Each year, CHRS asks for your best shots of Capitol Hill – from its antique homes to lovely parks and everything in between. The deadline is Sunday, March 1, 2026.
Anyone can participate in the contest as long as the photos were taken in the neighborhood. All photos will be considered for this juried contest. There will also be a student section, and all of those entries will be inherent winners.
Winning photographs will be displayed at the Coldwell Banker Realty office at 350 7th Street SE — just down the street from Eastern Market. All young person/student entries will be displayed. CHRS will hold an opening reception sometime in April.
Here are the rules:
1. Photos must have been taken on Capitol Hill;
2. Photos must be submitted via the Google form in the highest resolution possible, by 11:59 pm on March 1, 2026;
3. Each submission must include a title, the photographer’s name, email address, and a note saying whether they are over or under 18.
4. Individuals can submit no more than two photos. We will only look at the first and second images an individual has submitted.
Members of the CHRS photo subcommittee will cull submissions to roughly 10 images that will then go to the judges.
Pictures posted here are 2025 entries.
In addition to having their photo displayed, the first-place winner will receive free tickets to our annual Capitol Hill House and Garden Tour. Honorable mentions will receive a free year’s membership to CHRS.
James Darius Ball, director of Future Cities at the National Building Museum, will give the Capitol Hill Restoration Society’s Dick Wolf Memorial Lecture at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 11, at the Hill Center, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. The event is free and open to the public.
Ball’s lecture will deal with future cities and how the power of public imagination and collective vision is shaping the future of urban life. The presentation will spotlight Coming Together, the National Building Museum’s first exhibition of their Future Cities initiative, which examines how American cities are reimagining and reshaping their downtown districts in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ball has a background in sustainable development, building science and community engagement. He brings a rich experience and passion to questions of urban identity and opportunity.
The Dick Wolf Memorial Lecture is named for former CHRS president Dick Wolf, a city planner and activist who was a Hill resident who championed the cause of historic preservation. The lecture series features themes of historic preservation and urban planning in Washington, DC.
A reception will follow the presentation. All are welcome. Reservations are not required but are appreciated; please sign up through Eventbrite.
Choosing interior paint colors can feel daunting, particularly in DC row houses where light, or lack thereof, is tricky. At our next free online Preservation Café, color consultant Linda Bassert of Masterworks Design will help you learn how to make that choice.
Whether you’re repainting one room or the whole house, this event is for you. Sign up on Eventbrite to get the link to the event at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, January 14. The talk will be recorded and available later on our YouTube channel.
Linda is an award-winning designer with nearly 20 years of experience and expertise in window treatments as well as interior and exterior paint color. Her most recent award was Excellence in Design: Designer of the Year 2024 in the International Window Coverings Expo’s Grace Awards, the annual Design and Artisan Competition at the International Window Coverings Expo.
Our November Preservation Cafe provided an up-close — and inside! — look at the newly restored 1891 pipe organ at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.
Attendees were invited to climb the narrow, twisting staircase to the organ loft to see reinstallation work in progress and examine the beautiful wooden exterior case, inner workings and towering pipes along with the manuals (also known as keyboards) and pedalboard.
Have you been thinking about undertaking a home improvement project? Or do you just have questions about your home? We help you find answers and inspiration each year at our FREE Capitol Hill Restoration Society House Expo. The event is held in the North Hall of Eastern Market, and this year’s was held Saturday, November 1.
From hidden alleyways to green spaces to architectural gems, our four October walking tours let attendees discover more about Capitol Hill.
Here’s what the tours covered:
Capitol Hill Architecture: The changing tastes and practical decisions that informed builders’ choices. This is one of our oldest walking tours.
SE Alleys: Capitol Hill has many hidden alleys and charming one-block streets. Take a trip back in time to explore the workaday world of past residential and industrial uses and some of our most diverse populations. Another of our oldest walking tours.
Between Marion and Providence Parks: When Pierre L’Enfant developed his 1791 plan for the City of Washington, he established a network of public spaces and squares, linked by broad avenues. The residential neighborhood around the blocks that turned into Marion and Providence Parks (popularly referred to as Turtle and X Parks) has evolved into a rich tapestry of houses, schools, churches and buildings old and new, which we will explore on this tour. This incorporates some of our parks and infrastructure tour.
NE Alleys: The lifestyles, occupations, and shenanigans of the inhabitants; early industrial uses; and efforts both to eliminate and to preserve alley dwellings.
