LeDroit Park in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Best in the Country
Worthy Ambition
— LeDroit Park/Bloomingdale Heritage Trail —
Poet May Miller once remarked that unlike New York's Harlem, LeDroit Park “didn't have to have a renaissance.” In fact, before they joined the cultural movement of the 1920s and '30s, most Harlem Renaissance intellectuals spent time at Howard University and in LeDroit Park.
Miller and her father, Howard University dean and Sociologist Kelly Miller, hosted poet Paul Laurence Dunbar in 1897 when Dunbar first moved here from Dayton, Ohio. Soon after he moved to 1934 Fourth Street, at this corner. “The best Negroes in the country find their way to the capital,” Dunbar wrote, “and I have a very congenial and delightful circle of friends.” Among them were Robert and Mary Church Terrell, who purchased number 1936 Fourth Street in 1893 through a “straw,” a white person acting on their behalf.
Poet Langston Hughes lived with cousins nearby at 2213 Fourth Street in 1924. Unlike Dunbar, Hughes found Washington's black society “as unbearable and snobbish a group of people as I have ever come in contact with.” In fact his high-class cousins looked down on the series of menial jobs Hughes was forced to take. Fortunately he was able to enjoy evenings at Seventh Street's nightclubs, where he found inspiration for his innovative jazz poetry.
The rowhouses and apartments just north of here along V and W Streets were constructed as public housing in the 1930s and early '40s. They replaced the dilapidated structures of Howardtown, which developed during the Civil War (1861-1865) when refugees from slavery came to Washington's Union Army encampments for shelter, work, and protection.
Erected 2015 by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number 6.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment. In addition, it is included in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the LeDroit Park/Bloomingdale Heritage Trail, and the Mary Church Terrell series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1897.
Location. 38° 55.044′ N, 77° 1.062′ W. Marker is in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in LeDroit Park. Marker is at the intersection of Elm Street Northwest and 4th Street Northwest, on the right when traveling west on Elm Street Northwest. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 407 Elm Street Northwest, Washington DC 20001, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Alice Moore Dunbar [Nelson] and Paul Laurence Dunbar Residence (within shouting distance of this marker); Christian Fleetwood and Sara Fleetwood Residence Site (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); The University Next Door
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), November 23, 2017
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 29, 2015, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. This page has been viewed 430 times since then and 15 times this year. Last updated on March 8, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos: 1. submitted on August 29, 2015, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. 2. submitted on November 23, 2017, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on August 29, 2015, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.