Central Union Mission

Caption: Exterior north facade of Central Union Mission, 624 Indiana Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.

Original Source: Historic American Buildings Survey

Location: Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress), Survey number HABS DC-511

URL: http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/dc/dc0500/dc0530/photos/028165pr.jpg

Description

by Katherine Raney

Central Union Mission was founded in 1884 and since its inception, provides services to poor and impoverished men, women and children through free meals, lodging, counseling, religious services and other educational pursuits. During the Great Depression, the mission provided shelter and food for thousands – in one year the mission served 179,000 people.. Now located at 1350 R Street NW, during World War II the mission was housed at 613 C Street NW.

World War II Role

The mission provided beds and shelter nightly for hundreds of soldiers in the John S. Bennett Memorial Service Club section of the building. The effort was spearheaded by Jean Bennett, who sought to contribute what she could to the war effort. This meant building a place for soldiers to sleep and relax at a low price – twenty-five to fifty cents a night. The building included “a large lounge, canteen where ice cream and soft drinks are dispensed free of charge, and a spacious chapel.”1

Central Union Mission’s accommodation of the servicemen relieved some of the squeeze Washington was feeling at the time. As many as 10,000 or 15,000 men were in the capital during any one weekend, in transit or on leave, and hundreds without a place to sleep. The city considered opening up the third and fourth floors of Union Station to house the men, but due to renovations and ventilation problems, they had to entertain other solutions, including the private sector and charities like Central Union Mission. The mission was forced to create a temporary solution for the thousands of men, who were also only considered temporarily homeless. In creating a place for the soldiers, Central Union Mission managed to also cement its presence in Washington, D.C., not suffering the fate of other wartime landmarks that reverted to their strictly civilian roles in the late 1940s and 1950s.

Sources

• 1 Reynolds, Genevieve. "Uniformed Men Find Shelter, Friendliness at John S. Bennett Memorial Service Club." The Washington Post 1943, B3.

• Sadler, Christine. “390 Service Men Will Go Bedless Here This Weekend.” The Washington Post 1942, A17

• Hart, Scott. Washington at War: 1941-1945. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1970.