Last week, we looked at some of the sights mentioned in 111 Places in Women’s History in Washington That You Must Not Miss that we had previously looked at on The Hill Is Home. Today, we looked at some of those that we have mentioned only in passing.
For instance, we have spent a fair bit of time looking at alleys in D.C., but not much on those who fought to remove them from the cityscape – Ellen Wilson and Eleanor Roosevelt being the best known of these. Calogera and Grawl do a good job of explicating Wilson’s legacy, both positive and negative, on the alley dwellings of D.C. – and how naming an alley after her is a subtle swipe at her.
The book also shines in its ability to call to our attention things about our neighborhood that we have missed – such as that a section of the Botanic Garden is named the First Ladies Water Garden.
And while we have written much about the Folger Shakespeare Library – especially about events taking place there – we have been remiss in mentioning Emily Folger, who worked with her husband to amass the remarkable collection housed there today.
In a similar vein, many of our posts have referenced the Library of Congress, whether about its history or events taking place there. But Calogera and Grawl point to Carla Haydon’s history-making stint as Librarian of Congress as a further reason to visit this edifice.
We are certainly remiss in having never done a piece on Belva Lockwood, the woman who was arguably the first to run for President. She does play a small role in one of the odder episodes of Hill history, and one that may become relevant again as more and more members of the previous administration refuse to abide by Congressional subpoenas.
In a similar vein, we have noted the use of memorial trees in the past, but completely missed out on the tree planted in memory of Representative Louise Slaughter
While Myrtilla Miner lives on on Capitol Hill as the name on a school, her indirect influence was important in the start of the very first school for African American children during the Civil War. Emma Brown, the first teacher there, had learned the craft from Miner herself.
And finally, the authors point to the statue of Sakakawea in the National Statuary Collection as another site to visit. There are, however, eight other women in that collection, from Helen Keller to Jeanette Rankin – and another on the way, when Mary McLeod Bethune will be sent by the state of Florida to replace an old Confederate general. And there are other statues that are in the Capitol but are not part of the National Statuary collection: The Portrait Monument Dedicated to Women’s Suffrage, and the Rosa Parks Statue.