The Logan Circle Historic District changed dramatically over time. Originally purchased in 1791 by Samuel Blodgett, the land later served as an executioner’s square during the Civil War. Civil War-era population expansion forced development of the area by the 1870s, when a massive city improvement plan led prominent citizens to build stately Victorian homes, creating a fashionable, exclusive neighborhood that included members of Congress such as Senator John Logan of Illinois. The addition of a horse-drawn trolley line along 14th Street in 1864 increased accessibility and desirability for what became known as Iowa Circle. By the turn of the 20th century, the circle flourished as a social, intellectual, and artistic hub of Black Washington. In 1901, Civil War veterans erected the Maj. Gen. John A. Logan statue, and in 1930 Congress changed the name of Iowa Circle to Logan Circle. The neighborhood was also home to the National Council of Negro Women headquarters, established just south of Logan Circle in the 1940s, and to notable residents including boxer Jack Johnson, architect John Lankford, and the family of Duke Ellington. Economic hardships and civil unrest later contributed to decline in the neighborhood’s appearance, and city planners altered Logan Circle in the 1950s by channeling 13th Street through it. Renewed interest during the 1970s and 1980s spurred refurbishment of many historic houses and restoration of the circle’s original dimensions. Today, the district thrives as the city’s best-preserved example of late 19th-century Victorian architecture around one of L’Enfant’s great open spaces.