2023 Landmarks in Review
In 2023, six new landmarks and one new historic district were designated in Washington. The DC Preservation League nominated two of these landmarks: Chevy Chase Savings Bank and Northeast Savings Bank. In January, Chevy Chase Savings Bank, co-sponsored with Historic Chevy Chase DC, was designated by HPRB. The bank, designed by Arthur B. Heaton and completed in 1921, has since been added to the National Register. In October, Northeast Savings Bank, co-sponsored with Capitol Hill Restoration Society, was added to the DC Inventory. The bank was designed in a Beaux-Arts style by B. Stanley Simmons and has been an important institution in the H Street NE commercial district since its construction in 1921.
In addition to these two banks, the DC Preservation League co-sponsored the nomination for the Old Swedish Ambassador's Residence on Nebraska Avenue NW. This Spanish Colonial Revival style property, which was designated in December, was designed by Arthur B. Heaton and completed in 1924. Following its use as a private residence, it housed the Swedish Ambassador to the US from 1950 to 2023.
The DC Preservation League also drafted and submitted to the National Register additional documentation for the Mary Church Terrell House, a National Historic Landmark in the LeDroit Park Historic District, and the Benjamin Ogle Tayloe House in the Lafayette Square Historic District. This documentation adds important information related to the Women's Suffrage Historic Context Study.
Throughout the year, these other properties were officially added to the DC Inventory: Smothers Elementary School (March), US Naval Observatory Historic District (May), Eastern High School (August), and Little Tavern Shop No. 27 (September). An amendment for an existing historic site was also approved: the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History (January). And this December, the National Archives Building became DC's 76th National Historic Landmark!
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Chevy Chase Savings Bank: This community savings bank, an Italian Renaissance Revival style building, served clients in the Chevy Chase neighborhood.
As more people moved to DC in the early 20th century, newly-established neighborhoods, like Chevy Chase, drew local businesses, including banks to deposit and withdraw money, to support the…
Northeast Savings Bank: A facade hardly touched by time, this corner bank building continues to provide financial services to its community over a century later.
The Northeast Savings Bank (NESB) building, located at 800 H Street NE, is indicative of both its financial use and banking history, but also retains architectural significance. It is a leading…
Old Swedish Ambassador's Residence: This Spanish Colonial Revival style residence, which housed 12 Swedish ambassadors over seven decades, played an important role in the relationship between the United States and Sweden.
The Old Swedish Ambassador’s Residence, completed in 1924, was the home of 12 Swedish ambassadors between 1950 and 2019. The mansion was originally constructed for David Lawrence, owner and founder of…
Mary Church Terrell House: This was the home of distinguished civil rights activist, suffragist, and educator Mary Church Terrell, who served as the first president of the National Association of Colored Women.
Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954) earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Oberlin College during the 1880s and taught in Ohio and Washington, DC. Following the completion of her graduate degree,…
Benjamin Ogle Tayloe House: This landmark near the White House served as the headquarters of Alice Paul's National Woman's Party from 1915-17.
Built in 1828, this home served as Benjamin Ogle Tayloe's residence and a social, intellectual, and cultural center for the political elite. Described as a "salon" for scholarly discourse and a space…
Smothers Elementary School: This school, named for Henry Smothers, has welcomed students since the 1920s.
As DC’s urban landscape grew to accommodate its growing population, so did its young population of school-aged children. While schoolhouses existed throughout the city for these children, they were…
United States Naval Observatory (USNO) Historic District: The USNO is the only American institution devoted to positional astronomy and timekeeping.
The United States Naval Observatory (USNO) Historic District is encompassed by Observatory Circle and Massachusetts Avenue NW, and corresponds to a period of significance dating from 1887 to 1973. The…
Eastern High School: This Capitol Hill high school was designed in a Collegiate Gothic style and has been a major landmark along East Capitol Street for a century.
Eastern High School, located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood on the 1700 block of East Capitol Street NE, was constructed between 1921 and 1923 and designed by Municipal Architect Snowden Ashford in…
Little Tavern Shop No. 27: With its recognizable facade, Little Tavern Shop No. 27 is a reminder of Washington’s fast food history.
Built in 1963, Little Tavern Shop No. 27 prompts nostalgia for Washingtonians through its architecture. While the shop no longer serves the public in the fast food realm, it offers a fond memory to…
National Museum of Natural History: Originally housing the U.S. National Museum, this building became focused exclusively on natural history in 1969.
The National Museum of Natural History, which opened in 1910 as the United States National Museum, is a large Neoclassical style building located on the National Mall, between Constitution Avenue NW,…
National Archives Building: The National Archives serves as the repository of the most valuable and rare paper documents of the United States, such as the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution.
Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, US government agencies and branches were responsible for maintaining their own documents, often resulting in the loss and destruction of…Tour curated by: DC Preservation League