Alexander Robey Shepherd - Legacy - The Rehabilitation of Boss Shepherd's Reputation

The Rehabilitation of Boss Shepherd's Reputation

Shepherd's legacy has been a matter of some debate since his death more than one hundred years ago. He has long been maligned as a corrupt, cronyist political boss, often compared to Boss Tweed, the leader of the Tammany Hall political machine of the same time period.

A statue of Shepherd which currently stands on Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, in front of the John A. Wilson Building (which now houses the offices and chambers of the Council and the Mayor of the District of Columbia,) has served as a symbol of his fluctuating reputation.

In 1979, during the first year of Mayor Marion Barry's administration, the statue was removed from its perch on Pennsylvania Avenue and warehoused in city storage. It reappeared in the mid-1980s near an otherwise-obscure D.C. Public Works building on Shepherd Avenue, S.W., in the District's remote Blue Plains neighborhood.

Near the beginning of the 21st century, Washington historian Nelson Rimensnyder started to argue for a restoration of Shepherd's reputation, calling him an "urban visionary" who singlehandedly transformed Washington into a major American city and championed aggressive social reform.

Largely as a result of Rimensnyder's efforts, and the efforts of those he persuaded, the Shepherd statue was returned in January 2005 to its previous place of honor. The statue now stands on its pedestal next to the sidewalk of Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, close to 14th Street, NW, and the northwest corner of the Wilson Building.

The D.C. neighborhood of Shepherd Park, where Shepherd once lived, is named for him, as is Alexander Shepherd Elementary School in that neighborhood.