Woodrow and Edith Wilson moved into their house just off Embassy Row in 1921, after leaving the White House. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has opened it to the public since 1963, and for most of that time the museum described itself as open daily. Visitors walking up this fall will find a notice instead. The President Woodrow Wilson House closed on September 21, 2026, and will stay closed through May 1, 2027, for a major preservation project that includes a new HVAC system.
During the closure, the museum is not offering tours, public programs or private event rentals. That leaves this year's holiday season without the house that has long anchored Kalorama's public calendar. The evenings that remain on the calendar are a short walk away, in houses that usually belong to diplomats.
A Museum Built for Daytime, Closed Until Spring
The Wilson House notice calls the project an investment in "our 109-year-old historic house and its collections." It expects to reopen in spring 2027. The house has run tours, exhibitions, educational programs and venue rentals, and it held more than 8,400 objects in its collection. For people who live nearby, it worked as a daytime stop that needed no planning: an hour-long guided tour on a free afternoon, or a place to take visiting family.
The places that are open this November and December mostly work differently. They hold evening events with fixed start times. Several require tickets or registration, and a few cap attendance. The Wilson House closure takes the daytime visit off the calendar, and what's left mostly happens after dark.
Two Houses Facing Each Other on Kalorama Road
The busiest stretch of this season's calendar is one block of Kalorama Road NW, where the Portuguese ambassador's residence at 2125 sits across the street from Ukraine House at 2134.
Ukraine House, 2134 Kalorama Road NW. This building has the most public events in the neighborhood over the next month. It is hosting three in a little over two weeks:
- Art Night, Friday, November 20, 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. The evening features the Transcarpathian School of Painting, with an art talk led by curator and collector Dr. Petro Lenchur and Dr. Ruta Cholhan. Registration is through the Ukraine House event page.
- Christmas Wreath Workshop, Saturday, November 21, 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. Participants make wreaths from natural materials while learning how materials from Ukraine's forests are used to decorate homes at Christmas. Registration is through Eventbrite, linked from the workshop page.
- Holiday Embassy Evening, Friday, December 4, 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. This evening is sold through Embassy Experiences. General admission is listed at $78, and the evening includes a Ukrainian holiday buffet, a dance presentation, a diplomatic greeting and Ukrainian art. According to the event listing, net proceeds go to help Ukrainian children and refugees affected by the war.
The December listing points out that the evening takes place at Ukraine House on Kalorama Road, not at the main embassy on M Street. Guests should use the Kalorama Road address.
The Portuguese ambassador's residence, 2125 Kalorama Road NW. On Thursday, November 19, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m., Ambassador Francisco Duarte Lopes is opening his residence for an evening sold through Embassy Experiences. General admission is $139, and the listing says attendance is very limited, at 80 people. The program includes Portuguese food from the embassy's chef, Portuguese wine and art, and a concert by Pedro H. da Silva, a composer and player of the Portuguese guitar who has performed as a soloist with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.
Two buildings across the street from each other account for four public evenings and afternoons between November 19 and December 4. During the same period, the neighborhood's best-known historic house is closed.
The Calendar, in Order
Most Kalorama-area events this season fall on Thursdays and Fridays. The schedule below includes the Phillips Collection, whose after-hours programs fall on two of those Thursdays, one of them the same evening as an embassy event.
| Date | Event | Address | Cost listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 19, 5–8 p.m. | Phillips Collection Third Thursday | Phillips Collection | Free, registration open |
| Thu., Nov. 19, 6:30–9 p.m. | Evening at the Residence of the Ambassador of Portugal | 2125 Kalorama Rd NW | $139 |
| Fri., Nov. 20, 6–8:30 p.m. | Transcarpathian School of Painting Art Night | 2134 Kalorama Rd NW | Registration |
| Sat., Nov. 21, 3–4:30 p.m. | Christmas Wreath Workshop | 2134 Kalorama Rd NW | Registration via Eventbrite |
| Thu., Dec. 3, 5–8:30 p.m. | Phillips after 5: Holiday Nordic Nights | Phillips Collection | Registration open |
| Fri., Dec. 4, 7–9:30 p.m. | Holiday Embassy Evening at Ukraine House | 2134 Kalorama Rd NW | $78 |
| Thu., Dec. 10, 7–9:30 p.m. | Holiday Celebration at the Embassy of Haiti | 2311 Massachusetts Ave NW | $69 |
Embassy Experiences notes that its ticket prices may increase, so the listed prices are a starting point. These evenings are organized and sold by Embassy Experiences, a membership-based event company. The embassies host them, but the tickets are not sold through the embassies' own public calendars.
Where November 19 Gets Crowded
The table shows a scheduling problem. On Thursday, November 19, the Phillips Collection's free Third Thursday runs from 5 to 8 p.m., and the Portuguese residence evening starts at 6:30. Anyone who wants both will have to leave the Phillips early or arrive late on Kalorama Road. The Portuguese evening is the event with the hard limit: 80 guests and a $139 ticket.
Two weeks later the same pattern repeats with less conflict. Holiday Nordic Nights at the Phillips falls on Thursday, December 3, from 5 to 8:30 p.m., with Nordic-themed music, crafts, dance, food and art activities. The Ukraine House holiday evening is the following night. The Haitian embassy's celebration on Thursday, December 10, at 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, ends the season's listed embassy events.
Kalorama Road holds most of these events, but every one of them sits within walking distance of Embassy Row. Most are evening events, though. The next section covers the main daytime option.
Anderson House Is the Daytime Option
The closest replacement for a Wilson House afternoon is Anderson House, headquarters of the Society of the Cincinnati at 2118 Massachusetts Avenue NW, between 21st and 22nd Streets. It is open for walk-up visits on a regular schedule. Hours run Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. A visit includes a guided tour of the house and the changing exhibition gallery.
According to the society's tour page, admission is $12 for adults and $9 for seniors and D.C. residents. College students and visitors ages 13 to 18 pay $6, and children 12 and under are free.
Anderson House is closed on these dates for the rest of 2026:
- Thursday, November 26, Thanksgiving Day
- Thursday, December 24, Christmas Eve
- Friday, December 25, Christmas Day
- Thursday, December 31, New Year's Eve
The schedule tightens after the holidays. From January 1 through March 15, Anderson House drops Tuesday hours and opens Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Those reduced winter hours take up most of the Wilson House's remaining closure, which ends May 1.
One Neighborhood Note Before Thanksgiving
ANC 2D's October agenda listed a pending liquor-license renewal for Kalorama Market. Petitions or letters of support are due by November 23, 2026. The commission's schedule page lists upcoming meetings for anyone following that or other neighborhood business.
The Wilson House expects to reopen in spring 2027, and until then the neighborhood's public evenings take place on Kalorama Road and along Massachusetts Avenue. If you are planning visits for guests this season, or deciding which of these evenings suits your household, the team at Kornelia Stuphan knows these blocks well and is happy to talk them through.
