This open-air memorial occupies the actual footprint of the house where George Washington and John Adams lived during their presidencies, when Philadelphia was the nation’s capital. It documents nine enslaved Africans who lived and worked here: Hercules, Ona Judge, Austin, Moll, Giles, Paris, Richmond, Christopher Sheels, and Joe. Their names are inscribed in the installation. Their stories are told without euphemism.
Oney Judge escaped from this house in 1796. Hercules, Washington’s chef, escaped in 1797. The memorial was built because Philadelphia’s Black community demanded it. Begin your 2026 Philadelphia visit here. This is where you start.