Journalist Doris Fleeson lived at 3344 P Street NW from 1945 to 1959, giving this property its historical significance. Fleeson was a trailblazing female political journalist, and her time living and working at this Georgetown residence was particularly significant, both professionally and personally.
Fleeson was born in Sterling, Kansas, in 1901 and received a degree in journalism from the University of Kansas in 1923. She later moved to New York and eventually joined the staff of the New York Daily News, once the nation’s most widely-circulated newspaper. She married John O’Donnell, another Daily News reporter, in 1930, and they moved to Washington, DC, in 1932. That same year, Fleeson and O’Donnell started their column “Capital Stuff,” which ran in the Daily News until 1941.
Simultaneously, Fleeson was the only female reporter to permanently cover Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1932 presidential campaign. She had first met (then Governor) Roosevelt during her stint covering New York state politics. The following year, she cofounded the American Newspaper Guild. In 1937, Fleeson was elected president of the Women’s National Press Club. Over the years, Fleeson and her fellow female journalists would fight for admission to the National Press Club.
In 1942, Fleeson and O’Donnell divorced. While single, in 1945, she purchased the semi-detached residence in Georgetown. While living in Georgetown, Fleeson continued to report on presidential and congressional politics – notably, a series of articles on controversial Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin. She became well-known through a syndicated Washington Evening Star column, which started in 1945 and was published in 120 newspapers by 1958.
Fleeson holds particular significance as America’s first woman with a syndicated national affairs column. In addition to her award-winning writing, she appeared on radio and television programs, such as Meet the Press and Face the Nation, and lectured extensively. In 1959, Fleeson and her second husband, Dan A. Kimball (whom she married in 1958), moved out and, in 1960, she sold the Georgetown residence. At that time, Fleeson and Kimball moved into their new home at 2120 S Street NW in Sheridan-Kalorama. Fleeson died in 1970.
The semi-detached residence is one of two buildings (1427 and 1429 34th Street; 1429 is now 3344 P Street) constructed in 1876 at the corner of 34th and P streets in Georgetown. The two residences have a continuous wood cornice with brackets, a common feature of the Italianate style, on the 34th Street elevation. Although the entrance for 1427 is still on 34th Street, the entrance for 1429 was moved to P Street during an early 1930s remodel, giving the historic landmark its current address (3344 P Street NW).
This remodel also resulted in new six-over-six windows, and the removal of the windows’ hood molds and their replacement with flat wood lintels (note the difference between the two residences’ windows and surrounds on 34th Street). These changes gave the residence a Colonial Revival update, a then popular style. The residence has a brick masonry foundation and is clad in wood German lap siding. The entrance is slightly elevated and reached via a short staircase.
DC Inventory: April 23, 2026
Within Georgetown Historic District
]]>The Sofia Reyes de Veyra Residence was constructed in 1909 and was occupied by Sofia and her husband Jaime Carlos de Veyra from 1917 to 1919. The house was built in a Colonial Revival style with Georgian influences and is located in the Woodley Park Historic District. Its Colonial Revival features include its brickwork, columned porch, wood trim, and front entrance that is surrounded by diamond-paned sidelights and a transom. The house still retains most of its historic integrity and its interior is also mostly unchanged.
The house holds historic significance as the only extant property in Washington associated with Sofia Reyes de Veyra (1876-1953), a well-known suffragist from the Philippines Following the Spanish-American War in 1898 until 1946, the United States occupied the Philippines. Sofia's husband Jaime Carlos de Veyra represented the Philippines in Congress as the non-voting Resident Commissioner from 1917 to 1923, and the couple lived in Washington during this time. Prior to her time in Washington, Sofia founded a training school for nurses and several organizations that were dedicated to serving women and malnourished children. She also started a Women’s Club that advocated for the rights and interests of Filipina women.
During her time in Washington, Sofia used her connections to politicians and diplomats to advocate for women’s suffrage, and she helped her husband fight for Philippine autonomy. She also joined the Red Cross and was given an award signed by President Woodrow Wilson for her work with them.
Sofia published multiple articles that highlighted the role that Filipina women played within society, including as doctors and lawyers. She argued that even without the right to vote, they still had a large impact on society. Sofia and Jaime represented Filipina women at the National American Women Suffrage Association Convention (1917). Sofia also represented the Philippines at the convention of the National Woman’s Party in DC (1921), the Pan-Am Conference of Women in Baltimore, MD (1922), and the Pan-Pacific Convention of Women in Honolulu, HI (1928). After the couple moved back to the Philippines, Sofia continued her work as a suffragist and advocate for marginalized communities. She helped revolutionize access to healthcare and advocated for proper sanitation efforts. Despite the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, women’s suffrage did not extend to the Philippines. Finally, in 1937, voting rights were extended to Filipina women.
Her contributions to women’s suffrage were recognized in The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Washington, DC: 1848-1973, a historic context study.
DC Inventory: October 24, 2024
National Register: December 13, 2024
]]>The Pauline “Polly” Shackleton Residence was constructed in 1940 and is located in the Georgetown Historic District. The house was designed in a 20th century Colonial Revival style by Gertrude Sawyer, a noted female architect. The residence is similar to other row houses in the area and retains its original brick facade and wooden windows. Its front entrance has fluted pilasters with a segmental arched pediment above the doorway. Sawyer also owned and likely designed three other Colonial Revival style houses on this block of Reservoir Road.
The house is historically significant because it was the home of Pauline “Polly” Shackleton (1910-1997), who resided there from 1959 to 1997. She was an important local politician and strong advocate for the city and its residents. She was the first woman appointed to DC’s City Council (1967-1970) and also served as Chairwoman for the Democratic National Committee for DC. She also played important roles in several national offices, including working on the committee for housing under President John F. Kennedy, secretary for the Pennsylvania Avenue Commission, and as chair of the Capital Beautification Project.
In 1973, the District of Columbia Home Rule Act was passed, which allowed for the election of the city’s mayor and council. In 1974, Shackleton became a member of the DC Council following the first ever city council election. She served on the DC Council until 1987.
Shackleton pushed for change and worked tirelessly to support DC’s disadvantaged residents. She was interested in urban planning and development, and spoke out against the displacement of marginalized residents. Some of her biggest accomplishments included her “inner city” projects that helped with the restoration of the Capitol Hill neighborhood. She also formed “project pride,” which employed high school students to help with the restoration of the Shaw neighborhood. During her time as a Councilmember, her primary concerns were helping underprivileged members of the community, preventing displacement, pushing for development in all neighborhoods, and improving access to healthcare.
Her contributions to local politics were recognized in The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Washington, DC: 1848-1973, a historic context study.
DC Inventory: October 24, 2024
National Register: January 10, 2025
Within Georgetown Historic District
]]>Architecture firm Parks & Baxter designed the Colonial Revival firehouse in 1925, and it still serves as an active fire station today. One of the first firehouses built in DC after World War I, the building experimented with design, albeit unsuccessfully. Instead of creating a separate second floor, the building features an open second-floor bay that serves as the dormitory space. However, the layout was not replicated due to the lack of noise insulation, fume buffering from the first floor, and insulation from hot and cold temperatures in the open space. The firm of Parks & Baxter was responsible for designing the grounds of Hampshire Gardens, the city’s first garden-style apartment complex. The duo also designed buildings, including Tilden Gardens, which is in the Cleveland Park Historic District. While not much is known about Parks, Baxter’s later career also included work with Arthur B. Heaton on the George Washington University campus, in addition to previous work designing homes in Wesley Heights. In 1940, Truck House No. 13 would combine with the “old” Engine Company No. 10 located at 1341 Maryland Avenue. After the consolidation, Truck House No. 13 would assume the name of Engine Company No. 10.
This site is listed in the Firehouses in Washington, DC: 1806-1945 Multiple Property Document.
DC Inventory: July 22, 2004
National Register: June 6, 2007
]]>St. Joseph's Society of the Sacred Heart was one of many Roman Catholic institutions and organizations that established their presence in the Brookland area in the late-19th century and into the 20th century, when the area was still largely rural and separate from the urban core of Washington. This was due to the founding of The Catholic University of America in 1887. These numerous institutions and organizations locating near Catholic University led to the area's nickname, "Little Rome." Thus, St. Joseph's Seminary is significant in this respect.
Additionally, the seminary building, constructed in 1929-30, is a masterpiece of Georgian/Colonial Revival architecture. The building — with its copper cupola, limestone masonry entrance, and U-shaped design, which provides for a courtyard space — was designed by the architectural firm of Maginnis & Walsh, which was based in Boston and specialized in Catholic and college campus architecture. Their designs were influential in the early 20th century popularity of Collegiate Gothic architecture, which was often accompanied by imposing towers on university and college campuses. In addition to St. Joseph's Seminary, Maginnis & Walsh designed other buildings in Little Rome. In 1958, the western portion of the seminary building was expanded (giving the building its present U-shaped design), and a semicircular chapel was also added. The building sits north of Varnum Street NE in a large, park-like landscape.
The Saint Joseph's Society for Foreign Missions dates to its founding by Father Herbert Vaughan in London in 1866. By the 1870s, its missionaries had a presence across the Atlantic in Baltimore, and were proselytizing to formerly enslaved African Americans. Over time, as the Civil War and emancipation became more distant, the Josephites (as they are often referred to) became an important Catholic organization in the larger African American community. In 1893, the American mission became independent of its British counterpart, and was established as St. Joseph's Society of the Sacred Heart. Father Charles Uncles played a role in the new organization, and was the United States' "first African-American priest both trained and ordained in this country." Thus, the St. Joseph's Society has a long history of racial integration. The St. Joseph's Society opened this seminary in 1930.
Other designated historic landmarks in the Little Rome area include the Franciscan Monastery & Memorial Church of the Holy Land, Holy Redeemer College, and Saint Paul's College. There is a pending landmark nomination for the former Holy Name College.
DC Inventory: May 26, 2022
National Register: September 28, 2022
]]>Completed in 1890, the George S. Fraser House was designed by Hornblower and Marshall, a prominent Washington architecture firm. The Fraser home is architecturally indicative of the firm’s stylistic originality in the 1880s and 1890s. Defined as an architecturally transitional building, the large structure combines elements of the Richardsonian Romanesque, Italian Renaissance, and English-American Colonial styles. Distinctive elements include the use of pink granite, a tiled and hipped roof, Palladian windows, and a pillared portico.
The home was originally built for George S. Fraser, a New York merchant who arrived in the District in 1888. His widow sold the home in 1901 to Miriam Douglas Thropp, daughter of Abraham Lincoln’s Assistant Secretary of War and president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Thomas Alexander Scott. After Miriam’s death in 1930, the home was sold and subsequently opened to the public as the Parrot Tea Room (with a boarding house upstairs) in 1932.
In 1950, the space was leased to John Goldstein who altered the space for restaurant service, operating The Golden Parrot Restaurant Inc. until 1974. It then housed the Sagittarius Nightclub.
Today, the former home, that went through a series of uses, is the National Affairs Office of the Church of Scientology.
DC Inventory: June 27, 1974
National Register: August 19, 1975
]]>Designed by Nathan C. Wyeth, Calvin Coolidge Senior High School (Coolidge High School) constitutes a significant example of Georgian Revival architecture in the District—and remains part of the District’s early efforts to improve local education.
Coolidge High School is particularly important as one of the last revivalist architectural style structures constructed for the purpose of local schooling. In addition to the rise of modernist architecture, economic constraints in the following decades ultimately led to the local government’s movement away from stylistic detailing and elaborate designs for public schools. Built prior to these restrictions, Coolidge High School’s Georgian Revival style is distinguishable in its hipped roofs, elaborate door surrounds, a wide pavilion and portico, and the crowning cupola atop the main block.
Constructed between 1937 and 1940, Coolidge High School’s establishment was a result of school overcrowding in the developing areas of the District. Increasing population growth and the expansion of residential development in the early 20th century led to the Board of Education’s Five-Year Building Plan proposal in 1924 and its passage in 1925. Despite building interruptions due to the Great Depression and an influx of even more District residents following the expansion of federal jobs through the New Deal, numerous schools were constructed under the Five-Year Building Plan--notable examples in the city include Thomas Jefferson Junior High School and Woodrow Wilson High School.
Coolidge High School opened its doors to the Takoma Park neighborhood in 1940, for at least 750 students on their first day. The school continues to serve the surrounding area under the same name and in many of the same spaces as dedicated teachers and students did over 75 years ago.
DC Inventory: September 23, 2021
National Register: April 12, 2022
]]>Constructed in the 1920s, the 12th Precinct Station House is architecturally significant as a prominent example of the Colonial Revival style in the District. Additionally, the station house is historically emblematic of DC’s expanding police force in the 20th century. As Washington’s population increased at the turn of the 20th century, the District police force expanded to meet the growing need for law enforcement through the construction of new precinct stations. The 12th precinct was established in 1922 to provide services to neighborhoods in the city’s northeastern quadrant. Designs for the building were finalized in 1923, and the station officially opened on New Year’s Day in 1924. Designed by municipal architect Albert L. Harris, the two-story brick building is a significant example of Colonial Revival style in the District—it is characterized by a front-gable roof, parapet-style belfry, and a projecting entrance portico. Today, the original building is connected to a six-story residential tower (constructed in 2019) for short-term family housing.
DC Inventory: May 27, 2021
]]>Located in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC, the Morse School served many purposes after its opening in 1883 as an elementary school that exclusively served white children. Designed by an unidentified architect in the District’s Office of the Building Inspector, the Samuel F.B. Morse Elementary School was built in the Georgian Revival style, a highly typical design for eight room, late-nineteenth century school buildings. Named for the inventor of the telegraph, the school itself has no historical connection to Samuel F.B. Morse. In 1911-1912, the elementary school transitioned into a “special school” that offered only specialized classes. Upon its opening, it was the only public school building used for such courses in the District. Students sent to the “special school” were identified as “incorrigible children who present social behavior problems” but who were “not feeble-minded in the sense that they should be confined in institutions.” The school itself housed a cooking department, dress tailoring shop, and a carpenter shop. Traditional classrooms were abandoned entirely, and the school continued to serve only white students. However, in 1930, demographic changes in the surrounding neighborhood led to the Morse School’s transfer back into a traditional elementary school, but this time for Black students in the area. By 1939, the Morse School was identified as being an inadequate property for schooling—teachers had no restroom, the hallways were unheated, and there were no administrative offices for the principal. Ten years later, the school closed for student use. By the 1950s, the school housed offices for public school administrators and offered space for barbering classes, courses for veterans, and night school lessons. Problems of dilapidation and declining funds resulted in the designation of the Morse School as a “surplus school” in 1976. After sitting vacant for five years, the building was sold to the non-profit Africare in 1981. After a lengthy renovation, the façade remained mostly unaltered and the building remains representative of classic Georgian Revival style design. The F.B. Morse School’s diverse and sporadic history demonstrates the influence of larger historical themes – segregation, desegregation, the expansion of public schooling, urban demographic shifts – on the District of Columbia and remains a significant building both architecturally and historically.
DC Inventory: September 24, 2020
]]>Virginia-born Miss Rose Lees Hardy (1869-1932) was the Assistant Superintendent of DC Public Schools from 1925 until her death in 1932. As a specialist in primary education and piano, Miss Hardy left an impact on the surrounding community through her civic works and dedication to young children. A few months after her death in October of 1932, the Washington Board of Education decided to rename the Foxhall Village School (a building project in motion since 1930) after Miss Hardy. In 1934, a triple memorial composed of a commemorative tablet, a rose garden, and a fund for visiting educational lecturers.
The Rose Lees Hardy School (Hardy School) – then called Foxhall Village School – opened in September 1933 as a public elementary school serving children in the neighborhood and the surrounding areas. Designed by Albert L. Harris in the Colonial Revival Style, the red brick building with limestone and wood trim complements surrounding buildings in the neighborhood. Upon the school’s opening, students who had previously been made to travel over a mile to the nearest schools transitioned to the Hardy School, which continued to undergo construction to expand its facilities. Issues of school overcrowding and a lack of funding were eventually resolved in 1936 with monetary support from the New Deal’s Public Works Administration.
The Hardy School diligently served elementary age children until 1973, when demographic shifts in the area resulted in the school’s transition into DC’s innovative Six School Complex. As part of this interconnected educational system, Hardy School served grades 5-8. DC’s Six School Complex was notable as a pioneering method for its individualized student care, smaller student populations, and special language/arts programs.
In 1996, the Hardy School moved to a different location, prompting community concerns about the sale or destruction of the building. Resistance to the local government selling the property resulted in a 1998 shift in educational hands to the Rock Creek International School, and then again in 2006 to the Lab School, which currently remains in the building.
DC Inventory: March 28, 2019
National Register: June 3, 2019
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