Please Note: All galleries will be closed from May 7 though July 29 for renovation. The administrative offices, archives and library will remain open.

Reclaiming the Edge: Urban Waterways and Civic Engagement

Now - September 15, 2013
Main Gallery

Based on research by the museum on the history, public use, and attitudes toward the Anacostia River and its watershed and on review of urban waterway developments in Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Louisville, London, and Shanghai, Reclaiming the Edge explores various issues regarding human interaction with natural resources in an urban setting. It looks at densely populated watersheds and at rivers as barriers to racial and ethnic integration. The exhibition also examines civic attempts to recover, clean up, re-imagine, or engineer urban rivers for community access and use. Seventy-five objects, 16 artworks, and 170 images are featured. Highlights include artworks by Chinese artist Zhang Jian-Jun, Chicano artist Leo Limon, and local artist Bruce McNeil, The opening of this exhibition kicks off the museum's 45th anniversary.

Separate and Unequaled: Black Baseball in the District of Columbia

Permanent Exhibit
Program Room

After a recent successful run at the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., a condensed version of this popular exhibition is on view at the museum. From Reconstruction to the second half of the 20th century, baseball, the great American pastime, was played in Washington, D.C., on segregated fields. This exhibition looks at the phenomenal popularity and community draw of this sport when played by African Americans. Featured are such personalities as Josh Gibson and "Buck" Leonard, star players of the Negro Leagues most celebrated team, the Washington Homestead Grays. The show also highlights community teams that gave rise to the various amateur, collegiate, and semi-pro black baseball teams and leagues.

Please Note: Call first to check the monthly viewing schedule as the exhibition may not be available when an activity is taking place in the Program Room: 202-633-4820 (recording).