Last updated: July 26, 2023
Place
Elizabeth Arden Building
Photograph by Kim Williams, courtesy of the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Office
Quick Facts
Location:
1147 Connecticut Ave., Washington, D.C.
Significance:
Architecture
Designation:
Listed in the National Register - Reference number 03000778
OPEN TO PUBLIC:
No
MANAGED BY:
Private
The Elizabeth Arden Building in Washington, D.C., was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. The building is significant for its Georgian Revival architecture and as an example of a unique coordinated effort by developers, architects, and merchants to transform Connecticut Avenue into an exclusive shopping area deliberately modeled after Fifth Avenue in New York City.
The Elizabeth Arden company was started as a beauty shop by Florence Nightingale Graham (Elizabeth Arden's birth name) in 1910 in New York City. The success of the shop quickly led to the company opening a branch in Washington, D.C. just six years later. While the D.C. storefront was initially in a rented building, the company contracted architect Mott Schmitt to design a new building on Connecticut Avenue in 1929.
Arden selected Schmitt because of his work on Fifth Avenue in New York City and his skill in the Georgian Revival style, which was increasingly popular amongst New York's elite. Through the building's Georgian Revival take on the tall office, Arden hoped to import the aesthetic and exclusivity of New York high society to Washington. Other Connecticut Avenue developers adopted a similar strategy, and gradually molded the area into a one-stop shop for upper-class clientele.
Elizabeth Arden occupied the building for nearly 75 years, becoming a Washington institution. The company moved out in 1990.
The Elizabeth Arden company was started as a beauty shop by Florence Nightingale Graham (Elizabeth Arden's birth name) in 1910 in New York City. The success of the shop quickly led to the company opening a branch in Washington, D.C. just six years later. While the D.C. storefront was initially in a rented building, the company contracted architect Mott Schmitt to design a new building on Connecticut Avenue in 1929.
Arden selected Schmitt because of his work on Fifth Avenue in New York City and his skill in the Georgian Revival style, which was increasingly popular amongst New York's elite. Through the building's Georgian Revival take on the tall office, Arden hoped to import the aesthetic and exclusivity of New York high society to Washington. Other Connecticut Avenue developers adopted a similar strategy, and gradually molded the area into a one-stop shop for upper-class clientele.
Elizabeth Arden occupied the building for nearly 75 years, becoming a Washington institution. The company moved out in 1990.