tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6148895566137990424.post509303846263871810..comments2024-01-29T21:57:46.033+00:00Comments on Sociology in My Neighborhood: DC Ward Six: DC Historical Studies Conference honoredJohanna Bockmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08212564448840979369noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6148895566137990424.post-40704289848047282442013-05-13T18:53:32.801+01:002013-05-13T18:53:32.801+01:00What to do about places like the old Hawk and Dove...What to do about places like the old Hawk and Dove that was a trendy, gentrifying restaurant when it opened during the hyper end of the 1960's? (It made excellent French Dip and Croque Monsieur sandwiches.) By the 2000's it had acquired patina and people were celebrating its status as an authentic hangout of the working-class circuit of the "old" neighborhood. Thirty years from now we could well be celebrating some of the same places shunned by today's critics of gentrification. <br /><br />There is a more interesting side to the award to the Conference on DC Historical Studies, though. I have read that the announcement by Mayor Gray acknowledged the growing availability of historical records in new forms of media, i.e., digitized records, as a boon to research in DC history. Ironically, his administration (Registrar for Vital Records) has just forced Familysearch.org to block access to digitized DC historical records at that site for researchers who are not members of the LDS Church. Meanwhile, the alternatives--the old paper records--are not easily or freely accessible or searchable, even at DC Archives, because of condition and staffing constraints.<br /><br />SandyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6148895566137990424.post-68562812108028503922013-05-11T17:40:55.905+01:002013-05-11T17:40:55.905+01:00Regarding the gentrification observation, that **i...Regarding the gentrification observation, that **is** the tricky part; people who critique the process sometimes also like to go to the trendy restaurants and other businesses that are a part of gentrification processes. I think it **is** a contradiction (if not downright hypocritical), and yet it also points to the complexity of the topic of gentrification itself, or is that just an easy way out for wine-sipping academics?Rashmi Sadananoreply@blogger.com