I’m not scared of heights. But that doesn’t mean they don’t make me a little uncomfortable. Which is why I was a little nervous to go up the 270-foot Old Post Office Tower.
But my dad wanted to see it again, so up we went.
To reach the tower, you skirt around the Waldorf Astoria Hotel to a little back entrance tucked half into the ground that seems like the wrong place. But the sign printed on the door claims otherwise.
Before you even start your ascent, you go through a hallway talking about the history of DC and the tower itself. It’s been newly renovated, but there are still touches of the old left- such as the door labeled “Elevator Pit” and the 1899 vault door.
To reach the top of the tower, you have to take two elevators. I’m not scared of heights, but I don’t like elevators.
The first elevator is U-shaped with semi-transparent glass on one side to allow a glimpse of the ostentatious hotel dining room. After winding along a little back hallway, you reach a room with the ropes of the Congressional bells.
Fun fact: The bells are still rung by hand every Thursday at 7 pm and on Federal holidays.
Then you get a second elevator with a wonderful max capacity of 5 people. It’s utilitarian and tight. This is the part that made me most nervous.
But then the doors open and you’re in the tower. On all four sides are openings allowing you a view of DC spread out all around. In the center is a raised cast-iron platform for an even better vantage point.
It was the perfect kind of tower. Stone, a solid floor, and windows with ledges so you can’t see straight to the ground. Even my mom, who hates heights, would probably enjoy going up.
Each window has a sign underneath telling you what buildings you can see outside. My dad could name them all, and plenty that weren’t listed too.
We spent a good fifteen minutes wandering from window to window, admiring the view and checking out the cool rooftop terraces all around.
Then we took the two elevators back down to the ground and back into the city we’d been looking down at minutes before.
The Old Post Office Tower is run by the National Park Service, keeping it free and open daily from 9 am to 4 pm. You can also get a NPS stamp at the tower.
