Father Michael's Story

Overbeck Project Manager Bernadette McMahon and historian Brian Kraft jointly presented “Voices from our past – Researching oral histories of Capitol Hill“ during the June 22, 2021, Capitol Hill Restoration Society meeting.

When the shutdowns prompted by the 2020 coronavirus pandemic prevented the Overbeck Project from interviewing Capitol Hill neighbors, modern technology came to the rescue. Like most of the world, project volunteers enlisted Zoom to continue with almost-normal operations.

The Overbeck Project notes with sadness the passing of Steering Committee chairman and visionary leader John Franzén on November 1, 2020. Franzén’s recorded interviews with historian Ruth Ann Overbeck prior to her death in 2000 provided the inspiration for this oral history project.

Members of the Boswell family lived at 11 D Street SE for 160 years, almost as long as Capitol Hill has been a residential community. We are proud to announce that a transcript of interviews with Bill Boswell, the last family member to live there, is now included on this website.

Overbeck Project interviewee Goldie Mamakos passed away on March 20, 2020, at age 89.

Goode was the author of a number of valued and important books on the history and development of the city of Washington, including our Capitol Hill neighborhood.

During May 2019, the Overbeck Project and Capitol Hill lost two valued friends.

The Overbeck Project has extensively redesigned its website to enhance its appearance and make it more user-friendly, with stronger search capability.

After coordinating the effort for fifteen years, John Franzén handed over leadership of the Overbeck History Lectures to longtime community activists Nancy Metzger and Maygene Daniels in September 2016.

The highly successful Overbeck Lecture Series relocated to Hill Center at 921 Pennsylvania Avenue SE in September 2015.

In the fall of 2011, our tenth anniversary year, the Overbeck Project branched out into publishing in order to bring to light a wonderful new book by Mary Z. Gray.

In 2009, as part of the Overbeck Project's effort to record first-hand accounts of the 2007 fire that devastated Eastern Market, Langley Bowers produced a powerful 20-minute video, “Eastern Market: The Rebuilding.”

The Overbeck Project notes with sadness the passing of Rick Hamecs. Rick was among the first project volunteers in 2001 and served as our pioneering webmaster. He was a supporter of the Overbeck Project for the remainder of his life.