Reclaiming the Revolution: The People’s Bicentennial 🇺🇸📜✊ Recently processed materials from the People’s Bicentennial Commission (PBC) offer a powerful reminder that the American Revolution has always been contested and continually reinterpreted.

Hot off the press: the 2025 Book Inventory is complete! 📚 🎉 After 11 months, our tiny-but-mighty library team wrapped a full inventory of the Printed Materials collection.

Apply to be a 2026-2027 Totman Fellow! The Totman Fellowships support emerging scholars of Washington, DC history while increasing awareness of the DC History Center’s collections and resources.

Until the 1860s, most children did not attend school. In Washington, only a small number of “common schools” were available to white children whose parents could not afford private education, so Black residents established their own private schools.

Meet James W. Butcher and his wife Jennie Butcher, the creative duo behind Butcher-Built Dollhouses in Washington, DC! 🏡🛠️

From foundation stone to “final finial,” how long did it take to construct the Washington National Cathedral? ⁉️ a. 198 years b. 78 years c. 83 years d. 97 years

Super Bowl who? We’re here for the #BenitoBowl. 🇵🇷🏈 📸 Men sit close together, watching a football game on a small television, c. 1945-1950. Posted with permission of the DC Public Library, Star Collection © Washington Post.

A documentary that brings the story of Black-led struggle for land and housing into the present. 📽️ On Saturday, February 21 from 1-3pm join EmpowerDC and the DC History Center for a screening of a sequel to the 2023 Barry Farm documentary.

To do this weekend: Submit your ideas to the DC History Conference! ✅🏃‍➡️ Submissions for the 52nd Annual DC History Conference, happening May 1-2 at the MLK Memorial Library, are due this Monday, February 9 at 9 am!

Play your way through the city with @transpobingo.bsky.social through February 12th! TranspoBINGO is a week-long game that invites people to use and support public and active transportation while enjoying DC’s public spaces.

Say hello to “Unbound" - our new library and collections newsletter offering you insider glimpses into how we collect, provide access to, and care for these materials, as well as spotlight rare, interesting, or unexpected collections items.

Step back, doors closing (or opening) 😉 #OTD in 1978 the red line reached Maryland for the first time! 🚇🔴

Snowcrete circa 1899. Wishing you a safe and warm week! 🙃❄️ 📸 Commercial buildings on the north side of H Street NW, west of North Capitol Street, after the blizzard of February 1899 (Joseph E. Bishop photograph collection, BI 270)

#OTD in 1922 during a massive snowstorm, the Knickerbocker Theatre, located at 18th and Columbia Road NW collapsed due to a snow load on the glass ceiling, claiming 98 lives and injuring more than 130.

Ready to take your take your genealogy research further? 🌳 We’re hosting a free intermediate workshop on charting, DNA, and practical next steps on Wednesday, February 25 from 5:30-7:30pm at the Francis A. Gregory Neighborhood Library.

There are TWO WEEKS LEFT to submit your proposals for #DCHistCon 2026! Against the backdrop of the nation’s 250th anniversary, we are excited for a new program format for the 52nd Annual DC History Conference happening May 1-2.

Braving the Blizzard of 1899. With winter weather on the way, history feels close again! ❄️ NOTE: Due to the predicted storm, the DC History Center will be closed tomorrow, Sunday, January 25. Snow scene in Hyattsville, Maryland, during blizzard of 1899 (General Photograph Collection, CHS 04851)

Ahhhhhh it’s #RainbowHistoryProject and @dchistorycenter.bsky.social on the new queer eye! 😍

ISO: #NHDinDC judges! Does this sound like you?

On #MLKDay we’re joining Mosaic Theater and DC Public Library to celebrate DC’s artistry, identity, and community for “A Celebration of DC Home Rule” as part of the “Young John Lewis reflection series.”

The 52nd annual DC History Conference is happening May 1-2, 2026 at the MLK Memorial Library! Be part of the conference: submissions are due February 9.

#OTD in 1903 the Central Public Library (known today as the Carnegie Library) was dedicated in a ceremony with President Theodore Roosevelt and opened to the public.

Ring in the New Year! 🔔 We’re looking back to 1944, when the great bells of the Washington National Cathedral arrived at St. Albans, carried through DC on trucks and greeted by curious crowds. Soon, their sound would ring out across the city, marking moments big and small.

While you’re popping bottles tonight, imagine your champagne cork becoming an artifact. 🍾🤩

Just landed: historic panoramic photos at Reagan and Dulles Airports! ✈️ Flying in/out of DCA: 👩✈️ Find a 1930 image of Amelia Earhart shortly after she landed in DC in Reagan’s National Hall.

“For a Thrifty Merry Christmas, Save at Sears.” Happy biggest day of Christmas shopping. 🛍️🎄

Did you know the Washington Hebrew Congregation “is the only Jewish house of worship to operate with an act of the U.S. Congress as its charter?”

It’s your last chance this year to visit the DC History Center!

‘Tis the season! Be sure to schedule your research appointment with the library or pop in to visit the exhibits before we take a break for the holidays! ✨❄️

DC’s tradition of local markets runs deep—from historic hubs like Eastern Market, Union Market’s original Florida Avenue Market, and Center Market (pictured here), our city has always championed makers, small businesses, and community. 🎄

The headlines are coming in – it looks like it will be the coldest and snowiest December we’ve had in almost 10 years. How’re you preparing? ❄️ *please don’t do this at home* 📷 Automobile fording Rock Creek, c. 1920-1925 (Anthony J. Munz photograph collection, MU5.035D)

🎄🎤 IT’S TIMEEEE! Asking for a friend – is your tree already up or are you grabbing it this weekend? 📸 Woman on bicycle with Christmas tree leaving Hechinger Company Store #19, in Woodbridge, Virginia, c. 1976-1985 (Hechinger Company records, CHS 12672.52)

Forget buying something new this #BlackFriday and purchase a frame and upcycle from our special frame sale tomorrow from 12 – 6 pm! ♻️🖼️

If only picking up pies today felt as relaxed as this vintage moment at the Woodward & Lothrop Department bakery counter. 🥧✨ Wishing everyone a cozy, sugar-filled Thanksgiving from the DC History Center!

Celebrate #SmallBusinessSaturday with us! 🎉 🛍️ Shop locally made products in the gift shop and be the first to check out our new merch ✂️ Collage holiday cards and paper ornaments using reproduction images from our collection, festive paper, and sparkly adornments 🔵 Play classic recess games

Sunday plans: add grocery shopping before Wednesday’s annual ‘why did I do this to myself’ rush. Whether you’re celebrating Thanksgiving or just trying to buy your snackies, skip the chaos. 🛒

We're opening a new chapter for Washington History. We've has been sharing research on Washington’s past since 1897, when we published the first volume of Records of the Columbia Historical Society. For nearly a century, the hardcover Records offered an essential forum for documenting DC’s history.

#OTD in 1804 a line engraving of one of the earliest known views of Washington was published in England in Vol. III of the English edition of Marshall's Life of Washington. 📸 “The City of Washington in 1800,” from the Thomas Machen collection of Early Prints Relating to Washington, DC (MA 015)

We’re proud to share a big step forward in expanding access to DC history education. 📚✨ We launched the “Home Rule Curriculum,” a free, four-lesson resource for grades 9-12 that helps teachers and students explore DC’s long, people-powered fight for self-government.

We’re excited to share a delicious new collaboration that celebrates DC’s flavor! We partnered with local artist Carlos Carmonamedina, the creative force behind The Culture Curious, to bring you Snackin’ in the Capital—anl illustration of some of the District’s iconic eats. 🥂🍕🧁🥧🥟🍜

Thank you to all who have served. 💙 At the Little Harbor Salvation Army USO Club, moments like these show how community and camaraderie have always gone hand in hand. Today, we honor that legacy and the veterans who continue to inspire it. #VeteransDay

Come raise a glass to DC history! 🍻 Join us for a gathering of scholars, community members, and readers to celebrate the latest issue of Washington History magazine at Jackie Lee's on Tuesday, November 18th from 6-8pm.

🎙️ Calling all storytellers and history-lovers! Join us on Monday, November 17 at 6pm at the DC History Center for the next meetup of the DC Oral History Collaborative in partnership with HumanitiesDC.

Take your class on a field trip that brings DC history to life! 🚌✨ At the DC History Center, students explore how activists shaped our city—analyzing real objects tied to civic engagement and even creating a piece of wearable art to express their own voices.

You're invited to a one-of-a-kind “processing party” celebrating the remarkable Martha Tabor Photograph Collection—a treasure trove of photographs, ephemera, and personal papers documenting art, labor, and community life in Washington, DC. 👀📸🗃️

ICYMI: The Mt. Pleasant Neighborhood Library Community Archiving Day has been rescheduled to November 8th! Celebrate the Mt. Pleasant Neighborhood Library’s 100th birthday on Saturday, November 8th from 2-5pm!

Until the 1860s, most children did not go to school. In DC, there were just a few “common schools” for white children whose parents could not afford private education, so Black residents opened their own private schools. When Congress established public schools for all, Washingtonians embraced them.

Three spine-chilling local ghost stories for #SpookySeason in DC—all drawn from our own archives. 👻

Just released: the new issue of Washington History Magazine. The fall 2025 issue contains four essays in four time periods—the early 1800s, World War II, the 1950s, and the 1960s and ‘70s—deepening understanding of federal/local relationships, social justice, and commerce.

In Southeast DC, residents are fighting to protect a community-owned green space whose history, identity, and future are under threat. This isn’t just a park, it’s a living symbol of local power, memory, and resistance.