Information desk and gift store at the Visitor Center

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site Visitor Center building is located at 200 North 2nd Street. The actual Maggie Walker House is around the corner on East Leigh Street (it is the building with the green and white striped awning). The National Park Service owns the entire block of buildings from the house to the corner of 2nd Street, and then along 2nd Street to a vacant lot. Free street parking is available on 2nd Street.

The two buildings to the right of the Walker House are now used as office space for the National Park Service and an exhibit hall that is only open for school groups. The Visitor Center itself is housed in a former laundromat.

OPERATING HOURS

The Visitor Center and Walker House are open year-round on Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9 AM to 5 PM, except when closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Times can always change, so before making travel plans be sure to get the latest schedule on the National Park Service’s official Operating Hours and Seasons web page for the park.

AMENITIES

• Ranger-staffed information desk where you can pick up a free park brochure
• Walker House Tours start from here
• Small book and gift store
• Small exhibit area
• Park film
• Restrooms

PARK FILM

A short film about Maggie Walker is shown at the top of each hour and is the starting point for a tour of the Walker House. If you don’t know a thing about Walker, do not take the house tour until you have familiarized yourself with her by watching the film and reading through the exhibits in the Visitor Center. I arrived just as a tour group was heading to the house and made the mistake of joining the tour instead of first watching the film. I knew zero about Maggie Walker, and the tour is as much about her and her family as it is about the actual house, so when names and events were mentioned, I had no idea about who or what the guide was referring to and had to ask many “stupid” questions. I felt as if I had walked into a movie theater halfway through the movie.

You can watch the film on the Maggie Walker Biography page here on National Park Planner.

EXHIBITS

There are only a handful of information panels about Maggie Walker and Jackson Ward on display at the Visitor Center. The only artifact is an old lamp that used to sit at the end of the banister inside the Walker House.