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The ECACollective Location
Neighborhood | Headquarters Building | History | Getting There

733 Euclid Street NW is located in the middle of the block of Euclid Street, directly across from Banneker High School and Howard University. It is in the middle of a block of row houses and stands out as the largest structure on the block. The cross streets are Georgia Avenue and Sherman Avenue, and it is in an area of the city known as Pleasant Plains. The area is undergoing a lot of change as part of the Georgia Avenue Revitalization Initiative, and this property is an ideal location for a community space. The Pleasant Plains area of Washington was established in 1918. Its borders are Spring Rd. to the north, Barry Pl. and Florida Ave to the south, 4th and Warder St. to the east and 16th St. to the west.

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733 Euclid is a large building that has been used for community services for many years. Built in the late 1800s, the original property was four small three story row houses on an 11,400 square foot lot. Over time, the two houses on either side were torn down, the two remaining houses were combined into one and a large two story addition was added. What stands today is a large two story building with a smaller third story and basement. There is approximately 20 feet of land on either side, a front porch and rear deck and a parking lot in the rear for 10 cars. The building layout includes:
  • 1st floor - One large room, kitchen, office, treatment room and bathrooms
  • 2nd floor - Two large rooms, two smaller offices, kitchenette, bathrooms and meeting room
  • 3rd floor - Apartment
Lateral view in 2003
Front view in 2003

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The building at 733 Euclid Street had been owned and operated by the National Association for the Relief of Destitute Colored Women and Children since 1863, operating under various names. Based on annual reports and other historical records, the Association functioned successfully in this capacity for many years. In the 1950s, the center functioned as the Meriwether Home for Women and Children. One of the former directors of the Meriwether Home, Mrs. Marie Key evolved the organization into the Key Day Care Center in 1975. Key Day Care attempted to address a nation-wide shortage of day care facilities which prevented many single parent families from getting jobs or job training. The Key Day Care Center functioned successfully until 1999. Although the property served in different capacities over the years, the owner of record was always the National Association for the Relief of Destitute Colored Women and Children. Dr. Joseph McKinney, the Chairman of the Board of the Association was committed to keeping this property in service to the community. Around 1997, a number of setbacks befell the Center, and in 1999, the Key Day Care abandoned the building. Since then the property has been boarded up and deteriorating.
Images from Key Day Care

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733 Euclid Street NW is just off of Georgia Avenue across from Howard University.

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The Meriwether Home for Children operated from the 1940s until 1975. The home had the capacity for caring for 33 children, both boys and girls from ages two to thirteen years. A few of the children were placed there by parents for various reasons. Most of the children were dependent or neglected wards of the Board of Public Welfare. The average stay within the institution was approximately three months, with some staying as short a time as a few weeks and others as long as several years. The goal of the home was to provide a sound rehabilitative experience for the children while waiting for more permanent plans to be effected.

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The National Association for the Relief of Destitute Colored Women and Children began February 14, 1863 by an act of Congress. It was one of many relief organizations formed to deal with the aftermath of the Civil War and Emancipation. Its charter was to, “support such aged or indigent colored women and children as may properly come under the charge of such association; to provide suitable home, board, clothing, and instruction, and to bring them under Christian influence; and by that name shall have perpetual succession, with power to use a common seal, to sue and be sued, to plead and be impleaded in any court of the United States, to collect subscriptions, make by-laws, rules and regulations needful for the government of said corporation, not inconsistent with the laws of the United States; to have, hold, and receive real and personal estate by purchase, gift, or devise; to use, sell or convey the same for the purposes and benefit of said corporation, and to choose such officers and teachers as may be deemed necessary, prescribe their duties, and fix the rate of their compensation.” (House Journal. 37th Congress, 3rd session. P. 373; February 14, 1863 (12 Stat. 650)).

The same act also stipulates, “That it shall be lawful for said association, by and with the advice and consent of the Secretary of War, to occupy for the objects of said associations any lands, not exceeding one hundred acres, and the improvements thereon, which the government may now own or may hereafter acquire, contiguous to the city of Washington, by confiscation or purchase, such occupation to continue for such a number of years as the Secretary of War may in writing prescribe.”

The first annual report of the Association in January 1864 states, “Our first effort was to find a place suitable for our purpose and liable to confiscation. In this, after much labor, we were successful, and on the first of June we were put in possession by order of Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War, of the house and grounds we now occupy on the heights of Georgetown, in close contiguity to the city, and yet beyond its limits – at once a retired, healthful, and suitable place. The extensive grounds, some eighty acres, give abundant opportunity, not only for healthful recreation, but also for instructing the older children in the various branches of husbandry, and making their labor thus aid in their own support.”

The property they occupied was referred to as “Eighth Street N.W. Extended” (1866), “Eighth and Euclid Streets, NW” (1910), “2458 Eighth Street N.W.” (1927), and most recently 731-733 Euclid St. NW. It is not clear whether these addresses all referred to the same location.

Based on annual reports from 1863-1927 and other historical records, the Association functioned successfully in this capacity until the end of 1999. It was once the site of Elizabeth Keckley – a local Black dressmaker, couture and close friend of Mary Todd Lincoln. She was born a slave in Virginia but bought freedom for herself and her son largely because of her skills and popularity. One of her customers was Varina Howell Davis, the wife of Jefferson Davis.

For a detailed history of the Association, see the 50 Year Report written in 1913 by Dr. Winfield Scott Montgomery.

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Updated on 09/04/2006
(c) 2003 The Emergence Community Arts Collective | (202) 462-2285 | 733 Euclid St. NW Washington, DC 20001