BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Callboxes

DC -- Callboxes:

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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[4] CALLBX_230215_07.JPG	[5] CALLBX_230215_08.JPG	[6] CALLBX_230215_13.JPG
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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. CALLBX_230115_04.JPG: Stately Houses and Gardens Hidden behind the grand houses of N Street — and many others large and small — are tranquil walled gardens with brick terraces, old shade trees, lily ponds, swimming pools, and a tennis court or two. Behind you stands the Edes Home, established in the early 1900s as a home for aged and indigent widows of Georgetown, who were allowed to move in with no more than one trunk and a sewing machine. Behind it, the Colonial Apartments at 1311 30th served as Miss English's Seminary for Young Ladies from 1820 to 1861, and during the Civil War as a Union Army hospital. An ardent secessionist, Miss English despised seeing the U.S. flag flying from the building, so she moved her school around the corner and out of sight. Two of Georgetown's narrowest houses, at 1239 30th and 3047 N, are but eleven feet wide — hardly stately. They are called "spite houses" since they were built mainly to block the neighbor's light. The stately mansion at 3014 N was built in 1799 by wealthy tobacco merchant, James Laird, whose family kept a cow and pigs in the backyard. Laird's descendants sold it to Robert Todd Lincoln, eldest son of President Abraham Lincoln. Built in 1794-1796 (when its magnificent magnolia trees were planted), 3017 N was briefly the home of Jacqueline Kennedy and her two children after the 1964 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Just ten months later, Mrs. Kennedy moved the family to New York to escape the throngs of people hoping to glimpse the glamorous widow. After her husband's death, Mrs. Kennedy was first offered a haven in the 3038 N Street home of Ambassador W. Averell Harriman, a former Governor of New York. Built in 1805, the house was a political gathering spot for Democrats in the 1980s as Pamela Harriman played hostess to legions of the famous and powerful. She later served as U.S. ambassador to France.
2. CALLBX_230215_01.JPG: Dupont Circle Diverse Visions | One Neighborhood Fire Fact | July 23, 1892 Box 325 (nearby) was sounded at 2:36 am for fire at the Heurich and Company Brewery, 1229 20th St. NW. This was the third disastrous fire at this location following 1881 and 1888. Fire Department information and images courtesy of Capitol Fire Museum Fire alarm boxes such as this one (originally painted red) were installed in the District after the Civil War. Telegraphs transmitted the box number (top) to a fire alarm center. This system was used until the 1970s when the boxes were converted to a telephone system. By the 1990s, the callbox system had been replaced by the 911 system and was abandoned. Myrtilla Miner (1815-1864), born near Brookfield, NY, was an idealistic white teacher who came to Washington to teach African Americans. In 1853, with funding from northern abolitionists, she paid $4,000 for a three-acre site at 20th and N Sts. (Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" contributed $1,000.) The next year she opened Miss Miner's School for Colored Girls despite widespread opposition from the Washington establishment. After her death the Miner Fund was created with $40,000 received from the sale of the three-acre lot. Interest on the money was used to operate a new three story 12-room building at 1613 P St. In 1889 the Miner School became part of the public school system, one of the earliest publicly supported teacher training institutions in the nation for African Americans. Miner Normal School became part of DC Teachers College (left) in 1955 and was folded into the University of the District of Columbia in 1974. Edith Galt, the widow of a Washington jeweler, lived at 1308 20th St., across from the Heurich mansion, until December 18, 1915 when she was married there to President Woodrow Wilson. Image courtesy of The Historical Society of Washington, D.C. Artist | Mamdou Cherif Born in the Ivory Coast and raised in Paris, Cherif's artistry is a bridge between African art and European influences. The front of the sculpture shows two of the fountain's statues with figures walking and playing chess below; the back depicts the jetting water with two people emerging from its spray. The red letters represent the inscription on the fountain's base.
3. CALLBX_230215_07.JPG: Fire Fact | July 23, 1892 Box 325 (nearby) was sounded at 2:36 am for fire at the Heurich and Company Brewery, 1229 20th St. NW. This was the third disastrous fire at this location following 1881 and 1888. Fire Department information and images courtesy of Capitol Fire Museum
4. CALLBX_230215_13.JPG: Fire alarm boxes such as this one (originally painted red) were installed in the District after the Civil War. Telegraphs transmitted the box number (top) to a fire alarm center. This system was used until the 1970s when the boxes were converted to a telephone system. By the 1990s, the callbox system had been replaced by the 911 system and was abandoned. Myrtilla Miner (1815-1864), born near Brookfield, NY, was an idealistic white teacher who came to Washington to teach African Americans. In 1853, with funding from northern abolitionists, she paid $4,000 for a three-acre site at 20th and N Sts. (Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" contributed $1,000.) The next year she opened Miss Miner's School for Colored Girls despite widespread opposition from the Washington establishment. After her death the Miner Fund was created with $40,000 received from the sale of the three-acre lot. Interest on the money was used to operate a new three story 12-room building at 1613 P St. In 1889 the Miner School became part of the public school system, one of the earliest publicly supported teacher training institutions in the nation for African Americans. Miner Normal School became part of DC Teachers College (left) in 1955 and was folded into the University of the District of Columbia in 1974. Edith Galt, the widow of a Washington jeweler, lived at 1308 20th St., across from the Heurich mansion, until December 18, 1915 when she was married there to President Woodrow Wilson.
5. CALLBX_230215_16.JPG: Fire alarm boxes such as this one (originally painted red) were installed in the District after the Civil War. Telegraphs transmitted the box number (top) to a fire alarm center. This system was used until the 1970s when the boxes were converted to a telephone system. By the 1990s, the callbox system had been replaced by the 911 system and was abandoned.
6. CALLBX_230215_18.JPG: Artist | Mamdou Cherif Born in the Ivory Coast and raised in Paris, Cherif's artistry is a bridge between African art and European influences. The front of the sculpture shows two of the fountain's statues with figures walking and playing chess below; the back depicts the jetting water with two people emerging from its spray. The red letters represent the inscription on the fountain's base.
7. CALLBX_230215_34.JPG: Dupont Circle Diverse Visions | One Neighborhood Fire Fact | January 29, 1922 An alarm sounded for roofs collapsing on nearby dwellings at 18th and T Sts. Only one fire officer, George S. Watson, was able to respond and found no casualties. All other fire companies were at 18th St. and Columbia Rd., NW, removing the hundreds of injured and dead from the Knickerbocker Theater, whose roof had collapsed from the weight of a massive snowstorm.
8. CALLBX_230323_01.JPG: Dupont Circle Diverse Visions | One Neighborhood Police Call Boxes such as this one (originally painted blue) were installed in the District after the Civil War. Officers on foot patrol used this secure telegraph system to contact the station, accessing the box with a now highly collectible "gold key." This system was used until the late 1970s when it was abandoned in favor of more modern communication methods. Theodore Roosevelt resided in a number of houses in Dupont Circle. Two still standing are 1215 19th St. and 1820 Jefferson St. In 1898, he lived at 1810 N St. (below, since razed). That year he led a volunteer cavalry called the Rough Riders into battle in Cuba as part of the Spanish-American War. He came home a hero, and was elected governor of New York State. Roosevelt only served briefly as governor before accepting the Republican Party's nomination as William McKinley's running mate in the 1900 Presidential election. After President McKinley was assassinated in 1901. Roosevelt became the youngest man (age 42) to serve as U.S. President. During his term (1901-1909), the combative and crusading Roosevelt promoted conservation by giving government protection to open lands across the nation. He battled to limit the power of large corporations and to strengthen the United States as a power in foreign affairs. By the turn of the century, Connecticut Ave. was changing from residential to commercial. A profusion of specialty shops drew upper-class patrons, and the promoters touted the exclusive shopping street as equal to New York's Fifth Ave. or Paris's Rue de la Paix. America's first licensed television station, W3XK, was established at 1519 Connecticut Ave. in 1928. Artist | Jordan Potash Jordan Potash, raised in Philadelphia, now resides in DC. An artiste and therapist, he creates expressive art rooted in Jewish spirituality. Designing sidewalk chalk murals around the fountain with friends was a great influence in this mixed media piece.
9. CALLBX_230323_05.JPG: Dupont Circle Diverse Visions | One Neighborhood Police Call Boxes such as this one (originally painted blue) were installed in the District after the Civil War. Officers on foot patrol used this secure telegraph system to contact the station, accessing the box with a now highly collectible "gold key." This system was used until the late 1970s when it was abandoned in favor of more modern communication methods.
10. CALLBX_230323_08.JPG: Artist | Jordan Potash Jordan Potash, raised in Philadelphia, now resides in DC. An artiste and therapist, he creates expressive art rooted in Jewish spirituality. Designing sidewalk chalk murals around the fountain with friends was a great influence in this mixed media piece.
11. CALLBX_230323_11.JPG: Theodore Roosevelt resided in a number of houses in Dupont Circle. Two still standing are 1215 19th St. and 1820 Jefferson St. In 1898, he lived at 1810 N St. (below, since razed). That year he led a volunteer cavalry called the Rough Riders into battle in Cuba as part of the Spanish-American War. He came home a hero, and was elected governor of New York State. Roosevelt only served briefly as governor before accepting the Republican Party's nomination as William McKinley's running mate in the 1900 Presidential election. After President McKinley was assassinated in 1901. Roosevelt became the youngest man (age 42) to serve as U.S. President. During his term (1901-1909), the combative and crusading Roosevelt promoted conservation by giving government protection to open lands across the nation. He battled to limit the power of large corporations and to strengthen the United States as a power in foreign affairs. By the turn of the century, Connecticut Ave. was changing from residential to commercial. A profusion of specialty shops drew upper-class patrons, and the promoters touted the exclusive shopping street as equal to New York's Fifth Ave. or Paris's Rue de la Paix. America's first licensed television station, W3XK, was established at 1519 Connecticut Ave. in 1928.
12. CALLBX_230402_01.JPG: 1. Roma Restaurant Cleveland Park was named for Grover Cleveland who bought a country house on now Newark Street in 1886. In the 1890s, electrified streetcars ran on Connecticut and Wisconsin Avenues and led to the development of the Cleveland Park "suburb". Shops and restaurants followed the development, with the Roma Restaurant and its Italian Garden at 3419 Connecticut Avenue remaining popular from the 1930s until it closed in 1997. Artist: Mary Belcher
13. CALLBX_230402_03.JPG: Cleveland Park Call Box 2008 Restoration Project
14. CALLBX_230417_08.JPG: Katharine Graham 1917 - 2001
15. CALLBX_230417_10.JPG: Pentagon Papers Publisher Watergate
16. CALLBX_230417_11.JPG: Fortune 500 First [Female] CEO Pentagon Papers
17. CALLBX_230417_12.JPG: Pulitzer Prize Philanthropist Washington Post
18. CALLBX_230417_15.JPG: Washington Post Fortune 500 First [Female] CEO
19. CALLBX_230417_16.JPG: Katharine Meyer Graham (1917-2001) worked at the Washington Post as a young woman, after her father, Eugene Meyer, bought the paper in 1933. Meyer made Katharine Graham's husband, Philip Graham, the Post's publisher, but she took over the job after Philip's death in 1963.
20. CALLBX_230511_01.JPG: I'm not sure when the sculpture was defaced
21. CALLBX_230930_08.JPG: The Gilded Age In the Gilded Age (1866-1901) the nouveau riche built grand mansions near Sheridan Circle and commissioned fashionable portraits such as this one of Mrs. Larz Anderson. They lived and entertained in these enormous residences during Washington's brief social season. As maintaining the houses grew too costly, many became foreign embassies. Edward Everett, who made a fortune inventing the fluted bottle cap, built the Beaux-Arts mansion at 1606 23rd Street in 1915. Now it is the Turkish ambassador's home. Carrere and Hastings, architects of the New York Public Library, designed Romania's embassy at 1607 23rd Street. About the Artist: Cecilia Beaux (1836-1942) Portrait of Mrs. Larz Anderson. Courtesy of The Society of the Cincinnati
22. CALLBX_230930_21.JPG: Vandalized
23. CALLBX_230930_25.JPG: Sheridan Kalorama Call Box Restoration Project George Washington Here is an elegant George Washington trotting on his handsome horse. Our first president never lived in the city that bears his name, but in the late 1700s you might have glimpsed Washington riding along the Post Road, a highway that connected important fledgling East Coast cities. A portion of that road is now Florida Avenue. Washington might have been on his way home to Mount Vernon from Philadelphia, then the nation's capital. The Capitol can be seen under construction in the distance. About the Artist: Peter Waddell, artist, specializes in images of 18th and 19th century Washington.
24. CALLBX_230930_28.JPG: Peter Waddell
25. CALLBX_231007_09.JPG: TENLEYTOWN, DC Country Village to City Neighborhood Schools Tenleytown's earliest elementary school, located where Saint Anne's School is today, first welcomed students in 1882. The Jesse Reno School for African-American children was built in 1903 on the grounds of Fort Reno. The Immaculata Preparatory School, a parochial school for Catholic girls, opened next at Tenley Circle. The building is now part of American University. Janney Elementary School opened in the mid 1920s, followed by the Alice Deal Junior High School (pictured here) in 1931 and Woodrow Wilson High School in 1938.
26. CALLBX_231021_01.JPG: Dupont Circle Diverse Visions | One Neighborhood Fire Fact | January 16, 1892 Box 318 sounded for a fire in the Church of the Covenant, southeast corner of 18th and N Sts., where President Benjamin H. Harrison was a parishioner. News of the fire spread quickly to the White House, and President Harrison raced over to witness the battle. Fortunately the church survived somewhat blackened but intact. All the row houses in the 1700 block of Q St. (north and south pictured above) were built in the mid-1880s by one of Washington's most prolific architects/builders, Thomas Franklin Schneider. The prosperity and growth during the 1880s in DC resulted from the enlarged role of the Federal Government after the Civil War and general prosperity of the nation. The next major builders were Harry Wardman, 1920s, and Morris Cafritz, 1940s. Schneider's dual expertise contributed to quality housing for white-collar workers after World War II. Across the street to your left you can see new buildings that replaced five original residences. Their demolition in the 1960s spawned the neighborhood's preservation movement. The more than 60 remaining Victorian rowhouses, all with English basements, constitute the largest concentration of intact 19th-century homes in the city. Fire Alarm Boxes such as this one (originally painted red) were installed in the District after the Civil War. Telegraphs transmitted the box number (top) to a fire alarm center. This system was used until the 1970s when the boxes were converted to a telephone system. By the 1990s, the callbox system had been replaced by the 911 system and was abandoned. Freya Grand, an oil painter and muralist, exhibits widely to galleries and has created large scale commissioned murals. She believes that “the Dupont area's vitality and diversity make it the best environment in D.C.”
27. CALLBX_231021_04.JPG: Dupont Circle Diverse Visions | One Neighborhood Fire Fact | January 16, 1892 Box 318 sounded for a fire in the Church of the Covenant, southeast corner of 18th and N Sts., where President Benjamin H. Harrison was a parishioner. News of the fire spread quickly to the White House, and President Harrison raced over to witness the battle. Fortunately the church survived somewhat blackened but intact.
28. CALLBX_231021_06.JPG: Artist: Freya Grand
29. CALLBX_231021_07.JPG: All the row houses in the 1700 block of Q St. (north and south pictured above) were built in the mid-1880s by one of Washington's most prolific architects/builders, Thomas Franklin Schneider. The prosperity and growth during the 1880s in DC resulted from the enlarged role of the Federal Government after the Civil War and general prosperity of the nation. The next major builders were Harry Wardman, 1920s, and Morris Cafritz, 1940s. Schneider's dual expertise contributed to quality housing for white-collar workers after World War II. Across the street to your left you can see new buildings that replaced five original residences. Their demolition in the 1960s spawned the neighborhood's preservation movement. The more than 60 remaining Victorian rowhouses, all with English basements, constitute the largest concentration of intact 19th-century homes in the city.
30. CALLBX_231021_10.JPG: Fire Alarm Boxes such as this one (originally painted red) were installed in the District after the Civil War. Telegraphs transmitted the box number (top) to a fire alarm center. This system was used until the 1970s when the boxes were converted to a telephone system. By the 1990s, the callbox system had been replaced by the 911 system and was abandoned.
31. CALLBX_231021_12.JPG: Freya Grand, an oil painter and muralist, exhibits widely to galleries and has created large scale commissioned murals. She believes that “the Dupont area's vitality and diversity make it the best environment in D.C.”
32. CALLBX_231021_19.JPG: Dupont Circle Art on Call The Dupont Circle Art on Call project explores neighborhood history and local fire and police events. It also celebrates our diverse political, artistic and intellectual community by presenting original artwork by 22 local artists featuring the hub of our neighborhood. Dupont Circle and the beautiful fountains designed by Daniel Chester French. Art on Call is a program of Cultural Tourism DC with support from DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development District Department of Transportation
33. CALLBX_231104_08.JPG: Forest Hills Neighborhood Art on Call Peirce Mill In the 1820s, Isaac Peirce built the mill that exists today on land he purchased in 1794. In 1892, Rock Creek Park was established and the Federal Government acquired the mill. Artist: Mary Belcher
34. CALLBX_231104_23.JPG: The Broadmoor The Broadmoor epitomizes the luxury apartment/hotels built along Connecticut Avenue in the 1920s. Designed in 1927 by prominent architect Joseph H. Abel, the Broadmoor featured a pioneering underground garage, restaurant and bar, beauty salon, pastry shop, newsstand, and valet. Among notable residents were business founder Sidney Hechinger and family, Rep. and Mrs. Richard Nixon, George Meany, Archduke Otto of Hapsburg, and Richard Todd Lincoln Beckwith, the last living descendant of President Lincoln. Artist: John Simpson is a member of the Art Enables Studio for adults with developmental and/or mental disabilities. ...
35. CALLBX_231106_10.JPG: Golden Triangle Art on Call This historic call box has been transformed into a work of art as part of the Golden Triangle Art on Call program to celebrate the vitality of the central business district. The map below details the location of nine call boxes in the the neighborhood. Artists include: (location) Cindy Berry: 8, 9 Leonor Brazao: 2, 4 Mary Grigonis: 1, 3, 5, 6 Jessica van Brackle: 7 Art on Call is a program of Cultural Tourism DC with support from DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, DC Created Public Art Program, District Department of Transportation, and Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. Local sponsorship of this call box is provided by the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District. For more information about this program and other activities in the neighborhood, please visit goldentriangledc.com
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