Message from the Latrobe Chapter: Black Lives Matter

Dear Latrobe Chapter community, 

I am writing to you to acknowledge the pain that our city and nation are feeling and recognize the pain that Black Americans are experiencing in particular. The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery are a reminder that anti-blackness sentiments continue to shape our national cultures, institutional structures, and individual behaviors. As both a symbol and a city, Washington has been at the center of public protests both historically and contemporaneously; as a Southern city, it has also facilitated the exploitation of African American labor (as Mabel O. Wilson discussed in her 2020 Sekler Talk for SAH), residential segregation, and, now, gentrification. As an organization, Latrobe has aspired to recognize this no doubt complex yet crucial history through our programs, including the spring 2020 symposium on Race, Ethnicity, and Architecture in the Nation's Capital, which has been postponed due to COVID-19. As a community, we are committed to continuing to uncover the racial history of our city and its rootedness in place.

The national Society of Architectural Historians has likewise pursued efforts to address its institutional history and interrogate the role that the built environment plays in affecting black and other minority communities. Most recently, it has amplified the work of minority scholars and fostered community through the establishment of affiliate groups, Asian American Diasporic Architectural History, Minority Scholars, and Race and Architectural History. Collectively, they have authored statements regarding racial justice and how architectural historians play a role in these conversations:

SAH’s Commitment to Racial Justice by the Officers of the Society of Architectural Historians

A Statement of Solidarity for Racial Justice at SAH by Charles Davis, Maura Lucking, Sean McPherson, Lynne Horiuchi, Itohan Osayimwese, and Gail Dubrow

In solidarity, 

Vyta Baselice 

President's Letter on Symposium

Dear SAH Latrobe Community, 

The past weeks have been incredibly difficult for the Washington, DC metropolitan area, our country, and the world at large. COVID-19 has ravaged our communities, generating a long string of cancellations and shortages. The Society of Architectural Historians has cancelled its in-person conference in Seattle and instead has gone virtual; the Vernacular Architecture Forum too has cancelled its meeting in San Antonio. It is with great sadness that Latrobe joins this group by postponing the biennial symposium on Race, Ethnicity, and Architecture in the Nation’s Capital. We were thrilled about this year’s meeting and the great number of presenters that enthusiastically agreed to share their discipline-shaking research. The Catholic University of America has likewise been a generous and supportive partner in helping us plan the symposium. We thank the many Latrobe members and non-members who registered to attend the meeting - we have and continue to appreciate your support. 

On a lighter note, we are pleased to announce that our hope is not to cancel the symposium, but to reconvene at a later date, hopefully in the fall and, if necessary, in the spring of 2021. We believe that the symposium topic and ensuing panels remain critically important, especially given the unprecedented crisis our communities are experiencing at the moment. We hope that you will join us! If you would like, you may transfer your registration payment or if you prefer, you may request a refund. Please email info@latrobechaptersah.org with your requests and we will do our best to take care of it in a timely fashion. 

Please stay safe and more soon!

Vyta Baselice
SAH Latrobe President 

President's Letter and Membership Renewal

Dear Latrobe Chapter Members, 

Happy New Year! It is a pleasure to introduce myself to you as the incoming president of the chapter. Many of you know me by my curious obsession with concrete - the topic of my PhD dissertation at the George Washington University. Others might recognize my strange Lithuanian name, which is no doubt challenging to pronounce (fyi, it’s vee-ta bass-uh-leece). I joined the SAH Latrobe Board of Directors in 2019, chairing the planning committee for the 2020 symposium on race, ethnicity, and architecture in the nation’s capital. Starting in 2020, I will also serve on the national boards of the Society of Architectural Historians and the Vernacular Architecture Forum. I am confident that my exposure to conversations about architectural history as a field on the national and international scales will help me lead our local chapter in new and exciting directions. 

Before highlighting plans for the new year, I would like to take the time to recognize our outgoing president, Lauren Oswalt McHale, who has led the organization with great creativity, enthusiasm, and grace. She has been principal for organizing and coordinating the many wonderful events we experienced this year, ranging from lectures on TIKI architecture and warehouses to a tour of Mount Vernon. I can only hope to match her (very tall) stature. Likewise, it is critical to highlight the continuous commitment of many of our board members who have taken time out of their busy schedules to keep the fire burning. And last but not least, thanks to our members who have been enthusiastically attending our events. We are excited and grateful to receive your continued support.

Get ready, because 2020 will be a year replete with exciting activities! Just to note a few upcoming lectures and events: 

• January 28th, Charles Duff, “Washington and Her Sisters: The World’s Great Row House Cities”

• February 25th, Prof. Sun-Young Park of George Mason University will deliver the lecture “Architecture of the Senses: Disability and Education in Nineteenth-Century Paris” 

Three updates are especially notable: for 2020, we have revamped our conference travel fellowship to be more inclusive and focused on the theme of politics and architecture; in April, we will be running our biennial symposium “Race, Ethnicity, and Architecture in the Nation’s Capital,” which will include engaging lectures and tours - make sure to register here; last but not least, we are moving to donate our archival materials to the DC Historical Society, which maintains a special collection on the chapter’s activities. 

As you can see, we have continued to make Washington, DC a central hub for activities related to architectural history. Show your support by becoming a member today or renewing your membership! And you can accomplish this more effortlessly than ever with our new online renewal system. Hope to see you at our next event and happy New Year!

Vyta Baselice 

Happy Holidays from the Latrobe Chapter

President’s Letter and Membership Renewal

Dear Latrobe Chapter Members:

On behalf of the Board of the Latrobe Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians, I would like to thank all of our members for their continued support and interest in our programs. This past year the Chapter offered an incredible line up of lectures and tours, and I hope you will renew your membership for next year.   

Here’s a sneak peek of our 2019 lecture and tour series:

• ·March – Behind the scenes tour of Riversdale Historic House Museum, Riverdale Park, MD

• April – San Diego TIKI: Creating a Post-War Tropical Paradise lecture by Diane Kane

• May – Building Washington: An Engineering and Construction History of Washington, D.C.: 1790-1840 lecture and book signing by Robert Kapsch

• June – Tour and luncheon at Virginia’s historic Stratford Hall

Your membership is vital to continuing our programming. We will again be offering members the opportunity to pay a discounted price in advance for the full series of five lectures. (Tours are reserved separately and priced individually.)

Please use the attached 2019 membership renewal form or go to our new Latrobe Chapter website. The web address is the same (www.latrobechaptersah.org) but with an improved design and the ability to renew your membership online through PayPal (coming soon!). As you select your membership type, please keep in mind the Email Only option is the easiest way to stay in touch and it’s a great savings to you and the Chapter!

I look forward to seeing you in the New Year! 

Sincerely,

Lauren Oswalt McHale
President

P.S. Be sure to mark your calendar for the Society of Architectural Historians 72rd Annual International Conference in Providence, RI – April 24-28, 2019 and the biennial conference of the Society for American City and Regional Planning History in Arlington, VA – October 31-November 3, 2019.