National Mall circa 1908 - Washington DC

Murder Bay was a disreputable slum in Washington D.C. roughly bounded by Constitution Avenue NW, Pennsylvania Avenue NW, and 15th Street NW. The area was a center of crime through the early 20th century, with an extensive criminal underclass and

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

occurring in several brothels and hotels in the area."Ariel Rios Building, Washington, D.C."
(

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

official site). Retrieved May 18, 2008. The area was completely rebuilt during the construction of the

Federal Triangle The Federal Triangle is a triangular area in Washington, D.C. formed by 15th Street NW, Constitution Avenue NW, Pennsylvania Avenue NW, and E Street NW. Federal Triangle is occupied by 10 large city and federal office buildings, all of which a ...

project in the late 1920s and 1930s. Child brothel worker - C Street NW Washington DC - April 1912

History

In the 1860s, much of the area south of Pennsylvania Avenue and a few blocks east of 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 ...

had become a disreputable slum known as Murder Bay, the home to an extensive criminal underclass and numerous brothels.Gutheim and Lee, ''Worthy of the Nation: Washington, DC, From L'Enfant to the National Capital Planning Commission,'' 2006, p. 73.Lowry, ''The Story the Soldiers Wouldn't Tell: Sex in the Civil War,'' 1994, p. 61-65.Evelyn, Dickson, and Ackerman, ''On This Spot: Pinpointing the Past in Washington, D.C.,'' 2008, p. 63-64. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

, so many prostitutes took up residence in Murder Bay to serve the needs of

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Joseph Hooker Joseph Hooker (November 13, 1814 – October 31, 1879) was an American Civil War general for the Union, chiefly remembered for his decisive defeat by Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. Hooker had serv ...

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...

that the area became known as "Hooker's Division." The two trapezoidal blocks sandwiched between Pennsylvania and Missouri Avenues (now the site of the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of ch ...

) became home to such expensive

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub p ...

s that it gained the nickname "Marble Alley." In the 1870s and 1880s, the avenue was the site of significant competition between horse-drawn streetcar and chariot companies. A large house known as Bull's Head existed at the rear of the hotel that is now

Old Ebbitt Grill Old Ebbitt Grill is a historic bar and restaurant located at 675 15th Street NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is Washington's oldest bar and restaurant, and is owned by Clyde's Restaurant Group. It first opened as an unnamed resta ...

. The house marked the northwest corner of "Murder Bay". Bull's Head housed prostitutes and contained a large, lower-class gambling den.

Demolition and redevelopment

Federal Triangle

In the mid-1910s, the federal government acquired land on Pennsylvania Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets and several blocks south, but no demolition or construction was conducted. In the 1920s the government began planning for new development in the Murder Bay area, which would eventually be called

. This became a major construction project for 10 large city and federal office buildings, and consequently the entire Murder Bay area was replaced with government and other commercial buildings. A contract was issued in 1926 for razing several buildings along Constitution Avenue which would become the site for the new

Internal Revenue Service Building The Internal Revenue Service Building is a federal building which serves as the headquarters of the Internal Revenue Service. It is located at 1111 Constitution Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C. (corner of 12th Street), in the Federal Triangl ...

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

began to appropriate funds for additional land acquisition in 1927, and the land purchases took several years to complete. Construction of additional buildings began in the late 1920s, with completion nearly complete by 1931. The Department of Commerce Building opened in 1932, and the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, Department of Labor,

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to elimina ...

and National Archives buildings opened in 1935.

Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site

On March 25, 1965, President

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

issued

Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...

No. 11210, which established the Temporary Commission on Pennsylvania Avenue.Asher, "President Sets Up New Avenue Unit," ''Washington Post,'' March 26, 1965. The Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site was established on September 30, 1965, and various culturally, aesthetically, and historically significant structures and places were given historic status protection.

External links

*
Washington's Rough-and-Tumble Lost Neighborhood of Murder Bay
- Ghosts of DC

References

{{coord, 38.893, N, 77.03, W, region:US-DC_type:city, display=title Geography of Washington, D.C. Neighborhoods in Northwest (Washington, D.C.) Historical red-light districts in the United States Poverty in the United States Federal Triangle