Camp Barker Memorial (Washington, DC)

Camp Barker Memorial (Washington, DC)

Subject (Topic)
Civil War
Refugee camps--History--19th century
Fugitive slaves--United States
Slaves--Emancipation--United States
Public art
Public sculpture
Mid-Atlantic United States

Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture

"The Camp Barker Memorial frames the site’s history as Camp Barker, a Civil War ‘contraband camp’, with three entry gateways to a public elementary school in northwest Washington D.C. Union forces used the term 'contraband' to describe formerly enslaved persons, who were considered captured enemy property. While the site’s original buildings were built as barracks for Union soldiers, they were soon transformed into housing for those escaping slavery. Living conditions in the camp were harsh, but gave rise to the enduring community of the surrounding neighborhood." From After Architecture, 2019.

McDonald, Katie
After Architecture

Schumann, Kyle
After Architecture

Photographs by Renée Ater

Dedicated: May 2019

Vinnie Bagwell (relief sculpture); Yun Associates, LLC (structural engineering); and Garrison Elementery School (DC Public Schools).

DC Public Schools, 1200 First Street, NE, Washington, DC, 20002

JPEG

English

Buildings and Structures

Visual Arts-Sculpture

1200 S Street NW, Washington, DC, 20009, United States

Entry portals: 126 in. (320.04 cm)
Portal widths: 78 in. (198.12 cm.) to 192 in. (502.92 cm.)

Bronze; Charred wood; Brass

"Camp Barker Memorial, Washington, DC, United States, 2019." Architectonic. Accessed May 3, 2021, https://www.architonic.com/en/project/after-architecture-camp-barker-memorial/20076736.

McDonald, Katie and Kyle Schumann. “Camp Barker Memorial: From Object to Urban Mediator.” Expanding the View: 109th Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Annual Meeting Proceedings. Accessed August 27, 2024, https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.AM.109.84

Renée Ater

Sculpture

Entry portals: 126 in. (320.04 cm)
Portal widths: 78 in. (198.12 cm.) to 192 in. (502.92 cm.)