Old City Hall
Civil War to Civil Rights
"--witness to the end of slavery in the nation’s capital."
This imposing Greek Revival building was Washington’s first city hall, designed by George Hadfield and built between 1820 and 1850. It house the city court and an elected mayor and city council until 1871. Its prestigious high site overlooked Pennsylvania Avenue and bordered Judiciary Square, then as now, a hub of community life.
This building also stood witness to the end of slavery in the District of Columbia. President Lincoln had authorized up to $1 million to pay loyal D.C. slaveholders for their human property. A slave sale commission working here had the impossible task of putting a monetary value on human life. It was an experiment by Lincoln designed to solve the issue of slavery through compensated emancipation, that was carried out only in Washington, D.C.
The Lincoln statue at the entrance is the first public monument in the United States to the assassinated 16th president, paid for almost entirely by District residents who were appalled that he had been killed in their city. Designed by sculptor Lee Flannery, who had known Lincoln, it was dedicated in 1868 and was originally placed at the top of a 35 foot tall column.
Today the building is vacant, awaiting a new use by the city government.
Marker is on Indiana Avenue, NW, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
