Heurich House Museum (Tour)

Entries on This Tour

1. Dora Neibuhr, 1307 New Hampshire Avenue, Heurich House

Today, the Heurich House stands as a museum and space for building community in Dupont Circle. However, when it was originally built in 1892, the mansion served as a home for not only the Heurich family, but also for many of their household staff. Young women such as Dora Niebuhr and other recent migrants from Europe most commonly lived in the house while working.

2. Belle Stone - 2016 P Street NW, Dupont Circle - 1914

Today a trendy yet expensive destination for Washington’s professionals, the Dupont Circle neighborhood has long been home to members of the elite class. However, less affluent residents also found their place. Belle Stone shared an apartment in the neighborhood with her mother while working as a seamstress for the Heurichs.

3. Edward Brandstatter - 1309 P Street NW, Logan Circle - 1922-1928

Today Logan Circle is a bustling hub whose historic architecture, large park, and colorful homes attract a diverse array of residents. It was much the same in 1920 when Edward Brandstatter, a chauffeur and gardener for the Heurich family, called it home from his address at 1309 P Street NW.

4. Louisa Bergholz - 1217 30th Street NW, Georgetown - 1911

Independent from the District until 1871, Georgetown through the years has grown into a popular sightseeing, shopping, and residential area. However, Louisa Bergholz, who worked as a laundress for the Heurich family, experienced a very different Georgetown when she lived in the neighborhood at 1217 30th Street NW in 1910.

5. Max Dex - 536 20th Street NW, Foggy Bottom - 1914 / William Bender- 507 22nd Street NW- 1917

Hugging the shores of the Potomac River and the edges of Pennsylvania Avenue, Foggy Bottom was long an attractive area for workers, families, and immigrants. Painter Max and cook Mary Dex, both German immigrants employed by the Heurich family, lived in a row house at 536 20th Street in the early 20th century.

6. Marie Miles - 615 2nd Street SW, Southwest Washington - 1929

The Southwest Washington we know today only emerged in the 1950s after the original neighborhood's destruction by city renewal and redevelopment movements. During the first part of the 20th century, working-class European immigrants and African Americans like Marie Miles, who worked as a maid for the Heurich family, called Southwest home.

7. Mary Warwick - 2400 16th Street NW, Adams Morgan - 1919

The historical and modern-day focal point of Adams Morgan is near the intersection of Columbia Road and 18th street. With her 2400 16th Street NW home, Mary Warwick, a household staff member in the late 1910s, lived right in the heart of today’s Adams Morgan near the spacious Meridian Hill Park.

8. Concluding the Tour

This tour has illuminated the lives of household staff members by exploring the places they called home. But, what about those staff members who did not leave a historical record? How do we continue to tell their stories even with limited archival resources and materials? And why is this work important?

This Tour is a Digital Story Map.

Heurich House Museum

Created by Heurich House Museum on March 3rd 2021, 7:51:06 pm.

Get a QR Code for this tour

Description

Welcome to the Heurich House Museum, which preserves the historic Victorian-era Heurich mansion as a museum, event space, and place to build community connections. The mansion, built between 1892-94, was the family home of German immigrant, local brewer, and philanthropist Christian Heurich. Household staff were largely responsible for the upkeep of the large and ornate Heurich family estate in Dupont Circle. This tour will introduce you to some of the places the Heurich house staff lived while working for the family. Let’s begin by exploring what life was like for staff who lived on the grounds of the Heurich family house.

Entries on This Tour

Heurich House Museum

Description

Share