DC Preservation League adds Barry Farm Dwellings to DC’s Most Endangered Places list

Barry Farm Dwellings is one of three new sites on DC’s Most Endangered Places list.

Beginning in 1996, the DC Preservation League has announced a list of Most Endangered Places to draw attention to Washington DC’s historically, culturally and architecturally significant places that may be threatened with ill-advised alteration or demolition, neglect, or abandonment.

Barry Farm Dwellings is listed as “a formerly segregated, World War II-era public housing complex in Southeast Washington built on land owned and occupied by Washington’s African American community since the 1860s. Among Barry Farm’s residents were the plaintiffs from the Bolling v. Sharpe school desegregation case and leaders in the 1960s welfare rights movement, including Etta Horn. The five remaining buildings of the original development were designated a DC historic landmark in 2020, and the DC Legacy Project is actively seeking to convert them to a commemorative space and cultural center. Despite their designation, the five buildings are in a state of severe deterioration, with no formal commitment having been made to their rehabilitation.”

Join DC Preservation League’s upcoming webinar on May 17 at 12-1 pm to learn more about the list and the three sites that have recently been added.