Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument Cultural Landscape Report
Quinn Evans Architects, Williams B, Austin Redding S, Courtenay H, Mills R, Babbin P. 2021. Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument Cultural Landscape Report. Cultural Landscape Report. BEPA 294 173684. U.S. Department of the Interior. Washington, DC
The Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument Cultural Landscape Report provides an overview of the site's history and an evaluation and analysis of existing site conditions, including treatment recommendations. The Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument cultural landscape is significant as the headquarters of the National Woman’s Party (NWP) since 1929 and for its association with Alice Paul, the founder of the NWP. Established in 1916 by visionary suffragist Alice Paul, the National Woman’s Party played a substantial role in the passage and ratification of the 19th Amendment and led the way for gaining equal rights for women both in the United States and internationally. During the National Woman’s Party ownership, the building and site became the location of many political meetings and events related to the party’s efforts to gain equal rights for women. The garden served as a place for members to gather, hold meetings, and welcome guests. The NWP also welcomed federal employees who worked nearby, including members of Congress and their staff, to enjoy the house’s garden. By the late 1950s and early 1960s, construction of the Hart Senate Office Building, threatened the Alva Belmont House and two adjacent rowhouses on Second Street NE, which were also owned by the NWP as part of its headquarters. To protect their headquarters, Alice Paul and National Woman’s Party members began lobbying to have the Alva Belmont House recognized as a historic landmark. The house was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 30, 1972, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974. Congress authorized federal restoration funds for the house in 1974, beginning a cooperative relationship between the NWP and the National Park Service. In 2016, Presidential Proclamation 9423 established the property as the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument, and the NWP donated the site to the National Park Service.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Quinn Evans Architects; Williams, Brenda; Austin Redding, Stephanie; Courtenay, Heather; Mills, Ruth; Babbin, Patti
- Date of Issue
- 2021-01
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior
- Units
- BEPA , NAMA , NCR
- Keywords
- cultural landscape report, Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), Lucy Burns, National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), Nineteenth Amendment, suffrage movement, suffragist, Woman's Party Corporation, women's rights