The Memorial Continental Hall in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

is the national headquarters of the

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

(DAR). It is located at 1776 D Street NW, sharing a city block with the DAR's later-built

Administration Building Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...

, and

Constitution Hall DAR Constitution Hall is a concert hall located at 1776 D Street NW, near the White House in Washington, D.C. It was built in 1929 by the Daughters of the American Revolution to house its annual convention when membership delegations outgrew Memo ...

. Completed in 1910, it is the oldest of the three buildings. It was the site of the 1922 Washington Naval Conference, a major diplomatic event in the aftermath of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The building 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 1972. and

Description

Memorial Continental Hall occupies the eastern third of the city block bounded by C and D, 17th and 18th Streets NW, on the west side of the

Ellipse In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focus (geometry), focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special ty ...

near the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

. It is a two-story masonry structure, built out of brick and concrete whose exterior is clad in

Vermont marble Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the n ...

with Georgian revival features. Its three street-facing elevations all have monumental two-story porticos with Doric columns. The principal entrance, facing east toward 17th Street and the Ellipse, is extended to function as a porte cochere, with a drive passing under it. The south portico is semi-circular, with thirteen columns.

History

Memorial Continental Hall was commissioned by the DAR in 1902 to be used as a headquarters, assembly hall, and meeting place for DAR conferences. Architect

Edward Pearce Casey Edward Pearce Casey (1864–1940) was an American designer and architect, noted for his work in Washington, D.C. and New York City. Early life and education Edward Pearce Casey was born June 18, 1864, in Portland, Maine; where his father, Brigadi ...

designed the building, and construction occurred between 1904 and 1910. It was the first of three DAR buildings erected on the same site. The nearby

was built in 1920, and

was built at the opposite end of the site in 1929. The Administration Building was expanded in 1950 to unite all three buildings. The final act of the 1913

Woman Suffrage Procession The Woman Suffrage Procession on 3 March 1913 was the first suffragist parade in Washington, D.C. It was also the first large, organized march on Washington for political purposes. The procession was organized by the suffragists Alice Paul and L ...

, initiated by

Alice Paul Alice Stokes Paul (January 11, 1885 – July 9, 1977) was an American Quaker, suffragist, feminist, and women's rights activist, and one of the main leaders and strategists of the campaign for the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ...

, was a meeting at the Memorial Continental Hall. Speakers were

Anna Howard Shaw Anna Howard Shaw (February 14, 1847 – July 2, 1919) was a leader of the women's suffrage movement in the United States. She was also a physician and one of the first ordained female Methodist ministers in the United States. Early life Shaw ...

, Carrie Chapman Catt, Mary Johnston, and Helen Adams Keller. Memorial Continental Hall was the site of the Washington Naval Conference in 1921-22, a major diplomatic meeting in which the major powers of the world agreed to limit the sizes and capabilities of their naval forces. The hall was loaned to the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

in 1943 for emergency wartime work. In 1949, the stage in the auditorium was removed and the room was converted to a library.

Gallery

D.A.R. Hall, Washington, D.C.2.jpg, Memorial Continental Hall Monument thru colonnades of D.A.R..jpg, Circa 1916 The American annual of photography (1917) (14784108395).jpg, Washington Monument from Memorial Continental Hall, 1917 DAR constitution hall.jpg, 2005

References

External links

* * {{authority control National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C. Historic American Buildings Survey in Washington, D.C. 1910 establishments in Washington, D.C. Colonial Revival architecture in Washington, D.C. Daughters of the American Revolution

Description

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links