Emily Wiley House

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The Emily Wiley house, constructed between 1869 and 1871, represents a period of optimism in the Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood, when scattered upper-middle-class development was spreading east of the 7th Street commercial corridor. The tall, three-bay brick house embodies distinctive characteristics of its style, including its cubic form, elongated 2/2 windows with flat stone lintels, robust wood door surround, and bracketed wood cornice. The two-story rear service wing and the attached carriage house/stable are also characteristic of the period.

Little is known about Emily Wiley, who built and first lived in the house, but its history reflects the changing urban fortunes of the area. Between 1914 and 1919, it was the home of Holy Rosary parish, established in 1913 by Father Nicholas DeCarlo for Catholics of Italian birth or descent. In the early 1920s, it was occupied by an Italian immigrant and his family, while the rear service wing served as a meat and vegetable market. By the late 1920s, the main block of the house was operating as a store, and it also served as the home of the National Colored Voters Union and the Smith and Robinson Club, organizations formed to call for a national conference of African-American voters to support Al Smith’s presidential campaign. During the 1930s, the house was rented out to a working-class family and multiple lodgers.

DC Inventory: November 17, 2005
National Register: May 26, 2006