DC area might be in for vibrant fall colors this year

By Dimitri Sotis
September 25, 2021 | 9:06 AM

Now that the D.C. area has felt the crispness of fall at night, you might be wondering how soon you can get out and see the leaves change color, and how beautiful the foliage might be this year.

Experts said the display could be very nice this year, with warm days and cool nights expected, and little in the way of extreme temperatures that could ruin the color.

The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center forecasts that peak fall foliage will probably happen between Oct. 11 and Oct. 17 from the Shenandoah Valley into the Appalachians.

It will be best from Oct. 18 to Oct. 25 from the western D.C. suburbs to the Shenandoah Valley, and the most vibrant colors will appear during the last week of October for most areas along the Interstate 95 corridor.

Charlottesville, Virginia, and Maryland’s Hallowed Ground National Scenic Byway make U.S. News & World Report’s list of 20 Top Places to See Fall Foliage in the U.S.

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

By Neal Augenstein
September 1, 2026 | 10:36 AM

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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