Dupont Circle

— Diverse Visions / One Neighborhood —

From 1890 to 1910, some of the nation's finest architects built mansions at or near Dupont Circle in Queen Anne, Richardsonian Romanesque, Italian Renaissance or Colonial Revival style. Wealthy couples living elsewhere built most of the early mansions. They sought a home in DC for the social season - January to April - because of a desire to socialize with the presidents, members of Congress, and foreign diplomats (especially if there was a daughter to marry off), and a realization that social status lacking at home could be attained here through lavish entertainment. The Phillips Collection (1600 21st St.), a partial exception, was built by a young family from Pittsburgh who felt the air was better here. During the years 1916-1920, Lucy Mercer visited her divorced mother at the Decatur Apartments (2131 Florida Ave.), while Lucy's "good friend," Franklin D. Roosevelt, lived around the corner (2131 R St., left). At 2122 Florida Ave., the "horse door" on the right once led to a stables where in the 1850s African Americans fleeing the South - travelers on the Underground Railroad - could hide while awaiting passage further north.
Sidebar:Fire Alarm Boxes such as this one (originally painted red) were installed in the District after the Civil War. Telegraphs transmitted the box number (top) to a fire alarm center. This system was used until the 1970s when the boxes were converted to a telephone system. By the 1990s, the callbox system had been replaced by the 911 system and was abandoned.
Fire Fact July 2, 1919
Truck Company 2 responded to 2132 R St. NW, residence of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, to remove portions of an anarchist's body from treetops and roofs after an apparent bomb prematurely exploded.Fire Department information and images courtesy of Capitol Fire MuseumArtist Arlette JasselArlette Jassel has lived, worked and exhibited in Washington, DC for years. Washington is the muse and inspiration for her painting and sculpture, which include bronze, steel and wood sculpture as well as document illustrations.

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