In the 1950s, famed architect I. M. Pei was working for the New York-based design team Webb &amp; Knapp, and worked with his team to design the Town Center Plaza project for Washington, DC. Pei put forth a massive plan for a civic plaza in 1956, much of which never came to fruition due to constraints on numerous fronts. The Town Center Plaza portion of Pei’s design (which contained Town Center East) remained, however, and though some issues arose in progressing to the construction process, construction began in 1960. Construction was slow going, though, due to internal issues with the firm of Webb &amp; Knapp. During this period of construction, the plans for Town Center East itself changed somewhat, calling for a smaller apartment complex. Despite the company and construction issues, the Town Center East Plaza was finished in 1961.

In the years after the Town Center East opened, it received high praise for its ingenuity of design and efficiency, most notably the 1963 Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize. The Town Center East was instrumental in bringing more people to live in the downtown Washington, DC area, and for that reason, as well as its significant contribution to the architectural legacy of I. M. Pei, the Town Center East was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 15th of 2014. The Town Center East is now part of a larger redevelopment project by the Historic Preservation Review Board, aiming to reinvigorate, among other things, the Town Center Plaza area.

A view of one of the Town Center East buildings, circa 2014 ((By Farragutful (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons))

Town Center East is an apartment complex located in Washington, DC. Built between 1960 and 1961, the Town Center East complex is part of the Town Center Plaza development project, which would mix housing, commercial endeavors, and other projects. Though the complex was originally intended to be a much larger set of apartments running down 3rd and 6th Streets, issues during construction and planning caused the complex to be scaled down to two twin apartment buildings. The Town Center East as a whole was added to the National Register of Historic Places in January of 2014. 

Town Center East

A historic walking tour of DC which takes you through all 8 of the districts wards.

All 8 wards walking tour

Prominent land and mill owner Isaac Peirce owned a large estate on which this house, and Rock Creek Park, now sit. His son Joshua built this Pennsylvania Dutch-style house in 1823 out of blue and gray granite. He expanded the house with the addition of a west wing in 1843. Overlooking the Rock Creek valley, the building rises three stories and contains ten rooms. The south side of the building features a two-story veranda with iron scrollwork. Peirce was an avid horticulturalist and established extensive gardens on the property. He introduced box gardens to the capital, and grew the first ornamental plantings for the White House, Capitol, and other federal buildings and green spaces. His home was a gathering place for prominent Washington figures, and visitors included Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun, and Henry Clay. He also converted some of the estate into an 82-acre commercial nursery, the first in the nation's capital. Peirce named the property Linnaean Hill after Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus, who developed the binomial classification system for plant and animal species. The estate once contained eleven buildings, including greenhouses where Peirce grew camellias, developing new varieties. Extant on the site are <a href="https://www.theclio.com/entry/115261" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a barn</a> and carriage house, utility house, and potting shed. Enslaved laborers were the nursery's primary work force until about 1860. He died in 1869, leaving the property to his nephew, Joshua Peirce Klingle. Some of Peirce's plantings remained on the property into the twentieth century, such as hollies, magnolias, and drooping yews. Klingle sold the property to the federal government in 1890 as part of the creation of Rock Creek Park. The house was restored and rented as a private residence from 1937 to 1952. In the 1950s, the Rock Creek Park Nature Center operated in the mansion. Neighbors complained about traffic and noise from schoolchildren visiting the nature center; the principal of an area junior high school argued that what the neighbors were actually worried about was the presence of Black children on the grounds. The park constructed a purpose-built nature center which opened in 1960. The park leased the mansion to the Junior League of Washington from 1959 to 1972, at which point the National Park Service occupied the building again. Green Scene, an outreach program for horticulture, operated here in the 1970s, and the American Institute for Conservation leased it from 1982 to 1987. It is now an administrative building for the park.

Joshua Peirce built this house in 1823 overlooking the Rock Creek valley, and converted some of the estate into an 82-acre commercial nursery, the first in the nation's capital. In honor of Swedish naturalist and taxonomist Carl Linnaeus, Peirce named the mansion and nursery Linnaean Hill, and locally it is known as the Klingle Mansion. After Peirce's death in 1869, his nephew, Joshua Peirce Klingle, lived there with his wife. He sold the mansion and land to the federal government for the creation of Rock Creek Park in 1890. During the twentieth century it served as a nature center, and now it is the park's headquarters.

Linnaean Hill (Klingle Mansion)

Guglielmo Marconi was born on April 25, 1874 in Bologna, Italy to wealthy parents. His father, Guiseppe, was a businessman and landowner. His mother, Annie Jameson, was Irish and the granddaughter of John Jameson, the founder of Jameson &amp; Sons whiskey company. As a boy, Marconi did not do well in school and was educated by tutors instead. He also lived next to physicist Augusto Righi (1850-1920), who studied electromagnetism and sparked Marconi's interest in electricity. As a teen, Marconi studied physics and electricity under the tutelage of his high school mentor Vincenzo Rosa. Marconi read scientific journals as well and learned about the discovery of radio waves by German physicist Heinrich Hertz. Marconi also learned about morse code around this time and showed an aptitude for technology. When he was 18, Marconi attended Righi's lectures at the University of Bologna and was allowed use the laboratory and library of the university's physics institute. He studied the research of leading scientists of the day including James Maxwell and Hertz and conducted better experiments based on their work in electromagnetism. These efforts paid off for Marconi as he was the first to produce and detect radio waves. He also believed radio waves could transmit signals anywhere regardless of any physical obstacles. Most scientists believed that electromagnetic waves behaved like light waves, which are blocked by physical obstacles. Marconi's experiments demonstrated that this was false. After studying at the university, he returned home to Bologna in 1894 and continued experimenting with radio waves. He was gradually able to send radio waves longer distances. In 1895, he made a breakthrough. He found that by raising his antenna he could send a signal 1.5 miles away. Convinced that he could send signals even farther, he applied for funding in Italy for his research but did not receive any. As a result, he moved to England in 1896 where he eventually patented his wireless radio (the world's first patent for a wireless telegraphy system). Over the next few years Marconi conducted more experiments and continued to expand the range of his radio. He also founded the first wireless telegraph company, the Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company, in 1897. In 1900, Marconi received another patent for "tuned or syntonic telegraphy) and, as noted above, sent the first transatlantic wireless signal from England to Newfoundland (2,100 miles), proving that wireless signals could be sent without being affected by the earth's curvature. In December 1902, a station Marconi built on Glace Bay, Nova Scotia was the first to receive a two-way transatlantic wireless message. In January, Marconi transmitted messages between President Theodore Roosevelt and King Edward VII.Marconi's company was immediately successful and wireless telegraphs began to be installed on ocean vessels. However, the safety advantages of the new technology were not fully recognized until after the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic in 1912. The ship was able to send SOS messages that were received by another vessel, the R.M.S. Carpathia, which was able to save a number of Titanic passengers. As a result, Marconi's fame rose around the world and wireless telegraphs were installed on more ocean vessels. During World War I, Marconi became a lieutenant in the Italian army where he led the military's radio service (he eventually transferred to the navy and earned the rank of commander). In the coming decades until his death in 1937, Marconi continued to research and experiment. His short wave radio system was adopted by the British government in 1926 to establish a communication link between England and Canada. In 1932, the world's first microwave radiotelephone link was installed between Vatican City and the Pope's summer residence. Three years later, Marconi demonstrated of an early version of radar. He died in Rome on July 20, 1927 of a heart attack. In addition to the Nobel Prize, during his career Marconi received numerous awards and honorary doctorates. Among these was being appointed an Honorary Knight of the Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in England. He married twice and had three children, a son and two daughters. The memorial was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

This memorial honors electrical engineer and inventor of the wireless telegraph, Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937), whose work in the field of wireless telegraphy established the basis for radio communication. In 1901, Marconi was the first to broadcast a radio signal across the Atlantic Ocean from Cornwall in England to St. John's in Newfoundland, Canada. He shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in physics for his work with German scientist Karl Ferdinand Braun. The memorial consists of a granite base, a bronze bust of Marconi, and a bronze sculpture of a female figure sitting on a globe amidst clouds with her legs stretched backward. Her left arm points forward, her hair flows backward, and her right arm is bent at the elbow. Her posture, hair, and the drapery around her legs symbolize, according to the National Register of Historic Places nomination form, the "concepts of speed and dynamism." The memorial is a contributing property of the Mount Pleasant Historic District.

Guglielmo Marconi Memorial

The history of Riggs Bank dates back to 1836 when William Corcoran established an exchange and banking house in Washington D.C. George Washington Riggs became Corcoran's partner in 1840 and together the two men established the bank as Corcoran &amp; Riggs. As noted above, it was used by many presidents, beginning with President Martin Van Buren who served form 1837 to 1841. In 1847, the bank lent the federal government $15 million to help finance the U.S. war effort during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). In 1867, it granted the federal government $7.2 million in gold to buy Alaska from Russia. The bank is also notable for lending money to Samuel Morse in 1848 to help him invent the telegraph and for financing explorer Robert Peary's first expedition to the North Pole in 1886.The bank continued to grow and play an important role in Washington over the next several decades. In 1891, the bank constructed a new building that is now the Riggs Washington D.C. hotel. Five years later it renamed itself as "Riggs National Bank" and the last Riggs family member resigned in 1898. In 1909, the bank proposed a plan to the federal government to create the Federal Reserve banking system, which was established in 1913. In 1922, Riggs acquired the failing Hamilton Savings Bank, which was experiencing significant difficulties at the time. The acquisition enabled Riggs to expand its business in the northwest part of the city, which included building two new branches. The Riggs director served as an adviser to President Roosevelt during the Great Depression, and during the World War II, the bank sold over $230 million bonds. The Radio Corporation of America, which established the WRC station, chose the Riggs-Tomkins Building for its elevated location and built a two 100-foot radio towers on the roof. WRC's first broadcast occurred on August 1, 1923 and it was the first to broadcast a presidential address. The building also housed radio equipment stores, a service center, and a radio school. WRC remained at the building until the 1950s. It became WTEM in 1998 and is now a sports station. Rigg's demise came in the wake of three money laundering scandals. One was for financing two of the Saudi 9/11 hijackers through a bank account of the Saudi ambassador's wife. Another was for laundering money to the dictator of the Equatorial Guinea through the country's bank account. The third was allowing the former dictator of Chile, Augusto Pinochet, to open an account at the bank. These activities came to light in the early 2000s and Rigg's reputation and business dropped significantly. It became clear it could no longer operate and was sold to PNC Bank.

The Riggs-Tomkins Building was built in 1922 by the now-defunct Riggs Bank, which PNC Bank acquired in 2005. Riggs was established in 1840 and became one of the city's most prestigious banks, used by over 20 presidents including Abraham Lincoln and Dwight D. Eisenhower (for this reason it earned the nickname "the bank of presidents"). The building was one of Rigg's first branch locations. In 1923, it became home to the first location of the WRC radio station, which is the oldest, continuously operating radio station in the city and is now known as WTEM. The building is also named for builder, businessman and engineer Charles Hook Tompkins, who specialized in reinforced concrete construction and erected around 500 buildings in the city by the early 1930s. An excellent example of Classical Revival architecture, the Riggs-Tomkins Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

Riggs-Tomkins Building

As early as 1910, individuals concerned about the lack of care for the elderly banded together to provide housing for aging members of the Jewish community. This organization collected funds which were then used to board elderly Jewish men and women in private residences. In 1914, the Hebrew Aged Home Association, under the leadership of Bernard Danzansky, purchased a brick row house located at 415 M Street NW. Residents lived on the second and third floors and received both lodging and spiritual support within a religious atmosphere. In particular, care efforts were directed toward Jewish individuals who were unable to speak English. The Home was so popular that it immediately became overcrowded. Owing to the need for additional facilities, the board of directors of the Washington Hebrew Home for the Aged announced their plan to move the Home to a site on Spring Road in 1922. Construction began in June 1924, according to plans drawn up by noted architect Appleton P. Clark. The large Romanesque/Moorish Revival-style building was originally designed to be built in phases, with symmetrical residential and hospital wings and a central synagogue. When the facility opened in 1925, only the westernmost portion of this design had been implemented; financial circumstances delayed completion of the work for nearly three decades. Again, the facility became overcrowded, having far exceeded its 50-person capacity by 1950. In 1951, Clark's layout was abandoned in favor of one with increased space for residents. The second phase of construction, completed in 1953, added an extension to the Home. The addition was the work of the architect Edward William St. Cyr Barrington, whose design drew upon Clark's vision but increased the building's capacity to almost 200 people. Moreover, the structure now also included a dining room, laboratory, X-ray room, dental room, pharmacy, solarium, and a synagogue. To the west of the Hebrew Home is a freestanding contributing structure, designed by Julius Wenig. Constructed in 1940, this Neo-Moorish style building housed the United Hebrew Relief Society of D.C. (now named the Jewish Social Service Agency). The JSSA was incorporated in 1921, combining several earlier Jewish relief organizations. It provided needy families and new immigrants rent money, food, clothing, and coal. Additionally, the Society offered start-up capital to small businesses in an effort to keep families independent. Despite the enhancements to the Home, an increasing need for complete medical and nursing care within the suburban Jewish community prompted community leaders to plan for yet another facility. In 1969, the renamed Hebrew Home of Greater Washington and JSSA, along with the Jewish Community Center, sold the property and relocated to Rockville, M.D. At the opening ceremonies for the new location in Montgomery County, Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable Arthur J. Goldburg, gave the opening address. Today, the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington and the JSSA continue to provide individuals in need with quality care in a way that respects Jewish values.

The Hebrew Home for the Aged and Jewish Social Service Agency are two historic buildings located in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Starting in 1925, the original facility offered housing and medical assistance to struggling members of the local Jewish Community. The Jewish Social Service Agency (JSSA) was constructed in 1940; the Society provided relief to needed families and new immigrants. Owing to the ever-increasing need for housing and healthcare, the hospital and JSSA relocated to Rockville, Maryland in 1968. The historic structures on Spring Road were added to the National Register of Historic places in 2014.

Hebrew Home for the Aged and Jewish Social Service Agency

Oliver Otis Howard was born in Leeds, Maine on November 8, 1830. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1850, and would go on to study in the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, where he would graduate in 1854. In May of 1861, shortly after the Battle of Ft. Sumter, Howard joined the 3rd Maine Volunteer Infantry. During his time in the infantry, he fought in the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861, campaigned during the Peninsular Campaign in 1862, and took part in the Battle of Antietam and the Battle of Seven Pines, where he would lose his right arm in the fight. Through his prowess during the Tennessee and Atlanta campaigns between 1863 and 1864 he was promoted to commander of the Army of the Tennessee. Under the instructions of President Andrew Johnson, General Howard became Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands in 1865, and through his membership with the Missionary Society of the First Congregational Church of Washington helped to found <a href="http://www.theclio.com/web/entry?id=15187" target="_blank">Howard University</a> on March 2, 1867, where he would become the third president of the university in 1869, a position that he served for until 1874.  This three story building was General Howard's home. It is a Victorian-style mansion of sixteen rooms. The structure is made of white brick painted red (though it has since been painted white) atop a granite foundation, and includes a basement and tower-like fourth story on the southwest corner and French-style. Some alterations were made during its lifetime; for example, the original porch was removed, and the interior rooms were divided by partitions.

This building was the historic home of General Oliver Otis Howard, a Unionist during the American Civil War and co-founder of Howard University - one of the earliest higher level institutions devoted to the education of freedmen. It served as his residence while he was president of the University between 1869 and 1874, and is the oldest surviving building in the campus. It was added to the list of National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C. in May, 1974.

Howard Hall

The 9:30 Club, or just 9:30, is a well known concert venue and art club in Washington, D.C. The club was opened by husband and wife Jon Bowers and Dodi Disanto, in May of 1980. It orginially opened in a small backroom of a building in downtown D.C. still rebuilding from the 1968 civil rights riots. The club could originally hold only 199 patrons. The club quickly became known as a progressive hot spot for bands, tourists, and locals alike because of its lax atmosphere and the allowance of teenagers as young as 16. The club had a talent for attracting up and coming acts and was known for its display of intense alternative rock that was beginning to boom all across the nation.    By 1996, the club had relocated to a large building down the street due to the large demand of concert goers and the inability to fit all of the willing patrons in there small back room. The new building, complete with a stage mounted on rails to change the size of the indoor venue, could hold up to 1,200 concert goers. When the new building debuted in 1996, it opened with Smashing Pumpkins performing two sold out shows. The venue has hosted acts like Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and even old legends like Tony Bennet. Today the 9:30 Club continues to attract and support up and coming bands and well as music lovers from across the nation. It has consistently been named by, Rolling Stone and Billboard, as the top nightclub in the nation.

Established in 1980, the 9:30 Club has become one of the nation's most famous small concert venues. The Washington, D.C. club has hosted bands and artists such as Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, as well as legends like Tony Bennet. The club has been identified by music experts for Rolling Stone and Billboard as the top nightclub in the nation for live music. 

9:30 Club

The museum was founded by Frank Smith who hoped to contextualize the history of Black military service and the Emancipation Proclamation. The museum offers exhibits that preserve and share the history of over 208,000 soldiers and sailors who fought for the Union in the Civil War. The museum includes a memorial that depicts Black soldiers and sailors and is located directly across from the museum. Among the many services offered at the museum, descendants of members of the United States Colored Troops (USCT) may trace their family lineage using the museum's official registry. The African American Civil War Memorial was unveiled in 1998 and is known as "The Spirit of Freedom." The bronze sculpture was designed by Louisville sculptor Ed Hamilton, and stands ten feet tall. Next to the sculpture is the Wall of Honor which lists names of African Americans who fought for the Union. The memorial was transferred to the National Park Service on October 27, 2004 and is now maintained by the National Mall and Memorial Parks office.  The museum offers historic context that demonstrates the significance of African American military service in the war. President Lincoln believed that Black soldiers could turn the tide of the war, not only by serving the Union, but depriving the South of labor and causing disruption to the system of slavery that provided much of the wealth that fueled the Confederacy.

The African American Civil War Museum opened to the public in January 1999 to honor the heroic struggle for freedom and civil rights of the Americans of African descent. The museum both highlights and commemorates the role of African Americans in the United States Civil War, particularly those that served in United States Colored Troops (USCT) regiments. The museum collection comprises a wide assortment of photographs, newspaper articles, replicas of period clothing, weaponry, and uniforms. Using photographs, documents, and state of the art audio and visual equipment, the museum helps visitors understand the African American's heroic and largely unknown struggle for freedom. 

African American Civil War Memorial and Museum

When it was founded as the nation's first high school for Blacks in 1870, Dunbar High School was located at the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C. and was known as the Preparatory High School For Colored Youth.&nbsp; The aggressive academic program at the school was well known, and many Black families moved to Washington D.C. simply to send their children to the school.&nbsp; Within a few years of its establishment, many of the faculty members were African American, and were well paid for the time. The goal of school leaders was to prepare the students for higher education at colleges and universities. During the era of school segregation, leadership was very successful in achieving these goals, with about two thirds of each class that graduated from Dunbar going on to a college or university like Howard, Harvard or Yale. In 1916 the school moved from its second location on M Street, where it was know as the M Street School, to its present location on New Jersey Avenue. It was at this time that the name changed for the third time to Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, named after the African American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar.&nbsp; Dunbar High School produced several notable graduates over the years, such as the first Black man to graduate from Harvard, Richard T. Greener. The first Black presidential cabinet member was also a graduate of the school, as well as Carter G. Woodson, who lived for a time in Huntington, W.V. and is often called the Father of Black History.Being a&nbsp;Black high school during the&nbsp;era of segregation,&nbsp; Dunbar struggled constantly with funding. School facilities, especially&nbsp;the athletic facilities, were inadequate. Teachers were in short supply, and classrooms were crowded and/or poorly maintained.&nbsp; In the 1960s, D.C. schools, along with Paul Laurence Dunbar High School were desegregated.&nbsp; It was after this time the school began to face its rapid decline. As of 2010, Dunbar High School&nbsp;was still predominantly African American, however less than 30% of its students met the standards for reading, and even less than that met the area standards for math.

Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C., holds the title for the first public high school for African American students in the United States.  It was established in 1870, with 45 students in attendance, and only one teacher.  From 1870 until 1891, the school resided in many different locations, before finding a semi-permanent home on M Street. Finally in 1916, the high school moved to its present location at 1301 New Jersey Ave NW, where it is still open today.

Paul Laurence Dunbar High School 

Support for a memorial for the many people who opposed Communist governments grew shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. During the&nbsp;Bush administration, this memorial and museum was established without federal funding.&nbsp;In 2007, 20 years after the famous Ronald Reagan speech to Gorbachev,&nbsp;President Bush dedicated the memorial. The dedication was not without&nbsp;controversy, and many people in and beyond the United States view the monument as a legacy of the Cold War.&nbsp; Many of the congressional leaders who supported the movement of to create a monument to those who were victimized by Communist regimes hoped to establish a replica of the Berlin Wall. A replica of the Brandenburg Gate emerged as as a potential design in honor of Ronald Reagan's famous speech calling on Russia to tear down the Berlin Wall. Instead this artist's vision of the Goddess of Democracy&nbsp;was selected partly owing to its symbolic reference to anti-Communist protesters leading up to the&nbsp;Tienanmen Square Massacre.&nbsp;

In the early 1990s Congress unanimously approved legislation to create a monument to the "victims" of Communist regimes. Bill Clinton signed the building of the Victims of Communism Memorial into law and George W. Bush dedicated the monument accompanied by critics of Communist regimes around the world who had suffered as a result of their activism. The centerpiece of the memorial is the artist's rendition of the Goddess of Democracy. The monument received little criticism in the United States, but for many who lived in current of former Communist nations, the statue was a cultural extension of the Cold War. While acknowledging that many people suffered in nations that were ruled by leaders who claimed to support the goals of the Communism, these critics pointed out that many of Western leaders committed acts that caused suffering to people around the world in the name of fighting Communism. Chinese scholar  Shi Yinhong believed that the statue's indirect reference to his nation was inappropriate and pointed out that his nation has not created monuments to the millions of people in the United States and beyond who have suffered under capitalism.

Victims of Communism Memorial

Pierre Charles L’Enfant created the urban plan to develop Washington,
DC in 1791. A century later, in 1901, Senator James McMillan led efforts to
centralize existing railroads through DC into one terminal site through which
the two major railroads, the Pennsylvania and the Baltimore and Ohio, were
serviced. Congress approved a site on Massachusetts Avenue in 1903, declaring
that this station “forms the grand gateway to the capital . . . the importance
of this station is greater than that of any other one in any city in the world.”
Daniel Burnham, an architect who directed construction of the 1893 Columbia
Exposition, was placed in charge of designing Union Station. Burnham focused on
modeling his station after the grand architecture of Rome – the outside after
the Arch of Constantine and the interior after the baths of Diocletian. 

Construction of Union Station took four and a half years and
cost four million dollars for the building and nearly $21 million for additional construction, train line, and powering costs. Some of the prevailing architectural features
include massive arches (including three arches in the central pavilion that are
nearly fifty feet high and thirty feet wide), Ionic columns, allegorical statues
(created by Louis Saint-Gaudens, the six figures in the central pavilion represent
fire, electricity, freedom, imagination, agriculture, and mechanics), arched
windows, and a glass roof over the ticket lobby to provide light for those in
the waiting room. 

The station was to be able to accommodate crowds of 100,000.
Through the 1950s, the trains carried approximately 30,000 people in and out of
Union Station each day; by the 1960s, that number dropped off substantially,
threatening sale and demolition. The station was repurposed as a national
visitor center in 1968. In 1983, the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation
(USRC) helped spearhead a $160 million project to preserve the station’s
historic and architectural significance. The renovation included building a
mezzanine in the Concourse for shopping and food, a new Amtrak seating area,
and restoration of lights, doors, and windows. 

Today, Union Station is the main destination for visitors to
DC; with more than 37 million passengers, tourists, and shoppers passing
through it each year, it is the third most-visited tourist destination in the
world. Several transportation services, including Amtrak, Greyhound, MARC, and
the DC Metro, connect through the Union Station terminal.

Union Station, the third most-visited tourist destination in the world, services more than 37 million passengers, tourists, and shoppers each year. Designed by famed architectural planner Daniel Burnham, Union Station was created to provide a centralized location for trains running into the nation's capital. The rapid growth of the city necessitated renovation to the building, creating more restaurants, shops, and services. Today, Union Station is also a major connecting hub for Amtrak, MARC, Greyhound, and the DC Metro. 

Union Station, Washington, D.C.

<h3>Nathanael Greene</h3>Nathanael Greene was born on August 7, 1742 in Warwick, Rhode Island to a devout and wealthy Quaker family. In general, Quakers disapproved of book learning for religious reasons but Greene was taught by a tutor and amassed a large library of books as an adult. He recognized the importance of education and helped establish the first school in the town of Coventry, where he managed an iron foundry owned by his father. He was then elected to the General Assembly in 1770. During the years leading up to the Revolutionary War, he increasingly supported the Colonial cause and grew at odds with the Quaker church, which was pacifist.After the war started, the Continental Congress appointed him to the rank of major-general. Greene became one of George Washington's ablest commanders and served in several campaigns against the British in New Jersey, New York, and Philadelphia. Greene commanded the Continental Army in the southern theater and conducted many successful campaigns, including the American victory at Yorktown. After the war, he decided to become a planter and acquired a plantation near Savannah, Georgia. On June 12, 1786 he visited a friend's plantation to learn about growing rice. The heat from the sun made him very sick and he died of sunstroke on June 19 at his home.<h3>Edward M. Staton</h3>Edward M. Staton was born in Stuebenville, Ohio in 1814. As a young man he attended Kenyon College in Ohio and then studied law. He passed the bar exam in 1836 and became a successful lawyer. After living in Pittsburgh he settled in Washington where his reputation grew, resulting in President James Buchanan appointing him as Attorney General in 1860. Interestingly, he did not support Abraham Lincoln but was appointed legal adviser to Lincoln's Secretary of War, Simon Cameron. However, Cameron resigned in January 1862 and Stanton took his place. Stanton was an able and effective Secretary of War, although he often had contentious relationships with Union military commanders.Under President Johnson, Stanton clashed with the new president's more lenient Reconstruction policies towards the former Confederate states. Stanton's effort to implement stringent Reconstruction measures angered Johnson, who tried to force Stanton to resign. This effort to remove Stanton compelled the Republicans in the House of Representatives to Johnson, who was a Democrat. Johnson was not convicted, however, and remained in office. In light of this outcome, Stanton had no choice but to resign and returned to private law practice in Steubenville. The next president, Ulysses S. Grant, appointed him to the Supreme Court but Stanton, whose health had been deteriorating for some time, passed away four days later.

Stanton Park is one of the largest parks in the Capitol Hill area of Washington D.C., and it was included in the original layout for the city designed by French engineer Pierre L'Enfant. The park is named after Edward M. Staton (1814-1869) who served as the U.S. Secretary of War under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. In the center is a statue of Nathanael Greene (1742-1786) a major general in the American Revolutionary War. The statue depicts Greene astride a horse that rests atop a concrete base. The park was originally intended to be a right-of-way for Washington's street system. The land was not utilized as a park until 1867. Four years after the park's completion, it was named in honor of Stanton, who died two years prior in 1869.

Stanton Park

Owing to the costs of this more elaborate monument, and the fact that a statue featuring escaping slaves and Black soldiers would have likely angered white Southerners, the organizers settled upon this design which features Archer Alexander, the last person captured under the Fugitive Slave Act, kneeling before the former President as his chains are broken. 25,000 people attended the dedication ceremony which featured remarks by Frederick Douglass. Among the crowd were members of Congress, former slaves, and President Ulysses S. Grant. Frederick Douglass delivered the dedication speech which celebrated both Lincoln and the advances made by African Americans since the Civil War. His speech had only mild criticism for the design, which “showed the Negro on his knee when a more manly attitude would have been indicative of freedom.” African Americans such as Henry Highland Garnet who began the movement to raise funds for the monument hoped to place Lincoln and the end of slavery within an interpretive monument that included sculptures of African Americans resisting enslavement through military service and other means. Harriet Hosmer, a sculptor of great fame at that period, suggested that the figure of the slave should be clutching a rifle.

The effort to build this statue originated with donations made by formerly enslaved persons, many of whom wished to create a grand monument honoring the role of African American soldiers in ending slavery. Other donors wished to create a monument that focussed on Lincoln's decision to draft the Emancipation Proclamation and his reluctant journey from seeing the war as one to preserve the Union to one of ending slavery. The monument that was dedicated on April 14, 1876, betrayed both intentions. A controversial design both today and at the time it was created, the statue emphasizes deference to Lincoln "The Great Emancipator." Despite the intent of African Americans who funded the statue, the design that was eventually selected appears to suggest that Lincoln's actions alone led to the freedom of former slaves. The original design, which would have featured multiple statues of African Americans pursuing their own freedom in the antebellum period and throughout the Civil War, was prohibitively expensive. After the effort to create that monument stalled, the funds raised by African Americans under the leadership of John Mercer Langston were appropriated by a committee who were leading their own efforts to create a monument to honor Lincoln. 

Emancipation Statue 

The Furies in Greek Mythology were spirits of vengeance, female spirits that resided in the underworld, where they punished the wicked by driving them insane.1 They are also known as "the Erinyes," a derivative of Greek, which means "the angry ones." The name of this group is no accident,as Ginny Berson eventually point out in her January 1972 article for the The Furies newspaper2. Members of the Furies Collective were Rita Mae Brown, Nancy Myron, Jennifer Woodul, Helaine Harris, Susan Hathaway, Charlotte Bunch, Joan Biren, Ginny Berson, Sharon Deevey, Coletta Reid, Tasha Peterson, and Lee Schwing3. All of the members were lesbians and were with the amount of control the patriarchy had in American society. They were tired of male supremacy and the dominant force of heterosexuality and worked to be as independent as possible from these entities3.  The group would occupy an additional two residences: 1861 NW California Street and 2900 18th St NW. In the spring of 1971, The Furies, rudely called "Those Women" by the staff of a daycare across the street from their house on California, decided to start a Women's Skills Center, where women could learn life skills such as Spanish as a second language, take self-defense classes, and become skilled at basic car-repair techniques2. By the fall of 1971, The Women's Skills Center was established as a resource for women. Each woman in Those Women--they appropriated the name--had a role in the programs provided, they were: "Nancy Myron, Lesbian Press; Lee Schwing, Lesbian Newspaper; Sharon Deevey, Lesbian Pamphlet Series; Ginny Berson, sports; Charlotte Bunch, Women’s Skills Center; [and], Rita Mae Brown [was in charge of the\ Women’s Film Festival2." After their experience with producing motive, a lesbian feminist magazine and a publication for the United Methodist Church, when the women moved to Capital Hill in Washington, D.C., they began their lesbian feminist newspaper, The Furies. Built in 1913, Nicholas T. Haller, the architect, designed this rowhouse with ten large rooms--bedrooms,kitchen, bathrooms, dining room, basement, and a master bedroom. It was already a part of the Capitol Hill Historic District, but would become vital in the lesbian rights movement when "Those Women" rent the house to use it as their headquarters for their newspaper publication, The Furies, the title that replaced "Those Women." The basement served as the location for working on all aspects of the newspaper--writing, design, and packing1. The rest of the house was occupied by different events such as The Furies Meetings, educational programs, and "conscious-raising meetings"2. The newspaper was underpinned by lesbian feminist theory, and contained poetry, articles, and essays on issues with the lesbian feminist community--like male dominance, the need for more visibility and validation of lesbians, race, and class1. Although this group gave voice to the lesbian feminist struggle, the women's differences frayed the group because of tensions regarding socio-economic backgrounds and ideologies. The women did live together in the house and shared everything, member Ginny Berson told Slate: "We were very deliberate with how we shared money. Women with more privilege, who could get better jobs needed to put more in [the budget for living expenses]. Otherwise the women with least privilege and least education would be stuck working 40 hours a week at terrible jobs, and we wanted everyone to have time for political work4..”After the Collective dissolved in the summer of 1972, the women continued on with their advocacy separately with professions in the arts and socail justice--writers, human rights workers, and photographers. Former members also helped found organizations and companies, "Women in Distribution," "Olivia Records," and "Diana Press"4. The house also retained it's place as an active part of the lesbian women's movement, when Lammas Women's Shop opened in 19731. The rowhouse is now a private residence.

In the early 1970s, the Women's Liberation and Gay Liberation Movements were gaining traction. However, the Lesbian movement faced sexism and oppression from an ingrained patriarchal force from inside the feminist movement. The Furies Collective, a lesbian feminist group tried to challenge and overcome the patriarchy by creating a place for the collective of strong, lesbian women to expressive themselves. According to Brown in an interview with the MAKERS, she faced opposition from the heterosexual women of NOW and Betty Friedan, who purged the lesbians from their organization, known as the "lavender menace" for fear of becoming too radical, that it would hurt their movement. Brown states that these women were "rather privileged and very bright, [they] treated lesbians the way that men treated them."  This rowhouse was one of the locations in which the Furies Collective held their meetings between the spring of 1971 and the summer  of 1973, and it was also a communal living space for the women, in which they shared everything. 

The Furies Collective House

In the initial mapping of the
District of Columbia in 1792, it was discovered that there was not space laid
out for burial grounds. In 1798, planning began for placing a graveyard in the
District, and by 1812, plans were turned over to Christ Church for the creation
of the Washington Parish Burial Ground. Though the Burial Ground was available
to all, it quickly became associated with Congress, as almost every Congressman
who died in the Washington, D.C., area was buried in it, and in 1820, Christ Church
set 100 burial sites specifically for members of Congress and their families.
The government then continues to buy plots of land as the Burial Grounds expanded,
and in time, it came to be known as the Congressional Cemetery.

By the late 1990s, the Congressional
Cemetery had become neglected and dilapidated, showing many signs of disrepair
and lack of care. It was placed on the list of the most endangered historic
sites by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and soon after, a band
of people formed to pay taxed in order to have the grounds taken care of in
exchange for privileges of jogging and dog walking. Inspired by this, the
Cemetery was given more donations over the years in order to keep it maintained
and pristine.

The Congressional Cemetery is a privately owned cemetery which is known for being the resting place of numerous historical figures. The Cemetery is still active and sells plots for anyone, not just for Congressional members. In addition to graves, the Cemetery contains a number of monuments, such as the Public Vault, the Arsenal Disaster Monument, and the planned National LGBT Veteran’s Memorial Project.

Congressional Cemetery

Douglass was born as a slave in Maryland and it was conducted in his grandmother’s cabin on the plantation his family lived at. He was a mixed race kid with Native American, African, and European in his ethnicity, but he was overall African-American. Douglass wasn’t even Fredrick’s born surname as his official surname was Bailey, but he dropped it after escaping slavery. He was separated from his biological mother and given to his grandmother, who raised him primarily during his younger years. Douglass was switched around to many other guardians at different plantations as well.One of his guardians, Hugh Auld, had his wife take care of Douglass and she began teaching him the alphabet and how to read. She also saw to it that Douglass was fed and slept in a normal bed which Douglass appreciated. Her husband disapproved of the tutoring feeling that teaching him literacy would bring about a desire of freedom. This changed his wife’s behavior towards tutoring Douglass and she believed that teaching and slavery were not compatible. She hid all other reading materials from Douglass as well.However, Douglass self-taught himself in secrecy learning to read and write properly. Douglass would soon escape aboard a train and traveled to Havre de Grace, Maryland effectively freeing himself from slavery. He was supported by his lover, Anna Murray, who helped provide support for his escape attempts and even escaped with Douglass. They traveled by steamboat to Pennsylvania and then set up a home in New York. They married each officially on September 15, 1838.Frederick Douglass is among the most important individuals in United States history. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, Douglass became an internationally renowned abolitionist; he was also a social reformer, writer, and a firm believer in the equality of all peoples. Following the Civil War, as well as his appointment as the marshal for the District of Columbia and the stable income it brought, Douglass and his first wife, Anna, moved to Cedar Hill and lived in a lavish Victorian home originally built for John Van Hook. Douglass even founded his own newspaper and wrote a few books about his life experiences.Douglass also held a few public offices in his time like being the first person of color to serve as a marshal to the District of Columbia and he was the United States Minister Resident to Haiti. He was the first African-American vice presidential nominee, but it was done so without his permission and Douglass was nominated by the Equal Rights Party. Douglass was also a notable supporter of women’s rights. He officially died on February 20, 1895 leaving a good impression on the modern social political views of today’s America.The home atop Cedar Hill was originally built between 1855 and 1859 for John Welsh Van Cook, an architect who later helped developed Uniontown, known as Anacostia today. The Freedmen’s Savings and Trust company purchased the home in 1877, but in September of that year, Douglass bought the property by paying $6,700 (equivalent to about $152,300 today). During his time at the home, Douglass made several additions, converting it into a 21-room mansion. The renovations included the construction of a two-story, wood-framed addition at the back of the house. The kitchen was made into a dining room and a new kitchen was added to the south wing. Upstairs a partition, which divided two rooms on the west side of the house, was removed and replaced by two walls to make three smaller bedrooms. The attic was also finished and added five more rooms. Douglass also built a new library and another bedroom on the second story.After Douglass's death, his second wife, Helen Pitts, partnered with the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association , who partnered with the National Association of Colored Women, to complete the first restoration of the Douglass Home in 1922. In 1962, the Frederick Douglass home and Cedar Hill became part of the National Park system. Ten years later, after several restorations, the house officially reopened to the public as a historical site and museum. Today, the Frederick Douglass Historic Site pays tribute to Douglass’s life and work. Visitors can find many authentic artifacts, furniture, and other home furnishings, most of which are virtually untouched. Furthermore, the historic site provides exceptional educational opportunities for anyone looking to learn more about Frederick Douglass and his social efforts.

Established in 1988, the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site preserves the home and legacy of Frederick Douglass, a formerly enslaved man who became one of the most influential people of the 19th century. Douglass was a leading abolitionist, newspaper editor, civil rights advocate, author, orator, and statesman. This Victorian-style home was built between 1855 and 1859 for John Van Hook. Douglass purchased the home in 1877 with the aid of Freedmen’s Savings and Trust Company. Douglass and his wife, Anna, moved into the home in 1878 after he received an appointment as the marshal for the District of Columbia. Frederick Douglass lived in the home until his death in 1895 and it was acquired by the National Park Service in 1962. In 2017, the site was used to represent Washington D.C. on its commemorative America the Beautiful quarter-dollar coins.

Frederick Douglass National Historic Site

Booth's Escape from D.C. 

April 14, 1865:&nbsp; With President
Abraham Lincoln fatally wounded behind him, John Wilkes Booth fled Ford’s
Theatre, mounted his horse, and raced out of the capital.&nbsp; His exit route took him to the Navy Yard
Bridge at the foot of 11th
 Street.&nbsp; If
Booth could get past the guard, he could cross the bridge spanning Anacostia
creek and head south towards Virginia.&nbsp; Booth arrived at the bridge at about 10:30
p.m.&nbsp; A sentry named Silas Cobb demanded
he stop and give his name, because the bridge was closed at 9 p.m. for security
reasons. Booth gave his real name and the password “TB” (Tobacco Road).&nbsp; After further interrogation, Booth was allowed
to cross.&nbsp; Booth was lucky.&nbsp; He had already been stopped for suspicion (he
lacked proper identification) and held at this bridge earlier that day.&nbsp; The supervisor let him go and so Booth
entered the capital and carried out his assassination plot against the
President.

Booth’s co-conspirator David Herold, whose attempt to kill Secretary of
State William Seward caused only serious wounds, arrived at the bridge minutes
later.&nbsp; Herold was allowed to pass
without incident.&nbsp; A third horseman, John
Fletcher arrived soon after Herold, but did not cross the bridge.&nbsp; Fletcher was pursuing Herold to recover the
rented horse he rode.&nbsp; However, when Cobb
informed Fletcher he could cross the bridge but would not be allowed to re-cross
until morning, Fletcher ended his pursuit. &nbsp;&nbsp;The capture of Booth could have happened
within a day if sentry Cobb had followed his orders.&nbsp; That order was General Order #5, issued
January 24, 1863, saying:&nbsp; "No
person excepting General Officers will be passed over any of the several
crossings between the hours of 9:00 P.M. and daylight without the countersign
and a pass.”&nbsp; It was ninety minutes past
9 p.m., only one had the countersign, and none had a pass.

After crossing the Navy
 Yard Bridge
minutes apart, the two fugitives passed through Uniontown (now Anacostia) and
met up later at Soper’s Hill.&nbsp; From
there, they traveled together.&nbsp; They next
stopped shortly at the Surratt’s Tavern for weapons and supplies.&nbsp; By midnight they were in flight again.&nbsp; After 12 days, two rivers crossed, numerous
houses visited, 5 days hiding in the woods, and Union soldiers on their heels,
the two men were finally brought to justice at Garrett’s farm, where Herold was
arrested and Booth was killed.

The Navy Yard Bridge connected Washington,
D.C. to Uniontown (now Anacostia), Maryland.&nbsp; Uniontown was part of an 1850s development of
numerous suburbs by land speculators.&nbsp; A
developer built the town in 1854 to attract employees of the Navy Yard who
could live in his town and walk across the bridge to work.&nbsp;

Pursuit of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth could have ended at the capital city limits if the man guarding the Navy Yard Bridge had simply followed orders.  Instead, Booth escaped the city to lead Union forces on a 12-day chase across Maryland into Virginia.



Navy Yard Bridge

The construction of a wastewater management system in Washington, D.C. began c. 1810, making the D.C. sewerage system one of the oldest in the United States. Early efforts consisted of culverts and sewers which drained groundwater and stormwater away from the streets, although these were not linked together. Sewage was generally directed to the nearest body of water. During the Civil War, the population (supplied by the Washington Aqueduct) of the city surged. Inhabitants suffered from epidemics of smallpox, typhoid, and malaria because of the increase in water pollution. Consequently, the federal government began taking steps to deal with the issue. The Board of Public works built approximately 80 miles of sewers between 1871 and 1874. This system proved inadequate, owing to poor planning, faulty construction, and insufficient hydraulics. The condition of the Washington Canal and B-Street (today's Constitution Avenue) was particularly foul, leading to the construction of the B Street and Tiber Creek Sewers. In 1971, the Washington Canal, essentially an open sewer, was shut down and filled in. These solutions, however, only transferred the problem to the marshes along the Potomac and Anacostia
Rivers. In the 1890s, debates over the overall structure of the D.C. sewerage system prompted President Benjamin Harrison to appoint a Board of Engineers to decide on the matter. The implementation of the Board's recommendation to continue using a "combined system," wherein both
sanitary sewage and stormwater was carried and discharged into local waterways, is still retained in the design of the current system. Today, the D.C. sewerage system consists of approximately 1,800 miles of sanitary, combined, and storm sewers. Storm stations collect rainwater and direct it into the nearest river or stream. Wastewater also flows through the system, propelled primarily through the forces of gravity. Topological variation, however, necessitates the use of electric pumps to move the water through certain locations in the city. There are eight sewer pumping stations in D.C. The Main Sewerage Pumping Station was built in 1907. Designed by architectural firm of C.A. Didden and Son, with the association of architect Oscar Vogt, this structure is considered the "most consequential building designed and constructed during the careers of all three architects."1 Architecturally, it is an example of the Beaux Arts public works buildings in the District. The 2-1/2-story brick building also incorporates features from the Renaissance-revival style. This structure reflects the design philosophies popularized by the City Beautiful Movement architectural and urban planning reform movement of the early 20th century. Its design was highly praised at the time, with the station being described at the "heart" of the sewer system.1 The Potomac, O Street, and Main Pumping Stations are manned continuously by personnel from the Sewer 
	Services Department, with the D.C. Water Maintenance Branch conducting any necessary repairs. The main station is located in the Southeast Quadrant of the city on the Anacostia River, between the Washington Navy Yard and Nationals Park. On May 24, 2012, the National Park Service listed the Main Sewerage Pumping Station on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Main Sewerage Pumping Station is a historic 2-1/2-story brick structure which houses electric pumps that move wastewater through the D.C. sewage system. It was constructed between 1904-1907 and was one of the first buildings built by the city following the adoption of the McMillan Plan. Designed by the architectural firm of C.A. Didden and Son with architect Oscar Vogt, the Main Pumping Station is representative of the Beaux Arts public works buildings in the District of Columbia. The pumping station reflects the City Beautiful Movement architectural and urban planning reform philosophy popular in the early 20th century.

Main Sewerage Pumping Station

After the Expos were relocated to Washington and renamed the Nationals under new ownership, it was the first time America's past time was played in our Nation's capital in &nbsp;34 years. The Washington Senators left for Texas which left the city without a baseball franchise. However now the Nationals are considered a playoff and World Series contender year in and year out after some disappointing seasons in the beginning. After back to back 100+ loss seasons in 2008 and 2009, the National's roster acquired big named in Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg. Washington has won the National League East since their return to Washington, in the years of 2012 and 2014.&nbsp; The surrounding area of the ballpark is beautiful, whether it be the sights of the Anacostia RIver, monuments on the National Mall, or stores and restaurants. Parking and traveling to and from the stadium isn't as difficult or strenuous to the outsider of Washington D.C as you might expect. If an individual chose to drive by car there are more than 10 parking garages set aside for stadium parking as well as parking lots through the ball park or third party services. The residents of&nbsp;Washington D.C also navigate the city on the subway system or what they consider the Metro which has direct stop at the ballpark leading into and entrance on the outfield gates.&nbsp; The atmosphere of the games are something of this world. Being surrounded by individuals that were fans of the Expos and found their new roots in this city, or young fans of the Nationals, it is always a new experience.&nbsp;The architecture of the stadium is different than most around the country. Designers chose to make it appear more modern and professional by using steel instead of concrete for design. One of the most interesting things aside from the beautiful game of baseball is the run that the presidential mascots do in the 4th inning. This is something only the Nationals do and it definitely a can't miss sight which will surely bring laughs and tears to your face.

In 2005, the owners of the Montreal Expos sold the team to a new ownership group who brought the Major League franchise to the nation's capital. Although many long-time baseball fans hoped the team would be named in honor of the Senators, Washington's former Major League team, the owners renamed the team the Washington Nationals. This modern stadium has a capacity of 41,546. It is south of the Capital Building and is almost directly beside the Navy Yard. Walking throughout the ballpark, fans will have beautiful views of previously mentioned areas as well as the Washington Monument as a great view of the riverfront. The ballpark officially opened up on March 30, 2008 and cost over $600 million. This ballpark achieved a goal to become the first ballpark in the U.S. to be accredited as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. 

Nationals Park

On April 10, 1912, the British luxury passenger liner RMS Titanic left Southampton, England on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. After making quick stops to pick up additional passengers in Cherbourg, France and Queenstown, Ireland, the ship steamed for its ultimate destination, New York City. Just before midnight on Sunday, April 14, Titanic struck an iceberg, which tore a long gash on the starboard side of its hull. Just over two and a half hours later, the vessel once touted as unsinkable was at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean. Out of the approximately 2,200 passengers and crew members onboard, only about 700 survived the tragedy. Due to the ship’s evacuation policy, which mandated that women and children be the first passengers to be loaded onto the insufficient number of lifeboats, most of the survivors were women and children. The men who died in the disaster came from practically all walks of life. Some were poor immigrants who had scrapped together just enough money to purchase tickets in steerage, while others, such as John Jacob Astor, were some of the wealthiest men in the world.  Shortly after the tragedy, which garnered international attention, a group of American women founded the Women’s Titanic Memorial Association. Led by Mrs. John Hays Hammond, the organization raised $43,000 by January 1914 to erect a monument honoring the men aboard the RMS Titanic who sacrificed their lives so that the women and children could live. Most of the donations were small and made by thousands of women from across the United States. The association also sponsored a design competition for its proposed memorial. Several esteemed sculptors submitted entries, but the Women’s Titanic Memorial Association chose that of a relatively unknown artist at the time, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875-1942). It would be the first significant commission of her career.  Although completed in 1916, the memorial was not dedicated until 1931. For about fifteen years, it remained in a private gallery in New York City while the Women’s Titanic Memorial Association obtained the necessary approvals and construction crews prepared the site. Originally, the memorial was located along the Potomac River at the southern end of New Hampshire Avenue. In 1968, it was dismantled to make way for the construction of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The memorial sat in storage briefly before being relocated to Southwest Waterfront Park, where it remains today.  The memorial is composed of a few different parts. The first is a red granite sculpture of a partially cloaked male figure. He stands tall with both arms stretched wide open. His eyes are closed and his head is tiled back as if beckoning to the sky above. The figure stands on a pedestal inscribed with the following: “TO THE YOUNG AND THE OLD THE RICH AND THE POOR THE IGNORANT AND THE LEARNED ALL WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES NOBLY TO SAVE WOMEN AND CHILDREN.” The pedestal is integrated into the center of a thirty-foot-long exedra designed by renowned architect Henry Bacon, who also designed the Lincoln Memorial.

Designed by sculptor Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, the memorial honors the men aboard the British luxury passenger liner who died after the vessel struck an iceberg and sank while on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City in April 1912. Out of the approximately 2,200 passengers and crew members onboard, only about 700 survived the tragedy. Due to the ship’s evacuation policy, which mandated that women and children be the first passengers to be loaded onto the insufficient number of lifeboats, most of the survivors were women and children. Shortly after the disaster, a group of American women founded the Women’s Titanic Memorial Association. Led by Mrs. John Hays Hammond, the organization raised $43,000 by January 1914 to erect a monument honoring the men aboard the RMS Titanic who sacrificed their lives so that the women and children could live. Most of the donations were small and made by tens of thousands of women from across the United States. Although completed in 1916, the memorial was not dedicated until 1931. It originally stood along the Potomac River at the southern end of New Hampshire Avenue. In 1968, it was dismantled to make way for the construction of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The memorial sat in storage briefly before being relocated to Southwest Waterfront Park, where it remains today. 

Titanic Memorial

Steve Green, the president of Hobby Lobby solicited donations from other evangelical Christians who shared his interpretation of the Bible. Mr. Green’s vision finally became a reality on November 17, 2017. Steve Green’s craft company, Hobby Lobby had illegally smuggled approximately 5,500 ancient artifacts to the U.S. from Iraq. Due to this newly found evidence, some critics speculate and question the provenance of the museum's artifacts.&nbsp; After a Civil Action was filed, Hobby Lobby forfeited the artifacts. According to the museum, no artifacts within the museum were a part of the illegally smuggled Iraqi artifacts.&nbsp; However, there are still some questions about the authenticity of the dead sea scroll fragments. &nbsp;

The Museum of the Bible has over 4,400 exhibits out of which some that are related to the influence of the Bible throughout history. The artifacts found in the museum are partially from the Green family collection of biblical artifacts. Exhibits&nbsp; also include several historic Bibles&nbsp;that were owned by U.S. Presidents and the original “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”&nbsp;

The Museum of the Bible opened on November 17, 2017, after years of planning by museum founder Steve Green, the president of Hobby Lobby. The museum was completed at a cost of approximately five million dollars. Green originally stated that the mission of the museum was to "inspire confidence on the absolute authority and reliability of the Bible." The museum later changed its mission to emphasize a desire for attendees to investigate and "engage with" the Bible. However, critics of the museum argue that Green's original mission statement has driven much of the museum's creation and rather than offering an objective and scholarly museum of the historical significance of the Bible, the museum is an extension of the Green family's effort to spread their personal view of Christianity. 

Museum of the Bible

Dwight D Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas, on October 14, 1890. Eisenhower grew up in Abeline, Kansas, having moved there when he was one. He was born into a poor family, as his father worked in a creamery. Dwight was nicknamed "Ike" a name that stuck into his later life. He enjoyed sports but took a moderate interest in his studies. After graduating from Abeline High School in the Class of 1909, Eisenhower attended West Point US Military Academy. He excelled in football but injured his knee, forcing him to stop playing. Graduating in the class of 1915, which produced 59 generals, Eisenhower was 61st and 125th in academics and discipline, respectively, out of 164 graduates.After graduating from West Point, Eisenhower was commissioned second lieutenant and sent to San Antonio, Texas, where he met his future wife, Mamie Geneva Doud. Eisenhower commanded a tank training center as a Captain during WWI and although he was to be shipped overseas, the war ended before his departure. During the interwar period, Eisenhower attended the Army's Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he graduated first in the 1926 class of 275. Eventually, Eisenhower became an aide to legendary World War II Pacific Commander Douglas MacArthur.In 1941, at the start of World War II Eisenhower was promoted to chief of staff of the Third Army. After winning the attention of Army Chief of Staff George C Marshall, in June 1942, Eisenhower had rapidly advanced to command all US troops in Europe. Through 1944, Eisenhower commanded assaults on Northern Africa and Southern Italy. In December of 1943, Eisenhower had again been promoted to command all allied troops, including British and Canadian forces, in Europe. During the joint invasion of Normandy beaches, Eisenhower commanded the amphibious attack, leading to the eventual recapture of Paris. Eisenhower retired in 1948 with high popularity.In 1952, Eisenhower was elected US President, with the campaign slogan "I Like Ike". During his two terms, Eisenhower set US foreign policy for the Cold War against the USSR and helped end the Korean War. In 1957, in his second term, Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and sent troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to enforce desegregation in public schools. He also finished desegregating the military which Truman had started. In addition, Eisenhower signed a massive infrastructure bill that created the National US Highway System. Eisenhower died on March 28, 1969.The memorial in DC was commissioned by Congress in 1999 and built by the Eisenhower Memorial Commission at a cost of 150 million. The original design of the memorial caused many conflicts between architect Frank Gehry and the family of Eisenhower. Originally, Gehry had proposed a memorial where a sole statue of a barefoot, young Eisenhower was shown, against a tapestry background of the Kansas plains. Secretary of State James A Baker III brokered a compromise in which the tapestry was changed to Normandy, and put the youthful Eisenhower statue to the side. The memorial is built on a 4-acre site along eastbound Independence Avenue. Originally, the opening of the memorial was scheduled for May 8, 2020, the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, however, due to Covid-19 the opening was postponed to September 2020.

The Dwight D Eisenhower Memorial commemorates the life of the 34th US President who is best known for leading allied forces in World War II. The memorial was designed by Frank Gehry and consists of a series of three statues, inscriptions, and a first-of-its-kind tapestry. The memorial features three statues sculpted by Sergey Eylanbekov, one of Eisenhower as a boy, one as Supreme Allied Commander with troops from the 101st Airborne Division, and one as President featured with civilian and military advisors. The tapestry by Tomas Osiniki depicts the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc on the Normandy coastline. Dedicated on September 18, 2020, this was the newest memorial on or near the National Mall at the time this article was written.

Dwight D Eisenhower Memorial

The Yellow House was the&nbsp;point of transition from freedom to slavery for many escaped slaves, as well as free men and women of color who&nbsp;were kidnapped illegally&nbsp;by men who claimed they were&nbsp;runaways. Men, women, and children were&nbsp;held in this jail under horrific conditions pending their sale various areas of the South. Until Congress banned the sale of slaves (but not slavery itself) within the city limits, Washington had many slave pens&nbsp;“within the very shadow of the Capitol.” William H. Williams owned the Yellow House, a slave pen&nbsp;described as a three-story brick dwelling, covered with plaster, painted yellow and standing within viewing distance of the Capitol. The precise&nbsp;location of the “Yellow House”&nbsp;is difficult to discern. In 1850, Smithsonian regent Jefferson Davis, remarked of this structure, "It is the house by which all must go who wish to reach the building of the Smithsonian Institution."&nbsp;As a result, it would have been located somewhere between 7th and 8th Streets, just south of the Smithsonian Institution grounds.Proprietor William H. William's firm owned and operated two slave-trading ships, the Tribune and the Uncas. The broadside featured on this page shows images of the Yellow House and other&nbsp;slave pens in Washington and Alexandria. The top of the abolitionist broadside&nbsp;shows&nbsp;two contrasting scenes. The first depicts a reading of the&nbsp;Declaration of Independence under the caption&nbsp;"The Land of the Free." The second shows&nbsp;slaves being led past the capitol with the caption "The Home of the Oppressed."&nbsp;

Before 1850, when Congress barred the slave trade in the District of Columbia, slave pens and auction blocks were a common sight in the Nation's capital. In fact, Washington had over a dozen slave pens, jails, and markets where people were bought and sold. Williams Slave Pen, also known as “The Yellow House” was one of the most notorious slave pens in the region, and operated both as a prison and an auction house. Solomon Northup, a free Black man living in New York, was captured in 1841 by slave traders pretending to be employers. These men drugged Northup and sold him to the proprietors of this slave pen who later sold him to slave traders from New Orlean.s Northup escaped twelve years later and his story became a best-seller and the inspiration for the movie "Twelve Years a Slave." Some historians who have studied maps of the city and the contemporary accounts believe that the Yellow House was located where the Federal Aviation Administration headquarters is located. Others place the slave pen at two other locations along what is now the National Mall. Although it is impossible to determine with certainty that this was the location as this and several other slave pens were often referenced together, it is important to note that Solomon Northup and thousands of others were bought and sold in the nation's capital prior to 1850.  

Yellow House; Williams Slave Pen and Solomon Northup

In 1862, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was founded to
cover the production of stamps, currency, and government documents, so the
government would no longer have to rely on outsourcing these duties to third
parties. The Bureau was initially located within the Treasury Department
Building, but it was not long before it was decided that the Bureau required a
building of its own to work out of. Architect James Hill oversaw the design and
the construction of a building for the Bureau beginning in 1878, and in 1880,
construction on the building of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was
complete. As it was supposed to house the Bureau, the building was built of
brick and mortar, making it look industrially striking and ensuring that it was
fire-proof, as well. As the Bureau expanded in the decades following the
building’s construction, several additional structures were added to the
building as were needed, and the Bureau continued to operate out of the
building for several decades.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing soon grew so large that
the building could no longer adequately house it, and in 1914, they moved to a
larger complex close by. With the site now vacant, it was converted in order to
house the Treasury Department’s Auditors Division, and was re-christened the
Auditors Building Complex. For several decades on, the Building Complex was
home to government agencies such as the USDA and the IRS, as well as auditors
from numerous branches of government.

Though the Auditors Complex was still occupied in the 1960s,
it held nowhere near as many occupants as it did in the prior half of the
twentieth century. This underutilization coupled with a great need for repairs
and renovations set the building up for demolition in 1966, but due to a lack
of funding, the building was spared. In 1978, however, the building was added
to the National Register of Historic Places, and with this addition came the
prospect of being re-utilized. In 1990, the United States Forest Service moved
into the building, and in 1999, it was re-named the Sidney R. Yates Building,
in honor of the eponymous Congressman of Illinois. Today, the building still
houses the U.S. Forest Service, and some of the buildings from the old Auditors
Complex have been incorporated into the U.S. Holocaust Museum.

The Sidney Yates Building is a federal building located at 14th Street and Independence Avenue. Built in 1880, the Sydney Yates Building was built to be a simple, functional building in which to house the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Over the years, the Sidney Yates Building has served a number of purposes, including being utilized by the IRS and other agencies as the Auditors Building Complex in the early 1900s. The building currently serving as the headquarters for the U.S. Forest Service, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Sidney Yates Building

Following his leadership as the commander of the nation's military forces in the Revolutionary War, and his leadership of the Constitutional Convention, Washington received the unanimous support of the first Electoral College and became the first American President. In this role, Washington shaped the Presidency and established many of the expectations for future presidents. The Washington National Monument Society (WNMS) proposed the idea of a monument that would be unlike any other in the world. After considering several designs, the organization selected a plan submitted by Robert Mills that called for a 600-foot Egyptian obelisk flanked by thirty 100-foot columns. The committee selected a site on what would become the National Mall directly south from the White House and west of the Capitol. At the time, much of the land south and west of the monument were wetlands. The location and size of this monument would later dictate the shape of the National Mall, especially after the Core of EngineersThe cornerstone for the project was laid on July 4th, 1848. The event was one of the most spectacular events, with notable guests in attendance, including President Polk and the wives of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. Workers toiled to create the foundation of the monument, an 80 foot square-step pyramid structure. Once this task was completed, the builders turned their attention to building the above-ground marble structure. They used a system of pulleys, a block and tackle system, and a mounted derrick to push stones to workers who completed each section. The WNMS also invited states, cities, and organizations to design memorial stones to help build the monument. They received 193, some of which are now visible through the elevator windows. By 1854, the monument was 156 feet above the ground.A new group within the Know-Nothing Party took control of the WNMS, a change that proved a detriment to the monument’s progress. This new alignment alienated potential donors, and the already struggling Society was forced to file for bankruptcy. These events put the construction of the monument on hold. Congress tried to offer financial aid, but the nation was soon embroiled in the Civil War. During a period known as Reconstruction, government leaders focussed on the status of formerly enslaved persons and the readmission of former Confederate states. This monument became a literal symbol of the period, with the construction of a national monument to a leader who was revered by both Northern and Southern leaders serving as a symbol of hope. Congress took control of building the monument through a joint resolution on July 5, 1876.The US Army Corps of Engineers, headed by Lt. Col. Thomas Lincoln Casey, was tasked with completing the massive project. The new leadership decided the base could not support the weight that would need to be added to reach the monument's planned height. As a result, the Corps of Engineers began reconstruction by adding more stone to the base, a process that lasted four years. Attaining the quantity of stone to complete the monument was another challenge. The quarry in Baltimore that was used for the base could not provide the needed quantity, so engineers looked elsewhere and selected a quarry in Massachusetts. A series of irregular deliveries and some inconsistent stone color caused concern, but builders continued until a third quarry was selected. The monument was completed with stone from Baltimore, and while the stone colors are close, they do not match perfectly. The three types of stone used are marble, granite, and blue gneiss. The color changes at about two-thirds up the monument.During construction, some of the original plans for the monument were abandoned. For example, the ornamentation intended to adorn the base of the obelisk was canceled for simplicity. The monument stands at 555 feet instead of 600 feet, a decision that reflected a change from nine-inch walls instead of the original thirteen inches.The memorial was completed and dedicated on February 21, 1885. An iron staircase was added later, and the monument opened to the public in 1886. An electric elevator was added in 1901 to shorten the trip to the top of the obelisk. On the aluminum cap which covers the capstone, there are names and dates of the monument’s construction inscribed as well as the Latin phrase “Laus Deo” meaning “Praise be to God." Beginning in the 1920s, American flags appeared around the monument for celebrations and special occasions. In 1958, flagpoles were permanently installed. Fifty flags representing each state have flown continuously since 1971.The Washington Monument has since become a major tourist attraction and an iconic symbol for the country. Visitors to Washington, D.C., flock to the monument, which offers astounding views of the Lincoln Memorial, Reflection Pool, Jefferson Memorial, and the Capitol Building. It has also been the site of many protests and events since its opening. For example, protesters during the Vietnam War and Korean War came to the monument to demonstrate against US involvement in those conflicts. The Washington Monument has undergone numerous restorations to clean, repair, and stabilize this important historic icon. On August 23, 2011, A 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck 90 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., causing damage to the Washington Monument walls and stability. The National Park Service gathered teams of engineers and architects to repair the structure using a blend of high-tech science and centuries-old masonry techniques. The monument's interior was closed for a period to renovate the interior and reopened in 2019.

Perhaps the most iconic monument in the nation's capital, the Washington Monument honors America's first president, George Washington. The monument dates back to 1833 when the National Monument Society began raising funds for the completion of this and other monuments. The Society ran out of funds in 1856, leaving the base of the monument unfinished until 1876, when construction resumed. The monument was completed in 1885. In the early 20th century, the monument became the centerpiece of the National Park Service's National Mall and Memorial Parks. Discerning visitors will notice that the base and the top of the monument feature slightly different colors of stone, something that reflects the two different phases of construction. The two decades when construction was paused created a situation where the original quarry was not available for the second phase.

All 8 wards walking tour

Town Center East

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources