Media

Discover the history behind sites you pass every day and don’t notice.

By Holly J. Morris, Friday, June 3, 2016, Washington Post

>>> CLICK HERE to read the full article on the DC Historic Sites App and Website.

DC Historic Sites, a free iPhone and Android app created by the DC Preservation League, serves up the DC Inventory of Historic Sites with photos, blurbs and maps. Most of the app’s contents are far humbler than the big monuments (though those are in there, too): apartment buildings, churches, obscure statuary and more. Here are some of the sites we discovered when we tried it out.

DCPL is now accepting applications for matching grants for historic preservation activities. PI Grant Program aims to provide funding to individuals and non-profit organizations for preservation planning, research, outreach/education, and bricks and mortar* projects related to historic and cultural sites (see website for eligible applicants and properties). These grants are intended to help communities broaden their impact, introduce the public to preservation concepts, make technical expertise accessible, and encourage partnerships. *Please note bricks and mortar grants are only available for sites listed in the DC Inventory of Historic Places or considered contributing resources within a DC Historic District.

The Preservation Initiatives Grant Program is administered by the DC Preservation League and is supported by two separate funding sources:

Brightwood Car Barn Preservation Initiatives Fund |
Goal: Fund historic preservation projects related to historic & cultural resources in Brightwood and Ward 4.

Mid-century Modern & Religious Properties Preservation Initiatives Fund |
Goal: Fund historic preservation projects related to historic religious properties and Mid-century Modern architecture in DC.

Applications are due Thursday, April 30, 2015.

For more information and details about the application process, please visit the program webpage HERE .

The DC Preservation League (DCPL), Washington’s citywide non-profit organization promoting the preservation and enhancement of the District’s historic and built environment, released its annual list of Most Endangered Places in Washington for 2014.

This list, issued annually since 1996, is selected by the Board of Trustees of the DC Preservation League from nominations submitted by concerned individuals and organizations across the city.  These sites are selected based on the severity of the threats to the buildings and landscapes in question, whether through demolition, neglect, or inappropriate alteration. The list can include buildings, parks or other landscaped areas, as well as vistas and other aspects of the city’s unique planned history. All Most Endangered Places listed are located in the District of Columbia.

“The 2014 list of Most Endangered Places represents some of the challenges that historic resources face in our city. These include proposed excessive and incompatible development that threatens some of our city’s most precious resources; willful demolition by neglect; and financial hardship, which creates obstacles for owners who strive to do the right thing.” said Rebecca Miller, Executive Director of the DC Preservation League.

The sites on the 2014 list of Most Endangered Places in Washington are: Anacostia Commercial Corridor; 911 and 913 L Street, NW; Carnegie Library, 801 K Street, NW; St. Elizabeths East Campus Agricultural Complex; Washington Canoe Club, 3700 Water Street, NW; West Heating Plant, 1051 29^th Street, NW.

Detailed descriptions of each site and the threats can be found by clicking here.

The DC Preservation League invites volunteers, civic associations, the DC government, the federal government, and other groups to partner with DCPL in preserving and protecting these endangered places. For more information, contact the DC Preservation League at 202-783-5144 or info@dcpreservation.org.  For more information on DCPL, visit dcpreservation.org.

Hi-resolution photographs of sites available by request.

For all media inquiries contact Wendy Gordon at wgordon@wayfarer-ag.com.

• Washington Post Article: By Lavanya Ramanathan, Oct. 21, 2013
• Radio Interview from Tom Tabback from AM780 KAZM
• Washingtonian November 2013 Issue, Behind the Scenes: Washington Coliseum
• Examiner Arts & Entertainment Article, Beatles ’64 Washington concert to be celebrated 50 years to the day, October 21, 2013
• Hollywood On The Potomac Article, #yeahyeahyeah, December 22, 2013
• Modern Luxury DC, A Day in Mike’s Life, December 30, 2013
• Examiner.com International Travel, Beatles’ first U.S. concert 50 years ago in D.C. to be reenacted Feb. 11, January 3, 2014
• Mail Online.com, Travel Mail Article, The Fab Four hit America: The US gears up for the 50th anniversary of Beatlemania, January 7, 2014
• ABC News Radio, 99.5 KLOS, Washington, D.C., Event to Recreate Beatles’ First U.S. Concert January 11, 2014
• Examiner.com, Arts and Entertainment, Singer to open Beatles tribute as he did for Fabs’ show 50 years ago, January 10, 2014
• VVN Music, Tommy Roe to Recreate His Opening For the Beatles on 50th Anniversary,  January 14, 2014
• The Beat, Tommy’s Back Again, January 2014
• BIG 100.3,  Radio Interview with Lisa Berigan’s LISTEN: Rebecca Miller From DCPL On Beatles’ 50th Anniversary Tribute Concert, January 20, 2014
• U.S.News Article By Nikki Schwab, The Washington Coliseum and the Beatles Get a Second Act, January 22, 2014
• News cast by Bruce Leshan, WUSA Channel 9, January 23, 2014
• News Case by Bruce Leshan, WUSA CHannel 9, Beatles Photos Rediscovered In Time For 50th Anniversary of First DC Concert, January 27, 2014
• WUSA9, Mike Mitchell’s Rediscovered Beatles Photos, January 27, 2014
• WTOP article by Alicia Lozano, Beatles mania returns to D.C. for 50th anniversary show, January 29, 2014
• Boston.com US Travel article by Melanie Nayer, Omni Shoreham Hotel reignites Beatlemania with “Fab February” package, February 4, 2014
• By H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY, Beatles D.C. concert goer recalls the excitement, January 4, 2014
• By Jason Dick, Roll Call, After Dark, Chairs From First U.S. Beatles Concert to Be Raffled, January 4, 2014
• By Tommy McFly, WJLA Channel 7, Iconic Beatles show to be reenacted this weekend, February 5, 2014
• By Tony Perkins, FOX 5 Anchor, Photographer remembers The Beatles 50 years ago at the Washington Coliseum, February 5, 2014
• By Bob Niedt, Washington Business Journal, 8 things to know about The Beatles’ historic D.C. concert, February 6, 2014
• By: Robert MacPherson, artdaily.com, The event of a lifetime: When Beatlemania stormed the Coliseum in Washington February 10, 2014
• By Amy Rogers Nazarov, Elevation DC, The Beatles (sort of) come back to a restored (sort of) Uline Feb. 11, February 10, 2014
• By Denny Gainer, USA TODAY, The British invasion began here, February 9, 2014
• By Claire O’Neill, NPR, The Picture Show, Long Exposures Of A Creepy Garage (Also, The Beatles!), February 8, 2014
• By Hank Silverberg, WUSA, Beatles memorabilia turns up 50 years later, February 7, 2014
• By Washington Post, Post on TV, D.C. recalls first U.S. Beatles concert, February 11, 2014
• By WUSA Channel 9, 50 Years Later: Beatlemania Photo Gallery, February 11, 2014
• By Carolyn Presutti, Voice of America, VOA Uses Google Glass at Concert, February 12, 2014
• By Mary Claire Kendall, Breit Bart, Beatlemania Now Concert Recalls Band’s Historic DC Debut, 14 Feb 2014
• by Ryan Loughlin, Aljazeera America, America Tonight, This photographer’s editors thought the Beatles were a ‘fad’, February 10, 2014
• By Chris Leadbeater, 1oL Travel, Beatles legacy endures, February 3 2014
• By K Street Magazine, Local Lifestyle, Beatlemania Now Reenacts Historic Performance at Washington Coliseum, February 13, 2014
• By Jakob Schiller, WIRED, Throwback Thursday: Intimate Portraits of the Beatles, Revived After 50 Years in the Dark, February 13, 2014
• By Jewish News One, Culture, 50th anniversary of DC Beatles concert, February 12, 2014
• By Michelle Basch, WTOP, Local News, Beatlemania returns to Washington Coliseum, February 12, 2014
• By Lavanya Ramanathan, Washington Post, Photographer Mike Mitchell captured Beatles’ magic, February 13, 2014
• By Lavanya Ramanathan, Washington Post, Union Bulletin, 50 years later: Reliving The Beatles’ first American performance, February 13, 2014
• By Mark Jones, WETA, Boundary Stones, Recreating History: The Beatles’ First American Concert, February 24, 2014

Celebrating 50 years of The Beatles invasion of the US! Here is DC’s video tribute.

Thanks to all who participated. Share with your friends!  #yeahyeahyeah

By Daniel J. Sernovitz, December 23, 2013, Washington Business Journal, Breaking Ground

>>> Click here to view the original article. 

A push is on to save a cluster of government offices in Foggy Bottom that once served as the headquarters for the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner to the modern-day Central Intelligence Agency.

The D.C. Preservation League has nominated the site known alternatively as the Potomac Annex and Navy Hill for landmark status with the D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board. The effort comes as the State Department is planning a consolidation that would move hundreds of workers to 24th and E streets NW from sites across the D.C. area.

The State Department, which already occupies space in the buildings, wants to remake the roughly 11.8-acre campus as part of a larger growth plan. While that process unfolds, the preservation league is lobbying for the office complex to be listed as a D.C. and national landmark to protect its historical significance.

Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., backs the designation and has sent letters to MayorVincent Gray and D.C. Planning DirectorHarriet Tregoning urging them for support. The preservation league stepped in at the behest of the OSS Society, an organization that seeks to preserve the memory of the OSS.

Created under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the OSS played an important role in American intelligence during World War II. OSS Society President Charles Pinck said he was surprised to learn about plans for the campus and hopes the landmark nomination will help ensure the buildings can be preserved.

“Those buildings aren’t just historic, they were also heroic,” Pinck said. “For us, it represents the birthplace of our American intelligence and special operations community.”

GSA spokesman Dan Cruz said his agency is used to working with buildings that are either on the National Register of Historic Places or are eligible for listing. He said it will try to reuse as many of the existing buildings on the campus as possible before considering other options.

A CIA spokesman declined to comment, and a State Department spokeswoman referred questions to the GSA.

The OSS lasted until April 1945, when President Harry Truman ordered the agency to be disbanded. Not long after, in January 1946, Truman signed a law establishing the Central Intelligence Group, which evolved into the CIA in September 1947.

The OSS was just one of several federal agencies that grew out of the Foggy Bottom campus. The complex first emerged as the home of the federal Public Health Service, an agency charged with caring for sick and injured seamen that later evolved into the National Institutes of Health. Most recently, it served as the Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.