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Virtual Book Talk: “Sixteenth Street NW: Washington, DC’s Avenue of Ambitions”
March 10, 2022 @ 12:00 pm - 1:15 pm
Join the DC Preservation League on Thursday, March 10th at 12:00pm EST for a virtual talk with authors and DCPL Trustees John DeFerrari and Douglas Peter Sefton about their recent publication, Sixteenth Street NW: Washington, DC’s Avenue of Ambitions!
Sixteenth Street NW in DC has been called the Avenue of the Presidents, Executive Avenue, and the Avenue of Churches. Today, it is also known as the site of Black Lives Matter Plaza. For this discussion, John and Peter will focus on the built environment along 16th Street, much of which is protected within the 16th Street, Meridian Hill, and Mount Pleasant historic districts. John will share the history of some of the street’s most prominent houses of worship, which are covered in the book. Sixteenth Street has been called an “avenue of churches” for its many such structures. Peter will highlight some of the great houses that have been built on this street, which has remained a non-commercial thoroughfare for more than 100 years and has long been considered a prestigious residential destination.
This virtual program is free and open to the public. It will also be streamed live to DCPL’s Facebook page.
Meet the Authors
John DeFerrari was born and raised in Washington, DC and has a lifelong passion for local history. He has a Master’s Degree in English Literature from Harvard University and has worked for many years for the federal government. In addition to penning the popular Streets of Washington blog, DeFerrari is a trustee of the DC Preservation League and the author of three books: Lost Washington, D.C. (2011), Historic Restaurants of Washington, D.C.: Capital Eats (2013), and Capital Streetcars: Early Mass Transit in Washington, D.C. (2015).
D. Peter Sefton is a member of the DCPL Board of Trustees and serves as the chair of the organization’s Landmarks Committee. He became actively involved in historic preservation in 2002 when he founded the “Victorian Secrets of Washington, DC” internet site to memorialize demolished buildings and publicize threats to vintage buildings of all types. In 2002, he also became active with the DC Preservation League, joining its Board of Trustees and becoming chair of its Landmarks committee in 2007. He has researched the history of many buildings in the course of preparing numerous nominations to the DC Inventory of Historic Sites and National Register of Historic Places.
