A Shared Neighborhood 15th and u streets nw
although washington, d.c. has been a racially segregated city for much of its history, black and white Washingtonians have shared several parts of this neighborhood. The modern building on the northeast corner of 15 th and U Streets sits on the site of the Portner Flats, demolished in 1974 . An elegant 1897 apart- ment building, the Portner was occupied by white residents until the end of World War II. Its grand public dining room and parlors, large, high-ceilinged apartments, and many resident services made it a sought-after address. Its elaborate drugstore entrance was a well-known landmark on the corner. In 1945 , the Portner Flats became the Dunbar Hotel, at one time the largest black hotel in the nation. It was named for poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, who once lived in the adjacent neighborhood of LeDroit Park. The hotel became a popular gather- ing place for famous sports and entertainment figures, Howard University faculty, and other black professionals. At 15 th and V Streets stands St. Augustine Catholic Church, the city’s oldest predominantly black Catholic congregation, founded in 1858 at 15 th and L Streets. In 1961 , the congregation took a dramat- ic step and merged with a white congregation, St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, and moved into its 1883 Gothic Revival building. You can see it just north of the old Dunbar Hotel site. For 20 years, until 1982 , it was known as Sts. Paul and Augustine. Today it continues to actively welcome members of all races and ethnic groups.
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