This memorial to Edmund Burke, an English statesman who championed the cause of the American colonies in Parliament, was presented to the United States by the Sulgrave Institution, an organization that promoted friendship and international relations between the US, Great Britain, and Canada.
An author, orator, political theorist, and philosopher, Burke served in the House of Commons from 1766 to 1794, during which time he gained fame in America for criticizing the British government's control over the American colonies.
This bronze portrait statue, designed by Welsh sculptor James Havard Thomas and architect Horace W. Peaslee, is a copy of a statue in Bristol, England. Depicted in 18th-century dress, Burke stands atop a granite pedestal with his right hand raised in a gesture of debate. His left hand holds out the tail of his coat. It was erected under an Act approved April 25, 1922 without expense to the U.S. and dedicated on November 12, 1922. The statue is currently owned by the National Park Service.
DC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: July 14, 1978
Within Shaw Historic District
Part of American Revolution Statuary
]]>Born into slavery in Prince Edward County, Virginia, Blanche Kelso Bruce (1841-1898) gained his freedom through the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. He dedicated much of the rest of his life to improving his country and his community, teaching at the first Black elementary school in Lawrence, Kansas, and helping to establish a school for Black children in Hannibal, Missouri. After relocating to Mississippi in 1868, Bruce purchased a plantation on the Delta and became a wealthy landowner. His involvement in politics began around this time. Bruce served as the conductor of elections for his area in 1869 and was elected to his first position as the Sergeant at Arms of the Mississippi State Senate. By the end of 1871, he was appointed the assessor of taxes and superintendent of education for Bolivar County, elected county sheriff, and chosen to serve on the Floreyville Board of Aldermen.
In 1872, Bruce attended the Republican National Convention with James Hill, an influential leader in Mississippi and another formerly enslaved person. Two years later, with the support of Hill and his network, Bruce became the representative of Mississippi to the US Senate. As a Senator, Bruce was known as a sharp and effective politician who earned respect from his colleagues. He fought for a more enlightened policy towards indigenous people, racial integration of the Army, and greater support for poor and recently freed African Americans, and he vocally opposed restrictions on Chinese immigration. When Bruce presided over the Senate in the absence of Vice President William Wheeler in 1879, and again in 1880, he became the first African American to do so.
The Democratic majority in Mississippi caused Bruce, a Republican, to lose his bid for reelection in 1880. Bruce remained in DC for the rest of his life and was appointed to several different positions by Presidents Garfield, Harrison, and McKinley, serving as Recorder of Deeds and Register of the Treasury. Bruce also served as Assistant Commissioner General of the 1884 World’s Fair in New Orleans and as a trustee of DC Public Schools and Howard University.
The historic designation of Bruce’s house recognizes his contributions to American history. Bruce lived in this Second Empire-style house built circa 1865, reflecting a popular style from that period, toward the end of his time in Congress.
DC Inventory: April 29, 1975
National Register: May 15, 1975
National Historic Landmark: May 15, 1975
Within Blagden Alley/Naylor Court Historic District and Shaw Historic District
]]>Formed in 1912, the Seventh Street Savings Bank is an example of a small, independent bank—a type of financial institution that, prior to the Federal Reserve Act of 1914, specifically catered to the various DC neighborhoods; it served the financial needs of the surrounding community, including the residents, clients, and merchants of the vibrant Seventh Street Corridor. Seventh Street Savings Bank was constructed during a period of general prosperity in which DC was experiencing a strong economy and a burgeoning population, and at a time when the banking industry was undergoing significant changes both locally and nationally in response to similar positive economic trends.
Constructed in 1913, the layout of the two-story bank is illustrative of the investment strategies needed to sustain small institutions. Architectural firm Rich & FitzSimons designed the bank in a Classical Revival style. The bank additionally had apartments upstairs and shops were located in an adjacent wing on Seventh Street (now demolished). The bank failed in the banking crisis of 1933, and was one of eight banks merged and reorganized as the Hamilton National Bank. The former Seventh Street Savings Bank building was repurposed as an apartment building.
DC Inventory: November 21, 2002
National Register: September 17, 2003
Within Shaw Historic District
]]>Designed by architect Frederick Atkinson and constructed in 1903, The Plymouth was erected during the first great wave of apartment building construction in Washington, DC, and is representative of the era from about 1890 to 1917, during which time the apartment building was popularized in America. The Plymouth is a good example of the types of apartment buildings constructed for DC's middle-income residents during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
DC Inventory: June 19, 1985
National Register: June 2, 1986
Within Shaw Historic District
]]>The early owners and residents of these Italianate townhouses were prominent businessmen, instrumental in the economic life of the capital city. The houses were purchased by the Women's Army and Navy League, a charitable organization of socially prominent Washington women, for use as the Soldiers' and Sailors' Club in 1923. This brought the social, political, and military elites of the city and nation to the building. The club served the entertainment and recreation needs of thousands of enlisted servicemen and women each year—a significant civilian response to military needs. Actively operated by an organization of socially prominent women, for half a century, the houses were visited by both prominent national and international political military figures. The houses were converted into a hotel in the late 1980s.
The Morrison and Clark houses were built circa 1865, with bays added to Morrison House in 1867 to differentiate the two properties. Part of the cupola was removed in 1894, a porch was added in 1917, and a side entry was added in 1923. The houses were connected 1930 to create a single larger space. In recent years, the houses have been expanded to create the Morrison-Clark Inn.
DC Inventory: February 22, 1972 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: March 19, 1991
Within Shaw Historic District
]]>Founded in 1864, Immaculate Conception was the first mission church of Saint Patrick’s, organized to serve the Roman Catholic population in the then-sparsely settled area north of Mount Vernon Square. Immaculate Conception’s establishment reflects the growth of the Irish immigrant population in DC and presages the rapid postwar expansion of the city north of Massachusetts Avenue. Additionally, it is associated with notable pastors such as its founder, Rev. J. Walter, who was the confessor and defender of Mary Surratt, the woman put to death on co-conspirator charges after Lincoln’s assassination.
When the original church building was constructed between 1864 and 1865, it was surrounded by only a few buildings along dirt roads, and cows wandered the streets. With the construction of the O Street Market and the Seventh Street streetcar line, however, the area lost some of its former "Cow Town" feel and gradually became more developed. The new Immaculate Conception Church, built between 1870 and 1874 to accommodate the growing congregation, became part of an urban community.
After much of this area was destroyed during the events of 1968, Monsignor Joshua Mundell of Immaculate Conception worked to stabilize the neighborhood, encouraging church and federal government collaborations to build modern, affordable housing, including the Immaculate Conception Apartments.
DC Inventory: July 24, 1968 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
Nomination expanded on November 21, 2002 to include school, rectory, and residence
National Register: September 17, 2003
]]>The memorial to labor leader Samuel A. Gompers, founder and first president of the American Federation of Labor, was dedicated in 1933, with President Franklin Roosevelt and Mrs. Roosevelt in attendance. The bronze seated portrait of Gompers is placed on a pedestal in front of a large granite plinth supporting six allegorical male and female figures representing aspects of the American labor movement: Justice, Unity and Cooperation of the Labor Movement, the Protection of the Home, and the Overthrow of Industrial Exploitation by Education. It was sculpted by Robert I. Aitken and donated by the American Federation of Labor.
As one of the country’s leading advocates of the labor movement in the 19th century, Samuel Gompers had a major influence on union organizing. He helped to found the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1886, which steadily grew in numbers throughout the next decade. One of the most notable contributions of the AFL was advocating for the eight-hour workday. With the creation of the AFL, Gompers’s position as president of the Federation cemented the powers that trade unions had to organize and influence industry throughout the country.
Samuel Gompers Memorial Park is made up of two major trapezoidal reservations on Massachusetts Avenue between 10th and 12th Streets, NW. They were first improved in 1875, and landscaped by the 1880s. Quarter-round concrete coping replaced the perimeter post-and-chain enclosures in 1904. The statue of Samuel A. Gompers was erected in 1933, and the land was officially designated Samuel Gompers Memorial Park in 1955.
Within Shaw Historic District.
DC Inventory: February 22, 2007
National Register: October 11, 2007
]]>The Church of the Ascension and Saint Agnes is an excellent and well-preserved example of the High Victorian Gothic design, and is the work of noted Baltimore architects Dixon & Carson.
Architectural features include the polychrome facades of white marble with pink and orange sandstone trim, lancet windows, multiple buttresses and pinnacles, and a 187-foot main spire.
The structure is the home of Ascension Parish, which was organized in 1845. From 1902 to 1912, prior to the construction of Washington Cathedral, it also served as the seat of the Episcopal Bishop.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: January 19, 1984
Within Shaw Historic District
]]>At a time of Jim Crow ideology and enforced segregation, Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950) pioneered the documentation of African American life and the recognition of African American contributions to US history. Born to enslaved parents, Woodson was self-educated until he began formal schooling at the age of twenty. He received degrees from Berea College and the University of Chicago, and after several years of teaching, travel, and studies abroad, he settled in Washington, DC. In 1912, Woodson became the second African American (after W.E.B. DuBois) to receive a doctorate from Harvard University. In 1915, he founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, and a year later, the Journal of Negro History, with offices from his home. The journal continues to publish today as the Journal of African American History. Before retiring from teaching in 1922, Woodson taught at M Street and Armstrong High Schools and at Howard University, where he served as Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Head of the Graduate Faculty. In 1926, Woodson was instrumental in creating Negro History Week, which is now observed as Black History Month. In 1937, he founded the Negro History Bulletin, to reach a broader audience than the academic journal. At the time of his death, he was working on a six-volume Encyclopedia Africana. Over a lifetime of scholarship, Woodson significantly contributed to Black studies, and the historic site designation of his home confirms his place within history. DC Inventory: March 3, 1979
National Register: May 11, 1976
National Historic Landmark: May 11, 1976
National Historic Landmark (Updated Documentation): December 11, 2023
National Historic Site: February 27, 2006
]]>