To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of George Washington, the Office of Historic Alexandria is interested in draping several of our historic buildings in black.  We want to be sure that we are as historically accurate as possible with this project, and have checked with several organizations, including Mount Vernon, regarding what draping would look like in or around 1799 on an American building, but so far have not been able to learn any details.  

We have been informed by Mount Vernon staff of the possibility that even though most buildings along the funeral procession routes in New York and Philadelphia probably weren't draped, certain buildings may have been.  We have checked with the Museum of the City of New York as well as the Pennsylvania Historical Society for any documentation of this draping;  again, no luck.

Does anyone know either how draping would have appeared, or of a resource that might be able to point us in the right direction?

Thanks so much.

Jen Beltz
Office of Historic Alexandria      
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