Repository of the Local City Museum Succeeds at Presenting Diverse Washington History by Gary Tischler When the new City Museum of Washington, D.C., opened in May, surrounded by the usual glitter and fanfare that included a ribbon cutting with the mayor and other dignitaries, nobody knew exactly how the museum would fare in a city where there are plenty of museums to choose from, with even more on the way. The City Museum, somewhat dwarfed by the adjacent Washington Convention Center, is the latest in a series of museum projects. Costing more than $30 million, the project has restored the venerable Carnegie Library and now serves as headquarters of the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. As things stand, the City Museum features an overview exhibit titled ìWashington Perspectivesî on the first floor, a multimedia show called ìWashington Storiesî in a new 150-seat theater, two rotating exhibition areas on the second floor, a library, museum shop, and archeology lab on the ground floor, along with meeting and lecture space. Currently on display are a nostalgia-laden exhibition on ìSports in Washingtonî and an exhibition of early Washington maps from the collection of Albert H. Small, whoóalong with Austin H. K iplinger and former Mayor Walter E. Washingtonówas one of the principals in spearheading the drive to create the City Museum. The jury may still be out on such things as the multimedia show and the neighborhood-focus exhibitions, and itís obvious that some work remains to be done. But itís also plain to see that the City Museum is succeeding in its most critical mission, which is to present the diverse, layered history of Washington, D.C., in all its aspectsónot just its role as the nationís capital and an adjunct to the larger federal presence. If Washington is often touted to the world as a city of monuments, the City Museum reminds us that Washington is also a city of neighborhoods, each with its own rich history. It reminds viewers that many national issuesóslavery, race, segregation, civil rights, war and peace, economic growth, education, gender and leisure, to name a fewóhave been played out in a city where great decisions are made on a daily basis and where regular people live through those decisions. The busiest place in the City Museum is clearly the first floor, which houses a shop and the auditorium that features the multimedia show. There viewers will also find the permanent exhibition, ìWashington Perspectives,î an imaginative setup featuring a large, detailed floor map (actually based on a satellite photo) in the center, surrounded by four exhibit areas or faÁades that resemble giant collages. These sections tell the story of Washington, D.C., from its earliest days to the presentódepicting not only great historical events but also the cityís social history. The emphasis is on local, relatively unknown folks and happenings, including the growth of transportation, education, culture and civil rights. The faÁades focus on four distinct periods: the formative years to the Civil War, the Civil War to 1900, the early part of the 20th century to 1946, and 1946 to the present. Each section features photos and artifacts such as maps, dolls, proclamations, flyers, programs, menus, paintings and portraits spanning 200 years of history. Here are the stories of slaves and former slaves and a history of the progress of race relations and civil rights in a city that straddled, and to some extent still does, the North and South, both culturally and politically. In this exhibition, viewers feel the layered history of a unique city in which racial tensions and upheavals made themselves felt in the daily lives of residents as decisions about race and civil rights were being made next door at the Supreme Court, the White House and on the Hill. ìWashington Perspectivesî is an invitation to explore what used to be, what has been lost and what is coming. Each exhibition area has drawers that let viewers examine specific issues in detailóa gateway to a particular segment of Washingtonian history. Walk through an early door and youíll find yourself in a 19th-century boarding house where Washington clerks lived and ate, often segregated by political parties. Walk through another door and youíll find yourself on what was once a flourishing city market or a YMCA during its glory days. ìWashington Perspectivesî is a lively juncture of past and present as visitors get on their knees to find a location on the map below. The tourists tend to look for landmarks, but the people who live here tend to look for the tree in their yards. ìLook, hereís Connecticut Avenue, hereís the Zoo, and hereís Woodley, and there we are,î said one girl to another. ìWhereís the White House, honey,î asked another man. And elsewhere, you can hear the voices of old men recalling the pleasures of swimming at the Y and the old scratchy recording of Bessie Smith at the Howard Theater wailing, ìNobody loves you when youíre down and out.î In this way, the voices are all part of a complex city that slowly reveals itself, where the past meets the here and now. ìWashington Perspectivesî is on permanent display at the City Museum, 801 K St., NW. For more information, please call (202) 383-1800 or visit www.citymuseumdc.org. Gary Tischler is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.