Services

Tagging-the-Past

 

 

 

Reconnecting forgotten history to present landscapes

Hi, I'm Eric K. Washington,

I'm a freelance writer, tour guide and photographer based in New York City. My particular experience in synthesizing local history through heritage interpretation includes articles, public signage, exhibits and walking tours. I'm always interested in projects that stimulate an appreciation for exploring windows on the past as a means for approaching the future.


I'm the author of, Manhattanville: Old Heart of West Harlem, a local history book in the iconic Arcadia Images of America series, and of​ Trinity Church Cemetery, an iPhone history/travel app by Rama/Crimson Bamboo.

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I have contributed to numerous print and online publications, both general interest and scholarly, and have researched, reported and consulted for various community organizations and municipal agencies.



I'm an independent research, writing and editing professional who is available for assignments to generate articles, reports, exhibition scripts, web texts and the like.

A walking tour may be a visitor's only exposure to your local history. I am a licensed tour guide from New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs, and have many years experience creating and conducting specialized walking tours for New York City's major historical, cultural and educational institutions.



My public presentations have included walking tours, illustrated lectures, exhibits and signage.

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My interpretive signage installed in West Harlem Piers Park (in photo above) received the MASterworks Award from New York's Municipal Art Society. Similarly, I can script such public history projects as you might have including tours, exhibits and presentations. 

​Is your area's "local color" fading against the broadstroke of modernization? Or has history's bigger picture simply forgotten it? Let's formulate a strategy to retrieve it.



I can help you to identify the historical or cultural assets behind your neighborhood's streetscape. I can research historical primary resources, prepare reports, curate exhibits and make presentations that highlight the singular vision and mission you wish your project to achieve. I am certified by New York City's Minorities and Woman-owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) Program.

To borrow a sentiment from the great Andre Kertesz, "I am an amateur and I intend to stay that way for the rest of my life." But my images appear among winning photos in such publications and sites as Photographer's Forum's Best of Photography, the iPhone Photography Awards (IPPA) and Everyman Photography.

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Please visit my photography portfolio:

http://erickwashingtonimages.smugmug.com

Illustrated talks, seminars or workshops are convenient way to bring local history to your class or organization.

 

Here are some samples of my Tagging-the-Past Illustrated Talks:

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I can give your group a Power Point "slide show." Or I can conduct a seminar or workshop around a particular local history theme such as "How To Build An Interpretive Site Tour," "Exploring a Historic Cemetery for Representations of Ethnicity, Race and Class," or "How To Begin Sorting, Recording & Reporting Your Local History.​"

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Winner

2020 Herbert H. Lehman Prize

for Distinguished Scholarship

in New York History

2020 Brendan Gill Prize Finalist