David Shaw

About

I’m David Shaw, founder of Off the Record Tours. I’ve lived in Washington, DC, for 38 years and guided visitors for 15. I’m a Certified Master Guide with the Guild of Professional Tour Guides of Washington, DC, and I also work as an international visitor liaison for the U.S. Department of State, accompanying official guests around the country. Washington is full of impressive buildings. The people behind them are often even more interesting. My tours explore their ambitions, achievements, contradictions, and choices—and how those choices still shape our lives. We’ll talk about what the monuments mean, how Washington works, and why the stories Americans tell about themselves have changed over time. I founded Off the Record Tours to share that history with depth, honesty, and a sense of humor. We’ll examine familiar stories, question persistent myths, and make room for difficult truths. History supplies enough remarkable characters and political ironies that embellishment is rarely necessary. My private tours are conversational and shaped around your interests. I welcome curious adults, families, and young people, whether it’s their first visit or they’re ready to look more closely. Bring the question you’ve always wanted to ask. There’s time to explore it. Some of my DC favs: the Lincoln Memorial at night, Eastern Market on weekends, evensong at Washington National Cathedral, guessing who's in a motorcade, the Evening Parade at the 8th & I Marine Corps barracks, and Politics and Prose bookstore. In the US I have visited 48 states (Idaho and Nebraska I will get to you!). I have traveled to England, Spain, Sweden, Greece, Russia, Finland, Croatia, Türkiye, Antigua and Barbuda, Denmark, Morocco, China, South Africa, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, Turks and Caicos, Canada, France, St Lucia, Estonia, Mexico, Norway, Germany, Lithuania, St Barts, Honduras, the Bahamas, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the Cayman Islands. I hold a BS from Elizabethtown College and an MSW from Bryn Mawr College. Some of my favorite things: The Godfather I & II, John le Carré novels, Bruce Springsteen concerts. I have a weakness for basset hounds.

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