Located in a triangular park at the intersection of 11th Street, Massachusetts Avenue, and N Street NW in Washington, D.C., the Samuel Gompers Memorial honors one of the most influential leaders in American labor history.
Gompers, an English-born cigar maker, rose through the Cigar Makers’ International Union before helping found the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1886. During his long tenure as AFL president, union membership grew from about 50,000 to 3 million workers, greatly expanding the influence of organized labor.
Unveiled in 1933, a year after Gompers’ death, the memorial was created by sculptor Robert Ingersoll Aitken and funded largely by AFL members. The surrounding site was renamed Samuel Gompers Memorial Park in 1955. The memorial was later listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites in 2007.
Details on the LHF Labor Landmarks Map.
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