Location: Rhode Island Avenue between Q and Ninth Streets, NW
Style: Police
Color Scheme: Blue
Condition: Missing access panel and top finial
Subject of Plaque: Phillis Wheatley YWCA
Draft Text:
Who was Phyllis Wheatley and Why is There a “Y” Named for Her?
When a poem by 14-year-old Phyllis Wheatley appeared in a newspaper in 1767, the young slave owned by Boston tailor John Wheatley became the first black woman to have her poetry published. Phyllis (sometimes written ‘Phillis’) traveled to London in 1773, where a book of her poetry, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, was published, bringing her international attention. Freed that same year, Phyllis Wheatley died in 1784.
In 1905, a Young Women’s Christian Association chapter was established in Washington to offer lodging to young African American women arriving in Washington seeking employment. After being housed at two other locations, the building across Rhode Island Avenue from this park was constructed in 1920. In 1923, the institution’s name was changed to the Phyllis Wheatley YWCA to honor the first African American poet.
Image: LC-USZC4-5316
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsca.02947/
Follow-Up: Obtain image; Contact DDOT for missing access panel and top finial.
Image of current condition (02/2012)
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