The campus of Saint Elizabeths Hospital is sited pleasantly atop a wooded ridge in the Anacostia Hills. It is a National Historic Landmark whose story and impact on mental health treatment in the United States can be read in the historic buildings and landscapes that cover its 350 acres. Prior to the 1840s, when Dorothea Lynde Dix first began advocating for better housing conditions for people suffering from mental illness, mental illness treatment and care was at best haphazard and at worst…

Data recorded in 2020 determined that only 2% of 95,000 designated sites on the National Register of Historic Places focused on the African American experience. This percentage reflects a critical gap in historic preservation: sustained neglect of African American properties, particularly those associated with slavery. Very few sites on the National Register describe or identify histories of enslavement. Even famous examples of national register nomination sites, such as George Washington’s…

Historic preservation is almost always focused on the protection of a building or a structure's exterior. Because of this flexibility, residents of historic districts freely remodel the interiors of their homes while external facades are saved from the wrecking ball and incorporated into new construction. Nonetheless, DC's historic preservation regulations allow for the designation of "building interiors." Therefore, interiors are occasionally designated for their historic and/or architectural…

As Washington, DC’s citywide historic preservation nonprofit, DCPL has nominated a variety of historic landmarks and districts over the past five-decades in an effort to preserve, protect, and enhance the historic and built environment of the city. From restaurants and houses to office buildings and historic districts, DCPL has strived to ensure the preservation and promotion of DC’s history through its physical landmarks. In 1971, the Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue NW, a magnificent…

Despite not being a major music hub like Los Angeles or New York City, DC’s music scene has created its own styles, trends, and sounds for decades. Famous musicians and bands alike have found a home in DC, blending multiple genres on one track. However, few musical movements have swept the city like go-go and punk rock, and only one has the honor of being named DC’s official music. Throughout the late 20th century, both of these movements captured the essence of what it meant to live in the…

Nowadays, it is surprising when a common product isn’t available on the store shelf. Most grocery stores, supermarkets, and big box stores have a wide variety of offerings in a multitude of options – a level of convenience that the modern consumer takes for granted. Even when a brick-and-mortar store doesn’t quite have what you need, the product can be purchased online with just a few clicks, and delivered within a couple days or even within hours. This wasn’t always the case. In fact, the…

Ambling up and down one of DC’s leading thoroughfares, the D70 Metrobus’s path along Connecticut Avenue covers major ground in the northwest section of the city. In the years following World War I, Connecticut Avenue developed into a major residential and commercial corridor, with high-style apartment buildings popping up along the avenue. Residents were able to move farther away from downtown and commute using public transportation – first on streetcars, then on buses, and eventually on…

When the Founding Fathers established Washington, DC, as a federal territory in 1790, the fledgling government criminalized homosexuality as the British had. A desire for uniformity and a “normalcy” defined by American officials resulted in numerous repressions and segregations through ensuing centuries, targeting those who did not fit into a traditional family structure. The strictness of gender roles and gender identities in the United States, combined with a genuine fear of “divergent” sexual…

These highlighted sites are among those researched for DC’s first Asian American Historical Context Statement, a project produced by the 1882 Foundation for the DC Historic Preservation Office and the DC Preservation League through funding from the National Park Service’s Underrepresented Communities Grant Fund. These sites provide only a small glimpse into the range of places where Asian Americans have lived, gathered, and built community in the city for more than a century—against the…

Washington, DC's suburban neighborhoods are largely defined by their early to mid-20th century detached dwellings reflecting a wide variety of Revival-style buildings from the popular Colonial Revival styles to more picturesque Tudor and Mediterranean-style residences. Within these traditional neighborhood settings, however, are pockets of Mid-Century houses that were either privately commissioned or part of speculative developments. Largely constructed between the late 1940s up through the…

Art Deco, a term coined in the 1960s, describes a type of architecture that was popular from the mid-1920s until the late 1930s and early 1940s. When discussing Art Deco, many people think of famous landmarks like the Chrysler Building in New York City, but the style influenced many building types from private homes and apartment buildings to bus terminals, bridges, and movie theaters. Additionally, the style is broad and includes specific examples described as “High Art Deco,” “Moderne,”…

Financial institutions played an important role in the history of Washington, DC. Banks, building and loan associations, trust companies, and securities all worked in tandem to establish a sound economy in DC. While DC is known as the home of the federal government, its historical financial institutions are also important to the city’s history. Prior to introducing the history of the financial institutions that called DC home, there are several different definitions that will be fleshed out…

What do Langston Golf Course, Kalorama Park and Archaeological Site, and Gallaudet College Historic District all have in common? They can all be considered cultural landscapes within Washington, DC. This tour will show that many historic sites – including historic landmarks and historic districts – within the District can be classified as cultural landscapes. The definition of a cultural landscape is broad and has been interpreted differently by preservationists. The National Park Service…

Sports and recreation began to thrive in 19th-century Washington, DC, as more residents started joining clubs and spending their down time in public green spaces. Industrialization caused a decrease in working hours, which gave people in the United States in the 19th century more time for hobbies and leisure activities. Since then, Washingtonians have enjoyed a wide range of activities, including baseball, bicycling, boating, bowling, canoeing, football, golf, horseback riding, swimming,…

In 2025, seven historic landmarks were added to the DC Inventory of Historic Sites — five of which were sponsored or co-sponsored by the DC Preservation League (DCPL). In addition to these five landmarks, DCPL sponsored a nomination amendment to the Mount Pleasant Historic District designation, and co-sponsored, with the Art Deco Society of Washington, an amendment to the Greyhound Bus Terminal designation. In February, the John Joseph Earley House at 1710 Lamont Street NW in Mount Pleasant…

This tour explores the historic farms and estates located within former Washington County — an area outside of the original City of Washington and Georgetown (i.e., generally north of Boundary Street, now Florida Avenue, and east of the Anacostia River). Washington County, Washington City, and Georgetown were consolidated in 1871, and comprise the entirety of modern DC. Today, through these historic landmarks, remnants of a previously pastoral way of life can still be found within the bounds of…

This tour explores the cemeteries and burial grounds around the District. Rock Creek Cemetery, the first cemetery in what would become the District of Columbia, was founded in 1719 and originally served as the burial ground of a small Anglican chapel. Still active today, Rock Creek Cemetery is now open to all religions. Another burial ground founded prior to the official establishment of the District is the Montgomery Street Methodist Church cemetery. Though founded in 1772, burials did…