I would pass by Holy Redeemer when riding the 96 bus. It is just across the border from the Truxton Circle/ Shaw/ Mt. Vernon Sq. on the other side of New York Ave NW.
In 1957 there was as survey of churches in the Northwest Urban Renewal Area, which included Shaw, Downtown, and the area we’ll call Swampoodle. One of the churches was Holy Redeemer Roman Catholic Church. To learn more about the 1957 Church Survey read my previous posts, The Uniqueness of the 1957 Church Survey and Church Survey Northwest Urban Renewal Area October 1957.
According to Holy Redeemer’s own history, the church was dedicated in October 1922. It was and still is a primarily African American church.
CS 27 Holy Redeemer Catholic by Mm Inshaw
So let’s look at the survey for Holy Redeemer. The location hasn’t changed, it’s still at 206 New York Ave NW. It had three priests, a full time janitor, a full time housekeeper and a membership of 2,500 souls. A majority of the membership lived in the Northwest Urban Renewal Area and the rest (40%) lived in other parts of DC. Most of that 40% was living between Georgia Ave and 37th NW. Another majority in the church were white collar workers.