Presented via Zoom in partnership with DC Preservation League, featuring: Sarah Shoenfeld, Alcione Amos, Amber Wiley, and Parisa Norouzi
At Barry Farm Dwellings in Southeast DC, a recent historic landmark designation preserved five aging buildings. Filled with public housing until 2019, the rest of the complex was razed for redevelopment. This program highlights the rich history these buildings represent, including its recent preservation saga, from the Historic Preservation Office’s determination that the site was ineligible to the persuasion of DC’s Historic Preservation Review Board to landmark the buildings despite their poor condition. But we will also look to the future of the site, asking: what comes after a site has been preserved?
On land occupied until the 1690s by the Nacotchanks (latinized to Nacostan/Anacostan), the federal government established Barry Farm/Hillsdale as a Black landownership community in 1867. Decades later, in 1941, the government took back a portion of this land to build public housing. The complex became home to momentous civil rights and antipoverty organizers and incubated DC’s emerging go-go scene. Today, it is fondly remembered by generations of Washingtonians and by recently displaced residents who hope to return to the new development.
Panelists
The DC History Center is partnering with the DC Preservation League to present this virtual program. For more information on the panelists, partners, and sponsors, visit DC Preservation League’s event page.