Histories
of the National Mall
Uncovering the history you never see with your mobile
on the National Mall
Sheila A. Brennan, Associate Director of Public Projects
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media@sherah1918 | sbrennan@gmu.edu
Most Visitors See the Mall as This
Mall Once Looked like this
How would you Know?
In this area of the Mall:
there was a railroad station;
a canal;
an assassination at the train station;
slaves were bought and sold.
Why build this?
- Saw a need for interpretation on the Mall
- Public history scholarship rarely incorporated into public sites.
- RRCHNM is a neutral organization, with NEH funding
site isn't about marketing individual institutions, it's about the history of a public space.
- Experience and interest in building better ways to deliver content to different audiences.
Committed to Responsive Web design for greatest accessibility & Sustainability
Historical Map Layers
Questions about episodes in Mall history Interesting People
Significant Events
What We've Done
- Built in Omeka
- custom map layering (leaflet.js) plugin + Geolocation
- exhibit builder for "explorations" and Scavenger Hunt
- Custom responsive theme (all 2.0 themes, responsive)
- Created lots of content
- Started with public domain, open content
- Bringing together resources from diff institutions
- Testing
- Started with sketches-> undesigned site->current
- Map and filtering testing, on-site
- Content testing: what is of interest to diff people
What's Next?
- Publicity for March 2014 launch
- Adding more content, exploring partnerships with area institutions to focus on their stories, their sources
- Translations?
- Analyzing use and feedback
Remaining ?s
- Challenges of not being associated w/Mall institution:
Will people use, re-use, tell friends (even w/partnerships)?
- Public wifi
- Keeping it fresh after 2015 when funding ends
Thank you!
Sheila Brennan | @sherah1918