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Heurich House Museum

@heurichhouse.bsky.social
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Community-centered museum that explores the history of early-20th-century workers in Washington, DC, and supports those who live and work in the city today.

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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Historic Craftspeople 🤝 Christmas Markt Makers ➡️Read the new blog post by Executive Director Alex Fraioli to find out what connects them! heurichhouse.org/blogs/news/s...
heurichhouse.org
Stories Still to Come: Announcing the 2026 Heurich Christmas Markt Vendors + Early Bird Tickets
By Alex Fraioli, Executive Director From 1892 to 1894, skilled craftspeople built and decorated the mansion the Heurichs would call home. They were working-class Washingtonians, among them…
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
We have found references to over 140 people who have worked at the Heurich house, but often their employment was transient. Where else did they work? Some who worked at the house also had connections to the Heurich Brewery.
William Bender, a chauffeur who lived in the Heurich Carriage House with his family, also worked at the brewery in the 1930s.
Images of: William Bender standing outside of a car, possibly at the Heurich farm. Photo donated by Jan Evans; William Bender's brewery credit union application card.Charlie Boone was employed as a "laborer" at the brewery. Amelia also called on him to do some work at the house in 1920. Image of Charlie Boone's World War II draft card noting his place of employment as "Huerich's Brewery."Theresa Meyer was a tutor for the children Chris Jr. and Anita. Her father was the secretary of the Brewing company when it opened. Amelia Heurich's diary entry from July 15, 1919. The entry reads: “Chr. Jr. began his first lessons with Theresa Meyer, preparing to study for entrance examinations for University of PA, The Wharton School. Will have to go every Thursday and Saturdays.”These stories start to show a network of connection between the people who worked in the Heurich House and the Heurich Brewery. Our research is ongoing and may give us more insights in the future.
Sepia-toned image of delivery driver in front of the Chr. Heurich Brewing Co, ca. 1900.
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DC Beer @dcbeer.com · 22/09/2026
Next up, @lostlagers.bsky.social at @heurichhouse.bsky.social on Thursday!
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Christian Heurich made his fortune in brewing & real estate, then shared it through philanthropy and support for Washington's arts & culture. That legacy reaches all the way to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The land where his brewery once stood was, in part, donated to it.
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
How can we re-design our society to better handle the challenges of the 21st century? Nina Maturu explores this in her new blog post for HHM: heurichhouse.org/blogs/news/h...
heurichhouse.org
How Might We? Reflections on Visioning the Future During A [New] American Dream
By Nina Maturu, Featured Artist during A [New] American Dream Hi, I’m Nina Maturu, a futurist and multi-disciplinary artist. I was recently a Futurist at NASA, where I charted societal futures for…
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DC Beer @dcbeer.com · 08/09/2026
It’s Craft Malt Month; @henceforthdc.com and @heurichhouse.bsky.social are celebrating with Maryland’s Bear Branch Malt!
dcbeer.com
Craft Malt Month with Maryland's Bear Branch Malt | DC Beer
Maryland malt comes to DC for Craft Malt Month!
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Looking for LGBT at the Heurich House: Women can have romantic relationships too???
Looking for LGBT at the Heurich House: Let's Talk About the Women (mid-1800s to mid-1900s). General research on trends in working-class, urban women’s relationships provided context when looking into the lives of the women who worked at the Heurich’s home. 
Image of hand-drawn logo of The Furies: a new lesbian/feminist monthly newspaper. Image caption: he Furies Collective was a commune of lesbian separatists in DC in 1971-72 with an affiliated newsletter. The Furies existed much later than the time period explored here but are another part of DC gay women’s history!
Photo credit: Rainbow History Project.Gal Pals? In the 19th and early 20th centuries, romantic friendships between women were “casually accepted” and not seen as threatening to eventual heterosexual marriage. It was only in the early 1900s that male scientists and doctors even started considering female sexuality, eventually mapping the theory of gender inversion onto women as well as men. After this, romantic friendships became more affiliated with homosexuality. 
Image of title page from "Studies of the Psychology of Sex: Analysis of the Sexual Impulse, Love and Pain, the Sexual Impulse in Women"
Image caption: Havelock Ellis was an English physician, eugenicist, and writer. He published one of the first books on women’s sexuality in 1904. Photo credit: Wellcome Collection.It's all about the money. 
Going to college or getting a job helped women both avoid social expectations of marriage and gain economic freedom without a husband. However, two working-class women often struggled to make enough money to support themselves unless one could pass as a man and thus earn higher wages.
Sepia-toned image of two women. Image caption: rances Shimer (seated) and Cinderella Gregory, 1869. Shimer and Gregory ran Mount Carroll Seminary together in northwestern Illinois. In 1864, the school started accepting only female students. It is not definitive that Shimer and Gregory had a romantic relationship, but Shimer did live separately from her husband throughout their marriage.
Photo credit: Northern Illinois University Archives via Wikipedia.And they were roommates! Two unmarried, unrelated women living together rarely attracted suspicions of homosexuality. Sometimes, this provided a convenient cover for women who were romantically involved. It was also: More affordable and less lonely than living alone, especially for women working and living away from their families;
More respectable than living with a man. Blurry black and white image of two Black women sitting outside. Image caption: Lucy Diggs Slowe and Mary Burrill, two women who met while teaching at Armstrong Manual High School in DC. In 1918, they moved in together and lived as a couple. Their romantic relationship was not widely known. Source: Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University and DC Preservation League
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
We don’t have many objects from historic Heurich household staff members, but one of the things we do have is a prayer card saved by Amelia Heurich. It was a gift from cook Anna Mohr. See the prayer card for yourself on one of our historic house tours. Each tour ends in the Working Title exhibit.
A little card and a lot of history. This prayer card from the Basilica Shrine in Philadelphia was a gift from Heurich family cook Anna Mohr to Amelia Heurich. Anna worked on and off in the Heurich home from about 1912 through 1940, though she is mentioned in Amelia’s diary through 1950. Image of prayer card and medallion on blue background.According to some oral histories from family and household staff, Mohr was a devout Catholic. One family member, Carl Keyser, mentioned receiving a St. Christopher's medal from Anna during WWII, when he served with the Navy. Among many things, St. Christopher is the patron saint of sailors.
Excerpt from Carl Keyser's memoir discussing the gift from Anna, 1981. The St. Christopher's medal story aligns with the prayer card Anna gave to Amelia in 1944, which features men in military uniform and reads 'Protect Our Boys.'  Amelia was not Catholic, we can only guess as to why she kept the card or why Mohr decided to give it to her. Image of prayer card.We can only learn about Anna Mohr and her actions through other's records, as we do not have any writings from Mohr herself. You can see Anna Mohr's prayer card in the Working Title exhibit during a tour of the Heurich House Museum. Image of card at Working Title exhibit.
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
We want to hear your visions for the future of the Heurich House! Your honest reflections, ideas, and hopes will directly inform the priorities, programs, and direction we set in our new strategic plan. The anonymous survey will be open through 9/15. Thank you! forms.gle/Jx8Z1jquLUit...
forms.gle
Community Survey: Reflections & Visions for the Heurich House
The Heurich House Museum is in the process of creating a new strategic plan for 2027–2030. As a place that believes our community is what makes this museum meaningful, we want this plan to be shaped…
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Looking for LGBT is BACK! A subculture emerges….
Looking for LGBT at the Heurich House: The emergence of a subculture: mid-1800s to mid-1900s. This research provided the context we needed to delve more specifically into LGBT at the Heurich House. Note: There is not one “LGBT history;” it is dependent upon racial, gender, national, and socioeconomic contexts. This overview focuses very broadly on men in American urban settings.
Image of Poet Walt Whitman and his close companion Pete Doyle in DC, 1865. Photo via Library of Congress.What is homosexuality? Karl Maria Benkert first used “homosexuality” to describe same-sex sexual relations in Prussia in the 1860s. Homosexuality was part of the theory of gender inversion - inborn effeminacy in males (including sexual attraction to other males) and masculinity in females. This was different from “homoaffection” between men in the military or all-male sporting groups, which was not necessarily sexual. Image of Karl Maria Benkert, photo credit LGBT History Project.From Act to Identity. Before the theory of gender inversion, most discussions of same-sex sexual activity depicted it as unnatural, wicked, one-time acts. By putting a name to this behavior and saying it is something people are born with, scientists and doctors got interested in studying homosexuality. More importantly, people who took part in same-sex sexual relations could start finding others like them. 
Image of Lafayette Park near the White House. In the early 20th century, Lafayette Park was a cruising spot, where men could meet up with each other for anonymous sex. Photo credit Detroit Publishing Co, ca. 1910-1920 via Library of Congress.Let's have a kiki! Gay social clubs and gatherings became more common through the late 1800s and early 1900s. Giving a name to homosexuality, along with demographic mobility through (im)migration, helped facilitate the growth of male homoerotic communities, especially in cities. Image of William Dorsey Swann, a Black man who was born into slavery and hosted drag dances in 1880s DC. No none photos of Swann exist. Image of one of Swann’s contemporaries, Jack Brown, in Paris 1903 via Wellcome Postcards.
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
ICYMI: We have a new Executive Director! 🎉 Finally got to celebrate Alex Fraioli in her new role at the Heurich House. Thank you to everyone who has been part of our journey so far. We’re so excited for you to join us in this next adventure.
Guests mingling at a crowded indoor reception in the Heurich House Conservatory. New Executive Director Alex Fraioli is in the middle talking to some guests.Guests mingling at a crowded indoor reception in the Heurich House Conservatory. Guests mingling at a crowded indoor reception in the Heurich House Conservatory. Guests mingling at a crowded indoor reception in the Heurich House Conservatory.
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
An investigation of desks at the Heurich House 🔍 Learn more about Andrew Bell and other stories of household staff members who lived and worked at the Heurich home on your next historic house tour! Each tour ends in the "Working Title" exhibit.
Desk vs. Desk: There are two drastically different desks in the museum's "Working Title" exhibit.
Image of Working Title exhibit with two desks highlighted.Collage highlighting the ornate desk made for President Grant by F.E. Shultze & Sons (Bozeman, Montana), with a historic photo of Grant and Christian Heurich and text noting Heurich bought it at a 1902 government auction and kept it in his brewery then brought it to his home.Plain dark wooden secretary (butler’s) desk on legs against an exposed brick wall, described as the second, less ostentatious desk; a utilitarian piece once used to write and store records with no known presidential or famous-owner provenance.It's possible the secretary's desk was used by Andrew Bell, a Black Washingtonian who worked as the Butler in the Heurich house for 19 years. Some of our understanding of how the household staff lived and worked in the house is directly thanks to Bell, who was interviewed by the Historical Society of Washington in 1962 about his experience working in the house. Image of Bell serving dinner in the Heurich dining room.
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
From 1776, to 1905, to 1917, to 2026, what does it mean to be a “good American”?
What makes a "good American"? 
In a letter to a friend, Christian Heurich referred to himself as a "good American" because he had turned down a knighthood in Germany. There's evidence throughout Heurich's home that he was proud of both his German heritage and his American identity, even while he was targeted by anti-German sentiment at the outset of World War I.
Image of suit of armor with American flag, and a section of Heinrich's letter to his friend in March 1905. Letter is in German, but translation reads: "Well, as a good American, I'm happy to forgo knighthood."World War I started a wave of suspicion towards German-Americans. 
Despite Christian's whiteness, wealth, and status as a naturalized citizen, rumors started up that he was working as a German spy.
The Department of Justice investigated the family's house, their farm in Maryland, and the Heurich brewery, but never found any proof. Christian maintained his innocence. 
Images of DOJ report from 1917 and New York Times article from same year titled "Germans Here Safe If They Obey Law; No General Internment, Baker Announces."Christian ate breakfast every morning in the Bierstube, a room styled after a German tavern. In the front hall of the Heurich home there is an American flag, and a bald eagle is featured at the top of the entry fireplace.
Images of Bierstube and carved wooden eagle.How was it for Christian to balance his German heritage and American identity, privately and publicly?
Was he a "good American" for himself, his image, or his adopted country - or all of the above?
Image of section from Heurich's autobiography, talking about Germany as his mother and America as his bride. If he had to choose, then he would leave his mother and go with his bride.
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Looking for LGBT at the Heurich House 👀🌈 Where to begin?!
Looking for LGBT at the Heurich House: The Process. Photo of Heurich House door with pride flag reflected in the glass on pastel lavender background.
Where to begin? 
We started by looking at other LGBT history projects and blogs, especially related to museums and historic sites. This helped in getting oriented with methods, sources, and questions. 
Image has faint sepia-era uniformed figure in the background, stacked handwritten letters at lower right, with magnifying-glass and question-mark icons."Many things to consider..." showing layered excerpts and highlighted notes from academic texts and blogs about queer history, sexuality, and museum interpretation on a pastel gradient background with lightbulb and star doodles. Highlighted sections include: "how do we discern a queer life from incomplete personal effects whose existence and content and often mediated by other family members?" "Surely I have gay forebears somewhere. For me, Cic's possibility means my possibility." "Don't need definitive proof for homosexuality when people don't ask the same for heterosexuality." "How, and in what terms, were nineteenth-century subjects able to imagine the parameters of sexuality?"Now: Research?
It’s surprisingly hard to do research if you don’t have access to a university library system. Luckily the museum’s Curator was teaching a class at American University when we started this project, so she was able to help with getting books. 
We also figured out that a DC Library Card gets you access to online newspaper archives and research databases like JSTOR! Next: Into the stacks!
Photo of DC public library card with star doodles.
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Why do we value things that are hand-crafted? And how do we determine the definition of “made by hand”?
Question posed on a green patterned background reading "If something looks fancy, does that always mean it was hand-crafted?" beside an ornate gilded antique armchairHistoric Heurich Home parlor with ornate wood paneling, chandelier, gilded silk furnishings, tufted sofa and rocking chairs arranged on a red oriental rug; header reads, "The gilded and silk furniture on display throughout the Heurich home had to be hand-crafted, right?"Text on page reads "It was actually mass-produced and purchased via catalogue, likely from Sears & Roebuck." Images of a 1927 Sears catalogue page, black-and-white wicker chair illustration from a catalogue, a gold ornate chair, and a "Reed Furniture at Lowest Prices" banner on a green patterned background.Text heading: "Do we value these pieces more or less because they were not hand-crafted? Just because it was mass produced doesn't mean these items were not assembled or painted by a skilled laborer, even if one person didn't make the whole piece from scratch." Includes image of the main bedroom of the Heurich House, filled with Victorian furniture, rugs, and wallpaper. Text at bottom reads: "In that case: What makes something
'hand-crafted'?"
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
Stars, stripes & dreams! 250 years to the day, we’re still dreaming about what America can be. 💭💭 Prompts by Philippa Pham Hughes, Nina Maturu, and Xena Ni.
Postcards in a binder:
1. People are prioritized over profits. A society of life-long learners and curiosity. Diversity is our strength.
2. dissolution of the empire, the rise of the working class, rights and dignity for all! and lots of drinking in parking lots before sporting events.
3. Free healthcare. More compassion. Planes that can withstand turbulence. Women run the world. Community reigns over profit. Live, love, and make love!
4. more drag queens.Postcards with prompt "What do you dream for America for the next 150 years" and multicolored notecards with prompt "Needs to be reimagined/Debe ser reimaginado"
Answers include: investments in the arts; gender roles; more states (DC & PR) and fundamental restructuring of our systems of wealth and power); our concept of what it means to be 'american;' make NASA science great again!; the American social safety net and how we engage with poverty; I dream of connection and empathy and of humility it takes to be responsible for millions of lives. Dreaming of learning from the past without it weighing us down from moving forward; Progress, bridges more than borders, freedom and privacy; Continued existence of humanity, species becoming unextinct.Postcards with prompt "What do you dream for America for the next 150 years" and multicolored notecards with prompt "Needs to be reimagined/Debe ser reimaginado"
Answers include: I hope it's nice for people; more whimsy please!; respect for our planet! we only have one!; restoration of the dignity of public office, continuing the universes' moral arc bending towards justice for all, more music like 2012!; reparations for Black people; social support for family life - parents, children, seniors, healthcare, housing; accessible higher educationWheel with yellow envelope that reads: "this dream belongs to you and me. By Xena Ni and a visitor like you." Cards on the wheel give responses to the questions, "where in america did you think of earlier" and "imagine it 100 years from now. Describe the future that you want." Answers include public libraries; Chinatown, DC; atop a mountain in Shenandoah; Washington DC
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Where did rocking chairs come from, anyway?
When you think of a rocking chair, what do you imagine? Images of unknown woman on a rocking chair at the Heurich farm and Sam Maloof mid-century rocking chair - Maloof was a second-generation Lebanese immigrant and renowned furniture craftsman in the US.A rocking chair in the formal parlor of a Victorian-era mansion is probably not on the top of your list. Image of Heurich House drawing room, complete with gilded rocking chair.The rocking chair is not inherently American, but it has become an iconic piece of Americana furniture. American inventor Benjamin Franklin is sometimes credited with inventing the rocking chair, though there is no concrete evidence for this. Images of Theodore Roosevelt, John F Kennedy, and Barack Obama in rocking chairs.This gilded and silk embroidered chair juxtaposed the original, more democratic purpose: Rocking as a way to relax after a hard day, soothe a crying child, or greet neighbors on your front porch. 
In a way the chair is a microcosm of many of the spaces in the Heurich House: European-style wealth mixed with Americana.
Image of gilded rocking chair at the Heurich House.
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
What gets saved? And who decides what is worth saving? Heurich House Collections Manager Kimberly Stroud explores this question in our newest blog.
heurichhouse.org
What Do We Save? Reflections from a Collections Manager
By Kimberly Stroud, Collections Manager What gets saved? And who decides what is worth saving? As we reflect on the 250th anniversary of the founding of America, it's important to remember how our…
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
The roof’s been restored so we’re ready for rain. No more leaks in our Conservatory! Regarding the rest of the roof… Water damage, pests, and potential structural damage require further restoration. Help us keep the house safe for you, our collections, and the stories they hold with a gift today.
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
What is this little guy? And why does it matter?
This is not a pocket watch. 
This device represents a shift in the global economy, a drastic change to international trade routes, and an expansion of U.S. imperial interests.

Image of small round item with dial and numbers. Background sepia toned photo of mountains, river, and construction.This pedometer, a device used to measure distance in steps, was once owned by Louis Peter Keyser, Amelia Heurich's brother. Keyser worked as part of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey during the construction of the Panama Canal.

Image of pedometer, sepia-toned photo portrait of Peter Keyser, and black-and-white photo of barges in the Panama Canal. It's possible the pedometer was used to survey land during the Canal's construction c. 1904-1914, making it a small part in the Canal's history. 

Photo of three men in suits sitting on a railroad car on the side of a mountain, and a group of men doing construction on the side of the canal.The Panama Canal project had a lasting impact (in the region and globally) as it created an easy route between the Atlantic and the Pacific. The US controlled the Canal until 1999, which allowed the US to play a larger role in global politics and international commerce.

Images of construction of the Panama Canal, taken by Peter Keyser
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
In 1904, firemen at the Heurich Brewery went on strike because Heurich refused to raise the price of beer.
Heading of The Washington Times newspaper from 1904 and photo of article title: Brewery Fireman Serve a Notice on Mr. Heurich. Text overlay reads: A Strike at the Chr. Heurich Brewing Co.? Screenshot of newspaper article paragraph about fireman at the Heurich brewery going on strike. Text overlay reads: In 1904, Heurich refused to join five other local breweries in raising the price of beer. In retaliation, the new brewery association ordered fifteen of Heurich’s unionized firemen to strike. We don't have any quotes from the striking workers.Screenshot of newspaper article paragraph about Heurich saying he will close his brewery before joining the Brewers' Association with photo of Heurich.  Text overlay reads: The strike did not really affect Heurich’s operations. No other unions joined, and Heurich used non-union workers to fill the firemen’s positions.Screenshot of newspaper article paragraph with quote from Heurich: "I came to talk with you about the firemen's contracts, and have no business with those other gentlemen." Image of brewery. Text overlay reads: Why did those 'other gentlemen' want to raise prices? Was it to increase workers' wages? Labor unions use collective action such as strikes to advocate for workers rights, including better wages. This strike took place two decades before federal minimum wage was established.
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Why do historic houses love roofers??? Read the newest blog by Development Manager Kai Walther to find out. heurichhouse.org/blogs/news/m...
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Without modern and historic craftspeople building and maintaining the physical Heurich home… there is no home. Thank you to the experts at Wagner Roofing who recently ripped out the old, beat-up, leaky metal roof on our Conservatory! They’re currently installing a brand new copper roof.
Insulation over the flat conservatory roof, with workers placing long copper pieces around the edges.Workers from Wagner Roofing starting to place flat pieces of copper over the insulation on the conservatory roof.Workers covering the Conservatory roof with flat sheets of copper. The roof is almost covered.
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
The Heurich House Museum’s Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the selection of Alex Fraioli as our next Executive Director. Read the full announcement: heurichhouse.org/blogs/news/h...
heurichhouse.org
Heurich House Museum Names Alex Fraioli Executive Director
The Heurich House Museum’s Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the selection of Alex Fraioli as our next Executive Director. Currently serving as Interim Executive Director, Alex succeeds…
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Did you catch any of the Heurich Humanities Scholars in Residence at last week's DC History Conference? The scholars are scholar-ing!
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Around 1900, women made up 18.3% of the work force in the U.S., but they had a limited number of occupations to choose from. In her blog post “House/Work,” the Museum’s Curator Jenna Febrizio reflects on labor, gender, and access at the turn of the century.
heurichhouse.org
House/Work: Reflecting on Gendered Employment from the 19th-Century through the Mid-20th Century
By Jenna Febrizio, PhD, Museum Curator Around 1900, women made up 18.3% of the labor force in the U.S. Most jobs were divided by gender, with a more limited range of occupations available for women.…
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Amelia Heurich mentions May Day just once in her diaries. How did the brewers, workers, and tradespeople connected to the Heurich family experience that day? Today it is a day of action, evolving with the struggles of each generation and uniting workers, immigrants, and communities.
May Day: A memorial, an evolving movement, and a ritual of collective action. Who decides what becomes a "holiday?" And whose struggles get remembered? Cut out black and white photo of women workers in the 1936 New York City May Day Parade on a blue background.How did the workers installing the conservatory fountain experience May Day? Photo of fountain on a blue background.What about the brewers, domestic workers, and tradespeople connected to the Heurich family? Did their day also go on "as usual" like Amelia's? Black and white photo of Heurich brewery employees, circa 1885. Blue background behind the text.The only references to May Day in Amelia Heurich's diaries is from May 1, 1924. Diary reads: Thursday May Day. Went to market as usual & remained home all afternoon. They are putting the fountain tomorrow."
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
What do you dream for America for the next 250 years? ⭐ 💭 "A [New] American Dream" won't give you the answers. Every gathering will put you in the room with others who care about what comes next.
heurichhouse.org
A [New] AmericanDream
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DC History Center @dchistorycenter.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Have you mapped out your #DCHistCon 2026 experience? Check out the schedule-at-a-glance, plus the full program to plan your experience at the 52nd annual conference at the MLK Library (901 G St NW): conference.dchistory.org/programs
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
We're hosting #DCHistCon after hours on May 1st from 5:30-8pm! Check out the 52nd annual conference by day and the museum by night! All the info: conference.dchistory.org
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Who crocheted this blanket? 🧶Was it Amelia? 🧶How did it end up in her boudoir? 🧶Was it a gift? 🧶How long did it take? There’s no maker's mark. No artist's signature. All we know is that crochet, knitting, and other types of fiber arts were traditionally seen, and expected to be, “women’s work.”
Small, multicolored crochet blanket laying over the back of a rocking chair in the Heurich House boudoir.
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
“That will never happen!” We all want to think that disaster will not strike at our museum. But we also want to be prepared in case something like a flood or even power outage does happen. Learn more about the museum’s emergency preparedness training in our new blog post.
heurichhouse.org
Preparing for Something You Hope Never Happens
That will never happen! A phrase that sends many a collections manager and emergency professional rushing to knock on wood or toss salt over their shoulder to ward off bad luck. We all want to think…
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Out with the old (fence), in with the new (same fence but restored) 📸 Photo of fence, July 2015 📸 Photo of fence, March 2026
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
“The demolition of the East Wing was definitely the wake-up call for everyone.” Humanities Scholar in Residence and architectural historian Neil Flanagan @jgbollard.bsky.social recently spoke on PBS NewsHour:
pbs.org
Trump’s vision for D.C. draws design backlash and court challenges
Leading cultural and architectural preservation organizations asked a federal court to stop the Trump administration from proceeding with its Kennedy Center reconstruction project. It's the latest…
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Our newly restored iron fence prompted the question: who gets a memorial? Explore our thoughts on the topic in the newest blog post: buff.ly/X85UBuE
heurichhouse.org
Who Gets a Memorial? Thinking About the Restored Iron Fence
By Kai Walther, Development Manager If you’ve walked by the museum recently, you may have noticed that our garden fence is a little different. After 130+ years, the original iron fence needed a full…
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Ironwork in the late 19th to mid-20th century DC was done in craft workshops and foundries - with very different processes and products. How did they compare? 🧵 Images of Jorss Iron Works advertisement ca. 1894 & White and Sons Foundry advertisement from Capitol Hill Restoration Society Guidelines
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
What steps - and people - make your own work possible today? The Heurich home’s iron fence was created 132 years ago by craftspeople at A.F. Jorss Ornamental Ironworks. But before it even got to Jorss, the iron ore had to be mined, processed, smelted, and transported to iron mills and foundries. 🧵
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Tracing Irish Immigrant Stories: Lizzie Cassidy Elizabeth (Lizzie) Cassidy worked as a chambermaid for the Heurich family in 1915. She emigrated from Ireland in 1905 at 15 years old, making DC her new home. 📸 Photo of Elizabeth Cassidy, Ancestry.com, shared by “Martinacassidy63.” (1/7)
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Better safe than sorry! 🦺⚠️ Collections Manager Kim Totten packs the museum’s emergency kits. The kits are filled with supplies to help us reduce damage to our collections during emergencies like fires, leaks, vandalism, or storms. The kits are stored in bins on wheels for easy movement. (1/3)
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Who were the designers, artisans, and builders that made Mathilde and Christian Heurich’s dream home a reality? What were their lives - and own homes - like? Photo of workers at A.F. Jorss Iron Works, 21st & Va Ave., ca. 1907 (1/3)
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Many details, Many hands. From large-scale sandstone ashlar to tiny, intricate carvings - each piece of the Heurich house exists thanks to many makers and workers. We’re trying to dig up their stories! 😉 (1/4)
Image of the Heurich House, looking up from the ground. The ashlar, or large square-cut stones used to make the building, are very visible.Close up image of flowers engraved in wood
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Crossover episode! Heurich House members got a tour of @dchistorycenter.bsky.social at the Carnegie Library last month, which included a look at their “Class Action: Education and Opportunity in the Nation’s Capital” exhibit. (1/2)
Heurich House members in front of the Carnegie Library at duskMembers inside exhibit space, standing in front of a chalkboard that reads "Class Action" with a map of DC. The wall behind the chalkboard is fully covered by a class photo.
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Where did our historic iron fence go? If you've been by the Heurich House at all recently, you may have noticed that the garden fence looks a little different. The original 130+ year old fence was removed for restoration to repair peeling paint, rust spots, and other damage.
Temporary and fence in front of the Heurich House garden.
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Thank you for loving the Heurich House as much as we do! ❤️ We’re reopening in just a couple of weeks, and before we do, we’re proud to share our 2025 Annual Report.
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DC History Center @dchistorycenter.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
To do this weekend: Submit your ideas to the DC History Conference! ✅🏃‍➡️ Submissions for the 52nd Annual DC History Conference, happening May 1-2 at the MLK Memorial Library, are due this Monday, February 9 at 9 am!
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Help us find our next Executive Director. good-insight.org/careers/
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DC History Center @dchistorycenter.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
The 52nd annual DC History Conference is happening May 1-2, 2026 at the MLK Memorial Library! Be part of the conference: submissions are due February 9.
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
A message from our Board Chair.
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
What a year! Thank you to all the event attendees, tour takers, Biergarten visitors, and program partners who shaped 2025 at the Heurich House Museum. We’re looking forward to another year with you and the building that makes it all possible.
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Heurich House Museum @heurichhouse.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
What’s the Heurich House without a house? And what’s a house that you can’t get around? We're working to replace the house’s elevator, as the current one dates from 1987 and has been out of service multiple times this year. This has stopped people from attending tours, programs, and getting inside.
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