Le Droit Park
Encyclopedia
LeDroit Park is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C.
located immediately southeast of Howard University
. Its borders include W Street to the north, Rhode Island Avenue and Florida Avenue to the south, Second Street NW to the east, and Georgia Avenue
to the west.
The neighborhood was Developed by Amzi Barber (Board of Trustees, Howard University) in the 1870s LeDroit Park was one of the first suburbs of Washington. Many of the area's Victorian mansions, houses and row-houses were designed by architect James McGill. LeDroit Park was developed and marketed as a "romantic" neighborhood with narrow tree-lined streets that bore the same names as the trees that shaded them. Originally the neighborhood did not follow the scheme for street names used in the rest of Washington DC. Extensive focus was placed on the landscaping of this neighborhood, as developers spent a large sum of money to plant flower beds and trees to attract high profile professionals from the city. LeDroit Park was even gated with guards to promote security for its hopeful residents. Originally LeDroit Park was a Whites only neighborhood. Efforts by many lead to the area becoming integrated especially multiple actions by students from Howard University. In July 1888 the students tore down the fences that separated the neighborhood in protest of its discriminating policies.
By the 1940s LeDroit Park became a major focal point for the African-American elite as many prominent figures resided there. Griffith Stadium
was also located here until 1965, when the Howard University Hospital was built where it used to stand. Le Droit Park includes Anna J. Cooper Circle
, named for the education pioneer.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
located immediately southeast of Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
. Its borders include W Street to the north, Rhode Island Avenue and Florida Avenue to the south, Second Street NW to the east, and Georgia Avenue
Georgia Avenue
Georgia Avenue is a major north-south artery in Northwest Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland. Within the District of Columbia and a short distance in Silver Spring, Maryland, Georgia Avenue is also U.S. Route 29...
to the west.
The neighborhood was Developed by Amzi Barber (Board of Trustees, Howard University) in the 1870s LeDroit Park was one of the first suburbs of Washington. Many of the area's Victorian mansions, houses and row-houses were designed by architect James McGill. LeDroit Park was developed and marketed as a "romantic" neighborhood with narrow tree-lined streets that bore the same names as the trees that shaded them. Originally the neighborhood did not follow the scheme for street names used in the rest of Washington DC. Extensive focus was placed on the landscaping of this neighborhood, as developers spent a large sum of money to plant flower beds and trees to attract high profile professionals from the city. LeDroit Park was even gated with guards to promote security for its hopeful residents. Originally LeDroit Park was a Whites only neighborhood. Efforts by many lead to the area becoming integrated especially multiple actions by students from Howard University. In July 1888 the students tore down the fences that separated the neighborhood in protest of its discriminating policies.
By the 1940s LeDroit Park became a major focal point for the African-American elite as many prominent figures resided there. Griffith Stadium
Griffith Stadium
Griffith Stadium was a sports stadium that stood in Washington, D.C. from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street, and between W Street and Florida Avenue, NW. An earlier wooden baseball park had been built on the same site in 1891...
was also located here until 1965, when the Howard University Hospital was built where it used to stand. Le Droit Park includes Anna J. Cooper Circle
Anna J. Cooper Circle
Anna J. Cooper Circle is a traffic circle and park located at the intersection of 3rd and T Streets, Northwest in the historic LeDroit Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C...
, named for the education pioneer.
Public Art
A series of murals are seen throughout the neighborhood. "This is How We Live" was commissioned by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities to be painted by artist Garin Baker. The mural shows the African-American heritage of the neighborhood, the changing community and landscape and historical and architectural scenes from the past and present. Painted at the site of the former Gage-Eckington School the mural was dedicated on December 13, 2008. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty is quoted as describing the mural as serving to...visually engage residents through a beautiful neighborhood mural that depicts the unique landscapes, people and images of the historic LeDroit Park community. The mural will become a prominent landmark in the neighborhood for years to come.
Notable LeDroit Park Residents
- General William BirneyWilliam BirneyWilliam Birney was a professor, Union Army general during the American Civil War, attorney and author. An ardent abolitionist, he was noted for encouraging thousands of free black men to join the Union army....
– Civil War Veteran owned the stately mansion on Anna J. Cooper CircleAnna J. Cooper CircleAnna J. Cooper Circle is a traffic circle and park located at the intersection of 3rd and T Streets, Northwest in the historic LeDroit Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C...
. (T & Second Street) - Senator Edward BrookeEdward BrookeEdward William Brooke, III is an American politician and was elected to the United States Senate as a Republican from Massachusetts in 1966, defeating his Democratic opponent, Endicott Peabody, 60.7%–38.7%...
– First African American to win the senate seat by popular vote, was born in this house in 1919. (1938 Third Street) - Dr. Ralph J. Bunche – The first African-American to receive the Nobel Peace prize for his mediation in Palestine; resided in LeDroit Park during his professorship at Howard University. — (No address found)
- General Benjamin O. Davis Sr. – The first African American general. Father of Ben O. Davis Jr; commander of the World War II Tuskegee airman. (No address found)
- Hon. Oscar De PriestOscar Stanton De PriestOscar Stanton De Priest was an American lawmaker and civil rights advocate who served as a U.S. Representative from Illinois from 1929 to 1935. He was the first African American to be elected to Congress in the 20th century....
– First Black Congressmen since reconstruction, lived here for his three terms in office. (419 U Street) - Paul Laurence DunbarPaul Laurence DunbarPaul Laurence Dunbar was a seminal African American poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Dunbar gained national recognition for his 1896 "Ode to Ethiopia", one poem in the collection Lyrics of Lowly Life....
– Black Poet Laureate & Howard University Alumnus. (321 U Street) - Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
– jazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
legend, lived in the neighborhood with his family during his early childhood. (420 Elm Street) - Major Christian FleetwoodChristian FleetwoodChristian Abraham Fleetwood , was a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army, an editor, a musician, and a government official...
– One of the first Blacks to be awarded the Medal of HonorMedal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
. (319 U Street) - Julia West Hamilton – Civic leader and member of N.A.C.W. (320 U Street)
- Rev. Jesse Jackson – Civil rights activist credited with starting the Rainbow/PUSH coalition. (Corner of Fourth & T Streets)
- Ernest Everett JustErnest Everett JustErnest Everett Just was a pioneering African American biologist, academic and science writer. Just's primary legacy is his recognition of the fundamental role of the cell surface in the development of organisms...
– Professor in Biology, researcher in Biogenetics with significant contributions to Zoology and Biogenetics. (412 T Street) - Dr. Jesse Lawson and Dr. Anna J. CooperAnna J. CooperAnna Julia Haywood Cooper was an author, educator, speaker and one of the most prominent African American scholars in United States history. Upon receiving her Ph.D in history from the University of Paris-Sorbonne in 1924, Cooper became the fourth African American woman to earn a doctoral degree...
– Both prominent educators who founded Frelinghuysen University to educate Blacks working-class adults. Lawson also was a Lawyer (Howard University Law, 1881) who advocated for the rights of poor D.C. residents. (201 T Street) - Willis Richards – Prominent playwright credited with having the first serious play to be performed on Broadway. (512 U Street)
- Mary Church TerrellMary Church TerrellMary Church Terrell , daughter of former slaves, was one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree. She became an activist who led several important associations and worked for civil rights and suffrage....
– Heiress and activist for civil rights and woman’s suffrage. (326 T Street, National Historic Landmark) - Walter WashingtonWalter WashingtonWalter Edward Washington, was an American politician, the first home-rule mayor of the District of Columbia...
– the first mayor of DC elected under home rule (408 T Street) - Clarence Cameron WhiteClarence Cameron WhiteClarence Cameron White was an African American neoromantic composer and concert violinist. Dramatic works by the composer were his best-known, such as the incidental music for the play Tambour and the opera Ouanga. During the first decades of the twentieth century, White was considered the...
– A Prominent Violinist educator in fine arts and Howard Alumni (No address found) - Dr. Garnet C. WilkinsonGarnet C. WilkinsonGarnet Crummell Wilkinson was an American educator best known for running the African American public school system in Washington, DC during segregation...
– Superintendent of Colored Schools during segregation. (406 U Street) - Octavius Augustus Williams – U.S. Capitol Barber and first Black to move into LeDroit Park in 1893 (338 U Street)
External links
- LeDroit Park Civic Association
- Left for LeDroit (neighborhood blog)