Midcity at the Crossroads

— Shaw Heritage Trail —

"There is not a wrong too long endured that we are not determined to abolish." Samuel Gompers.

This large office building opened in 1916 as the headquarters of the American Federation of Labor. With 2.5 million members, this union was the nation's largest and most powerful. The building's design by Milburn, Heister & Co. symbolized the union's maturity and strength.

The AF of L's first president was London-born Samuel Gompers (1850-1924). Gompers immigrated to New York in 1863, became a cigar maker and, in 1873, president of the Cigar Makers Union Local 144. When a number of unions formed the American Federation of Labor in 1886, they elected Gompers president, a position he held until his death. A memorial to Gompers is found nearby at 10th Street and Massachusetts Avenue. The AFL-CIO moved to 18th Street in 1956, and the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitters Industry took its place here.

Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, across the intersection in 1917 for a congregation dating from 1869. In 1935 as the population of nearby Chinatown was peaking, the church invited the Chinese Community Church to share its space. A year later, the church developed the Mount Vernon Players. This drama group welcomed racially integrated audiences when most Washington theaters did not. Under Managing Director Edward Mangum and Assistant Managing Director Zelda Fichandler, the group evolved into Arena Stage. In 1950, Arena's first production opened in the former Hippodrome movie theater at 808 K Street, since demolished.

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