Dorn C. McGrath (1930-) talks about discovering the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (now Anacostia Community Museum) in 1968, meeting John Kinard, establishing a long-standing friendship with him, and serving in an advisory role for the museum. He describes the museum as providing an enriching educational experience for Anacostia youth by focusing on their environment and local issues. He details the difference between the original museum, which he describes as more accessible, more focused on the neighborhood, and "funky", and the new museum, which he describes as more stylized and able to accommodate larger gatherings. He also talks about the potential of the Anacostia community and his hope that new leadership will emerge to support further development.
The interview was recorded by Gail S. Lowe on March 26, 1991. The audio quality is clear throughout the recording with some minor background noise.
Exhibitions mentioned: The Rat: Man's Invited Affliction, The Real McCoy: Afro-American invention and innovation, 1619-1930.
Biographical / Historical:
Dorn C. McGrath was born in Bradford, Pennsylvania on May 16, 1930. He graduated from Bradford High School, earned a B.A. in engineering and architecture from Dartmouth in 1952, and a master's degree in city planning from Harvard University in 1959. He served in the U.S Navy from 1955 to 1958, and in the Civil Engineer Corps in Spain from 1958 to 1959. He worked for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Then he taught courses as an educator for George Washington University, first in the department of urban and regional planning, and later in the department of geography, a career which lasted 35 years. He founded George Washington University's center for urban and environmental research and served as chair of the geography department from 1996 to 2003. He worked closely with residents in neighborhood areas, including the Anacostia neighborhood in Washington DC. He was active as an alumnus of Dartmouth and served as class president from 2007 to 2013.
Provenance:
Conducted as part of the ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project, which includes approximately 100 interviews of residents and influential people of the Anacostia area of Washington, DC.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Genre/Form:
Oral histories (document genres)
Collection Citation:
ACM 25th Anniversary Oral History Project, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution
