Capitol Hill

Elizabeth Purcell

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781467105828
• eBook ISBN: 9781439671580
• Topic: Historia
• Subtopic: Historia de Norteamérica

Capitol Hill began as a thinly settled agricultural area. Beginning in the 1790s, the Capitol and the Washington Navy Yard, a large industrial employer, spurred a building boom in new houses, hotels, and stores, a trend that continues to present day. This book focuses on buildings lost and saved.

CHAPTER 1

EARLY BUILDINGS

After the British army burned the Capitol in 1814, Washington residents, fearing Congress would move the capital back to Philadelphia, built a replacement “Brick Capitol” at the corner of First and A Streets NE. Congress met here from December 1815 to January 1817. (Photograph by Matthew Brady; courtesy Historical Society of Washington, DC, CHS-03740.)

The Brick Capitol, at First and A Streets NE, after use as a prison during the Civil War, was converted into row houses in 1869 and referred to as Trumbull’s Row. Later, the building served as the headquarters of the National Woman’s Party before being demolished in 1935 for the Supreme Court building. (Courtesy Historical Society of Washington, DC, CHS-03742.)

Daniel Carroll of Duddington, one of the city’s original landowners and known for his dispute with Pierre L’Enfant over building a house in a street, rebuilt his mansion in Square 736, seen around 1880. The Carroll family owned the land until 1886. The mansion was demolished, and in 1890, Archimedes Heckman bought the entire square and laid out 146 row house lots and a new street, Heckman Street (now Duddington Place). Duddington Mansion was behind these row houses at 138–142 F Street SE. (Courtesy LOC, LOT 11800-A-1, G-890.)

In 1796, William Mayne Duncanson built a brick house, the Maples, at 630 South Carolina Avenue SE, seen in 1862. Later owners included Francis Scott Key, Maj. Augustus A. Nicholson, and Sen. John M. Clayton. In 1871, Emily Edson Briggs (1830–1910), known for her “Olivia” columns during the Civil War, bought Maple Square and lived there for 40 years. A settlement house operated here between 1927 and 2010. It is now part of a residential development. (Courtesy LOC, LC-B817-7745.)

James Greenleaf (1765–1843) contracted to buy lots, defaulted on his payments, and litigated to retain them in 13 Supreme Court cases. In 1831 or earlier, Greenleaf built a frame house at First and C Streets NE in Square 725, photographed around 1870. The house was well-furnished, with a large library, and he had a stable, horses, and cows. The Dirksen Senate Office Building (1958) occupies the site today. (Courtesy Historical Society of Washington, DC, CHS-03744.)

Tunnicliff’s Hotel, at Ninth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue SE in Square 925, opened in 1795. William Tunnicliff ran it until 1798. The building later functioned as a hotel, private home, and, as shown on an 1888 map, a beer garden. This photograph was taken between 1909 and 1936. It was demolished in 1936. Distad’s BP, at 823 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, now occupies the site. (Courtesy LOC, LC-F-8112-44647.)

CHAPTER 2

LIBRARIES, OFFICES, PARKING, AND PARKS

The Union Plaza Dormitories south of Union Station were built during World War I to house women working for the federal government. In the distance are, from left to right, the government printing office, post office, and Union Station. The dormitories were demolished in 1930 for the North Capitol Park. (Courtesy LOC, LOT 123517-6.)

In 1798, Daniel Carroll of Duddington built Carroll Row, five three-story brick row houses at First and A Streets SE, and marketed them as elite rentals for members of Congress. The project was a success, attracting a series of distinguished hotel managers. Congressman Abraham Lincoln boarded here in 1848. Carroll Row, photographed around 1875, was razed in 1887 to build the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. (Courtesy Historical Society of Washington, DC, GLS-A02.)

Elias B. Caldwell (1776–1825), the clerk of the Supreme Court, built this house at 206 Pennsylvania Avenue SE in 1809. Seen between 1910 and 1919, it had a wedge-shaped addition. The Church of the Reformation is partly visible on the right. The house and all buildings in Square 761 were demolished by 1938 to construct the Adams Building of the Library of Congress. (Photog...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. Early Buildings
• 2. Libraries, Offices, Parking, and Parks
• 3. A Freeway Runs through It
• 4. Higher and Better Uses
• 5. Changes in Churches and Schools
• 6. Disappearing Alley Dwellings
• 7. Wind, Fire, and Survivors
• Bibliography