Home to the National Woman's Party for more than 90 years, this was the epicenter of the struggle for women's rights. From this house in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court, Alice Paul and the NWP developed innovative strategies and ...
Home to the National Woman's Party for nearly 90 years, this building was the epicenter of the struggle for women's rights. From this house in the shadow of the US Capitol and Supreme Court, Alice Paul and the NWP developed innovative strategies and tactics to advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment and equality for women. President Barack Obama designated the national monument on April 12, 2016.InscriptionsDoorway, right sideResidence of Albert Gallatin, peace negotiator and
(389 words)<br />The Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument is a three-story red brick house located in Capital Hill, on the north side of Constitution Avenue, NE at the intersection with 2nd Street NE. The home sits on the southeast corner of the block. The entire rest of the block is occupied by the Hart Senate Office Building.<br />A three-foot tall spiked black iron gate surrounds the property. Trees shield much of the first floor of the house on south and east sides, and ivy lines the building for about ten feet.<br />At the front of the home a round brick arched doorway at ground level leads to the basement entrance. The doorway has an ornate black iron gate, with circular and s-curved artwork, and sun burst design at its top.<br />Above the brick archway, a brown plaque reads:<br />"NATIONAL WOMAN'S PARTY Founded 1913"<br />Two cement staircases on either side lead up one flight to a landing and the main entrance. The base of each staircase is chained-off at the sidewalk and include signs with an arrow pointing to the right that read: Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument Entrance on 2nd Street.<br />The front door features sidelights and an overhead stained-glass window in a semicircular arch design. Double hung white windows with black shutters are on either side of the main front door, with three matching windows on the second floor above, and three gabled windows on the third top level. A seven-foot high brick wall with three-foot high spiked metal fence on top runs to the left.<br />The house extends at two stories on its north side for about seventy-five feet, followed by a brick staircase leading up to the first floor. The building then lowers to one level and continues for about another seventy-five feet. Beyond this point and around the corner of the house is the entrance for the Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument.<br />A four by four gray sign is set in the ivy at the corner southeast corner of the house, reading in white lettering:<br />Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument<br />A brown sign hangs on the iron gate in front that reads: "Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument Entrance." An arrow points to the right, around the corner on 2nd Street.<br />A bronze plaque at the southeast corner of the front of the house reads: "Alma Belmont House."<br />END OF DESCRIPTION<br />
(401 words)<br />To the left of the front entrance, just beyond the black spiked metal fence, are two waysides. The right sign is purple with gold lettering on the left third, reading:<br />The Sewall-Belmont House & Museum<br />One of the oldest residential properties of Capitol Hill, has been the historic headquarters of the National Woman's Party since 1929. Names after Robert Sewall, the original owner of the site, and Alva Belmont, the president and benefactor of the National Woman's Party, this house has been at the center of political life in Washington for more than two hundred years. Today, the Sewall-Belmont House seeks to educate the public by, sharing the inspiring story of a century of courageous activism by American women.<br />For more information, please enter the building through the public entrance on 2nd Street, NE or visit the website at www.sewallbelmont.org.<br />The right-side of the sign features five black and white photos.<br />A picture shows the front of the house, taken from across the street. Two sets of two photos are on either side. The left photos show three women in winter coats posing on the left front steps, and four women in hats and in front of the brick arch doorway. Above is a white sign reading National Woman's Party. The right-side photos show two women standing against the brick house below the Alva Belmont House plaque, which is draped with a white sheet. The final photo shows a view of the house from its southeast corner, almost entirely covered in ivy.<br />The gold sign on the left has purple text and five black and white photos on the right.<br />A picture shows a closeup image of a woman looking out of a jail cell on the left side. An image on the left shows eight women standing in front of the White House wearing white sashes with messages on them and holding signs, one which reads: Mr. President How Long Must Women Wait for Liberty. A second sign reads: Mr. President What Wil You Do for Woman Suffrage<br />In the photo below, nine women hold up two signs, one reading: We Demand that the American Government Give Alice Paul a Political Defender, the Privileges Russia Gave Miyukoff<br />The two right images show women lying under blankets on the street in from of a building, and three women in winter coats assisting an older woman as they walk down the street.<br />END OF DESCRIPTION<br />
The 44-foot high Peace Monument stands in the circle west of the U.S. Capitol at Pennsylvania Avenue and First Street, NW. Inscribed "In memory of the officers, seamen and marines of the United States Navy who fell in defense of the Union and liberty of their country, 1861-1865," this sculptural group has also been called the Naval Monument.
At the top of the Peace Monument, facing west, stand two classically robed female figures. Grief holds her covered face against the shoulder of History and weeps in mourning. History holds a stylus and a tablet that was inscribed "They died that their country might live." Below Grief and History, another life-size classical female figure represents Victory, holding high a laurel wreath and carrying an oak branch, signifying strength. Below her are the infant Mars, the god of war, and the infant Neptune, god of the sea. The shaft of the monument is decorated with wreaths, ribbons and scallop shells. Facing the U.S. Capitol is Peace, a classical figure draped from the waist down and holding an olive sprig. Below her are symbols of peace and industry. A dove, now missing and not documented in any known photographs, once nested upon a sheaf of wheat in a grouping of a cornucopia, turned earth, and a sickle resting across a sword. Opposite, the symbols of science, literature and art (including an angle, a gear, a book, and a pair of dividers) signify the progress of civilization that peace makes possible. At the corners of the monument, four marble globes are visually supported by massive brackets. The fountain below, with a jet on each side, empties into a quatrefoil-shaped basin. Inscribed "In memory of the officers, seamen and marines of the United States Navy who fell in defense of the Union and liberty of their country, 1861-1865
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the temperance movement, opposing the consumption of alcohol, gained popularity and political power, culminating in the passage of the 18th Amendment, banning alcohol in 1919. This fountain was donated by Henry Cogswell and erected adjacent to the Central Market in 1884. Filled with ice, the water that flowed from this fountain offered a refreshing alternative to the numerous bars and liquor stores nearby, including one on the ground
(165 words)<br />The Temperance Fountain sits at the southeast corner of Seventh Street and Indiana Avenue, NW, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the National Archives to the south and Navy Memorial across Seventh Street to the west, in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, DC<br />The fountain is a small stone pavilion, about fifteen feet tall and five-feet wide. Four stone columns support the stone canopy, the sides of which are inscribed to read:<br />TEMPERANCE<br />CHARITY<br />HOPE<br />FAITH<br />A six-foot-tall bronze heron stands on top of the canopy. In the center of the pavilion is a four-foot tall bronze sculpture of two entwined dolphins. Their large mouths are opened to the east and west. They sit on a round stone pedestal, inscribed on the west side to read:<br />PRESENTED BY<br />HENRY D. COGSHELL<br />OF SAN FRANCISCO CAL.<br />A metal grate sits at the bottom of the pavilion, which is surrounded by a thirty-square foot, one-foot-tall brick plaza. A stone memorial obelisk stands about fifty feet to the west.<br />END OF DESCRIPTION<br />
Visitors to the museum at Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument are greeted by a friendly member of our staff of rangers and volunteers. At the desk, you can stamp your National Park Service Passport book, pick up a Junior Suffragist booklet, and chat about the ongoing struggle for women's equality.
On March 3, 1913, the day before Woodrow Wilson's presidential inauguration, thousands of women marched along Pennsylvania Avenue--the same route that the inaugural parade would take the next day, The procession was carefully choreographed to illustrate women's exclusion from the democratic process. Follow this 1.3 mile route to learn about the places associated with the spectacular parade.
Women in Military Service Tour
Women have proudly served their country in every war since the nation's founding. Explore the stories of women veterans around the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington, D.C. in this 2.5 mile walking or biking tour
