D.C. Emancipation Day celebrates the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862, which ended slavery in the nation’s capital and freed 3,100 people.
The law offered newly freed people money to emigrate and also provided financial reimbursement to others who had been slave owners.
D.C. commemorates the act every April 16, which falls on a Sunday this year. As a result, many D.C. government agencies are observing the holiday on Monday, April 17.
Mayor Muriel Bowser and members of her administration will begin four days of festivities on Friday, April 14.
Here’s what’s closed and open and the road closures for D.C. Emancipation Day:
What’s Closed
- D.C. schools will be closed Monday, April 17.
- All of D.C.’s libraries are closed Sunday, April 16. On Monday, April 17, one library will be open in each of D.C.’s eight wards.
- The Department of Public Works will not collect trash or recycling on Monday, April 17. Instead, D.C. residents’ waste will get it collected one day later for the week. So, trash collected twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays, for example, will instead be picked up on Tuesday and Friday.
- The District’s Department of Motor Vehicles will close all of its facilities, including service centers, adjudication services and its inspection station on Monday, April 17.
- The Department of Transportation will not enforce its parking meters on Sunday, April 16. Drivers won’t be required to pay their meters on April 17, when much of D.C.’s government will be observing the holiday.
- The District’s Department of Parks and Recreation and Aquatic Centers will be closed Monday.
- The city’s Health and Wellness Center will be closed Monday.
- The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will suspend construction and work zones for non-emergency work in roadways, alleys and sidewalks within the city. Approved construction activities will resume on Tuesday, April 18.
What’s Open
- The Smithsonian Institution’s 17 museums in D.C., including the National Zoo, will be open on Emancipation Day.
- National Park Service will keep its parks, such as the C&O Canal towpath, open for people to visit and enjoy the holiday.
- Zoe’s Doors for the homeless on 900 Rhode Island Avenue NE will be open Monday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Outdoor parks, playgrounds, athletic courts and fields will be open. All permitted events on these outdoor spaces will take place as scheduled.
Road Closures
The city’s 2023 Emancipation Day Celebration will take place on Saturday, April 15 with a parade and concert that will cause the following parking restrictions and street closures.
D.C. police said these streets will be posted as Emergency No Parking from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.:
- Pennsylvania Avenue from 11th Street to 14th Street, NW
- E Street from 13th Street to 14th Street, NW
- 13th Street from E Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
These streets will closed to vehicle traffic from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.:
- Pennsylvania Avenue from 12th Street to 14th Street, NW
- E Street from 13th Street to 14th Street, NW
- 13th Street from E Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
These streets will be posted as Emergency No Parking and closed to vehicle traffic from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.:
- Pennsylvania Avenue from 9th Street to 12th Street, NW
- 10th Street from E Street to Constitution Avenue, NW
- 11th Street from E Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
- 12th Street from E Street to Constitution Avenue, NW
