The Frances Perkins House is a historic house at 2326 California Street NW in
Washington, D.C.
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Built in 1914, it was from 1937 to 1940 the home of
Frances Perkins
Frances Perkins (born Fannie Coralie Perkins; April 10, 1880 – May 14, 1965) was an American workers-rights advocate who served as the 4th United States secretary of labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that position. A member of th ...
(1880-1965), the first woman to serve in the
United States Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is a body consisting of the vice president of the United States and the heads of the executive branch's departments in the federal government of the United States. It is the principal official advisory body to ...
. Perkins was the
Secretary of Labor
The United States Secretary of Labor is a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and as the head of the United States Department of Labor, controls the department, and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all ot ...
under president
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
, and was a major force in advancing his New Deal agenda. This house was declared a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1991.
[ and ]
Description and history
The Frances Perkins House is located in Washington's Sheridan-Kalorama neighborhood, on the south side of California Street roughly midway between 23rd and 24th Streets. It is the right hand side of two identical brick townhouses, which were originally built as mirror images of each other. They are three bays wide, with entrance in the outer bays, with segmented-arch transom windows and shallow pedimented porticos with engaged Ionic columns. Second-floor windows are set in rounded-arch openings, while the mansarded third floor has dormers with gabled and segmented-arch pediments. The interior of the Perkins House retains high quality woodwork, particularly in the main parlor.
The house was built in 1914, and was from 1937 to 1940 home to Frances Perkins. She served as Roosevelt's Labor Secretary from 1932 until 1945, the only one of his cabinet appointees to serve through all of his terms. Prior to this high-profile role, she had been active in improving working conditions and pay for the working classes, and as Secretary of Labor, she was instrumental in pushing for many elements of the New Deal. In addition to temporary measures such as the
Public Works Administration
The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recove ...
and the
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
, she also helped draft legislation creating
Social Security
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
. Of the residences she occupied while in the post, this is one she lived in the longest.
See also
*
Perkins Homestead
The Perkins Homestead, also known as the Brick House, is a historic homestead at 478 River Road in Newcastle, Maine. The property, including its 1837 brick farmhouse, was designated a National Historic Landmark for its association with the life ...
, her family home in Maine, also a National Historic Landmark
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C.
The District of Columbia, capital of the United States, is home to 75 National Historic Landmarks. The National Historic Landmark program is operated under the auspices of the National Park Service, and recognizes structures, districts, objects, a ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in the upper NW Quadrant of Washington, D.C.
References
External links
*
{{National Register of Historic Places
National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C.
Houses in Washington, D.C.
Colonial Revival architecture in Washington, D.C.
Houses completed in 1914