"F Street, the Place on the Ridge" Film Screening

This video portrait of downtown D.C.’s historic Main Street looks at the history of F Street, NW, from Third to 15th Street. The filmmaker examines how F Street has held its own for nearly 200 years as the tide of commerce has ebbed and flowed, often leaving in its wake empty streets and vacant buildings. In addition to historic views, the filmmaker photographed a year in the life of F Street from 1980 to 1981. Join Anne McDonough, Library & Collections Director, Historical Society of Washington, D.C. and Phil Portlock, photographer, writer, film documentary producer, social justice activist and native Washingtonian, for a conversation after the screening. The screening of “F Street: The Place on the Ridge,” a film by Phil Portlock (50 min.), is presented in conjunction with the run of DISTRICT II. Organized by the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., and presented in partnership at the National Building Museum, the exhibition explores the changing streetscape of downtown Washington in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s through the urban street photography of Bill Barrett, Chris Earnshaw, and Joseph Mills.