Box #17
Box Location:
NE corner R & 20 Sts.

View Box Location
on Map

Connecticut Ave. from Lafayette Square to Ashmead Place, was just a well-worn trail for many years after L’Enfant made it a prominent diagonal in his 1792 plan. The route was known as “the road to Holmead’s” because of the family-owned cemetery at this very location.

The mansion behind you at 1701 20th St. was built in 1890 by the prominent architectural firm, Hornblower and Marshall. One of dozens in the neighborhood built of pink sandstone and red brick, it is the only such building whose exterior color looks as it did in 1890. Thanks to sandblasting to remove the effects of auto exhaust, the building is not as dark as its peers.

Built in 1922, the group of shops across Connecticut Ave. (1700 block), was the first building north of Dupont Circle designed for commercial use. At 1614 20th St., a block south, stands an exuberant Romanesque Revival house built in 1891 (above).

The mural at 1736 Connecticut Ave. (right) was originally designed for the Q St./Dupont Circle Metro exit under the mayor’s summer jobs program. It was projected onto the wall and painted using pigments that last more than 100 years.

This call box is sponsored by:
David Hatfield, Sid Stolz, and Lucky

G. Byron Peck, resident of DC, has used “The Fountain” in many of the 80 murals he has created in the United States and abroad. He teaches at DC museums and universities, and haswon numerous awards.

Photo by Carol Galaty

More info: Artist website

POLICE CALL BOXES such as this one (originally painted blue) were installed in the District after the Civil War. Officers on foot patrol used this secure telegraph system to contact the station, accessing the box with a now highly collectible “gold key.” This system was used until the late 1970s when it was abandoned in favor of more modern communication methods.

This community project is also supported by Dupont Circle Citizens Association and The Dupont Circle Conservancy, Inc. and generous donations from community residents and businesses.

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