Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

The Law Office of Cohen, Cohen, and Hirschkop

Loving v. Virginia

— City of Alexandria, est. 1749 —

The Law Office of Cohen, Cohen, and Hirschkop Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), September 27, 2020

1. The Law Office of Cohen, Cohen, and Hirschkop Marker

Inscription.

The Law Office of Cohen, Cohen, and Hirschkop. Loving v. Virginia.

"Mr. Cohen, tell the court I love my wife and it is just unfair that I can't live with her in Virginia." , Richard Loving

The law office of Bernard Cohen and Philip Hirschkop was here at 110 N. Royal Street on June 12, 1967, the day they were notified that their Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia had been decided unanimously in their favor. The plaintiffs, Mildred and Richard Loving, had sued the Commonwealth of Virginia for its ban on interracial marriage. The day after the decision was announced the Lovings held a press conference in the office of their attorneys in Suite 300. The ruling by the Supreme Court not only voided Virginia's anti-miscegenation law but legalized interracial marriage throughout the country., Hirschkop later recalled how he and Cohen learned of the decision:

I had a call from a reporter at the old Washington Star. He was their Supreme Court reporter [and he said] that it would be coming down the next morning. So, we're in our office. We had clerks in those days. We didn't have the electronic ability to…[get] the opinion as soon as it came down....we were sitting in the library on Royal Street, when we got that opinion [delivered]. And I spoke with the reporter because he had [already] had a chance to read it…before we…got it from [the Supreme Court clerk's] office. So I knew what was in it. And then we had a secretary place a call to the Lovings.

After the decision, the Lovings lived together in Caroline County, Virginia, until 1975 when Richard was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. Mildred never remarried and continued to live in Caroline County until her death in 2008., Loving v. Virginia was one of the many court cases that formed the legal argument for civil rights and asserted that the right to marry was a constitutional right. The case was consistently cited in the 2015 Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage.

"Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State." , Opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court , Loving v. Virginia , Chief Justice Earl Warren , June 12, 1967

"Mr. Cohen, tell the court I love my wife and it is just unfair that I can't live with her in Virginia."
Richard Loving

The law office of Bernard Cohen and Philip Hirschkop was here at 110 N. Royal Street on June 12, 1967, the day they were notified that their Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia had been decided unanimously in their favor. The plaintiffs, Mildred and Richard Loving, had sued the Commonwealth of Virginia for its ban on interracial marriage. The day after the decision was announced the Lovings held a press conference in the office of their attorneys in Suite 300. The ruling by the Supreme Court not only voided Virginia's anti-miscegenation law but legalized interracial marriage throughout the country.

Hirschkop later recalled how he and Cohen learned of the decision:

I had a call from a reporter at the old Washington Star. He was their Supreme Court reporter [and he said] that it would be coming down the next morning. So, we're in our office. We had clerks in those days. We didn't have the electronic ability to…[get] the opinion as soon as it came down....we were sitting in the library on Royal
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Street—when we got that opinion [delivered]. And I spoke with the reporter because he had [already] had a chance to read it…before we…got it from [the Supreme Court clerk's] office. So I knew what was in it. And then we had a secretary place a call to the Lovings.

After the decision, the Lovings lived together in Caroline County, Virginia, until 1975 when Richard was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. Mildred never remarried and continued to live in Caroline County until her death in 2008.

Loving v. Virginia was one of the many court cases that formed the legal argument for civil rights and asserted that the right to marry was a constitutional right. The case was consistently cited in the 2015 Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage.

"Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State."
Opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court
Loving v. Virginia
Chief Justice Earl Warren
June 12, 1967

Erected 2020 by City of Alexandria, Virginia.

Topics and series. This historical marker

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), September 27, 2020

2. The Law Office of Cohen, Cohen, and Hirschkop Marker

is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights. In addition, it is included in the Virginia, The City of Alexandria series list. A significant historical date for this entry is June 12, 1967.

Location. 38° 48.288′ N, 77° 2.675′ W. Marker is in Alexandria, Virginia. It is in Old Town. It is at the intersection of King Street and North Pitt Street when traveling west on King Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 423 King Street, Alexandria VA 22314, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area

and in Northern Virginia.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Marshall House

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), September 27, 2020

3. The Law Office of Cohen, Cohen, and Hirschkop Marker

(a few steps from this marker); Edgar Warfield (a few steps from this marker); Photos of Historic Alexandria (within shouting distance of this marker); Gadsby's Tavern Museum (within shouting distance of this marker); Franklin P. Backus Courthouse (within shouting distance of this marker); Market Square (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Electric Railway (about 300 feet away); George Washington in Alexandria (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Alexandria.

Another marker is no longer nearby. The Marshall House (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been permanently removed).

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. These are markers about Loving v. Virginia

Additional keywords. LGBT, LGBTQ, 🏳️‍🌈

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), September 27, 2020

4. The Law Office of Cohen, Cohen, and Hirschkop Marker

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), September 27, 2020

5. The Law Office of Cohen, Cohen, and Hirschkop Marker

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), September 27, 2020

6. The Law Office of Cohen, Cohen, and Hirschkop Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on September 22, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 27, 2020, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 704 times since then and 40 times this year. Last updated on September 20, 2025, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on September 27, 2020, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.