This building's historic landmark designation recognizes Youth Pride, Inc., which was located here from 1968 to 1981. Pride, Inc. was an important organization within the Black Power Movement and was funded through the War on Poverty, which had…

House of Mercy is located at the northwest edge of the Mount Pleasant Historic District on a ridge overlooking the wooded Rock Creek Valley. The building was constructed in a once rural setting, but still retains its “sanctuary” landscape.Designed…

In 1852, Congress chartered Saint Elizabeths Hospital as the Government Hospital for the Insane, with a mission of providing “the most humane care and enlightened curative treatment” for patients from the Army, Navy, and District of Columbia. The…

As the most influential court in the United States, Americans have long understood the importance of the US Supreme Court and many view it as a final avenue to right a legal wrong. LGBTQ+ Americans, like other minority groups, have relied on the…

This corner spot in Columbia Heights was once the site of Nob Hill, a popular African American gay bar. Nob Hill operated from 1957 to 2004, and, according to the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), which documented the site in 2016, this…

A “Pillar of Pastry,” as deemed by Paul Schwartzman of The Washington Post, Heller’s Bakery filled the air of the Mount Pleasant neighborhood with the sweet smell of doughnuts and apple turnovers for almost nine decades. Opened in 1928 by Ludwig…

Opened in 1978, Mamma Desta’s would be the first and most well known Ethiopian restaurant in Washington, DC. A 1982 review from The Washington Post stated that the restaurant was a “simple vision of eating; lots of stews, which are sopped up with…

The early twentieth century brought on an influx of Italian immigrants who sought to recreate the taste of home in a new country. One of the earliest Italian restaurants to grace Washington, DC, was Roma’s. Roma’s was first opened by Frank Abbo on F…

Harvey's Oyster House is one of the most famous Washington restaurants of all time. Founded as Harvey’s Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Oyster Saloon by brothers George Washington Harvey (1840-1909) and Thomas Harvey (1830-1872), the restaurant opened in…

In the age of racial segregation and discrimination that kept Washington, DC’s “fine restaurants” out of reach for African American Washingtonians, a wide range of eateries, such as informal cafeterias and full-service commercial restaurants, filled…