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Hub, Home, Heart
Greater H Street NE Heritage Trail
18 Sanctuaries
Calvary Episcopal Church, half a block north at 820 Sixth Street, has been a community anchor since 1901. For most of its early years, the congregation, led by founding rector Reverend Franklin I.A. Bennett, met at 11th and G. In 1941 it welcomed the Reverend Dr. James O. West as rector. The dynamic Rev. West drew so many new members that soon the parish needed a larger sanctuary. Eight years later Calvary moved to its current home, the former Church of the Good Shepherd. West is remembered for co-founding the family social services center Hospitality House, sheltering and feeding the homeless in his rectory, and counseling troubled Vietnam veterans. "The city looked to him as a community leader," Judge Kaye K. Christian recalled.
Mount Olive Baptist Church at 1140 Sixth Street, three blocks north of this sign, was founded in 1873 as a branch of Second Baptist Church of Northwest DC. The current church rests on the site of its first meeting place, the home of Robert and Martha Terrell. Mount Olive has focused on serving needy members of the community with free food and clothing, holding outdoor evangelistic services, and mentoring teenaged boys, among other programs.
Radio station WOL operated from Fourth and H Streets during the 1980s and '90s. Neighbors remember the station's studio overlooking the street, where large windows revealed on-air guests and dynamic host Cathy Hughes.
To return to Union Station Metro station, continue on H Street, turn left on Third Street, then right on F Street. To reach Gallery Place Metro station, take the X2 Metrobus (Lafayette Square). |