by the September 11 attacks. In the "World of Stamps" exhibition area, many valuable stamps are displayed, including the world's first government-issued postage stamp, Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" commemorative stamp, Panama Canal and the most popular Elvis Presley stamp of 1993, among others. The global stamp exhibition area features rare stamps from 24 countries across six continents, including stamps issued by some countries that no longer exist. The exhibition hall only has one floor, located underground in the building. Address 2 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002
Opening hours 10:00 to 17:30 (closed on December 25th for Christmas).
Transportation Take the Red Line subway to Union Station. From the Union Station lobby, cross 1st St NE and you will arrive at the National Postal Museum in about 3 minutes by foot.
