News

Mon, 03/23/2026 - 12:00

Written by Katherine ShaverCommissioned by President George Washington to design the new nation’s capital, Pierre Charles L’Enfant initially proposed a massive “President’s Palace” surrounded by sprawling grounds—an imposing complex four times the size of today’s White House property.It didn’t take long for Washington and others to realize the poor optics of a “palace” for a democratic republic that had just fought off a British king. The scaled-back building that opened in 1800 was renamed the “President’s House.”

Fri, 10/10/2025 - 12:00

The University of Maryland and statewide nonprofit Preservation Maryland are partnering to repurpose the historic Ellicott City Jail, a looming landmark in Howard County, Md. that has stood for more than 170 years. Preservation Maryland anticipates breaking ground on this project in Spring 2026.

Wed, 10/01/2025 - 12:00

In the summer of 2006, University of Maryland Professor Emeritus Lindley Vann and 19 architecture students traveled to the Bay of Naples to explore an ancient city, lost in ash. Over the next 20 years, factions of students returned each summer to participate in a global effort to excavate and document one of the last surviving Italian villas that once catered to the Roman elite. 

Thu, 02/20/2025 - 12:00

This story was originally published in Maryland Today.

Tue, 06/18/2024 - 12:00

Visitors pointing their phones at the unassuming log cabin tucked along a wooded road in Olney, Md., may see a 19th-century wash basin still wet with laundry just outside the back door, chickens roaming around a wooden coop or a neighboring log cabin just yards away.But when they lower their phones, all that remains is an empty yard and a deeper understanding of this property’s complicated past.

Wed, 05/08/2024 - 12:00

This story originally appeared in Maryland Today. The seven floors of books, offices and resources at the University of Maryland’s McKeldin Library house plenty of facts, but one thing about the building is pure fiction: Step outside, and you’ll count just four stories—an intentional design trick (thanks to oversized windows) that makes the building appear imposing and impressive from a distance, and the people walking by it smaller.