Eastern Market Oral History Project
Scope and Contents
From 1992 – 1993, a total of 12 oral history interviews were conducted through the Eastern Market Oral History Project, of which the Washingtoniana division holds resources for 9 interviews. The goal of the project was to capture the undocumented history of the Eastern Market, the last vestige of the Washington market system, which for more than 100 years played a vital role in the life of the city. The stories told by the interviewees show the important role that public markets played in feeding the city throughout the 19th and early 20th century, providing work and a social gathering place while connecting the city and its people to the surrounding countryside. Topics include family history, business, relations between vendors, and neighborhood and industry changes over time. The project was done under a planning grant from the D.C. Community Humanities Council, and Valerie Pawlewicz served as project manager.
Dates
- Creation: 1992 - 1993
Creator
- Friends of Eastern Market (Organization)
Conditions Governing Use
The D.C. Public Library does not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission from the Friends of Eastern Market to publish or exhibit information. Reproduction of oral Histories without release is not permitted.
Biographical / Historical
Eastern Market is a public market in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., which was designed by Adolf Cluss and constructed in 1871.
Extent
0.75 Linear feet
2 Boxes
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Series 1: Transcripts Scope and Contents
Materials in this series include transcripts of the interviews. There is no transcript for 15-11.
Series 2: Interviews Scope and Contents
Materials in this series include master copies of the oral histories on audio cassette. There are no duplicate copies of any audio recordings.
Custodial History
The Friends of Eastern Market conducted these interviews between 1992 and 1993 as a part of a grant from the D.C. Humanities Council. Duplicates of the original tapes and indexes were transferred to the Library in 1993. There is no deed of gift for this collection.
Processing Information
After the initial deposit of the tapes and indexes in the Library, the indexes were placed in folders and stored them in a filing cabinet with other oral histories. Tapes were placed a cabinet for public use. In 2014, the tapes and transcripts were digitized and in 2017 the collection was reprocessed. Indexes were placed into folders and boxed. All known tapes were boxed for long term storage. All administrative documents were placed into the control file. There are no tapes or transcripts for 15-06 and 15-10.
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Eastern Market Oral History Project
- Subtitle
- An inventory of the Eastern Market Oral History Project at DC Public Library
- Author
- DC Public Library, Special Collections
- Date
- 2020-08-26
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the The People's Archive, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library Repository