Eighty years ago this week, the Girl Scouts of the District of Columbia moved to new office space.
However, it was a short trip, from 1825 M Street NW to 1906 M Street NW, but it provided additional space for an ambitious defense training program and growing membership.
The new, colonial-style building featured knotty-pine flooring. The first floor held a reception room, board room, and a library for volunteers. Upstairs, the second floor was divided into offices for director Eleanor Durrett, three field advisors, and clerical staff.
The 1825 M Street location had been provided to the council by Mrs. Henry H. Flather, who now planned to sell the building which the Girl Scouts had long outgrown.
Known to her friends as “May,” Mrs. Flather spearheaded the efforts to provide a permanent summer camp for Washington’s Girl Scouts. She pledged $10,000 toward the camp, which opened in 1930 and was named in her honor.
Just a few years later, the Council moved to 1712 N Street NW. While there have been additional addresses over the years, Nation’s Capital has been at its 4301 Connecticut Ave NW location since 1999.
Despite the meandering path to the current location, connections to the past remain.
The same portrait of Lou Henry Hoover hangs outside Nation’s Capital’s current board room.
Plus, the same sign (with an updated paint job) is housed at the Frederick Archives and History Program Center, which celebrated its sixth anniversary this week.
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