Site History

The Hamiltonian Gallery is situated on a historic site on the NE corner of 14th/U Street block. The building itself was constructed in 1888 as a stable. At some later point it became a dwelling and was occupied just before the Hamilton Printing Company moved in by a Mrs. Minnie Nolte. The rear of the building was altered in 1921 by the Hamilton Printing Company to set up a printing office.

The Hamilton Printing Company was established in 1910 by brothers Percival and West A. Hamilton, and operated on these premises from 1922 through the 1970s when it closed. It operated from two other locations² before finally moving the 1353 site: 1117 22nd, NW (the family home for a number of years); and at 1527 M Street, NW. According to Fitzpatrick and Goodwin³, the Hamiltons published a newspaper called the Sentinel.

An outspoken civic leader, West A. Hamilton (1886 - 1985) was born to the prominent Washingtonians John A. Hamilton, a long term Department of Treasury employee, and Julia West Hamilton, a club woman extraordinaire. A graduate of Dunbar High School and Minor Teachers College, West Hamilton became a public school teacher in 1907 and taught for ten years. After spending time in the National Guard, in 1917, he began a full-time career in the military where he would serve for 44 years. He achieved the rank of colonel, a title by which he was known the remainder of his life. A veteran of two world wars, he become an honorary Brigadier General in the National Guard in 1983. Hamilton served on the DC School Board for 21 years, the Board of Trade, Board of Elections, and was active in the American Legion, Boy Scouts, YMCA and the Masons.

In the late 1960s the headquarters of the Freedom Democratic Party, the political party of which Fannie Lou Hamer was a member, and the local office of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference operated on the second floor.

DCHPO Historic Permits Database (main source of information).
Boyds, City Directory for Washington, DC.
Fitzpatrick, Sandra & Maria R. Goodwin, The Guide to Black Washington. Rev. Edition. (New York: Hippocrene Books, 1999)

Adapted by an article written by Patsy M. Fletcher, Community Outreach Coordinator, Historic Preservation Office, Office of Planning, District of Columbia. Additional research by Eldra Walker also at HPO.

Other Rescources on West A. Hamiltonian:

Barbara J. Graham, "Col. West A. Hamilton: Soldier of Note," The Washington Post, July 20, 1983. (242k)
Frank J. Talley, "West A. Hamilton, Colonel, 366th Infantry Regiment Pages. (47k)
Stephanie Briggs, "Veterrans Day: A Time to Remember. African American Soldiers: Defending the U.S. Abroad, Facing Adversity at Home," Voice of the Hill, November 2003. (2.3M)
West A. Hamilton, "THe Negroes' Historical and Contemporary Role in National Defense," Hampton Conference on National Defense: Section on Military and Naval Defense, November 25-26, 1940. (2.2M)