Name/Title
StereographEntry/Object ID
2023.055.3.0374Description
A black and white stereograph. Image is of St. John's Church in Washington D.C. Above the image "35" is printed, below the image "32248 St. John's Church and the Veterans' Beureau Building, Washington, D. C." is printed, to the left of the image "Keystone View Company COPYRIGHTED Manufacturers MADE IN U.S.A. Publishers" is printed, to the right of the image "Meadville, Pa., New York, N. Y., Chicago, Ill., London, England." is printed. On the reverse the following is printed:
32248
ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, EPISCOPAL, AND THE U. S. VETERAN'S BUREAU, WASHINGTON, D. C.
We have crossed the deeply shaded expanse of Lafayette Square and come to the point where 16th St., sometimes called "The Avenue of the Presidents," extends N. opposite the center of the White House. Several blocks to our left and still further N., 16th St. crosses Scott Circle and , beyond that, skirts Meridian Hill Park. From its very beginning it is a street notable for handsome residences, and other buildingds and monuments of importance. From where we are standing, at the junction of 16th and H Sts., we see, on the N. E. corner, the famous St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church, dating from 1818, popularly called the "Church of the Presidents." A special pew is here reserved for the use of the Chief Execative and his family and among the Presidents who have worshipped here more or less reguarly have been Madison, Monroe, J. Q. Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, W. H. Harrison, Tyler, taylor, Fillmore, Buchanan, and Arthur while Roosevelt and Taft attended occasionally. The church possesses a remarkable series of memoiral stained glass windows, made in Chartres, France.
The residence with mansard roof which we see immediately behind St. John's Church was built in 1822. In 1849-52. Robert Bulwer, known to literature as "Owen Meredith," lived here with his uncle, who was the British Minister, and in this house he wrote at least part of his most noted poem, "Lucille." Beyond the church and the mansion we see the back of the 10-story War Risk Building, housing the U. S. Veterans' Bureau and said to furnish desk room for 14,000 employees. it is one of the few public buildings of Washington which has no architectural beauty, but it is thoroughly modern and perfectly adapted to its purpose.
Copyright Keystone View CompanyCollection
Photograph Collection