Since it opened a little over a year ago, The National Association of Realtors' sponsored exhibit "Within These Walls" has become one of the National Museum of History's most popular attractions and online destinations, says staff.

Why does the aging façade of a pre-revolutionary war home resonate with visitors? Because the one thing we all want is a home. Roots. Something to fight for.

In the 18th century, this home housed soldiers who left through its front door for the Revolutionary War. It once housed a slave. Later, in the 19th century, a family of abolitionists moved in. In the 20th century, it was home to a family with a daughter who worked in the munitions factory while her brother went off to fight in World War II.

With a desirable location directly across from the Star Spangled Banner, the startling sight of a full-size home in the middle of a museum gallery has attracted visitors to explore the pre-revolutionary home and wonder about the daily lives of its five families of inhabitants.

Saved from demolition back in the 1960s, the home hails from Ipswich, Massachusetts, where it was built about 1757 by the prominent Choate family. Considered quite large at the time, the home had ten rooms and about 2,200 square feet. Later additions brought it to about 2,700 square feet. The home was dismantled brick by brick and reconstructed for display at the Smithsonian. Later, it was sponsored by the NAR for a 15-year period beginning in 2001, and the house became part of a new attraction in time for American Home Week.

In a unique cutaway display in which the home has been restored and decorated to represent the changing lives of its various families, the home shows visitors how the Choates and other families who occupied the home lived all the way until 1945.

Says Melinda Machado, spokesperson for the National Museum of American History, "You can tell it is a real house. We have between four and six million visitors a year, and 70 percent of them come through the second floor entrance."

They also visit the home online, says Bob Goldberg, NAR senior vice president of marketing and business development, at the rate of about 4,400 unique visitors and 32,500 page views last month.

"This is a rare alliance," says Goldberg. "We normally do business alliances, and we had a strong Washington presence and we knew a lot of people at Smithsonian, and the idea came about that this house is the largest structure of a house in any museum in the world, and that it isn't just about a house or architecture, it is about the lives of families that lived in the house."

Goldberg says the NAR gave the Smithsonian $2.4 million and that the Smithsonian researchers came up with the extraordinary history of the home by sifting through local, state and federal records and interviews with living family members who remembered some history, and through artifacts associated with the home such as an anti-slavery quilt, and an American revolutionary war uniform.

"It is important that the public see that Realtors are part of a community and give back to America," says Goldberg. "We wanted Realtors to be represented."

By the time 15 years has passed, over 90 million people will come through the "Within These Walls" exhibit.

Now that's good PR.

Published: May 28, 2003

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.