Samuel Gompers Memorial

Gelatin and silver print of Robert I. Aitken, Samuel Gompers Memorial, Sculptural Group, Bronze, 1933, Location of sculpture group: Massachusetts Avenue and 10th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.

Photograph by Slugo M. Gagarin. 199_? c.e.

Samuel Gompers (1850–1924) was founder and president of the American Federation of Labor. His autobiography, Seventy Years of Life and Labor, records the rise of early American Labor Unions.

An Semi-Private Hiding Place

In 1951, the small triangle of land on which the statue is located was named Gompers Square. Children are often seen playing in this 16-foot-high memorial. In the 1940s a trio of thieves discovered a trapdoor to the hollow interior, which they used as a hideout and cache for their booty. —James M. Goode', The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C.; A Comprehensive Historical Guide, Smithsonian, 1974.

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