This page compiles all of our maps relating to the Washington Conservatory of Music. Scroll down to view each map in detail. You can also click each map’s title to view the full interactive map. If there’s a specific map you want to see, jump to it by clicking it’s name in the Table of Contents below.

Washington Conservatory Graduate Home Addresses from United States Census Records and City Directories

Many Washington Conservatory graduates who came from outside of Washington, DC and returned to their home state for work. This map visualizes where Washington Conservatory graduates from 1910-1914 lived utilizing United States Census records and city directories. The map is color-coded by occupation type. Zoom in to view the graduate addresses in Washington, DC.

This map demonstrates that Washington Conservatory graduates, while primarily coming from Washington, DC, came from around the country to study. It also visualizes the communities that graduates worked and influenced after attending the conservatory.

Washington, DC Area Performances by Washington Conservatory Graduates Color-Coded by Venue Type

Click the interactive legend to refine the map by performance type. This map demonstrates church performances (shown in red) were widely spread throughout the DC area, while theater performances (shown in green) were concentrated in the U street corridor and downtown Washington, DC.

Mapping Hometowns, Primary Residence Locations, and Death Locations of Washington Conservatory Graduates

Like most graduates of the Washington Conservatory, Henry L. Grant was born in Washington, DC. Grant spent the remainder of his life in Washington, DC and died in Washington, DC in 1954. The following map visualizes hometowns, primary residence locations, and death locations of Washington Conservatory residents scaled by frequency of data. Each variable is visualized in a separate map. Click through to view each map.

While Washington, DC has the most data in all three maps, graduates came from a greater variety of hometowns compared to primary residence locations and death locations.

News Coverage of the Washington Conservatory 1903-22

This map visualizes news-coverage of the Washington Conservatory between the founding of the school in 1903 and Harriet Gibbs Marshall’s first trip to Haiti in 1922. Press coverage is visualized by type of article. Click each category in the legend to view individual categories. Use the arrows in the upper right corner to refine the map by white newspapers or African-American newspapers.

While faculty mentions and concert reviews are widely geographically dispersed, note that advertisements are clustered in New York, St. Paul, and Washington, DC only. This map represents article publication locations and does not account for newspaper circulation.

Institutions at which Washington Conservatory Graduates Taught, Color-Coded by Institution Type

Most graduates of the Washington Conservatory became teachers. This map visualizes educational institutions Washington Conservatory graduates taught at. Zoom in to Washington, DC to view more detailed data.

Performances by Washington Conservatory Graduates on the National Level

Categorized by location type, this map shows the spread of Washington Conservatory graduate performances around the United States. Based on documented performances in newspapers, the thirty alumni performed in 12 states besides Washington, DC (most performances did occur in DC). The Northeast comprised most of the music-making, with Virginia (extending out from the DC suburbs), Connecticut, and New York having the next most performances. Graduates also performed in Midwestern cities with large African American populations, like Chicago and East St. Louis, Illinois, in addition to a few times in Southern states including Kansas and Texas.

Archival Letters of Interest in the Washington Conservatory of Music

 By 1910, the Washington Conservatory of Music was flourishing, in part because word of its mission and early accomplishments had spread far and wide, reaching Black communities across the country. This map visualizes a small sampling of archival letters sent to the Washington Conservatory of Music expressing interesting in the conservatory. The wide geographic distribution on this map attests to the national prominence of the Washington Conservatory. Many letters mention hearing about the Washington Conservatory from their advertisements in The Crisis. Click individual points to read letters from prospective students. 

Local Branches of the National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) 1919-27. Juxtaposed with 1920 U.S. Census Data Color-Coded by Percentage of African-American Residents.

NANM branch data courtesy of Doris Evans McGinty, ed., A Documentary History of the National Association of Negro Musicians, (Chicago: Center for Black Music Research Columbia College, 2004).

Historically Black Colleges and Universities Founded between 1837 – 1960.

While not an HBCU, the Washington Conservatory of Music exists in dialogue with other HBCUs. This map visualizes all HBCUs founded from 1837-1960.

Data from https://hbcuconnect.com/colleges/.

Walking Map of Washington, DC Points of Interest

To better understand the neighborhood surrounding the Conservatory, including where graduates lived, learned, and worked, visit our walking map below. You can feasibly walk this route in under one hour, visiting the Washington Conservatory of Music building and other homes, schools, and churches in the area. Scroll down to view the walking map route, and continue scrolling down within the map to view the points of interest on the map.