Funkstown – The History Project Presents

By Frank Leone & Denise Vogt

To celebrate its fifth anniversary, the Foggy Bottom Association History Project made a presentation to the FBA’s March Community Meeting at the West End Library.  Co-Chairs Denise Vogt and Frank Leone briefly discussed Foggy Bottom’s History, the History Project’s activities, and some stories from the Historic District.  (You can see the presentation HERE.)  FBA President John George then shared the history of his residence at 915 26^th St. and former owners, including noted artist Audrey Roll-Pressler. (HERE is the meeting powerpoint, including the presentation on 915 26^th St., starting at page 8.)

We briefly reviewed 5,000 years of Foggy Bottom History, starting Native Americans habitation and colonial period, including Jacob Funk ‘s 1785 plan for Funkstown, and the early history of the city, featuring the 1790s Peter House, in which George Washington slept. Starting in the 1800s, Foggy Bottom hosted industries, including early glass works, lime kilns, Heurich and other breweries, and the Washington Gas Works. The industries employed African Americans, Irish Americans, and German Americans, generally from the 1870s to the 1920s. Foggy Bottom experienced urban renewal in the 1950s – some of its historic housing, including alley houses were preserved, but much of neighborhood – including Martha Briggs Elementary School - was destroyed and its people displaced for new buildings and the Potomac Freeway. New buildings included apartments, including Potomac Plaza, Watergate, and the Kennedy Center.

We are interested in neighborhood stories!  Here we show Historic District community gatherings – an I St Block party (Fall 1981), a memorial gathering at the big yellow house at 844 New Hampshire Ave, (June 2011), and the St. Patrick’s Day dog walk at 26^th St. (soon to be Green’s Court) Park (March 2022).

You can find out more about History Project activities at its website, currently being updated, which contains links to our regular posts on the Funkstown history blog (which now has 150 entries), Historic District Walking Tours, the Historic District Study Area House Map Project, and 240 House History pages. Our site continues to offer information on Oral History and Resources on Foggy Bottom and DC History.

We highlighted some of the stories we’ve uncovered about Historic District residents. These included African American women Della Shaw and her 1920s bakery, and the Carmichael family; the historic district’s funeral home; the corner house that was used as a bar, church, house/store, billiard parlor, and barbershop with the sculptor Albert Paley gate; Irish Foggy Bottom; the big yellow Fitzgerald House and its grocery store; Russian-Jewish Immigrant grocery stores; and St. Mary’s Episcopal and lost African-American churches.

We then reviewed upcoming activities, including our table at the free DC History Conference, May 1-2, at MLK Library.

We are interested in your stories about Foggy Bottom residents, both old and new! Contact us at DeniseV@foggybottomassociation.org or FLeoneDC@gmail.com.