Welcome to H-DC, Washington, D.C. History and Life, a member of H-Net Humanities & Social Sciences Online. H-DC, a refereed, multi- and inter-disciplinary digital network, provides a means of communication and interaction for those who research, write, read, teach, collect, curate, and preserve Washington, DC history and culture and for those who work in cultural institutions located within DC, regardless of discipline.

Recent Content

Discussion published by Bruce Yarnall on Friday, November 8, 2019

History Quest platform updated

Since the December 2017 launch of History Quest, the DC Historic Preservation Office has continued to gather and refine historical data on the city’s buildings.  History Quest is a graphic GIS-based map providing information on over 132,000 original “to build” permits of the District’s building stock.  

 

Discussion published by Bob Arnebeck on Friday, November 8, 2019

Would You Have Asked William Thornton to Design Your House?

I finished the third part of my essay on the Thornton and the Octagon: "Would You Have Asked William Thornton to Design Your House?"

https://dcswamp.blogspot.com/2019/10/who-designed-octagon-part-three.html

In this part I explore Thornton's relationship with George Washington, and show how Thornton was more of an architecture critic than an architect. Here is the end of my essay:

Bob Arnebeck