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| Henderson Castle on 16th, demolished in 1949. The walls still exist. |
U Street Girl has a little post about a cool-sounding event tonight from 7-9 in the community room at the View 14 at 14th and Florida:
Architectural historian Kimberly Prothro Williams, DC Office of Planning, will give a presentation on the history of the Meridian Hill neighborhood.
She will answer questions like:
- What is that piece of stone castle wall at 16th Street and Florida Avenue?
- How did Meridian Hill become a park?
This is one of the few times I’ve heard of the Meridian Hill neighborhood, but in any case, the history of the area is pretty interesting.
There really was a castle on 16th, the Henderson Castle. The Henderson family who built it were interesting folks: John Brooks Henderson was a senator from Missouri and with his wife Mary Foote Henderson, they bought a lot of the land around Meridian Hill, developing it as mansions and embassies. Mary successfully lobbied Congress to get them to make it a park and unsuccessfully lobbied them to move the Presidential home to Meridian Hill Park. There’s a bit more on the Wikipedia page anda lot more in this book, Washington, D.C. Off the Beaten Path, 4th: A Guide to Unique Places, on Google. The castle was demolished in 1949 but the walls on 16th Street still exist.
Sure to be an interesting presentation.
