The Ginormous Chair

The Big Chair in Anacostia has been a landmark in the Anacostia Southeast area for as long as I can remember. It was built in 1959 by Bassett Furniture company which is a Virginia based company. The behemoth of furniture that is the chair was constructed for the Curtis Brothers Furniture as an object to attract customers to their business. This is before it was called Martin Luther King Avenue then it was called Nicholas Avenue and the demographics of the communities were highly Irish. At the base of the chair it is proclaimed “The World’s Largest Chair” with this plaque the chair joined the pantheon of a long tradition of giant chairs which, as started in Massachusetts in 1905 where they decided to build a 13 foot Mission chair. The Big Chair in Washington is now referred to as the “One time World Largest Chair”. While it was constructed as a gimmick to get the attention of consumers it transformed into a landmark in the Anacostia area. It has even become a point of reference if someone were to direct you to business near the chair they would tell you “near the Big Chair”. The Chair even served as a home in the 1960s when the Curtis’ though to attract more business they employed the services of Rebecca Kirby. On August 13, 1960 Kirby went up in the chair where she ate, slept, read, and even watched television. The gimmick was called “ Alice in Looking Glass House” she stayed in the chair for six weeks and Kirby’s only visitor was her 14 month old son who was hoisted by dumbwaiter to her. After the six-week stint in the chair she decided to “return to the Earth”. In August 2005 the Big Chair was torn apart to be reconstructed.