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< Back H STREET OVERVIEW Year Built 1890 Click photo below to see full sized image. Baist Map, 1927 Documents Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ History H Street marks the southern tip of the Foggy Bottom Historic District. If you were standing on H Street and looking south prior to the 1950s, you would have seen a very different view than you will see today. It would have been dominated by the Washington Gas Light Company's gas works, including its huge round gas holding tanks and smoke-emitting coal gasification plant. Other nearby industries included breweries, cement plants, and lime kilns. Industry closed down in the 1950s, making the neighborhood a more desirable place to live. In time the Watergate and other modern apartments and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts replaced the old industries. Built in the 1850s, the Washington Gas Works facilities dominated the skyline (and the smell) of the western part of Foggy Bottom. The Heurich Brewery was another massive facility that operated from 1895-1956. The Abner-Drury Brewery at 25th and F Street also operated from 1898 to 1938. Other industries included cement plants and lime kilns. But the area also hosted The Watergate Inn, a popular Pennsylvania Dutch restaurant known for its pop-overs. Nearby was Pete's Irish bar, and its frequently visiting goat that lived at a nearby riding stable. And after the Heurich Brewery closed, the Arena Stage theater presented shows at its hospitality reception room until their new theater opened in southwest D.C. The current Arena Stage recalls this heritage through its "Old Vat Room" theater. After the gasworks closed down in the 1940s, the first project to go up was the Potomac Plaza Co-op in 1957 (2475 Virginia Ave.). The redevelopment project was originally planned to reach the Potomac River and rival New York's Rockefeller Center, including a skating rink and a yacht basin. That plan did not work out, so the developers sold the southern part of the property to the builders of the Watergate Complex. The Watergate residences, offices, and hotel opened in phases from 1965-1971. Famous Watergate residents included Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Robert Dole, and Placido Domingo. Beyond the Watergate Complex is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, completed in 1971, on the site of the Heurich Brewery. The statue of Mexican President Benito Juarez gives its name to the traffic circle. It was installed in 1969 and was a gift from Mexico, in return for U.S. gift of a statute of President Abraham Lincoln y President Lyndon Johnson. Behind President Juarez is the Saudi Arabia Embassy, which was originally constructed for the Peoples Life Insurance Company in 1959. Resident/Owner n/a Recollections n/a Source Material FBA History Project, "View from the Bottom of the Historic District." Clio: Your Guide to History. December 4, 2022. Accessed December 15, 2022. https://theclio.com/tour/2098/13 Foggy Bottom Gas Works (Washington Post) Washington Post article President Juarez of Mexico and Watergate (F. Leone 2022) ​ H St and surrounding area (D. Vogt 2022) Description 3 Heurich Brewery (Washington Post) Description 4 The Water Gate Inn (1950s) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

< Back 2525 QUEEN ANNES LANE NW Year Built 1960 Click photo below to see full sized image. D. Vogt, 2022 Documents Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ History The 18 houses on Queen Anne's Lane (Nos. 2521-2538) were generally constructed between 1960 and 1962. Prior to their construction, the only entrance to Hughes Mews (then Hughes Court) was from 25th Street. Al Wheeler was the developer and Foggy Bottom resident Melita Rodeck the architect for this row house development. The houses originally sold for $45,000-$50,000; 2022 estimate - $1.2M. Currently, some of the garages are being converted to extra bedrooms (to allow more room for additional residents). Resident/Owner ​ Recollections ​ Source Material FBA History Project, Foggy Bottom Historic District Walking Tour, "Queen Anne's Lane - a New Addition to the Historic District." https://theclio.com/entry/142860 A streetscape view of the rowhouses looking up towards Hughes Mews and the back of the River Inn. (D. Vogt, July 2022) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

FOGGY BOTTOM HISTORIC DISTRICT HOUSE HISTORY MAP Thank you for your submission! Your research is essential to the success of our community project. Feel free to submit additional information on this or other houses. You can go back to our History Project page to learn more about the Foggy Bottom area.

Senior Membership Benefits ​ The Foggy Bottom Association and the George Washington University Hospital Senior Meal Program, provides a discount of 50% on food consumed on the premises of the GW Hospital cafeteria for FBA members aged 65 and older . Benefits of include: Additional discounts to local businesses Connections to the Foggy Bottom and DC community Social and cultural events put on by the FBA If you’re not already an FBA member, simply join online to and receive your digital card that you can download and/or print. If you would like a physical card mailed to you, please contact us . ​ Become A Senior Member

< Back 4 SNOWS COURT NW Year Built 1890 Click photo below to see full sized image. D. Vogt, 2022 Documents Download Owner (former FBRA Secretary) Margaret Franzen memo to GWU Grace Watson, memo FBRA beginnings 8/23/1994 Download "RLA Gets Renewal Plan for Foggy Bottom" article Download Owner (former FBRA Secretary) Margaret Franzen Letter to Peter Roe, 8/11/1994 Download Janet Walker's recollections of living at 4 Snows Court (2000-2016), 10/2/2023 Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ History Numbers 1-7 Snows Court are seven original red brick (now painted) row houses, built in 1890. They maintain their historic facades as well as original brick rears. The houses are 13 feet wide and 28 feet deep. They are 2 1/2 stories, with stairs leading up to a first floor door. Segmental arches are present above the door and all windows. A simple brick motif cornice runs the length of all seven buildings. All units have cellar windows on the lower right side of the façade. In 2022, this house had 2 beds and 2 baths. The total sq. ft. was 972. They were built by James H. Grant for developer Samuel Norment. (Norment was the same developer responsible for the yellow corner Fitzgerald (840-844 New Hampshire Ave.) and adjoining row houses.) This grouping of homes helps us visualize how the entire alley must have looked during the late 1800s. In 1905, these very basic dwellings with four to five rooms rented from $6.50 to $9.30 a month. They may have been occupied by at least two families and additional boarders. Starting in 1952, new residents and developers started buying and renovating the neglected Snows Court row houses, following the example of the nearby Georgetown neighborhood. In 2022, these small, but geographically desirable, homes sell in the $800 - $900k range. "... The 93 year old dwellings, which had deteriorated into scarcely more than hovels, each occupied by 10 or 12 unfortunate Negros, were stripped back to the bare walls. All interior partitions were removed, and ne" w flooring was laid over the old. Gas, electricity and inside plumbing, which none of the houses had before, were installed," according to an article about Snows Court in the Washington Star in 1953. From 1954 to 1994, the house was owned by Margaret L. Franzen, who served as the Secretary of the original Foggy Bottom Restoration Association. From 1957 to 1986, she rented the house, while she worked abroad from AID. in 1994, she sold it to Peter Roe. Resident/Owner 11/1958 - Betty May, Mae Holthaus 1958 - 1994 Margaret L. Franzen 1994 - Peter Roe 2000-21016 - Janet & Tony Walker Recollections Letter from house owner, Margaret Franzen to Peter Roe, August 11, 1994 (See Document 3 below for the complete letter) "I bought the house in 1954 when I worked with A.I.D. I went oversees in 1957 & rented the place for 29 years to a friend who kept it in mint condition. Since that time it has had 4 different sets of renters including 2 years that my nephew lived there on assignment to D.C. . . . I enjoyed living in Snows Ct. and always felt fortunate that the house backed onto a church so that there was no crowding the the back. I was one of the founders of the Fogg Bottom Assoc. & still get the newsletter. It was the first non-segregated neighborhood association in D.C. Letter from Franzen to Roe, Oct. 31, 1994: "As I mentioned to you in my previous letter to you through Tom Murphy, I had it (4 Snows) for 40 years having bought it with my mother in early 1954. We enjoyed being there when the entire Foggy Bottom was starting to be restored. Exciting times. . . .I was one of the Snows Court dwellers who started the Foggy Bottom Restoration Assoc.-- and it was the first integrated neighborhood association in D.C." Recollections from Janet Walker, Oct. 2023 (See document 4 below for the complete document) My husband and I purchased #4 Snows Court in the year 2000 and owned it for 16 years. Over that time, I was continually delighted and sometimes frustrated with our very special Alley Home in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood. From my first visit to 4 Snows with our Realtor, the small width of the staircase to the second floor was always part of my fascination with the property. When you entered through the front door, the staircase was immediately in front of you, so you couldn’t avoid seeing it. And to see it, you were reminded of the age of the place because the steps were well-worn and not quite perfectly square. But most importantly, the small width of the staircase was a unique and outstanding feature. I would refer to the stairs as Dollhouse sized. While the staircase was charming, the size made it a challenge to get furniture to the second floor. In addition, we found that we did a lot of painting along the wall where every trip up or down seemed to add additional scuff marks from the baggage we carried. . . . Now, 7 years after selling 4 Snows Court, I still have many warm memories of our experiences at this unique property in Foggy Bottom. It was a great lesson in “living small”! Source Material FBA History Project, FB Historic District Walking Tour, "Snows Court Row Houses ." https://theclio.com/tour/2098/6 Foggy Bottom Association News, Feb. 1961 Rhea Radin, "From the Bottom Up," Foggy Bottom News, June 1959; and June 1958 George Beveridge, "City's Foggy Bottom See Test Ground of Urban Renewal," Evening Star, Oct. 23, 1955 Isabelle Shelton, The Washington Star, Nov. 8, 1953 Snows Court, "FBNew, November 1958 The lower level of the house with exposed brick walls and ceiling joists. ( Bright MLS, 2022) ​ A 1947 view of the rear facades of the seven rows with the two gas tanks above their rooflines. (GWU Gelman, Unknown, 1947) ​ Winter 2022 of the rear facades with the condo building in the distance. (D. Vogt, Dec. 2022) ​ 1-7 Snows Court houses (before 2015) (Ellie Becker Collection, DC Hist Cent) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

< Back 902 HUGHES MEWS NW Year Built 1963 Click photo below to see full sized image. D. Vogt, 2022 Documents Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ History This is one of three large brick houses built for A.L. Wheeler in 1963. It is attached to No. 901. Resident/Owner ​ Recollections ​ Source Material FBA History Project, . "Hughes Mews - Foggy Bottom's Other Alley." Clio: Your Guide to History. August 25, 2022. Accessed January 4, 2023. https://theclio.com/tour/2098/7 It's tight quarters in the Mews where one house's backyard closes in on another's front entry. (D. Vogt, Dec. 2022) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

< Back 900 24TH STREET NW Year Built 1976 Click photo below to see full sized image. D. Vogt, 2022 Documents Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ History Foggy Bottom Mews (900 24th St.), which extends into Snows Court, was built in 1976. D.C. artist Kelly Towles painted a colorful rooftop mural that decorates a Foggy Bottom Mews unit - it is visible above the 7-11, and is best seen from across the street. Resident/Owner ​ Recollections ​ Source Material FBA History Project, "Historic Houses and Modern Murals." Clio: Your Guide to History. https://theclio.com/tour/2098/15 Kelly Towles mural at Foggy Bottom Mews (D. Vogt, 2022) ​ Illustrated GW Hatchet article on Foggy Bottom News (Sept. 2000) ​ 908-914 New Hampshire Ave street view (E. Barrett, Sept. 1962, DC Hist Center) - "Foggy Bottom Mews" replaced the two story row house with the curved bay ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

< Back 908 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVENUE NW Year Built 1984 Click photo below to see full sized image. ​ Documents Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ History This eight-story, multi-colored brick office building was constructed in 1984, before the area became designated as a Historic District. It was originally constructed as an apartment, but now houses medical/dental/health offices. Resident/Owner 1958 - Susanne Crockett Recollections ​ Source Material Foggy Bottom News, June 1958 EHT Traceries photo Nov 1983 FBA History Project, "Historic Houses and Modern Murals." Clio: Your Guide to History. https://theclio.com/tour/2098/15 908 New Hampshire Ave., Traceries, Nov. 1983 ​ View of 900 block of New Hampshire Ave from rear of GWU hospital ​ January 1997 view of 900 block New Hampshire Ave., DC History Center General Photo Collection ​ 908-914 New Hampshire Ave street view (E. Barrett, Sept. 1962, DC Hist Center) - the current high rise has replaced 908, the rowhouse with the second floor balcony ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

< Back 2422 K STREET NW Year Built 1874 Click photo below to see full sized image. D. Vogt, 2022 Documents Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ History The 2400 block of K Street was once the most prosperous section of what is now the Historic District. No. 2422 is one of the Historic District's oldest, built in 1874 by Joseph Brown. Built in an "Italian Villa" style, it is the most ornate in the Historic District. Built of concrete-block, the house is three-stories high and three-bays wide and features a prominent oriel bay window with hood molding. It also has decorative insets with cupids in relief above the door and windows and detailing at the eaves over the door and oriel window. The house was a gathering place for Filipino-Americans in the 1930s-1950s and featured a garden in Snows Court that grew native Filipino vegetables. In 2017, Filipino-American activists worked with the American Library Association to recognize the Manila House as a literary landmark, with a plaque in honor of author Bienvenido N. Santos. Santos (1911- 1996), wrote about the Manila House in a collection of short stories, "Scent of Apples," the winner of the 1981 American Book Award. St. Paul's Episcopal Parish now owns the building, which housed the Acton Academy, a Montessori-based school. The Academy closed in the summer of 2023, leaving the building vacant. Resident/Owner 1874 - 1881 Joseph Brown 1886 - Horace Jarboe (cooper and carriage maker) 1937 - Visayan Club St. Paul's Episcopal Parish - 2023 Acton Academy Recollections ​ Source Material FBA History Project, Foggy Bottom Historic District Walking Tour, "The Manila House and St. Paul's Church." https://theclio.com/tour/2098/16 Carandang-Tiongson, Titchie, "The Manila House In Washington, D.C.," Positively Filipino, May 2017 Lee, Kris, "A Filipino Literary Landmark: The Manila House in D.C.," WETA Boundary Stones, Jan. 30, 2020 EHT Traceries, historic area house survey, 1983 Hoagland, Alison K. ,"The Row House in Washington, DC: A History," (UVA Press, 2023) Cherubs above the front door frame (F. Leone 2022) ​ Manila House plaque (F. Leone 2022) ​ Manila House, front door and oriel window (D. Vogt 2022) ​ View west down K Street, with Manila House on the left (D. Vogt, 2022) ​ ​ Detail on the entry level stairway . (D. Vogt, 2023) ​ Entry level painted tin ceiling and crown molding. (D.Vogt, 2023) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

< Back 2419 I STREET NW Year Built 1885 Click photo below to see full sized image. D. Vogt, 2022 Documents Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ History This house was part of a group (Nos. 2413-2419) that were built by Duvall and Marr in 1885. All of the houses originally had two bays and two and half stories. In 1890, Thomas H. Alexander owned the four row houses from 2413 - 2419 I St. At No. 2419 cast iron stairs lead to a raised 1st story main entry. The door is narrow wood frame with a transom. Four (2- pairs) of star-shaped tie rods are set at west edge of the façade. A brick watertable separates the first floor from the cellar level. The mid-1950s were a transition period in Foggy Bottom. The 2415-2419 I St. houses, built 1885, provide an example - No. 2415 was occupied by several families totaling more than 25 people. It was heated with a wood-burning stove and had an outdoor toilet. The No. 2417 house had just been gutted and was being renovated. The No. 2419 house, windows and doors missing, was abandoned and condemned. In the mid- 1970s, the house was completely renovated by husband and wife architectural team, Hunter and Shirley Kennard who lived in Foggy Bottom. "They saved it (the house) from the ravages of Metro construction which had shaken its foundation, separated walls and caused cracks which patching could not camouflage," as reported in Washington Star, Home/Life in 1977. In 2001, the basement level of the house was gutted. Two upper floors were extended. Before the renovation, there was a small bathroom at the front basement window area. The cooking area consisted of a kitchenette at the back of the house. The renovation included the installation of a full kitchen in the lower level rear. The back garden area was renovated and stairs from the mid-level covered patio area were installed. Resident/Owner 1890 - Thomas H. Alexander. owner 1914 - Samuel Carter 1959 - Eleanor Mitchell and niece Anne 1983 - Joe L Oppenheimer 2001 - Jim and Peg Graeter Recollections ​ Source Material Rhea Radlin, "From the Bottom Up," Foggy Bottom News, June 1959 at 1 George Beveridge, "City's Foggy Bottom See Test Ground of Urban Renewal," Evening Star, Oct. 23, 1955 Boyds City Directory, 1914 EHT Traceries, historic house study, 11/1983 Washington Star, Home/Life, 1977 FBA History Project, "Working-Class Row Houses." Clio: Your Guide to History. https://theclio.com/tour/2098/3 FBA History Project, "The Historic District's Longest Row." Clio: Your Guide to History. https://theclio.com/tour/2098/18 Street view (D. Vogt, May 2022) ​ 2419-2415 I St., early 1960s (Vogt collection) ​ 2419-2415 I St., July 1955 (Vogt collection) ​ 2419 I St front facade with adjoining houses, 2001 (Graeter collection, 2024) ​ ​ 2419 I St rear facade, 2001 (Graeter collection, 2024) ​ 2419 I St kitchenette rear lower level 2001 (Graeter collection, 2024) 2419 I St living rm and front entry, fireplace and iron railings 2001 (Graeter collection, 2024) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

< Back 913 25TH STREET NW Year Built 1956 Click photo below to see full sized image. D.Vogt, 2022 Documents Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ Download ​ History Nos. 911 and 913 were built in 1956. Resident/Owner ​ Recollections ​ Source Material FBA History Project, "The Historic District's Longest Row." Clio: Your Guide to History. https://theclio.com/tour/2098/18 The sidewalk view of the house. (D. Vogt, May 2022) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​