Produced in partnership with Humanities DC, Historic Preservation, the D.C. Public Library’s Special Collections, and the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., the Community Heritage Project House History workshops provide an introduction to the resources available at local repositories to help discover the stories behind buildings across the city. The two April 2015 workshops were recently hosted by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, with a round robin format, where groups moved from station to station throughout each session.
Participants learned about the architecture of Harry Wardman, thanks to Sally Berk; local grants which help fund community documentation projects, led by Jasper Collier; maps and real estate atlases, led by Matthew Gilmore and Brian Kraft; the Building Permits Database, led by Kraft and Patsy Fletcher; microfilm resources at Washingtoniana, led by Jerry McCoy; and unique photograph and manuscript resources at Washingtoniana and the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., led by Mark Greek and Anne McDonough, respectively.
Participants leave the workshops having learned the breadth of resources available for in-person and remote research; all are encouraged to return to the various repositories to continue their house history hunt.
The next two Community Heritage Project House History workshops, again led by all of the partners, will be held at the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. in mid-August. These workshops are free, open to all, and fill up quickly: Stayed tuned for registration details!
