The Big Chair became an Anacostia icon at the entrance to Curtis Brothers Furniture Co., a business that began in 1926 when Fred and George Curtis bought a Model T Ford truck to deliver ice, then moved into hauling furniture, renting storage space on Shannon Place, and selling abandoned goods before expanding into new furniture. Over three generations the company grew from its Anacostia store and warehouses to three suburban stores, and in 1958, calling itself Washington's largest furniture display, it had Bassett Furniture build a 4,600-pound mahogany chair as its symbol. The chair was unveiled by DC resident Maureen Reagan, daughter of Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman, and became the focus of many publicity stunts. It survived the civil disturbances after the 1968 assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but although damage in Anacostia's shopping district was limited, many businesses and residents left afterward. Curtis Brothers Furniture closed in 1975, and four years later the community began celebrating Dr. King's birthday with a parade along the avenue that passed the neighborhood's longtime centerpiece. After time and weather ruined the original chair, the Curtis family removed it, but neighborhood anger over its loss led them to create a metal replica, dedicated in 2006 with a performance by Chuck Brown, the Godfather of Go-Go, whose career had risen in Anacostia house parties and clubs.
