City Within A City: Greater U Street Heritage Trail

I have been staying in DC the past week or so - staying in the U-Street Corridor to be exact. I have noticed these signs before, & have stopped a few times, but with all the time I have during the day to research this visit I actually walked the whole heritage trail. Now, it has been over 100 degrees almost all week {some horrible heat related deaths have apparently occurred!}, so mind you these walks have been done quite early in the morning!

The City Within A City: Greater U Street Heritage Trail, African American Heritage Trail, & Art On Call are all signages {absolutely not a word, but it works here...maybe?} that I have followed this week. I think they are fabulous ideas. Not everyone is going to go through the effort of visiting their local {or not-so-local perhaps} historic society to check on times of guided tours {some offices are only open through reservations anyways}. So, these signs -with a lot of pictures, a map, & just enough information to satiate- are perfect. Some {specifically the Art on Call}, have a "text/call this number for more information" option as well - another great idea!

The signs/boxes have to be weather impermeable, obviously. The idea - presenting local history in a democratic fashion - is also quite sustainable -in my opinion - because it gives information without requiring a paid employee to be a tour guide or the construction {or destruction} of any kind of physical structure -which allows for future generations to make decisions on what stays & what goes.

While traipsing around the above 3 routes I noticed a few key elements required to make this work:

1. Now/Then approach: aka "On this corner in X year, X happened..."

2. Lots of photographs

3. Photographs with informative captions

4. Utilize a general & a specific approach. Present information in such a way to include entire group/audience/etc, but also focus on life/contributions/etc of one individual - a well-known figure to draw people in, but, perhaps, a lesser known individual could be the focus to expand knowledge

5. A map showing current location in a larger geographic setting

6. Perhaps even the use of a historical map

7. Give the option to learn more; either by texting, calling, visiting a website, or even a museum or historic organization.

8. Locate the sign/etc in a well visited spot. Busy street corners seemed to be most popular for the U-Street Heritage Trail, but I also found the Art on Call boxes in front of residences on side streets. I think both could be interesting, because it gives the opportunity to visit underutilized areas & can incorporate more locations to discuss in a historic context.