Researching Building History

As part of the DC History Center’s ongoing mission to offer enlightening connections with the past, this Context for Today compilation looks at segregation and housing discrimination in DC history. We are asking: what are the practices that have defined the racial composition of DC’s neighborhoods? What forces limit the ability of people of color to build wealth and enjoy the fruits of American society?

House history guide created by staff of the People's Archive at the DC Public Library. The People's Archive at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library holds an extensive collection of historical materials and resources related to D.C. history. Visit dclibrary.org/washingtoniana to learn more. Specific resources relevant to House Histories include tax assessments records, building permits, neighborhood files, and more. The Peabody Collection at the Georgetown branch of the DC Public Library holds a plethora of resources specific to Georgetown, such vertical files (arranged by street address), photographs, tax assessment records (19th century), neighborhood newspapers (on microfilm, 19th and 20th century), and more. Please contact Jerry McCoy, librarian, at Peabody Room (202-727-0233 or jerry.mccoy@dc.gov).

The District of Columbia Archives holds historical and permanently valuable records of the DC Government such as birth and death records, wills, land records and marriage records. Please email archives@dc.gov to make an appointment.

The National Archives building (on Pennsylvania Ave NW between 7th and 9th) holds many resources related to local D.C. history.

Local historian Matthew Gilmore offers an excellent one-page workflow chart (last updated 2014) to the kinds of answers that can be found using particular resources.