Restoring Clara Barton’s Missing Soldiers Office
April 20, 2016 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
| FREE
In 1997, a U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) employee readying a property for sale and demolition made a surprising discovery. Civil War era belongings, battlefield supplies and painted signs revealed the location of Clara Barton’s long forgotten Missing Soldiers Office. Through a series of precedent-setting partnerships, the redevelopment came to fruition while the Missing Soldiers Office was restored as a museum, making the continuing discovery of the spaces as Clara Barton knew them an integral part of the visitor experience.
Join Caroline Alderson and Elizabeth Hannold of GSA’s national preservation program for a behind-the-scenes journey through the discovery, investigation, restoration and interpretation of the 150 year-old boarding house where Barton lived and worked. See how original components and fragments were integrated into replicated Civil War era gaslighting, building systems and wall coverings found in the third floor rooms. Probe clues to unsolved mysteries –hidden openings, graffiti notations, shifted passageways—peering into view portals and exposure “windows” for a compelling glimpse into Clara Barton’s Civil War refuge.
