Atlas District in Northeast Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Cathy Hughes

Multi-Media & Radio Pioneer

— Hub, Home, Heart: Greater H Street NE Heritage Trail —

Cathy Hughes Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, December 27, 2017

1. Cathy Hughes Marker

Inscription. Cathy Hughes and WOL-AM have made an indelible mark on this Washington D.C. community. In 1982, Hughes purchased a building at the corner of 4th and H Streets and found it littered with almost 200 hypodermic needles and crack pipes. The home of her first radio station had been used, for years, as a drug den. The surrounding community was still struggling to recover from the riots that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968. Residents and merchants knew something significant was taking place when station vans, with the WOL logo, pulled into the neighborhood. It was clear that Cathy Hughes was committed to the revitalization of the H Street corridor and adjoining neighborhoods because WOL-AM became the very first, major business to relocate to the area.

With a group of volunteers, Hughes worked tirelessly, transforming the building into a functioning radio station and resource center for the community. Three large picture windows were cut into the one story, brick, rectangular building, allowing residents to observe media at work, at all times. The station became known as “RADIOVISION,”

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and crowds routinely came out to meet and greet politicians, celebrities and entertainers who visited the station. Cathy Hughes partnered with local businesses, sponsored community initiatives and festivals and created programs, which helped many of the residents to get back on their feet. WOL, an acronym for “We Offer Love,” allowed Hughes to combine her love for radio and the black community. WOL-AM positioned her to create positive change, pride and progress in the northeast H Street corridor.

Armed with her slogan “information is power,” Hughes kept her listeners informed and tackled tough issues facing the community on the “Cathy Hughes Morning Show.” She employed many local residents, several of whom lived close enough to walk to work, and taught them the business of radio. WOL was also singularly responsible for taking “Go Go” music, D.C.’s own popular, homegrown, musical genre, and elevating it to a national level.

With humble beginnings here in northeast Washington D.C., Cathy Hughes went from H Street to Wall Street after WOL-AM became the birthplace of Radio One, Inc.

Cathy Hughes Marker (reverse) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, December 27, 2017

2. Cathy Hughes Marker (reverse)

By 2016, Radio One was a multimedia conglomerate with more than 56 radio stations across the country comprised of talk/news, gospel, R&B, and hip-hop formats. It has diversified and branched out into television and digital media and is the parent corporation of the subsidiaries TV One, Reach Media, Interactive One, and One Solution. Hughes’ media corporation is now the largest African-American owned business of its kind in the country; yet Hughes still credits her neighbors at 4th and H Street NE helping her to lay her foundation.

Erected by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number 19.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Communications • Industry & Commerce • Women. In addition, it is included in the Greater H Street Heritage Trail series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1982.

Location. 38° 54.007′ N, 77° 0.042′ W. Marker is in Northeast Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in the Atlas District. It is at the intersection of H Street Northeast and 4th Street Northeast, on the right when traveling east on H Street Northeast.

4th St NE & H St NE image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, December 27, 2017

3. 4th St NE & H St NE

Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 337 H Street Northeast, Washington DC 20002, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American Northeast,

in the Upper South,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

in the Tidewater,

and in the Chesapeake Bay Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Community Caretakers (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); District Walls, 2016 (about 400 feet away); Sanctuaries (about 700 feet away); Get Behind the Wheel (approx. 0.2 miles away); Roll Out the Barrel (approx. 0.2 miles away); Swampoodle (approx. ¼ mile away); Greater Pleasant Grove Baptist Church (approx. ¼ mile away); The Fires of 1968 (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Northeast Washington.

Also see . . . Hub, Home, Heart: Greater H Street NE Heritage Trail. Cultural Tourism DC (Submitted on December 28, 2017.)

Cathy Hughes on telephone image. Click for full size.

Photographed by David Oggi Ogburn

4. Cathy Hughes on telephone

Cathy Hughes on microphone in WOL image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jason Miccolo Johnson

5. Cathy Hughes on microphone in WOL

The "Cathy Hughes Morning Show" was a staple program on WOL-AM. Her guests could be seen every morning, live on the air, through a window that looked in from the corner of 4th and H Streets. Neighbors nicknamed it RadioVision. Photo courtesy of Radio One.

Cathy Hughes image. Click for full size.

6. Cathy Hughes

Cathy Hughes was a voice and champion for the residents of the 4th and H Street corridor. Many of her employees lived in the neighborhood and walked to work daily. Photo courtesy of Radio One.

7. WOL 1450 Am

WOL-AM was known as the Soul Rocker for broadcasting live from the rooftop of the station. Photo courtesy of Radio One.

Cathy Hughes w/ Dick Gregory and Mark Lane image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Roy Lewis

8. Cathy Hughes w/ Dick Gregory and Mark Lane

Cathy Hughes interviews Dick Gregory shortly after the 1968 riots. Photo courtesy of Radio One.

4th & H Streets image. Click for full size.

9. 4th & H Streets

The corner of 4th and H Streets, NE became a focal point of this community after WOL-AM, which stands for "We Offer Love" moved here in 1980. Photo courtesy of Radio One.

Greater H Street NE Heritage Trail image. Click for full size.

10. Greater H Street NE Heritage Trail

Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 28, 2017, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,834 times since then and 167 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 28, 2017, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. submitted on December 29, 2017.