Greystone Enclave

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Tucked next to Rock Creek Park and just north of the Smithsonian National Zoo, the Greystone Enclave is home to four homes that utilize the surrounding natural landscape to keep the busy city at bay. Each property has been noted for its architectural style, but in addition to its design, the Linnaean Hill property has had an interesting history because of its first residents.

The Linnaean Hill property was built and owned by Joshua Pierce in 1823. Pierce worked as a horticulturist who supplied vegetation to the White House and other parts of the city. His father, Isaac Peirce, was a plantation owner who also built Peirce Mill on Rock Creek. He also operated a nursery on the property in various outbuildings that no longer exist. Linnaean Hill was the first property built in the area, with the three other homes constructed later as a private, secluded residential development.

Greystone was built in 1913 and designed by Waddy B. Wood in the Classical Revival style. Wood had quite the illustrious career as an architect in DC, with multiple properties listed in both the DC Inventory of Historic Sites and the National Register of Historic Places. The Gearing Bungalow was designed by Nicholas Grimm and completed in 1914 – with attention paid to embracing the natural environment surrounding the home. The last home, Pine Crest Manor, was built in 1929 and designed by Gordon MacNeil in the Tudor style. This home combined the formal construction of Greystone and the romantic elements of the Gearing Bungalow.

DC Inventory: June 21, 1989