The Central National Bank, also known as the Dorothy I. Height Building, or Apex Building, is the national headquarters of the

National Council of Negro Women The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. (NCNW) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1935 with the mission to advance the opportunities and the quality of life for African-American women, their families, and communities. Mary McLeod Bethune, ...

. It is located at 633

Pennsylvania Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue is a primarily diagonal street in Washington, D.C. that connects the United States Capitol with the White House and then crosses northwest Washington, D.C. to Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown. Traveling through So ...

Northwest, Washington, D.C. Northwest (NW or N.W.) is the northwestern quadrant of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and is located north of the National Mall and west of North Capitol Street. It is the largest of the four quadrants of the city (NW, NE, S ...

, in the

Penn Quarter Penn Quarter is a historic neighborhood of Downtown Washington, D.C., located north of Pennsylvania Avenue, in Northwest D.C. Penn Quarter is roughly equivalent to the city's early downtown core near Pennsylvania Avenue and 7th Street NW, Penn ...

neighborhood.

History

Built in 1860, it operated as the St. Marc Hotel. It was purchased by the Central National Bank, and the west front was renovated in 1887, to the designs of architect Alfred B. Mullett. In 1945, the ground floor was leased by the Apex Liquor store. In 1984, it was renovated by

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...

. The Late Victorian-style Dorothy I. Height Building is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. In addition, the building is designated as a contributing property to the

Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site is a National Historic Site in the city of Washington, D.C. Established on September 30, 1965, the site is roughly bounded by Constitution Avenue, 15th Street NW, F Street NW, and 3rd Street NW. The hi ...

and the Downtown Historic District.

Gallery

File:Dorothy I. Height Building - entrance.JPG, Entrance File:Apex-sw.jpg, Apex Liquor Store, 1967 File:Apex-s.jpg, Apex Liquor Store in the mid-twentieth century

References

External links

* {{Authority control Commercial buildings completed in 1860 Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Victorian architecture in Washington, D.C. Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Washington, D.C. National Council of Negro Women