What's Hot: Halcyon To Horse Farm: The 3 Most Expensive Properties Sold In The Greater DC Area In 2026
The Coolest Real Estate Workshops of the Year
✉️ Want to forward this article? Click here.

Plat map from the Washingtoniana room
Wondering if your home was built by famed developer Harry Wardman? Want to know when exactly that sunroom was added? Interested in finding out if someone famous used to sleep in your bedroom?
This Saturday, the Washingtoniana division of the Martin Luther King Jr. Library will by opening its doors for two House History Workshops. The 10am session and the 12:15pm session will guide interested homeowners through the process of digging up history about their homes.
The Washingtoniana division is full of real estate maps, building permits and resident lists going back more than a century. After finding their home on one of the plat maps and learning when it was turned from land into a home, residents can see every building permit associated with the address, putting together the story of how their current home came to look the way it does.
Ambitious historians can also find the identity of all past residents, and look them up in the city directory or on Heritage Quest to discover more about their families and occupations.
The Washingtoniana division is open all the time, but the prospect of flipping through books of giant maps and scouring directories may be daunting to some. This workshop, which is being sponsored by the DC Humanities Council, will walk interested historians through the process step by step. Register here.
Update: UrbanTurf has learned that both workshops are sold out, but interested homeowners can try their luck via the workshops wait lists.
Similar Posts:
See other articles related to: house history, washingtoniana
This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/washingtoniana_house_history_workshops_this_weekend/6849.
Most Popular... This Week • Last 30 Days • Ever

Cash-out refinancing is a popular financial strategy that allows homeowners to conver... read »

HRP Group is taking its plans for the first three building blocks and two major open ... read »

The project proposed for a limestone mansion and adjacent buildings at the corner of ... read »

The DC Zoning Commission has given the green light to transform the upper floors of t... read »

In Stafford, Embrey Mill is known for its active, connected, and outdoors-focused way... read »
- How Does Cash-Out Refinancing Work?
- 2.5 Million Square Feet: One Of The Biggest Projects In The DC Area Advances
- 90-Unit Condo Project Pitched In Mt. Pleasant Gets Key Approval
- Break In To Move In: 87 Units Coming to the Watergate After Zoning Approval
- Brookfield Residential Creates a Fresh Approach to 55+ Living at Cascades at Embrey Mill
DC Real Estate Guides
Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market
We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!
First-Timer Primers
Intro guides for first-time home buyers
Unique Spaces
Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro










