Sep

Today in Smithsonian History: September 15, 1967

Anacostia Historical Society members pose in front of the Carver Theater, which served as the first home for the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum, now known as the Anacostia Community Museum. Louise Daniel Hutchinson, historian at the museum, is the seventh person from the left in the front row.

September 15, 1967 The Anacostia Neighborhood Museum opens in Anacostia, a primarily African American neighborhood in southeast Washington, D.C., with a celebration including an 84-piece band. This “experimental community museum” is located in a renovated theater and is operated in cooperation with the local community. Its first six exhibits include a Mercury space capsule; a reproduction of an 1890 Anacostia store; a little theater; shoebox collections on many natural-science subjects; skeletons that could be disassembled; and a small zoo.

Today, the museum’s mission is to “enhance understanding of contemporary urban experiences and strengthen community bonds by conserving the past, documenting the present, and serving as a catalyst for shaping the future” through exhibitions and programs that engage the community, such as “How the Civil War Changed Washington,” seminars, family days and special programming.