A major element of the historic U Street commercial corridor, the Lincoln Theatre is a rare early movie theater. The Lincoln was completed in 1921 in the sumptuous style of the grand movie palaces of the day. The neoclassical theater retains a high…

The current building for the Lincoln Congregational Temple United Church of Christ was built in 1928 and designed by architect Howard Wright Cutler; however, the site of the church has been used by the mission since 1868. An important marker of the…

Built in 1910, the Howard Theatre is one of the oldest theaters in the country that not only served Black audiences but provided a space for Black performers. For more than five decades of the twentieth century, the Howard Theatre stood at the…

The residential and commercial center of Washington’s African American community between 1900 and 1950, this “city within a city” shows how African Americans responded to intense racial segregation and discrimination by creating their own…

This building, known as the Edward P. Goodwin House, was constructed in 1879 as part of the first wave of speculative development to come to the Northern Shaw-Strivers area following the Civil War. Prior to that time, the area had included the types…

The Whitelaw Hotel showcases an early example of minority real estate development. It was financed and built entirely by African American entrepreneurs, investors, designers, and craftsmen. Associated with prominent businessman and civic leader John…

From 1881 to 1885, this was the home of Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823-1893), who was a writer, journalist, educator, abolitionist, and lawyer. She is generally regarded as the first Black female journalist in North America and Canada’s first female…