Join us and Best Address to learn about mid-century modern architecture in Southwest Washington, DC, where you’ll find some of the best examples in the city!
Southwest Washington has a long and interesting history. One of the first neighborhoods to be developed in Washington, it became a thriving community for Black Washingtonians and then was destroyed by “Urban Renewal.” From there it fell on tough times until the Wharf redeveloped it yet again. Southwest is known for some of the finest examples of mid-century modern architecture in Washington. On the tour, you’ll enjoy:
- the story of how the wealthiest man in America was bankrupted by his DC investments,
- work by Cloethial Woodard Smith, the most important woman architect in DC history,
- the place where famed doctor Walter Reed proved the causes of yellow fever,
- famed local architect Charles Goodman’s modernist aluminum masterpieces,
- monumental efforts to remember the men who died on the Titanic,
- early buildings that earned global superstar architect I.M. Pei his first awards,
- the most important regional theater in the United States,
- and so much more!
Learn more about…
- Brutalism at the National Building Museum: https://nbm.org/exhibitions/capital-brutalism/.
- Cloethial Woodard Smith in Washington History Magazine. Kathleen James-Chakraborty, Washington History, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Fall 2023), pp. 8-21.
- The Old Southwest of Clarice Smith in Washington History Magazine. Jane F. Levey, Washington History, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Fall 2022), pp. 26-43.
- Teaching Southwest DC from the DC History Center’s Clarice Smith Neighborhood History Project.
TOUR GUIDE
JOE HIMALI is a raconteur and storyteller who fell in love with architecture, history, and design while watching the PBS series This Old House in the 1980s. Now he uses 2020s technology to share his wealth of knowledge with hundreds of thousands of loyal followers. When Joe is not giving one of his walking tours or shooting his latest video, you will find him touring homes in the Washington, DC area as a dedicated Realtor with more than 25 years’ experience. Find him on social media @bestaddress.
Thanks to Joe Himali, the revenue from this tour will be donated to the DC History Center’s fundraiser for our upcoming exhibition, Class Action: The Fight for Equal Education in the Nation’s Capital. Learn more about our exhibit campaign.
DC HISTORY CENTER PROGRAMS ARE SUPPORTED BY:
