NoMa/Sursum Corda in Northeast Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
All Aboard!
Hub, Home, Heart
— Greater H Street NE Heritage Trail —
Union Station, across First Street, was the world’s largest railroad terminal when it opened in 1907. Its construction took five years and displaced hundreds of small houses and businesses. Architect Daniel Burnham’s Beaux-Arts masterpiece, with its soaring, elegant and light-filled interiors, was the first of the series of Classical buildings demonstrating the sophistication and power of the Nation’s Capital.
The station’s name refers to the “union” of two competing railroad depots: the Baltimore & Ohio’s on New Jersey Avenue, NW, and the Pennsylvania’s which occupied 14 acres on the National Mall. The merger made train travel more convenient. It removed commerce from the Mall and eliminated the danger of tracks crossing city streets.
Union Station and the railroads have employed thousands, many of whom lived nearby. For a white male immigrant of the early 1900s, a railroad job meant security for his family and, often, economic progress. For African American men the job of porter on a Pullman Company luxury rail car was among the best available. In 1925 A. Philip Randolph founded a pioneering black union, International Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. DC’s station porters, or Red Caps, were the nation’s first to organize a local union, the Washington Terminal Brotherhood of Station Porters. Inside the station you can see a memorial to Randolph, who also worked to organize the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
The Classical City Post Office, designed to match Union Station, opened on this corner in 1914. The Post Office (since reborn as the National Postal Museum) replaced Capitol Park (a.k.a. Swampoodle Grounds), where the first baseball team known as the Washington Nationals played beginning in 1886.
Erected 2012 by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number 1.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Notable Buildings • Notable Places • Railroads & Streetcars. In addition, it is included in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the Greater H Street Heritage Trail, the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), and the Postal Mail and Philately series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1907.
Location. Marker has been reported missing. It was located near 38° 53.846′ N, 77° 0.466′ W. Marker was in Northeast Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It was in NoMa/Sursum Corda. Marker was at the intersection of 1st Street Northeast and Massachusetts Avenue Northeast, on the right when traveling south on 1st Street Northeast. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 2 Massachusetts Avenue Northeast, Washington DC 20002, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location. Famine-Genocide in Ukraine (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Freedom Bell (about 500 feet away); “The President’s Trees” (about 500 feet away); Christopher Columbus (about 500 feet away); Delaware Avenue & Columbus Circle, NE (about 700 feet away); Gateway to The Nation's Capital (approx. 0.2 miles away); Workers Memorial Day (approx. 0.2 miles away); U.S. Reservation 196 (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Northeast Washington.
Additional keywords. AMTRAK; VRE; MARC; DC Metrorail; "Bikestation"
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 21, 2012, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. This page has been viewed 1,110 times since then and 22 times this year. Last updated on February 11, 2014, by A. Taylor of Laurel, Maryland. Photos: 1. submitted on September 21, 2012, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 2. submitted on October 4, 2012, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. 3, 4. submitted on September 21, 2012, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 5. submitted on September 22, 2012, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 6. submitted on September 21, 2012, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 7, 8. submitted on September 22, 2012, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 9. submitted on October 4, 2012, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.