A new feature of the DC Historic Preservation Office’s HistoryQuest DC building permit GIS mapping tool is a Time Slider that graphically displays the physical built development in the District of Columbia. Office of Planning GIS cartographer Jose Funes created the tool that covers the city’s development from its establishment in 1791 to the present. The map displays only those structures from each decade that are extant today.The screen self-populates the map of DC with color-coded building footprints according to the date range on a pop-up that will allow an automatic display. The App may also be frozen on any decade revealing development for that 10-year period.

To get started, go to HistoryQuest DC  When the GIS map appears select “DC by the Decades” on the banner at the top of the page. Once the mapping element appears, select the clock icon displayed at the top of the screen to activate the mapping tool .

Additional information is available by selecting the information icon “i”, also at the top of the screen .

HistoryQuest DC, is an interactive GIS map that provides historical data on approximately 127,000 extant buildings in Washington, DC. The map is the culmination of a two-decade project sponsored by the DC Office of Planning/Historic Preservation Office resulting in operational layers of information for the user including historic data on individual buildings, links to documentation on properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places, information on historic residential subdivisions, and the identification and boundaries of the L’Enfant Plan, and the city’s Squares, and Wards.

Posted by: Bruce Yarnall, bruce.yarnall@dc.gov