 
Ralph Bunche House
Photo courtesy of the DC SHPO
Portrair of Ralphe Bunche
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress
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This house was the residence of Dr. Ralph Bunche, the distinguished African American diplomat
and scholar, from 1941 to 1947. The home was designed for him by Hilyard R. Robinson, a
noted Washington architect, in the International Style. Ralph Johnson Bunche is internationally
known as a scholar who served as Undersecretary-General of the United Nations and received the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1949. Between 1929 and 1941, Bunche lived in several Washington, DC
h
omes, l
ocated in the general
vicinity
of
the Howard
University campus.
While serving
as
a full
professor at Howard University, Bunche commissioned Hilyard R. Robinson to design a home in
the Brookland area. The family moved into the completed house in 1941. Architect Hilyard
Robinson, the designer of the house, was the most prolific and successful black architect in
Washington, DC prior to his retirement in the 1960s. He was greatly influenced by the European
urban planning, post-war housing developments, and Modernism which he studied. Among
Robinson's notable works in Washington are Langston Terrace, and several campus buildings at
Howard University. The straightforward and refined residence served the Bunche family for six
years and is associated with the early career and accomplishments of Dr. Bunche.
The Ralph Bunche House is located in the Brookland neighborhood. A private residence, it is not open to the public.
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