Streets of Washington

Beautifully situated on a triangular lot at the north end of Thomas Circle, the Luther Place Memorial Church, known formally as the Memorial Evangelical Lutheran Church, has stood as an emblem of social harmony for almost a century and a half. Conceived at the close of the Civil War as a memorial to reconciliation between North and South, the church went beyond that in later decades to broadly embrace reconciliation between whites and Blacks, rich and poor, haves and have-nots. And while virtually every other building around Thomas Circle has been replaced in the past 150 years, the Luther Place Memorial Church remains little changed. Luther Place Memorial Church (photo by the author).