11 Most Endangered
Carter G. Woodson Houses
Year Listed: 2001
Location: District of Columbia
Current Status: Saved
Threat: Deterioration, Neglect
Eighty-five years after Carter G. Woodson created the black history movement, the Washington home where he lived and worked sits abandoned and forgotten, an ironic legacy of the man who spent his life preserving African-American history and culture. The home, which is owned by the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History, a nonprofit publisher, has been abandoned for nearly a decade. It has suffered extensive interior damage, including structural deterioration caused by water leaks in a number of locations.
Update
From 1915 until his death in 1950, this National Historic Landmark brick rowhouse in DC’s historic Shaw neighborhood was the home and office of Dr. Woodson, author, scholar, publisher, and “Father of Black History.” By 2001, after many years of neglect, the under-appreciated landmark was seriously threatened by deterioration, arson, vandalism, and collapse. Unfortunately, the property owner, The Association for the Study of African American Life and History, had essentially abandoned its property. Thanks to the intervention of local preservationists, National Trust, and others, the building’s decline now has been reversed. Since NTHP’s 11-most listing, thanks to the National Park Service and others, the building’s sagging floors have been stabilized, roof leaks patched, windows and doors secured, and piles of debris removed. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton was instrumental in championing the 2003 designation of Dr. Woodson’s home as the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site. Today, the historic building is safe, and the National Park Service and Association for the Study of African American Life & History are working cooperatively to plan restoration of the NHL and creation of a new educational visitor center.
