Following the merger of two banks, this building operated as the headquarters for the new Federal-American National Bank. The bank building was designed by architect Alfred C. Bossom (1881-1965), in association with Washington’s leading Beaux-Arts…

The Columbia Hospital for Women, originally opened in 1866 as a healthcare facility for wives and widows of Civil War soldiers, was the city's birthplace of choice for all races for a century and a half. The hospital was the primary maternity…

The oldest “Y” in DC, the Phyllis Wheatley YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association) was established in 1905 by African American women and named after Phyllis Wheatley, an enslaved woman and famous poet in 19th century America. The YWCA moved…

At a time of Jim Crow ideology and enforced segregation, Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950) pioneered the documentation of African American life and the recognition of African American contributions to US history. Born to enslaved parents, Woodson was…

The Queen Anne style house located at Number One Observatory Circle was designed by Leon Dessez and constructed in 1893 as the U.S. Naval Observatory's (USNO's) Superintendent's Residence. Thirty years later, in 1923, the home became the residence…