Day 25 of 110: House Beautiful

(Originally Published Saturday, February 8, 2014 – Blogger: One Daughter’s Point of View)

I’ve noted on occasion events that have taken place at the DAR National Headquarters. Some of these were part of past historic events, such as the farewell concert of Marian Anderson; others were more recent like yesterday’s photo of our National Board of Management decked out in red for Go Red for Women.

The DAR National Headquarters is situated on a full city block in downtown Washington, D.C. It’s just blocks from the White House and National Mall and is comprised of three interconnected buildings – Memorial Continental Hall, Constitution Hall and the Administration Building that connects the two. The oldest building was built in 1905 and was built by the DAR to create a “house beautiful” for the growing historic collections and annual meeting known as Continental Congress.

Upon its completion, Memorial Continental Hall was quickly recognized as one of Washington, D.C.’s most elegant buildings. The design for the building is in the classical revival style of the beaux-arts. Because of its classical detailing, the Hall fits in well with the Colonial Revival movement.

Memorial Continental Hall was designated as a Registered National Historic Landmark in 1935 for its role in world history, which includes hosting the famous Conference on the Limitation of Armaments in the wake of World War I (1921). Diplomats from all over the globe met to discuss limits on the proliferation of arms. Their work at Memorial Continental Hall remains a recognized milestone in global peace efforts towards disarmament.

So, in the end, the women who sought to build Memorial Continental Hall to preserve history became part of history.