Adams Morgan in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Ambassadors of Faith
Roads to Diversity
| | Adams Morgan Heritage Trail | |
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, March 7, 2009
1. Ambassadors of Faith Marker
Three dramatic religious structures dominate this corner. They are among some 40 religious institutions lining 16th Street between the White House and the Maryland state line.
Many serve as unofficial embassies representing the interests of their faiths before the U.S. Government. The neo-Baroque National Baptist Church, to your right, is a memorial to Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island and champion of religious liberty. Its congregation has long worked for social justice and community betterment. The Carlos Rosario Public Charter School (1970) and the Academy of Hope (1980), both schools for immigrant and low-income populations, have met here.
The Peace King Center of the Unification Church, to your left, home to the followers of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon since 1977, was originally the Washington Chapel, Church of Latter-Day Saints. Completed in 1933 with some 16,000 blocks of marble brought from Utah, it drew from the modern style of the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City. The church moved to Kensington, Maryland in the 1970s.
All Souls Church dates from 1877, and its current neo-Georgian building dates from 1924. Among its many famous congregants were President William Howard Taft and Senator Adlai Stevenson. In March 1965 its pastor, Rev. James Reeb, demonstrated the churchs commitment to social justice by joining a voting rights march in Selma, Alabama. There he was murdered by White opponents. Reebs death contributed to the national outcry against racism that helped pass President Lyndon Johnsons Voting Rights Act just a few days later.
Erected 2005 by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number 5.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included
this page online
Location. 38° 55.545′ N, 77° 2.196′ W. Marker is in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in Adams Morgan. It is on 16th Street, NW just south of Harvard Street, NW, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Washington DC 20009, 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 4 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Social Justice (a few steps from this marker); Las Bicicletas (within shouting distance of this marker); Pancho Villa Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker);
![Ambassadors of Faith Marker [Reverse] image. Click for full size.](Photos6/697/Photo697888.jpg?1230202220500PM "Ambassadors of Faith Marker [Reverse]. Click for full size.")
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), circa December 30, 2022
2. Ambassadors of Faith Marker [Reverse]
Other markers no longer nearby. La Loterνa Mexicana / The Mexican Loterνa (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been confirmed missing); Polska (was about 400 feet away but has been permanently removed); Works For Piano And Orchestra (was about 400 feet away but has been permanently removed); Canoandes'79 - 40 years later! (was about 400 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Development of the Colca Valley (was about 400 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Songs (was about 400 feet away but has been permanently removed); Preludes (was about 400 feet away but has been permanently removed); Impromptus (was about 400 feet away but has been permanently removed); Nocturns (was about 400 feet away but has been permanently removed); Historic Expedition (was about 400 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Return to the Colca Canyon (was about 400 feet
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, March 7, 2009
3. Ambassadors of Faith Marker
on the sidewalk in front of the Unification Church, as seen from Harvard Street with the Mexican embassy in view across 16th Street.
More about this marker. [Caption, picture in upper right]:
Washington churches on the hill overlook the city, 1935.
[Caption, picture in center]:
As All Souls Churchs first Black senior minister, Rev. David Eaton (1932-1992) led the church in social activism and service.
[Caption, picture on right, center]:
Demonstrators march from All Souls Church to protest the martyrdom of Rev. James Reeb, left, 1965.
[Clipping of Washington Post article (March 11, 1965) re: the assault on Rev. James J. Reeb in Alabama.]
[Caption, picture on left, below center]:
Academy of Hope graduate Lisa McBride and son.
[Caption, picture group on lower left]:
All Souls Parishioners, President William Howard Taft, left, and Senator Adlai Stevenson.
Additional commentary.
1. Stevenson
The Adlai Stevenson pictured was never a Senator--rather a Governor and not a resident of the District. His son, Adlai III, was a Senator. His grandfather, Adlai I, was a Congressman and Cleveland's
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, March 7, 2009
4. Convergence of Adams-Morgan, (left), Columbia Heights (right), Mount Pleasant (center, background)
View of three D.C. neighborhoods, looking north on 16h St. from south of the marker. (Note the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple, building at far left.)
— Submitted April 7, 2012, by Charles Nau of Washington, District of Columbia.
Additional keywords. Family Federation of World Peace and Unification; FFWPU; Mount Pleasant; Columbia Heights; Unitarian Universalism
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, March 7, 2009
5. All Souls Church, Unitarian
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, March 15, 2009
6. National Baptist Memorial Church
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, March 15, 2009
7. Unification Church (Washington Family Church National Cathedral, FFWPU)
Photographed by Allen C. Browne, April 19, 2015
8. All Souls Unitarian Church
Photographed by Allen C. Browne, April 19, 2015
9. First Unitarian Church
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
November 11,1821
Sixth and D Streets
1822 - 1876
Reorganized as
All Souls Chruch
Washington, D.C.
June 4, 1877
Fourteenth and L Streets
1877 - 1920
Sixteenth and Harvard Streets
1924 -
Photographed by Allen C. Browne, April 19, 2015
10. The Sanctuary
Credits. This page was last revised on May 7, 2024. It was originally submitted on March 16, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. This page has been viewed 2,745 times since then and 33 times this year. Last updated on July 2, 2020, by Bruce Guthrie of Silver Spring, Maryland. Photos: 1. submitted on March 16, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 2. submitted on December 30, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on March 16, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 8, 9, 10. submitted on May 11, 2015, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
