The equestrian statue of General Casimir Pulaski can be found at the 13th street entrance of Freedom Plaza; appropriate, given that the General is remembered as one of “the fathers of the American cavalry”. The Congress-sponsored statue was revealed by President William Taft on May 11th, 1910.
Background: Born in Poland on 1747 to a wealthy family, Casimir Pulaski, fought for polish freedom from Russia until 1771. After meeting Benjamin Franklin in Paris, Pulaski followed his recommendation and emigrated to North America to fight in the American Revolutionary War. He distinguished himself throughout the revolution; most notably after saving the life of George Washington. Despite his fame, there have been uncertainties and controversies surrounding both places and dates of his birth and burial. Gen. Pulaski died at 34 after being mortally wounded by grape shot while leading cavalry charge 😥 He never married or left any offspring.
Historic Bite/ TL;DR: Our boy, General Casimir Pulaski, Polish born soldier who contributed to the United States’ independence, reformed the whole American cavalry, and fought for both American and Polish freedom. Ahoy!
“I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it,” General Casimir Pulaski
+ Fun Facts:
Gen. Pulaski is one of only eight people to be awarded honorary U.S. citizenship; conferred by President Barack Obama and Congress on November, 2009.
In 1929, Congress recognized October 11 of each year as “General Pulaski Memorial Day“, with a large parade held annually on Fifth Avenue in New York City. So far, every President has issued a proclamation for the annual observance ever since, with the exception of 1930.
Additionally, the people of Illinois loooove him. He has a regional holiday in the Chicago area known as “Casimir Pulaski Day“, which commemorates his birth on March 4.
U.S. Navy submarine, USS Casimir Pulaski, has been named after him, among other numerous commemorations in his honor such as places, events, and art.
Historic Bite/TL;DR: The Hoover Building takes its name from John Edgar Hoover. Since its planning began in 1962, the site was formally selected to be the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States. However, throughout the years it has been criticized for its cost, design, lack of maintenance, and urban planning. Today it is barely functional.
Often maligned as downtown D.C.’s ugliest edifice, the Hoover building was praised in its early days. The planning began with the Kennedy administration after JFK took notice of the state of ruin marked in Pennsylvania Ave by its deteriorating homes, shops, and office buildings as juxtaposed to the pretty Neoclassical Federal Triangle next door. A proposed spending of $60 million was allocated for the headquarters of the FBI, along with a recommendation to build more, new federal structures to accommodate a growing government (almost no new office buildings in the city had been constructed since the Great Depression). The budget passed and the preliminary design phase began.
“[The FBI Building is] ‘gutsy and bold’ …masculine, no-nonsense architecture appropriate for a national police headquarters. It is a promising beginning for the new Pennsylvania Avenue.” – Wolf Von Eckardt, 1964. Washington Post architectural critic.
Originally designed in a similar monumental fashion to its neighbor agencies, the approach was rejected by the Government Accountability Office for “wasting space” and being too “lavish” for us, taxpayers. So after many changes and delays, the structure took a Chicago school design style, but final Brutalist touch with its poured concrete cover. The delays due to changes, back-and-forths, and funding led not only to a slow construction, but also raised the total cost to $126.108 million… How’s that for lavish!
“The building is Orwellian, alien to the spirit of the capital, and an overly dramatic and utterly miscarried play of forms. [The interior is] a drab factory with harsh light, endless corridors, hard floors and no visual relief.” – The same Wolf Von Eckardt after the completion of the building, 1975.
For the past years, the Hoover Building has been suffering from deterioration due to deferred maintenance and mediocre design, and it’s now up for potential replacement. It is in such bad condition that in 2013, the FBI, General Services Administration (GSA), and Government Accountability Office agreed that the building is no longer appropriate for the FBI and announced a call for proposals from developers. After receiving enough interest from viable projects, the FBI will be vacating and relocating somewhere in Virginia or Maryland, and the Hoover Building …well, who knows 😦
+ Fun Facts:
Having led the FBI for nearly half-century, J. Edgar Hoover was born and resided in D.C. his entire life.
The Hoover Building is highly secured with tight access points, has numerous amenities, has three floors below-ground, and is bomb-proof in its first few stories. Some incredible amenities to highlight:
Automobile repair shop
Two-story basketball court
Film library
Firing range
Morgue
The FBI immediately closed the second-story pedestrian observation deck for security reasons when the building opened in 1975.
It has not been reopened to the public since (Booo!).
The agency suspended the only public tours of the Building in the wake of the September 11 attacks. The tours remained suspended as of November 29, 2016.
Back when Donald Trump was just a real estate developer, he was one of the many that expressed interest in redeveloping the Hoover Building. Of course, it was a long shot for his firm which had never constructed any kind of secure federal campus.
The structure is eight stories high on the Pennsylvania Avenue NW side, and 11 stories high on the E Street NW side. Two wings connect the two main buildings, forming an open-air, trapezoidal courtyard. Here’s the lego model to prove it:
FBI mid- and low-level managers were said to have meddled extensively in the building’s details, even while working drawings were being completed. No wonder the structure is falling today.
Parts of the building have been covered in netting to prevent falling chunks of concrete from hitting the sidewalk.
Current agency’s employees are scattered among about two dozen annex buildings in the Washington region because the building is inhospitable.
Not to be Debbie Downer, but the White House has also not nominated anyone to lead the General Services Administration, which oversees federal property. So, the years-long effort to build a new headquarters for the Federal Bureau of Investigation faces infinite delay.
The John A. Wilson Building was specifically build as the home to the mayor and the 13 members of the Council of the District of Columbia. The original site was a streetcar power station that had been destroyed by a fire in 1897. With the “Public Building Act” of 1902, the United States Congress authorized funding for the construction of a new District municipal building called “the District Building”. This one would occupy the entire block between 13th and 14th Streets NW and later be renamed to commemorate former Council Chair John A. Wilson in 1994.
In 1977, a total of twelve gunmen took around 150 people hostage for nearly 40 hours at three D.C. sites: B’nai Brith’s headquarters, the Islamic Center of Washington, and particularly, the District Building.
During what came to be known as the 1977 Hanafi Siege, the situation grew tense and violent here. Two of those gunmen held about a 12 hostages inside the council chambers on the last floor of the District Building and shot 3 people. The gunmen killed WHUR Reporter Maurice Williams as he stepped off an elevator. They shot and wounded then-city councilman, Marion Barry by a stray shotgun pellet. And, shot and wounded Mack Cantrell, an officer with D.C. Protective Services, which guarded the city facility (though he survived the shooting, he passed a few days later from a heart attack).
The siege was prompted by a personal, and in part political, vendetta of Hamaas Abdul Khaalis, the leader of the group. He wanted to draw attention to the murder of his family in 1973. But made demands too for those convicted of killing Malcolm X and requested the cancellation of the film-premier of Mohammad, Messenger of God on sacrilegious grounds.
This year marks the 40th year anniversary of the siege.
Two-thirds of the Wilson Building were leased to the Federal government due to the District’s inability to pay for needed repairs in 1995.
For a period 20 years the offices of the mayor and council were temporarily relocated to One Judiciary Square.
The fully renovated Wilson Building reopened with all of the District’s government in September 2001.
The press room at the Wilson Building is named in memory of Maurice Williams, the 24-year-old reporter killed during the domestic terrorist incident.
There is a photo exhibit currently on display at the Wilson Building, in commemoration of 40 year anniversary of the siege.
A number of the photos have not previously been published. While some are displayed in the exact location they depict inside the building.
Historic Bite/ TL;DR: The five-story Wilson Building is a contributing structure to the history of D.C.. It holds the municipal offices of the District’s local government and was sadly one of the three sites of the 1977 Hanafi Siege.
Location: Across from Freedom Plaza, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, D.C.
Opened: December 7, 1835
Seats: 1,676
Since it first showing, the National Theatre has been in almost continuous operation – at the same Pennsylvania Ave location, just a few blocks from the White House. This historic playhouse was founded by William Corcoran and other prominent citizens who wanted the national capital to have a first-rate theatre.
Like many theatres in the U.S. prior to the civil rights movement, the National Theatre was racially segregated. Black actors were allowed to appear on stage, but African Americans audience members were relegated to a special section. Segregation had not always been the norm in D.C. but commercial operations were more rigid than anywhere in the South. After much commotion and a fail movement to change the status quo, live performances were discontinued by management in 1948. Only a few prestige attractions, like the film The Red Shoes and Disney’s Fantasia, were the exception. The theatre remained partly inactive until it reopened as an integrated theater in 1952.
+Fun Facts:
Lincoln learned of his nomination to a second term while attending a performance.
The specter of 19th century actor John McCullough is said to haunt the theater, first seen shortly after his death in 1885 by actors who had worked with him and then “appearing” in the audience on opening nights.
We have a friendly ghost y’all!
In December 1900, Winston Churchill gave a lecture on stage recounting his experiences in The Boer War 😀
The theater used to be known as “Grover’s National Theatre,” and “Grover’s Theatre”. But despite its name, the National Theater is not a governmentally funded national theatre, it is has always been privately operated.
Historic Bite/ TL;DR: The National Theater has hosted some dank receptions and events, among some presidential inaugural balls and world premieres of landmark American musicals. Most notably, the theater played a significant role as a focal point in the struggle for civil rights in the 20th century for D.C. and the nation.
Type: Plaza, consisting of dark & light marble & granite walls
Architect: Robert Venturi
Year: 1980
Originally named Western Plaza, the plaza was renamed in 1988 to “Freedom Plaza” in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., who worked on his “I Have a Dream” speech in the nearby Willard Hotel.
“[Freedom Plaza] it’s the slickest and fastest place,” Jack from Bethesda.
The plaza is a popular site for skateboarding despite this activity being illegal anywhere on historic Pennsylvania Avenue. Ironically too, its right in front of the John A. Wilson Building, the seat of government for the District of Columbia. It’s been reported that skateboarding has damaged sculpture, stonework, walls, benches, steps and other surfaces in some areas of the Plaza. Yet, D.C. skaters make it their home and many around the country come here to celebrate the official skateboarding holiday, Go Skateboarding Day, held on June 21 every year. This, and skateboarding on its grounds, has resulted in police actions on various occasions.
Freedom Plaza is also utilized as a place for political protests and civic events. In 2011, the Plaza was one of the sites of the “Occupy DC” protest.
+ Fun Facts:
The plaza contains a time capsule containing the Bible, robe, and other MLK relics to be reopened in 2088, a must see 😀
Some skaters know the plaza simply as, Pulaski Park. That’s because at the eastern end of the plaza, our boy General Casimir Pulaski can be found.
When seen from above, the plaza delineates a map, the L’Enfant Plan for the City of Washington:
Freedom Plaza Tip: The National Park Service oversees the Plaza, so the popo are Federal Park Police. Hence the signs: “Federal Property, No Skating.” If you must skate, disperse!
“The Mecca of D.C. skating, right here,” Bobby Worrest at Freedom Plaza.
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