Nannie Helen Burroughs School

Trades Hall of National Training School for Women and Girls
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
The 1928 Trades Hall building
Location in eastern District of Columbia
Location	601 50th St., NE., Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38°53′50″N 76°55′44″W / 38.8972°N 76.9290°W / 38.8972; -76.9290
Area	less than one acre (landmarked area)[1]
Architect	Thomas M. Medford
Architectural style	Renaissance
NRHP reference No.	91002049
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	July 17, 1991[2]
Designated NHL	July 17, 1991[3]

The Nannie Helen Burroughs School, formerly known as National Training School for Women and Girls, was a private coeducational

The former Nannie Helen Burroughs School property consists of 6 acres (2.4 ha) at the southeast corner of 50th Street NE and Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE. There are four buildings on the hilly campus, of which the 1928 Trades Hall is the furthest east.

The largest building in the group is a school building built in 1971 that now houses the Monroe School. The Trades Hall now houses the offices of the Progressive Baptist National Conference. It is a two-story brick building, set into the hillside so that it presents two stories in front and one in the rear. It is finished in light brick trimmed with dark brick. A string course of soldier bricks separates the floors. The building was constructed in 1927-28, and Mary McLeod Bethune was the featured speaker at its dedication.^[1]

History

In 1908 Nannie Helen Burroughs established the National Trade and Professional School for Women and Girls, one of the nation's first vocational training school for African-American girls and women. The school formally opened on October 19, 1909.

The school expanded its offerings in the 1920s, providing a wider array of vocational skills training. It closed briefly in 1953, but resumed operation. Nannie Helen Burroughs ran the school until her death in 1961, and in 1964 it was renamed in her honor.[1] Today, her legacy is continued by The Monroe School, Inc., which operates in a 1971 school building on the campus. The Trade School building, which was the school's main building for many years, now houses the offices of the Progressive National Baptist Convention.

Alumni

Notable alumni include:

• Agnes Nebo von Ballmoos – Liberian professor of music, scholar of Liberian folk music, conductor, composer, and lawyer^{[citation needed]}
• Ethel Moses – actress and dancer^{[citation needed]}
• Sue Bailey Thurman – author, lecturer, historian and civil rights activist^{[citation needed]}
• Samira Wiley - actress^{[citation needed]}

See also

• List of National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C.
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Northeast Quadrant, Washington, D.C.

References