Pleasant Plains in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Beyond the Basics
Lift Every Voice
— Georgia Ave./Pleasant Plains Heritage Trail —
During the Civil War, thousands of once-enslaved people crowded into DC, desperate for shelter, work, and protection. Most vulnerable were orphans and children separated from their families. In 1863 the National Association for the Relief of Destitute Colored Women and Children opened a shelter for them in Georgetown.
The National Home, managed by prominent African American women, was the city’s only foster facility for black children. It taught them basic writing, math and trades and placed them for adoption. Eventually the home moved to 733 Euclid Street. The National Home’s successor donated its building to the Emergent Community Arts Collective, which opened in 2006.
Dolores Tucker, who grew up at 1000 Euclid, remembered a neighborhood filled with schools and teachers. After Tucker’s mother Gladys Williams left teaching to raise her family, “teachers on their way to school used to stop at our home to have coffee with my mother…It was Grand Central Station.”
On the southeast corner of Georgia Avenue and Fairmont, Italian immigrants Frank and Mary Guerra opened the original Howard Delicatessen in 1923. In 1988 Kenny Gilmore took over the business. Gilmore, godson to the Guerra’s daughter, had grown up two doors away and worked in the deli as a young boy.
Captions:
Children of the Merriweather Home (successor to the National Home for Destitute Colored Women and Children) set the table, left, and dress for a Girl Scouts meeting, 1963.
Howard Delicatessen's first owners Mary, left, and Frank Guerra with their daughter Grace Guerra (Urciolo). Below, their successor Kenny Gilmore, with broom, coped with construction on Georgia Ave. in 1991.
Dolores Williams leads mother Gladys and brother Theodore out of their home at 1000 Euclid on her wedding day, 1959.
Arthur Ashe, who won a youth championship at Banneker Recreation Center in the 1950s, returned to hold a tennis clinic there in 1969.
Students at Banneker Junior High School (later Banneker High School), 1942.
Local children attended Miner Normal School’s “practice” elementary school, around 1900.
Library of Congress
Erected by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number 12.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education • Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Georgia Avenue / Pleasant Plains Heritage Trail series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1863.
Location. 38° 55.453′ N, 77° 1.39′ W. Marker is in Northwest Washington in Washington
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), December 29, 2017
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Miner Teachers College (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); "The Divine Nine Help Shape Black American History" (about 400 feet away); The Lake So Blue (about 500 feet away); General Oliver O. Howard (about 600 feet away); Howard Hall (about 600 feet away); Along the "Nile Valley" (about 600 feet away); The Burton W. Johnson House (about 700 feet away); Teachers and Preachers (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Northwest Washington.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 2, 2016, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. This page has been viewed 562 times since then and 14 times this year. Last updated on March 7, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos: 1. submitted on October 2, 2016, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. 2. submitted on December 29, 2017, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3, 4. submitted on October 2, 2016, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. 5. submitted on November 23, 2016, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. 6. submitted on November 11, 2016, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. 7. submitted on November 6, 2016, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. 8. submitted on November 8, 2016, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. 9. submitted on November 11, 2016, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland.