Bulfinch Gates Talk & Walking Tour with Latrobe Chapter

Please join us for our upcoming event "Unlocking the Secrets of the Bulfinch Gatehouses and Gateposts' cohosted by the SAH Latrobe Chapter and featuring presenters Carly Bond and Sharon Park.

This event will detail how detective sleuthing lead to the discovery of where the Bulfinch features were on the U.S. Capitol, why they were uprooted by Frederick Law Olmsted, what role the smelly Washington City Canal played, what role the McMillan Plan had for their demise, and why most of the features eventually were placed on what is now Constitution Avenue. There are only six of the original Bulfinch features left on Constitution Avenue that need to be protected for the enjoyment of future visitors to and residents of DC.

This event includes a walking tour and lecture. Participants may join one or both parts of the event. Registration is only required for the walking tour portion of the event.

The walking tour portion begins at 3:45 pm at the northwest corner of 15th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. The tour will visit one Bulfinch Gatehouse and two Gateposts. 

The lecture portion begins at 5:00 pm at First Congregational UCC (945 G Street NW, 2nd Floor). Registration is not required if you plan to only attend the lecture.

Carly Bond: Carly is a Senior Historic Preservation Specialist for the Smithsonian Institution, where she oversees Section 106 compliance and contracts for architectural conservation and historic preservation services. She holds a MS in Historic Preservation from Columbia University and a BFA in Art History from the University of Florida. Carly moved to DC and joined the Smithsonian in 2016 after working for over a decade with the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission as a Deputy Director in the Preservation Department. Carly is dedicated to public service through historic preservation and stewardship of the Smithsonian’s diverse collection of historic buildings.

Sharon Park: Sharon Park retired in February 2023 from the Smithsonian as the Associate Director, Emerita, Architectural History and Historic Preservation. This followed her career at the National Park Service as Chief, Technical Preservation Services. She is a registered architect active in the American Institute of Architects and the Association for Preservation Technology having been named a Fellow in each professional organization. During her 42 years of federal service, she held leadership positions at the National Park Service’s external cultural programs and at the Smithsonian as the institution’s federal preservation officer. Over her long dual career, she championed the development of Preservation Briefs as foundational documents for preservation, lead the Historic Tax Credit program, was the United States Representative to the International Center for Conservation (ICCROM) in Rome, Italy, and oversaw the preservation approaches of revitalizing Smithsonian buildings, many of which are National Historic Landmarks. She has over 40 publications and numerous speaking engagements in her portfolio. In retirement, she continues to undertake research and writing on historic buildings and serves on several non-profit committees for historic facilities improvements. She also lectures on technical issues of materials conservation and historic preservation. She is currently researching her grandmother’s clandestine activities during WWII in OSS and post war anti-communism actions while at the CIA.