Built in 1928 and designed by architect David L. Stern, The Ponce de Leon apartment building is located within the apartment building corridor that runs along Connecticut Avenue NW. The brick masonry building presents a restrained Spanish Colonial Revival style, as characterized in the distinctive use of multi-colored brickwork, limestone ornamental balconies, and decorative Moorish arches.
The apartment building was one of the designs that established Stern's reputation as an architect of merit in Washington, DC. The choice of the Spanish Colonial Revival style and its skillful execution represents a significant increase in the sophistication of Stern's work. Stern, whose career lasted over 50-years, was especially active in the design of apartment buildings in DC, with more than 80 credited to him (the majority of which were designed in partnership with Frank Tomlinson). Of these, 76 were designed in the 1920s, a number that represented more than ten percent of all the apartment buildings constructed during that decade, which witnessed the most apartment building construction in Washington's history.
DC Inventory: January 17, 1990
National Register: September 7, 1994
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