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Dupont Circle closed during Capital Pride parade and festival by National Park Service

By Neal Augenstein

The National Park Service erected heavy steel security fencing around Dupont Circle on Friday morning, closing it to the public ahead of this weekend’s marquee Capital Pride festivities.

In a public announcement, the Park Service said, “The park area will be closed to the public to provide for public health and safety and protect natural and cultural resources in Dupont Circle Park.”

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Historically, D.C.’s gay pride movement was nurtured in Dupont Circle, and early Pride events were held at the Circle, located along Connecticut Avenue NW.

The annual Pride parade, which will be held Saturday, no longer passes Dupont Circle, and Sunday’s Pride Festival is held along Pennsylvania Avenue.

The National Park Service said Dupont Circle will be closed through Sunday at 6 p.m.

Last year the security fencing was also installed but later removed after community pressure. There was isolated violence in the vicinity last year, although it’s unclear whether it was connected to the Pride event.

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National Museum of the American Latino to be housed in historic Smithsonian building

By Neal Augenstein
The Smithsonian Institution has decided to put the National Museum of the American Latino into an existing, historic building, rather than constructing a new one. The Smithsonian Board of Regents on Monday designated the Arts and Industries Building, a 145-year-old redbrick Victorian structure located between the Smithsonian Castle and the Hirshhorn Museum, as the permanent site of the National Museum of the American Latino, which Congress authorized in 2020. In 2022, the Smithsonian narrowed its survey for permanent locations for the National Museum of the American Latino and the American Women's History Museum to four locations near the National Mall on land owned by the National Park Service. The Arts and Industries Building, located at 900 Jefferson St. SW, was one of the four sites. New construction on National Park Service land would require congressional approval. However, since the Smithsonian already owns the Arts and Industries Building, the institution can place the National Museum of the American Latino in the existing building without additional legislation.
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