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Washington, D.C. Text-Only Version Please note that this text-only version, provided for ease of printing and reading, includes approximately 100 pages and may take up to 30 minutes to print. By clicking on one of these links, you may go directly to a particular text-only section: Introduction
The National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places welcomes you to discover Washington DC: A Guide to the Historic Neighborhoods and Monuments of Our Nation's Capital. From its beginnings as an undeveloped rural area, to its initial planning as the Nation's capital, as envisioned by Frenchman Pierre Charles L'Enfant, to its growth in size and infrastructure at the turn of the 20th century, to its place today as a political, economic, and cultural center, Washington, DC, has engaging stories to tell about the people and places that have helped shape the Nation and this most capital of cities. Ninety-six historic places that bring the 200 year history of the city to life are presented in this National Register travel itinerary. Visitors will learn not only about the famous national landmarks and monuments of Washington, such as the White House, the Capitol Building, and the Mall, but will also learn about the historic neighborhoods and local landmarks that make the city so unique. The Octagon House, one of the city's oldest buildings, was the built by Colonel John Tayloe, who offered the use of his home to President and Mrs. Madison for a temporary "Executive Mansion" after the burning of the White House by the British. Madison, who used the tower room above the entrance as a study, signed the Treaty of Ghent there, which ended the War of 1812. Travelers through the itinerary can also discover the Striver's Section Historic District which since the 1870s has been associated with African American leaders in business, education, politics, religion, art, architecture, science and government. The most important of these figures was Frederick Douglass, runaway slave, abolitionist, orator, writer and civil servant, often called the Father of the Civil Rights Movement. As Washingtonians for over a century have been doing, travelers can visit Eastern Market, part of a larger, city-wide public market system that was built to provide an orderly supply of goods to urban residents. In recent years, Eastern Market served as a focal point in the revitalization of the Capitol Hill area, making it once again a "town center," both politically and commercially. Washington, DC: A Guide to the Historic Neighborhoods and Monuments
of Our Nations Capital offers a variety of ways to discover the city's
historic places. Each property features a brief description of the site's
significance, color and historic photographs, and public accessibility
information. At the bottom of each page, the visitor will also find
a navigation bar containing links to essays on the Federal
Presence, the L'Enfant and McMillan Plans,
and Washington, DC Neighborhoods. These essays
provide historical background, or "contexts," for many of the sites
included in the itinerary. The itinerary can be viewed online, or printed
out for use by visitors to Washington, DC. Washington, DC is the third of more than 30 communities and regions
working directly with the National Register of Historic Places to create
travel itineraries. Additional itineraries will debut online in the
future. The National Register of Historic Places hopes you enjoy this
virtual travel itinerary of our Nation's Capital. If you have any comments
or questions, please just click on the provided e-mail address, "comments
or questions" located at the bottom of each page.
Welcome to historic Washington, DC, the Nation's Capital. We are delighted to guide you on a virtual tour of our beautiful city, and we are certain you will find your visit enjoyable. Many of our landmark buildings--the Smithsonian Castle, the White House, the U.S. Capitol Building, and the Washington Monument--are world famous. But did you know Washington, DC has a treasure trove of historic buildings and neighborhoods beyond the National Mall? Washington, DC has nearly 29,000 buildings designated historic under our local preservation law, most of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There are 27 designated historic districts throughout the city, each with its own unique heritage and appeal. Famous Downtown Washington offers the best in commerce, including several department stores and office buildings refurbished to preserve their original art deco style. Other areas offer a pleasing mix of businesses and residences, such as Georgetown with its colonial-era homes and trendy shops, or elegant Capitol Hill, where statehouses nestle with townhouses. Washington's neighborhoods reflect the rich diversity of its people. Experience the color and traditions of Washington living through a wealth of museums, theatres, neighborhood festivals, hundreds of specialty restaurants and cultural events. Treat your eyes to an unrivaled view of Washington's dazzling cityscape from the hills of historic Anacostia, or revel in the multi-ethnic, old-world charm of Mount Pleasant communities. Take a trip to epic Union Station and enjoy turn-of-the-century architecture, fine dining, shopping, and entertainment. Or hop aboard the renowned Metrorail system for a comfortable and convenient way to tour historic DC. Through this Internet site, you can explore our neighborhoods and get a flavor of the diversity and vigor of life in our communities. But there is nothing like visiting us in person! Come to historic Washington, DC and make your next vacation an unforgettable one.
The plan of the city of Washington was designed in 1791 by Pierre L'Enfant, and mapped the following year; a design which remains largely in place. For nearly a century, the realization of physical changes to the original plan were gradual until the second important benchmark in the development of Washington's urban plan: the McMillan Commission and its 1901-02 recommendations. The McMillan Commission plans were implemented predominantly during the first three decades of the 20th century, and continued sporadically thereafter. For nearly 100 years, a legal height limit of 160' has preserved the broad, horizontal Baroque nature of the city, allowing light and air to reach the pedestrian level, and resulting in a picturesque skyline pierced by steeples, domes, towers and monuments. On January 24, 1791, President George Washington announced the Congressionally-designated permanent location of the national capital, a diamond-shaped ten-mile tract at the confluence of the Potomac and Eastern Branch Rivers. A survey of the area was undertaken by Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker. Forty boundary stones, laid at one-mile intervals, established the boundaries based on celestial calculations by Banneker, a self-taught astronomer of African descent and one of the few free blacks living in the vicinity. Within this 100 square mile diamond, which would become the District of Columbia, a smaller area was laid out as the city of Washington. (In 1846, one-third of the District was retroceded by Congressional action to Virginia, thus removing that portion of the original district which lay west of the Potomac River.) In March 1791,the surveyors' roles were complemented by the employment of Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant to prepare the plan. Major L'Enfant (1755-1825), a French artist and engineer who had formed a friendship with George Washington while serving in the Revolutionary War, requested the honor of designing a plan for the national capital. The fact that the area was largely undeveloped gave the city's founders the unique opportunity to create an entirely new capital city. After surveying the site, L'Enfant developed a Baroque plan that features ceremonial spaces and grand radial avenues, while respecting natural contours of the land. The result was a system of intersecting diagonal avenues superimposed over a grid system. The avenues radiated from the two most significant building sites that were to be occupied by houses for Congress and the President. L'Enfant specified in notes accompanying the plan that these avenues were to be wide, grand, lined with trees, and situated in a manner that would visually connect ideal topographical sites throughout the city, where important structures, monuments, and fountains were to be erected. On paper, L'Enfant shaded and numbered 15 large open spaces at the intersections of these avenues and indicated that they would be divided among the states. He specified that each reservation would feature statues and memorials to honor worthy citizens. The open spaces were as integral to the capital as the buildings to be erected around them. L'Enfant opposed selling land prematurely, refused to furnish his map to the city commissioners in time for the sale, and was reluctantly relieved of his duties by George Washington. Ellicott was then engaged to produce a map and reproduced L'Enfant's plan from his memory. In the context of the United States, a plan as grand as the 200 year old city of Washington, DC, stands alone in its magnificence and scale. But as the capital of a new nation, its position and appearance had to surpass the social, economic and cultural balance of a mere city: it was intended as the model for American city planning and a symbol of governmental power to be seen by other nations. The remarkable aspect of Washington, is that by definition of built-out blocks and unobstructed open space, the plan conceived by L'Enfant is little changed today. The McMillan Plan As the city approached its centennial, there was a call to develop a comprehensive park system for the city. As early as 1898, a committee was formed to meet with President William McKinley to propose the erection of a monument to commemorate the centennial of the city. A joint committee formed by Congress held its first meeting in February 1900 with Senator James McMillan of Michigan as chairman, and Charles Moore as secretary. At the same time, plans were put forward for the development of a Mall which would include the newly reclaimed Potomac Flats. As the bureaucracy planned for the centennial, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) joined the fray. AIA leaders envisioned the nation's capital as the perfect place for the group to express the ideals of the City Beautiful movement promoted by the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The architect of this pivotal fair designed Beaux Arts Classical architecture in a grand and ordered civic space. When the Senate Commission was formed in 1901 to explore and plan the design of the city, the project then encompassed the historic core. The illustrious committee was comprised of Daniel Burnham, a visionary of the World's Columbian Exposition, as well as landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., architect Charles F.McKim, and sculptor Augustus St. Gaudens. Foremost in the minds of these men was the amazing foresight and genius of Pierre L'Enfant. The committee lamented the fragmented Mall marred by a railroad station and focused upon restoring it to the uninterrupted greensward envisioned by L'Enfant. In total, the forward-looking plans made by the McMillan Commission called for: re-landscaping the ceremonial core, consisting of the Capitol Grounds and Mall, including new extensions west and south of the Washington Monument; consolidating city railways and alleviating at-grade crossings; clearing slums; designing a coordinated municipal office complex in the triangle formed by Pennsylvanian Avenue, 15th Street, and the Mall, and establishing a comprehensive recreation and park system that would preserve the ring of Civil War fortifications around the city. To protect the new goals introduced by the McMillan study, the AIA appealed to President Theodore Roosevelt to form a fine arts commission. Established by Congress in 1910 during the Taft Administration, the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) was created as a consulting organization to the government on the design of bridges, parks, paintings, and other artistic matters; an executive order later that year added the design review of all public buildings. Influenced by the designs of several European cities and 18th century gardens such as France's Palace of Versailles, the plan of Washington, DC was symbolic and innovative for the new nation. Only limited changes were made to the historic city-bounded by Florida Avenue on the north and the waterways on the east, west and south-until after the Civil War. The foremost manipulation of L'Enfant's plan began in the 19th century, and was codified in 1901 when the McMillan Commission directed urban improvements that resulted in the most elegant example of City Beautiful tenets in the nation. L'Enfant's plan was magnified and expanded during the early decades of the 20th century with the reclamation of land for waterfront parks, parkways, an improved Mall and new monuments and vistas. Two hundred years since its design, the integrity of the plan of Washington is largely unimpaired-boasting a legal enforced height restriction, landscaped parks, wide avenues, and open space allowing intended vistas. Constant vigilance is needed by the agencies responsible for design review, it their charge to continue the vision of L'Enfant. The first Federal presence was the Monumental Core. The monumental core consists of a gigantic triangle anchored by the Capitol, the Washington Monument, and the White House. This triangle, carefully oriented to the topography of the low-lying basin in which the federal city was built, provides the basis of the L'Enfant plan and all subsequent modifications. L'Enfant regarded the Capitol building the central focus of the design of the Federal City. He placed the Capitol on the west end of Jenkin's Hill which he described as " a pedestal waiting for a monument." He felt that public buildings should be placed on hills so that they held commanding views. Axial vistas with reciprocal views were a basic part of his planning philosophy. The Capitol grounds were redesigned by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1874 in the naturalistic tradition with serpentine paths and heavy foliage. In 1897 the Library of Congress was constructed, and no further development took place until the Senate Park Commission Plan of 1902. The Senate and House office buildings and the Supreme Court were constructed in accordance with grand plan for the Beaux Arts inspired buildings to serve the needs of the legislative and judicial arms of government. In 1791, George Washington and L'Enfant settled on the location of the "President's Palace," on a high ridge with views extending down to the Potomac. It provided an answering vista to the Capitol at the end of Pennsylvania Avenue, a great diagonal avenue linking the two buildings. To the south, the Washington Monument is located off-axis, and to the north is Sixteenth Street beginning at the edge of Lafayette Square. The White House grounds to the south, the ellipse, contains major sculptural memorials from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. L'Enfant designed 16th St to have the same width as the large diagonal avenues and Lafayette Square in front of the North façade of the terminates the 16th Street axis. The design of Lafayette Park was not in place until 1824, and the present landscape plan dates from the 1930s. Between 1798 and 1800 two executive office buildings, the Treasury Department and the War Office, were constructed adjacent to White House. The new Treasury building was begun in 1836, and work continued for three decades. The placement of the Treasury building on this site effectively blocks the vista between the Capitol and the White House. The present Old Executive Office Building that was formerly the State, War, and Navy Building was built between 1871 and 1888. Jefferson's original conception of the capital was to provide a "public walk" in the center of the city which linked the Capitol Building and the White House. L'Enfant had provided for an avenue lined with great residences, but his plan was forgotten in the intervening years. Andrew Jackson Downing provided for a curvilinear plan in 1851. And the Mall we see today is the result of the McMillan Plan lined with museums and the Department of Agriculture. The Old Patent Office (7th, 9th, F and G Streets, NW) which now houses two Smithsonian Museums, the National Museum of American Art and the National Portrait Gallery was built between 1836 and 1857(Open to the public, but soon to be closed for major renovations). This site is outside the monumental core, and sits on the same high ridge as does the White House and had been noted on L'Enfant's plan as a place for a nondenominational church dedicated to America's heroes. The Patent Office was perceived as a fitting substitute, and the Smithsonian Museums have carried on that tradition. The United States Tariff Commission Building (United States General Post Office) at 8th and F Streets, is another grand public building in this same area and plans are currently underway to redevelop the property. Off the monumental core, but adjacent to the grounds of the Capitol is the Old City Post Office at Massachusetts Avenue and North Capitol Street, NE. This building was designed by Daniel Burnham in the City Beautiful tradition in 1914 and contains a Post Office Museum that is open to the public. Also in the tradition of the City Beautiful is Union Station at Massachusetts and Delaware Sts NE also designed by Daniel Burnham in 1903-8. Open to the public, it serves not only as a railroad station, but also contains a multitude of the shops, cinema, and restaurants in one of the most effective adaptive use projects in the city. The Federal Triangle is located on a triangular site bounded by Pennsylvania Avenue, Constitution Avenue, and 15th Street. Ten structures designed by different architects are located on the site. Two of the structures, the Old Post Office and the District Building, were constructed between 1899-1908. The rest were constructed between 1926 and the 1930s except for the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center which was designed and constructed in the 1990s. The planning for the Federal Triangle was one of the last City Beautiful efforts on such a monumental scale in the nation. The triangle achieves a harmony of scale and proportion through the use of similar materials and an elaborate landscape plan. From the time of the McMillan Commission Plan the area to the west of the ellipse was planned for monumental buildings which would enframe the newly extended Mall. By the 1930s, the growing expansion of the Federal government led to the conception of a formal plan for a monumental complex of Federal buildings to balance the Federal Triangle on the east side of the ellipse. This new area was called the "Northwest Rectangle" and soon saw a large complement of Federal buildings such as the Public Health Service (1931-33), the New Interior Department (1936) and the Federal Reserve (1937). The grand plan for the Northwest Rectangle was never completed. Later government buildings in the area, the Department of State (1957-60), the Civil Service Commission (1960s) and the Federal Reserve Annex (1970s) reflect modernist rather than classical design. After World War II, there was much more decentralization of Federal agencies, many of which are now located in the regional areas of Maryland and Virginia.
It was after the Civil War that Washington experienced the rapid growth that would continue for the rest of the century. Washington was inundated with freed blacks, army widows, retiring veterans and government workers forcing an expansion beyond the boundaries of the L'Enfant Plan. Instrumental in shaping the city and its expansion was Alexander Sheperd, who as a friend of President Grant's, became the head of the Board of Public Works in 1870. "Boss Sheperd" became the official governor of the territory in 1873, and began an extensive system of public works which would fill in the Tiber Canal, pave at least one-third of the streets, and create a modem sewer system and the construction of over 1000 buildings. These excessive expenditures, however, caused congress to abolish the territorial government. In 1878, the Organic Act stripped the District of all self-government and put the District in the control of a Senate committee. Real estate speculation in undeveloped areas became rampant, and several of the biggest investors were Senators Francis Newlands, John Sherman, and William Morrie Stewart. In addition, the invention of the electricpowered streetcar made the development of Washington beyond Boundary Street possible. This led to the location of neighborhoods at higher elevations, which were perceived to be cooler and have cleaner air. There are three geographic areas that define the suburban development of the city. The suburbs in Anacostia, southeast and northeast were created for lower income White and African American working classes. The northwest area east of Rock Creek Park was largely settled by middle-income and government workers The northwest area west of Rock Creek Park which was settled, in part, by upper-income Whites. In southeast, Uniontown, one of Washington's first suburbs, was created for Navy Yard workers. Berry Farms and Congress Heights, south of Uniontown (now part of the Anacostia Historic District) were similarly settled. Most African Americans settled into the NE and SE quadrants of the city as housing costs rose and some areas became segregated. The Northwest Sector of Washington east of the Rock Creek gorge, developed faster than the NE and Anacostia sections. Development in this area started in the 1870's and appealed to the burgeoning middle-class population. LeDroit Park, planned along 7th Street just north of Boundary, developed its own street system and names. Mt. Pleasant was first subdivided in 1865. The irregular street system, a grid of different block sizes, picked up the extended 13th and 14th Streets of the L'Enfant City. Columbia Heights, along 14" Street south of Mt Pleasant was platted and developed in the 1880s as the terminus of the new electric street car line running north-south on 14th St. In 1886, east of the Soldier's Home, 134 acres were subdivided as Brookland, and serviced by the B & O railroad. These neighborhoods are characterized by the ubiquitous row house, constructed of brick and usually three or four stories high. Further north along the B&O railroad line and at the Maryland border is Takoma Park, one of the first commuter suburbs utilizing the train. Here single family houses graced the yards in a more traditional suburban setting. The development of the West Side of Rock Creek Park was driven by the formation of powerful real-estate syndicates which were in place by the 1880s. Prestigious and moneyed families were living in the Massachusetts Avenue and Dupont Circle Districts. The Joel Barlow Kalorama estate just west of Dupont Circle was developed in the 1880s. Development beyond Rock Creek Gorge was possible only after the gorge was bridged in 1886 at Klingle Road and at Calvert Street in 1891. Woodley Park developed rapidly in the 1880s after the construction of the bridges as well as the streetcar lines. One of the best examples of suburban growth being spurred by street railway companies is the Rock Creek Railway, an integral part of the Chevy Chase Land Company's plan for development along Connecticut Avenue. The Rock Creek Railway Company had originally been chartered in 1888, but not constructed, until after the formation of the Chevy Chase Land Company. The Chevy Chase Land Company was founded in 1890 b Nevada Senators Francis Newlands and William M. Steward, together with Colonel George A. Ames. Having been involved previously in the development of the Dupont Circle area, Newlands began to purchase undeveloped land north of Rock Creek in the late 1880s. The Company's 1700 acres flanked the corridor now known as Connecticut Avenue extending into Chevy Chase, Maryland. Newlands constructed trestle bridges at Calvert and Klingle streets and extended Connecticut Avenue directly through his 1700 acre property into Maryland. Another street railway line was the Georgetown and Tenallytown Railway Company, chartered in 1888. In 1890, the railway began operating connecting Georgetown to the extant village of Tenallytown. The line traveled the length of what is now Wisconsin Avenue, stretching from the Potomac River to the Maryland State line. Cleveland Park was served by both street rail lines. In 1888, Congress passed the Highway Act which forbid "any plat or subdivision that did not conform with the general plan for the city." The streets and avenues of the city were to be continued and exactly aligned with the existing roads, and new circles and squares were to be created at major intersections. There followed the Highway Acts of 1893 and 1898 to legislate conformance with the street patterns and platting. The automobile led to an even greater growth especially in the northwest quadrant. Spring Valley, Wesley Heights, and American University Park were developed in the 1920s and largely constructed by the WC and AN Miller Company. In the southwest quadrant, the urban renewal pressures of the 1950s and 1960s led to wholesale demolition of the existing fabric of the area and the construction of new housing.
Takoma Park was founded and developed as a suburb by Benjamin F. Gilbert in 1883. Takoma Park was the first commuter suburb in the area and was originally located on approximately 100 acres of land around the B & O Railroad tracks. Gilbert, in planning his suburb, ignored jurisdictional lines, and the original town of Takoma Park thus is located in the District of Columbia, Prince George's and Montgomery County, Maryland. (Part of Takoma Park, Maryland, has been designated a historic district and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places). When Gilbert selected this site, few roads extended north from Washington city, and during the first few years of its existence, Takoma Park depended almost entirely on the steam railroad for the movement of goods and people. Takoma Park was advertised as being located high above the swampy, malaria-ridden Washington City, and possessing such amenities as fresh spring water and beautiful cottages and villas surrounded by spacious, landscaped lawns. The residences of Takoma Park were within walking distance of the train station. The styles of architecture which highlight the development of this community can be described generally as follows: (1) the earliest houses were primarily combinations of Shingle and Stick styles and Pattern Book or Victorian cottages or variations of Queen Anne cottages. These houses are mainly of frame and shingle construction with asymmetrical massing and flowing roofs and exhibit a variety of design detail in the treatment of porch piers and balustrades, cornice detailing and trim. Some examples are: 7130 Chestnut Street, 600, 535, 517 and 208 Cedar Street; (2) the turn-of-the-century Transitional house, frequently with Colonial Revival details was popular during this period. The facades are frequently symmetrically ordered with Colonial Revival details such as Doric or Ionic piers and period window detail. Some examples can be found at 516 Cedar Street and 521 Butternut Street; (3) the bungalow, a style derivative of 19th-century British Colonial architecture in India, was a popular style and is characterized by a low house with veranda and broad overhanging gables. Some examples of bungalow variations can be found at 7106 Piney Branch Road, 202 Cedar Street, and 410 Aspen Street. Takoma Park is roughly bounded by Aspen St., NW, on the south; Piney Branch Rd., NW, and 7th St., NW, on the west; and Eastern Ave., NW, on the northeast. The buildings described are private and not open to the public. Metro stop: Takoma.
The Rock Creek Park Historic District encompasses public reservation 339 created for the scenic and recreational enjoyment of the people of the United States on September 27, 1890. Rock Creek Park is a natural reserve within a heavily urbanized area and in this respect it is unusual. Unlike other great American parks designed in the 19th century such at Central Park in New York (1856), golden Gate Park in San Francisco (1870), or the Boston Metropolitan Park System (1878-1895), Rock Creek Park was created by the forces of nature. The origins of the park go back to 1866 when a Senate committee suggested finding a tract of land for the presidential mansion which had healthfulness and good water, access and capability of adornment. Maj. Nathaniel Michler was appointed to prepare a report for possible sites. Although the President's mansion was not moved to a new site, Michler's proposal for a park took root. By the 1880s local banker Charles C. Glover promoted the park to members of Congress, and in 1890 it was established as a park. The boundaries were defined in 1891 and followed the topography. It is a narrow creek bed in its lower third near the Maryland border and contains broad meadows and woods near the site of the National Zoo. Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., the landscape architect for the McMillan Commission was a strong advocate for preserving the natural scenic beauty of the park.The National Capital Planning Commission designed the roadways for the park in the 1920s and 1930s. Automobile access was limited to certain areas and pleasure driving became one of the park's amenities. The National Zoological Park, (NR) an important work of Frederick Law Olmsted, was designed in 1892 and is a major component of Rock Creek Valley. Linnean Hill or the Pierce-Klingle Mansion (NR) is located in the park at 3545 Williamsburg Lane. This large stone farmhouse was originally constructed by Issac Pierce in 1823 with later additions. The house now serves as the headquarters for the superintendent of Rock Creek Park. Pierce Mill (NR) at Beach Drive and Tilden was originally built in 1820 and first restored by the NPS in 1934-36. The Friends of Pierce Mill are now raising funds to again restore it to a working mill. Nearby are located Pierce Springhouse and Barn (NR) in the 2400 block of Tilden Street which were built in 1829 and restored in 1934-36. The core of the Rock Creek Park Historic District is the creek and the picturesque gorge like scenery. Particularly impressive is a one-mile stretch of rapids and a rocky stream bed immediately south of Military Road. In contrast to the bold and picturesque valley core, Rock Creek Park also has gentle slopping hills and grassy meadows. The Park is located along Rock Creek and tributaries from
the National Zoo to the DC boundary. Rock Creek Parkway is a public
parkway accessible to the public during all hours of the day.
Metro stop: Woodley Park-Zoo.
Peirce Mill is significant as the last existing mill in the District of Columbia and the only 19th-century gristmill maintained by the National Park Service that operates on a full-time basis. It stands as a unique symbol of the milling industry which flourished along Rock Creek. The mill's owner, Issac Pierce, left his Quaker parents in Pennsylvania to seek his fortune in Maryland. After Maryland ceded 10 square miles to form the new Federal city, Pierce bought 150 acres along Rock Creek. By 1880 Pierce owned 1,200-2,000 acres of the land along Rock Creek, extending from Chevy Chase to the present National Zoological Park. Pierce built the present mill either in 1820 or 1829. He died in 1841 leaving his estate, including the mill, to his fourth child, Abner Cloud Peirce who continued to operate the mill. Between 1934 and 1936 Pierce Mill was restored as a Pubic Works Administration (PWA) project. The mill was again placed in operation on December 1, 1936, and ground corn meal and flour for use by government cafeterias. It was closed again in 1958 because of the lack of trained millwrights and a decrease in the water volume in the millrace. Since then, it has been maintained solely as a historic site. Visitors to Pierce Mill today can see old wooden gears and massive stones. A living museum, the mill represents part of the 1820s economy of America, an era when men tapped power from wind and water. Pierce Mill is located at 2375 Tilden St., NW. It is open Wedneday through Sunday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Metro stop: Friendship Heights.
Cleveland Park Historic District Cleveland Park is unusual because of its concentration of architect-designed late Victorian frame houses reminiscent of New England summer homes. Also unusual is the fact that the suburban development that began in 1894 was superimposed upon land previously occupied by estates, extant examples of which remain. Cleveland Park maintained its rural ambiance throughout the period of its development to the 1940s. All of the streets between the avenues in Cleveland Park retain the suburban flavor of the initial development with a preponderance of single-family dwellings set in generous natural surroundings. President Grover Cleveland summered in Cleveland Park at Red Top (Oak Hill) which was demolished in 1927. The oldest house in Cleveland Park is Rosedale (Forrest Home) located at 3501 Newark Street. This asymmetrical, frame farmhouse with chimneys at both ends was built in 1794 by Uriah Forrestre, recalling the 17th-century colonial frame buildings of the southern states. Even older are stone buildings that now form the wings of the house, probably built c. 1740. Twin Oaks, located at 3225 Woodley Road, is the only remaining example of a house designed to be a summer home located in the historic district. It is an early example of a Colonial Revival house and was designed in 1888 by Francis Richmond Allen on a 17-acre estate which was originally part of a 50-acre tract. Twenty acres of this tract were sold in 1911. Tregaron (The Causeway) is located on that remaining 20 acres of the above tract at 3029 Klingle Road. This brick Neo-classical mansion stands on a crest of a hill and was designed in 1912 by Charles Adams Platt. In 1940, the estate was sold to Marjorie Merriweather Post and her husband Joseph Davies, who built a Russian Style Dacha on the grounds. The Homestead (La Quinta) is located at 2700 Macomb Street and was the last country house built in Cleveland Park. It was designed in 1914 by Frederick B. Pyle and in 1930 was enlarged into a Georgian mansion. In 1945, the newly independent Indian government purchased the house as a residence for the Indian Ambassador. Most of the single family dwellings in the streetcar suburb were built between 1894 and 1930. During the first construction phase (1894 to 1901), the houses were individually designed by local architects and builders who employed a great variety of styles representing the eclecticism of the day. Robert Thompson Head, the most prolific architect for the Cleveland Park Company, was influenced by Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Japanese, and Prairie styles. Waddy Wood introduced the first Shingle and Mission Revival homes in the neighborhood. During this period all of the houses were constructed of wood and employed a proliferation of decorative details which include turrets, towers, oriel and bay windows, steep gables with half timbering, tall pilastered chimneys, Palladian windows, Georgian porches, Richardsonian arches, decorative brackets and Adamesque swags. The houses with their varied verandas were situated on generous lots and set well back from the street. During the second phase of construction there was an increasing simplification of house design. The houses continued to be primarily constructed of wood but some were covered with pebble dash, and the first brick houses were built in 1904-5. The Foursquare house with evident Prairie style influence was popular. The front porch continued to be a standard feature. There are a number of significant apartment houses in the district as well as commercial structures. Some outstanding examples are noted below. The Broadmoor located at 3601 Connecticut Avenue was designed by Joseph Abel in 1928 and is representative the eclecticism of that period. Tilden Gardens is located at 3900 Connecticut Avenue and was built in 1927-30 by architects Parks and Baxter and Harry Edwards. Sedgewick Gardens at 3726 Connecticut Avenue designed by Mihran Mesrobian in 1931 is a significant Art Deco building. The low-rise commercial area along Connecticut Avenue also has significant buildings. The firehouse at 3522 Connecticut Avenue, designed in 1916 by Snowden Ashford, is the oldest commercial building. Arthur Heaton's nationally acclaimed 1930 design for the Park and Shop, an early automobile-oriented neighborhood shopping center located at 3507-23 Connecticut Avenue, is a domestically scaled Colonial Revival style example of this influential building type. The Uptown Theater designed by John J. Zinc in 1939 at 3426 Connecticut is a significant Art Deco building, and one of the last large period movie houses in the city. Several residences constructed since 1941 are outstanding examples of the work of nationally significant architects. I.M.Pei designed a house at 3411 Ordway Street in 1962. Washington architect, Winthrop Faulkner, designed a series of homes on Ordway and 35th Streets in 1963, 1968 and 1978 for his family illustrating his architectural styles. Waldron Faulkner, his father, designed 3415 36th Street for himself with Art Deco and Greek decorative motifs. The Cleveland Park Historic District is a site that has major interrelated historic, architectural, and cultural significance. The particular qualities that make it significant arise from its unique character as a livable intown community (almost like a village) of single-family houses, apartment buildings and small businesses. It continues to be home to many prominent Washingtonians. Cleveland Parks is roughly bounded by Klingle and Woodley Rds., NW, on the south; Wisconsin Ave., NW, on the west; Rodman and Tilden Sts., NW, on the north; and the rear of properties along Connecticut Ave., NW, on the east. The buildings described are private and are not open to the public. Metro stop: Cleveland Park.
The National Cathedral, completed in 1990, is the culmination of a two-century-long plan for a majestic Gothic style cathedral. This richly decorated cathedral is located on a landscaped 57 acre plot of land on Mount Saint Albans in Northwest Washington, 400 feet above sea level. The cathedral consists of a long narrow rectangular mass, the eight bay nave and the five bay chancel, intersected by a six bay transept. Above the crossing, rising just over 300 feet above grade, is the Gloria in Excelsis Tower. The Cathedral is the sixth largest in the world, second largest in the United States. The top of the tower is the highest point in DC. The one story porch projecting from the south transept has a large portal with a carved tympanum. This portal is approached by the Pilgrim Steps, a long flight of steps 40 feet wide. The primary building material is gray Indiana limestone; some concrete and structural steel are used sparingly. The building abounds in architectural sculpture, wood carving, leaded glass, mosaics, artistic metal work, and many other works of art, including over 200 stained glass windows. Most of the decorative elements have Christian symbolism or are memorials to famous persons or events. The plan for a national cathedral began in 1792 when the Plan of the Federal City set aside land for a "great church for national purposes." The National Portrait Gallery now occupies that site. A century later in 1891, a meeting was held to renew plans for the cathedral. In 1893 the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation of the District of Columbia was granted a charter from Congress to establish the cathedral and the site on Mount Saint Albans was chosen. Bishop Satterlee chose Frederick Bodley, England's leading Anglican church architect, as the head architect. Henry Vaughan was selected to be the supervising architect. The building of the cathedral finally started in 1907 with a ceremonial address by President Theodore Roosevelt. When construction of the cathedral resumed after a brief hiatus for World War I, both Bodley and Vaughan had passed away; American architect Philip Hubert Frohman took over the design of the cathedral and is known as the principal architect. The Cathedral has been the location of many significant events, including the funeral services of Woodrow Wilson and Dwight Eisenhower. Its pulpit was the last one from which Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke prior to his assassination. The Cathedral is the burial place of many notable people, including Woodrow Wilson, Helen Keller, Admiral George Dewey, Bishop Satterlee and the architects Henry Vaughan and Philip Frohman. The Cathedral is located at the corner of Wisconsin and Massachusetts
Aves. It is open to the public daily from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm.
Gardens are open daily until dusk. Good Shepherd Chapel is open
for private prayer 6:00 am to 10:00 pm daily. Metro stop: Tenleytown/AU.
Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park
The C&O Company was chartered in 1825 to construct a shipping canal connecting tidewater on the Potomac River in DC with the headwaters of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania, thereby providing an economical trade route between the eastern seaboard and the trans-Allegheny West. The company acquired the rights of the Potomac Company, formed by George Washington and associates to improve navigation on the Potomac. That venture had attempted to achieve its objective by deepening the channel and cutting skirting canals around impassible rapids, but the flow of the river proved too erratic to make these measures successful. This experience led C&O promoters to adopt plans for a separate canal paralleling the river. President John Quincy Adams turned the first spadeful of earth in ceremonies at Little Falls, Maryland, on July 4, 1828. On the same day, construction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad westward from Baltimore was begun-a move that would have significant implications for the ultimate fate of the canal and the canal era generally. From the start, numerous difficulties retarded the progress of the canal construction. An acute labor shortage forced the company to campaign for workers from other states. Numerous disputes arose with landowners that resisted efforts to purchase the right-of-way. Between 1842 and 1847, construction was at a standstill. The canal was finally completed to Cumberland, Maryland, in 1850, bringing the total cost of the project to over $11 million. During the years following the Civil War, the coal trade increased rapidly until in 1871, the peak year, some 850,000 tons were carried down the canal. During these few profitable years more than 500 boats were in frequent operation on the canal. In the late 1870s the canal trade began to decline as many of the Allegheny coal operators began to ship over the B&O Railroad, the canal's greatest competitor. This development, together with the effects of the nationwide economic depression in the mid-1870s and major floods in 1877 and 1886, again put a severe strain on the finances. In 1889 an enormous flood forced the canal company into receivership, and the B&O Railroad emerged as the majority owner of the company's bonds. In 1924, by which time the railroad had captured almost all of the carrying trade, another damaging flood struck. This time the repairs necessary to resume operation were not made, and the active era of the canal came to an end. In 1938 the railroad, hurt by the Depression, sold the entire canal to the United States government, and the canal was placed under the National Park Service. In 1961, President Eisenhower proclaimed it a national monument. An act of Congress in 1971 authorized the acquisition of additional land and establishment of the C&O Canal National Historical Park. The canal survives as an excellent illustration of 19th-century canal-building technology. The magnitude of the engineering achievement is exemplified by the length of the canal, its 74 lift locks to accommodate a rise of 605 feet, the 11 stone aqueducts spanning the major Potomac tributaries, 7 dams supplying water to the canal, hundreds of culverts carrying roads and streams beneath the canal, and a 3,117-foot tunnel carrying the canal through a large shale rock formation. The C&O Canal runs along the Potomac River west from Rock Creek The Chesapeake and Ohio National Historical Park is located along the C&O Canal from Rock Creek Park to the DC boundary and extends into Maryland. The park is open during all daylight hours. Some of the park's five visitor centers operate on a seasonal schedule. The Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal is the subject of an online-lesson plan produced by Teaching with Historic Places, a National Register program that offers classroom-ready lesson plans on properties listed in the National Register. To learn more, visit the Teaching with Historic Places home page. The National Zoological Park was planned by F.L. Olmstead & Co., one of the most influential and prolific American landscape architectural firms in history, and its location in the spacious and picturesque Rock Creek Valley marked an important departure from the 19th-century practice of confining zoological collections to limited areas. In addition to its important place in the history of landscape design, major scientific investigations, such as S.P. Langley's experiments in aerodynamics, are also a significant part of the Zoo's history. The National Zoo preceded the founding of the New York Zoological Park and Munich's Hellabrun Zoo, and thus may have been the first major zoo to be located in a spacious, landscaped setting. The Zoological Park's primary aim was not for the entertainment of people, but for the preservation of endangered animals indigenous to the United States. The Zoo was created at a time when American's were concerned about "the closing of the frontier" and the dominance of a new, urban, industrialized society, and the Zoo's animals were reminders to visitors of the disappearing American Wilderness. In addition to conventional animal houses, extensive pastures for grazing were planned along with natural rock quarries to contain bears, a scheme that was unsuccessful. Only two of the original buildings exist today, the Principal Animal House, now the lion house, and the New Mammal House, the present monkey house. The Zoo borders Rock Creek Park with entrances at 3001 Connecticut
Ave., on Harvard St. and on Beach Dr. It is open daily from 8:00
am to 8:00 pm between April 15th and October 15th. The rest of
the year it is open daily from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. It is closed
on December 25th. Admission is free. For more information call
202/633-4800
or visit the zoo's website. Metro stop: Woodley Park/Zoo.
Old Woodley Park Historic District
The unique architectural character of Old Woodley Park is formed by strings of handsome, 20th-century rowhouses and townhouses constructed by a variety of notable local builders and architects. The actual building construction that eluded this area for so long was begun and largely completed in only 25 years (1905-1929), and resulted in a cohesive urban neighborhood consisting primarily of attached houses and the services which attended (and continue to attend) them. Connecticut Avenue is now the major thoroughfare dividing Woodley Park. Extended in 1890, it has become a major access road to upper northwest Washington. Today, the length of Connecticut Avenue is lined primarily by tall structures, mainly apartment buildings and office buildings, punctuated by groups of smaller commercial buildings. In Woodley Park, however, sufficient numbers of single-family residences stand along Connecticut Avenue to remind the passerby that it once was conceived to be an elegant residential boulevard. Old Woodley Park Historic District is roughly bounded by
24th and 29th Sts., NW, to the west; Cathedral Ave., NW, to the
north; Rock Creek Park to the east; and Calvert and Woodley Rds.,
NW, to the south. The buildings described are private and not
open to the public. Metro stop: Woodley Park-Zoo.
Georgetown was formally established in 1751 when the Maryland Assembly authorized a town on the Potomac River on 60 acres of land belonging to George Beall and George Gordon. George Town was named in honor of King George II and soon flourished as a shipping center. Tobacco was the lifeblood of the community, and Georgetown soon prospered as a shipping center with a profitable European and West Indian trade. Commerce and industry developed along the waterfront, where wharves and flourmills were constructed. During the Revolution, Georgetown served as a great depot for the collection and shipment of military supplies. When the town was finally incorporated in 1789, a textile mill, paper factory and more flourmills were established. Georgetown's character was profoundly affected by the establishment of the nation's capital to the east in 1791. Although it was included in the new Federal District, it retained its own character. Georgetown rapidly gained a reputation as the fashionable quarter of the capital and drew eminent visitors from this country and others. Congress incorporated Georgetown as part of Washington City in 1871. After the Civil War, large numbers of freed slaves migrated to Georgetown. The African American community flourished, becoming increasingly self-reliant. In the 1880s the waterfront prospered. But in the 1890s the C & O Canal was severely damaged by a Potomac River flood, and the Canal Company was bankrupted. The area went into an economic decline and in the period after World War I, Georgetown gained a reputation as one of Washington's worst slums; its homes were neglected and the area deteriorated badly. This trend began to reverse itself in the 1930s with the New Deal and reached a high point when Senator John F. Kennedy resided in the neighborhood in the 1950s. Although there are some pre-Revolutionary buildings in the district, most of the housing stock dates from the period after 1800. The Old Stone House NR at 3051 M Street is the oldest intact house. It was built in 1765 for Christopher Lehman. It is owned by the National Park Service and is open to the public. Most of Georgetown is occupied by residential areas whose regular streets and rowhouses set the tone for the entire neighborhood. A variety of styles illustrate the national trend of architectural development from Georgian mansions and town houses through early Federal and Classical Revival houses to the ornate structures of the ante and post-bellum periods. The majority of the building stock was constructed after 1870 and is characterized by rowhouse construction popular in the late Victorian era. The commercial corridors of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street as well as the waterfront areas are characterized by development from every era. The City Tavern NR at 3206 M Street was built in 1796. The Forrest-Marbury House NR at 3350 M Street is a large Federal townhouse built by Col. Uriah Forrest c. 1788-90. Here Forrest hosted the dinner closing the deal for the purchase of the land for the Federal City. The Thomas Sim Lee Corner at 3001-3009 M Street, 1789-1810, consists of early Federal shops with dwellings above. The Dodge Warehouses at 1000-1008 Wisconsin Avenue and 3205 K Street are Federal-era warehouses on the waterfront and date from 1813-1824. In the Federal period, brick replaced stone in construction of both residential and commercial buildings. The mansions of wealthy shipowners, merchants and land speculators were built above the harbor on Prospect and N Streets. Hotels, taverns, banks and other commercial buildings were constructed along M Street and in the waterfront area. Speculative housing appeared, including the notable Federal row at 3337-3339 N Street built c.1815 by John Cox and the row at 3255-3267 N Street built c.1812 by Walter and Clement Smith. St. John's Church at 3420 O Street designed by William Thorton was completed in 1809. On the heights above the town, the squares remained intact and undivided. Bellevue NR was renamed Dumbarton House when it was acquired by the Colonial Dames of America. It was built c.1800 and located at 2715 Q Street. Evermay NR 1623 28th Street was built by Samuel Davidson c.1801. William Hammond Dorsey built the house at 3101 R Street now known as Dumbarton Oaks c.1801. The house and gardens are open to the public at special hours. Tudor Place NR at 1644 31st Street built between 1805-1816, was designed by William Thorton, original architect of the US Capitol. It is maintained as a house museum and is open to the public by appointment. In 1848, Oak Hill Cemetery was laid out by George de la Roche in the fashionable picturesque manner. The Chapel and probably the gates were designed by James Renwick in 1850. The Van Ness Mausoleum NR was built in 1833 by George Hadfield and moved to the cemetery in 1872. The Mount Zion Cemetery (Female Union Band Society) NR is located at 27th and O Streets. The graveyard was established in 1842 by the Female Union Band Society, a benevolent association which provided burial for free blacks. The Mount Zion United Methodist Church NR at 1334 29th Street is the home of one of the oldest African American congregations in the city. The Custom House and Post Office NR was built in 1857-8 at 1221 31st Street to handle increased shipping from the canal. It was designed by Ammi B. Young. The Georgetown Market NR at 3276 M Street is a public market on a site used as a market since 1795. The present market was built in 1865. It still serves as a food store and is open to the public. The Vigilant Fire House NR is the city's oldest extant firehouse and was built for the Vigilant Fire Company established in 1817 and in operation till 1883. The present building was built in 1844. There are approximately 58 houses listed in the DC Inventory as individual Georgetown landmarks that are of Federal City/Pre-Civil War importance. Listed below are the names of those that are also listed in the National Register: the Walker House at 2806 N St.; the Haw House at 2808 N St.; Beall House at 3017 N St.; Halcyon House at 3400 Prospect St; Quality Hill at 3425 Prospect St; Prospect House at 3508 Prospect St. After the Civil War, the brick rowhouse made its appearance in Georgetown. The brick rowhouses of the 1870s and 1880s exhibited elaborate bracketed cornices and then corbelled cornices in the 1880s and 1890s. It is the Queen Anne rowhouse that found the greatest favor with Washington builders and was also used frequently in commercial architecture. Residential architecture of the 1890s took the form of a rowhouse in a minimalist late Victorian, late Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival styles and various combinations. Overall, Georgetown's population continued to climb, as reflected in its construction of public schools. The Phillips School built in 1890 at 27th and N Streets was one of several schools constructed to serve the African American community. The Volta Laboratory and Bureau (Alexander Bell Laboratory) at 3414 Volta Place was a brick carriage house adapted by Alexander Graham Bell in 1885 and used until 1922 as his laboratory. The Volta Bureau NHL, built in 1893 by Peabody and Sterns, is at 3417 Volta Place. Several examples of Renaissance Revival and Colonial Revival can be found from the early decades of the 20th century in Georgetown commercial architecture. Rowhouse development continued to flourish with the Colonial Revival a popular form. Although the waterfront remained primarily commercial, the Potomac Boat Club at 3530 K Street and built in 1870 and is a charming example of the Shingle Style. The Washington Canoe Club NR built in 1890 also afforded recreational uses. The Georgetown Historic District is roughly bounded by Reservoir
Rd., NW, and Dumbarton Oaks Park on the north; Rock Creek Park
on the east; the Potomac River on the south; and Glover-Archbold
Parkway on the west. Unless otherwise noted, the buildings described
above are private and not open to the public. Metro Stop: Foggy
Bottom.
Oak Hill Cemetery, Chapel & Gatehouse The Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel is the only known example of James Renwick's Gothic Revival ecclesiastical design in Washington, DC. The one story rectangular chapel, measuring 23 by 41 feet, was built in 1850 and sits on the highest ridge of the Oak Hill Cemetery. The beautifully proportioned chapel is considered an excellent example of Gothic Revival Architecture, as evidenced by its steeply pitched roof, buttresses, and its pointed arched windows with tracery . Renwick, one of the pre-eminent architects of the 19th century, designed both the Grace Church and St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York and was the architect for the original Smithsonian Institution. The Oak Hill Cemetery was created by William W. Corcoran, also founder of the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, in 1848. The chapel is one of several landmarks in the cemetery, which also includes the Van Ness Mausoleum, designed by George Hadfield, and the monument to E.M. Stanton, President Lincoln's Secretary of War. The Oak Hill Cemetery is located at 30th and R Sts., NW.
It is open weekdays only from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. It is closed holidays and during funerals, and photography is not permitted. Metro stop: Foggy Bottom
The Mount Zion Cemetery is composed of two separate adjacent cemeteries, the old Methodist Burying Ground and the Female Union Band Society Graveyard. The two cemeteries equally share the three acres of land. There is no fence or other visible demarcation separating the two cemeteries which over time have become known as the Mount Zion Cemetery. The Mount Zion Cemetery is a physical reminder of African American life and the evolving free black culture in the District of Columbia from the earliest days of the city to the present. The land for the Old Methodist Episcopal Burying Ground was purchased in 1808 by the Dumbarton Street Methodist Episcopal Church. The membership of the Dumbarton Street M.E. Church was fifty percent black, consisting of both free blacks and slaves. At the time, Georgetown was about thirty percent African American. In 1816 the black members of the Dumbarton Street M.E. Church formed the Mount Zion Methodist Church. Eventually the Mount Zion Methodist Church took over the cemetery in 1879. The Female Union Band Society was a cooperative benevolent society of free black women whose members were pledged to assist one another in sickness and in death. The society was created in 1842 and purchased the land for the burial ground that year. Mt. Zion Cemetery illustrates the significant contribution of African Americans to the development of Georgetown and the work of an early benevolent society organized by black women for their own benefit. The cemetery fell into neglect and disrepair until 1976 when volunteer workers under the direction of the Afro-American Bicentennial Corporation cleared away underbrush, trash, and ground cover. The Mount Zion Cemetery is located at 27th and Q Sts, NW.
The cemetery is open daily during daylight hours, to arrange for a tour contact Mt. Zion Church at 202-234-0148. Metro stop: Foggy Bottom.
Montrose Parks occupies land that belonged to ropemaking magnate Robert Parrott during the early 19th century. Parrott generously allowed Georgetown residents to use his tract of land for picnics and meetings. The area became known as Parrott's Woods and by the early 20th century it had fallen into disrepair. Sarah Louisa Rittenhouse spearheaded a group of women who petitioned Congress to buy the acreage and establish Montrose Park "for the recreation and pleasure of the people." Adjacent to Montrose Park is Dumbarton Park, a wilderness area of 27 acres that was established by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss who purchased Dumbarton Oaks House in 1920. Mr. and Mrs. Bliss hired Beatrix Ferrand to create the masterful 10 acre formal gardens around the house. The Blisses gave a majority of Dumbarton Oaks to Harvard University in 1940. Montrose and Dumbarton Parks are public parks accessible
to the public. Dumbarton
Oaks is located at 1703 32nd St., N.W. The gardens are open
daily; April through October, 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm; November-March:
2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. They are closed during inclement weather,
national holidays, and Christmas eve.
A previous owner of the property had begun improvments by building what are now the house's wings. Thornton then provided the central structure and the joining elements to the wings, combining them with buff-colored stucco over brick. The "temple" porch and supporting columns provide a most striking addition to the front. The gardens and the historic house museum's collections are as rich and interesting as the home itself. A focal point is the collection of over 100 objects that belonged to George and Martha Washington. Over the years, both the home and gardens have been enriched by 180 years of Peter family ownership. Tudor Place gives a rare glimpse into American cultural and social history.
The first parcel of land that was to become Georgetown University was acquired in 1789 by a committee of five clergymen. On this 1 ½ parcel the committee began to construct the first university building which was ready for occupancy in 1791. Referred to as "Old South," it was torn down at the turn of the 20th century. The first students enrolled in September, 1791 and by the end of the school year, the enrollment was 66 students. In 1793, an additional two acres was purchased to provide a site for what is now know as the Old North Building which was used as a dormitory and refectory for boarding students. In 1805 the Society of Jesus was reestablished in the United States and took over the administration of the college from the Corporation of the Clergy of Maryland. Georgetown University remains a Jesuit school today. By the early 19th century the College was firmly established as a leading Catholic educational institution, and in 1815 a congressional act raised the rank of Georgetown from a college to university Georgetown
University is located at Prospect and 35th Sts., NW. The Georgetown
University Transportation Shuttle (GUTS) provides a free ride
to Georgetown University to and from Metrorail locations at Dupont
Circle (in the District) and Rosslyn (in Arlington, VA). Tours
of the campus can be scheduled by calling the Admissions Office
at 202/687-3600 between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm.
The Volta Laboratory and Bureau building, a National Historic Landmark, was constructed in 1893 under the direction of Alexander Graham Bell to serve as a center of information for deaf and hard of hearing persons. Bell, best known for receiving the first telephone patent in 1876, was also an outstanding figure of his generation in the education of the deaf. Both his grandfather and father were teachers of speech and young Bell worked with them. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Bell moved to Canada with his family in 1870 and a year later moved to Boston to teach at a special day school for deaf children. He became a renowned educator by opening a private normal class to train teachers of speech to the deaf and as a professor of vocal physiology and the mechanics of speech at Boston University. During this time he also invented the phonautograph, the multiple telegraph and the speaking telegraph or telephone In 1879, Bell and his wife Mabel Hubbard, who had been deaf from early childhood, moved to Washington, DC The following year, the French government awarded Bell the Volta Prize of 50,000 francs for the invention of the telephone. Bell used the money to found Volta Associates, along with his cousin Chichester A. Bell and Sumner Tainter, whose laboratory was focused on the research of recording and transmitting sound. In 1887, the Volta Associates sold the record patents they had developed at the laboratory to the American Gramophone Company, and Bell took part of his share of the profits to found the Volta Bureau as an instrument "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge relating to the Deaf." The Bureau, which was first housed at Bell's father's house at 1527 35th Street, worked in close cooperation with the American Association for the Promotion of the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf (known since 1956 as the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf), organized in 1890, of which Bell was elected President. The Volta Bureau officially merged with this Association in 1908. The work of the Bureau increased to such a volume that in 1893 Bell constructed this neoclassic yellow brick and sandstone building to specifically house the institution. Bell constructed the building across the street from his father's house, the first headquarters of the Bureau. The Volta Bureau is located at 1537 35th St., NW. There is
limited accessibility to the public. Call for appointments at
202/337-5220. Metro stop: Foggy Bottom.
The building that houses the Custom House and Post Office of Georgetown was designed by Ammi B. Young, the Supervising Architect of the Treasury from 1852 to 1862. The Custom House and Post Office is one of a number of buildings that Young designed for the Treasury Department. Georgetown was established as a port of entry to the United States by an act of Congress approved March 22, 1779. By 1856 the problem arose of where to build a permanent custom house for the District. Congress appropriated money to build a Custom House in Georgetown. Completed in 1858, the building housed a post office on its first floor and custom house and Georgetown city offices on its second floor. The basement was used for storage of goods awaiting inspection. In 1864 Senate Bill #210 was introduced, proposing the abolishment of Georgetown as the port of entry and making the official port Washington City. The mayor of Georgetown led a violent fight against the bill, charging that Congress was attempting to destroy his city. He convinced Congress, but when Georgetown was absorbed into the District of Columbia, the name of the port was officially changed to Washington. In 1967, the Custom House moved out of its second floor space. The post office still occupies the first floor. The Custom House and Post Office is located at 1221 31st
St., NW. It is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Metro stop: Foggy Bottom.
The Old Stone House, located at 3501 M Street in Georgetown, was built in 1765, making it the oldest standing building in Washington, DC. The exterior of the house is constructed of locally quarried blue granite. The house was built by Christopher Layman, a cabinetmaker by trade, as both a residence and a shop. Layman died shortly after constructing the house. It was sold to Cassandra Chew who added a wing to the rear of the house in 1767. The street (then called Bridge Street) was a main thoroughfare for road traffic from the Western frontier and paralleled the canal into Georgetown. The house has been used throughout its history as a residence or residence/shop, until it was purchased in 1953 by the U.S. Government. Although there have been attempts to prove that the Old Stone House was either George Washington's Engineering Headquarters and/or Suters Tavern, neither theory has been substantiated. The house is a good surviving example of pre-Revolutionary American vernacular architecture. The Old Stone
House, administered by the National Park Service and located
at 3501 M St., NW, is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10:00 am
to 4:00 pm. It is closed New Years Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving,
and Christmas. Metro stop: Foggy Bottom
The Georgetown Market, located at 3276 M Street, between East and West Market Streets in Georgetown, was built in 1865 on the site of an earlier 1795 market, which was the first public market in Washington, DC. The one-story brick market originally measured 40 feet with three bays across the front and 150 feet and nine bays along the sides. The M Street facade of this functional arcaded market house consists of a recessed round-arched door six feet wide and sixteen feet high, flanked on either side by a round-arched window. The basement of the market is probably part of the 1796 market, or it may have been constructed when the C & O canal was built in 1831. The foundation walls are four feet thick and rise 15 feet high, supporting the market floor. The long history of the site shows the depth of Georgetown's commercial activity, from Revolutionary times to the present. Prior to the market in 1795, the site was occupied by a butcher's market, and subsequently replaced by a debtors prison. In 1795 a frame market house was constructed. Due to the growth of Georgetown at this time, the frame market was torn down a year later and replaced by an expanded and more permanent market house. Although the market was expanded several times from 1795 to the Civil War, the market had become run down. In 1865 the old market was razed and the current market was built. The market held butchers, fish mongers, dairy farmers, and sellers of produce. In 1966 Congress passed legislation directing the District of Columbia to preserve the market as a historic landmark, to operate and maintain it as a market, and to make a small portion of the market available to the National Park Service for the C & O Canal Museum. The Georgetown Market is now occupied by Dean and Deluca
gourmet food store and is located at 3276 M St., NW, in Georgetown.
It is open Sunday through Thursday from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm and
Friday and Saturday from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm. Metro stop: Foggy
Bottom
Georgetown Commercial Buildings Georgetown's commercial history began on the waterfront as a shipping center. Sprawled along the waterfront were warehouses and wharves, sailor's taverns, flour mills and a fleet of ships. Tobacco was the lifeblood of the new community, and in 1745, a "Rolling House" for the inspection and trade of the crop was called for by the Maryland legislature. Completed in 1747, the Rolling House stimulated the growth of the settlement. Licenses for taverns were issued and soon commerce and industry developed on the waterfront. The 1763 Treaty of Paris, ending the French and Indian War, opened up trade along the Ohio River Valley area on which Georgetown placed high hopes. Georgetown's taverns and the hotels provided fashionable lodging for the merchants who visited the thriving port. During the American Revolution, Georgetown served as a depot for the collection and shipment of military supplies. When the town was incorporated in 1789, it continued to thrive as a textile mill, a paper factory and flour mills flourished on the waterfront. By an act of Congress, Georgetown was made the port of entry for imported goods for all the waters and shores from the Pomonky Creek north of the Potomac River, to the head of the navigable waters of the Potomac. Further stimulating the economy, the opening of the canal system of the Potomac Canal Company from 1785 to 1802 made Georgetown a terminal port at tidewater for much of the western trade. Georgetown was profoundly affected by the establishment of the District of Columbia as the nation's capital. Although Georgetown was included in the new District, it retained its distinct character and became the center of Washington's social and diplomatic life in the early part of the 19th century. As the federal city developed, Georgetown's business and social affairs shifted from the waterfront to Bridge Street (now M Street), which became the principal avenue of approach to the new capital from the west. Many legislators and their families stayed in the Georgetown hotels and taverns, and did their shopping there as well. The future seemed bright at the turn of the century, but Georgetown's financial growth proved to be temporary as its commercial importance declined with the advance of Alexandria, Baltimore and Philadelphia. The western and Potomac valley trade did not develop as expected because of the failure of the canal-and-lock system to function except during high water stages of the river. By 1819, the Potomac Canal Company was almost bankrupt. Although Congress, in 1825, granted a charter to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company to build a canal from the tidewater to the Cumberland, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad reached it first, and the western trade never materialized. When the poor prospects for commerce were realized, Georgetown encouraged industrial development to revitalize its economy. With the onslaught of immigration and industrialization, Georgetown had become urbanized. It was incorporated into Washington, DC, in 1871 in recognition of its development. By the time World War I was over, Georgetown had gained a reputation as one of Washington's worst slums. This trend began to reverse itself in the 1930s, when New Deal politicians and government officials rediscovered its charm and convenience to Washington. Georgetown became once again the chic enclave for the affluent and political. Nowhere is the revitalization effort more evident than the lively commercial district on M Street and Wisconsin. Filled with shops, restaurants and other businesses, this area is the one of the major centers of activity in Washington, DC. Georgetown's Commercial Buildings are located in the heart
of the Georgetown Historic District between M St. and the waterfront.
The Farmers and Mechanics Branch Riggs Bank is open during banking
hours. The Chesapeake and Ohio
Canal is open to the public during daylight hours. For more
information, please call 301/739-4200. The Old
Stone House is located at 3051 M St., NW and is open to the
public Wednesday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. For
more information, please call 202/426-6851. Metro stop: Foggy
Bottom.
Massachusetts Avenue Historic District The Massachusetts Avenue Historic District is linearly conceived. L'Enfant planned Massachusetts Avenue as a transverse avenue crossing the city diagonally from the Eastern Branch to Rock Creek. The longest of the transverse avenues, it is roughly parallel to Pennsylvania Avenue and, like Pennsylvania Avenue, is 160 feet wide. In the years 1890 to 1930, Massachusetts Avenue between Scott Circle and Observatory Hill developed as an elegant boulevard lined by the sumptuous homes of some of the richest and most influential citizens of the United States. In these years a remarkable degree of architectural quality, coherence and unity was achieved, creating a street façade unique in the city and perhaps in the nation. The Depression of 1929 destroyed the lifestyles of many of the families who built these great houses. Embassies, associations, foundations and clubs moved in. Today the character of the Avenue is that of an Embassy Row. In the late 1880s and 1890s houses along Massachusetts Avenue were built of brick or combinations of brick and brownstone in the Queen Anne, Chateauesque, Richardsonian Romanesque and early Georgian Revival styles. Between 1900 and 1910 palatial residences designed in the eclectic Beaux Arts manner were erected as far north as the intersection of S Street and Massachusetts Avenue. These ranged from incisive, white limestone geometrically massed buildings in the Louis XV and XVI manner and Italian 16th century styles to neo-classical as well as buildings with 16th century northern European origins. From 1910 until the early 1930s, the Beaux Arts style of architecture continued to flourish along the Avenue. Construction has continued on a smaller scale up to the present day. Many of the buildings in the district possess individual architectural and historical significance, many are listed individually in the National Register and/or in the DC Inventory of Historic Places. These are as follows: Cosmos Club (Townsend House) NR Larz Anderson House (Society of the Cincinnati) NR Washington Club, (Patterson House) NR Indonesian Embassy (Walsh McLean House) NR Egyptian Embassy (Joseph Beale House) NR British Embassy Japanese Embassy NR Sulgrave Club (Wadsworth House) NR Embassy of Uzbekistan (Old Canadian Embassy; Moore House) NR National Trust for Historic Preservation
(McCormick Apts.) NR Phillips Collection (Duncan Phillips
House, Phillips Memorial Gallery) NR Alice Pike Barney Studio Blaine Mansion Samuel M. Bryan House (Church of the Savior Ecumenical) Chancery of Iraq (Boardman House) Beale House Peruvian Chancery (Old Australian Embassy) Brazilian Embassy (McCormick House) Cameroon Embassy (Hauge House)
Massachusetts Avenue Historic District includes buildings fronting on Massachusetts Avenue from 17th St., NW to Observatory Circle. Unless noted above all embassies and houses mentioned are private and not open to the public. Metro stop: Dupont Circle.
National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation headquarters, also known as the McCormick Apartments, was constructed between 1917 and 1922 and designed by Jules Henri de Sibour. Sibour was commissioned by Chicago-based millionaire Stanley McCormick to create "the most luxurious apartment building in Washington." The building contained just one unit per floor and became one of the most fashionable residences in the city, attracting such tenants as Lord Duveen, Pearl Mesta, and Andrew Mellon. Built on a corner lot, the building is reminiscent of Parisian apartment buildings with its rusticated first floor, mansard roof, and wrought-iron balcony and balustrade railings. Today the building houses the headquarters for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Chartered by Congress in 1949, the National Trust is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the irreplaceable. It fights to save historic buildings and the neighborhoods and landscapes they anchor. Through education and advocacy, the National Trust is revitalizing communities across the country and challenges citizens to create sensible plans for the future. It has six regional offices, 20 historic sites, and works with thousands of local community groups nationwide. The National Trust for Historic Preservation is located at 1785 Massachusetts Ave. Tours are available by appointment by calling 202/588-6000. Kalorama Triangle Historic District
Kalorama Triangle, due to the contracted period of time during which it was developed, as well the awareness of architectural styles, is a particularly important illustration of the aesthetics of middle-class speculative housing during the early years of the 20th century. The neighborhood is composed both of examples of high style architecture and modest builder-designed dwellings, but it is primarily a showcase for the stylistic variations of popular trends. Three important styles are abundant in Kalorama Triangle: English Arts and Crafts, Georgian Revival and | ||
