Visit the Wilson Building

The historic John A. Wilson Building houses the Executive Office of the Mayor and the Council of the District of Columbia. As the statehouse and city hall for the District of Columbia, the building is open to the public, and we encourage the city’s residents and visitors to tour the building and sit in on the legislative process.

LOCATION

1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC

The John A. Wilson Building is directly across the street from Freedom Plaza at the corner of 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

HOURS OF OPERATION

9:00AM – 5:30PM, Monday through Friday.  Closed on holidays.

COUNCIL OPERATIONS

The Council of the District of Columbia is operating on a hybrid work schedule. Councilmembers and staff are available via email and phone during regular business hours. Please contact each office to determine its in-person operating schedule.

All Legislative Meetings and Committee of the Whole Sessions are convened in a hybrid format with attendance either in-person in the Council Chamber or via the Zoom remote conferencing platform. Each meeting, Councilmembers may choose the form of his or her attendance. The public may attend in-person or attend remotely by registering for a specific meeting. Public attendance is limited to Chamber seats only.

All hearings, roundtables and committee mark-ups may be convened in either a hybrid format or a fully remote format. Committees will determine the format of its event and will provide access and/or participation instructions in the hearing/roundtable notice. Committee chairs will determine witness guidelines, such as witness testimony length and deadlines for testimony submissions.

COUNCIL’S VACCINATION POLICY

All employees of the Council of the District of Columbia, except those with an approved religious or medical exemption, are required to be fully vaccinated. Boosters are required to maintain full vaccination status. Employees with an approved religious or medical exemption are required to submit negative PCR tests within 72 hours of physical entrance to the John A. Wilson Building.

ACCESS AND ENTRY TO THE JOHN A. WILSON BUILDING

Please do not enter the Building if you are sick, have symptoms consistent with COVID-19, or are under a quarantine or isolation order due to a presumptive or confirmed case of COVID-19 or close contact exposure to COVID-19. Masks are not required to enter the building however we encourage and respect the right of those who wish to wear masks in public areas. Offices may implement additional protocols for their offices, such as, but not limited to, requiring appointments before meeting with members of the public, requiring proof of vaccination prior to granting access to their suite, requiring hand sanitization upon suite entrance.

    1. Employee Access

All employees (Council and Executive) must be fully vaccinated. Each employee must present a valid District government employee ID card for entry.

    1. Public Access

All members of the public may be requested by security to provide valid ID to enter the building. All visitors will be required to sign-in at the security checkpoints.

Before entry into the building, all visitors are screened by a magnetometer, and all items that are permitted inside the building are screened by an x-ray device.

The following items are strictly prohibited:

  • Any bag larger than 14″ wide x 13″ high x 4″ deep
  • Aerosol containers
  • Any pointed object (i.e., knitting needles, letter openers) Note: pens and pencils are permitted.
  • Cans and bottles
  • Electric stun guns, martial arts weapons or devices
  • Food or beverages of any kind
  • Guns, replica guns, ammunition, and fireworks
  • Knives of any size
  • Mace and pepper spray
  • Non-aerosol spray (prescriptions for medical needs are permitted)
  • Razors and box cutters

WILSON BUILDING POLICIES

  • Discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, political affiliation, disability, matriculation, familial status, source of income, genetic information and place of residence or business is illegal and not permitted.
  • All areas of the Wilson Building are smoke free.
  • Strollers are permitted.
  • Service animals are welcomed.
  • During your visit, help preserve the Wilson Building’s statues and other works of art.  Enjoy looking at them, but please do not touch.

ACCESSIBILITY

The Wilson Building’s Pennsylvania Avenue entrance and D Street entrance are both handicapped entrances.  Each floor is equipped with handicapped accessible doors in the main hallway, and our restrooms are also ADA compliant with handicapped accessible stalls and doors.

In addition to the building being wheelchair accessible, the Council also offers assistive listening devices through the use of an FM System in Hearing Room 500, and an audio induction loop service in Hearing Rooms 412, 120 and 123. Closed captioning is also available in all hearing rooms for all official Council proceedings.

Sign language and interpretation services are available upon request if attending a hearing or roundtable or meeting with Council staff. Please inform staff of the request at least 7 business days prior to the event.

TESTIFYING BEFORE THE COUNCIL

Learn about the process for testifying before the Council here.

PARKING

There is no public parking at the Wilson Building. However, there are numerous parking garages in the area with the closest garage located next door at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. Visitors are encouraged to take public transportation; the most accessible METRO stations are Federal Triangle or Metro Center stops.

PUBLIC AMENITIES

The Wilson Building offers the following public amenities: ATM (near D Street entrance); vending machines in the lounges on the Ground, 2nd and 4th floors; an app-accessible Mamava lactation pod for breastfeeding moms; an app-accessible BiKeep bicycle rack, as well as open racks at the rear of the building.

VIRTUAL TOUR

The Wilson Building is a landmark and an architectural gem. Thanks to the Google Maps team, you can take a virtual tour of parts of the building. While virtually all of the public areas of the Wilson Building are navigable by users via Google Street View, here are direct links to some of the building’s most beautiful, and/or frequented, spaces:

Council Chamber; Main Lobby; Hearing Room 412; Hearing Room 120; Hearing Room 123; Mayor’s Ceremonial Room; Atrium; angels in the Chamber; devils in the Chamber; Historic panels; Art collection

Links can be found here: https://www.dccouncil.us/take-mind-blowing-360-tour-wilson-building-phone-desk/