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Southwest History Task Force
The Southwest History Task Force was started in the fall of 1999 to create a photo show for the Mall which would show the history and main features of SW. We started gathering pictures and maps of the earliest days of SW and more modern before, and after, Urban Renewal.

In the spring of 2000, news came that DC and its neighborhoods were to be the featured areas for the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival. We decided that Southwest should be represented with our exhibit.

We opened the "Southwest Then and Now" Exhibit on June 30th, the first week end of the Festival, with a symposium held in the old Roy Rogers space in the Mall. Ms. Irene Alexander spoke about the life of Lewis Jefferson, the first Black Millionaire in DC, who lived on Buzzard Point in Southwest. A display of his life and family is still in the windows. A second speaker was Mr. Joseph Banks who was in charge of finding new homes for the people displaced by the Urban Renewal program of the late 1950s. He said that although being forced to leave their close-knit SW community was very hard for people, veryone was able to move to better housing. People today still remember the old times with great fondness, a "golden haze", according to Joseph Curtis, a Task Force Member who took many of the pictures in the Mall when he knew that old Southwest was going to be disappearing. That same night Westminster Church's fish fry and Jazz Night was listed as another SW event and it drew hundreds of visitors.

As of spring 2002, three history projects are moving forward, all under the auspices of the DC Heritage Tourism Coalition:

First, Southwest Heritage Trail consisting of about 18 stops with large sidewalk signs indicating historic features of that spot with pictures, maps and narrative of past and present. This Trail will be similar in form to the downtown DC Trail "From Civil War to Civil Rights". The Trail script is now in final editing and it is hoped signs can be installed by the end of the year.

Second, Wayfinding Signage Project. Signs are to be placed at all Metro stops to help direct people to Southwest destinations and attractions. Carolyn Crouch is Chairing this committee and is working with Gary Young, Joseph Curtis, and Arthuryn Taylor. Wayfinding signs should also appear by the end of this year.

Third, The Call Box Project. Southwest has about 28 of the old fire and police call boxes still remaining on our streets. Mark Farrell has just taken on the chairmanship of this Project and will be working to find artists and sponsors for each box. The city is going to remove the old paint and local artists will be recruited to paint them in new ways. Historic documents or photos will be inserted in the boxes to accompany the Heritage Trail. For example, what was on the site of Southeastern University (SEU) before its present building? Mark is looking for artists and for sponsors of boxes to help select their historic material and to help maintain and monitor the health of their box. Call Mark at 484-0132 if you would like to help.

The History Task Force hopes that information about the interesting history of our area, the oldest part of DC, will be of interest to school children, old-time and new residents, and also to tourists who we hope will come to learn about the beginnings of DC and enjoy its attractions today.

Walking Tour of Southwest
Did you know that Tuesdays at 6pm there is a walking tour of Southwest?

Page last updated: March 21, 2007