Screened away from the rest of Rock Creek Cemetery by some carefully-placed foliage is a cast bronze figure, positioned in a granite architectural setting. The figure is draped in a heavy shroud, and its face is free of any expression. A stone bench by the statue invites the visitor to rest and to find peace and solace in the intimate environs.
In 1885, suffering from depression, photographer and socialite Marian Hooper “Clover” Adams took her own life. Her husband, historian and intellectual Henry Adams (a descendant of presidents John and John Quincy Adams), was inconsolable after her death, and in search of peace, he traveled to Japan with his friend, the artist John La Farge. There, Adams studied Buddhist philosophy and culture, and it was during this time that the idea for this memorial was born.
Upon his return to DC several years later, Adams asked La Farge to approach Augustus Saint-Gaudens on his behalf about making his idea for a memorial a reality. At the time, Saint-Gaudens was the most prominent sculptor in America, having earned widespread acclaim for his statuary work, including Standing Lincoln in Chicago and the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Common. Although Adams was only able to offer vague, abstract concepts for the intended memorial, Saint-Gaudens accepted the commission, and together with La Farge, he and Adams began designing the sculpture.
The figure depicted in the memorial is not Clover, nor is it meant to represent grief or mourning, as is commonly thought. Instead, Adams wanted to convey “the acceptance, intellectually, of the inevitable.” His original concept for the memorial is closely tied to the Buddhist idea of nirvana, a liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth and a state removed from human feeling. The notes in Saint-Gaudens’ sketchbook state only: “Adams. Buddha. Mental Repose. Calm reflection in contrast with the violence or force in nature.” The product of this abstract approach to memorial design is the inscrutable, unfathomable figure that sits in Rock Creek Cemetery.
Apparently inspired by Adams’ experiences with Buddhist devotional art as well as Saint-Gaudens’ familiarity with Parisian funerary works, the technically nameless sculpture has invited a variety of interpretations since its installation in 1891, even from among its creators. Adams’ own name for it was The Peace of God, but he felt that the statue’s “universality and anonymity” were key to its impact on the viewer. Saint-Gaudens called it The Mystery of the Hereafter and The Peace of God that Passeth Understanding, and La Farge called it Kwannon, after the Japanese Buddhist goddess of harmony.
The most common name for the statue, Grief, comes from comments attributed to Mark Twain stating that the figure personified grief. Adams, however, resisted attempts to characterize it as such, and in fact disliked any attempt to name the figure. Writing to a friend, he stated that the statue was meant “to ask a question, not to give an answer, and the man who answers will be damned to eternity like the men who answered the Sphinx.” In his Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography, The Education of Henry Adams, he reiterated his belief that the memorial should prompt reflection rather than providing simple answers: "The interest of the figure was not in its meaning, but in the response of the observer,” he wrote. “...Like all great artists, Saint-Gaudens held up the mirror and no more.”
The memorial attracted a great deal of attention upon its unveiling in 1891. Saint-Gaudens was considered one of the finest American artists of his day, and Stanford White, who designed the statue’s granite setting, was among the most renowned architects in the U.S. Acclaim for the memorial was immediate and widespread. Even Alexander Woollcott, best known for his acerbic wit and ruthless cultural criticism, called the statue “the most beautiful thing fashioned by the hand of man on this continent.” Adams, who continued to grieve Clover and refused to discuss her for the rest of his life, came to despair at the memorial’s status as a tourist attraction. For many years, the constant visitors who came to appreciate the art prevented Adams from finding any of his own solace in the statue. Upon his death in 1918, however, Adams returned for his final rest, buried next to Clover in unmarked graves at the foot of the memorial.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: March 16, 1972
]]>The Adams-Mason Houses are located in the Georgetown Historic District, between the C&O Canal and M Street NW. This historic landmark consists of two Federal style row houses at 1072 and 1076 (sometimes referred to as 1074) Thomas Jefferson Street NW. However, the house at 1072, completed by Thomas Adams around 1810-12, is technically the Adams-Mason House and stands out among the other row houses as one of the last remaining clapboard houses in the neighborhood. The houses surrounding it, including 1076, which is connected via a central brick addition (dating to the early 20th century), were built around the same time in the early 19th century, but have brick exteriors. The Adams-Mason House (1072) is two and a half floors and has a gable roof with a dormer. The adjacent house at 1076 is also two and a half floors and has a gable roof with a dormer. However, it is taller than its neighbor. It is also a bit more elaborate, with larger multi paned windows, lintels with keystones over the windows, and a fanlight over the front entryway. Carriage maker George W. Mason bought both houses in the late-19th century, and the Mason family resided here until the 1960s. 1072 now houses two condominiums and 1076 is the location of Hartman-Cox Architects, a longtime Washington firm. DC Inventory: January 23, 1973 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
Within the Georgetown Historic District
]]>During its early years, the Adas Israel Congregation, composed of 35 families, met and worshiped in the homes of its members or in rented quarters. On August 16, 1870, the congregation's trustees, recorded in the deed as Manasses Oppenheimer, L. Abraham Nathan Gotthelf, and Leopold Oppenheimer, purchased the property at 6th and G streets NW. Construction of the synagogue began in 1873. Max Kleinman was the draughtsman and J. William and Company the contractor. The dedication ceremony on June 9, 1876 was attended by President Ulysses S. Grant and other federal and civic officials.
The building itself is 2 stories, brick with gable roof, cantilevered wooden apse, cylindrical cupola, and tall unevenly spaced windows. The main interior on the 2nd floor includes original Ark of the Law.
The building was in continual use as a synagogue until 1907, when Adas Israel moved to larger quarters at 6th and I streets NW. The property was sold to Steven Gatti in 1905 and remained in the Gatti family until 1968. After Adas Israel moved out, the building was used as the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Sophia (now on Massachusetts Avenue) and then by the evangelical Church of God.
In 1969, thanks to the Jewish Historical Society, the historic synagogue was moved for the first time, down the street to 3rd and G streets NW. In 2016 and again in 2019, it was moved and is now located at 3rd and F streets NW. The historic building is now incorporated into new construction as part of the the Lillian & Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum.
DC Inventory: March 7, 1968 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: March 24, 1969
]]>The Queen Anne style house located at Number One Observatory Circle was designed by Leon Dessez and constructed in 1893 as the U.S. Naval Observatory's (USNO's) Superintendent's Residence. Thirty years later, in 1923, the home became the residence of the Chief of Naval Operations.
In 1974, Congress designated Number One Observatory Circle as the Vice President of the United States' "official temporary residence." Vice President Nelson Rockefeller (1974-77) was the first to use the home, while his successor, Vice President Walter Mondale (1977-1981), was the first to actually live at the residence. Prior to the 1970s, vice presidents would obtain their own lodging in Washington, with some, including Vice President Calvin Coolidge (1921-1923), even residing at the Willard Hotel.
The three-story brick house, with turret and porch, is compact: 39 by 77 feet. On the ground floor are a reception hall, living room, sitting room, sun porch, dining room, and small pantry — and lavatories added later to the north side. The second floor contains two bedrooms, a study, and a den. The third floor attic was originally servants' quarters and storage space, and the kitchen was placed in the basement, along with a laundry room and other storerooms.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
Exempt from National Register listing
]]>Situated diagonally across from Washington National Cathedral on one of the highest points in the city, the Alban Towers apartment complex is notable for its distinctive architecture. In 1925, a proposed zoning regulation allowing for the construction of apartment buildings on Massachusetts Avenue garnered opposition from many local residents, including Bishop C.F. Bratenahl of the National Cathedral. David A. Baer, who went on to develop Alban Towers once the zoning regulation passed, persuaded Bratenahl to allow construction by promising that the apartments would not clash with the Cathedral and instead would stylistically complement it. Bratenahl, in return, granted Baer permission to name the complex after Mount Saint Alban, the hill on which the Cathedral is located. Constructed in 1928, the six-story brick and limestone building was carved by Italian stonemasons, likely the same ones who had worked on the National Cathedral years earlier. Elements of Gothic Revival and Tudor Revival architecture complement the Cathedral. The exterior features carved owls, gargoyles, shields, and crests, as well as decorative tracery, battlements, finials, and Tudor arches. The 1920s saw the construction of an unprecedented number of apartment buildings in DC. Postwar prosperity had inspired growth in the federal government and increased the number of federal employees, but these employees’ salaries had not kept up with the increasing price of real estate. Many began renting apartments instead, and the apartment-hotel arrangement modeled at Alban Towers (which offered twenty-four hour maid service, as well as substantial amenities, including a lunch counter and a travel agency) was particularly popular with businessmen and Congressmen, who sought flexibility and convenience. Consequently, the complex met with immediate success, and its original 125 units went quickly. Developers purchased more land to build an additional eighty units, which went on the market two years later. The building’s unusual shape, featuring seven courtyards, is due in part to this addition. The Gothic and Tudor designs on the exterior of Alban Towers also carry through to its interior lobbies and hallways. In order to keep the complex economical, the original interiors of individual apartments were relatively bland, but the large lobby seating area at the building’s entrance made up for that, featuring elaborate crown molding with British symbols—roses, acorns, thistles—to fit in with the building’s English Gothic vernacular style. In the interior hallways, Tudor arches spaced between every three apartments feature bas-relief depictions of Zodiac symbols, with shields above them decorated with crosses and dragons. Alban Towers has changed hands various times over its lifetime, including several decades of ownership by Georgetown University. By 1998, the building was again owned by a developer and had fallen into disuse, boarded up, and vacant. Between 1999 and 2001, careful restoration work was undertaken, with special attention to preserving the building’s historic character. Residents began to occupy the building once more, and additional modernization work was completed in 2017. DC Inventory: May 15, 1991National Register: September 9, 1994
This site is a stop on the D.C. Apartment Buildings tour as an example of a Luxury apartment building.
]]>Located along the west side of 13th Street, the Alden, Babcock, and Calvert Apartments are a group of three early middle-class apartment buildings designed as a unit by architect and developer Edgar S. Kennedy and built in 1904.
The buildings illustrate the evolution of apartment buildings from row house precedents and retain turrets and bays of the Victorian era, but with feature Colonial Revival facades and a front lawn reflecting early 20th-century suburban ideals.
DC Inventory: January 24, 1990
National Register: May 25, 1990
]]>The Alibi Club was a private social club consisting of prominent political and social figures; its name derived from the club practice of providing an alibi when the whereabouts of a member was questioned by the member’s family. The club was organized in 1884 by seven distinguished Washingtonians: Marcellus Bailey, B.H. Buckingham, W.C. Charlton, John Davis, David Jones, Linden Kent, and Dr. Francis B. Loring. Bailey, the group’s purported leader, was the son of the famous editor Dr. Gamaliel Bailey, who owned and published the National Era Weekly News, the paper which first presented Uncle Tom's Cabin in serial form. Designed as a single-family residence and constructed between 1864 and 1869, this building housed the Alibi Club since 1886. The property has served as a retreat for club members who have often played major roles in national and foreign affairs, including important diplomats and politicians as well as leaders in business, the military, and civic life. Membership is limited to fifty members, with new members admitted upon unanimous vote after the death of a previous member. Membership is not revealed to outsiders, and the first public notice of membership is often in a member’s obituary. Some more recent members of the Alibi Club include: President George H.W. Bush, his father, Senator Prescott Bush, Supreme Court Justices Potter Stewart and Stanley F. Reed, Allen Dulles and John Foster Dulles, Speaker of the House Nicholas Longworth, and General George C. Marshall. In 2018, the building was listed as a vacant property. DC Inventory: June 17, 1992National Register: October 21, 1994
]]>This carousel survives from the vanished era when traveling amusement shows, carnivals, circuses, and county fairs brought entertainment to millions of Americans living outside urban areas. The hand-carved and hand-painted figures—two sleighs pulled by 22 animals including a giraffe, lion, zebra, elephant, goat, camels, deer, and several horses in varying positions—are an important expression of American folk art.
Each figure reflects the craftsmanship and artistry of unknown artisans. The carousel is among the dozen oldest in the country, and one of only two known extant examples made by the U.S. Merry-Go-Round Company of Cincinnati. Its significance is enhanced by an equally rare, fancifully decorated Wurlitzer band organ built and added to the carousel in 1937. The group has been housed at the National Cathedral since 1963.
National Register: September 11, 1997
]]>In 1821, the congregation of All Souls Unitarian Church first organized as the First Unitarian Church. The original edifice stood at Sixth and D Streets NW; however, in 1877, the congregation erected a new church at Fourteenth and L Streets, changing the name to All Souls Unitarian Church. Encroaching businesses and houses compelled a second move to its present site in 1924 at Sixteenth and Harvard Streets NW, where the magnificent new church, designed by Coolidge, Shepley & Bulfinch, stands. The design of the edifice is based on James Gibbs’ St Martin-in-the-Fields on Trafalgar Square in London. The exterior walls are of mellow red brick and white stone trim, adorned with a Corinthian portico and pilasters, and an ornate steeple. The parish house adjoins the church proper in the rear. Notable members of All Souls Unitarian include figures such as Millard Fillmore, John C. Calhoun, Daniel Webster, Charles Sumner, and the historian George Bancroft. William Howard Taft, another member of the church, had his funeral services there.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: December 7, 2020
]]>The Almas Temple, built in the Moorish style by architect Allen Hussell Potts, is reminiscent of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. The model was the castle of the Moorish kings built in the thirteenth century. The Masonic building is located in a block that at one time was a highly fashionable residential area, especially from 1851 when Franklin Square was landscaped, fenced and greatly improved, until the 1920s as the area became more commercial.
DC Inventory: September 3, 1981
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