Plan your visit

Inside the Folger

Our new café, Quill & Crumb, is located in the Great Hall. Enjoy lunch, baked goods, and snacks alongside coffee and tea service during the day, and light bites and drinks in the evening. Water bottles can be filled at stations throughout the building.

On Folger grounds

We are picnic friendly! Outside food and drink is welcome in the gardens, on the lawns, and on the plinth on East Capital Street. Alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited in these areas by the DC government.

For groups of 8 or more, please contact the Box Office at 202-544-7077 between noon and 5pm daily to speak with a helpful Visitor Services associate. For more information, please see our Group Sales page.

Yes, wifi is free and available to the public inside the Folger.

Photographs in the exhibition galleries and Reading Room are allowed without flash.

Photography and video are strictly prohibited during performances in the theater.

Professional photography sessions are not permitted inside the Folger. This includes, but is not limited to, engagement, wedding, and headshot photo sessions. These photos are welcome outside of the building on the grounds of the Folger.

Visitors to the Folger before the renovation may remember entering the building through doors on the front of the building. These are no longer used as public entrances. Instead, use the new entrances on the east and west sides of the building. Follow the paths that lead through the gardens, down the sloping walkways, and into the newly constructed wing below street level. After you enter the lobbies, stairs or an elevator will then take you up to the theater lobby or the Great Hall.

Yes, our complimentary coat checks are available in the east lobby and the west lobby. Visitors are permitted to wear backpacks in the building, but we may ask that larger items to left at the coat check. We want you to be comfortable while in our building, and we’re happy to hold onto your belongings while you are with us.

Gallery and building tour visitors will not go through a security check. Anyone visiting the Reading Room may have items inspected upon departure. The following are prohibited:

• Guns
• Knives, pen knives, scissors, aerosol cans, tools, etc.

Service animals are welcome inside our building, but no other animals are allowed. Pets are allowed in the gardens and on the lawns as long as they are leashed and owners pick up after their pets.

We do have space available. Please inquire at the Visitor Experience desks in the lobbies for directions.

Yes, we have family bathrooms with a changing table available.

Yes, the Folger has water fountains with filling stations throughout the building.