The original grey stone structure, an outright gift to the Friends Meeting of Washington from a Rhode Island Quaker, has historical significance in the nation's capital.

Of further historic interest, a ground floor room now used as an office has a beamed ceiling of timbers that had been built into the White House in 1814, part of the repair after the British burned Washington.

A special feature of the terrace is a sun dial with the names of Fox, Penn and Woolman cut in stone and the inscription, “I mind the Light, dost Thou?” George Fox was the founder of the Society of Friends in 17th century England; William Penn established the “holy experiment” in Pennsylvania; John Woolman of New Jersey crusaded relentlessly against slavery in the 18th century.

Visitors will note the absence of the usual features of church interiors: altar, pulpit or lectern, organ, choir space, stained glass, ornamentation, memorial tables and so on.

A library located on the same floor as the Meeting Room contains an extensive selection of books, pamphlets and periodicals of historical and current interest on the Society of Friends and Quaker social concerns.