1500 South Capitol St., SE
Washington, DC 20003
202-675-6287
The National Museum of the United States Navy, or U.S. Navy Museum for short, is the flagship museum of the United States Navy and is located in the former Breech Mechanism Shop of the old Naval Gun Factory on the grounds of the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., United States.The U.S. Navy Museum is one of fifteen official Navy museums, and is part of the Naval History & Heritage Command, the official history program of the United States Navy.MissionThe U.S. Navy Museum collects, preserves, displays, and interprets historic naval artifacts and artwork to inform, educate, and inspire naval personnel and the general public.HistoryThe U.S. Navy Museum was established in 1961 and opened to the public in 1963. As one of 15 Navy museums throughout the country, it is the only one that presents an overview of U. S. naval history. Permanent and temporary exhibitions commemorate the Navy's wartime heroes and battles as well as its peacetime contributions in exploration, diplomacy, space flight, navigation and humanitarian service.
Nationals Park is a baseball park located along the Anacostia River in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is the home ballpark for the Washington Nationals, the city's Major League Baseball franchise. When the Nationals franchise relocated to Washington, D.C., they temporarily played at RFK Stadium until Nationals Park was completed. It is the first LEED-certified green major professional sports stadium in the United States. The facility hosted the 2008 season's first game, when the Nationals hosted the Atlanta Braves on March 30, 2008 and the first game played there was a collegiate baseball game. The ballpark, designed by HOK Sport and Devrouax & Purnell Architects and Planners, was originally to cost $611 million but eventually cost $693 million to build, with an additional $84.2 million spent on transportation, art, and infrastructure upgrades to support the stadium for a total cost of $783.9 million. The stadium originally seated 41,888 fans, but some seats from various parts of the stadium have been removed since its opening to reduce the capacity to 41,546 in 2010, down to 41,487 in 2012, and to 41,418 in 2013.