Washington Scandals Map

Interactive Map of DC’s Political Scandals and Historic Locations

This interactive Washington Scandals Map reveals the exact locations where Washington’s most compelling historical events unfolded. Discover where Interior Secretary James Watt banned the Beach Boys, where Nixon’s secret recording system was exposed, and where political figures lived, worked, and sometimes fell from grace.

For more than two centuries, Washington’s tree-lined streets and marble buildings have witnessed America’s greatest political dramas. From Alexander Hamilton’s financial schemes to the Watergate break-in, the real story of American power isn’t found in monuments—it’s hidden in the everyday places where deals were made, secrets were shared, and scandals erupted.

• Watergate Complex (2650 Virginia Ave NW): The June 17, 1972, break-in here triggered the only presidential resignation in American history. But the real scandal broke when White House aide Alexander Butterfield revealed Nixon’s secret recording system during congressional testimony just blocks away.

• Interior Department Building (1849 C St NW):  Interior Secretary James Watt’s 1983 announcement banning the Beach Boys from the National Mall sparked a political firestorm that reached the First Lady. The controversy revealed how cultural disconnection could destroy political careers faster than policy disagreements.

• The White House (1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW): America’s most famous residence has witnessed more political scandals than any other building in the nation. From Richard Nixon’s secret recording system that captured his own downfall to Grover Cleveland’s unprecedented 1886 wedding to his 21-year-old ward, the Executive Mansion has been the epicenter of presidential drama, cover-ups, and constitutional crises for more than two centuries.

• Ford’s Theatre (511 10th Street NW): Actor John Wilkes Booth exploited his celebrity status to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln here on April 14, 1865, using his calling card to access the presidential box during “Our American Cousin.” The cursed building later collapsed in 1893, killing 22 federal clerks. It’s now a working theater and museum.

• Mary Surratt Boarding House (604 H Street NW): John Wilkes Booth and conspirators plotted Lincoln’s assassination at this townhouse from 1864-1865. Landlady Mary Surratt became the first woman executed by the federal government, with President Johnson calling it “the nest that hatched the egg.” Now a restaurant in Chinatown where diners unknowingly eat where the conspiracy was born.

• Grant Hall, Fort McNair (Fort Lesley J. McNair): The third floor housed the 1865 military tribunal that condemned Lincoln’s assassination conspirators, including Mary Surratt—the first woman federally executed. Over 300 witnesses testified where four were sentenced to hang. Surratt’s ghost allegedly haunts the building with mysterious weeping. Now home to the Defense Department’s Africa Center, with quarterly public tours.

• Alice Roosevelt Longworth House (2009 Massachusetts Ave NW): For six decades, Theodore Roosevelt’s razor-tongued daughter held court at Washington’s most powerful dinner parties, where political careers were made and broken with her devastating wit. From this mansion, “Mrs. L” conducted a decades-long affair with Sen. William Borah, lobbied against the League of Nations, and earned the nickname “the Second Washington Monument” for her unmatched influence over the capital’s elite. It’s now headquarters of the Washington Legal Foundation.