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| Add Photo — Add Link — Add Commentary — Correct this page — Print | | Judiciary Square in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic) |
A Courthouse Reborn
Civil War to Civil Rights
— Downtown Heritage Trail —
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By Craig Swain, April 23, 2012 | |
| | | 1. A Courthouse Reborn Marker | | |
Inscription. (Front):
The old City Hall/Courthouse endured hard use, was abandoned, and then was transformed. In 2009 it re-opened as the DC Court of Appeals, redesigned by Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners, which modernized the interior while preserving its historic features. A graceful glass atrium defined the new main entrance, and the limestone walls gleamed. A grand new ceremonial courtroom was constructed beneath the south lawn.
The Court of Appeals now stands among other dignified courthouses. But in 1822, when the mayor and council moved into the new City Hall, their neighbors were the hastily built Washington County poorhouse, the Washington Jail, and eventually the Washington Infirmary, providing medical care to the poor.
The jail was especially bleak, confirming criminals and debtors together with the insane. In addition the cells held fugitives from slavery, enslaved people, and free African Americans who had broken one of the Black Codes that governed their lives until DC emancipation in 1862. For example, African Americans could not be on the street past curfew without a permit. The city required all free African Americans to register and have a white sponsor.
By the 1870s the poorhouse and infirmary were long gone. The reviled Washington Jail was finally razed in 1878 after the new jail was built | | | | 
By Craig Swain, April 23, 2012 | |
| | | 2. Back of Marker | | |
near the Anacostia River. In their wake, the city commissioners transformed the landscape of the tears into a beautiful city park, with curving paths, a watchman's lodge, and a marble fountain. In 1991 the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial opened where the park had been.
(Back):
The Civil War (1861 - 1865) transformed Washington, DC from a muddy backwater to a center of national power. Ever since, the city has been at the heart of the continuing struggle to realize fully the ideas for which the war was fought. The 25 signs that mark this trail follow the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln, Walt Whitman, Clara Barton, Frederick Douglass, and others, famous and humble, who shaped a nation and its capital city while living and working in historic downtown DC.
Civil War to Civil Rights Downtown Heritage Trail is an Official Washington, DC Walking Trail. The self-guided tour consists of three distinct loops: West, Center, and East. Each one-mile loop offers about an hour of gentle exercise.
A free booklet capturing the trail's highlights is available at local businesses and institutions along the way. To download the free Civil War to Civil Rights Audio Tour, and learn about other DC neighborhoods, please visit www.CuturalTourismDC.org.
Erected 2012 by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number e.6.)| | | | 
By Craig Swain, April 23, 2012 | |
| | | 3. North Side of Old City Hall | | The 1908 photo at left shows the peeling City Hall/Courthouse with a north portico, which soon fell into a renovation. Today's glass pavilion is a modern interpretation of the original portico. | | |
Marker series. This marker is included in the Civil War to Civil Rights marker series.
Location. 38° 53.758′ N, 77° 1.062′ W. Marker is in Judiciary Square, District of Columbia, in Washington. Marker is at the intersection of E Street NW and 5th Street NW, on the right when traveling east on E Street NW. Click for map. Located near the E Street entrance. Marker is in this post office area: Washington DC 20001, United States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial (about 300 feet away, in a direct line); Sitting in Judgement (about 300 feet away); Discover DC / Judiciary Square (about 500 feet away); The National Building Museum (about 500 feet away); Building Out the Square (about 500 feet away); Senator Daniel Webster (about 600 feet away); Daniel Webster (about 600 feet away); DC Recorder of Deeds Building/WPA Era Murals (about 600 feet away). Click for a list of all markers in Judiciary Square.
Also see . . . Judiciary Square, Washington, D.C. (Submitted on August 21, 2012, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
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By Craig Swain, April 23, 2012 | |
| | | 4. Washington Jail | | Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper published this expose of the Washington Jail in 1861 | | |
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By Craig Swain, April 23, 2012 | |
| | | 5. Washington Infirmary | | The same year the Washington Infirmary burned as illustrated in Harper's Weekly. | | |
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By Craig Swain, April 23, 2012 | |
| | | 6. Superior Court Building A | | Superior Court Building A, across E Street towards Fifth Street, opened as DC Police Court in 1938. City officials tour its new, modern holding cells. | | |
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By Craig Swain, April 23, 2012 | |
| | | 7. City Park | | Years before the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial was built, just north of this sign, this quiet city park occupied the site. | | |
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By Craig Swain, April 23, 2012 | |
| | | 8. New Courtroom | | The new, underground ceremonial courtroom for the DC Court of Appeals. | | |
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By Craig Swain, April 23, 2012 | |
| | | 9. A Courthouse Reborn Marker | | |
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By Craig Swain, April 23, 2012 | |
| | | 10. North Entrance to the Courthouse Today | | |
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By Richard E. Miller, August 12, 2012 | |
| | | 11. View of the deck at the building's northeast corner: quotations along the inner wall: | "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly."
Martin Luther King, Jr. | | |
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By Richard E. Miller, August 12, 2012 | |
| | | 12. View northward from the Courthouse toward Judiciary Square | | with the National Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial (center), and the National Building Museum (formerly, the Pension Office Building) in the distance. | | |
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Credits. This page originally submitted on May 20, 2012, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 234 times since then. Last updated on August 21, 2012, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. submitted on May 20, 2012, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. 11, 12. submitted on August 14, 2012, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.
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