The Georgia Ave./Pleasant Plains Heritage Trail project is a gathering of a community working group to preserve the history of the Pleasant Plains neighborhood, focusing on Georgia Ave. from Florida Ave. to Spring Rd.  The six month effort described in this proposal represents the first phase of a collaboration with Cultural Tourism DC to showcase Washington DC’s neighborhoods. 

A Heritage Trail is a self guided walking trail based on a set of signs installed in public spaces forming a walkable route.  The signs lead visitors through a neighborhood along a route that can be walked in 90-120 minutes, a distance of typically two miles.  A trail comes with two summary booklets, one in English and one in Spanish, intended for free distribution by businesses and institutions along the route.  Cultural Tourism DC has initiated a four-phase process in the creation of the trails.  The first phase is the Application Phase during which a neighborhood wanting to establish a trail forms a community working group and, for approximately six months conducts research, interviews community members, gathers photos, agrees on trail stops and descriptions and produces a comprehensive application to Cultural Tourism DC.  Cultural Tourism works closely with the group during this phase to guide them in this effort.  The next three phases are the Development, Design and Construction Phases, which are conducted and funded by Cultural Tourism DC.  They hire a historian to build on the research and write the narratives for the markers, design the sign panels, install the markers and produce the booklets.

ECAC met with Jane Levey of Cultural Tourism DC  in July 2007 and initiated the process for establishing a Georgia Ave/Pleasant Plains trail.  Kickoff meetings were held in October 2007 and a community working group was established.  This group has met monthly since then, using data gathered from experience, interviews, newspapers, and photos to draft the trail points and markers. 

In the interest of creating a more permanent neighborhood archive, ECAC received funds from the Neighborhood Investment Fund for the technical support and equipment to conduct interviews of elders in the community and preserve them in a way that can be used in a larger project to make residents more aware of the neighborhood history.  Community residents volunteered to be part of an Interview Team to learn how to use the equipment, interview candidates and create logs for future reference.  Approximately 10 interviews have been conducted to date, with each one adding a new perspective and dimension to the story of this community growth.