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Article: Stripping the Past Down to the Wallpaper
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- May 17, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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In 1963, one of the oldest houses in Ipswich, Mass., 30 miles
north of Boston, was about to be demolished to make way for a parking
lot. But before the wrecker's ball struck, members of the local
historical society persuaded the Smithsonian Institution to save the
1760s dwelling.
Piece by piece, the home's timber frame and brick chimney were
transported to Washington's newly opened National Museum of History
and Technology (now the National Museum of American History), where
they were reassembled and displayed in 1967 and again from 1976 until
1982. Then for nearly 20 years, the historic structure remained
standing in a part of the gallery sealed off from public view.
Now the 250-year-old ...