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 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
]]>This three-story, corner residence was constructed in 1854 and is notable for its Italiante details, cast iron lacework around the porch, and scored stucco cladding. Scientist and inventor Alexander Graham Bell purchased the house for his father, Alexander Melville Bell, and stepmother in 1881. Four years later, he started using the residence's carriage house for laboratory space. In 1893, the Volta Bureau and Laboratory was constructed across Volta Place NW, but Graham Bell continued to use the residence. In the early 1920s, the Volta Speech Association sold the property and it is now a private residence.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
Within Georgetown Historic District
]]>Built in 1810, this rectory was constructed for use by the second Protestant Episcopal congregation of Georgetown. Founded in 1817, Christ Church was started by a group of prominent Georgetown citizens that met to organize a new congregation, due to overcrowding at St. John’s Church, which was the only Episcopal Church in Georgetown at the time. In the 1860s, the need for a larger church was evident, and the current late 19th century Gothic style church was completed in 1887.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
Within Georgetown Historic District
]]>Built in the 1820s, this large Federal style complex would become Lydia English’s Female Seminary, a school for “fashionable” women. In 1861, during the Civil War, it would be commandeered and converted into a hospital, and shortly thereafter, in 1870, would be one of the earliest examples of a property being converted into apartments. Located in the Georgetown Historic District, the long-standing historical influence of Lydia English’s Female Seminary and Seminary Hospital is still seen today.
Known as Lydia English’s Female Seminary, beginning in 1826, the school would host around 1,800 students. Those in attendance at Lydia English’s Female Seminary would learn subjects deemed appropriate for young women of a “fashionable” manner. Therefore, the school mainly catered to daughters of wealthy and politically-connected figures, such as Martha Johnson Patterson, the daughter of President Andrew Johnson (1865-1869). Other presidents would also visit the school for spring-time festivals and celebrations, such as Martin Van Buren (1837-1841) and James Buchanan (1857-1861). The school would become known for its prominent and important visitors, much less the successful women who completed their schooling or worked there.
Emma Willard (1787-1870), who taught at the seminary from 1830 to 1835, would later found the Troy Female Seminary in Troy, New York, which would revolutionize the way that young women were taught in finishing school. Instead of learning subjects related to proper manners and the qualities of being a good wife, young women were able to attend schools that, for the first time in American history, were equal to that of a young man’s college education, with coursework in geography, arithmetic and other subjects.
Nonetheless, the history of Lydia English’s Female Seminary focused on the men who visited the site. The historic marker states: “Long a Georgetown landmark, this building was occupied from 1826 by Miss Lydia English’s Georgetown Female Seminary, whose patrons and frequent visitors included…,” followed by a list of men and “other notables” of the era.
The Civil War would shift the role that this building played in history, as it would be commandeered by the Union army and converted into Seminary Hospital at the first Battle of Bull Run in 1861. Used as an army general hospital, there are other key figures that walked its halls, such as the famous author and poet Walt Whitman (1819-1892), who is said to have volunteered here for some time, as well as Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, the only woman to ever receive the Medal of Honor for her service during the Civil War. Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), author of Little Women, is rumored to have also volunteered at the hospital.
Shortly after the war, in 1870, the building would be one of the first instances of a property being converted into apartments. In 2024, following a major renovation, 1305-15 30th Street NW will become luxury condominiums, as the “Colonial Apartments” or “The Colonial.”
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee of Landmarks)
Within Georgetown Historic District
]]>Built in 1817, the William Wilson Corcoran Store is associated with one of DC’s famous financial leaders. Other historic sites also bear his name, such as the Corcoran Gallery of Art, with which Corcoran was a major patron of the fine arts, and Corcoran Hall, part of George Washington University. Most importantly, Riggs National Bank, that he and partner George Washington Riggs founded in 1840, situated Corcoran’s legacy as a key figure in DC’s financial history.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee of Landmarks)
Within Georgetown Historic District
]]>Constructed in approximately 1810, the John Davidson House was built by a partner of early Washington’s commercial mogul Francis Dodge. Davidson would also own the Dodge Warehouse, as written in a fire insurance policy from 1837. The Davidson House is a fine example of Federal style architecture, with its fanlight and door surround, wrought iron railing, six-over-six windows, and shutters.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
Within Georgetown Historic District
]]>The Henry Foxall House, built in 1820, is a long-standing example of the Federal homes found in Georgetown. Owned as an investment by Henry Foxall, a foundry owner and mayor of Georgetown (when it was an independent city), 2908 N Street NW is a testament to this early figure’s involvement in the continuous development of DC. Born in England, Foxall moved to Philadelphia where he was associated with Robert Morris Jr. in the Eagle Foundry. When it was suggested by Thomas Jefferson that he move to Washington, he built both a house on 34th Street and an iron foundry at Spring Hill on Canal Road, where he constructed canons for 15 years.
Henry Foxall would also go on to build the Foxall-McKenney House for his daughter Mary Ann, upon her marriage to Samuel Mckenny.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
Within Georgetown Historic District
]]>Home to one of the earliest judges of the DC Circuit Court, the Morsell House (John S. Williams House; Decatur-Gunther House) was built in 1813, and has been home to many of DC’s affluent and influential figures. James Sewall Morsell lived in the home and was appointed to the court in 1815. He also had his own private law practice. Other key owners of this Federal style home include Susan Decatur, widow of Naval Hero Stephen Decatur, who moved into the Morsell Home after her husband was killed in a duel in 1820 by Commodore Barron, a naval officer who served with Decatur but disagreed with him.
This historic house has only been sold twice. Once to Franklin Mott Gunther, who was the last United States Minister to Romania, before diplomatic relations were severed at the start of the Second World War. He and his wife would purchase the house in 1932, and reside there until 1984, when it was transferred to the second husband of Mrs. Louisa Gunther, Mihail Farcasanu. The house was bought for the second time around the late 1980s by Frederick H. Prince IV and his wife, who was co-trustee of the Frederick Henry Prince 1932 Trust. In 2022, the Morsell House was sold again.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
Within Georgetown Historic District
]]>This Federal style brick house was built for Col. Charles Beatty. Beatty owned the ferry between Georgetown and Virginia, a crucial link between the two points prior to the construction of a bridge. It was also the residence of Thomas Hyde, and his son Anthony, who were secretaries to W. W. Corcoran, one of DC’s prominent financial figures and co-founder of Riggs National Bank in 1840. Built in 1798, the Beatty-Stuart House would be expanded, most likely by Joshua Stuart in 1832. This changed the facade and further highlights the home’s name.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
Within Georgetown Historic District
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