Full Description
Women's history is everywhere in Washington, if curious locals and adventurous tourists know where to look. As the District of Columbia evolved into one of the world's top tourist destinations, women emerged as pioneers and a town created to house the federal government matured into a gilded city affluent in feminist culture. Historic houses, hidden alleyways, and neighbourhood parks stand as memorials to America's founding mothers who built the nation's capital. This book records the legacies of these women and encourages readers to explore their names on headstones, street signs, and buildings, while also discovering where hidden history is unmarked. Rising from a strong foundation, modern DC women have continued to nurture the legacy of their foremothers as chefs, artists, athletes, philanthropists, politicians, and entrepreneurs. Most notable are the stories of collaboration in which these women flout the myth that nothing gets accomplished in Washington.
Feminism in the city is fuelled by the creativity, leadership, and fortitude of local women, each with a personal experience that is uniquely special. While no story is the same, the themes of preservation and progress are weaved throughout this book as a reminder; her story is history and it is still being written.
Contents
AKA Sisterhood Mural
Kamala Harris, Madam Vice President | 10
Alethia Tanner Park
A self-emancipated woman | 12
Alice Roosevelt's House
The other Washington Monument | 14
Alice's Artistic Retreat
Alice Pike Barney, a creative New Woman | 16
Alma Thomas House
White House art inspired by a tree in Logan Circle | 18
American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial
She served and sacrificed | 20
Anderson House
Isabel Weld Perkins, a jet-setting art patron | 22
Anna J. Cooper House
The only woman quoted in the US passport | 24
Anne Royall's Grave
The first female congressional correspondent | 26
Asbury UMC DC
Emily and Mary Edmonson's faith and freedom | 28
Beau Thai
Aschara Vigsittaboot's mom inspires a curry | 30
Belmont-Paul National Monument
Where women first fought | 32
Bené Millinery
Vanilla Beane, maker of crowns | 34
Black Lives Matter Plaza
#BreonnaTaylor: Say her name | 36
Café Mozart
Hildegard Fehr becomes an entrepreneur for $1.76 | 38
Cherry Trees of DC
Eliza Scidmore, the woman behind the blossoms | 40
Contemplative Court
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper represents women | 42
The Decatur House
Charlotte Dupuy sued for her freedom | 44
Dolley Madison House
The second-most-visited residence in Washington | 46
Dorothy Height Post Office
Godmother of Civil Rights | 48
Dumbarton House
National Society of The Colonial Dames of America | 50
Dumbarton Oaks Park
Beatrix Jones Farrand designed gardens for Bliss | 52
Eleanor Roosevelt Statue
A syndicated newspaper columnist | 54
Ellen Wilson Place
From alley to activism, from displacement to home | 56
Enid A. Haupt Garden
A special Eden gifted by a publishing heiress | 58
The Extra Mile
Juliette "Daisy" Gordon, the Girl Scouts' founder | 60
Farragut Square
The teenage artist behind the masculine statues | 62
Federal District Markers
The Garden Club of America welcomes you to DC | 64
Female Union Band Society
Burial ground for a band of sisters | 66
First Ladies Water Garden
A hidden oasis to honor women in the spotlight | 68
The First Woman Marine
Opha May Jacob Johnson served her country | 70
Flora Molton Call Box
A street corner tribute for a street corner icon | 72
Folger Shakespeare Library
Emily Folger's quest to preserve literary history | 74
Ford's Theatre
Frankie Childers Hewitt preserved Lincoln's legacy | 76
The Four Founders
Founding the Daughters of the American Revolution | 78
FREED Ladies
African American Civil War Museum comes to life | 80
The Furies Collective
The L words: Lesbians, Literature, and Liberation | 82
GALA Hispanic Theatre
Rebecca Read tells the story of Latino culture | 84
Gallaudet Memorial
Alice Cogswell, inspiration to Thomas Gallaudet | 86
Grave of Alice Birney
Founder of the PTA rests at Oak Hill Cemetery | 88
Hidden Figures Way
Black women's contributions to space exploration | 90
Hillwood Estate
Marjorie Merriweather Post's lost Smithsonian | 92
Hotel Zena
A mindfully curated feminine space | 94
The Howard Theatre
Ladies sing the blues | 96
Human Rights Porch
Social justice at Washington National Cathedral | 98
International Spy Museum
Virginia Hall, an unlikely spy with only one leg | 100
Jeanne d'Arc
To the women of America from the women of France | 102
Juanita Thornton Library
Her community needed books, not burgers | 104
Julia Child House
The celebrity chef 's butter-yellow home | 106
Justice O'Connor Portrait
Paving the way for women on the Supreme Court | 108
La Cosecha
A market for Latin American women innovators | 110
Lady Bird Johnson Park
"Where flowers bloom, so does hope" | 112
Letelier-Moffitt Memorial
A political assassination, a personal tragedy | 114
Letena Restaurant
Yamrot Ezineh serves authentic Ethiopian cuisine | 116
Librarian of Congress
Carla Hayden, the people's librarian | 118
Lincoln Park
Memorial to Mary McLeod Bethune | 120
The Lockwood DC
Belva Lockwood, a woman of historic firsts | 122
Louise Slaughter Tree
An arboreal tribute to a legislative lioness | 124
Lucretia Mott Portrait
A Quaker activist at the National Portrait Gallery | 126
Martin's Tavern Booth 3
Where Jacqueline went from Bouvier to Kennedy | 128
Mary Ann Shadd Cary
First Black female publisher in North America | 130
Mary Livingston Ripley Garden
Mary Livingston Ripley's fragrant oasis | 132
Maya Angelou Stairs
"When I decided to speak, I had a lot to say." | 134
Maydān
Rose Previte creates a gathering place | 136
Miss Pixie's
Pixie Windsor stacks it deep and sells it cheap | 138
Missing Soldiers Office
Clara Barton, angel of the battlefield | 140
Myrtilla Miner's Legacy
The education pioneer who founded UDC | 142
National Capitol Columns
Remembering two pillars of preservation | 144
NGA Impressionists
Mary Cassatt makes a strong impression | 146
Nuns of the Battlefield
A monument to Civil War angels of mercy | 148
Octagon House
The haunted house that helped build a capital | 150
Olive Seward Statue
The strange story of a mysterious statue | 152
The Outrage
Rebecca Lee Funk creates a hub for activism | 154
Patterson Mansion
Journalist, publisher, and ultimate insider | 156
Pennsylvania Avenue
Remember the ladies in the blueprint of America | 158
Phyllis Wheatley YWCA
The hill she climbed, a revolutionary journey | 160
Phoebe Waterman Haas Public Observatory
An astronomy star | 162
Puddin'
Toyin Alli serves up divine comfort food | 164
The REACH
Reimagining a historic performing arts venue | 166
Republic Restoratives
Pia Carusone & Rachel Gardner, founding mothers | 168
Red Door Salon
Elizabeth Arden builds a beauty empire | 170
Rosa Parks SafeHouse
Healing and friendship at the Mansion on O Street | 172
Rosedale Community Center
Mamie "Peanut" Johnson, a field of her own | 174
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Mural
A significant gesture by a woman-owned company | 176
Sakakawea Statue
A courageous young woman led the way | 178
Sara Andrews Spencer Grave
A resting place for a women's rights fighter | 180
Saturday Night Salons
Georgia Douglas Johnson's cultural renaissance | 182
Sheep by the Sea
Wilhelmina Cole Holladay created the NMWA | 184
Slowe-Burrill House
The secret herstory of a Brookland home | 186
The Spirit of Nursing
Memorializing Jane Delano, nursing revolutionary | 188
The Star-Spangled Banner
Mary Pickersgill's handiwork is American history | 190
Students Aspire Sculpture
Truth and justice at Howard University | 192
Surratt Boarding House
Once the home of a convicted conspirator | 194
The Tabard Inn
Matriarchs, movements, and military officers | 196
Teaism
Michelle, Linda, and Lela share the integrity of tea | 198
The Temperance Fountain
A maligned monument to a misunderstood movement | 200
Terrell Place
Mary Church Terrell, lifting as she climbed | 202
The Titanic Memorial
Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney's haunting tribute | 204
Tudor Place
Washington women preserve America's story | 206
Vietnam Women's Memorial
Welcome home, daughters of America | 208
Vladka Meed's Story
A Holocaust story of courage and resistance | 210
Walsh-McLean Mansion
A doomed marriage and a cursed diamond | 212
Wangari Gardens
Dr. Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate | 214
Warner Theatre
Take a stroll among the sidewalk stars | 216
Washington Mystics
Watch women win at basketball | 218
Washington Spirit
Professional soccer scores in the nation's capital | 220
The Whittemore House
She was a secretary... in the Presidential Cabinet | 222
The Willard Hotel
Home to peacocks, poets, and first ladies | 224
Women in Politics Mural
Equality is on the ballot | 226
Woodrow Wilson House
Home to America's first female president | 228
Zitkala-Ša, aka Red Bird
Women's Suffrage Mural: Zitkala-Ša, a Native voice | 230
