Statue: John Witherspoon, born Scotland, February 5, 1722 – died New Jersey, 1794 Location: Connecticut Avenue, 18th Street and N Street, NW (Dupont Circle, south) Sculptor: William Couper, New York Dedication: May 20, 1909, 3:30pm Cost: Public Funds: $4,000 Private Funds: collected through subscription The John Witherspoon statue was approved in 1907 and in 1908…
Robert A. Taft Memorial and Carillon
Robert Alphonso Taft (September 8, 1889 – July 31, 1953) Sculptor: Wheeler Williams, New York Architect, Douglas William Orr, New Haven, Conn. Bells: molded by firm George Paccard’s Son, Annecy, France Dedicated: April 14, 1959 Dedication: President Eisenhower, and former President Hoover Cost: Public Funds: $0, Private Funds: $1.2 million In 1954, a year after…
Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital
Located at 9th and Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, the building now known as the Hill Center was built in 1866 as a Naval Hospital. The Navy used it during the Civil War and up until 1906 when the Naval Hospital was moved to Observatory Hill at 23rd and E Streets, NW (in Foggy Bottom). The large…
St. Thomas Parish
I recently attended a presentation at St. Thomas Parish, the Episcopal church at 1772 Church Street, NW., organized by the DC Preservation League and given by Matt Jarvis, the architect for new church plans. Presented as A Civil Union: Marrying the Historic and Modern – the talk discussed the long history of the church and…
WalkingTownDC
I recently gave a tour of Meridian Hill Park as part of WalkingTownDC – a 10-day festival of tours organized by Cultural Tourism DC. If you haven’t heard of Cultural Tourism DC check out their website at culturaltourismdc.org. They offer a weekly e-newsletter distributed on Wednesdays and filled with activities and other interesting happenings. It’s…
Rock Creek Park Planetarium
The only planetarium in the National Park System is located in Rock Creek Park at the Nature Center. Learn more: http://www.nps.gov/rocr/
Louis Jacque Daguerre
A statue for Louis Jacque Daguerre, for whom the daguerreotype is named, was first proposed in January 1890 by the Photographer Association of America. The Association requested the memorial be erected in the National Museum of the Smithsonian Institute and permission was given by then Smithsonian Secretary Samuel P. Langley.
Taras Shevchenko
Memorial: Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko, (Ukrainian) 1814 – 1861 Sculptor: Leo Mol, Ukranian-born Location: triangle park – P Street, between 22nd and 23rd Streets, NW Unveiling: June 27, 1964, 1 p.m. Cost: $250,000 (made by donation) The Shevchenko statue was unveiled during the 150th anniversary of the poet’s birth. The anniversary was also marked in the…