Existing comment:
African American Heritage Trail, Washington DC
Howard Hall
607 Howard Place, NW
Howard Hall was completed in 1869 as the home of white Civil War General Oliver Otis Howard (1830-1909), for whom Howard University was named. As commissioner of the Bureau of Refuges, Freedman and Abandoned Lands (Freedman's Bureau), General Howard led efforts to provide land, education, and legal rights to the formerly enslaved. He was a founder of the university, and its president from 1869 to 1874. After his death, the university purchased the property, using it for the School of Music and other purposes. Restored in 1998, the Second Empire style Howard Hall is the oldest building on the campus. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974. |