Mount Pleasant in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Mount Pleasant Library
Village in the City
— Mount Pleasant Heritage Trail —
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), December 24, 2017
When the Mount Pleasant Library, behind you, opened in 1925, crowds flocked to the Classical style building. Many had campaigned long and hard for this community centerpiece. The Carnegie Corporation, funder of public libraries in Mount Vernon Square, Southeast, and Takoma Park, spent extra on this branch so that it would fit in with the mansions and churches lining 16th Street. The city hired noted New Yorker Edward L. Tilton, architect of Carnegie libraries nationwide and the Ellis Island immigration station. The handsome library continues as a learning and gathering space, especially for immigrant residents enjoying its foreign-language collections.
During the Great Depression (1929-1941), local artist Aurelius Battaglia dressed up the children's reading room with "Animal Circus," murals funded by President Franklin Roosevelt's Public Works of Art program. Later Battaglia worked for Walt Disney Studios on Dumbo and Pinocchio and illustrated dozens of children's books.
The church at 3146 16th Street opened in 1916 as the modest, brick Mount Pleasant Methodist Episcopal Church, South. A decade later the congregation enlarged the building in the Classical style to match the new library and changed its name to Francis Asbury Methodist Church. After 40 years, the church followed the majority of its members to the Maryland suburbs, and Meridian Hill Baptist Church relocated here from Adams Morgan.
In the park across from this sign is a memorial to Guglielmo Marconi, co-winner of the 1909 Nobel Prize in physics for contributions to the invention of wireless telegraphy. Marconi's innovations led to the development of modern radio.
Erected 2006 by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number 3.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Arts, Letters, Music • Churches & Religion. In addition, it is included in the Carnegie Libraries, and the Mount Pleasant Heritage Trail series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1925.
Location. 38° 55.833′ N, 77° 2.197′ W. Marker is in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in Mount Pleasant. Marker is at the intersection of 16th Street Northwest and Lamont Street Northwest on 16th Street Northwest. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1600 Lamont Street Northwest, Washington DC 20010, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Sacred Heart Academy (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Mount Pleasant: The Immigrants' Journey (about 400 feet away); Mount Pleasant Street, ca. 2004 (about 400 feet away); The First Bodega
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), December 24, 2017
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), December 24, 2017
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), December 24, 2017
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), December 24, 2017
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 24, 2017, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 251 times since then and 20 times this year. Last updated on March 8, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on December 24, 2017, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.