DC Preservation League

Webinar: A Walk through River Terrace: Home, Community and Activism in a Northeast DC Waterside Neighborhood
2025-12-11 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom
River Terrace is a small, cul de sac community of about 2000 residents located on the bank of the Anacostia River in northeast Washington DC. First appearing on Captain John Smith’s 1612 map of the Chesapeake Bay, evidence of early Nacotchtank (Anacostan) American Indian settlement indicates that this part of the Anacostia River was a hive of trade and activity for thousands of years. Once predominantly rural, modern day River Terrace was laid out in 1937 as a whites-only community featuring a school, grocery store and church, with ‘Rustic English Village’ inspired brick row houses designed by renowned architect George T. Santmyers. River Terrace was one of the first neighborhoods in DC to desegregate in 1948 when restrictive covenants in house deeds were declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court, and since then has been home to many of the city’s Black luminaries, including environmental activist and author George Gurley, Tuskegee Airman Major L. Anderson II, and the first African American woman to serve on the Board of Governors of the Biological Photographic Association Luvenia C. Miller RBP. The River Terrace Community Organization, founded in 1950, is the longest running continually active community organization in the country. Join us for a virtual walk through River Terrace where we’ll introduce you to the people and places that make our community unique.
This webinar is presented by the River Terrace Community Organization’s Art, Culture and Events Committee.
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Image credits
Map: Image inset of Map of the District of Columbia, Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C. 20540-4650 USA dcu
Photos and certificate: Courtesy Deborah Grimstead

Walking Tour: Historic Mount Pleasant
2025-12-13 11:00 - 12:30 | 3047 15th St NW
The Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Washington, DC, along with nearby Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights, became the center of DC’s Latino community in the postwar era. In the 1940s, Puerto Ricans and Mexicans arrived in the capital to obtain work in the expanding federal bureaucracy. In the 1950s and 1960s, Latin American diplomats brought embassy staff to Adams Morgan, moving in alongside an influx of Dominicans and Cubans seeking economic opportunity and an escape from political conflict in their home countries. The growing Latin American community continued its expansion into Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights through Salvadoran and Central American immigration in the 1970s and 1980s, as civil war and domestic unrest unfolded in various nations.
Through the National Park Service’s Underrepresented Communities Grant Fund, DCPL and the DC Historic Preservation Office collaborated on a historic context study, published in 2025, focused on DC’s Latino community. In addition to this study exploring the city’s Latino history, two properties associated with this history, Rosemount Center/House of Mercy and the Latin American Youth Center, were added to the National Register of Historic Place. This tour will visit these recently designated historic landmarks, as well as several locations in the Mount Pleasant Historic District.
This tour will start in front of the Next Step Public Charter School, 3047 15th St NW, and end at the Rosemount Center, 2000 Rosemount Avenue NW. The route is approximately 0.8 miles. The return route from Rosemount Center has a slight incline, so please plan accordingly.
DCPL Member Tickets are $15 | Non-Member Tickets $25
**Please Note** DCPL members must be signed in to their DCPL online account in order to receive the member ticket price. If you have any trouble registering, email kelli@dcpreservation.org
Cancellations/Refunds: Requests for refunds will only be considered more than 5 days prior to the event, and transaction fees will be subtracted from the refund total. Cancellations 5 days or less from the event will not be refunded, but the ticket cost can be converted to a tax-deductible donation.
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Preservation Initiatives Grant Program Workshop #2
2026-01-13 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
This Grant Workshop will introduce participants to DCPL’s Preservation Initiatives (PI) Grant Program, which provides matching grants to individuals and non-profit organizations for preservation planning, research, outreach/education, and bricks and mortar projects related to historic and cultural sites. The workshop will give an overview of the program and application process. If you have any questions, please contact Zachary Burt (zach@dcpreservation.org). Additional information can be found at dcpreservation.org/grants

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Webinar: Historic Designation 101
2026-01-14 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Designating a historic site can be complex and overwhelming, as there are many aspects to consider when evaluating a site for historic designation. Luckily, there are plenty of useful resources that can help homeowners and other individuals interested in preservation.
This presentation, led by DCPL’s Community Outreach and Grants Manager Zach Burt, will provide attendees with an overview of Washington, DC’s historic landmark designation process, the DC Inventory of Historic Sites, and the National Register of Historic Places.
This webinar is free and open to the public; Zoom link will be shared closer to the date.
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Webinar: Overview of DC's Design Review Process
2026-01-21 19:00 - 20:15 | Zoom
Did you know that most projects in historic districts can be approved by Historic Preservation Office staff without going to a Historic Preservation Review Board meeting? In this virtual presentation, join DCPL and Todd Jones from DC’s Historic Preservation Office to learn how design review is conducted, the difference between concept and permit approvals, and when it’s necessary to go to the Board.
This webinar is free and open to the public; Zoom link will be shared closer to the event date.
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Webinar: Exploring Black Built Modernist Buildings Along Benning Road
2026-02-07 11:00 - 12:30 | Zoom
Please join the DC Preservation League for this online event exploring Black Built Modernist Buildings along Benning Road in Washington, DC. This webinar will be led by Imania Price, Historic Preservation Specialist at the DC Historic Preservation Office.
The webinar is free and open to the public; Zoom link will be sent once you register.
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Preservation Initiatives Grant Program Workshop #3
2026-02-11 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom

Site Tour: St. Augustine Church
2026-02-21 10:00 - 11:30 | St. Augustine Catholic Church, 1419 V St NW, Washington, DC, 20009, United States
Join the DC Preservation league for a guided tour of St. Augustine Church – home of the first Black Catholic parish in Washington, DC. The tour will be led by Dena Grant, a proud generational member of the church, archivist/historian, Girl Scout Troop Leader, and Youth Book Club/Podcast Organizer. She will share the history and resilience of the St. Augustine parish as they have journeyed and maintained ministry on 15th Street.
The original Saint Augustine no longer exists and attendees will be visiting the church/physical building that was once Saint Paul’s Church, but the spirit of St. Augustine’s founding and call to service still survives.
Dena will be accompanied by parishioner Sybil Williams, who is an African American genealogist.
This tour is $20 for anyone who would like to attend.
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Webinar: Black Architects in Washington, DC
2026-02-26 19:00 - 20:30
Join the DC Preservation League for a presentation that will highlight the consultants’ initial findings from the Black Architects in Washington, DC project. This event aims to offer insights and encourage discussion about the significant work being conducted in this area. It is a great opportunity to engage with the consultants regarding their findings and contribute to the ongoing conversation about the role of Black architects in our community.
About the Project:
Since before the establishment of the federal city in 1791, African Americans have played a significant role in shaping the built environment of Washington, DC. Free Black astronomer Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806) worked with surveyor Andrew Ellicott (1754-1820) to survey the boundaries of the ten-mile-square area that would become the District of Columbia, just as hundreds of skilled and unskilled enslaved persons were hired out by their enslavers to help build the US Capitol and the White House. After the Civil War, freed Blacks with carpentry, masonry, metalworking, and other building skills entered the building trades in significant numbers in the city. The increased population led to a major building boom. While many Blacks entered the design field through the building trades, they also approached the design world through various avenues, known and unknown.
According to the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, just 2% of licensed architects in the United States today are Black. That number amounts to approximately 2,600 out of 122,000 total. The profession has long been white-male-dominated, leaving the work of countless women, Blacks, and other racial minorities widely unrecognized. The roots of the Black architectural community are grounded within the District of Columbia, as Howard University was one of the first Historically Black Colleges and Universities to offer a four-year degree in architecture at a time when the country was still widely segregated. This program ultimately attracted students from across the country and established Howard as the principal training ground for Black architects in the 20th Century. Despite this connection, the works of Black architects in the city remain underrepresented in both the DC Inventory and the National Register.
This project will establish a historic context statement and identify a list of Black architects who had a significant impact on the built environment of Washington, DC. The project will also formally identify/document properties that represent the impact Black architects have had on DC’s built environment. The MPD will include one new nomination to the National Register and set the stage for nominating more properties to the DC Inventory and the National Register.
About the Team:
Jay Cephas, Director, Studio Plat, is an architectural historian with over 20 years of research experience, including more than a decade of dedicated research into the various roles played by Black people in shaping the built environment. He is currently writing a book about Black architects and builders in the nineteenth century.
Jeremy Lee Wolin, Research Assistant, Studio Plat, is a doctoral candidate in the PhD program in architectural history at Princeton University. His research concerns the role of Black architects in carrying out the federal Model Cities program in the 1970s.
Melvin Mitchell, CEO, Bryant Mitchell Consulting Architects, is an architect and writer who possesses deep and extensive knowledge about Black architects and buildings in Washington, DC. He is currently writing a book titled Building Washington, DC: The Role of Howard University and HBCU-Trained Architects, 1920-2020.
Michelle A. Jones is a documentary filmmaker and community preservation advocate. She was the driving force behind the creation and development of the 2012 documentary, Master Builders: African American Architects in the Nation’s Capital, which, for the first time, narrated on film a deep history of Black building practices in Washington, DC.
Acknowledgements:
This project is supported in part by an Underrepresented Communities Grant (URC) from the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. The HPF has funded more than $2 billion since its inception in 1977 towards historic preservation grants. For more information about the URC grant program, please visit go.nps.gov/urc.
This project has received Federal financial assistance for the identification, protection, and/or rehabilitation of historic properties and cultural resources in the District of Columbia. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the US Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, or disability in its Federally assisted programs. If you believe that you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to: Office of Equal Opportunity, US Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20240.
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Site Tour: Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument
2026-03-21 10:00 - 11:15 | Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument, 144 Constitution Avenue NE, Washington, DC, 20002, United States
This Women’s History Month, please join the DC Preservation League for a special tour of the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument located in Capitol Hill.
Home to the National Woman’s Party for more than 90 years, this space was the epicenter of the struggle for women’s rights. From this house in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court, Alice Paul and the NWP developed innovative strategies and tactics to advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment and equality for women. President Barack Obama designated the national monument on April 12, 2016.
The tour will include history of the house and its critical role in the fight for women’s rights, and details regarding the most recent renovation to the house that was completed in 2023. Funded through the Great American Outdoors Act, the work included replacement of the existing standing seam metal roof, rehabilitation of historic windows and doors; upgrades to the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems; structural and plaster repairs; and renovation of the Florence Bayard Hilles Feminist Library, including installation of a new fire sprinkler system.
Space is limited! Register today to secure your spot.
This event is free, but a $10 donation is suggested to support the DC Preservation League’s educational programming.
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Site Tour: DAR Memorial Continental Hall & Museum
2026-03-28 11:00 - 12:15 | DAR Museum, 1776 D Street NW, Washington, DC, 20006, United States
Please join the DC Preservation League for a special guided tour of The Daughters of the American Revolution Museum, located in DAR National Headquarters. This museum highlights the decorative arts and features 30+ period rooms that are designed to make you feel like you’re stepping into the past!
The Museum’s galleries and exhibits tell the story of the American home from the 1600s through the early 1900s. The collection features furniture, textiles, ceramics, paintings, and other household items. The museum was founded in 1890, as a department within the Daughters of the American Revolution to assist with the DAR’s missions of education and historic preservation.
Attendees will also learn about the recent renovations to both the interior and exterior of the building.
Space is limited; register now to secure your spot!
DCPL Member Tickets $15 | Non Member Tickets $20
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DCPL Member Meeting
2026-04-08 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
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Public Meeting: Brookland Public Education Project
2026-04-22 19:00 - 20:15 | Zoom
Please plan to join DCPL for this online event! Historic preservation consultant and architectural historian Heather McMahon will present her initial findings related to DCPL’s Brookland Community Public Education Project. Once completed, this project will provide important documentation of Brookland’s historic commercial corridor along 12th Street NE.
Brookland’s 12th Street NE commercial corridor largely developed in the second quarter of the 20th century, and the two-block study area between Otis and Monroe streets is lined with small-scale, vernacular commercial buildings and rowhouses. Since 2019, several older buildings have been lost to mid-rise, residential, infill development, and the entire corridor is prime for redevelopment. This documentation, which highlights small and legacy businesses along Brookland’s 12th Street, is partly informed by oral histories, and will highlight the important overlap between historic preservation and public history. Once the project is completed during summer 2026, this information, including oral histories, will be available to the public via an ArcGIS Story Map.
Following the presentation, Heather will answer questions and ask for feedback on the project. This project is part of a Section 106 review process and a resulting memorandum of agreement from December 2024. If you have questions related to the Section 106 process, please contact Zachary Burt (zach@dcpreservation.org).
This event is free and open to the public!
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Walking Tour: Legacy Businesses of DC's Chinatown
2026-04-25 13:00 - 14:30 | Chinatown DC
Let’s talk about landmarks and family-owned legacy businesses! Join the DC Preservation League and Save Chinatown Solidarity Network for a tour of DC’s Chinatown.
This tour will visit small businesses, serving the District with fresh noodles, authentic traditional Chinese medicine, and staple produce and goods. Hear directly from the community, learn their history, and find ways to support the neighborhood’s preservation in this guided tour.
This tour is $15 for anyone who would like to attend.
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2026 Historic Preservation 101/201 Seminar for Realtors & Appraisers
2026-05-08 09:00 - 12:00 | Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G St. NW, Washington, DC, 20001
DC Real Estate Agents and Appraisers can earn three continuing education credits in one of these free, three-hour, in-person courses focused on historic preservation in the District of Columbia.
**Please note these courses run at the same time and you may only register for one.**
Join DCPL at the MLK Jr. Memorial Library (901 G Street NW) on Friday, May 8th from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. HP 101 will provide an overview of historic preservation and architectural styles in the District. HP 201 will explore related topics, like the benefits of designating a property and how to do so.
Please note all participants are required to take 101 before 201.
Free to all!
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Contact Kelli at the DC Preservation League with any questions: kelli@dcpreservation.org | (202) 783-5144

Panel: Yes, In Your Backyard: How Accessory Dwelling Units are Compatible in Historic Districts
2026-05-19 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
A virtual presentation hosted by the Cleveland Park Historical Society and DC Preservation League
Join us for a Zoom presentation exploring how Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), including basement apartments, backyard cottages, and garage conversions, can be thoughtfully integrated into historic districts. This program will focus on the idea that preservation and change can work together to support a more inclusive and sustainable city.
Architect Ileana Schinder will begin by defining what qualifies as an ADU and explaining the different types homeowners might consider. Drawing on her expertise navigating zoning and working with the Historic Preservation Office (HPO), she will walk through the process of designing and gaining approval for ADUs.
Todd Jones of the Historic Preservation Office at the DC Office of Planning will provide an overview of the common ways that ADUs appear in historic districts, how preservation guidelines apply, and how HPO evaluates proposals to ensure compatibility with existing historic resources.
Whether you’re a homeowner considering an ADU, a preservation advocate, or interested in how DC can grow thoughtfully, this conversation will offer valuable guidance and a fresh perspective on how we can say “yes” to both history and housing.
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Ileana Schinder is an architect in Washington, DC. She graduated with a Bachelor’s in Architecture from Universidad Nacional de Cordoba (Argentina, 2000) and an M.A. in Communications from the American University (Washington DC, 2006).
Inspired to become an architect at the age of four by playing with Legos on the floor, she remains motivated to design houses of all sizes 40 years later. Since opening her architecture studio in 2014, with creativity and innovation, she has designed additional dwelling units that create new spaces for clients and their families to thrive.
As part of her efforts to educate the public on housing issues, Ileana has also written in blogs and held sessions to inspire and promote innovative models of home. Ileana is the author of “Housing for Humans: A Book to Imagine, Create and Design a New Housing Model in America” (Panoma Press, 2021).
Ileana was born and raised in Argentina. She lives in Washington, DC, with her family and her dog, Colette.

Todd Jones has worked at the DC Historic Preservation Office since 2020, where he has conducted project reviews, historical research, and preservation planning. He previously worked as a historical researcher and as a Historic Preservation Specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the New England region. He is originally from Connecticut and earned a master’s degree in public history from Central Connecticut State University.

Public Meeting: Housing Black Washington Multiple Property Document
2026-05-21 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Please join the DC Historic Preservation Office, the DC Preservation League, and Architectural Historian Heather McMahon for this public presentation about the Housing Black Washington Multiple Property Document. This project is funded by an Underrepresented Communities Grant from the National Park Service.
This study looks closely at the places Black Washingtonians have called home over time. It especially explores housing considered “affordable,” meaning it was intended for working-class residents, since African Americans have always made up a significant portion of the District of Columbia’s working class since racial restrictions kept many in lower-wage, blue-collar or service-sector jobs. Since the District of Columbia’s founding, housing for African Americans had often been relegated to rear yards, back alleys, isolated neighborhoods, and undesirable locations. Their homes were hidden although their work was salient: Black Washingtonians helped build the White House, the U.S. Capitol, Washington’s grand avenues, and national monuments.
This meeting is free to attend!
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Book Talk: Georgetown University: An Architectural History
2026-05-28 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Spanning the university’s genesis in 1789 through to today, the new book, Georgetown University: An Architectural History, provides the reader with a close look at over fifty campus buildings.
This book presentation will explore the Georgetown University campus over time with highlights of its historical and modern architecture, from the Old North building (1795) to its twenty-first-century development. With modern photographs as well as historical images drawn from the university archives, we will discuss the background of Georgetown’s buildings. The talk will highlight multiple periods in the university’s history including its entanglement with slavery, the presidencies of Patrick Healy, SJ and W. Coleman Nevils, SJ as well as its mid-twentieth century and later university leadership.
The Georgetown campus includes architecture by leading historical and contemporary designers such as John Smithmeyer and Paul Pelz, Emile Perrot, John Carl Warnecke, Hugh Hardy, Hugh Newell Jacobsen, and Robert A.M. Stern Architects. The buildings exemplify a host of architectural styles including Federal, Romanesque and Gothic Revival, International Style, Brutalist and Postmodern. Changes in the university landscape and connections to broader trends in American campus development will be highlighted. Lastly, we will also discuss the book’s curriculum connected development.
You can buy the book here or on Amazon.
This book talk is free to attend!
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Stephanie Rufino is an architectural and art historian and has published on the decoration and architecture of both the Washington National Cathedral and historic American banks from the 1920s. Dr. Rufino holds a PhD in American art and architectural history from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. She graduated cum laude from Smith College and also earned a master’s degree in art history. Dr. Rufino taught architectural history at Georgetown for over a decade, where she also served in multiple university leadership roles. She currently serves as Director of Undergraduate Design Programs and Associate Professor at Wentworth’s School of Architecture & Design in Boston.

Public Meeting: Black Women Suffrage Movement in Washington, DC (1848-1973)
2026-06-24 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
In 2020, the DC Preservation League partnered with the DC State Historic Preservation Office to implement grant funding from the National Park Service to produce a context study on Women’s Suffrage in Washington, DC.
Adding on to that project, in 2022, DCPL received a competitive grant from the National Park Service to underwrite development of a Historic Context Statement on the Black Women’s Suffrage Movement in Washington, DC.
This June, join researchers Dr. Portia Hopkins and Dr. Synatra Smith to learn more about their findings for the Black Women’s Suffrage Movement in Washington, DC (1848-1973) Historic Context Study.
This event is free and open to the public. Your feedback and questions are welcome and encouraged at this presentation!
REGISTER HERE
Photo Credit: Ida B. Wells and the Alpha Suffrage Club marching in the Women’s Suffrage Parade in Washington, DC on March 3, 1913. Photo from the Chicago Daily Tribune, March 5, 1913.

Walking Tour: Founding Fathers Madison and Monroe
2026-06-26 10:00 - 11:00 | Foggy Bottom, Washington, DC, United States
Join DCPL for this exciting tour offered in partnership with Washington Walks!
Discover an overlooked aspect of DC’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood: a collection of Federal era mansions hiding in plain sight that were homes to men such as Founding Fathers James Madison and James Monroe.
In the early 1800s wealthy, influential politicians and officials built substantial residences in Foggy Bottom, lending an elite presence to the area located immediately west of the White House. The walking tour will include stops at:

The Octagon (1799), one of the oldest, most historically important homes in Washington, and a former residence of President Madison.
Ringgold-Carroll House, built in 1825, and known today as the DACOR-Bacon House, an organization for foreign affairs professionals.
Maxwell Woodhull House, built in 1854 and current home of the Textile Museum.
And more!

An Exclusive Interior Tour of the James Monroe House
The walk will conclude at the Arts Club of Washington, built in 1802, and from 1811 to 1817 home to future U.S. president James Monroe. Participants will receive an interior tour of the mansion and hear about how this important historic building transitioned from being a family residence to housing the oldest nonprofit arts organization in the nation’s capital.
Tickets for this event are $35 per person. Refunds for cancellations will only be considered 7 or more days in advance. Administrative fees may apply.
REGISTER HERE
Photo Credit: Arts Club of Washington (2017 I Street NW); Image courtesy of Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress.

Walking Tour: LGBTQIA+ History in Washington, DC
2026-06-27 11:00 - 12:30 | Dupont Circle
This tour, presented by the DC Preservation League and the DC Office of Planning, will visit several LGBTQ+ historic sites in the Dupont Circle neighborhood — long seen as the historic center of DC’s queer community.
This history is local, but by nature of being in the nation’s capital, ties into larger stories of the queer community and the American experience.
Join us to celebrate pride and learn more about the resilience, tenacity, diversity, and joy of the queer community in Washington, DC.
Tickets for this event are $15 per person. Refunds for cancellations will only be considered 7 or more days in advance. Administrative fees may apply.
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