Last updated: November 23, 2021
Place
All Souls Church Unitarian
Photograph by Kim Prothro Williams, courtesy of DC Historic Preservation Office
Quick Facts
Location:
1500 Harvard St. NW Washington DC
Significance:
Architecture, Community Planning and Development, Social History
Designation:
Listed in the National Register – Reference number 100005905
MANAGED BY:
Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2020, All Souls Church, Unitarian, in Washington, DC, has a rich architectural and social history. From its establishment in the early 19th century through the Civil War when it sought to define itself by its anti-slavery agenda, to more firmly establishing itself as a church with a social justice agenda during the civil rights era and finally to embracing its role as a “Welcoming Congregation,” All Souls has been in the forefront of the city and nation’s social issues. The church continues to attract a large and diverse congregation and remains a visually notable architectural landmark at the height of Meridian Hill.
The All Souls Church, Unitarian is a red brick Colonial Revival-style church built in 1922-24, From its inception and inherent in Unitarian beliefs that was unfettered by dogma, All Souls has offered a progressive outlook on the social, cultural, and political issues of the day. From its pre-Civil War stance against slavery to its active role in the Civil Rights Movement and its early embrace of LGBTQ rights, the ministers and congregation of All Souls have been vocal critics and active participants in the fight for equality. Beginning in 1970, All Souls emerged as an early leader in the church community to embrace gay rights. It opened its spaces for worship, spiritual support, and meetings, and actively sought to educate its congregation and alter its own language and practices towards gay equality. In 1970, the church named Frank Robertson, one of the nation’s first openly gay ministers as assistant minister and Director of Religious Education. Robertson soon began working with representatives of other congregations to advocate for the creation of a dedicated Unitarian Universalist Association Office on Gay Concerns and by June 1975, Robertson was named leader of the group. For over a quarter century, All Souls has been a “Welcoming Congregation,” where “gay, lesbian and bi-sexual members and friends are an integral part of the life of our congregation and are welcome as part of our church family. Many churches in DC, reflecting a variety of denominations, grew to accept, celebrate, and provide safe spaces for LGBTQ communities. During the gay rights movement, All Souls Church emerged as a leader of LGBTQ rights in the city’s religious community.
This building is the third church building erected by and for Washington’s first unitarian congregation. Established in the District of Columbia in 1821 as the First Unitarian Church of Washington, the church began in this city as a branch of the Unitarian denomination that was already well-established in New England. By the third quarter of the nineteenth century, the church was looking to both expand beyond its original church building, and to establish itself as a national church for the denomination. To that end, in 1877, First Unitarian adopted its present name, All Souls, and built a new church building at 14th and L Streets downtown. More than forty years later, in anticipation of a celebration of its centennial, All Souls began planning for the construction of the present church on 16th Street on Meridian Hill. The church issued a design competition requiring that the “national” church should “typify Unitarian ideas and ideals, harmonize with the architecture of Washington and fit into the surroundings of the chosen site.” The winning entry, submitted by the Boston architectural firm of Coolidge and Shattuck was closely modeled after James Gibbs’ St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, London, reflecting the popularity of the style in both eighteenth and twentieth-century America. The construction of All Souls conformed with the City Beautiful planning efforts.
The All Souls Church, Unitarian is a red brick Colonial Revival-style church built in 1922-24, From its inception and inherent in Unitarian beliefs that was unfettered by dogma, All Souls has offered a progressive outlook on the social, cultural, and political issues of the day. From its pre-Civil War stance against slavery to its active role in the Civil Rights Movement and its early embrace of LGBTQ rights, the ministers and congregation of All Souls have been vocal critics and active participants in the fight for equality. Beginning in 1970, All Souls emerged as an early leader in the church community to embrace gay rights. It opened its spaces for worship, spiritual support, and meetings, and actively sought to educate its congregation and alter its own language and practices towards gay equality. In 1970, the church named Frank Robertson, one of the nation’s first openly gay ministers as assistant minister and Director of Religious Education. Robertson soon began working with representatives of other congregations to advocate for the creation of a dedicated Unitarian Universalist Association Office on Gay Concerns and by June 1975, Robertson was named leader of the group. For over a quarter century, All Souls has been a “Welcoming Congregation,” where “gay, lesbian and bi-sexual members and friends are an integral part of the life of our congregation and are welcome as part of our church family. Many churches in DC, reflecting a variety of denominations, grew to accept, celebrate, and provide safe spaces for LGBTQ communities. During the gay rights movement, All Souls Church emerged as a leader of LGBTQ rights in the city’s religious community.
This building is the third church building erected by and for Washington’s first unitarian congregation. Established in the District of Columbia in 1821 as the First Unitarian Church of Washington, the church began in this city as a branch of the Unitarian denomination that was already well-established in New England. By the third quarter of the nineteenth century, the church was looking to both expand beyond its original church building, and to establish itself as a national church for the denomination. To that end, in 1877, First Unitarian adopted its present name, All Souls, and built a new church building at 14th and L Streets downtown. More than forty years later, in anticipation of a celebration of its centennial, All Souls began planning for the construction of the present church on 16th Street on Meridian Hill. The church issued a design competition requiring that the “national” church should “typify Unitarian ideas and ideals, harmonize with the architecture of Washington and fit into the surroundings of the chosen site.” The winning entry, submitted by the Boston architectural firm of Coolidge and Shattuck was closely modeled after James Gibbs’ St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, London, reflecting the popularity of the style in both eighteenth and twentieth-century America. The construction of All Souls conformed with the City Beautiful planning efforts.