LibGuides: Researching Building History: Resources By Type

Building Permits

History Quest - ONLINE RESOURCE

HistoryQuest (bit.ly/2lZG5pC) is the online component of the building permits database for extant buildings only. This GIS map provides historical data on approximately 127,000 buildings in Washington, DC. The map offers several operational layers of information for the user including historic data on individual buildings, links to documentation on properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places, information on historic residential subdivisions, and the identification and boundaries of the L’Enfant Plan, and the city’s Squares, and Wards. The featured layer in the map—the Historical Data on DC Buildings—provides information from a variety of sources on original dates of construction, architects, owners and builders of the city’s historic buildings.

Building Permits Access Database

If the property you wish to research was constructed between 1877 and 1949, it should have a recorded building permit (initial permit to build). Architect, builder, year the permit was filed, amount paid, ownership, etc. can all be gleaned from the DC Historical Building Permits Database. You’ll need to provide the address to a librarian on duty to receive a printout of this data. This database includes buildings that have been razed.

Repair, Renovation, Raze, Modification, etc. Permits

Available via microfilm at Washingtoniana Division in the People's Archive of the DC Public Library (dclibrary.org/wash) and National Archives (Series - District of Columbia Building Permits, 1877–1949, identifier: M1116.

Building Permits after 1949

Available through DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA)
DCRA holds the index and database necessary to request the material from the DC Archives for building permits from 1949 – 1995. To access these, contact DCRA with street address and / or square and lot. DCRA will search the index, then contact DC Archives on the patron’s behalf. DC Archives staff will contact the patron with the results of the search (i.e. to indicate that the material was or was not located and how to schedule an appointment to review it if it was).

DC Property Quest - ONLINE RESOURCE
DC's Office of Planning created this site to show a wide range of site-related information easily, especially for historic resources. PropertyQuest draws from databases provided by other DC agencies. Information is presented here for planning purposes only. Please consult the source agencies for definitive answers.

Maps & Real Estate Atlases

Real Estate Atlases are structure-level maps which identify street address, square and lot numbers, and subdivision name (if applicable). Depending on the location of the property, any or all of these elements may have varied over time.

Reviewing real estate atlases chronologically can help determine the approximate date of building construction and trace neighborhood development.

Holdings at the DC History Center include Boschke maps (1857, 1861), Faehtz and Pratt atlas (1873-1874), Hopkins atlas (1878), Hopkins Real Estate atlas (1887-1896), Baist Real Estate Atlases (1903-1968), and Sanborn Insurance maps.

DIGITIZED REAL ESTATE ATLASES - ONLINE RESOURCE

The DC Public Library has digitized plat maps/real estate atlases from 1874 to 1896; see the Maps: Real Estate Plat Books collection at Dig DC. In addition, the Maps: City & Regional collection on Dig DC may show early maps of your neighborhood.

The Library of Congress online map collection also includes early Baist and Sanborn atlases. These are available for high resolution downloads:

Baist Atlases

1903 (Vol 1, Vol 2, Vol 3) bit.ly/Baist1903

1907 (Vol 3, Vol 4) bit.ly/Baist1907

1909 (Vol 1, Vol 2) bit.ly/Baist1909-1911

1911 (Vol 3) bit.ly/Baist1909-1911

1913 (Vol 1, Vol 4) bit.ly/Baist1913

1915 (Vol 2) bit.ly/Baist1913-1915

1915 (Vol 3) bit.ly/Baist1913-1915

1919 (Vol 1, Vol 3) bit.ly/Baist1919-1921

1921 (Vol 2, Vol 4) bit.ly/Baist1919-1921

Sanborn Atlases

1888 (Washington City & Georgetown) bit.ly/Sanborn1888

1903 (Vol 1) bit.ly/Sanborn1903

1904 (Vol 2) bit.ly/Sanborn1904

1916 (Vol 3) bit.ly/Sanborn1916

Using Real Estate Atlases

Real estate atlases are collections of maps that trace the evolution of the built environment over time. Published by a few companies, the most common DC atlases were published by and known as Baist's. These atlases were published in four volumes and a volume was released every few years. Be careful: The four volumes do not track with the four quadrants of the District.

Step 1: The first step when using real estate atlases to explore the evolution of a particular neighborhood is to figure out which volume documents it. Luckily there's a four-volume diagram to help determine which volume you need!

In the diagram here, the pink area indicates Volume 1, which includes neighborhoods west and north of the Capitol, south of Boundary Street (now Florida Avenue), and east of Georgetown.

The yellow area indicates Volume 2, which includes NE DC south of Florida Avenue, SW DC west of the Anacostia, and SE DC west of the Anacostia River.

The light green area indicates Volume 3, which includes the area of NW DC that is north and west of Florida Avenue.

The beige area indicates Volume 4, which comprises NE north of Florida Avenue, and the areas of SE and SW that are east and/or south of the Anacostia River.

Step 2: Locate the earliest edition for the volume that includes the neighborhood you want to learn more about.

Open to the Index Map page. As seen in the diagram here, the Index Map will be divided into areas.

The red number on each area indicates the page you need to turn to to see building-level detail of that area.

Step 3: Go to the page that documents the neighborhood you're researching. Using the key on these pages (like in the top left of the picture here), you can see that pink indicated the buildings made of brick, while yellow indicated they were made of frame, or wood.

You can see the names of developers and landowners, the square and lot numbers, whether a building had a shed behind it, and how the names of streets changed over time. If a street name is (in parentheses), that means it's the old street name; as the years passed, new editions of the atlases who phase out the old street names entirely.

Take note of the neighborhood features, the names you see, how developed, or undeveloped, the squares and lots are.

Step 4: Having taken note of the neighborhood features, then you can go to the next edition of the same volume, repeat steps 2 and 3, and see how the neighborhood changed over time!

Directories

City Directories (1822-1973)
The DC History Center holds Boyd’s City Directories for 1822, 1827, 1834, 1843, 1846, 1850, 1853, 1855, 1858, 1860-1943, 1948, 1954, 1956, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, and 1973. Directories list residents alphabetically, and include occupation, place of employment, home address, race (up to 1870), and names of spouses (1928 onwards).

From 1914-1973, directories include a separate street address index. Patrons may search for their homes by address to discover its historic occupant. Volumes also contained a business directory, organized by business category.

Data was collected via door-to-door canvas in December of the previous year. If your home was built and occupied within a calendar year, the residents may not appear in the directory at that address until the following year.

Property Tax Assessment Directories

The DC History Center holds select 20^th century tax assessment directories, primarily 1917-1940 and 1981-1999 available by appointment. An inventory can be provided in advance.

Directories Available at the People's Archive at the DC Public Library

These directories are available from 1874 – 2009 on microfilm. Information provided here will include property owner, assessed value of lot and “improvement” (the value of the house), and square footage. Property’s square and lot number will be needed to search.

Digitized City Directories - ONLINE RESOURCE

Online database HeritageQuest (bit.ly/2krNU73; available with DCPL card) has some city directories. However, this database is setup for searching for individual people rather than browsing the entire digitized directory.

Select directories between 1860-1909 have been digitized and are available online; an index is available at: https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=boyddc.

Photograph Collections

The DC History Center's photography collections include thousands of street scenes and architectural images. The online catalog includes several different types of catalog records. There are collections where each and every image is cataloged, and has a thumbnail image attached. There are collections where each image is cataloged, but there are NO thumbnail images attached (such as a search for “St. John’s Lutheran Church” indicates, where the DC History Center icon is visible in place of a thumbnail image). There are collections where more than 1,000 images are described with a single catalog record, and an attached PDF offers an an address-by-address listing. Sometimes individual addresses are listed in the catalog record; sometimes you need to see an image itself to see if your building of interest included.

Photographs are the only type of resource in the catalog where you can consistently use the advanced search fields for square and block number, so if a search for “918 G Street NW” yields nothing - don’t give up, try searching 900 and G and NW. In addition, searching using nearby landmarks can often reveal an image that includes your building of interest, even if it’s not called out in the catalog record.

The below collections are examples of those that focus on street scenes and architectural images; several are city-wide surveys and the others focus on specific neighborhoods.

SP 0052 - John P. Wymer photograph collection
Consists of about 4000 images of Washington taken by John P. Wymer, 1948-1952. Wymer divided the District into 57 areas and photographed sample blocks and important buildings. Collection comprises original hand-cut negatives; notebooks kept by photographer; scrapbooks with each page containing prints and typed captions. The photograph prints are captioned with location and date. This collection was digitized in its entirety in 2018. Each image in the collection is available in high resolution by request; fees apply.
Wymer's DC
Wymer's DC is an interactive map which places the thousands of historic images of John P. Wymer onto Google Street View. Use this tool to immerse yourself in 1950s Washington, D.C. and picture the city as you have never seen it before. Wymer's DC was created as a way to view the Wymer Photograph Collection in a geospatial context and visually connect with the rich history of the nation's capital.
SP 0034 - Emil A. Press slide collection
The Emil A. Press Slide Collection consists of about 4000 35mm color slides taken by Emil Press, 1959-1979. The images are mainly of Washington, D.C. south of Florida Avenue, but some outlying areas are included. Press often photographed buildings that were slated for, or in the process of demolition. The card index to the collection is arranged by both location and subject. This collection was digitized in its entirety in 2018. Each image in the collection is available in high resolution by request; fees apply.
SP 0068 - Susan Myers Capitol Hill Residences collection
35mm slides produced in conjunction with research by Susan Myers on on Capitol Hill Residences, leading to her article, "Capitol Hill 1870-1900, The People and Their Homes", in CHS Records 1973-1974, p 276.
SP 0122 - Kathleen Sinclair Wood collection
The collection-level identifier is SP 0122. Individual images are cataloged beginning with KSW. Comprises several thousand 35mm slide photographs of Cleveland Park and other Washington D. C. sites, taken primarily by Kathleen Sinclair Wood.
SP 0125 - Cleveland Park, Georgetown, and General Architectural Slide collection
The collection includes three albums containing about 900 35mm slides of Washington buildings in the 1970s and 80s. Those in Album A are of Cleveland Park sites; those in Album B are of Georgetown sites; and those in Album C are of other Washington, D.C. sites.
Kiplinger Washington Collection Barrett collection
William Edmund "Bill" Barrett (1927-1997) graduated from Georgetown University in 1951 and launched his career as a freelance architectural photographer in 1961. Washington-area clients included the National Capital Planning Commission, Octagon House, Decatur House, the Junior League, the National Park Service and Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. The Barrett images in the Kiplinger Washington Collection are all cataloged online and are all street scenes in the 1960s. The object IDs reflect a cataloging system devised by a former curator of the collection. Object IDs begin with KC followed by a 4-digit number. The number indicates the order in which the item came into the collection/was cataloged. In addition, the object ID sheds light on the type of material and creator: PH indicates photograph; WB is for William Barrett. The physical prints are arranged by square, reflecting Barrett's systematic method of documenting the built environment.
SP 0128 - Wm. Edmund Barrett Washington Photographs collection
The collection is largely comprised of Washington street scenes captured in approximately 4,000 sharp, 4x5" Kodak transparencies, nearly all individually identified by location and date. Barrett often included printing notes and critiques on the glassine negative sleeves, providing critical metadata as well as insight into his artistic process. The collection also includes Barrett's copy work; 35mm negatives and slides; several hundred black and white prints; and selected client correspondence. The collection is unprocessed; a box-level inventory is available at the Kiplinger Research Library. Approximately 8.5 cubic ft. (9 containers).
DC Office of Historic Preservation D.C. Historic Preservation Office (DC HPO) Historical, Architectural and Cultural Resources Surveys
This collection consists of three surveys: Blacks in the Arts (1988), Blagden Alley/Naylor Court (1989) and Downtown (1979). The Blacks in the Arts survey documented buildings associated with the unique atmosphere in which DC black artists lived and worked in the post-civil war era and during segregation within today's Shaw neighborhood in Northwest DC. The intent was to document and preserve this historical information and to identify buildings which meet the National Register evaluation criteria. The Blagden Alley/Naylor Court survey documented buildings and dwellings located in Naylor Court and Blagden Alley (Squares 0367 and 0368, respectively) in downtown DC with the intent to assess its historical significance and how historic district designation would impact planning and development. The Downtown Survey, conducted by Don't Tear it Down, was a major survey of downtown Washington, DC with the goal of identifying the architectural and historic resources of "old downtown" and to incorporating these findings into redevelopment plans in an attempt to preserve the unique characteristics of the nation's capital for future generations.

Census Materials

Research Families in the Census - ONLINE RESOURCE
Searching for the individuals associated with a property (e.g. owners and occupants) in the Census can yield a great deal of detail about the family such as other family members, race, place of birth and occupation. Start with the Heritage Quest database (bit.ly/2krNU73; available with DCPL card), through which the following census years may be searched by name: 1790-1820; 1860-1880; 1900-1940. All census years between 1790 and 1940 may be browsed (except the 1890 census that burned). There is no way to search a specific address in the census but searching by general location is possible for the following years: 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, using enumeration district maps.

Newspapers

Conduct Newspaper Research - ONLINE RESOURCE
Additional information about a property and the people associated with it can be found by doing newspaper research. A great place to start is the DC Public Library's collection of full-text local newspapers (bit.ly/2HtJVPT), including The Washington Post (1877 to present) and The Evening Star (1852-1981). TIP: Search names and addresses in quotation marks to narrow results. You will need a library card number to access these databases.

The Library of Congress has many other digitized local newspapers searchable online through their Chronicling America - Historic American Newspapers project: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/.

SP 0180 - 16th Street Project photograph collection
The collection-level identifier is SP 0180. Comprises 1,868 photographs documents structures along all of Sixteenth Street NW, from the District/Maryland Line at Blair Circle heading south to Lafayette Square. The area covered by photographers Joel Hoffman and Roy Sewall comprises 74 blocks on the west side, and 82 blocks on the east side. Structures photographed include homes, office buildings, embassies, places of worship, shops, restaurants, monuments, and statues, documented between 2009 and 2019.

Deeds and Land Records

Recorder of Deeds Online (1921 – Present) - ONLINE RESOURCE

For public deed and land record information (liens, bonds, easements, etc.) from 1921 – present, there is an online portal available here: https://countyfusion4.kofiletech.us/countyweb/login.do?countyname=WashingtonDC

For public deed and land record information that falls outside of this time period, visit the Department of Tax and Revenue’s Office of Recorder of Deeds (202- 727-5374).

Mapping Segregation in Washington, D.C. - ONLINE RESOURCE

Mapping Segregation is a resource for historians, activists, educators, students, and journalists, and provides essential context for conversations around race and gentrification in DC. The project's maps unveil historical patterns that would otherwise remain invisible and largely unknown. The ongoing, lot-by-lot documentation of racial covenants is set in the context of DC's demographic transformation over the course of several decades. Primary documents, archival news clippings, photographs, and oral testimony also contribute to the stories these maps tell. (Note that the absence of a covenant on the maps does not necessarily mean there wasn’t one. If some lots in a square had covenants, chances are that most or all lots had them but the deeds containing them have yet to be found. In addition, a square that shows no covenants at all may be one of the many that remain to be surveyed.)

Published House History Research

Wouldn't it be great to be able to piggyback on the research done by others interested in your neighborhood, or even better, the specific address you're looking to know more about? The DC History Center's collections include manuscript collections incorporating property research, as well as published and otherwise compiled house histories. Check the links below for some examples.

Various historic landmark designation applications and research
Such as P 5020 - Historic Preservation Review Board application for historic landmark or historic District designation : Potomac Place; P 5024 - Historic Preservation Review Board application for historic landmark or historic District designation : Barney Circle Historic District
James M. Goode Apartment House research collection (MS 0366)
Comprises research files, photographic prints and slides. The material was created during the years 1978-1988 when Mr. Goode and his staff were engaged in research for a major book on the social and architectural history of Washington area apartment houses, 1880-1988. This research was published in Goode's Best Addresses: A Century of Washington's Distinguished Apartment Houses (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988). The book was republished in 2003 with additions; research materials from that edition were donated in 2014 (2014.053) and were added to this collection.
James M. Goode Architects in Washington, D.C., collection (MS 0384)
The collection contains materials on almost 200 noted architects and architectural firms compiled by Goode in 1987 as part of his research on Washington's cultural, social, and architectural landscape. Included are news clippings, notes, brochures, photographs, and copies of plans.
Edmund J. Flynn Company records (MS 0625)
Edmund Flynn helped introduce cooperative apartments to Washington, D.C. In 1921, Flynn was the sales representative for Wardman Construction Company and by 1926, had created the Edmund J. Flynn Company, specializing in cooperatives. The collection consists of promotional and business documents relating to the properties managed by the Edmund J. Flynn company. Some of the promotional materials pre-date the creation of the company. The records chronicle both architectural history and residential life in such prominent addresses as the Ontario, the Westchester, the Broadmoor, Harbor Square, Potomac Plaza, the Presidential, and Hampshire Gardens.
George Washington University American Architecture and Historic Preservation Graduate Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations collection (MS 0837)
The collection comprises unpublished research papers in the field of Washington, D.C. architecture and historic preservation, completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduate courses under Professor Richard Longstreth at The George Washington University. While the specifics of the courses changed over the decades, the assignment generally called for students to select a property in the metropolitan area, research the property's design, architect/builder, client(s), function(s), materials, construction, urban context, and morphological developments; and write a 10-15 page report with a detailed descriptive analysis of the property's physical characteristics (original and subsequent, both of exterior and interior) as well as an analytical discussion of the property's historical significance. Reports were often required to include at least four photographs (general views, details, and context) taken by the student, as well as at least one site and/or floor plan.
Historical Research of ...
Published house histories by local firm Kelsey and Associates that have been donated to the Kiplinger Research Library, with the title of each including the specific address researched.

Neighborhood Research

To conduct neighborhood histories, there are many, many different types of materials and sources
to consider. Each neighborhood will be unique in the information available; however, there are some
sources that provide basic overviews, including those listed below.

Cultural Tourism Heritage Trail Brochures
Cultural Tourism DC's Neighborhood Heritage Trails are the official walking trails of Washington, D.C. and they cover the diverse social history of over 20 neighborhoods. The brochures are also available to
download as a pdf.
Office of Historic Preservation Ward Heritage Guides
The DC Historic Preservation Office (HPO) has been working with local communities to prepare a series of heritage guides for the District’s eight wards. Each illustrated guide describes the ward’s historical development, shows recognized historic properties, and identifies other sites that may be significant to local culture or valued by neighborhood residents. Potential strategies for increasing appreciation and protection of community heritage are also discussed. Guides for Wards 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 are available.
DC History Center Neighborhood Vertical Files (VF 03)
The Neighborhoods Vertical File collection is an artificial collection of newspaper and magazine clippings that have been individually donated to the Society, collected by staff, or found in collection; they are arranged by subject. Please note, the collection is not exhaustive and is added to only on a sporadic basis; the Society does not actively collect for this collection. Individual manuscript collections may also contain clippings on many of the same topics, as well as those not included in this artificial collection.
Foggy Bottom Association (FBA) Historic District House History pages
The project combines individual House History pages for each building in the Foggy Bottom Historic District Study Area with a map whose layers show historic maps, census, city directory data and other information focusing on the period from 1870 to 1910. Each house has a link to the individual house history pages if you want to toggle back and forth between the map to the individual house histories. There are plans to extend the map layers to include the period prior to 1870 and from 1911 to 1970. The project is created and maintained by the Foggy Bottom Association.
Foggy Bottom Association (FBA) History Project House History Map
This site offers a unique combination of maps, databases, and photos that document the Foggy Bottom Historic District community, its houses, and the lives of its residents. The map is created and maintained by the Foggy Bottom Association and hosted by the DC History Center.