Atlantic City in Atlantic County, New Jersey — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Sara Spencer Washington
1889 - 1953
Photographed By Richard E. Miller, October 10, 2010
1. Sara Spencer Washington Marker
Inscription.
Sara Spencer Washington. A Virginia entrepreneur who headed north in 1911, opened Arctic Avenue Beauty Salon in Atlantic City. She expanded by teaching beauty culture door-to-door with products of the day, some self-styled. Madame Washington, as she would later be called, patented a hair curl-remover and later incorporated as Apex Beauty Products. That company would eventually manufacture more than 70 products sold by some 45,000 Apex agents nationwide. Her Apex School of Scientific Beauty Culture became established in 12 U.S. cities, as well as, in the Caribbean and South Africa, training some 4,000 people annually. At the New York World’s Fair in 1939, she was named one of the world’s ten top businesswomen. Madame Washington became one of this country’s first female African-America millionaires and in 1997 was inducted into the Atlantic County Women’s Hall of Fame. She also founded the Northside Easter Parade and was on the Northside Board of Trade.
A Virginia entrepreneur who headed north in 1911, opened Arctic Avenue Beauty Salon in Atlantic City. She expanded by teaching beauty culture door-to-door with products of the day, some self-styled. Madame Washington, as she would later be called, patented a hair curl-remover and later incorporated as Apex Beauty Products. That company would eventually manufacture more than 70 products sold by some 45,000 Apex agents nationwide. Her Apex School of Scientific Beauty Culture became established in 12 U.S. cities, as well as, in the Caribbean and South Africa, training some 4,000 people annually. At the New York World’s Fair in 1939, she was named one of the world’s ten top businesswomen. Madame Washington became one of this country’s first female African-America millionaires and in 1997 was inducted into the Atlantic County Women’s Hall of Fame. She also founded the Northside Easter Parade and was on the Northside Board of Trade.
74° 25.985′ W. Marker is in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in Atlantic County. Marker is at the intersection of North Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and Arctic Avenue, on the right when traveling south on North Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Atlantic City NJ 08401, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), July 24, 2020
2. Sara Spencer Washington Marker
The marker has experienced some slight damage since the previous photo was taken.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), July 24, 2020
3. Sara Spencer Washington Marker
H038.Apex001; Atlantic City Free Public Library - Heston Collection, circa 1940
4. Sara Spencer Washington, proprietor of Apex News & Hair Co.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 25, 2022. It was originally submitted on October 20, 2010, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. This page has been viewed 2,127 times since then and 53 times this year. Photos:1. submitted on October 20, 2010, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 2, 3. submitted on July 25, 2020, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 4. submitted on October 21, 2010, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
