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This walking tour, led by Joseph Himali, a public historian, licensed real estate agent, and lifelong Washingtonian, will discuss one of Washington, DC’s most historic neighborhoods. 

This tour will discuss the history of Georgetown, DC which is the oldest neighborhood in the Capital City. 

We will discuss the early building requirements of land ownership in Georgetown in the 18^th century. We will examine the construction methods used in the earliest commercial buildings in the city including the structural engineering issues that manifested in the buildings. 

We will discuss the architecture, design and construction of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and its effects on the surrounding neighborhood. We’ll review some of the earliest examples of historic adaptive reuse in Washington DC including examples by Arthur Cotton Moore, who was one of the most important architects in Washington in the second half of the 20^th Century. 

We will explore the use of various building materials including brick, stone and wood in the construction of commercial and residential properties. And we’ll review the effects of historic preservation laws on the shaping of the streetscapes of Georgetown. We will see a variety of architectural styles from Federal, Italianate, Art Deco, Tudor, Post-Modern and many others. 

Learning Objectives

• Explain the building and construction trends of Georgetown’s residential dwellings for over 300 years from the Colonial period through today.
• Summarize the significance and history of Georgetown in the overall history of Washington, DC.
• Describe the hallmark characteristics of many architectural styles and how they are affected by historic preservation laws.  
• Analyze the impact of zoning laws and structural engineering on the development of Georgetown and how it affects people living there to this day.

This tour is organized by Best Address.