Mary Ann Shadd Cary House
- Style
- Renaissance Revival
- City
- Washington, DC
The Mary Ann Shadd Cary House is a brick row house at 1421 W Street NW, likely built in the 1890s as part of a series of row houses on the block. From 1881 to 1893 it was the home of Mary Ann Shadd Cary, a writer and abolitionist who was among the first African American female journalists in North America and became one of the first Black female lawyers after the Civil War. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976.
the building
Row house detailing. The three-story house is three bays wide, set apart from its neighbors by a corbelled cornice and projecting brick hoods above the windows.
the style
The house is built in the Renaissance Revival style typical of Washington row houses of its era, expressed here through restrained brick detailing rather than elaborate ornament.
More on Renaissance Revivalsignificance
The house was declared a National Historic Landmark on December 8, 1976, as part of a national effort by the Afro-American Bicentennial Corporation to recognize African American historic sites. It is also a contributing property to the Greater U Street Historic District and the African American Heritage Trail in Washington, D.C.
nearby
- Congressional Club
- Meridian Hall
- Josephine Butler Parks Center
- Pink Palace
- Warder Mansion
- Clifton Terrace