National Trust for Historic Preservation: Return to home page

When you walk into a historic place, are you drawn to the decorative detail, exposed bricks, and wood paneling? Does talking about restoration work with friends and neighbors bring you joy?

If the answer to these questions is a resounding YES!, join us for a conversation with Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust, Elizabeth Finkelstein creator and host of the popular HGTV series Who’s Afraid of a Cheap Old House, and Cristiana Peña preservationist and social media strategist for CIRCA Old Houses, as they share their love bringing these often neglected properties back to life and the role they play in creating community across the United States.

This virtual conversation will tackle the joys and challenges around living in and owning an historic home, how these places create stronger connections to neighborhoods and communities, and how they bring a sense of wonder and fun to the preservation process.

This webinar is produced in honor of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 75th Anniversary.

Since 2020, the National Trust has partnered with CIRCA Old Houses to connect property sellers with interested buyers via the CIRCA Old Houses website and social media channels.

The Woodlawn Needlework Show is the largest judged needlework show in the nation, exhibiting hundreds of pieces of work submitted by needlecrafters from all skill levels and backgrounds. In 2025, Woodlawn will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Nelly’s Needlers, the volunteer corps at Woodlawn that are instrumental in orchestrating the Needlework Show.

This online program is presented via Zoom by the Smithsonian Associates program on March 16, 2025, 2:00 PM-3:15 PM ET. Tickets are $25.

During the late 1940s, two glass-walled pavilions were designed by then-leading modern architects Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson. From their beginnings to the present, these houses have an intertwined history. In 1938, Mies became head of the architecture school at Chicago’s Armour Institute.

Mies was later commissioned to design a modern weekend house for Chicago nephrologist Edith Farnsworth. Johnson admired the concept of the glass, travertine, and steel residence and became familiar with it during visits to Mies’s Chicago office as he curated a retrospective of the architect’s works planned for MoMA in 1947. In 1949, Johnson designed and built his own version—The Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut

Over the years, the National Trust for Historic Preservation acquired both houses, opening them to the public in 2004. The executive directors Scott Mehaffey of the Edith Farnsworth House and Kirsten Reoch of The Glass House, discuss the fascinating shared history of these icons of Modernism.