Hitchcock Hall was constructed in 1910 and used as a space for patient assembly and amusement. The hall included 1,200 seats for the hospital’s residents and hosted many forms of entertainment such as vaudeville performances, moving pictures,…

Farming was an integral part in the treatment of patients at Saint Elizabeths. It also carried out the hospital's goal of producing as much of its own food as possible. During his time as the supervisor, Charles Nichols was very interested in…

The circulating library played an important role in the daily lives and treatment of Saint Elizabeths’ patients. By 1913, the library’s collection included around six thousand books. Almost ten years later, in 1924, this amount doubled in size, and…

The Center Building was constructed between 1852 and 1895 and is 948 feet in length. Described as “Collegiate Gothic,” the architecture is of a style that was considered appropriate for hospitals for those with mental illness during the nineteenth…

Built in 1934 and located on what is now the Joy Evans Recreation Center site, the Lincoln Playground Field House is one of the earliest purpose-built public recreation facilities remaining in a District of Columbia park. It is one of a handful of…

The Main Gate serves as the entrance to the Marine Barracks Historic District. The US Marine Corps Barracks and Commandant’s House comprise the nation’s oldest continually active Marine Corps installation. Situated in southeast Washington, the post…

An early speculative venture from the post-Civil War period is Philadelphia Row, a row of attached houses in the 100 block of 11th Street SE. These houses, which have features of the Federal style, were built by Capitol Hill developer James Gessford…

Designed by Geroge Hadfield (1763-1826), the Marine Corps Commandant’s House is the only original building on the complex. This white-painted, Flemish-bonded brick residence has served as the home of the Commandants of the U.S. Marine Corps since…

Three years into the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln petitioned Congress to build DC’s first Naval hospital. Built by July 1866, the Old Naval Hospital provided medical services to American veterans in the US Navy. The hospital served sick and wounded…

The Navy Yard Car Barn was the terminus point of the city’s first streetcar line, which ran along Pennsylvania Avenue from Georgetown to the Navy Yard. Designed by Walter C. Root (1859-1925) in 1891, the sprawling Romanesque Revival building is well…