For the Working People

For the Working People. Midcity at the Crossroads.

"There is not a wrong too long endured that we are not determined to abolish." -Samuel Gompers

, The landmarked former office building across Ninth Street opened in 1916 as the headquarters of the American Federation of Labor. With 2.5 million members, the union was the nation's largest and most powerful. The building's design by Milburn, Heister and Co. symbolized the union's maturity and strength., The AF of L's first president was London-born Samuel Gompers (1850-1924). Gompers immigrated to New York in 1863, became a cigar maker and, in 1875, president of the Cigar Makers Union Local 144. When a number of unions formed the American Federation of Labor in 1886, they elected Gompers president, a position he held until his death. A memorial to Gompers is found nearby at 10th Street and Massachusetts Avenue. The AFL-CIO moved to 16th Street in 1956, and the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitters Industry took its place here., Mount Vernon United Methodist Church, across the intersection, was completed in 1917 for a congregation dating from 1869. In 1935, as the population of nearby Chinatown was peaking, the church invited the Chinese Community Church to share its space. A year later, the church developed the Mount Vernon Players. The drama group welcomed racially integrated audiences when most Washington theaters did not. Under Managing Director Edward Magnum and Assistant Managing Director Zelda Fischandler, the group evolved into Arena Stage. In 1950 Arena's first production opened in the former Hippodrome movie theater at 808 K Street, since demolished.