Lost Buildings of Howard University

Image by NCinDC via Flickr

If you’ve spent any time in Washington D.C., you’ve likely noticed the number of century-plus old buildings that can still be found. But city historians who specialize in the “built environment” can tell you of the scores of buildings that have been lost, a large number of thes in recent decades.

According to 1996′s The Long Walk: The Placemaking Legacy of Howard University many of the campus’ original buildings no longer exists – which would be expected for any institution as old as Howard, the city’s third university.

But (with help from a LOC reference librarian), the author discovered a March 1869 article from Harper’s Weekly which offers a plausible explanation for these disappearing buildings that we haven’t heard before… bad bricks.

…Read the article at Lost buildings of Howard University…