DC Public Library, The People’s Archive

Scope and Contents

Items include by-laws, constitution, statement of purpose, a history, newsletters, correspondence, meeting minutes, financial information, studies, reports, photographs, publicity, clippings, membership lists, and incorporation papers for Hollyday House. Topics covered by the records include a neighborhood conference, desegregation, urban renewal, the Hollyday House Chorus, Barney House, the Urban Peace Corps, Church of the Brethren, and fundraising.

Scope and Contents The collection contains approximately 270 black and white prints and 83 slides, the majority of which depict the African-American community of the Southwest neighborhood of Washington, D.C., primarily from the 1920s through the 1970s. The photographs document a historic neighborhood that would be largely razed in the 1950s and 1960s, dramatically changing the landscape and population of the neighborhood. The photographs of streets, businesses, and buildings provide visual...

Scope and Contents

The collection contains correspondence, meeting minutes, committee reports, memoranda, legal papers, and general office files of Downtown Progress. Also included are photographs, sketches, maps, architectural drawings, street diagrams, and slides of buildings and streetscapes located in the downtown urban renewal area of Washington, D.C.

Scope and Contents

Contains correspondence, clippings, meeting minutes, reports, and pamphlets of local issues and citizens’ organizations in which Mrs. Ellis was involved; including the Chillum Heights Citizens’ Association, the D.C. Federation of Citizens’ Associations, Junior Village, the Committee for the Rights of the D.C. Business Community, urban renewal, home rule, and mass transit. Of significance, is a 1972 report titled "Report of the Special Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Urban Renewal in D.C."

Scope and Contents The items include correspondence, clippings, government reports, legislative testimony, hearing transcripts, litigation, flyers, posters, maps, picket signs, press releases, and printed matter. Significant topics covered in the records include the fight to stop the construction of the Seven Sisters Bridge, I-66, I-95, the North Central Freeway, and the fight to save 69 government-confiscated homes in Northeast Washington, D.C.Information about or from other local and national...

Scope and Contents

The collection includes materials collected and created by Harold Gray about committees and councils that he was a part of as a member or chairperson. Materials include correspondence, meeting minutes, statements, resolutions, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, and newsletters. Some materials contain annotations.

Scope and Contents The papers of Albert J. Headley, Jr. consist of materials dealing almost exclusively with the issue of urban development. The materials span the years 1945 to 1976, with the bulk of the items dating from 1955 to 1968. There are a few documents related to Headley, Jr.’s activities in the local Catholic Church and several hand-drawn family trees. Headley, Jr. collected the majority of materials. Community groups such as the National Conference of Catholic Charities, Downtown Progress,...

Scope and Contents The collection consists of 86 packages of strip negatives. Some packages contained multiple negatives bringing the total number of strip negatives to 97. The strip negatives contain between one and seven images, with 372 total images in the collection. All images were taken by Mary Mitchell and are of locations throughout D.C. including the U.S. Capitol building, Chinatown, Dupont Circle, National Mall, and Lafayette Square. It appears that this collection includes 85 or more images that...

Scope and Contents

Between 1983 and 1985, Dolores Smith conducted 33 oral history interviews as a part of her film project Southwest Remembered: A Story of Urban Renewal. Interviewees were residents, business owners, and others with longstanding connections to the Southwest neighborhood. Topics include the Southwest neighborhood before urban renewal, the effects of urban renewal on the neighborhood and community, childhood and life experiences, and work and social life.