Shaw in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
When Gordon Met Ella
A Fitting Tribute
— Logan Circle Heritage Trail —
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), December 2, 2017
Ella Watson, the subject of photographer Gordon Parks's famous and pointed portrait "American Gothic, Washington, D.C.," rented rooms on this block at 1433 11th Street. Watson worked as a cleaning woman in the headquarters of the Farm Security Administration, a New Deal agency that employed writers and photographers to document conditions around the country during the Great Depression. In 1942 Parks, the FSA's first African American photographer, spent a month capturing Watson at work, church, and home.
Parks documented Washington's segregation. "What the camera had to do was expose the evils of racism, the evils of poverty, the discrimination and the bigotry, by showing people who suffered most under it," he later said. Parks's grim parody of Grant Woods's "American Gothic" accomplished this goal and was seen around the world, but it was only part of Ella Watson's story. His pictures balanced the poverty of Watson's circumstances with the richness of her life: her three beloved grandchildren and adopted daughter and her worship at the Verbycke Spiritual Church, then three blocks east on Eighth Street. In so doing Parks differentiated his work from that of those white FSA colleagues who captured only the despair of African American poverty.
Sixty years earlier, when this area of modest buildings was known as Hell's Bottom, a saloon occupied the building where Ella Watson later lived. It was one of many forced to close in 1891 after the minister of nearby Lincoln Memorial Church led a campaign to revoke liquor licenses and clean up the neighborhood.
To reach Sign 10, proceed to O Street, turn right (west), and walk 2.5 blocks to where Vermont Avenue meets Logan Circle.
Erected 2012 by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number 9.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Churches & Religion • Industry & Commerce • Women. In addition, it is included in the Logan Circle Heritage Trail series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1891.
Location. 38° 54.565′ N, 77° 1.618′ W. Marker is in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in Shaw. Marker is at the intersection of 11th Street Northwest and P Street Northwest, on the right when traveling north on 11th Street Northwest. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1437 11th Street Northwest, Washington DC 20001, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. John Logan Memorial (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); 10th Street Gateway (about 700 feet away); If These Mansions Could Talk (about 700 feet away); Major General John A. Logan
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), December 2, 2017
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), December 2, 2017
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 2, 2017, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 234 times since then and 18 times this year. Last updated on March 8, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 2, 2017, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.