President's Letter and Spring Announcements

Dear Latrobe Chapter Members,

Everyone at the Latrobe Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians wishes you a wonderful start to the new year!

The Latrobe Chapter has long served as a forum for local academics and professionals—architectural historians, preservationists, and all those interested in the built environment of the Nation’s Capital. Your membership is vital to sustaining our mission and enabling us to offer exceptional programming for both our members and the broader public. 2025 was a year filled with outstanding programs, and we are excited to share an equally engaging lineup for 2026. Here is a preview of what’s ahead:

• February 17 Lecture - Krystyn R. Moon, Proximity to Power: Rethinking Race & Place in Alexandria

• March 21-22 - Architecture & National Identity Biennial Symposium – Catholic University and the National Building Museum, featuring a keynote address by Lawrence Vale (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), The Design-Politics of “National Identity” in Capital Cities: Paris / Beijing / Mexico City, and a special book talk with Kay Fanning and Thomas Luebke (U.S. Commission of Fine Arts) on their new book, American Shrines: The Architecture of Presidential Commemoration

• Spring Lecture and Tour of the historic 1823 Klingle Mansion, now headquarters of Rock Creek Park

• Summer Picnic and Tour of Williamsport, Maryland, and the Conococheague Aqueduct, in partnership with the Association for Preservation Technology, DC

Without members like you, the Chapter’s lectures, tours, and educational events would not be possible. We invite you to show your support by becoming a member or renewing your membership online here. We also encourage you to follow us on Facebook and visit our website for the latest news and our full calendar of events.

We hope to see you soon.

With kindest regards,

Lauren O. McHale
President, Latrobe Chapter
Society of Architectural Historians

President's Letter & Spring Announcements

Dear Latrobe Chapter Members:

For nearly 60 years, The Latrobe Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians has served as a forum for local academic and professional historians, architectural historians, historic preservationists, and all those interested in the built environment here in the Nation’s Capital and beyond. 2024 marked another incredible year of events for the Chapter, including our successful 14th Biennial Symposium, The Architecture of Food, hosted by the School of Architecture & Planning at Catholic University of America last April.

Before I introduce the preliminary 2025 calendar of events, I would like to thank all of our members for their continued support and interest in our programs. Without members like you, the Chapter’s educational tours and events would not be possible. I would also like to recognize our outgoing president, Elizabeth Milnarik, who has been integral to the success of the Latrobe Chapter through her many years of leadership and passion for architectural history. Thank you, Elizabeth, and to all of our devoted board members!

Here are some highlights of this year’s program calendar:

• February 12th - Jacqueline Taylor, “Complicating the Canon: Modern Architecture and the Black Middle Class.”

• February 13th - Michelangelo Sabatino, The Edith Farnsworth House: Architecture, Preservation, Culture. Hosted by the National Building Museum.

• Spring 2025 - Stephanie Rufino, book talk and tour on the architecture of Georgetown University.

• June 7th - Williamsport, MD and the Conococheague Aqueduct tour & picnic. Co-hosted with APT-DC.

• Fall 2025 - Caroline Mesrobian Hickman, lecture on the work and legacy of DC architect, Mihran Mesrobian.

Your membership is vital to continuing our exceptional programming. Please show your support by becoming a member today or renewing your membership online at latrobechaptersah.org. Our website and Facebook page “Latrobe Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians” are great ways to get information about our activities or last-minute updates. We hope to see you at our next event!

With kindest regards,

Lauren McHale

President

Fall Events Announcement

Hello Latrobers!

We are excited to ring in Autumn with our program of upcoming events. Please stay tuned for more information, which we will advertise to our members as it becomes available.

• Howard University Historic Architecture & Landscape Tour (September 24)

• John DeFerrari and Peter Sefton, Lecture on Sixteenth Street Architecture (October 18, in person)

• Lisa Davidson and Catherine Lavoie, Lecture TBD (November 29, in person)

• Matthew Lasner, Lecture on Housing and Aging (December 13, virtual)

We look forward to seeing everyone again soon!

President's Letter & Spring Events

Dear Latrobers,

Happy New Year! We hope you had a festive and safe holiday with your loved ones. Latrobe is thankful to have had your support and presence throughout the year 2021 and we hope you will join us in 2022 as we host more virtual lectures and attempt to convene in person for lectures in the spring, pending infection and vaccination numbers.

This coming year, we are excited to bring to you a combination of virtual programming and in-person meetings and tours. First, we will welcome Danielle Willkens (Georgia Tech) on February 22nd over Zoom, to speak about projects from the ACCelerate festival at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, which showcases trans-disciplinary projects at the intersection of science, engineering, art, design, and technology. On March 8, we hope to meet in person for a lecture by Brian Goldstein (Swarthmore), who will present his new work on African American architect Max Bond. On April 19, Amber Wiley (Rutgers), will speak on her new research on the Afro-American Bicentennial Corporation and the National Park Service’s inclusion of Black historic landmarks. In June, we hope to bring Latrobers together for an in-person tour of Dumbarton Oaks. All in-person events will follow CDC recommendations for public gatherings. If the pandemic prevents us from meeting in person for these events, we will host them virtually over Zoom; they will continue to be free of charge and only require advanced registration.

We are also thrilled to share that in 2022, we will be supporting two emerging professionals (graduate students or recent graduates) to attend the national Society of Architectural Historians conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dijia Chen, PhD candidate in architecture at the University of Virginia and winner of our 2020 fellowship, will join the new fellow at the conference. We plan to invite the two emerging professionals to share with Latrobe their research and experiences at the conference.

In anticipation of these community activities, we invite you to renew your membership for the new year. Your contribution will support the continuation of our activities, both virtually and in person. We are grateful for the support you have offered us throughout the pandemic and are excited and hopeful to transition to a new post-pandemic life.

Best wishes in the new year and feel free to get in touch,

Vyta Pivo