This two-story rowhouse within the Mount Pleasant Historic District was designed by prolific DC architect Waddy B. Wood (Wood, Donn & Deming) and constructed by John H. Nolan for self-described “architectural sculptor” John Joseph Earley (1881-1945) and his family. John J. Earley lived here for over 30-years, from 1911 to 1942. During this time, he led a successful career working on numerous projects around DC and the nation. He is best known for his work with architectural mosaic concrete – specifically, the “Earley Process” for formulating colorful aggregate-based concrete.
The Earley Family was known for its artistic work in 19th century England and Ireland. John J. Earley’s grandfather, John Farrington Earley, and great uncle, Thomas Earley, were artisans in Birmingham, England. Both John and Thomas later relocated to Dublin, where the firm of Earley & Powells produced decorative arts (mainly for churches), from altars and pulpits to stained glass windows and tombstones. John Farrington Earley’s son, James Farrington Earley, distinguished himself as a sculptor at an early age. In 1880, James and his wife Mary emigrated to the United States and the following year John J. Earley was born in New York City. Within a decade, James and his family moved to DC where he established his firm focused on stone carving.
John J. Earley soon apprenticed under his father James. In the 1890s and 1900s, James contributed to work at the Franciscan Monastery, Saint Patrick’s Church, and the new Willard Hotel, as well as the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. In 1906, James, at only 49 years old, tragically died of typhoid fever and bequeathed the firm to John.
The following year, John J. Earley designed a new headquarters for the firm (see John J. Earley Office and Studio). From 1907 to 1936, the firm was headquartered at this studio in Foggy Bottom. Through the National Bureau of Standards, John worked on experiments with concrete-coated metallic lath. Working in plaster and stucco, John was hired to clad different features in stucco at the new Meridian Hill Park. Initially, his work did not meet the expectations of the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA). In turn, he developed his famous process that met CFA’s standards in 1915. This two-stage process included the removal of concrete to reveal the larger aggregate’s color, and the addition of a smaller aggregate as infill.
In addition to his work at Meridian Hill Park, John J. Earley and his studio worked on many high-profile projects while he was living on Lamont Street. This included work at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, the Franciscan Monastery, Mullen Library at The Catholic University, the U.S. Department of Justice Building, the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple, the Parthenon in Nashville, and the Baháʼí House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois. John moved out of the rowhouse in Mount Pleasant in 1942 and died in 1945.
The John J. Earley House was built as infill, as it was constructed slightly later than the rest of the block. This is visible from Lamont Street, as the house has a different architectural style than the adjacent houses. Designed by Waddy B. Wood in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, the primary façade (north elevation) of the custom-designed house is clad in brick masonry laid in an English cross bond pattern. The rowhouse is three-bays wide.
A center walkway reaches from the sidewalk to the house’s entry porch. The concrete entry porch has a lower landing, short flight of stairs, and an upper landing at the front entrance, which is on the east side of the façade. The first floor features three round arches, with the entrance in the east arch, and windows in the center and west arches. These three arched openings all include fanlights and French windows. The center and west arches have concrete balustrades. The second-floor’s three windows are rectangular and have iron balcony railings.
A terra cotta tile roof overhangs the front façade. The cornice is composed of diamond-shaped concrete and is supported by concrete brackets. Below the cornice is a shelf with a braided concrete rim, round brick arches, and concrete brackets. Within the arches are shells that are both decorative and practical, as they once provided ventilation to the house’s attic. Below the shells and between the brackets are diamond-shaped terra cotta tiles.
Most of the first floor interior – the entrance hall, front parlor, center hall, central atrium, and rear dining room – is included in this designation. The interior’s most prominent space is the two-story atrium, which has a floor composed of bricks and walls of concrete blocks. Originally open-air, it was enclosed in 1915. John J. Earley’s work is most visible in the concrete-walled atrium, and the parlor and dining room's concrete fireplaces.
DC Inventory: February 27, 2025
National Register: May 8, 2025
]]>Shrine of the Sacred Heart, located just off 16th Street NW at Park Road, is a monumental religious space with a century of significant social history.
The church was dedicated in December 1922 after nearly two years of construction. This was the second Sacred Heart Church, as the first was located nearby at approximately 14th Street and Park Road NW. The original Gothic Revival style church, completed in 1902, was meant to be a temporary location for the parish, as fundraising for a larger and grander church continued.
The 1922 church building features a Latin Cross plan, and was designed by Frederick V. Murphy of Murphy & Olmsted (with Maginnis & Walsh as associate architects) in a Northern Italian Romanesque Revival and Byzantine-Romanesque style. The Byzantine influence is most visible in the church's central dome and interior design.
The white limestone-clad church includes a prominent arcaded portico of granite columns on its primary facade (west elevation). Here, the main entrance faces a memorial park and 16th Street NW. Above this entrance is a rose window. Just south of the church is a three-story rectory, designed in a similar style to the church, which houses the pastor's residence, as well as office, meeting, and event spaces.
The church's interior sanctuary, which has been historically designated, features concrete mosaics and murals, which are the work of "architectural sculptor" John J. Earley — who lived nearby in Mount Pleasant. Following his work at Sacred Heart Church, Earley would design other church interiors. The church houses a large organ, built by Casavant Frères, which was said to be the city's largest prior to the installation of the Kennedy Center's organ.
In 1948, Cardinal Patrick O’Boyle became the first archbishop of the newly-established Archdiocese of Washington. Archbishop O’Boyle was committed to desegregation within the archdiocese’s parishes and parochial schools. However, the integration of churches like Sacred Heart was not immediate and many Black congregants continued to face discrimination and prejudice.
Simultaneously, during this postwar period, Washington’s Latino population began to increase, particularly in the Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights neighborhoods. In turn, more Latinos began to attend services at Sacred Heart Church. Thus, Reverend Augustín R. Martínez was hired in 1956, and the church’s bilingual programming expanded. Martínez would eventually serve as associate pastor.
Two decades later, in 1976, Father Joaquin A. Bazan would become the church’s first Latino Pastor. During Father Bazan’s tenure, the annual Easter procession through the surrounding neighborhood was instituted. The procession, which celebrates Good Friday with a Drama of the Passion performed in Spanish, continues to this day.
Over the decades, Sacred Heart Church became an important institution and social space within Washington, as illustrated by its role during times of upheaval. During both the 1968 and 1991 riots, the shrine served as a community center, providing food and refuge.
Sacred Heart Church continued to expand its programming, with Father Peter Long offering a Sunday Mass in Vietnamese and Father O’Malley offering a mass in French Creole for Haitian parishioners. The parish has been described as “one of the most culturally diverse congregations in the Archdiocese of Washington.”
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
DC Inventory (Interior Sanctuary): February 26, 2026
National Register: July 30, 2026
]]>The Daly Building was designed by DC Municipal Architect Nathan C. Wyeth and constructed with the aid of Public Works Administration funds between 1939 and 1941. This was the first building constructed according to plans developed during the 1920s for a Municipal Center between Judiciary Square and Pennsylvania Avenue.
Notable features include the cast aluminum revolving doors and abstracted classical columns, capitals, and moldings. In the interior courtyards are two enormous ceramic sculptural panels: Democracy in Action by Waylande Gregory and Health and Welfare by Hildreth Meiere. Flanking the plaza steps to the west of the building are two granite bas-relief sculptural panels: Urban Life by John Gregory, and Light, Water, and Thoroughfare by Lee Lawrie. In the south lobby floor is a terrazzo map of the District of Columbia, and near the north entrance is an octagonal fountain by the John J. Earley Studio (dedicated in 1980 as the Washington Area Law Enforcement Memorial).
DC Inventory: Feb 22, 2018
National Register: July 19, 2019
]]>Designed and built by sculptor John J. Earley in 1907, this building is one of two artists’ workspaces on the block, the other being the adjacent Augustus Bussard House and Studio (1916) at 2129 G Street NW. The Earley Office and Studio is located mid-block on the north side of the street. The two-story main office building is L-shaped in plan. The studio, or back building, is rectangular in plan and made up of one- and two-story sections. A landscaped courtyard with mature vegetation and benches is located in the space between the studio and the main office building.
The Earley Office and Studio is significant as the workspace of John J. Earley, the artist, architect, and engineer who perfected a method of mixing and exposing the aggregate that combines with cement and water to produce concrete. Earley is notable for his architectural concrete, which combined durability with beauty.
Shortly after construction of the office and studio in Foggy Bottom, John J. Earley moved into a house in Mount Pleasant, where he resided from 1911 to 1942.
DC Inventory: January 28, 2010
National Register: June 18, 2010
Within George Washington University/Old West End Historic District
]]>Meridian Hill Park, also known today as Malcolm X Park following a 1969 speech by activist Angela Davis, is a distinguished example of landscape design. The hilly, twelve-acre park with its Beaux-Arts design elements is notable for its elaborate architectural composition within the diverse neighborhood that surrounds it. It is also notable for its concrete features by sculptor John J. Earley.
Opened in 1936, Meridian Hill Park features landscape architect Ferrucio Vitale’s designs, inspired by Italian villa landscapes of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The park can be divided into two principal areas: the lower park, with water cascading into linked basins, symmetric stairways, and a large reflecting pool surrounded by a plaza; and the upper park, with an open mall, wooded areas flanking the mall, and a broad terrace overlooking the lower park. The park also contains a number of statues and memorials, including the Buchanan Memorial and statues of Joan of Arc and Dante.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: October 25, 1974
National Historic Landmark: April 19, 1994
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