| District of Columbia, Washington — Fort DeRussy |
| | One of the Civil War Defenses of Washington. Constructed on the site in 1861 Fort DeRussy commanded the deep valley of Rock Creek. Its armament consisted of 11 guns and mortars including a 100-pounder Parrott Rifle. — Map (db m20823) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Adams-Morgan — 5 of 18 — Ambassadors of Faith — Roads to Diversity — Adams Morgan Heritage Trail |
| |
Three dramatic religious structures dominate this corner. They are among some 40 religious institutions lining 16th Street between the White House and the Maryland state line.
Many serve as unofficial “embassies” representing the interests of their faiths before the U.S. Government. The neo-Baroque National Baptist Church, to your right, is a memorial to Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island and champion of religious liberty. Its congregation has long worked for social . . . — Map (db m17076) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Adams-Morgan — 7 of 18 — Lanier Place — Roads to Diversity — Adams Morgan Heritage Trail |
| | Banker Archibald McLachlan and Smithsonian Institution naturalist George Brown Goode developed Lanier Heights in the early 1890s. Goode laid out streets and encouraged Smithsonian colleagues to purchase lots. McLachlan built the elegant Ontario Apartments, visible ahead and to the left on then-rural Ontario Road. More apartments and row houses followed. By 1935 Lanier Heights was considered a close-in, city neighborhood.
In 1908 the city built the Mission style firehouse mid-block to your . . . — Map (db m17295) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Adams-Morgan — 4 of 18 — Life on the Park — Roads to Diversity — Adams Morgan Heritage Trail |
| | During the Civil War (1861-1865), the Union Army Carver Hospital and barracks occupied Meridian Hill. The facilities attracted African American freedom seekers looking for protection and employment. By war’s end, a Black community had put down rooks. Soon Weyland Seminary opened to train African American clergy and teachers. In the late 1880s, Mary Foote Henderson purchased most of this land and evicted its residents. Many settled in today’s Reed-Cooke neighborhood to your left.
The . . . — Map (db m17032) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Adams-Morgan — 2 of 18 — Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park — Roads to Diversity — Adams Morgan Heritage Trail |
| | Long before Europeans arrived, Meridian Hill was a sacred place for Native Americans. As recently as 1992, a delegation of Native Americans walked across the continent to this park to mourn the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s arrival. They were received by environmentalist Josephine Butler, a champion of park preservation.
Europeans named the hill for Commodore David Porter’s grand Meridian Hill house (1825) which straddled the route of the prime meridian (16th Street). Americans used this . . . — Map (db m16910) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Adams-Morgan — 1 of 18 — Mrs. Henderson's Legacy — Roads to Diversity — Adams Morgan Heritage Trail |
| | As you look up the hill, you can see Peter C. L’Enfant’s 1791 plan for Washington ended up here in front of you at Boundary Avenue, now Florida Avenue. Back then, when people walked or rode in horse-drawn vehicles, it was hard to climb this steep ridge ridge. Once electric streetcars appeared in the 1880s, climbing hills was easier, so city dwellers began moving up this hill.
Beginning in 1887, Mary Foote Henderson, wife of Missouri Senator John B. Henderson, created a new community here . . . — Map (db m16893) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Adams-Morgan — 6 of 18 — The Latino Community — Roads to Diversity — Adams Morgan Heritage Trail |
| |
This is the heart of Washington’s Latino community. Once centered here and in nearby Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights, the community now extends throughout the region.
As early as the 1910s, the Mexican, Ecuadoran, Cuban, and Spanish embassies clustered nearby on 16th Street. Spanish-speaking diplomats and staff called this area home and often remained after their terms ended. In the 1950s, political turmoil and economic hardship brought Puerto Ricans and Cubans, followed later by . . . — Map (db m17167) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Adams-Morgan — 3 of 18 — The Roots of Reed-Cooke — Roads to Diversity — Adams Morgan Heritage Trail |
| | In 1947, the building on your left opened as the National Arena, a public roller rink and bowling alley. It also hosted professional wrestling, roller derbies, and rock concerts. In 1986 it became the Citadel Motion Picture Center, where portions of Peggy Sue Got Married, Gardens of Stone, and other movies were filmed. In 1994 MTV recorded its town hall meeting with President Bill Clinton in the studio here in Reed-Cooke.
Reed-Cooke’s earliest African American settlers moved . . . — Map (db m17031) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), American University Park — Fort Bayard |
| | Civil War Defenses of Washington 1861-1865. No visible evidence remains of Fort Bayard, which stood at the top of this hill. Named for Brig. Gen. George Bayard, mortally wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862. — Map (db m124) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Anacostia — "The Gun" — Hontoria 140 mm. |
| | This Hontoria 140 mm. (5.9 in.) naval gun was taken from the Spanish cruiser Almirante Oquendo following her capture at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba on 3 July 1898 during the Spanish-American War. Almirante Oquendo, of the Infanta Maria Teress class, was one of six Spanish ships which sortied from the Cuban port in order to avoid capture in the harbor. None escaped the blockading U.S. Naval Squadron. The hole in the gun's shield was inflicted by one of approximately 50 rounds . . . — Map (db m13341) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Anacostia — Battery Ricketts — Civil War Defenses of Washington — 1861-1865 |
| | Earthworks of Battery Ricketts are visible inside the wooded area in front of you. Battery Ricketts, built to defend an area in front of Fort Stanton, was named for Maj. Gen. James B. Ricketts. — Map (db m10622) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Anacostia — Fort Carroll — Civil War Defenses of Washington — 1861-1865 |
| | Earthworks of Fort Carroll are visible 100 yards to the right at the top of the hill. Fort Carroll was named in honor of Maj. Gen. Samuel Sprigg Carroll, a West Point graduate from the District of Columbia. — Map (db m10614) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Anacostia — Fort Greble — Civil War Defenses of Washington — 1861-1865 |
| | Earthworks of Fort Greble are visible beyond this exhibit. Fort Greble was named in honor of Lt. John T. Greble, slain at the Battle of Big Bethel, June 10, 1861, the first U.S. Military Academy graduate killed in the Civil War. — Map (db m10610) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Anacostia — Frederick Douglass National Historic Site |
| | Also known as Cedar Hill, this site encompasses the estate owned by Frederick Douglass from 1877 until his death in 1895. In honor of Douglass’ work as an author, orator, abolitionist, statesman, and civil rights leader, this site is designated a Literary Landmark by Friends of Libraries U.S.A. — Map (db m5471) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Anacostia — St. Elizabeths Hospital |
| | has been designated a National Historic Landmark This site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America. — Map (db m24922) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Anacostia — T-28 Trojan |
| | Dedicated to Pilots, Crew, and Maintenance Personnel who served at
Anacostia Naval Air Station — Map (db m7845) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Anacostia — The Big Chair |
| | Re-dedication April 25, 2006.
This community landmark represents the Curtis Companies long standing allegience to the neighborhood and steadfast committment to unity, prosperity and good will to all Washingtonians and friends of Anacostia.
Designers:
John Kidwell & A Lomax Project
Fabricators:
Cinnbar & Nelson’s Welding — Map (db m5446) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Anacostia — The Growlery |
| | Here stood Frederick Douglass’ rustic retreat from domestic society, where he could think, read and write undisturbed. Evoking the image of a lion’s lair, he called his hideaway the Growlery. It was simply furnished with a lounge, a high desk and a stool. The present building is a reconstruction. — Map (db m5362) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Anacostia — The World’s Largest Chair |
| | Presented to Curtis Bros. for their outstanding leadership and service to the public by the Basset Furniture Industries.
The chair made of solid Honduras mahogany is 19½ feet tall and weighs 4600 pounds.
Designer: Leo M. Jiranek
Builder: J.E. Bassett, Jr. — Map (db m5459) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Benning Heights — Fort Chaplin — Civil War Defenses of Washington — 1861-1865 |
| | Earthworks of Fort Chaplin are visible through the wooded areas at the top of the hill. Fort Chaplin was named in honor of Col. Daniel Chaplin, who was mortally wounded on August 17, 1864, at Deep Bottom, Virginia. — Map (db m10628) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Bolling Air Force Base — Bolling Air Force Base |
| | [Panel 1]:
Old Bolling Field
1917 - Survey for the site of a military flying field to be used for defense of Washington and for proficiency flying. Captain William "Billy" Mitchell, commander of Army Signal Corps Aeronautics Division urges purchase of a tract of land near the Potomac.
1918 - Bolling Field is established just north of the present Bolling Air Force Base site - named for Colonel Raynal C. Bolling, Assistant Chief of Air Service. Colonel Bolling was the first . . . — Map (db m8575) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Bolling Air Force Base — Giesboro Park |
| | The Gisborough Estate (1680-1890) was a large colonial land grant that included part of what is now Bolling Air Force Base. That name eventually came to be spelled "Giesboro" and from 1863 to 1866 this area was the location of a large cavalry depot for the Union Army, and an adjoining cavalry base, Camp Stoneman. The Giesboro plantation residence was located in the area that now comprises Giesboro Park. — Map (db m10054) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Bolling Air Force Base — In Memory of Col. Raynal C. Bolling |
| | [Panel No. 1]:
"Whatever happens to me will be the result of action, not inaction or drift."
Bolling
[Panel No. 2]:
On April 7, 1917, the day after President Wilson's war message to Congress, Major Raynal Cawthorne Bolling of the Air Service Reserve requested continuous active duty and reported to Mineola Field, Long Island to await orders.
As a citizen-soldier in the New York National Guard, he had helped . . . — Map (db m5733) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Bolling Air Force Base — Republic F-105D Thunderchief |
| | This aircraft, of a type used extensively in Southeast Asia air operations, is dedicated to all the courageous airmen who gave their lives in honor during that conflict. — Map (db m16292) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Brightwood — 16 — "Get Down You Fool" — Battleground to Community — Brightwood Heritage Trail |
| | Hearing those words, President Abraham Lincoln ducked down from the Fort Stevens parapet during the Civil War battle that stopped the Confederates from taking Washington. On July 9, 1864, some 15,000 Rebels led by General Jubal A. Early defeated Union forces at the Battle of Monocacy near Frederick, Maryland. Early's troops, suffering from the battle and the summer heat, then turned south to march on the lightly defended capital city. But the Monocacy encounter and skirmishes along the . . . — Map (db m17133) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Brightwood — 17 — Aunt Betty's Story — Battleground to Community — Brightwood Heritage Trail |
| | Elizabeth Proctor Thomas (1821-1917), a free Black woman whose image appears on each Brightwood Heritage Trail sign, once owned 11 acres in this area. Known, respectfully in her old age as "Aunt Betty," Thomas and her husband James farmed and kept cows here. When the Civil War came in 1861, her hilltop attracted Union soldiers defending Washington. As Thomas later told a reporter, one day soldiers "began taking out my furniture and tearing down our house" to build Fort Stevens. Then a . . . — Map (db m17132) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Brightwood — Fort Slocum — Civil War Defenses of Washington — 1861-1865 |
| | No visible evidence remains of Fort Slocum, which stood here and across Kansas Avenue to your left. Cannon mounted at Fort Totten helped repulse a Confederate attack on Fort Stevens, July 11-12, 1864. — Map (db m3012) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Brightwood — 15 — The Rock on Brightwood Avenue — Battleground to Community — Brightwood Heritage Trail |
| | Across Quackenbos Street is Emory United Methodist Church. Named to honor Bishop John Emory of Maryland (1789-1835), the congregation dates from 1832.
From the beginning, Emory welcomed all races but, like most Washington churches then, seated African Americans in a separate gallery. In 1846 the national Methodist church split over the slavery issue. Seven years later Emory sided with the South. In 1939 the Methodist Church reunited. Despite its southern sympathies, the church had helped . . . — Map (db m17223) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Brookland — Charles Richard Drew Memorial Bridge |
| | Named in honor of Dr. Charles Richard Drew, 1904-1950 esteemed citizen of the District of Columbia athlete, scholar, surgeon, and scientist whose discoveries in blood preservation saved thousands of lives. — Map (db m6262) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Capitol Hill — Eastern Market — A Lively Market for a Lively Neighborhood |
| | Established by order of President Thomas Jefferson 1805, this building constructed 1873, designed by Adolf Cluss, additions 1907-8 by Snowden Ashford.
Eastern Market, one of three public markets proposed in L’Enfant’s Plan, was established in 1805, by Presidential Proclamation, and originally located near the Navy Yard at 6th Street between K and L Streets, S.E. It was relocated to this site in 1873, as a new building, designed by Adolf Cluss, which is now known as South Hall. The Center . . . — Map (db m20358) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Capitol Hill — Ebenezer United Methodist Church — 400 D Street, SE — African American Heritage Trail, Washington, DC |
| |
Ebenezer United Methodist Church is Capitol Hill’s oldest independent Black congregation.
Ebenezer UMC was founded in 1827 by African Americans who left a biracial church on Capitol Hill because the White congregants practiced segregation. The neew congregation purchased land here and built a small frame structure. In 1864 Ebenezer UMC gained its first African American minister, Reverend Noah Jones, and housed the city’s first publicly financed school for Black children. Emma V. Brown, an . . . — Map (db m30053) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Capitol Hill — Freedmen’s Memorial Monument to Abraham Lincoln — or Freedom’s Memorial |
| | In grateful memory of Abraham Lincoln. This monument was erected by the Western Sanitary Commission of Saint Louis, Mo., with funds contributed solely by emancipated Citizens of the United States declared free by his Proclamation, January 1st A.D. 1863. The first contribution of five dollars was made by Charlotte Scott, a freed woman of Virginia, being her first earnings in freedom and consecrated by her suggestion and request, on the day she heard of President Lincoln’s death, to build a . . . — Map (db m2097) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Capitol Hill — James A. Garfield |
| | (Front):James A. Garfield 1831 - 1881 (Left):Major General USV, Member of Congress, Senator and President of the United States of America. (Right):Erected by his comrades of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland May 12 1887. — Map (db m18602) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Capitol Hill — Latrobe Gate - Tingey House |
| | Latrobe Gate Designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe in 1804, the gate and flanking guardhouses were constructed in the Greek Revival style. This style became very popular in the young nation, and the original section of the gate represents one of the earliest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the United States. In 1823 a second story was added to the existing guardhouses. The Latrobe Gate is the oldest continually manned Marine sentry post in the nation. Tingey House This . . . — Map (db m28348) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Capitol Hill — Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. — "Oldest Post of the Corps" |
| | Site selected by President Thomas Jefferson and Lieutenant Colonel Commandant William Ward Burrows on 31 March 1801.
A National Capital Landmark and entered in the National Register of Historic Places.
United States Marine Corps — Map (db m10833) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Capitol Hill — Mary McLeod Bethune |
| | 1875–1955 Let her works praise her. I leave you love. • I leave you hope. • I leave you the challenge of developing confidence in one another. • I leave you a thirst for education. • I leave you a respect for the use of power. • I leave you faith. • I leave you racial dignity. • I leave you also a desire to live harmoniously with your fellow man. • I leave you finally a responsibility to our young people. —Mary McLeod Bethune. — Map (db m5505) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Capitol Hill — Nathanael Greene Monument |
| | . . . — Map (db m30771) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Capitol Hill — Naval Monument — Peace Memorial |
| | In memory of the officers seamen and marines of the United States Navy who fell in defence of the union and liberty of their country 1861-1865 — Map (db m18594) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Capitol Hill — 5 — Oldest Post of the Corps — Tour of Duty — Barracks Row Heritage Trail |
| | On your left is Marine Barracks Washington, D.C., the oldest continuously manned post in the U.S. Marine Corps. The installation was originally designed by architect George Hadfield in 1801 with a central parade ground and housing for 500 enlisted and officers in addition to the Commandant's Quarters (in mid-block across the street). This elegant 23-room house, enhanced in 1901 by a mansard roof, is the only remaining original structure.
When the U.S. government moved from Philadelphia to . . . — Map (db m10834) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Capitol Hill — Ulysses S. Grant Memorial |
| | Grant — Map (db m18597) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Capitol Hill — United States Capitol — East Front |
| | One of the icons of world architecture, the U.S. Capitol has been the meeting place of Congress since 1800. President George Washington laid the cornerstone on September 18, 1793. While under construction, the the building was damaged by British troops during the War of 1812 and subsequently restored. The Capitol was enlarged and the present cast-iron dome built in the 1850s and 1860s. Further additions included the Olmstead terraces on the west front in the 1880s and the east front extension . . . — Map (db m27778) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Capitol Hill — United States Capitol Grounds |
| | [Diagram of Capitol Square - East and West Plazas]
General Plan for the Improvement of the U.S. Capitol Grounds by Frederick Law Olmstead, 1874
Following the extension of the Capitol in the 1850s-1860s, the grounds were enlarged in 1872. In 1874 Congress commissioned Frederick Law Olmstead to design landscape improvements, and he soon produced this drawing which guided the project over the next two decades. He described the plan as “very simple, with the purpose of . . . — Map (db m27891) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Capitol Hill — 10 — Washington Navy Yard: Maker of Weapons — Tour of Duty: Barracks Row Heritage Trail |
| | The white brick wall in front of you marks the original northern boundary of the Navy Yard. The yard grew from its original 12 acres to 128 acres at its peak in 1962. In 2003 it consisted of 73 acres with 55 acres making up the adjacent Southeast Federal Center. After the War of 1812, the Navy Yard's shipbuilding dwindled. the Anacostia River was too shallow and remote from the ope sea for building large vessels. By the 1840s, weapons production dominated activities. In 1886, the Naval Gun . . . — Map (db m10822) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Capitol Hill — 9 — Washington Navy Yard: Serving the Fleet — Tour of Duty: Barracks Row Heritage Trail |
| | In front of you is the main gate of the Washington Navy Yard, established in 1799. It is the U.S. Navy's oldest shore facility in continuous use. Over time, workers here have built and repaired ships and their fittings, designed and developed ordnance (weapons and ammunition), and provided administrative support for the fleet.
Although city designer Pierre L'Enfant planned a commercial center for the site, its access to water and nearby timber made it a natural for ship building. The . . . — Map (db m10835) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Chevy Chase — Fort De Russy — Civil War Defenses of Washington — 1861-1865 |
| | Earthworks of Fort De Russy are visible; follow path to your right for 200 years.
[drawing of fort] Fort De Russy from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers drawing.
Cannon mounted at Fort De Russy helped repulse a Confederate attack on Fort Stevens, July 11012, 1864.
[map of northern DC] Other Civil War fort locations administered by Rock Creek Park.
[picture of unnamed fort] During the Civil War, Washington's forts overlooked farm land. — Map (db m20822) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Chevy Chase — Fort DeRussy |
| | Built in 1861 to protect the Rock Creek Valley during the Civil War, Fort DeRussy's cannon fired a total of 109 projectiles into the northern countryside as 12,000-15,000 Confederate soldiers attacked the city under the command of Confederate General Jubal Anderson Early on July 11-12, 1864. During this two day battle (known as the Battle of Fort Stevens) Fort DeRussy aided the surrounding forts by providing the main suppressive fire to ensure a Union victory on the battlefield.
The . . . — Map (db m20824) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Chinatown — e.6 — Chinatown — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | dragons to bring rain, prosperity and friendship
More than 280 dragons, crowned by 700 glazed tiles, look down from the Chinatown Friendship Archway before you. Symbols of the spirits that bring rain and prosperity in China, these painted and carved dragons are fitted together like a giant jigsaw puzzle in the ancient Chinese building tradition of "gong" balancing. Seven roofs of weighing nine tons each are cantilevered, with no nails almost 50 feet above the street.
This is . . . — Map (db m26935) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Chinatown — Friendship Archway |
| | This friendship archway was erected by the District of Columbia and the Municipality of Beijing, 1986.
Marion Barry, Jr.
Mayor of Washington, D.C.
Chen Xitong
Mayor, Beijing Municipal Government — Map (db m9161) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Chinatown — e.5 — Mary Surratt's Boarding House — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | "The nest in which the egg was hatched."President Andrew Johnson, April 1865. The building at 604 H Street, today Golo’s Chinese Restaurant, is intimately connected with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theater, just five blocks from here. During the Civil War this modest brick house was occupied by a Maryland-born widow, Mary Surratt, who took in boarders. Like many in this Southern history, she was quietly sympathetic to the Confederacy, . . . — Map (db m16585) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Colonial Village — Frank D. Reeves — 7760 16th Street, NW — African American Heritage Trail, Washington, DC |
| | Frank D. Reeves (1916–1973), a lawyer and civil
rights activist, was part of the team that shaped the
1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court
case outlawing school segregation. He advised
Senator John F. Kennedy on minority affairs during
the 1960 presidential campaign, then joined the
Howard University School of Law faculty. At the same time Reeves served as legal counsel to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and helped negotiate the 1963 March on Washington . . . — Map (db m24679) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Columbia Heights — Buchanan |
| | [Panel No. 1]:
James Buchanan of Pennsylvania
President of the United States
MDCCCIVII - MDCCCIXI
[Panel No. 2]:
The incorruptible statesman whose walk was upon the mountain ranges of the law — Map (db m24150) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Columbia Heights — 15 of 19 — College Hill — Cultural Convergence — Columbia Heights Heritage Trail |
| | Wayland Seminary opened in Foggy Bottom just after the Civil War to train formerly enslaved people and others as “preachers and teachers for the South” and as missionaries to evangelize Africa. In 1875 it moved here, later merging with Richmond Theological Seminary to become Virginia Union University in Richmond. Among Wayland’s distinguished alumni was Booker T. Washington.
Just two blocks up the hill is the former site of George Washington University’s predecessor, . . . — Map (db m23947) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Columbia Heights — Francis L. Cardozo High School — 1928 |
| | Organized September 1928 at M Street and New York Avenue
Moved February 19, 1933
to Ninth Street and Rhode
Island Avenue, N.W.
Moved August 1950 to Thirteenth
and Clifton Street, N.W. — Map (db m23651) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Columbia Heights — 9 of 19 — Justice vs. Injustice — Cultural Convergence — Columbia Heights Heritage Trail |
| |
These elegant 13th Street Houses were constructed when racial separation was legal and widely accepted. In 1910 the deeds for many houses across 13th Street had covenants banning “any negro or colored persons.” Those on this side generally did not have the covenants.
By the 1930s, 13th Street divided black from white. Then, in 1941, African American educator Mary Hundley and her husband Frederick bought 2530 13th Street, on the white side, despite its restrictive covenant. . . . — Map (db m23603) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Columbia Heights — 1 of 19 — Main Street — Cultural Convergence — Columbia Heights Heritage Trail |
| | Marker Front: Fourteenth Street has always been the business backbone of Columbia Heights. Beginning in the 1890s, electric streetcars dropped passengers at nearly every corner, attracting commerce. By 1925 storefronts occupied the blocks between Euclid and Otis Streets.
Most stores, often less than 20 feet wide, were family run and offered one line of products. In 192 on 14th Street between Irving Street and Park Road alone, you could find hats, bicycles, men's clothing, ladies’ . . . — Map (db m23705) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Columbia Heights — 10 of 19 — On the Heights — Cultural Convergence — Columbia Heights Heritage Trail |
| |
In the days of legally segregated public education (1862-1954), this school building was Central High, the gem of the School Board’s white division. But by 1949, it had few students, as the post-World War II suburban housing boom had drawn whites away. Consequently, African American families outnumbered whites around Central.
Nearby “Colored” high schools - especially Cardozo at Ninth Street and Rhode Island Avenue - struggled with overcrowded, outdated facilities. When . . . — Map (db m23608) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Columbia Heights — 17 of 19 — Social Justice — Cultural Convergence — Columbia Heights Heritage Trail |
| | Straight ahead is All Souls Church, Unitarian, long known for its social activism, starting with abolitionism in the 1820s and ranging through nuclear disarmament and interracial cooperation. During the segregation era, All Souls was one of the few places in DC open to integrated meetings. During the 1980s and '90s it (and other neighborhood churches) even hosted concerts by DC's influential punk bands Bad Brains, Fugazi, Minor Threat, and others.
In the 1960s, the church launched the . . . — Map (db m24152) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Columbia Heights — Washington Meridian — "The Stone" — 1804 - 1923 |
| | The stone marking the Washington Meridian was formerly located 52 feet, nine inches west of this tablet which was presented by the Army and Navy Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. — Map (db m17438) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Deanwood — 5 of 15 — A Whirl on the Ferris Wheel — A Self Reliant People — Greater Deanwood Heritage Trail |
| | To your right it is the former Merritt Educational Center which operated from 1943 to 2008. However, if you were standing here in the 1920s or '30s, in its place you would have seen exuberant crowds of fashionably dressed African Americans enjoying Suburban Gardens Amusement Park.
The park was built in 1921 by architectural engineer Howard D. Woodson, writer John H. Paynter, theater magnate Sherman H. Dudley, and other investors of the black-owned Universal Development and Company. It was . . . — Map (db m24519) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Deanwood — 12 of 15 — Designed to Compete — A Self-Reliant People — Greater Deanwood Heritage Trail |
| | This quaint frame building has served several church congregations since its construction in 1908. The First Zion Baptist Church stayed for more than 60 years. Since 1993 members of Joshua's Temple First Born Church have worshiped within its walls.
One of the city's first academically trained Black architects, William Sidney Pittman (1875-1958), designed this understated structure. Pittman trained at Tuskegee Institute, where he won the support of the founder Booker T. Washington and later . . . — Map (db m21681) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Deanwood — Original Federal Boundary Stone NE 9 |
| | Original Federal Boundary Stone
District of Columbia
Placed 1791-1792
Protected by Capt Molly Pitcher Chapter
Daughters of the American Revolution
1916 — Map (db m5283) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — "Blodgett's Hotel" |
| | [The Great Seal of the United States]
In 1800, the building erected on this site by Samuel Blodget was the scene of the first theatrical performance given in Washington.
From 1812 to 1836 it sheltered the city post office and, for part of that period, the Post Office Department and the Patent Office.
And here after the burning of the Capitol, the Congress of the United States was convened, September 19th 1814. — Map (db m28534) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — "Surratt Boarding House" |
| | A historical landmark “Surratt Boarding House” 604 H Street N.W. (then 541) is said to have been where the conspirators plotted the abduction of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Plaque by Chi-Am Lions Club — Map (db m7046) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — The Christian Index |
| | America's oldest existing religious newspaper was first published on this city block at 925 E Street on February 2, 1822. Founded by the legendary Baptist leader Luther Rice, the paper was originally known as The Columbian Star and utilized to promote Baptist missions and Columbian College (now George Washington University) which was founded as a Baptist school by Rice in 1821. The name of the paper was changed to The Christian Index before being bought by Jesse Mercer and moved . . . — Map (db m28559) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — Abraham Lincoln |
| | Abraham Lincoln died in this house April 15, 1865 at 7:22 a.m. Purchased by the United States in 1896. — Map (db m28502) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — .5 — Abraham Lincoln Walked Here — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | “Tonight, beautiful women, perfume, and the violins’ sweetness ... [yet during the war] the amputation, the blue face, the groan, the glassy eye of the dying.” Walt Whitman
At 10:30 p.m. on March 4, 1865, a tired and gaunt President Lincoln arrived at this site, his wife Mary in white lace and silk with purple and white flowers in her hair. The ball celebrating his second inaugural was being held in the Grand Hall on the top floor of the Patent Office next to where you . . . — Map (db m28665) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — W.3 — Asbury United Methodist Church — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | Stories of slavery and freedom, of struggle and achievement are woven through the history of this African American congregation. Founded in 1836, by the time of the Civil War Asbury United Methodist Church was the preeminent Black church in the city, its membership of 600 making it the largest of 11 African American congregations in Washington. Today, Asbury counts among its members descendants of District slaves who tried a dramatic escape to freedom in 1848 aboard the ship Pearl. . . . — Map (db m10904) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski — 1748 - 1779 |
| | (Bronze Plaque):Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski 1748-1779The bronze equestrian statue of Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski, portrays the Revolutionary War hero in the uniform of a Polish cavalry commander. Born in Winiary, Poland on March 4, 1748 to a noble family, Pulaski gained prominence in Europe for his role in defending liberty in Poland. Excited by the struggle of the emerging American republic, Pulaski joined in its fight for independence, arriving in Boston in July, 1777. . . . — Map (db m17615) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — Central Public Library — Mount Vernon Square — African American Heritage Trail, Washington, DC |
| | This majestic building was opened in 1903 as the Central Public Library, popularly known as the Carnegie Library because Andrew Carnegie donated funds to build it. From the start Central was open to all. Mary Church Terrell and historian John Cromwell spoke here regularly, and materials on African American history and culture were especially useful to teachers preparing for “Negro History Week” (now Black History Month). In 1972 the library moved to Ninth and G Streets, NW, and was . . . — Map (db m18794) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — 16 — Cesar Chavez — 1927 - 1993 |
| | Led by his desire to secure a better quality of life for migrant farm workers, Cesar Chavez helped found the United Farm Workers of America, the first effective farm workers' union in the United States. Under his leadership of nonviolent protest, the UFW was able to secure improved wages and benefits, more humane living and working conditions, and better job security for some of the poorest workers in America. Through his life of service, Chavez provided inspiration to countless others. . . . — Map (db m15471) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — .3 — Clara Barton, Angel of the Battlefield at Home — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | “I have paid the rent of a room in Washington ... retaining it merely as a shelter to which I might return when my strength should fail me under exposure and labor at the field.” Clara Barton, December 1863.
In November 1997, Richard Lyons peered into the dark clutter in the attic of 437 Seventh Street, inspecting the building in preparation for its planned demolition. His eyes settled on a sign, “Missing Soldiers Office, Clara Barton, 3rd Story, Room 9.” . . . — Map (db m27633) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — Cristoforo Colombo — [Holy Rosary Church] |
| | This monument, erected on the occasion of the 1992 Quincentennial Jubilee celebrating the discovery of America, pays tribute to Cristoforo Colombo and his seafaring companions. Their bold voyage led to a historic encounter between the European world and the Americas. A turning point in Western Civilization, this event paved the way for the spreading of the Gospel and the establishment of a society anchored on the principles of Christian love and holiness
1842 - 1992 — Map (db m29791) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — W.7 — Freedom Plaza — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | “I have a dream.” Martin Luther King, Jr. August 1963
The block-long plaza at 13th and Pennsylvania Avenue just ahead to your left honors civil rights leader Martin Luther King with the name Freedom Plaza. King completed his historic “I Have a Dream” speech in the Willard Hotel adjacent to the plaza, before delivering it to a crowd of 200,000 at the Lincoln Memorial.
Freedom Plaza also recalls Washington’s . . . — Map (db m28528) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — General Post Office — National Historic Landmark |
| | General Post Office has been designated a Registered National Historic Landmark under the provisions of the Historic Sites Act of August 21, 1935. This site possesses exceptional value in commemorating or illustrating the history of the United States.
U.S. Department of the Interior
National Park Service
1972 — Map (db m28536) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — Historic New York Avenue Presbyterian Church |
| | This church, one of the Nation’s most historic, traces its beginnings to a small group of Scottish stonemasons meeting in a carpenter’s shop on the grounds of the White House during its construction in 1793. Many prominent Americans, including 17 Presidents, have worshipped here. Abraham Lincoln attended regularly during his Presidency and his original pew remains in the Sanctuary. An initial draft document leading to the Emancipation Proclamation is on display in the Lincoln Parlor. Dr. . . . — Map (db m2115) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — Jean Monnet — 1888-1979 |
| | Born in France, widely travelled, he died at age 90 near Paris, proud citizen of a united Europe he inspired and helped to create. Earlier, from his office in the Willard Hotel, he contributed greatly to America's victory program for wartime production while a member of the British mission in Washington during World War I. — Map (db m6708) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — John J. Pershing, General of the Armies (1860-1948) — The Western Front - The Meuse-Argonne Campaign |
| | [Panel 1]:
On 6 April 1917, the United States entered World War I. With few regular forces, the task of training and transporting an effective army to fight in France was formidable. The U.S. Navy, acting swiftly to combat the German submarine menace, dispatched fighting ships and aircraft to European waters. Simultaneously, it began the organization of convoys for hundreds of thousands of troops to undertake the tremendous work of organizing the American Expeditionary Forces. . . . — Map (db m29593) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — .6 — John Wilkes Booth's Escape — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | “My brother saw Booth as he came down the alley and turned into F Street.” Henry Davis, 1901.
Twelve-year-old Henry Davis and his brother often looked out the back window of their Ninth Street home before they went to bed. They were fascinated by the comings and goings of actors and stagehands at the rear of Ford’s Theatre, at the other end of the alley on 10th Street.
On the evening of April 14, 1865, Henry went to bed early, but his brother stayed up and was a witness . . . — Map (db m28492) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — Julia Ward Howe |
| | In honor of Julia Ward Howe who wrote the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" here at the Old Willard Hotel November 21, 1861 "In the beauty of the lillies Christ was born across the sea with a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me." Presented by the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic January 24, 1938 Committee Frances Martin Kuhns - Emily Jerman Tompkins Annie Maria Michener - Edina Pearl Trigg Margret Hopkins Worrell Donors Orpha M. Whitaker | . . . — Map (db m6709) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — Linotype Model 31 — Line-Casting Machine |
| | The Linotype was introduced in Baltimore in 1883 by Ottmar Mergenthaler, a German-born inventor. By replacing hand-set type with machine-set type, the speed of composition was vastly increased by this important advance in printing.
This machine saw more than a half century’s service molding lines of type from molten metal in the Washington Post’s composing room. It is representative of the very heart of the “hot type” newspaper production process which was used at the Post from 1888 to 1980. — Map (db m29511) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — .1 — Market Space: Yesterday’s Town Square — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | “Hay for the horses, produce for the table, live chickens for the pot, and a hat for your head.”
All this and more could be had right here during the Civil War. The triangular area just ahead to your left was called Major Space. The city’s sprawling City Market stood just to your left, where the National Archives is today.
The jumbled haymarket, indispensable in a world of horse-drawn vehicles, was just west of the City Market on Ninth Street. Up and down Pennsylvania . . . — Map (db m27529) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church — The National Cathedral of African Methodism |
| | Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church was founded in the District of Columbia in 1838. It is the oldest A.M.E. church and the oldest continuously black-owned property in Washington, D.C. - the Nation's Capital. The church represents the merger of two other congregations, Israel Bethel A.M.E. (1821) and Union Bethel A.M.E. (1838). The latter was a stop on the Underground Railroad. These churches merged in 1870, and the present name, Metropolitan was officially designated and . . . — Map (db m18028) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — Metropolitan AME Church — 1518 M Street, NW — African American Heritage Trail, Washington, DC |
| | This church started on Capitol Hill in 1821 as Israel Bethel, was founded by African Americans denouncing White racism at Ebenezer Methodist Episcopal Church. Later, Pastor Henry McNeal Turner helped persuade President Lincoln to accept Black soldiers into the Union Army during the Civil War. In 1870 Israel Bethel merged with Union Bethel to become Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, the “National Cathedral of African Methodism.” This building, designed by architect . . . — Map (db m30056) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — National Press Club |
| | At this site, at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in March 1908, the National Press Club, now located at 529 14th Street, was formed through the adoption of a constitution and bylaws and the election of the club's first officers.
The National Press Club was founded to provide professional contact between news reporters. It has grown into one of the premier journalism organizations of the world with thousands of members and activities to promote freedom of the press.
Dedicated to . . . — Map (db m6586) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — W.4 — New York Avenue Presbyterian Church at Herald Square — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | “The churches are needed as never before for divine services,” President Abraham Lincoln
So said President Lincoln from his pew in New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. While other churches were occupied by the federal government for offices and hospitals during the Civil War, Lincoln insisted this church remain open for worship. The pastor, Dr. Phineas D. Gurley, was the president’s spiritual guide through the war and during the fatal illness of Lincoln’s young son, Willie, . . . — Map (db m32926) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — Original Adas Israel Synagogue |
| |
Dedicated 1876 - Restored 1975
Listed on the United States Register of Historic Places and
an officially designated Landmark of the District of Columbia
Maintained by the Jewish Historical Society of
Greater Washington as the
Lillian and Albert Small
Jewish Museum of Washington — Map (db m29797) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — Patent Office Building |
| | This building was designed by Robert Miles, Architect, pursuant to an Act of Congress, approved July 4, 1836 for a Patent Office Building occupied by Department of Interior 1852-1925 United States Civil Service Commission since 1932 — Map (db m28549) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — .8 — Pennsylvania Avenue — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | “Main Street” for the city and the nation.
Just a few steps ahead is Pennsylvania Avenue the inaugural parade route for every president since Thomas Jefferson and “Main Street” for local Washington since the city’s founding. Jefferson planted the first trees along the avenue, and in the early days of the city it was a promenade lined with shops, hotels and boarding houses. Mary Todd Lincoln shopped here. The street was also the scene of President Lincoln’s funeral . . . — Map (db m29651) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — Reserve Officers Association of the United States |
| | At this site on the 2nd of October 1922 General of the Armies John J. Pershing met with 140 World War I reserve officers and founded the Reserve Officers Association of the United States. At the meeting General Pershing said: "I consider this gathering perhaps one of the most important, from a military point of view, that has assembled in Washington or anywhere else within the confines of this country within my time."
Army Reserve Brigadier General Henry J. Reilly was elected . . . — Map (db m6503) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — Saint Augustine Catholic Church — Oldest Black Catholic Church in the Nation's Capitol — The Site of the Original |
| | On Trinity Sunday June 11, 1876 the first Black Catholic Church in Washington District of Columbia was dedicated under the patronage of Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo in Africa. Saint Augustine Church stood on this site until 1947. The present church is located at Fifteenth and V Streets, Northwest. — Map (db m29509) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — Site of Rhodes Tavern |
| | [First Panel]:
Built in 1799, in the hope that the new capital would become a great city.
Opened as a tavern and inn by William Rhodes, 1801.
Washington's first 'town hall,' where White House architect James Hoban and other citizens met to petition Congress for representation and localy elected government, 1801.
Polling place in first city council election, 1802.
Early boarding house used by Members of Congress, 1807 - 1814.
Spared the torch during the . . . — Map (db m9651) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — St. Patrick's Parish — Erected about 1792 |
| | First church to be erected in the "Federal City" outside the limits of "George Towne." First pastor, Rev. Anthony Caffrey, brought from Dublin at suggestion of James Hoban, architect of the "Presidential Palace."
March 17, 1953. — Map (db m15936) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — w.1 — The Church of the Epiphany — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | “Carpets, cushions, and hymnbooks were packed away ... ambulances began to stop ... lastly come the surgeons....” Margaret Leech, Reveille in Washington.
Church spires dominated the skyline of the city of Washington at the time of the Civil War, symbolizing the importance of houses of worship in the religious, social and political life of the nation’s capital. While Washington still claims an extraordinary number of historic downtown churches, the Church of the Epiphany . . . — Map (db m29618) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — The Daguerre Monument |
| | [Inscription on Monument's front, 1890]:
DAGUERRE
[Inscription on 1890 monument's south side]:
To commemorate the half century in photography 1839 - 1889. Erected by the photographers association of America Aug. 1890.
[Inscription on 1890 monument's north side]:
Photography, the electric telegraph, and the steam engine are the three great discoveries of the age. No five centuries in human progress can show such strides as these.
[Rededication . . . — Map (db m28545) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — The John A. Wilson Building |
| | The John A. Wilson Building is headquarters of the local government that serves the nearly 600,000 citizens who call the Nation's capital their home. The Mayor and the 13-member Council, elected by residents of the District of Columbia, oversee all functions similar to those of city, county and state governments across America. Dedicated as the District Building on July 4, 1908, it was renamed in 1998 for John A. Wilson, a former Council chairman. The marble and granite Beaux Artes style . . . — Map (db m12612) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — The New Willard |
| | Erected 1901 Site of
Joshua Tennison's Hotel 1818. John Strother 1821. Basil Williamson 1824. Frederick Barnard 1828. Proprietor of Mansion Hotel, Azariah Fuller American House 1833. City Hotel 1843. Willard's Hotel 1847-1901.
Distinguished Guests
Presidents Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Lincoln, Grant, Harding and Coolidge. Vice Presidents Henricks, Marshall and Dawes.
Also:
The Marquis de Lafayette, Jenny Lind, Charles Dickens, Lord and Lady Napier, Lloyd George, Edward . . . — Map (db m6618) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — The Peace Convention |
| | The old Willard Hotel was the scene of the last major effort to restore the Union and prevent the Civil War. At Virginia's invitation, delegates from twenty-one of the then thirty-four states met in secret session from February 4 to 27, 1861, in a vain attempt to solve the differences between the North and South. To honor those who worked for peace and unity, this memorial is erected by the Virginia Civil War Commission, February 1961. — Map (db m6541) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — The Restoration of 800 F Street |
| | These five landmark buildings on the 800 block of F Street have been restored by Douglas Jamel in conjunction with the International Spy Museum. Erected between 1875 and 1892, the structures are fine examples of Victorian commercial architecture and are typical of Washington's old downtown at the end of the 19th century. In the 1990s they fell into complete disrepair and were threatened with demolition. Due to careful restoration, the buildings again play a major role in the life of the city. — Map (db m28540) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — .4 — The Roots of Freedom and Equality — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | “It is known to you that events have transpired within the last few days, deeply affecting the peace and character of our community.”
With these words, city officials tried to calm the angry mobs gathering on this corner in April 1848. The crowds blamed the National Era, an abolitionist newspaper located near this sign, for the attempted escape of 77 African American slaves on the ship Pearl. They threatened to destroy the Era’s printing press. The . . . — Map (db m25271) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — The United States Court of Claims |
| | The United States Court of Claims held its first meeting in "Willard's Hotel" on this site on May 11, 1855. The court was established to allow citizens to sue the U.S. Government. In 1861, President Lincoln wrote of the court:
"It is as much the duty of the government to render prompt justice against itself, in favor of citizens, as it is to administer the same between private individuals."
This memorial is placed here on behalf of the United
States Court of Federal Claims . . . — Map (db m6587) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — To the Memory of Oscar S. Straus — 1850 - Statesman, Author, Diplomat - 1926 — "Liberty" - "Reason" |
| | This monument was erected by public subscription in accordance with the joint resolution of Congress of December 16, 1927. Signed by President Coolidge March 2, 1929, in memory of
Oscar S. Straus
1850 - 1926
Author
"Origin of the Republican Form of Government" 1885
"Roger Williams - Pioneer of Religious Liberty" 1891
"Under Four Administrations" 1922
Diplomat
Minister to Turkey 1887-1888, 1898-1900
Ambassador to Turkey 1909-1910
Statesman . . . — Map (db m9159) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — Webster-Ashburton Treaty |
| | Friendship between the United States and Canada was developed and strengthened by the signing of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty, on August 9, 1842, in the old State Department building which stood on this site. This treaty established the north- eastern boundary between the two countries. This tablet paced by the Kiwanis Club of Washington in Cooperation with the committee on marking points of historic interest April 30, 1929 — Map (db m17617) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — Western Plaza, Pennsylvania Avenue — [Freedom Plaza] |
| | Western Plaza consists of a large raised terrace in which part of L'Enfant's original 1791 plan for Washington, D.C. is rendered in black and white stone. At one end of the raised terrace is a pool. At the other is a shaded sitting area around a statue of General Pulaski.
Inscribed on the upper terrace are historic quotations about Washington. Low walls separate the plaza from surrounding traffic. Eleven large urns rest on top of these walls and contain seasonal planting. The upper map . . . — Map (db m17966) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — W.6 — Willard Inter-Continental Hotel — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | "This hotel, in fact, may be much more justly called the center of Washington and the Union than either the Capitol, the White House or the State Department. . ." Nathaniel Hawthorne, Civil War reporter for the Atlantic Monthly At 6:30 a.m. in late February 1861, President-elect Abraham Lincoln and his security team headed by Alan Pinkerton slipped into what was then called Willard's Hotel, an earlier version of the hotel now at this site. Assassination threats dictated this quiet . . . — Map (db m10905) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Dupont Circle — Henry Martyn Robert — 1837–1923 — Brigadier General, U. S. Army |
| | In Memory Of Henry Martyn Robert (1837–1923), Brigadier General, U. S. Army. One of this country’s most distinguished river, harbor and shoreline engineers, he was led by civic concerns to become the noted original author of the familiar parliamentary manual, ROBERT’S RULES OF ORDER.
Robert served in the city-managerial army position of Engineer Commissioner of the District of Columbia from 1890 to 1891. Consequently a key initial member of the Rock Creek National . . . — Map (db m31140) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Dupont Circle — John Witherspoon — 1722 Scotland – Princeton 1794 |
| | Signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Presbyterian Minister.
“For my own part, of property I have some reputation more that reputation staked. That property is pledged on the issue of this contest: and although these gray hairs must soon descend into the sepulchre, I would infinitely rather that they descend thither by the hand of the executioner than desert at this crisis the sacred cause of my country.” — Map (db m29499) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), East Corner — Original Federal Boundary Stone East |
| | Original Federal Boundary Stone
District of Columbia
Placed 1791-1792
Protected by Dist. of Co. Chapter
Daughters of the American Revolution
1916 — Map (db m5281) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), East Potomac Park — Cuban Friendship Urn |
| | (smaller plaque on the urn) El recuerdo del “Maine” tendrá eterna duración durante los siglos los lazos de la amistad entre la tierra de Cuba y la tierra de los Estados Unidos de Norte América. —Gerardo Machado
(plaque on base) Esta copa fué esculpida de un fragmento de la columna de mármol del monumento a las víctimas del “Maine” ericido en la ciudad de La Habana, cuya columna fué derribada por el ciclón de 20 de Octubre de 1926.
. . . — Map (db m7871) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Fort McNair — Lincoln Assassination Trial |
| | On April 14, 1865 John Wilkes Booth (of Maryland) assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Fords Theater in downtown Washington. Booth's conspirators were arrested and tried by a Military Court here in Building 20 from May 9 to June 30, 1865. One member of the Military Court was Major General Lew Wallace who went on to write Ben Hur. At this site four of the conspirators involved in President Lincoln's Assassination were hung and buried on July 7, 1865. They were George Atzerodt, David . . . — Map (db m29740) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Fort McNair — Women War Workers 1861 - 1865 |
| | During the Civil War the Washington Arsenal was both the largest Federal arsenal and the one closest for shipping its war materials to the various fighting fronts in Virginia. Here thousands of caissons and limbers, wagons and ambulances, cannon balls and mortar shells were built and stored. This heavy work was done mostly by male members of the Ordnance Department and civilian contract employees. The Civil War saw the first large scale employment of women outside the home. Because of their . . . — Map (db m29739) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Georgetown — At All Hours |
| | “It shall be their duty, at all hours, by night as well as by day, to pass all boats and floats presenting themselves at their locks.” —Charles Mercer, President, C&O Canal Company.
Every time his boat passed through a lock, a boat captain put his life and livelihood in the hands of the locktender. The wooden lock gates were a delicate balance between safety and efficiency. They had to be light enough to allow one man to move them, yet strong enough to hold back 140,000 . . . — Map (db m128) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Georgetown — Chesapeake & Ohio Canal |
| | Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. Commenced at Georgetown. July 4th 1828. Chief Engineer Benjamin Wright.
Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Company, 1850. President James M. Coale. Directors William A. Bradley, Henry Daingerfield, Wm. Cost Johnson, John Pickell, George Schley, Samuel P. Smith. Clerk Walter S. Bringgold. Treasurer Lawrence J. Brengle.
Maryland State Agents. Samuel Sprigg, Allen B. Davis, Wm. T. Goldsborough, Tench Tilghman, John Van Lear. — Map (db m118) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Georgetown — Creating a National Park |
| | “It is a refuge, a place of retreat, a long stretch of quiet and peace at the Capital's back door . . .” —William O. Douglas
Look around you. The park you stand in exists because people cared. In January 1954, Justice William O. Douglas of the Supreme Court of the United States responded to a Washington Post editorial recommending that the C&O Canal be turned into a parkway. Writing in support of preserving the canal as a national park, Douglas wrote, “It is a . . . — Map (db m129) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Georgetown — Francis Scott Key |
| | 1779-1843. The author of our National Anthem was a lawyer, patriot, community leader and poet. His home and law office stood approximately 100 yards west of here. Francis Scott Key lived there from 1803 to about 1833 with his wife, the former Mary Taylor Lloyd of Annapolis, Maryland, and their six sons and five daughters. The house was demolished in 1947 after years of neglect by various owners.
During the war of 1812, British troops had invaded and captured Washington in August of 1814. . . . — Map (db m120) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Georgetown — Francis Scott Key Park |
| | A Place With Its Own History.
Before 1620 the area of the Francis Scott Key Park was inhabited by members of the Algonquian, Nacostine, Nacotchatank, Piscatoway and Patawomeke tribes. In 1634 it became part of the English Colony of Maryland.
Beginning in the 18th Century, Falls or M Street (1) was the trail to the Potomac river falls, and Frederick or 34th Street (2) was the access to the west landing of the port of George Town and Hite's Ferry (3) to Virginia. George Washington . . . — Map (db m119) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Georgetown — Georgetown Historic District |
| | Has been designated a Registered National Historic Landmark under the provisions of the Historic Sites Act of August 21, 1935. This site possesses exceptional value in commemorating and illustrating the history of the United States. — Map (db m130) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Georgetown — Healy Hall — National Historic Landmark — Georgetown University |
| | [Panel 1:]
Healy Hall bares the name of
the Reverend Patrick F. Healy, S.J. 1834-1910 the University's twenty-ninth president 1873-1882
The first Black American to hold a doctorate and the first to serve as president of a major university in the United States, known as Georgetown's second founder. Father Healy - through his pioneering achievement and personal sacrifice - established this institution as a leader in American higher education.
[Panel 2:]
Healy Hall Georgetown . . . — Map (db m21889) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Georgetown — Holy Trinity Church — [Chapel of St. Ignatius Loyola] |
| | Erected 1792
First place for public Catholic worship in what is now the District of Columbia — Map (db m22075) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Georgetown — Holy Trinity Parish — 1790 |
| |
Founded by the Jesuit community of George-town College.
This church was first dedicated 15 June 1851
Restored and re-dedicated 23 September 1979
The original church to the rear was dedicated 1792 and remains the
oldest standing church in the District of Columbia. — Map (db m22077) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Georgetown — Jan Karski (n. Jan Kozielewski) (1914-2000) |
| | Messenger of the Polish People to Their Government in Exile
Messenger of the Jewish People to the World
The Man Who Told of the Annihilation of the Jewish People
While There Was Still Time To Stop It.
Named by the State of Israel,
“A Righteous of the Nations of the World”
A Hero of the Polish People
Professor, Georgetown University (1952-1992)
A Noble Man Walked Amongst Us and Made Us Better By His Presence
A Just Man — Map (db m25069) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Georgetown — John Carroll — (1735-1815) |
| | First Archbishop of Baltimore Founder of Georgetown University
By Sculptor Jerome Connor commissioned by alumni, faculty and Jesuits.
To insure that this University treasure, placed here on May 4, 1912, will forever survive to greet all visitors to this campus:
Please do not climb or sit on the statue.
Thank you.
[Inscriptions on base of adjacent statue:] John Carroll: Founder Priest, Patriot, Prelate — Map (db m21962) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Georgetown — John Fitzgerald Kennedy — Church of the Holy Trinity |
| | [Rendering of the Seal of the President of the United States]
In Memoriam
Within the hallowed walls of the historic Church of the Holy Trinity in
Georgetown, D.C. worshiped the late President of the United States, John
Fitzgerald Kennedy, the first Catholic to hold that exalted office. This
martyred chief executive also prayed in this church as a member of the
House of Representatives and as a United States Senator when he resided
in Georgetown. It was here that he attended . . . — Map (db m22076) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Georgetown — Mount Zion United Methodist Church and Heritage Center, and the Female Union Band Cemetery — 1334 29th Street, NW — African American Heritage Trail, Washington, DC |
| | Mount Zion United Methodist Church is Washington’s oldest Black congregation. It was established in 1816 by Shadrack Nugent and 125 other congregants who split from nearby Montgomery Street Methodist Church (now Dumbarton United Methodist) over its racial policies. The present church was completed in 1884. The cemetery, near 27th and Q streets, comprises the Old Methodist Burying Ground, founded in 1809, and the Female Union Band Cemetery, dating from 1842. The cemetery is believed to have . . . — Map (db m32930) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Georgetown — Restoration of Georgetown’s Call Boxes |
| | Georgetown’s Call Box restoration project is part of a city-wide effort to rescue the District’s abandoned fire and police call boxes. Known as Art on Call, the project has identified more that 800 boxes for restoration. Neighborhood by neighborhood, they are being put to new use as permanent displays of local art, history and culture. The Georgetown project highlights the anecdotal history of Georgetown and its unique heritage as a thriving colonial port town that predated the District of . . . — Map (db m25313) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Georgetown — The Star-Spangled Banner |
| | The Flag. The immortal words "star-spangled Banner" refer to the magnificent flag which Francis Scott Key saw "by the dawn's early light" after the British bombardment of Fort McHenry on September 14, 1814. It is the largest flag ever flown in battle in U.S. history.
During preparations to defend Baltimore's vital seaport and center of commerce during the War of 1812, the commander of Fort McHenry, Major George Armistead, wanted a flag so big "that the British will have no difficulty . . . — Map (db m121) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Judiciary Square — Albert Pike Monument |
| | [pedestal, north face:]
Albert Pike
Vixit
Laborum Ejus Supersites Sunt Fructus
Author - Poet
[pedestal, west face:]
Scholar - Soldier
[pedestal, south face:]
Erected 1901 by the Supreme Council of
the A. A. S. R. of Freemasonry
for the S. J. U.S.A.
Philanthropist - Philosopher
[pedestal, east face:]
Jurist - Orator — Map (db m29652) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Judiciary Square — Daniel Webster — 503 D Street |
| | 503 D Street
Formerly law offices and residence
of
Daniel Webster
Plaque erected under auspices of the
Columbia Historical Society
and
the Bar Association
of the District of Columbia — Map (db m29698) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Judiciary Square — DC Recorder of Deeds Building/WPA Era Murals — 515 D Street, NW — African American Heritage Trail, Washington, DC |
| | DC’s Art Deco/Art Moderne Recorder of Deeds Building (1941) houses city land records. Many notable African Americans have served as recorders of deeds since President Garfield appointed Frederick Douglass to the post in 1881. These include Branche K. Bruce, the first African American to serve a full term in the U.S. Senate. Artwork inside includes portraits of recorders of deeds. Selma Burke’s bronze relief of Franklin D. Roosevelt, a statue of a young Abraham Lincoln, and seven murals . . . — Map (db m29657) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Judiciary Square — Discover DC / Judiciary Square |
| | Welcome to downtown Washington DC—an area rich in history, culture and places to see.
You will enjoy visiting the following sites located in the vicinity of this sign.
The Courts on Judiciary Square.
Judiciary Square is one of the original open spaces in the 1791 Pierre L’Enfant plan for Washington D.C. that survives today as an important civic and historic resource. The Square is occupied by a series of court buildings dating from the 1820’s to the 1930’s. The H. Carl Moultrie . . . — Map (db m18439) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Judiciary Square — John Marshall |
| | Site of the residence of John Marshall Chief Justice of the United States Plaque erected under the auspices of the Columbia Historical Society and the Bar Association of the District of Columbia.
[Inscription on wall below the marker plaque:]
John Marshall
Born Germantown, Virginia - September 24, 1755
Culpeper Minutemen, Lieutenant - 1775
Continental Army, Colonel - 1776-1781
Studied at William and Mary - 1780
First elected to Virginia House of Delegates and . . . — Map (db m29654) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Judiciary Square — e.4 — Lillian and Albert Small Jewish Museum — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | “The neighborhood was our whole life.” Albert Small, born in the neighborhood in 1902.
This is the oldest surviving synagogue building in Washington. Constructed in 1875 by Adas Israel Congregation, and originally located at Sixth and G Streets, it served the German-Jewish immigrant shopkeepers in the neighborhood. Albert Small, a member of the congregation, grew up on Fifth Street and recalled that as a boy, “the neighborhood was our whole life [and] the . . . — Map (db m29761) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Judiciary Square — Major General George G. Meade Memorial |
| | MEADE The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to Major General George Gordon Meade who commanded the Union forces at Gettysburg — Map (db m29653) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Judiciary Square — e.2 — Old City Hall — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | "--witness to the end of slavery in the nation’s capital."
This imposing Greek Revival building was Washington’s first city hall, designed by George Hadfield and built between 1820 and 1850. It house the city court and an elected mayor and city council until 1871. Its prestigious high site overlooked Pennsylvania Avenue and bordered Judiciary Square, then as now, a hub of community life.
This building also stood witness to the end of slavery in the District of Columbia. President . . . — Map (db m29655) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Judiciary Square — e.1 — Senator Daniel Webster — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | “Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable,” Senator Daniel Webster, January 1830.
Senator Daniel Webster, eloquent advocate for the preservation of the Union and a political giant in pre-Civil War America, lived and worked in buildings that occupied part of the empty space near this sign. They were similar to the two surviving pre-Civil War structures immediately to the right of the space. In the mid-19th century, this was a fashionable neighborhood of . . . — Map (db m29708) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Judiciary Square — e.3 — The National Building Museum — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | “It’s too bad the damn thing is fire proof,” General William Tecumseh Sherman, 1887.
The nation’s only museum dedicated to American achievements in architecture, urban planning, construction, engineering, and design is appropriately housed in one of the most extraordinary structures in the nation’s capital.
Constructed between 1882 and 1887, this Italian Renaissance palace was built to house the Pension Bureau, which administered thousands of pensions owed Civil War . . . — Map (db m29656) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Mount Pleasant — 1 of 17 — Fashionable 16th Street — Village in the City — Mount Pleasant Heritage Trail |
| | Today's 16th Street from the White House to Silver Spring, Maryland is one of the city's key gateways. But through the 1890s it jogged left where Mt. Pleasant Street runs today and then dead-ended at the edge of today's Rock Creek Park.
After decades on the city's wish list, in 1903, 16th Street was straightened and extended to Spring Road, several blocks north of here. This improvement, coupled with the arrival of the electric streetcar, made airy Mount Pleasant an attractive location for . . . — Map (db m17138) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Mount Vernon Square/Shaw — 2 of 17 — For the Working People — Midcity at the Crossroads — Shaw Heritage Trail |
| | "There is not a wrong too long endured that we are not determined to abolish." Samuel Gompers.
This large office building opened in 1916 as the headquarters of the American Federation of Labor. With 2.5 million members, this union was the nation's largest and most powerful. The building's design by Milburn, Heister & Co. symbolized the union's maturity and strength.
The AF of L's first president was London-born Samuel Gompers (1850-1924). Gompers immigrated to New York in 1863, . . . — Map (db m22625) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Mount Vernon Square/Shaw — 1 of 17 — Words and Deeds — Midcity at the Crossroads — Shaw Heritage Trail |
| | Wealthy industrialist Andrew Carnegie donated funds to build the Beaux Arts-style building you see across the street to your left, the city’s first public library. The Central Library opened in 1903 with 12,412 books by its predecessor, the private Washington City Free Library.
The public library welcomed all races at a time when the city was generally segregated. It occupied an unofficial border between businesses that primarily served Whites to the south, and those that largely catered . . . — Map (db m21801) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Navy Yard — Frank Oliver Howard — "Hondo" |
| | Frank Howard played for the Washington Senators from 1965 through 1971.
One of the most physically intimidating hitters in baseball history Howard was named the National League Rookie of the Year in 1960. He led the American League in home runs twice and in slugging average, runs batted in and walks once.
His 237 home runs as a Washington Senator is a team record. — Map (db m20612) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Navy Yard — Joshua (Josh) Gibson |
| | Josh Gibson is considered one of the greatest power hitters in the history of baseball. The powerful catcher led the Washington Homestead Grays to eight of nine Negro National titles from 1937 through 1945.
Gibson utilized a powerful swing, and tales of his mammoth home runs have become legend. Over his 17 year career, he hit almost 800 home runs.
In 1972, Josh Gibson was inducted into The National Baseball Hall of Fame. — Map (db m20613) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Navy Yard — Walter Perry Johnson — "The Big Train" |
| | Walter Johnson might have been the fastest pitcher in baseball history. With his sweeping sidearm delivery, the "Big Train" led the league in strikeouts 12 times during a 21 year career with the Washington Nationals from 1907 to 1927. Johnson won 417 games, including 10 straight seasons of 20 or more, and his 10 shutouts remains the major league record to this day. He led Washington to the World Championship of 1924.
In 1936, Walter Johnson was inducted into The National Baseball Hall of Fame. — Map (db m20611) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), North Portal Estates — Original Federal Boundary Stone North |
| | Original Federal Boundary Stone
District of Columbia
Placed 1791-1792
Protected by Maryland Chapter
Daughters of the American Revolution
1916 — Map (db m5110) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northeast — “The President’s Trees” |
| | Dedicated by Maryland State Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, April 21, 1934. Growing on land that was once a part of Maryland and was in 1790 her gift to the United States of America for the national capitol, the 31 trees in this group have been dedicated to our 31 presidents by the 31 chapters of the Maryland D. A. R. as a part of the tercentenary celebration of the founding of the state. Soil from Maryland’s historic spots have been placed at the base of each tree. — Map (db m4893) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northeast — Capitol Columns |
| | These 22 Corinthian sandstone columns were among 24 that were part of the east portico of the United States Capitol. Architect Charles Bullfinch oversaw construction of the portico using a design handed down by his predecessors, William Thornton and Benjamin Henry Latrobe. Completed in 1826, these columns provided the backdrop for presidential inaugurations from 1829 (Andrew Jackson) to 1857 (Dwight Eisenhower), and were the site of many speeches, protests and rallies.
In 1958 the columns . . . — Map (db m918) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northeast — Christopher Columbus |
| | To the memory of Christopher Columbus whose high faith and indominable courage gave to mankind a new world.
Born MCDXXXVI - Died MDIV — Map (db m8603) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northeast — Delaware Avenue & Columbus Circle, NE — Historical Information — UNION STATION – Architecture by Daniel Burnham 1908 |
| | Designed in the Beaux-Arts style, this was the world's largest train station when it opened - the station and terminal zone originally covered approximately 200 acres and included 75 miles of tracks. For over half a century its coffered ceilings and granite walls provided an impressive “gateway” for travelers to the nation’s capital; among them were kings, queens, and presidents as well as millions of Americans and visitors from around the world.
With the growth of air travel, . . . — Map (db m8442) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northeast — Former Site, Columbian Harmony Cemetery — 1857-1959 |
| | Many distinguished Black citizens including Civil War veterans were buried in this cemetery. These bodies now rest in the new National Harmony Memorial Park Cemetery in Maryland. — Map (db m16069) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northeast — Fort Totten — Civil War Defenses of Washington — 1861-1865 |
| | Earthworks of Fort Totten are visible within the wooded area 50 yards at the top of this hill. Cannon mounted at Fort Totten helped repulse a Confederate attack on Fort Stevens, July 11-12, 1864. — Map (db m2993) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northeast — Fort Totten |
| | One of the Civil War defenses of Washington construction of Fort Totten was begun in August 1861, named after Gen. Joseph G. Totten the fort contained 20 guns and mortars including eight 32-pounders. United States Department of the Interior National Parks Service — Map (db m2999) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northeast — Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II |
| | [Panel 1 of the historical narrative at memorial entrance]:
On February 19, 1942, 73 days after the United States entered World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 which resulted in the removal of 120,000 Japanese American men, women, and children from their homes in the western states and Hawaii.
Allowed only what they could carry, families were forced to abandon homes, friends, farms and businesses to live in ten remote relocation centers guarded by . . . — Map (db m8200) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northeast — Morrison Azalea Garden |
| | Assembled in this garden is a permanent collection of the Glenn Dale Hybrid Azaleas, originated, selected, and named by B. Y. Morrison, first Director of the U.S. National Arboretum. — Map (db m966) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northeast — National Capitol Columns |
| | The presence of the National Capitol Columns on the knoll in this meadow was the inspiration of Ethel Shields Garrett, patron and friend of the National Arboretum. It was through her vision, courage, and determination for thirty years that these historic columns were saved and transferred to this site and that the design and funding for their permanent installation was secured in 1986. These columns, designed for the United States Capitol, continue to reaffirm our nation’s commitment to fulfilling the dreams of a flourishing land and people. — Map (db m917) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northeast — Original Federal Boundary Stone NE 3 |
| | Original Federal Boundary Stone
District of Columbia
Placed 1791-1792
Protected by Our Flag Chapter
Daughters of the American Revolution
1916 — Map (db m5284) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northeast — Original Federal Boundary Stone NE 4 |
| | Original Federal Boundary Stone
District of Columbia
Placed 1791-1792
Protected by Elizabeth Jackson Chapter
Daughters of the American Revolution
1916 — Map (db m5149) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northeast — Original Federal Boundary Stone NE 5 |
| | Original Federal Boundary Stone
District of Columbia
Placed 1791-1792
Protected by Constitution Chapter
Daughters of the American Revolution
1916 — Map (db m5148) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northeast — Original Federal Boundary Stone NE 6 |
| |
Original Federal Boundary Stone
District of Columbia
Placed 1791–1792
Protected by Livingston Manor Chapter
Daughters of the American Revolution
1916 — Map (db m5109) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northeast — Pope John Paul II |
| | Trinity College commemorates with joy the visit of Pope John Paul II,
October 7, 1979.
He blessed the campus and the faculty, students, alumnae, board members, staff and friends assembled near the Main Building.
In Notre Dame Chapel, His Holiness led an ecumenical prayer service with leaders of Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Jewish and other non-Christian religions.
On Kerby Hall lawn he met individually and blessed a large group of handicapped persons of the Washington Archdiocese. — Map (db m7036) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northeast — Sandstone Sculptures |
| | The sandstone base and capital are from a Corinthian column that once graced the east central portico of the United States Capitol. The columns were dismantled in 1958 to make way for the east front extension, where marble reproductions now stand.
The sandstone for the columns came from quarries at Aquia Creek, Virginia. Architect Charles Bullfinch oversaw completion of the Capitol portico in 1826 using a design handed down by his predecessors, William Thornton and Benjamin Henry Latrobe. . . . — Map (db m7621) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northeast — The Freedom Bell |
| | Dedicated to the spirit of the Bicentennial on behalf of the children of our nation. — Map (db m8817) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — “Damn the Torpedoes, Full Speed Ahead!” |
| | With these legendary words, naval officer David G. Farragut led the Union fleet past Confederate mines (then called torpedoes) and to victory at the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864. From the rigging of his flagship, USS Hartford, Farragut directed the clash with the ironclad CSS Tennessee, as shown in this painting of the battle. Earlier in the Civil War, Farragut gained national prominence by capturing New Orleans after a fierce battle with Confederate forts and ships. . . . — Map (db m4104) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Albert Einstein - The Einstein Memorial |
| | [Panel 1:] Albert Einstein, March 14, 1879 - April 18, 1955.
"As long as I have any choice in the matter, I shall live only in a country where civil liberty, tolerance, and equality of all citizens before the law prevail," Albert Einstein.
Albert Einstein, probably best known for his theory of relativity, revolutionized scientific thought with new concepts of space, time, mass, motion, and gravitation. His statement that energy and matter are interchangeable was the key to the . . . — Map (db m10739) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Albert Gallatin |
| | Secretary of the Treasury
Genius of Finance
Senator and Representative
Commissioner for the Treaty of Ghent
Minister to France and Great Britain
And Steadfast
Champion of Democracy
1761–1849 — Map (db m2129) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Alexander Graham Bell |
| | From the to floor of this building was sent on June 3, 1880 over a beam of light to 1325 L Street, the first wireless telephone message in the history of the world. The apparatus used in sending the message was the photophone invented by Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone This plaque was placed here by Alexander Graham Bell Chapter Telephone Pioneers of America March 3, 1947 The Centennial of Dr. Bell's Birth — Map (db m17569) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Alexander Hamilton Memorial |
| | [ on the front (south face) of pedestal :]
Alexander Hamilton
1757-1804
First Secretary of the Treasury
Soldier, Orator, Statesman
Champion of Constitutional Union, Representative Government and National Integrity
[ on the reverse (north face) of pedestal :]
He smote the rock of the national resources and abundant streams of revenue gushed forth. He touched the dead corpse of the public credit and it sprang upon its feet. — Map (db m32740) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Army Medical Museum |
| | Army Medical Museum has been designated a registered National Historic Landmark under the provision of the Historic Sites Act of August 21, 1935. This site possesses exceptional value in commemorating and illustrating the history of the United States. — Map (db m17095) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Ashburton House |
| | has been designated a National Historic Landmark This site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America 1974 National Park Service United States Department of the Interior — Map (db m4082) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Baron von Steuben Memorial — Lafayette Square National Historic Landmark District |
| |
[north face :]
Erected by the Congress of the United States to
Frederick William Aug- ustus Henry Ferdinand Baron von Steuben in grateful recognition of his services to the American people in their struggle for liberty. Born in Prussia September 17, 1730. Died in New York November 28, 1794. After serving as aide- de-camp to Frederick the Great of Prussia he offered his sword to the American col- onies and was appoint- ed Major General and . . . — Map (db m32878) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Battery Kemble Park — Defense of Washington |
| | Built in the autumn of 1861 and enlarged in 1862, the battery was named for Gouveneur Kemble of Cold Spring, NY, a former superintendent of the West Point Foundry. The battery, which consisted of two 100-pound Parrott guns, was designed to sweep the Virginia heights across the Potomac River of any Confederate threats to Chain Bridge. — Map (db m4078) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Bethune Museum-Archives |
| | Mary McLeod Bethume "Council House" National Historic Site Designated October 15, 1982 by Act of Congress Born on July 10, 1875, in Mayesville, South Carolina, Mary McLeod Bethune was the daughter of sharecroppers. After attending Scotia Seminary in North Carolina she founded Daytona School for Negro Girls which became Bethune-Cookman College. A leader in the black women's club movement, Mrs. Bethune became advisor to Presidents Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and Franklin Roosevelt. During . . . — Map (db m17502) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Bishop Aimilianos Laloussis |
| | [ Top of monument :]
His Grace, Bishop Aimilianos Laloussis - 1902-1992
In celebration of his life and work, this park is lovingly dedicated.
[Image of His Grace]
[ Monument Panels 1 and 2 :]
This park is dedicated to “Father Laloussis” with deep appreciation for his service to the Washington, DC community and in recognition of his lasting contribution to the Greek Orthodox Church in America.
Pastor: Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Church, . . . — Map (db m31261) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Boy Scout Memorial |
| | The two symbolic figures represent the sum of the great ideals of past civilizations, developed through the centuries and now at best is delivered by American manhood and womanhood to the present generation.
The Boy Scout, aware of his fellowship with Scouts around the world and symbolic of all Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Explorers striding into the future, represents their hope that all is fine in our nation's past will continue to live in future generations.
The male figure . . . — Map (db m7970) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Bulfinch Gate House |
| | Erected about 1828 under direction of Charles Bulfinch, Architect of the Capitol, this gate house stood until 1874 with another (now at 17th and Constitution Avenue) at the west entrance to the Capitol Grounds — Map (db m245) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |
| | 700 Jackson Place has been designated a National Historic Landmark This site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America National Park Service 1974 From 1910 to 1948 it served as the first headquarters of The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. It was endowed by Andrew Carnegie to "Hasten the abolition of international war." The townhouse was built in 1860 for Dr. Peter Parker founder of medical missions in China who occupied the . . . — Map (db m32879) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Carter G. Woodson House |
| | Has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
This site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America. — Map (db m7121) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Centennial Year, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority |
| | Commemorating the Centennial Year Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
Rankin Chapel, site of the Founder's Window erected in honor of the Sixteen Pillars of AKA, January 14, 1978.
Dr. Barbara A. Mckinzie, Centennial International President. Marker dedicated January 15, 2008 — Map (db m15659) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives — African American Heritage Trail, Washington, D.C. |
| | 17th and M Streets, NW This school, completed in 1872, was one of three public elementary schools built for DC's black children just after the Civil War. Its name honors U.S. Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, who fought to abolish slavery here, pay black soldiers the same as whites, establish the Freedman's Bureau, and provide education to all children. Designed by Adolf Cluss, Sumner opened as the city's most modern school building. After it closed in 1978, Sumner School was saved . . . — Map (db m8184) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Charlotte Forten Grimke House |
| | Has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
This site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America. — Map (db m7125) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Crown Princess Märtha of Norway |
| | [Panel 1:] Crown Princess Märtha of Norway
1901 - 1954
Born in Stockholm, Sweden
to Prince Charles of Sweden
and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark
Married to Crown Prince Olav of Norway
in 1929
[Panel 2:]
This monument, created by Kirsten Kokkin, was erected in 2005 as a gift from the Norwegian American Foundation to His Majesty King Harald V of Norway and the Norwegian Government in memory of the King’s mother and her outstanding contribution to the war effort of . . . — Map (db m31756) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Daniel Webster Memorial |
| | Danial Webster "Liberty and Union, Now and Forever, One and Inseparable." Expounder and Defender of the Constitution Born at Salisbury, N.H., Jan 18, 1772 Died at Marshfield, Mass., Oct 24, 1852 "Our Country, Our Whole Country, and nothing but Our Country!" (Given by Stilson Hutchins, a native of N.H. Dedicated January 18, 1900. G. Trentanove [sculptor].) — Map (db m29065) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Decatur House |
| | (Upper Plaque): Decatur House Has been designated a Registered National Historic Landmark Under the provisions of the Historic Sites Act of August 21, 1935 This site possesses exceptional value in commemorating and illustrating the history of the United States U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service 1961 (Lower Plaque): This house, built in 1819 was the home of Commodore Stephen Decatur who died here March 22, 1820, from wounds received in a duel with . . . — Map (db m31101) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Dr. Philip Jaisohn, 1864-1951 — First Korean American |
| |
Dr. Philip Jaisohn was a pioneer of independence, democracy and public awakening for the Korean people. After the failed 1884 reformation movement, he was exiled to the United States, where he became the first Korean-born to become an American citizen. A graduate of Columbian Medical College, he practiced medicine in Washington, DC, later serving the U.S. government as a wartime physician. Both in Korea and in the United States, Dr. Jaisohn made relentless efforts for the independence of . . . — Map (db m26940) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Eleftherios Venizelos — 1864-1936 |
| |
Liberal Politician, Statesman, Social Reformer
One of the most prominent Greek and European
Leaders of the 20th Century.
He marked the modernization of Greece with his political initiatives — Map (db m25087) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Executive Office Building |
| | Originally State, War, and Navy Departments Constructed 1871-1888 South Wing Ground broken June 1871 Completed December 1875 East Wing Ground broken July 1872 Completed April 1879 North Wing Ground broken July 1879 Completed December 1882 West and Central Wings Ground broken March 1884 Completed January 1888 Total construction time 17 years and 4 months On this site in 1871 stood the President's stables, the Old Navy Building designed in 1797 by George Hadfield and the Old War Building . . . — Map (db m4212) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — First Division War Memorial |
| | [Inscriptions on the original memorial (1924)]
First Division, United States Army, American Expeditionary Forces, June 1917 - September 1919.
Erected by the memorial association of the First Division and patriotic friends to the memory of the dead of the division who gave their lives in the World War that the liberty and the ideals of our country might endure.
Sommervillier: Oct 20 - Nov 20, 1917.
Ansauville: Jan 16 - April 3, 1918.
Cantigny April 19 - June . . . — Map (db m17629) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — First Home of the Reserve Officers Association |
| | From 1924 to 1938, rooms of the Lee House were the first headquarters of the reserve officers association of the United States. Founded in 1922 by General of the Armies John J. Pershing to assure an adequate national security, ROA had as an early member Major Harry S. Truman, USAR. President Truman lived in these quarters during much of his administration and in 1950 signed the law granting ROA its congressional charter. Dedicated during the Truman Centennial Year, May 1984 — Map (db m4052) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Fort Stevens |
| | Civil War Defenses of Washington 1861-1865 The partial reconstruction of Fort Stevens that you see today was done by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937. No visible evidence of the original fort remains. Battle of Fort Stevens July 11-12, 1864 On July 11-12, 1864, Fort Stevens was the focal point of a Confederate attack by Gen. Jubal Early with his force of 15,000 soldiers. Defended by a meager force of convalescents, quartermaster employees and 100 day militia volunteers, Fort . . . — Map (db m3028) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Francis Preston Blair |
| | This plaque marks the home of Francis Preston Blair (1791-1876) Founder and Editor of The Globe (1830-1845) A newspaper which championed Democratic causes and vigorous journalism notably during the administration of President Andrew Jackson in whose "kitchen cabinet" Blair loyally served marked by Sigma Delta Chi Professional Journalistic Society 1969 — Map (db m4047) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — W.2 — Franklin Square - "Going into the country" — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | This urban oasis exists because President Andrew Jackson needed water. The site of excellent springs (a rare commodity in the early city when everyone was dependent on private wells), this square was purchased by the federal government in 1832 so that it could pipe fresh water to the White House. It was an arrangement that lasted until 1898, well after the city had a piped water supply from above Great Falls on the Potomac River. In July of 1861, as the nation prepared for war, soldiers of the . . . — Map (db m29594) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Freedman’s Savings And Trust |
| | On this site stood the principal office of the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company founded on March 3, 1865 to receive deposits from former slaves. Frederick Douglass served as its last president. The bank was closed on June 29, 1874. The building was sold in 1882, and razed a few years later. — Map (db m32482) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — General Comte Jean de Rochambeau Memorial — Lafayette Square National Historic Landmark District |
| | [front, south face:]
Rochambeau
[back, north face:]
"We have been contemporaries and fellow labourers in the cause of liberty, and we have lived together as brothers should do, in harmonious friendship,"
Washington to Rochambeau
February 1, 1784
By the Congress
May XXIV MDCCCCII — Map (db m32973) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — General Federation of Women’s Clubs |
| | The General Federation of Women’s Clubs is an international women’s organization dedicated to community improvement by enhancing the lives of other through volunteer service. Founded in 1890, it is one of the world’s largest and oldest nonpartisan, nondenominational women’s volunteer service organizations. Under the motto, “Unity in Diversity,” GFWC’s local member clubs in the USA and around the world have built an outstanding record of philanthropy, social and political advocacy, . . . — Map (db m32128) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — General Lafayette and his Compatriots — Lafayette Square National Historic Landmark District |
| | [north face:]
To General Lafayette and his Compatriots
1777 - 1783
[south face:] By the
Congress in commemoration of the services rendered by General Lafayette and his Compatriots during the struggle for the Independence of the United States of America
(Maurice Denonvilliers Fondeur, Paris, 1890) — Map (db m32245) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — General Oliver O. Howard |
| | Residence of General Oliver O. Howard,
founder of Howard University, 1869 - 1874. — Map (db m9263) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — General Winfield Scott Hancock |
| | (Left):General Winfield Scott Hancock (Right):Born February 14, 1824. Died February 9, 1886. — Map (db m17573) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Howard University — Sixth Street and Howard Place, NW — African American Heritage Trail, Washington, DC |
| | Howard University, one of the oldest Black colleges in the United States, was established by Congress in 1866 to educate formerly enslaved individuals. Its name honors Freedman's Bureau Commissioner General Oliver Otis Howard, a member of the white First Congregational Society of Washington, D.C., which originally conceived of the school as a theological seminary to train black ministers. Mordecai Wyatt Johnson, who became president in 1926, shaped Howard into a modern institution. The . . . — Map (db m30057) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — In Honor of Leslie Coffelt |
| | White House policeman who gave his life in defense of the President of the United States here at the Blair House, November 1, 1950 "For loyalty, bravery and heroism beyond the call of duty." presented by National Sojourners in commemoration of his sacrifice. Dedicated May 21, 1952, by President Harry S. Truman — Map (db m32357) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — In Memory of Franklin Delano Roosevelt |
| | In Memory of Franklin Delano Roosevelt,
1882–1945.
In September, 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called his friend, Supreme Court Justice Frankfurter, to the White House and asked the Justice to remember the wish he then expressed:
“If any memorial is erected to me, I know exactly what I should like it to be. I should like it to consist of a block about the size of this (putting his hand on his desk) and placed in the center of that green plot in front of the . . . — Map (db m31631) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Independence of Kazakhstan |
| | The Monument of
Independence of Kazakhstan
This monument, depicting a young warrior soaring
on a winged snow leopard, symbolizes many centuries
of the nation’s history and a modern Kazakhstan
striving for its future.
Dedicated by
His Excellency Nursultan Nazarbayev,
the first President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
September 2006
[Seal of the Republic of Kazakhstan] — Map (db m31090) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy |
| | When the historic character of Lafayette Square was severely threatened during her husband’s administration, it was preserved with the vision and dedicated efforts of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. This view from Decatur House is dedicated to her memory. — Map (db m32135) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — John Barry Memorial |
| | John Barry, Commodore, United States Navy.
Born County Wexford, Ireland, 1745; Died in Philadelphia, 1805. — Map (db m19533) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — John Wesley — Founder under God of World Methodism |
| | . . . being an exact copy of the statue standing in the forecourt of Wesley’s Chapel, Bristol, England, presented by the Right Hon. the Lord Rank on behalf of the Methodist Church, Great Britain, to the Wesley Theological Seminary. In token of the friendship between the two nations and in acknowledgment of the words of John Wesley, “The Methodists are one people in all the world.” — Map (db m17871) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Kosciuszko |
| | (Front):Kosciuszko Saratoga(Right): General Thaddeus Kosciuszko 1745-1817 Son of Poland (Left):Military Engineer In the American Revolution Fortified Saratoga and West Point (Back):"And freedom shrieked as Kosciuszko fell." Erected by the Polish National Alliance of America and presented to the United States on behalf of the Polish American Citizens May 11, 1910 Raclawice — Map (db m19992) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Liberation of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg |
| | Sixty years after the liberation of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg by American troops, this plaque was unveiled by Their Royal Highnesses, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa on September 13, 2004, as a token of gratitude of the Luxembourg people to the American Nation for enabling them to recover their independence and freedom. — Map (db m31460) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Lincoln Under Fire at Fort Stevens |
| | July 12, 1864. — Map (db m901) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Lock Keeper’s House |
| | Formerly the eastern terminal of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Erected about 1835. The canal passed along the present line of B Street in front of this house emptying into Tiber Creek and the Potomac River. — Map (db m209) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Mahatma Gandhi Memorial |
| | [Inscription on base of statue - West Side:]
Mahatma Gandhi
1869-1948
“My Life Is My Message”
[North Side:]
Gandhi led India to freedom from British rule in 1947. He is hailed as the father of the nation. Crusader for human rights and liberty, thinker, writer, reformer, apostle of truth and non-violence (ahimsa), Gandhi succeeded in uniting millions of people of all faiths across India in a mass movement of civil disobedience. On . . . — Map (db m22210) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Major General George H. Thomas |
| | (Right):Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas San Francisco, Cal. March 28, 1870 (Left):Erected by his Comrades of the Society of The Army of the Cumberland — Map (db m29457) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Major General James B. McPherson |
| | (Right):Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson. Atlanta. July 22, 1864. (Left):Erected by his comrades of The Society of The Army of the Tennessee — Map (db m17534) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Major General John A. Logan |
| | Logan — Map (db m18104) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — McClellan Memorial |
| | [inscription, south face] Major General George Brinton McClellan 1826 - 1885 [inscription, north face] Erected by the Society of the Army of the Potomac and the Congress of the United States 1907 — Map (db m30048) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Memorial Day Order |
| | General Orders No. 11 Headquarters, Grand Army of the Republic Washington, D.C., May 5, 1868 I. The 30th day of May, 1868 is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late Rebellion, and those bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form or ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such . . . — Map (db m31487) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church |
| | Was organized 1822, rebuilt in 1838 and completed in 1880. This site possess exceptional value in commemorating the Religious Life of the Negro in the United States of America. Designated a Category II Landmark by the Joint Committee on Landmarks and listed in the National Register of Historic Places. July 26, 1973 — Map (db m10191) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Metropolitan Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church — The Gate Way to Freedom |
| | Organized 1832.
2nd Church Built 1833.
Admitted to Philadelphia-Baltimore Conference, 1837.
3rd Church Built 1888.
Relocated present site, 1956.
Bishop Raymond Luthe Jones, Presiding Bishop, 4th Episcopal District.
Dr. William B. Baker, Presiding Elder.
Rev. R. H. Collins Lee, Minister.
Trustees:
Alphonzo Starks, Ch.
Hattie H. Williams, Sec.
William H. Moore, Treas.
Charles W. Wade, M.D.
Mabel H. Shaw
Edward W. Weyms
Percy Jackson
Stewart A. Hardy
R. H. . . . — Map (db m11042) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Museum of Modern Art of Latin America — [The Art Museum of the Americas of the Organization of American States] |
| | The OAS collection of contemporary art of the Americas was initiated in 1957 by resolution of the Council of the Organization of American States. In 1976, as part of its program of activities honoring the bicentennial of the independence of the United States of America., the OAS permanent council voted to establish this “Museum of Modern Art of Latin America.” The museum was inaugurated on October 14, 1976, by the chairman of the permanent council, Ambassador Fernando Ortiz Sanz . . . — Map (db m29572) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Nathan Hale — "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country." |
| | Captain, Army of the United States
Born at Coventry, Connecticut, June 6, 1755
In the performance of his duty, he resigned his life,
a sacrifice to his country's liberty at New York,
September 22, 1776 — Map (db m27241) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — National Headquarters, American Red Cross |
| | National Headquarters American Red Cross has been designated a Registered National Historic Landmark under the provisions of the Historic Sites Act of August 23, 1935. This site possesses exceptional value in commemorating or illustrating the history of the United States. — Map (db m15026) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Nuns of the Battlefield — Civil War Nurses Memorial |
| | (Upper Inscription): They comforted the dying, Nursed the wounded, carried hope to the imprisoned, gave in His name a drink of water to the thirsty. (Lower Inscription):To the memory and in honor of The Various Orders of Sisters who gave their services as nurses on battlefields and in hospitals during the Civil War. (Rear Inscription): Erected by the Ladies Auxiliary to the Ancient Order of Hibernians of America, A.D. 1924 by authorities of the Congress of the United States. — Map (db m10176) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Original Patentees Memorial — Settlers of the District of Columbia Memorial |
| | To the original Patentees prior to 1700 whose land grants embrace the site of the Federal City. This Monument is erected by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Colonists, April 25, 1936. — Map (db m7971) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Permanence and Grandeur: Building the Federal Triangle |
| | The Original PlanYou are standing on Pennsylvania Avenue, the nation's symbolic Main Street. Known for inaugural and other parades and civic demonstrations, its importance dates back to Pierre L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the city of Washington. L'Enfant designed this broad, diagonal boulevard to connect the city's two most prominent buildings, the Capitol and the President's House (the White House). He envisioned as the nation and its government grew, that permanent public buildings of dignified . . . — Map (db m17581) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Philip H. Sheridan — General of the Army of the United States |
| | SHERIDAN — Map (db m22046) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Renaissance Mayflower Hotel — National Register of Historic Places |
| | This hotel opened February 18, 1925. Its first major event was the inaugural ball of President Calvin Coolidge. It has entertained every president since and has been the residence of a number of vice presidents, cabinet members, supreme court justices, senators and congressmen while in office. United States Department of the Interior November 14, 1983 — Map (db m8955) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Restoration of Jackson Place and Lafayette Square — White House Conference Center |
| | [Sketch of townhouses along Jackson Place, NW - the western border of Lafayette Square - behind which the White House Conference Center was constructed in the 1960s & 70s.]
Dedicated to those whose spirit and vision helped to preserve the historic architecture of Lafayette Square.
Grosvenor Chapman, Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and Vice-Chairman of the Committee of 100 on the Federal City, in 1961 provided a sketch reproduced here that indicated a . . . — Map (db m32421) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Robert Emmet |
| | [front (south) face of statue base:
Robert Emmet Irish Patriot
1778-1803
[Coat of arms of "The United Irishmen"]
[plaque on north face of the statue base:]
"I wished to procure for my
country the guarantee which
Washington procured for America...
"I have parted from everything
that was dear to me in this life
for my country’s cause...
"When my country takes her
place among the nations of the
earth, then, and not till then
let . . . — Map (db m30850) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Russian Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas — [Saint Nicholas Cathedral - Orthodox Church in America] |
| | Russian Orthodox Church
of
St. Nicholas
Washington, D.C.
***
This parish was founded in 1930 for the purpose of religious worship, and to perpetuate the memory of all Russians who gave their lives for their country and their faith during the tragic years of World War I and the Russian Revolution. — Map (db m31265) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral Cornerstone |
| | The cornerstone of the cathedral was laid by
Dwight D. Eisenhower
President of the United States
with
His Eminence Michael
Archbishop of North and South America
officiating
on the thirtieth day of September
in the year of our beloved Lord
the nineteen hundred and fifty-sixth — Map (db m31262) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Samuel Francis Du Pont — Memorial Fountain in Du Pont Circle |
| | Samuel Francis Du Pont, United States Navy, 1803 - 1865
This memorial fountain replaces a statue erected by the Congress of the United States in recognition of his distinguished services. — Map (db m32426) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Second Infantry Division Memorial |
| | [From 1936:]
The Second Division To Our Honored Dead, 1917-1919
Toulon Troyon Bois de Belleau Vaux Soissons
Marache St. Mihiel Blanc Mont Meuse-Argonne The Rhine
[From 1962, west inner wing:] Organized in France in October, 1917; original unit consisted of Army, Marine and Navy troops. [From 1962, west outer wing:] Normandy Rhineland Brest Remagen Siegfried Line Leipzig The Bulge Czechoslovakia
[From 1962, east inner wing:]
United Nations . . . — Map (db m15096) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Sir Winston Churchill — 1874 - 1965 |
| |
This statue by William McVey (1902 - 1995),
was erected in 1966 by public subscription, on
the initiative of the English Speaking Union.
One foot stands on United States, one
on British Embassy grounds: a symbol of
Churchill’s Anglo-American descent, and of
the Alliance he did so much to forge, in
war and peace — Map (db m30778) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Site of a Tulip Tree |
| | Used as a signal station
· by ·
Confederate soldiers under
Gen. Jubal A. Early
during the attack on
· Washington ·
July 11 and 12, 1864
Also used by
Confederate Sharpshooters
The lower plaque (not shown) reads:
Two cannon balls
Relics of Civil War days
found on the dairy farm
of
Thomas Lay
which is now a part of
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Donated by Mr. William R. Burdett — Map (db m29550) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Site of Chamberlin's |
| | The Site of Chamberlin's Where The General Society Sons of the Revolution was organized April 19, 1890 — Map (db m17531) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — St. John's Church — Lafayette Square — Protestant Episcopal |
| | Every President of the United States since President James Madison has attended occasional services here. Many of them were communicants of the parish.
This building was completed in 1816 from plans of Benjamin Henry Latrobe.
an adjacent National Historic Landmark plaque reads:
St. John’s Church
The Church of the Presidents
has been designated a Registered National Historic Landmark under the provisions of the Historic Sites Act of August 21, 1935 This site . . . — Map (db m31016) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — St. Vladimir Millennial Bell Tower — Saint Nicholas Cathedral — "988 - 1988" / St. Vladimir Medallion |
| | [Marker Plaque 1:] "988 - 1988"
The year 1988 marks the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Rus’ in the year 988 by decision of the Prince of Kiev, St. Vladimir the Great. This monument was erected by the American Spiritual Children of the Russian Orthodox Church which planted the Orthodox Christian faith in America by inaugurating missionary work in Alaska in the year 1794.
This bell tower dedicated December 4, 1988 by Metropolitan Theodosius, Primate of the Orthodox . . . — Map (db m31271) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — State, War, and Navy Building |
| | Has been designated a Registered National Historic Landmark Under the provisions of the Historic Sites Act of August 21, 1935 this site possesses exceptional value in commemorating or illustrating the history of the United States U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service 1972 — Map (db m4213) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Taras Shevchenko Memorial |
| | [Inscription on south face of the Shevchenko statue base:]
Taras
Shevchenko
1814-1861
Bard of Ukraine
[Inscription on north face of statue base:]
Dedicated to the Liberation, Freedom and Independence of all Captive Nations
This monument of Taras Shevchenko, 19th century Ukrainian poet and fighter for the independence of Ukraine and the freedom of all mankind, who under foreign Russian imperialist tyranny and colonial rule appealed for “The New and . . . — Map (db m31136) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — The American Red Cross - Harvard Field Hospital Unit — (September 1939 - July 1942) |
| | This plaque acknowledges the public spirit of Harvard University and the dedication of the staff of the American Red Cross - Harvard Field Hospital Unit, who provided and staffed a pre-fabricated hospital sent to Salisbury, England, in the summer of 1941 to deal with the potential outbreak of communicable diseases. In particular, homage is paid to the following - ‘Reported missing and presumed lost’ on the voyage to Britain:
Ruth Breckenridge - Housemother
Nancie M. Prett, R.N. . . . — Map (db m14997) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — The Blair House |
| | National Historical Marker The Blair House Purchased in 1836 by Francis P. Blair, Sr., friend of Andrew Jackson, publisher of the Washington "Globe" and the "Congressional Globe." Inherited by his son, Montgomery Blair, Attorney for Dred Scott, Postmaster General under Lincoln, and originator of the International Postal Union, who, with his brother, General Francis P. Blair, Jr., defended Lincoln's plan for a reconstruction of the Union. Here, at Lincoln's instance, Robert E. Lee was . . . — Map (db m23493) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — The Canal Connection |
| | President George Washington commissioned Pierre L'Enfant to design the Capital City in 1790. The L'Enfant Plan included a system of canals to transport heavy goods at a time when roads and streets were few and muddy. The Washington City Canal (green) was opened in 1815. Construction began in 1828 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (yellow) to connect Washington, DC, to the fertile Ohio Valley. The Washington Branch of the C&O Canal (red), built by 1833, joined the two waterways and opened the . . . — Map (db m211) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — The Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle |
| | has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior Construction begun in 1893, dedicated 1913. Built to replace the earlier Church of St. Matthew located at 15th and H Streets NW from 1840 to 1910. Site of funeral of President John F. Kennedy November 25, 1963. — Map (db m32131) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — The Cosmos Club |
| | The Cosmos Club, founded in 1878 for “The advancement of its members in science, literature, and art,” occupied several houses on Lafayette Square from 1882 to 1952 including the adjacent Madison and Tayloe Houses and this building, which replaced houses at 23 and 25 Madison Place. The club continues to play an important role in Washington’s intellectual life at its present location at 2121 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. — Map (db m2173) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — The Dolly Madison House |
| | Site of dwelling house owned by Ex-President of the Unitied States James Madison 1828 to 1836 ———— Home of his widow Mrs. Dolly Payne Madison 1837 to 1849 ———— Home of Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes, U.S.N. and family 1851 to 1886(lower plaque): Federal Judicial Center The Dolly Madison House Restored 1968 Lyndon B. Johnson, President — Map (db m2174) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — The Lee House |
| | Erected 1858 Home of Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee, U.S. Navy and Elizabeth Blair Lee, to whom it was given by her father, Francis Preston Blair. Admiral Lee commanded the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron during the Civil War. Home also of their son Blair Lee and Anne Clymer Brooke Lee. He served as United States Senator from Maryland and was the first senator to be elected by direct vote of the people. The Blair and Lee Houses were combined in 1943 to become the president's guest house. . . . — Map (db m4050) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — The National Christmas Tree |
| | At 5:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve, 1923, President Calvin Coolidge walked from the White House to the Ellipse and “pushed the button” to light the first National Christmas Tree. A crowd of 3,000 witnessed the inaugural lighting of the 48-foot, cut Balsam fir, donated by Middlebury College, Vermont. For the next thirty years, live trees were lit at various locations on or near the White House grounds. Finally, in 1954, the ceremony returned to the Ellipse.
Cut trees served as . . . — Map (db m29546) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — The National War Memorial Shrine of the Russian Orthodox Church of America |
| | Russian Orthodox Church
of
St. Nicholas
***
The National War Memorial Shrine
of the
Russian Orthodox Church of America
***
This church has been built to serve as a house of worship to the glory of God and as a memorial to honor those Orthodox Christians who lost their lives in the cause of freedom
Consecrated: November 25, 1962
Metropolitan Leonty
Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church of America
***
Dedicated: May 19, 1963
General Jacob L. Devers, USA . . . — Map (db m31266) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — The Tayloe House |
| | Built by Benjamin Ogle Tayloe, 1830 Occupants Benjamin Ogle Tayloe Garnet A. Hobart James D. Cameron Marcus A. Hanna Social centre during Tayloe period “Little White House” President McKinley Frequently visited Mr. Hanna — Map (db m2172) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — W.5 — The United States Treasury — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | Billions for the war, and a bunker for the president The grand, pillared United States Treasury building that stands before you, its first section designed by Robert Mills in 1836, was the financial command center for the Union. It was here between 1861 and 1865 that the Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase raised the unprecedented sum of $2.7 billion to finance the government and the war. Chase issued bonds, instituted internal revenue taxes, printed paper money called "greenbacks" . . . — Map (db m29578) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — The Washington City Canal |
| | Completed in 1815, the canal extended east of this point along the line of Constitution Avenue and south around the Capitol with branches leading into the Anacostia River. — Map (db m210) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — The White House |
| | The White House is the oldest public building in the District of Columbia, and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is the most famous address in the United States. Here, every President except George Washington, has conducted the government of the Nation. Since 1792, the White House has become symbolic of the American Presidency throughout the world. While the Capitol represents the freedom and ideas of the Nation, the White House stands for the power and statesmanship of the chief executive. — Map (db m10127) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — These Five-Inch Brass Trophy Guns |
| | These five-inch brass trophy guns were captured from the Spanish Arsenal at Cavete, in the Phillipine Islands on May 1, 1898, following the defeat of the Spanish Squadron in Manila Bay by the United States Navy. Admiral Dewey, the hero of the campaign, directed that the guns be sent to the United States National Museum (now the Smithsonian Institution). The guns are on loan from the Smithsonian Institution Division of Armed Forces History. Plaques atop the gun barrels state they were made in . . . — Map (db m4211) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — This House was Occupied by Alexander Graham Bell |
| | This house was occupied by Alexander Graham Bell inventor of the telephone 1882-1887 Levi P. Morton Vice President of the United States 1889-1893 Eluhu Root Secretary of State 1905-1909 — Map (db m4072) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Tomáš G. Masaryk Memorial |
| | Tomáš G. Masaryk “He had the mind of a scholar, the figure of a sportsman, the bearing of an aristocrat, the position of a king. But he had the heart of a democrat. ...”
Dorothy Thompson, NBC broadcast, September 24, 1957.
This memorial honors Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk
(1850-1937), founder and first president of the
Republic of Czechoslovakia. Although born to a
family of humble origins, he achieved considerable
renown as a scholar and . . . — Map (db m30417) |
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