International Spy Museum

Milton Maltz, a code-breaker during the Korean War and founder of the Malrite Communications Group in 1956 (later The Malrite Company), conceptualized the International Spy Museum in 1996 as a for-profit organization. The original museum facility in the Penn Quarter neighborhood was built by Milton Maltz and The House on F Street, L.L.C. at a cost of approximately US$40 million. It opened to the public in 2002.

The foundation cost of the original museum was half funded by the Malrite Company; the other $20 million came from the District of Columbia through enterprise zone bonds and TIF bonds. The museum was part of the ongoing rejuvenation of Penn Quarter, kicked off in the 1980s by the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation.

In April 2015, plans were released for a new museum designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. In January 2019, the museum began the process of moving from its previous F Street location to the new $162 million dedicated building at 700 L'Enfant Plaza, and it reopened to the public on May 12, 2019. The 32,000 square foot L'Enfant Plaza building has a 145-seat theater, rooftop terrace, and top-floor event space. The new museum is a non-profit enterprise.

Educational and cultural programs are offered for students, adults, and families including scholarly lectures, films, book signings, hands-on workshops, and group tour packages. The museum charges admission fees.

On March 1, 2026, the International Spy Museum opened a new special exhibition titled Camouflage: Designed to Deceive. The exhibit presents an immersive examination of the history and application of camouflage across art, nature, military, intelligence, and cultural contexts, featuring four new galleries, each centered on the science of camouflage: Disappear, Distort, Disguise, and Deceive. Utilizing real stories, artifacts, and immersive media, the exhibition reminds us that camouflage is everywhere. It is a descendant of deception that is as old as espionage itself.