Found at the library: One woman’s remembrance of growing up in 1920s Petworth

/
Found at the library: One woman’s remembrance of growing up in 1920s Petworth

Out of curiosity, I recently started digging around the DC Library Archives for stuff about the Petworth neighborhood and came across a small book published in 1995, “Growing Up in Petworth in Washington DC 1919-1950.” Written by Margaret MacGill at the age of 76, she recalls the story of her family and childhood in her family house at 528 Taylor St NW. She writes in the book that the home’s location “must have seemed like the end of the world to be moving that far out from downtown.”

Read More

Watch a wonderful piece of Petworth-area family history on PBS with Linda & Eric White

/
Watch a wonderful piece of Petworth-area family history on PBS with Linda & Eric White

Petworth native, Linda Crichlow White and her husband Eric White, were featured on PBS’s Legacy List on January 11th. Linda and Eric had lived in their six-bedroom house in 16th Street Heights on the 1600 block of Nicholson Street NW for 28 years and were getting ready to downsize. Through mutual friends and acquaintances, she connected with the PBS show Legacy List, a show about the hidden treasures and heirlooms found while families downsize across America, and they were seeking to feature more black families on the show. Learn more and watch the episode.

Read More

A history lesson, given away with love

/
A history lesson, given away with love

During this quarantine, my husband and I have continued to downsize. Using our wonderful neighborhood listservs from Petworth to Shepherd Park, we have given away or sold items ranging from fresh mint to be transplanted, a grill … and a piece of sculpture.

Read More

Spring cleaning? You may find pieces of your family history

/
Spring cleaning? You may find pieces of your family history

They say that the only people who like “hoarders” — people who don’t ever throw things out — are genealogists.

It’s because of materials that I found in relative's homes in Petworth and Park View that I've been able to tell stories about my ancestors.

Read More

About those metal posts you see around Petworth and DC [videos]

/
About those metal posts you see around Petworth and DC [videos]

You’ve seen these odd-shaped metal posts on the streets in Petworth and around DC, even if you didn’t know what they were. Almost all are painted and some, like the ones in Mt. Pleasant, have been converted to miniature art installations. (There’s one on 16th Street that has tennis balls stuffed inside.)

So what are they?

Read More
/ /
, , , ,


submit to reddit

A conversation about the Barnett Aden Gallery, the first Black-owned gallery in the US

/
A conversation about the Barnett Aden Gallery, the first Black-owned gallery in the US

The Barnett Aden Gallery, located in the Bloomingdale neighborhood from 1943-1969, was the first privately-owned black gallery in the United States. 75 years after the Gallery’s opening, artist, scholar and curator David C. Driskell will join historian Marya McQuirter in conversation to discuss its history and legacy on Thursday, December 13 at 7pm at the Shaw Neighborhood Library (1630 7th Street NW).

Read More
/ /
, , ,


submit to reddit