Unveil the Past
The Watergate Museum's events offer a unique opportunity to engage with history. Join us to explore the nuances of Watergate history and its lasting impact on American civic life. Check out our current schedule below. More events will be added soon.
Laurie Munn's 'Watergate Portraits'
October 10, 2025 through January 31, 2026
Laurie presented this exhibit originally in 2012 at the Watergate Gallery &Frame Design as part of the 40th anniversary of the Watergate break-in. She generously agreed to reassemble the exhibit to promote and provide information on the broader Watergate Museum project. The portraits feature key players in the 1972 break-in and cover up, the Nixon administration, and the 1970's. This is only the third time that all of the 79 portraits are exhibited together. Plus, Laurie has unveiled two new pieces just for this exhibit.
Watergate Retail Plaza - (lower level)
2542 Virginia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20037
Tuesdays: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Wednesdays: 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Thursdays: 10:00 – 2:00 pm
Saturdays: 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Additional viewings can be made available by advance appointment. Group tours (no larger than 28) can also be pre-arranged.
With generous support from:
Laurie & Max Munn
Friedman Capital
Innovative Remodelers LLC
Watergate Partners, LLC
Watergate Gallery & Frame Design
Speaker Series
11/5/2025
Watergate: The Scandal That Created Modern Politics
Acclaimed journalist and historian Garrett Graff will discuss the myths and realities of Watergate — a larger and more complex scandal than popularly understood that ultimately led to Richard Nixon's resignation — and its relevance to the modern day presidency and politics. His book "Watergate: A New History," the most comprehensive examination of the Watergate scandal yet, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History and called "dazzling" in the New York Times book review.
Co-sponsored with George Washington University.
View recording:
7/29/2025
Watergate: Then and Now
Richard Ben-Veniste (Chief, Watergate Task Force, Office of the Special Prosecutor (1973-1975), Partner, (ret.) Mayer Brown LLP., and former legal analyst for CNN) and Jill Wine Banks (Assistant Watergate Special Prosecutor (1973-1975), frequent television and radio legal analyst, co-host #SistersinLaw, and host “Just The Facts”) will discuss their experiences in prosecuting the Watergate cases and whether the lessons from Watergate are dead and buried. Scott Simon (NPR Host and Watergate resident) will be moderating the discussion.
View recording:
7/16/2025
"The Watergate Syndrome"
Rick Perlstein (historian, journalist, and author of Nixonland) and Timothy Naftali (Director, Senior Research Scholar, Columbia University School of International Public Affairs and Director, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, 2007-2011), will present “The Watergate Syndrome”. The talk, moderated by Scott Simon (NPR Host and Watergate resident), will discuss why people's sense about the Watergate scandal needs to broaden to questions of Nixon's biography, how he did politics for his whole career, and how both Nixon's White House and the Republican party itself crystalized in all the things that were happening at the time of Watergate-not just the break-in but and the various programs created to weaponize the federal government for political purposes.
View recording:
5/20/2025
Moretti and Timchenko: Artists of the Built and Natural Environment
Edward A. Eigen (Senior Lecturer in the History of Landscape and Architecture, Harvard University Graduate School of Design) and T. Corey Brennan (Professor, Department of Classics, Rutgers University) will discuss the structural and landscape dimensions of the Watergate Complex’s architect, Luigi Moretti and landscape architect, Boris Timchenko, and how they altered DC’s skyline and natural venues as well as buildings and sites beyond the capital city. Scott Simon (NPR Host and Watergate resident) will be moderating the discussion.
View recording:
4/9/2025
A First-hand Account of the Design and Construction of the Watergate Complex
The Watergate Museum will host a Zoom discussion with Adrian Sheppard, the principal design assistant in the early 1960s on the Watergate Complex project for Studio Moretti in Rome. An architect prepared at the Yale School of Architecture and professor emeritus of architecture at McGill University, he will present his reflections on the history and significance of the architectural and urban planning aspects of the Complex. Joining him will be engineer (and long-time Watergate East resident) Stacie O. Condrell and Warren J. Cox, co-founder of the Washington architectural firm of Hartman-Cox and member of the Museum’s Advisory Council. Historian and Watergate East resident Jim Banner will moderate the discussion.
View recording:
3/26/2025
The Stories Behind the Watergate Comple- A Conversation With Joseph Rodota and Scott Simon
The Watergate Museum is hosting a special discussion with Joseph Rodota, author of The Watergate: Inside America's Most Famous Address. The book, published in 2018, chronicles the history of the Watergate complex from its conception in 1960 in the offices of the Italian construction company Società Generale Immobiliare to its present place in the registry of historic landmarks - through a mix of history, finance, and high-level political gossip. Joe will be sharing anecdotes from his interviews and research on the book. Scott Simon (NPR Host and Watergate resident) will be moderating the discussion.
View recording here: