History
Historical Society will reopen at the Carnegie Library
Closed for the better part of last year, the Historical Society of Washington, DC at the Carnegie Library plans to return to its regular hours in the spring. The organization is getting back on its feet and held an open house this morning to spread the word.
The Historical Society of Washington re-opens Monday. Photo by author.
Last fall, Events DC, the city's convention and sports authority, and the Historical Society reached an agreement on a lease amendment. According to the terms, the HSW will transfer 80% of the Carnegie Library to Events DC, which in turn will develop new uses for the space, including a visitor center.
In exchange, Events DC will operate and maintain the 110-year-old building, with HSW as a tenant. This reorganization allows the Society to singularly direct its resources on core operations and programs.
Additionally, the Kiplinger family, long-time HSW benefactors, donated more than 4,000 prints, photographs, paintings, documents, and DC historical ephemera last month.
With Kiplinger collection, HSW's holdings documenting local history are now comparable to those in the DC Public Library's Washingtoniana Division and Peabody Room, and in the Library of Congress. Howard University's Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, George Washington University, recent recipient of the collection of Albert Small, National Archives, and DC Archives also contain material pertinent to city history.
"We have always sought to have our collection seen, enjoyed, and used by everyone from scholarly researchers to the general public," said Knight Kiplinger, editor in chief and chairman of the Kiplinger organization. "The Historical Society of Washington, with its large exhibition galleries in the grand Carnegie Library building on Mount Vernon Square, will be an ideal repository for our pieces."
Jerry A. McCoy, a special collections librarian for the DC Public Library's Washingtoniana Division and Peabody Room, is pleased to see the library reopening. "It is important for researchers to have access to the resources that the Historical Society holds, and as a long-time member I am elated to see them back in business," McCoy said.
"Historical Society leaders, members, and volunteer friends will celebrate Dr. King's memory by committing themselves to a Day of Service providing the Washington community with opportunities to learn more about the Society's collections and how to use them to explore their own personal stories," said Julie Koczela, chair of HSW's Bboard of Trustees.
According to Koczela, the Kiplinger collection is currently in crates in the east gallery. Once cataloged, the collection will join the more than 100,000 pieces already in HSW's collection.
 | John Muller is a former reporter for The Washington Times and current contributor to Capital Community News and The Washington Informer. He earned his degree in Public Policy from GWU and is currently working on a book about The Lion of Anacostia. John is a late night Metro rider.    |
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by MBG on Jan 16, 2012 8:25 pm
Instead we get a city museum that nobody ever went to, and now a closed building for the historical society, that might be reopening soon.
by dcdriver on Jan 17, 2012 12:00 pm
The library is actually just on the second floor. There is no city museum anymore.
The Washington Convention and Sports Authority (DC Events) owns the rest of the building and will be making it into a visitors center and events space.
It's only too small to use as a hotel or theatre and this isn't just any piece of surplus public property to be sold off to a developer. It should remain a space that the public can have free access to.
by Adam L on Jan 17, 2012 12:25 pm
by tour guide on Jan 17, 2012 6:45 pm
"It should remain a space that the public can have free access to."
Well right now, without private development, no one can access the building, and if they can, there is no reason to. How is that better than a restaurant?
DC doesn't need a visitor's center. Remember the Union Station debacle? Notice there hasn't been a city visitor's center since then? In the age of the internet, you don't need a desk at a visitors center or a bank of brochures (available in the lobby of every hotel anyway) to tell you where to go. Does NYC have a vistor's center? Boston? Philly? I don't know. I visited all three in the past few months and never thought to even look for one.
As for a city museum, it failed for two reasons. First, tourists don't care about the history of DC, unless that history is also part of national history (ie Ford's Theatre). Its a shame, but that's the way it is. People have a limited amount of time and come to DC for the Smithsonians, not a city museum.
Second, you can't charge admission in a city filled with free attractions unless you have something pretty incredible and unique (and well marketed) like the Spy Museum or the Newseum. The city museum was a tiny museum that charged admission. Not going to work in DC.
An "event space" is nice, as long as you fill it with events regularly. If not, then it just becomes a euphemism for an empty building.
by dcdriver on Jan 17, 2012 7:18 pm
You laid out all the good reasons why the city museum didn't succeed. But, like I said, there is no city museum, so there's no need to worry about it.
That said, while you may not be interested in a visitor's center (which very well may have a restaurant, btw) there are still plenty of people who do. That'll probably be more true with the four or five new hotels that are going up right around Mt. Vernon Square. (I can also assure you that all three cities you mentioned all have visitor's centers that are quite successful. NYC has several locations).
In any event, the convention center authority just signed the deal for the building late last year. I'd give them some time to get their operations up and running.
by Adam L on Jan 18, 2012 10:40 am
Boston: http://www.massvacation.com/getaround/visitor-centers.php
(also here's an article announcing the reopening of the Boston Common Visitor's Center, which appears to be the de facto downtown visitor's center for the city: http://dailyfreepress.com/2011/10/17/boston-common-visitor-center-set-to-reopen-this-week/)
New York: http://www.nycgo.com/articles/onic
Philadelphia: http://www.independencevisitorcenter.com/
In terms of the Carnegie Library, it is obviously a space that desperately needs to be reimagined in order to maximize its use. A visitor's center could work but it would need to be tied into the larger fabric of the downtown and be a multiservice center (tickets of events around the city, main stop for tourist buses, welcome videos for tourists detailing main attractions, etc.). That would bring the initial foot traffic that would allow for performances, lectures, events to be held there as well. Also installing electronic kiosks around major hotels around the city could be helpful too. In addition perhaps a small food court could serve tourists during the day.
The main thing is it needs to attract and be a useful service to tourists, particularly convention attendees and visitors in the hotels immediately around the site. If it can serve that purpose I can definitely see it being more of a success. The relatively barebones visitor center at the Smithsonian Castle is almost always crowded despite its archaic design and lack of amenities. I can definitely see a modern, multiuse visitors center in an emerging area like Mount Vernon Square being busy as well as long as it is well designed.
by Mike O on Jan 18, 2012 3:31 pm
When walking around the city, check out the Cultural Tourism DC signs. They're excellent because they tell you the history that transpired on that block. JFK lived in this apartment building. Walter Johnson lived in this building. That stuff makes history seem personal and real.
I agree that charging admission is tough unless you have an awesome attraction, and in the age of five second attention spans, unfortunately, reading a sign is a tough sell.
I know I'm not alone in my love of local history. I'm striving to uncover these great stories on my blog and institutions like HSW are integral in helping maintain archives of these stories for future generations to discover.
by Ghosts of DC on Jan 19, 2012 11:05 am
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