The historic parish church and priory are located at 630 E St SW in Washington, near the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and L'Enfant Plaza, and three blocks south of the National Mall.

The householder's grandfather, Robert E. Mattingly, a judge in the District of Columbia, recounted that "people attending would stand and kneel out into the street during the Mass."

George Mattingly, originally of St. Mary's County, Maryland, was superintendent of the Norfolk Steamboat Company, and later donated the stained glass window of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

[9] It was set in an area of the city known as "The Island" because, at that time, a canal ran where Constitution Ave. is today which connected the Potomac and the Anacostia Rivers.

[4][5] The fire broke out shortly after 10 A.M. in the boiler room on the west side of the church basement.

The church's engineer, Mr. Florence McCauliff, housekeeper Miss Kate Duffy, and Officer Burns of the nearby First Precinct Station House rushed to the sanctuary to save articles from the fire.

[14] The fire brigade succeeded in extinguishing the flames before the church was completely destroyed, but broke holes in the roof and stained glass windows in the process.

In all, the event caused an estimated $50,000 worth of damage to the church, including the total loss of a $2,000 organ and the destruction of a $1,000 stained glass window over the main entrance.

[14] Members of the local community—both Catholics and non-Catholics—banded together to raise funds, and rebuilt the church in a remarkably short period of time.

[15] Goldie Schneider, owner of a hardware store at 716 Fourth St, SW, challenged congressional authority to declared blighted areas eligible for demolition in "the public interest."

Goldie's son Joseph H. Schneider, president of the Southwest Businessmen's Association, litigated the case all the way to the Supreme Court, but lost (Berman v.

Philp Hannon, diocesan chancellor, and representative to the Federal City Council threatened legal action if St. Dominic Church was not appropriately compensated for confiscated property.

Following demolition of the original priory under the D.C. Redevelopment Land Agency, the Dominican's leased a building at 439 Sixth St., SW.

Finally in 1960 ground was broken to construct the present-day new chapel, and the four-story, forty-room residence including a center for assisted living for aged friars.

A philanthropic group known as the "Young Catholics' Friend Society" which funded free schools is mentioned in connection with the parish and diocese in news articles in the mid 19th century.

In 1948, during an era of widespread racial segregation, Patrick Cardinal O'Boyle, Archbishop of Washington directed the integration of all Catholic schools and activities.

He was sworn in as President on a Catholic Missal that had been owned by John F. Kennedy, because a Bible was not in the immediate area at the time of JFK's assassination.

His daughter, Luci Baines Johnson, converted to the Catholic faith at age eighteen in preparation for her marriage at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

[35][36] St. Dominic Church hosts a chapter of the Dominican Third Order which meets monthly to the present day.

The Knights of Columbus are a Catholic-based Fraternal Organization engaged in charity both local and global in scope, Life Insurance, and faith-based institutional investing.

The ornately carved wooden altar was a gift of L. Kevin and Anne Lynch in memory of Rev.

[42] However, the majority of the church's stained glass windows were installed in 1965 and created by the Heimer[45] company.

Cast in 1898, the bell bears the following inscription:Laudo Deum verum, plebum voco, conjugo clerum, defunctos ploro, pestem fugo, festa decoro, funera plango, fulgura frango, sabata rengo, ex[c]ito lentos, dissipo ventos, paco crucentos [I praise the true God, call the people, gather the clergy.

Dominic’s Church, Washington DC, McShane Bell Foundry, Baltimore, MD 1898.

[47]Leo XIII, Pope; William McKinley, President, U.S.; James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore; Fr.

St Martin de Porres was a Dominican saint who lived from 1579 to 1639 in Lima, Peru and is known for his deep prayer and devotion and daily ministry to the poor.