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Lecture Tour of America 1882

Writing and Research on Oscar Wilde

Washington

District of Columbia


Lincoln Hall

Monday, January 23, 1882


The English Renaissance

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Verification

Newspaper report

The National Republican, Jan 24, 1882 (opposite)


Newspaper report

The Washington Post, Jan 24, 1882, 1


“He wore Black silk stockings and black knee breeches, which gave his legs a general and remote resemblance of two sticks of licorice.”


The National Tribune, Washington D.C., Jan 28th, 1882, 4

The Evening Critic, Jan 20, 1882, 1

Venue

Lincoln Hall

9th and D Streets, N.W., Washington, DC


Built: 1867

Destroyed (fire): December 5, 1886


Related and credits:

Robert G. Ingersoll

Streets of Washington (Lincoln Hall)

Streets of Washington (Arlington Hotel)

Lincoln Hall 9th and D Streets, N.W., Washington, DC
The Arlington Hotel, Vermont Avenue, Washington, DC. Oscar Wilde

Accommodation

The Arlington Hotel (originally Arlington House)

Vermont Avenue between H and I Streets, Washington, DC (now 810 Vermont Avenue NW)


Built: 1868 (E.G. Lind, architect, for William W. Corcoran)

Wilde's Room: No. 151

Enlarged: 1889

Demolished: 1912


Now the site of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.


The Arlington Hotel Flyer
The Arlington Hotel Postcard

Lecture quotation

Wilde ended his lecture at Lincoln Hall by saying:


“…for those who find life interesting not for its secrets but for its situations, for its pulsations and not its purpose, the passion of beauty engendered by the decorative arts will be more satisfying than any political or religious enthusiasm, any enthusiasm for humanity, any ecstasy or sorrow of love, for art comes to you professing frankly to give nothing but the highest qualities to your moments as they pass.”


The Washington Post, Jan 24, 1882, 1


John Cooper on Oscar Wilde © 2026