’S Street Salon’
*This date in 1922 celebrates the ’S Street Salon.’ This home was a gathering of writers and one of the most understudied communities of the 20th-century ‘New Negro’ authors.
The house at 1461 S Street NW became known as a satellite for writers in the nation’s segregated capital. It was considered one of the great literary salons of the era, removed as it was from its geographic center. The home belonged to Georgia Douglas Johnson, the brainchild of the S Street Salon.
Though she was never a resident of New York City, the heart of the Harlem Renaissance, her Washington home became an important literary salon. She became a welcoming host to her fellow writers. Among the regular visitors were Langston Hughes, Mary Burrill, Jean Toomer, Alain Locke, Angela Weld Grimke, and many other writers. Douglas Johnson often called the home “Half-Way House” and provided a welcoming haven for visitors and a shelter for artists in need.
