"Cushing Place" - many people have probably driven by that alley and thought it was just another side street in DC or maybe they read about in JD's post about crime in SE and the murders that took place there. But going back to around the turn of the century "Cushing Place" was one of the few occupied alley dwellings in SE (south of the freeway - Navy Place was larger and more notorious which eventually morphed into the Ellen Wilson Housing Projects) along with "Dick's Court and Mechanic Place."
Cushing Place, which was located between L and M St SE and First and Half St SE was mentioned as one of those alleys that escaped demolition even as parts of SE improved at the turn of the century. Cushing place, as described in the book Neglected Neighbors, in 1905 was an area "surrounded by by weed-grown, vacant lots, this open alley, developed before its time, is like a giant, ugly caterpillar not yet encode in chrysalis form. The seven two-story wooden dwellings of "Cushing Place" look out towards Half Street across a vacant area about which the neighbors raise complaint. They say the earth was taken out for use by the brickyard nearby and that water stands in the depression, stagnant, ill-smelling and breeding place for malarial mosquitoes. Next to this the chief cause of dissatisfaction is the garbage collector whose infrequent collector whose infrequent calls are said to excuse the tenants for throwing refuse out upon the vacant lots. There are only wooden box toilets in this alley. The row of dwellings is ancient and weatherbeaten in appearance. Their inner walls are spoken of as "smoked and dirty." Four leaking roofs are reported out of the five houses entered." As the author noted in 1908 upon a follow-up visit, some cosmetic maintenance had been performed to ward off demolished but basically the alley dwellings looked as though they did in 1905.
"Dick's Court" which was made up of three one-story frame houses was tucked in behind a public school between M and N St and 3rd and 4th St SE - that public school was McCormick School. Also in the vicinity of Dick's Court was Mechanic Place. Mechanic Place was significantly larger and contained 67 residents which were all white. Apparently not all of the residents of Dick's Court spent their lives in poverty. According to the author, one the residents of the alley was an "inventor and Knight Templar." Two other resident pointed out by the author was a woman who devised a double who was to blame for all her troubles and a third woman who, "having apparently worn away the glamour of the marriage ceremony by using it frequently, had subsequently attached herself to another man without the bother of a legal process. In short, the usual alley standards were as apparent here, among the white folks, as elsewhere in colored alleys." The conditions of the dwelling in both Dick's Court and Mechanic Place were just as squalid as Cushing Place and other alleys around Washington DC. In Dick's Court, the only privies were wooden toilet boxes which contained a roof but were without cover in the front and were lined with wood and dirt. As with other alleys, water had to be carried in from long distances since there were no hydrants or running water within the alleys. By 1908, the author noted that the alleys were vacant even though the dwellings remained. The author also took note of the close proximity to the McCormick School, "...intimate proximity to the McCormick public school suggests dual standard of public education. That is, though the housing conditions which it tolerates the community often permits the teachings of its educational institutions to be undermined." While it doesn't say when these alleys were ultimately razed, it is probably a safe bet to say they were razed along with McCormick School as the Navy Yard expanded westward.
Not every "alley" in Washington DC was occupied or lived in but a lot were - especially in SW but with the "urban renewal" no real alleys remain. However, in SE one alley that still retains some of the characteristics (layout of the alley) from the early 1900 is "Ruppert's Row." Ruppert's Row can be visited by entering the alley on 3rd St between C St and PA Ave SE. While the alley has been modified over the years you may be able to get a feel of the isolation the residents endured and how whole communities could develop in the alleys.
Note: After doing research on "Cushing Place" I tried to find out why the alley and today's street had the name Cushing. D.C. had an association with three famous Cushings since the late 1700s: Civil War hero CDR William Cushing, U.S. Attorney General Caleb Cushing and Supreme Court Justice William Cushing. The book "George Washington Never Slept Here," states that the alley was named after Attorney General Caleb Cushing. The problem I feel is that the author just assumed that both Cushing Places NW and SE were named after the same Cushing. I have been unable to determine if that is in fact true but my belief is that Cushing Place SE was named after CDR Cushing who served as Executive Office of the Navy Yard. NW DC just seemed like a more fitting place to name a street after an attorney general rather a starting to be run-down SE DC. Plus with a Civil War hero stationed near by - it would make sense to name a street near the Navy Yard after him rather than an Attorney General.
No comments:
Post a Comment