The house at 1256 Kearny Street NE was built for the original owner James T. Ward, an Irish immigrant, in 1890. It is a two-and-a-half-story structure in
Queen Anne style.
Lucy Slowe and
Mary Burrill, two African American educators, bought the house together in 1922 after Slowe was appointed Dean of Women at
Howard University. At a time when lesbian relationships were extremely taboo, Slowe and Burrill kept their romantic relationship under wraps professionally, but their close friends treated them as
a couple. Slowe often hosted students around the fireplace or on the lawn of the rear yard. The D.C. Preservation League sought preservation status for the house based on the historical significance of its former occupants. The D.C. Preservation League specifically chose to seek preservation status for the house in an effort to preserve history of under represented communities. and was designated a
National Historic Landmark in 2024. == See also ==