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Downtown

Holy Rosary Church

Holy Rosary Church, at 595 Third St. NW, was established as an Italian parish in D.C. in 1913, and raised funds for its permanent building, where construction started in 1919. The bell tower was added in 1947. The church was scheduled to be demolished when highway 395 was built nearby, but protests ended up with only the rectory being demolished, and a new one built in 1967. A socio-cultural center was built in 1981, helping to keep the feeling of community as the church became increasingly surrounded by downtown Federal office buildings.