At the Crossroads

At the Crossroads (HM2B9T)

Location: Washington, DC 20003
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Country: United States of America
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N 38° 53.037', W 76° 59.697'

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Tour of Duty

—Barracks Row Heritage Trail —

The large building that wraps around this corner was constructed as a department store in 1892 by Elizabeth A. Haines. She proudly advertised it as "the largest store in the world, built, owned and controlled by a woman." Back then extended families typically had six to fourteen people, and Haines knew that hundreds of potential customers passed this intersection daily.

More than a century earlier, before Washington's founding in 1791, Pennsylvania Avenue was a bumpy dirt road connecting the Maryland countryside beyond the Anacostia River to the port of Georgetown on the Potomac. Its stagecoach, cart, and carriage traffic grew with the new capital. Lewis DeBlois noted the traffic, and in 1795 he built one of the area's first taverns. It was once located ahead of you on the corner occupied in 2004 by a gas station. William Tunnicliff soon took over the tavern and it became known as Tunnicliff's Tavern. It offered food, lodging and spirits to travelers and residents here before he moved the business closer to the Capitol and its politicians.

Washington grew dramatically during and after the Civil War, and so did Eighth Street. New businesses served the military and a growing population of government clerks and Navy Yard workers. When the widow Haines arrived in 1882, she and her children lived above a small



store nearby on 11th Street. After ten successful years, she commissioned noted local architect Julius G. Germuiller to design this grand department store. Haines's store - "fifty stores in one" - was the largest enterprise here. Most others were modest family businesses like George J. Beckert's cigar store at 405 Eighth Street.
Details
HM NumberHM2B9T
Tags
Placed ByCultural Tourism DC
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Monday, September 10th, 2018 at 11:02am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 326964 N 4305789
Decimal Degrees38.88395000, -76.99495000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 38° 53.037', W 76° 59.697'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds38° 53' 2.2199999999999" N, 76° 59' 41.82" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)202
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling North
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 1100 G St SE, Washington DC 20003, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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