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Heurich House Museum

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This is a contributing entry for Heurich House Museum and only appears as part of that tour.Learn More.
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.

Obituary for Mary in a 1919 edition of the Washington Times

Newspaper, Organism, Font, Monochrome

1914 passenger list including Mary Warwick

Handwriting, Font, Material property, Parallel

Historically, four communities make up the Adams Morgan we know today: Kalorama Triangle, Lanier Heights, Shaw, and Meridian Hill. By the turn of the 20th century, many upper-class socialites lived in Lanier Heights while Latinx and African Americans filled other parts of Adams Morgan; Working- and middle-class families moved into the neighborhood’s affordable housing. During the 1920s, the massive Knickerbocker Theater, several other social hubs, and the introduction of the streetcar made Adams Morgan a vibrant place to live. The social aspect of the neighborhood continued after World War II, helping make Adams Morgan a hotbed for social and political movements in DC.

 

Although we are unsure of Mary’s exact role working in the Heurich’s home, through diary entries we do know that she was likely a friend of the family. What does that tell us about her standing with the Heurichs? How might her experience have been different from other Adams Morgan residents, like staff member Ernest Gichner, a tinner for the family that lived nearby in 1918? At this time, Gichner offered his expertise in sheet metal work to several different employers while also registering for the draft. 

 

How might the staff members have spent their free time in the neighborhood?

Cadaval, Olivia. “Adams Morgan: Diversity with a Latin Beat." In Washington at Home: An Illustrated History of Neighborhoods in the Nation’s Capital, edited by Kathryn Schneider Smith, 434-448. 2nd ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010.

"History of Adams Morgan." AdMo DC, Accessed 25 April 2021. https://admodc.org/history-of-adams-morgan/. 

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Heurich House Museum

Heurich House Museum