United Methodist Building designated Historic Site
United Methodist Building designated Historic Site
BALTIMORE, Md. — The Baltimore-Washington Conference during its 231st annual session voted overwhelmingly to designate as a United Methodist Historic Site the United Methodist Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The conference also voted to urge the denomination’s General Commission on Archives & History to “expeditiously” move to designate the building as a United Methodist Heritage Landmark.
The resolution to designate the building as a historic site came from the Conference Commission on Archives & History. Conference Historian, the Rev. Dr. Emora Brannan, commented that the annual conference has been remiss in not designating this site before.
Two weeks before the May 28 action at the Baltimore-Washington Conference, the Northeastern Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church voted at its annual meeting in Westport, Conn., to recognize “the historic importance of the United Methodist Building on Capitol Hill, and its significance not only in Washington, D.C., but also to this Jurisdiction and the entire Church.”
Brannan was joined by Daniel Fisher, chair of the Baltimore-Washington Commission on Archives & History, in presenting the resolution to the conference. The Rev. Alfred Day, chief executive of the General Commission on Archives & History, and the Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe, chief executive of the General Board of Church & Society, which owns the building, were in attendance.
Significant spiritual, historical events
A legion of significant spiritual and historical events, decisions and faithful responses to calls for discipleship and Christian witness are associated with the site of the United Methodist Building, according to Brannan.
The United Methodist Building is the only non-government building on Capitol Hill. It is designed in Italian Renaissance style and constructed of Indiana limestone.
In addition to its architectural beauty, the building is significant for the role it has played at turning points in U.S. history. These include the 1963 March on Washington led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; the 1968 Poor People's March; the farmworkers' boycott; years of protest against the Vietnam War; Equal Righs Amendment marches; the 1978 Longest Walk of Native Americans; and the 1989 Housing NOW! March.
Besides the offices of the General Board of Church & Society, the building houses the General Commission on Religion & Race, the United Methodist Council of Bishops Executive Secretary and Administrative Office, and JustPeace. There are many faith-related offices in the building also, including the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., United Church of Christ Justice & Witness Ministries, and the Presbyterian Church Office of Public Witness.
'Superbly located'
In proposing the resolution, Brannan cited Bishop G. Bromley Oxnam, resident bishop of the Washington Episcopal Area, who wrote in 1954 that “with no little pride,” he took up residence in the Methodist Building which is “superbly located on Maryland Avenue across the street from the Capitol grounds opposite the Supreme Court Building.”
During the closing years of World War I, the vacant corner on Capitol Hill was purchased and construction begun on Nov. 17, 1922, under the auspices of the Board of Temperance, Prohibition & Public Morals of the Methodist Episcopal Church, now the General Board of Church & Society of The United Methodist Church. The Supreme Court Building across the street did not open until 1935.
Among the speakers at the dedication of the five-story Methodist building at 100 Maryland Ave. on Jan. 16, 1924, was the former Secretary of State, William Jennings Bryan, recognized as a tireless advocate for world peace.
Already a Churchwide site
In 1931, the building was expanded to include residential apartments with an entrance at 110 Maryland Ave., NE.
“In light of all that has been said, it is perhaps a wonder that this historic building has not hitherto been designated as a historic site of the denomination,” Brannan said. “The answer probably lies in the fact that, while situated within the bounds of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, we have always regarded it as already a Churchwide site since its owners are a General Board of the entire church.”
Following are Brannan’s remarks before the Baltimore-Washington Conference and the resolution from the Northeastern Jurisdiction.
Resolution regarding Recognition of Historic Status
of The United Methodist Building on Capitol Hill
In 1954, Bishop G. Bromley Oxnam, resident bishop of the Washington Episcopal Area, opened his book I Protest with these words:
It was a sultry day in mid-summer. Earlier in the morning, the flags in front of the Supreme Court Building billowed out in pride, but now, with breezes gone, hung listlessly. A year before, I had been appointed to serve in Washington and with no little pride took up residence in the Methodist Building which is superbly located on Maryland Avenue across the street from the Capitol grounds opposite the Supreme Court Building. Soon after our arrival, I heard a call at dawn.
“Come quickly,” Mrs. Oxnam said. She was standing by one of the windows overlooking the Supreme Court Plaza. “Look, they are raising the flags.” The beautiful banners were pulled into their places atop the heavy flagpoles that stood secure in the bronze-sculptured bases. “Now I know what it means,” she said quietly.
“What does what mean?” I queried.
“‘By the dawn’s early light,’” she replied.
There was no breeze at one-thirty on Tuesday afternoon, July 21, 1953, as we walked from the Methodist Headquarters to the Old House of Representatives Office Building. Wisely or unwisely I had demanded a hearing before the Committee on Un-American Activities of the House of Representatives. And now I was in for it.
Twelve years before Bishop Oxnam’s arrival, Bishop Adna Wright Leonard convened the newly formed General Commission on Chaplains here in what is now the United Methodist Building. In 1943 he left his office on Capitol Hill for an inspection tour of chaplains overseas from which he would never return. Bishop Leonard lost his life in the line of duty in a military plane crash May 3, 1943, in Iceland.
In 1965, it was from this same “superbly located” building that the then-resident bishop, John Wesley Lord, heard the call to freedom now and went forth to travel to Selma, Ala., to walk arm-in-arm with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Bishop Lord returned to “Headquarters” to patiently and valiantly preside over the too-long-delayed implementation of racial justice within the life of the Church, and the still ongoing struggle for economic and racial justice in our wide society.
These are only three of the legion of significant spiritual and historical events, decisions and faithful responses to calls for discipleship and Christian witness associated with the site of the United Methodist Building on Capitol Hill (100 and 110 Maryland Ave., NE, Washington, D.C.).
During the closing years of World War I, the vacant corner on Capitol Hill was purchased and construction begun on Nov. 17, 1922, under the auspices of the Board of Temperance, Prohibition & Public Morals of the Methodist Episcopal Church, now the General Board of Church & Society of The United Methodist Church.
Among the speakers at the dedication of the five-story building at 100 Maryland Ave. on Jan. 16, 1924, was the former Secretary of State, William Jennings Bryan, recognized as a tireless advocate for world peace.
In 1931, the building was expanded to include residential apartments with an entrance at 110 Maryland Ave., NE.
From the beginning, ecumenical concerns were prominent in the United Methodist Building. Not only has it been host to a wide variety of interchurch agencies, but it has been conspicuous in its diverse residential constituency. Often individual legislators, with views quite different than those expressed by the General Board, have found a hospitable shelter within its walls.
In light of all that has been said, it is perhaps a wonder that this historic building has not hitherto been designated as a historic site of the denomination. The answer probably lies in the fact that, while situated within the bounds of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, we have always regarded it as already a Churchwide site since its owners are a General Board of the entire Church.
Nevertheless, the Commission on Archives of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, recognizing that the site does, in fact, lie within our conference bounds, feels it is time to rectify this omission. Accordingly, at its meeting on March 14, 2015, the Commission voted unanimously both to recommend its designation as a Baltimore-Washington Conference United Methodist Historic Site, and that the site should be expeditiously recognized by The United Methodist Church as worthy of Heritage Landmark status.
Therefore, I would introduce on behalf of the Commission the following resolution:
That the Baltimore-Washington Conference at its 2015 session approves The United Methodist Building on Capitol Hill (100 & 100 Maryland Ave., NE, Washington, D.C.) as a United Methodist Historic Site, and that furthermore, the Baltimore-Washington Conference recommends the said building to the General Commission on Archives & History as worthy of designation by the General Conference as a United Methodist Heritage Landmark, as expeditiously as possible.
—Daniel Fisher, Chairperson of the Commission on Archives & History
—Emora T. Brannan, Conference Historian and President of the Conference Historical Society
May 28, 2015
Northeastern Jurisdiction Resolution on the United Methodist Building
At its annual meeting in Westport, Conn., May 14, the Northeastern Jurisdictional Commission on Archives & History adopted the following resolution:
Recognizing the historic importance of the United Methodist Building on Capitol Hill, and its significance not only in Washington, D.C., but also to this Jurisdiction and the entire Church, the Northeastern Jurisdictional Commission on Archives & History concurs with the proposal of the Baltimore-Washington Conference to register the United Methodist Building as a historic site and to advance the site to Heritage Landmark Status.
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