Constitution Hall - Washington, D.C. - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

"Constitution Hall, built and owned by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, faces Eighteenth Street between C and D Streets, Northwest. It was designed by the eminent architect, John Russell Pope, and is constructed of Alabama limestone. The building houses the largest auditorium in the City of Washington, with a seating capacity of 3,746 plus an additional 150 chairs on the 32' x 50' stage. Excavating for Constitution Hall was begun on August 24, 1928, and the first event held in the Hall, a Vesper Service, took place on October 23, 1929...

The building fronts west, and is a block long and a third of a block deep. Its neighbor to the south, on C Street, is the Pan American Union; to the north, on D Street, is the American Red Cross. Opposite its main entrance on Eighteenth Street is the United States Department of the Interior Building.

The Ionic entrance portico of this Neoclassic building, facing on Eighteenth Street, is surmounted by a 90-foot-wide pediment above the name, CONSTITUTION HALL, cut in the stone frieze. The huge sculptured American eagle, and the dates "1776" and "1783" of the Declaration of Independence and the Treaty of Paris, respectively, to the right and left of the eagle, were carved in situ by the sculptor, Ulysses A. Ricci. High on the wall under the portico are five-foot-tall allegorical low-relief panels. Below each panel, and between them, are three pairs of bronze doors. Directly above the center doors is a bronze plaque inscribed: "Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair. The event is in the hands of God. George Washington to the Constitution Convention, A.D. 1787"...

The National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, built Constitution Hall to accommodate their annual Continental Congresses and other activities, but it quickly became the unofficial cultural center of the Nation's Capital and a nationally known focus for all forms of the performing and literary arts. It has retained much of its importance in Washington's cultural life, despite the construction of the Kennedy Center. The Daughters of the American Revolution, from this national headquarters, have made major contributions to citizenship education, historic preservation, and historical scholarship. -National Register Nomination

Constitution Hall was built due to the lack of space in the D.A.R.'s earlier building Memorial Continental Hall for its annual meeting. Constitution Hall and Memorial Continental Hall are on same block and are connected by a latter built structure containing the D.A.R. museum and administrative offices.

Constitution Hall is used for many performances throughout the year. From 1930 until the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1971, Constitution Hall was home to the National Symphony Orchestra. It also served as the home of the film lectures of the National Geographic Society were presented in the hall for many decades, three times a week until about 1990 when they moved to the National Geographic's own theater. The hall has been and continues to be the site of many live performances of different genre.

Street address: 311 Eighteenth St. Washington, DC County / Borough / Parish: District of Columbia Year listed: 1985 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1925-1949 Historic function: Recreation And Culture, Social Current function: Recreation And Culture, Social Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Secondary Website 2: [Web Link] National Historic Landmark Link: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   12/17/2023 Cacher_Alec visited it