DC Preservation League

Although Capitol Hill had hosted a neighborhood market for decades, established by a presidential proclamation by Thomas Jefferson in the early 1800s, it wasn’t until 1873 that a dedicated building designed to house the market was erected. At the time, public markets were becoming increasingly important structures, and Alexander Robey “Boss” Shepherd’s administration was investing heavily in public works, which included the construction of public markets throughout the city. Eastern Market is one of the few of these structures that remain, and the only one that has continuously operated as a market since its original opening.

Designed by the prominent local architect Adolf Cluss, whose other works in DC include the Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries Building and the Franklin School, Eastern Market benefited from Cluss’ familiarity with public market structures. A year earlier, he had designed Center Market, which—alongside Eastern Market and Western Market, located at 21st and K Streets in Foggy Bottom—fulfilled the 1791 L’Enfant Plan’s intention to build three public markets. (Eastern Market is the only one of the three to survive—Center Market was demolished in 1931 to make way for the National Archives, and Western Market was replaced with an office building in 1961.)

In addition to catering to the Capitol Hill neighborhood’s grocery needs, Eastern Market had an important charge: to serve as a model for a more urbanized DC. The Civil War had drawn unwanted attention to the nation’s capital, and many remarked negatively on the city’s rural, pastoral appearance. These comments drove DC’s leaders to try to make a visible statement that the city was modernizing, and grand public structures like Eastern Market were a key strategy. The buildings, as such, had to be not only functional, but also modern and handsome.

The 85 stalls that comprised the original Eastern Market structure each initially rented for $3.75 a month, hosting merchants who provided Capitol Hill with produce, smoked and freshly butchered meats, seafood, poultry, flowers, baked goods, and more. Eastern Market’s merchants mostly lived in the surrounding neighborhood, which meant that their customers were also often their friends and neighbors. These merchants were of diverse backgrounds, both black and white, and many were immigrants from nations like Germany, Italy, and Ireland.

Eastern Market remained an important neighborhood center, and a growing Capitol Hill community drove the construction of additions to the building in 1907 and 1908. Snowden Ashford, a DC native who was behind many of the city’s municipal buildings of the period, designed the addition, which included a large café space.

Grocery store chains posed a major threat to the public market system, one that was especially visible at Eastern Market after the opening of a large chain supermarket four blocks away in the 1920s. However, despite the eventual demolition of its sister structures, Eastern Market has remained in operation since 1873. In 2007, the market suffered significant damage by fire, but it reopened in 2009 after city-funded repairs and renovations and continues operating as a market today.

The interior of the market received historic designation in 1991. Photos courtesy of DC Historic Sites.

Historic preservation in Washington, DC typically addresses the protection of a building or a structure's exterior. This means residents of historic districts can freely remodel the interiors of their homes while external facades are preserved. However, DC's historic preservation regulations do allow for the designation of "building interiors" for historic and/or architectural significance. But, of the hundreds of landmarks in the District of Columbia, only 20 landmarks have historically designated interior spaces!

Click here to learn about these twenty spaces: https://historicsites.dcpreservation.org/tours/show/53

This August, join DCPL for an event to learn more about historic interiors across the city!

Photograph courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution's National Postal Museum, depicting the museum's historic lobby.

This past Saturday, the DC Preservation League took an amazing tour of the Rubell Museum led by Hany Hassan and Anna Barbour, of Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners. This tour focused on the building's transition from a 20th century school building to a 21st century art museum.

Originally designed and constructed as Randall Junior High School, the museum stands as one of the few extant buildings associated with the pre-urban renewal history of Southwest Washington. Listed on both the DC Inventory and the National Register, the building serves as a reminder of the cultural and social role that schools played in the 20th-century development of African American communities.

Hany and Anna described the restoration process for the building, which had been exposed to the elements for years and had suffered severe damage. Today, the building retains many of its historic features, including beautiful floors, beams, and brick accents. The Rubell Museum is adaptive reuse at work; an incredible success that benefits both the natural environment and the people who live there.

Special thanks to Beyer Blinder Belle for partnering with us on this tour!

The DC Preservation League is working on a project to document the of the community in . We’re searching for photographs of individuals, businesses and events that people may have in their personal collections and would be willing to share with us for possible inclusion in the document.

Please DM if you have photos to share or to learn more about how they will be used.

DC Office of Planning DC Mayor's Office on Latino Affairs

LANDMARK UPDATE! On June 27, 2024, the Historic Preservation Review Board designated the former headquarters of Youth Pride, Inc. (1536 U Street NW) as a historic landmark.

Youth Pride, Inc. was an important organization within the Black Power Movement and was funded through the War on Poverty. The organization was established in 1967 by several Black Power activists, including Rufus “Catfish” Mayfield and future DC Mayor Marion Barry. In early 1968, Pride, Inc. moved to the now landmarked 1920 Renaissance Revival style building. In its new headquarters and following the April 1968 uprising, Pride began to focus on Black capitalism in which the organization would train young men and then help them find employment. In 1981, Pride’s federal funding was completely cut off and the organization permanently shut down.

This nomination is related to the 20th Century African American Civil Rights Sites in Washington, DC, 1912 - 1974 multiple property document, which was adopted by the Board in October 2021. The property is also featured in The Black Power Movement in Washington, DC, 1966 - 1978 historic context statement, which is being finalized and will soon be available to the public. The landmark nomination was submitted to the Historic Preservation Office earlier this year by the DC Preservation League (DCPL) and the property owner, Community Change Action.

Photographs courtesy of Howard University's Mooreland-Spingarn Research Center (Left) and the DC Public Library (Right).

Learn more about this history on DC Historic Sites: https://historicsites.dcpreservation.org/items/show/1294

The internet has been buzzing this week after a DC meme account reposted a video asserting that DC's is different (and worse!) than other cities on the East Coast. The reasoning offered: DC is historically poorer than its northern neighbors, and we don’t have properly trained architects. WHAT?

DCPL is here to set the record straight. Yes, DC's architecture has its own character and is from other cities. We have prominent federal architecture recognized worldwide, distinctive , and commercial corridors designed by nationally and locally significant architects (both formally trained and untrained).

Read through the slides to learn about why DC looks the way it does! Questions? Leave them in the comments.

Curious about the history of Latino Communities in DC? The DC Preservation League has officially completed the first draft of The History of Latino Communities in Washington, DC: A Context Study.

Tomorrow night at the Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library, join DCPL for a presentation by architectural historian Heather N. McMahon—the consultant behind the project—who will provide an outline of that history, including associated themes and related sites.

There will be opportunities for attendees to comment and ask questions. Once completed, this context study will provide a framework for nominating historic sites to the National Register of Historic Places that memorialize Latino history in the District of Columbia.

This program is free and open to the public. Please register to attend: https://lnkd.in/e_CjK4wb

So you want to promote sustainable building in your neighborhood? Advocating for adaptive reuse projects involves raising awareness, promoting understanding, and mobilizing support for the benefits of repurposing existing structures.

Read through this checklist for eleven effective ways that you can advocate for adaptive reuse projects: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-advocate-adaptive-reuse-dc-preservation-league/?trackingId=N5zrq43z%2BLOKH3LdL%2Byr3Q%3D%3D

Ready to embrace sustainability, innovation, and historic preservation to transform our built environment? You can help contribute to the way we reimagine spaces and support architectural sustainability–this month, DCPL is focusing on the educational theme of adaptive reuse. Learn how to advocate for reuse and discover sustainable projects across DC.

As the most influential court in the United States, Americans have long understood the importance of the US Supreme Court and many view it as a final avenue to right a legal wrong. LGBTQ+ Americans, like other minority groups, have relied on the federal courts for protecting and expanding their civil rights and liberties. This has especially been the case when the US Congress and individual state legislatures have failed to act.

The LGBTQ+ rights movement first gained national attention in the postwar decades of the 1950s and 1960s, thanks to individuals like Dr. Franklin Kameny. During these years, discrimination against LGBTQ+ Americans was widespread and widely accepted, as illustrated by the Lavender Scare; and up until 1973, the American Psychiatric Association classified homosexuality as a mental illness. However, things started to change, ever so slowly, as LGBTQ+ Americans started to enter the mainstream through popular culture and continued political activism centered around the AIDS crisis and g**s in the military.

However, there were legal setbacks that the LGBTQ+ community had to face. In 1986, the US Supreme Court, in Bowers v. Hardwick, upheld state anti-sodomy laws (in this case, Georgia’s). Ten years later, the court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America could bar g**s from joining the organization (Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, 1996). There were also some wins, including in Romer v. Evans (1996). In that case, an amendment in Colorado was overturned by the high court. Lambda Legal, an LGBTQ+ rights organization, says, “This landmark victory was the single most positive Supreme Court ruling in the history of the gay rights movement when it was decided. The Court’s ruling made clear that le****ns, gay men and bisexuals have the same right to seek government protection against discrimination in the United States as any other group of people.”

Within a decade, Bowers v. Hardwick was overturned in Lawrence v. Texas (2003). Simultaneously, same-sex civil unions and marriages started to gain traction, with Massachusetts legalizing same-sex marriage in 2004. Another significant legal victory for the movement occurred in U.S. v. Windsor (2013). This decision overturned a key section of the Defense of Marriage Act, which had been passed by Congress in 1996. Until it was struck down, the federal law’s definition of marriage, as between a man and a woman, had limited federal benefits – “legal recognition of relationships, access to a partner’s employment benefits, rights of inheritance, joint tax returns and tax exemptions, immigration or residency for noncitizen partners, next-of-kin status, protection from domestic violence, and the right to live together in military or college housing,” just to list a few – to heterosexual couples.

Finally, two years later, Obergefell v Hodges (2015) legalized same-sex marriage nationwide – a remarkable development for the LGBTQ+ movement. As soon as the 5-4 decision was announced on that summer day, people rushed to the front of the US Supreme Court building to celebrate a huge win after many years of heartache and hope. There would be losses and wins in the coming years, but on that day LGBTQ+ Americans could celebrate just how far the movement had come in a short time.

This is a stop on the DC’s LGBTQ+ History Tour. For more information about DC's LGBTQ History, please see the Historic Context Statement for Washington’s LGBTQ Resources.

NEW EVENT! 🎉 Did you know that on March 22, 1965, DC hosted one of the first discussions surrounding LGBTQ+ religious identity, belonging, and community? Franklin E. Kameny organized a meeting between members of the Mattachine Society and 11 clergymen from Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish communities around the Capital.

This pivotal conversation, held at American University, marked a critical moment in the history of + religious history and the history of LGBTQ+ individuals of faith affirming communities in Washington, DC.

This Wednesday at 6:00 PM, join public historian Emma Cieslik online for a discussion exploring DC's hashtag ***r faith histories. Starting in the 1960s, this session will cover religious and during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the creation of LGBTQ+-founded and led religious communities, and present forms of religious protest led by q***r folx championing LGBTQ+ rights.

Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/epjMz7Aw

Phase One was a popular le***an bar on DC's Barracks Row (8th Street SE), which was once referred to as "Gay Way," thanks to its many LGBTQ+ friendly businesses. Allen Carroll and his partner Chris Jansen opened the bar in 1971. Soon after opening in an 1890s commercial building, Phase One became a social space that over the decades was, as described by a Blade reporter, "A meeting place for women’s softball team members, college students, politicos, and feminists," and "a 'must' stop on any weekend round of women’s bar hopping."

In 2013, bar manager Alexis Lombardi told WAMU that on some nights Phase One would be frequented by 20-somethings, while other times it was filled with women in their 60s and 70s. It was a welcoming place that would eventually become one of the nation’s oldest le***an bars. After nearly 50 years in business, Phase One closed in 2016.

This is a stop on the DC’s LGBTQ+ History Tour.

This site was documented, along with four other DC bars/clubs, by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in 2016 as part of its DC LGBTQ Nightlife project.

For more information about DC's LGBTQ History, please see the Historic Context Statement for Washington’s LGBTQ Resources.

🌈 ***an

Happy Juneteenth! From the Underground Railroad to modern Civil Rights protests, DC has been a major site for Black activism. Known as the "Chocolate City," DC has also been a central location for the expression of Black joy and community. Celebrate today by learning about the city's history on DC Historic Sites.

LANDMARK UPDATE: On May 23, 2024, the Historic Preservation Review Board designated the former House of Mercy building, currently known as the Rosemount Center (2000 Rosemount Avenue NW), as a historic landmark. The landmark nomination was submitted earlier this year by the DC Preservation League (DCPL) and House of Mercy, the property owner.

Established in 1884 by the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, House of Mercy is located on a ridge overlooking the wooded Rock Creek Valley and still retains its "sanctuary" landscape over 110 years later. Originally developed as a group home for women and children in-need, the original House of Mercy building in Foggy Bottom proved too small, prompting a move to then-rural Mount Pleasant in 1911. At the direction of principal donor Cassie Meyer James, Nathan C. Wyeth designed the new building in the Spanish Colonial Revival/Mission style.

Upon opening, House of Mercy functioned as a religious maternity home for u***d mothers and their babies. At the time, most of DC's social services remained segregated and the organization exclusively served white girls and women until the Washington Diocese called for integration in 1958. In different parts of the city, there were at least two homes for Black women and children, including the National Association for the Relief of Destitute Colored Women and Children (later known as the Merriweather Home for Children), which was nominated by DCPL in 2022 and is now listed on the DC Inventory of Historic Sites and the National Register of Historic Places.

House of Mercy continued to serve as a maternity center and space for impoverished girls until 1972 when the center closed. That same year, it reopened as the Rosemount Infant Day Care Center (also known as El Centro Rosemount) and started serving the influx of Spanish-speaking infants and toddlers whose parents had arrived in Mount Pleasant during the late 1960s and early '70s. Rosemount Center was the Washington area's first bilingual daycare center, and continues to serve Mount Pleasant and the surrounding neighborhoods.

You can read more about House of Mercy on DC Historic Sites: https://historicsites.dcpreservation.org/items/show/1293

Deacon Maccubbin opened Lambda Rising bookstore in 1974 in a 300-square-foot space on 19th Street NW. The bookstore opened at a significant time for the + movement, as only one year prior to the store’s opening the American Psychiatric Association had stopped classifying homosexuality as a mental illness. Maccubbin stated in a 2009 article for the American Booksellers Association: “We thought if we could show that there was a demand for our literature, that bookstores could be profitable selling it, we could encourage the writing and publishing of GLBT books, and sooner or later other bookstores would put those books on their own shelves.” In 1977, James Bennett joined Maccubbin as a co-owner.

Lambda Rising, a reference to "lambda," a Greek letter and gay liberation symbol, relocated to S Street NW before moving to its final location at 1625 Connecticut Avenue NW in 1984. It eventually became the nation's largest gay and le***an bookstore, selling "anything by, for, or about g**s and le****ns," as stated to the Washington Post in 1984. The bookstore closed in late 2009.

This is a stop on DCPL's LGBTQ+ History Tour, available on DC Historic Sites. For more information about DC's LGBTQ History, please see the Historic Context Statement for Washington’s LGBTQ Resources.

The ClubHouse (also known as the Clubhouse and the Club House), constructed in phases between 1930 and 1945, served as an automobile garage and showroom before becoming DC’s top African American dance club from 1975 to 1990. As AIDS became an epidemic in the early 1980s, the ClubHouse became a center for activism by racial minorities, and the focal point for the Black gay community’s response to the disease.

The ClubHouse was the third, and most successful, dance club project of the Metropolitan Capitolites, one of DC’s earliest gay-oriented social clubs. The Capitolites began throwing house parties in the 1960s, providing an essential entertainment and meeting space as well as social networking opportunities. The group opened the ClubHouse in the former garage and showroom with 400 charter members, a number that swelled to 4,000. On weekends, 8,000 people lined up to enter the club.

During the 1980s, under the leadership of John Eddy, Morrell Chasten, and Audrea Scott, the ClubHouse was instrumental in creating an awareness of HIV and AIDS among African Americans. The club lent its space, mailing list, and organizing ability to the first AIDS Forum for Black and Third World G**s, jointly sponsored in September 1983 with the Whitman Walker Clinic. This was one of the first events during the AIDS crisis where public health workers reached out to the African American community. Several in attendance expressed concern about inadequate reporting on the disease’s impact on minorities—40 percent of people with AIDS were Black.

Less than 18 months later, ClubHouse staff organized a holistic health response to AIDS that by 1988 had become Us Helping Us, one of DC’s most important AIDS education and support organizations. Us Helping Us met at the ClubHouse until the venue closed in 1990; despite the club’s efforts to curb the spread of the disease, AIDS had dispirited the community and killed many of its members.

Later a nightclub for teenagers, the building currently houses the DC Vets Center.

Images courtesy of the Rainbow History Project, the Washington Blade, and the DC HPO. Want to learn more? Visit DC Historic Sites.

Initially opened as a “musty little beer joint” in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, DC, Paramount Steakhouse (later renamed Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse)) became a haven for the LGBTQ+ community, almost entirely by accident. George Katinas and his sisters—Annie, Sue, Kitty, and Sophie—were descendants of Greek immigrants who were dedicated to ensuring the restaurant’s success.

The Katinas operated the restaurant as a family affair, treating customers like kin and working diligently to provide patrons with the best possible service and care. The restaurant became recognized for the family’s openness, kindness, and acceptance of customers—in addition to the steakhouse’s good food, lighthearted atmosphere, and a charismatic woman behind the counter: Annie Katinas. Described as a “force of nature,” Annie Katinas Kaylor (1927-2013) is remembered fondly by patrons and family alike. Paul Kuntzler, a pioneering advocate for gay rights who visited the restaurant for the first time in the 1960s, described Annie as such: “She went out of her way to understand the lives of the people whom she was serving and to instill her values into the restaurant staff…It’s hard to think of anyone who isn’t gay or le***an who played such a prominent role in the gay and le***an community.”

Renamed Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse in 1962, the restaurant expanded in various locations across the district—however, the original location continued to act as a gathering place for the gay community of Washington. Even following the lull in business connected to the vandalism following Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, loyal customers continued to support Annie’s and traverse the city to come have dinner or a drink at the restaurant. In 1985, Annie’s moved a block down the street to 1609 17th Street NW, while the original building became home to JR’s Bar (1519 17th Street NW), which currently operates as a gay bar, carrying the legacy of Annie’s acceptance and community cultivation into the present-day.

DC Inventory: December 17, 2020
Within the Dupont Circle Historic District

On Sunday, DC Preservation League staff & volunteers had the opportunity to share more about historic preservation and DC community histories at the Pride Festival on Pennsylvania Avenue. It was a great time and a great opportunity to meet new people and share about DCPL's work.

If you haven't checked out the LGBTQ+ History Tour on DC Historic Sites, access it here: https://historicsites.dcpreservation.org/tours/show/69

Join DCPL online this Wednesday for a webinar highlighting DC's LGBTQ+ history with Dr. Megan Springate.

Join the Zoom at 12:00 PM on June 12th: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86518960850

Or sign up here to receive the Zoom link in your inbox: https://dcpreservation.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/dcpreservation/eventRegistration.jsp?event=401&

A historic bakery building is getting a second chance as an LGBTQ+ community center in the heart of Shaw.

In 1895, Michael Holzbeierlein (1860-1939) opened a bakery at the rear of his house on 7th Street NW. In 1913, Holzbeierlein hired local German architect Julius Wenig (1872-1940) to build a new two-story bakery building to expand his operations. The bakery survived until 1953, when it was forced to close due to bankruptcy.

After years of flux, the building underwent an extensive and is now a mixed-use development. The nearly 7,000 square foot complex is currently being designed for use by LGBTQ+ organizations who will provide community services through free meals, therapy, and even yoga classes!

Learn more about the project here and how to donate: https://lnkd.in/euXdVWhw

The building was designated in 2017, and is listed on both the DC Inventory and on the National Register. Learn more about the building here: https://lnkd.in/eS-YjxVX

lnkd.in

Beginning in 1962 and continuing for nearly 40 years, this ordinary brick Colonial Revival house served as the home and office of Dr. Franklin E. Kameny, one of the leading lights of the gay rights movement, and considered the father of gay activism. Trained as an astronomer, Kameny transformed his personal struggle into a cultural struggle that radicalized the gay rights movement and seized the rhetorical high ground.

After being discharged from the Army Map Service in 1957 for his homosexuality, Kameny waged a four-year legal fight against the notion that sexual orientation would make one unfit or unsuitable for federal service. Although the Supreme Court declined to hear his case, it was the first time that an equal rights claim had been made on the basis of sexual orientation. In 1961, Kameny co-founded the Mattachine Society of Washington, committed to achieving an equal legal and social footing for homosexuals. The organization focused on federal employment discrimination, assisting and counseling those who had been fired or disadvantaged while at the same time crafting the legal basis for overturning federal discrimination on a national level.

During the 1970s, the organization compelled government agencies to liberalize their policies by forcing public scrutiny of hiring and security clearance decisions. Kameny also recognized that changing society’s image of homosexuals and dispelling common perceptions would help open the door to legal equality. Among the obstacles was the stigma of the American Psychiatric Association’s definition of homosexuality as a mental illness. After eight years of protest, Kameny and his allies succeeded in persuading the APA to remove homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric Disorders. The Mattachine Society also ran a program of outreach to churches.

Disdaining any apology for his homosexuality, Kameny coined the slogan “Gay is Good,” announcing that society would have to accept homosexuals on their own terms. Kameny was also prominent in local public service. In 1971, when the District of Columbia gained a non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives, he became the first openly gay person to run for Congress. In 1975, he became the District’s first openly gay official when appointed to the Human Rights Commission.

DC Inventory: February 26, 2009
National Register: November 2, 2011

As the seat of federal power, it is no surprise that Washington, DC, has been a major focal point in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights and resistance. From protests to lift the ban on gay and le***an federal workers to those legalizing same-sex marriage, DC has a strong history of activism and community. According to the Williams Institute, DC is currently the gayest city in America with the most LGBTQ+ identifying individuals per capita, DC’s long-standing LGBTQ+ community deserves recognition for making the city a safe space.

This tour is a collection of sites located in the District that have been historically significant to the city’s LBGTQ+ community. Not every site is a designated landmark, yet each location is historically significant. Additionally, some sites are designated, but the official documentation does not include LGBTQ+ history.

The DC Preservation League is committed to continuing this project and expanding the tour to fully capture sites of significance to the LGBTQ+ community. If you know of a site of significance, please contact DCPL staff!

Check out the tour today: https://historicsites.dcpreservation.org/tours/show/69