Congress Heights in Southeast Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Congress Heights School
3100 Martin Luther King, Jr., Avenue, SE
African American Heritage Trail, Washington DC
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 15, 2018
1. Congress Heights School Marker
Inscription.
Congress Heights School. 3100 Martin Luther King, Jr., Avenue, SE. The eight-room brick Congress Heights Elementary School opened in 1897 to serve the new, whites-only Congress Heights development. The iconic tower and clock were added in 1913. After public schools were desegregated in 1954, Congress Heights became primarily African American. The city closed the deteriorated school in 1970, but neighborhood activists, determined to save it from demolition, found new uses for the building. Thus it continued to serve the community, over time housing Ward 8 offices, a Head Start program, and DC Habitat for Humanity, and offering outdoor space to a neighborhood festival and a farmers market. A charter school moved into the renovated building in 2011.
The eight-room brick Congress Heights Elementary School opened in 1897 to serve the new, whites-only Congress Heights development. The iconic tower and clock were added in 1913. After public schools were desegregated in 1954, Congress Heights became primarily African American. The city closed the deteriorated school in 1970, but neighborhood activists, determined to save it from demolition, found new uses for the building. Thus it continued to serve the community, over time housing Ward 8 offices, a Head Start program, and DC Habitat for Humanity, and offering outdoor space to a neighborhood festival and a farmers market. A charter school moved into the renovated building in 2011.
Location. 38° 50.648′ N, 76° 59.881′ W. Marker is in Southeast Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in
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Congress Heights. It is at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue Southeast and Raleigh Place Southeast, on the right when traveling north on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue Southeast. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3100 Martin Luther King Jr Avenue Southeast, Washington DC 20032, 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.
More about this marker. Caption:
Congress Heights School, sixth grade class, 1969
Collection of Florine Batchelor
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 15, 2018
3. Congress Heights School
Credits. This page was last revised on August 3, 2025. It was originally submitted on January 15, 2018, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 1,846 times since then and 171 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on January 15, 2018, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
