Guided Tour of OAS Underground Mural

Friends of the Art Museum of the Americas (FAMA) offers one-and-a-half hour guided tours of the Organization of American States (OAS) National Historic Landmark Building, the "Roots of Peace" underground mural, painted in 1960 by Uruguayan artist Carlos Páez Vilaró (1923-2014), and the Art Museum of the Americas.

Pablo Zuñiga, former OAS diplomat and director of the OAS Art Museum of the Americas will guide you through the grand spaces where representatives of the nations of the Americas and observer states have been meeting since 1910. The classical and global styles of the building are perfectly suited to the work of OAS, which is based on the four main pillars of democracy, human rights, security, and development.

The tour continues underground, where you will engage with Vilaró's colorful and symbolic mural that covers one side of a tunnel connecting the main OAS headquarters with an administrative building. Spanning more than 530 feet (162 meters), it is believed to be one of the longest murals in the world!

The tour ends at the Art Museum of the Americas (AMA), which holds one of the world’s leading collections of modern art of the Americas and offers special exhibitions based on the principle that the arts are transformative for individuals and communities. The Spanish Colonial-style structure designed in 1912 by the architect Paul Cret was formerly the official residence of the OAS Secretary General.

The tour fee goes directly to Friends of the Art Museum of the Americas (FAMA), a nonprofit membership organization that supports exhibitions and educational outreach programs of the Museum. Learn more and join today: https://friendsama.org/Accessibility: The OAS tunnel mural is wheelchair accessible. The first level of the museum is wheelchair accessible, however the second level of the museum has a winding staircase leading to it. Restrooms for the OAS mural are wheelchair accessible. Restrooms in the museum are not, but people are welcome to use the restrooms in our offices next door to the museum, which are accessible. Please contact [email protected] with further questions on accessibility.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Organization of American States, 200 17th Street Northwest, Washington, United States