Codman Carriage House And Stable
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The Codman Carriage House and Stable is a historic building located at 1415 22nd Street NW (also listed as 1413-1415 22nd Street NW) in the
Dupont Circle Dupont Circle is a historic roundabout park and Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest (Washington, D.C.), Northwest D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th St ...
neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The industrial building was constructed in 1907 as a
carriage house A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two ...
and stable for socialite and art collector Martha Catherine Codman, who lived a few blocks north in her home, later known as the
Codman–Davis House The Codman–Davis House is a four-story, red brick, 1906, classical revival house in Washington, D.C. at 2145 Decatur Place NW (in the Kalorama neighborhood). It was designed by Ogden Codman Jr. for his cousin, Martha Codman of Washington, D ...
. She commissioned her cousin, Ogden Codman Jr., an architect and prominent interior decorator who also designed her home. He designed it in a Second Empire style. This building served as a carriage house and stable for ten years before it was converted into a garage. In addition to housing horses and later cars, the building contained living quarters for two of Codman's employees and their families. Codman later married and sold the building in 1940. It was expanded and remodeled as office space. For more than 25 years, the building housed a Goodyear store before the space was converted into a bar and restaurant. The building was nearly demolished in the early 1980s, but the plan was canceled. A
gay bar A gay bar is a Bar (establishment), drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBTQ+ communi ...
, Badlands, opened in 1983 and was later renamed Apex. After Apex closed in 2011, the longtime
Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...
lesbian bar Phase 1 opened a second location in this building. The bar closed in 2013. The building was renovated and restored a few years later, and it now serves again as office space. The Codman Carriage House and Stable was added to the
District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites The District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites is a register of historic places in Washington, D.C. that are designated by the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB), a component of the District of Columbia Govern ...
in 1995. It was designated as a
contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...
to the
Dupont Circle Historic District Dupont Circle is a historic roundabout park and Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest (Washington, D.C.), Northwest D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th St ...
when the district's boundary was expanded in 2005. It is one of three former stables in the immediate area that are designated historic landmarks.


History


Industrial use

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the
Dupont Circle Dupont Circle is a historic roundabout park and Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest (Washington, D.C.), Northwest D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th St ...
neighborhood in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
was an area of a large number of elegant and impressive homes owned by businesspeople, politicians, and other members of
high society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...
. Their residential properties often included a
carriage house A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two ...
or stable located behind their houses or in a nearby alley. Some of these industrial buildings were designed by prominent architects and featured elaborate architectural details. On the west side of the neighborhood, three such buildings were constructed in the early 1900s. The Walsh Stable, located in an alley bounded by 21st Street, 22nd Street,
P Street P Street refers to four different streets within the city of Washington, D.C. The streets were named by President George Washington in 1791 as part of a general street naming program, in which east–west running streets were named alphabeticall ...
, and Massachusetts Avenue NW, was built in 1903 for millionaire miner Thomas Walsh. The stable was erected a few hundred feet from his mansion, the
Walsh-McLean House Walsh-McLean House is a Gilded Age mansion in the Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C., Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located at 2020 Massachusetts Avenue (Washington, D.C.), Massachusetts Avenue NW. Built in 1901, it is now the Embas ...
. In 1905 the Spencer Carriage House and Stable was constructed in the Twining Court alley, bounded by 21st Street, 22nd Street, O Street, and P Street NW. It was built for railroad executive Samuel Spencer, who lived two blocks away at 2012 Massachusetts Avenue NW. In 1906 Martha Codman (1856–1948) had a large house built in Washington, D.C., to serve as her winter residence. She was a wealthy socialite, philanthropist, and art collector, who had inherited a large amount of money from her parents, Martha Pickman Rogers and John Amory Codman, a businessman who earned his fortune in the
clipper A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. The term was also retrospectively applied to the Baltimore clipper, which originated in the late 18th century. Clippers were generally narrow for their len ...
ship trade. Like many wealthy people of the period, Codman split her time between winter and summer residences; the latter was in
Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...
. In 1907, she chose her cousin, architect Ogden Codman Jr., to design the new house. The
Classical Revival Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassic ...
mansion he designed for her, the
Codman–Davis House The Codman–Davis House is a four-story, red brick, 1906, classical revival house in Washington, D.C. at 2145 Decatur Place NW (in the Kalorama neighborhood). It was designed by Ogden Codman Jr. for his cousin, Martha Codman of Washington, D ...
, was built at 2145 Decatur Place NW, on the edge of the Dupont Circle and
Sheridan-Kalorama The Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District is a neighborhood and historic district located in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The boundaries of the historic district include Rock Creek Park to the north and west, P Street to the south, and ...
neighborhoods. The following year Karolik commissioned Codman Jr. to design a two-story, brick and stucco carriage house and stable at 1415 22nd Street NW, a few blocks south of her home. On April 17, 1907, two permits were filed to construct the building. Permit #3267 was filed to build the carriage house at an estimated cost of $15,000, and permit #3268 was filed to build the adjoining stable, estimated to cost $4,000. John F. DeBaun, a builder from New York who oversaw the construction of Karolik's house, was hired for the project. Despite the carriage house and stable being constructed simultaneously, they were two separate buildings designed to give the impression of being one large building. The carriage house, which fronted 22nd Street, was the larger of the two. The rear portion housed the stables. The property included a telephone that was directly connected to the house. In addition to housing Codman's carriages, the front building also included living space. Codman's coachman and later chauffeur, John J. Conner, lived in the building with his wife Sophie from 1910 to the mid-1930s. Her butler, Thomas King, also lived there with his wife, Anna, and their children Charlotte and Julia. As the popularity of automobile ownership increased, Codman no longer needed a carriage house and stable. To convert the buildings into a garage, city regulations required her to have approval from at least 75% of the property owners that were within 200 feet (61 m) of the property. She collected the signatures, and on December 19, 1917, a permit was issued to being the renovations. The doors of the carriage house were replaced to accommodate an automobile. The new garage still had living space included in the layout. Conner and his wife moved out of the building in 1936. Codman had entertained in her Washington, D.C. house for many years during the winter season. In 1928 she married the Russian opera singer Maxim Karolik, who was 30 years younger. After that, she rarely spent time in Washington, D.C., as the couple lived mostly in Europe and Newport. Codman Karolik sold the house in 1938 and sold the garage two years later.


Commercial use

In 1940, new owner Benzalim Coran hired Renato Corte to design a one-story rear brick addition that was built by L.F. Collier. The estimated cost for the project was $2,000. The property was converted into commercial space and rented to various tenants for the next decade. A newspaper advertisement in 1941 listed the property as 8,600 square feet (799 sq m), and available to rent for $500 a month. An ad in 1949 marketed the property as a possible headquarters for a national organization, automobile showroom, or store space. It said the space included a garage for six vehicles, around twelve offices on the second floor, and an open floor plan on the first floor. The following year a Goodyear service store moved from
Connecticut Avenue Connecticut Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., and suburban Montgomery County, Maryland. It is one of the diagonal avenues radiating from the White House, and the segment south of Florida Avenue wa ...
and N Street into the property. The business remained there until the 1970s, during which time a one-story concrete addition was built onto the front of the store. By 1976 the property was home to the Last Hurrah (also known as the Last Hurrah Supper Club), a heterosexual nightclub that was also popular with the local gay community. In 1981 the owners of the property attempted to have the building demolished and replaced with a residential building. The local
Advisory Neighborhood Commission Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) are bodies of local government in the District of Columbia, the capital city of the United Statesdistrict. The ANC system was created in 1974 through a referendum (73 percent voted "yes") in the District of ...
supported the plan, but the project was later cancelled. That same year a restaurant called the African Room opened in the rear portion of the building, facing Twining Court. The Last Hurrah continued operating until 1983 when Glen Thompson opened Badlands, a
gay bar A gay bar is a Bar (establishment), drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBTQ+ communi ...
, later that year. Thompson had previously opened a gay bar in 1976, the Fraternity House, in the former Spencer Carriage House and Stable that shared the alley with Badlands. The area surrounding Badlands was also home to gay bar, Mr. P's, that had opened at 2147 P Street NW in 1976. Soon after Badlands opened in May 1983, its practice of carding (asking for several forms of identification) African Americans or telling them the bar was full to prevent them from entering resulted in protests. Local activists filed complaints with the city's Commission on Human Rights, and Badlands management paid a settlement of $5,000. The bar became one of the most popular gay clubs in Washington, D.C., and remained open for 28 years. It was renamed Apex in 2002 and closed unexpectedly in 2011 when the property owner sold the building. After Apex closed, local businessman Allen Carroll purchased the building and opened a second location of the
Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...
lesbian bar, Phase 1, in February 2012. Phase One of Dupont never attracted large crowds, and the bar closed the following year. While the building was still operating as Badlands, local historic preservationists with the Dupont Circle Citizens Association, Dupont Circle Conservancy, and DC Preservation League submitted an application to have the building designated a historic landmark, citing its significance as a surviving carriage house and stable, along with its connection to Codman and her architect cousin, Codman Jr. The building was added to the
District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites The District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites is a register of historic places in Washington, D.C. that are designated by the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB), a component of the District of Columbia Govern ...
as the Codman Carriage House and Stable on December 19, 1995. When the Dupont Circle Historic District boundary was expanded in 2005, the building was one of 70
contributing properties In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distr ...
, including designated historic landmarks, that were added to the historic district. The other landmarks were
The Cairo The Cairo apartment building, located at 1615 Q Street NW in Washington, D.C., is a landmark in the Dupont Circle neighborhood and the District of Columbia's tallest residential building. Designed by architect Thomas Franklin Schneider and compl ...
, Spencer Carriage House and Stable, Walsh Stable,
2225 N Street Apartment Building The 2225 N Street Apartment Building in the West End neighborhood of Northwest Washington, D.C., was constructed in 1924 by local real estate developers Harry Wardman and Eugene Waggaman. The building was added to the District of Columbia Invent ...
, and Embassy Gulf Service Station, which is sited across the street. The building is one of 101 alley structures in the historic district. In 2015 the building was sold to Rock Creek Property Group for $2.75 million. The following year the company announced an extensive restoration and renovation process would begin to transform the building into office space: "Our goal with this property is to bring it back to life. After years of neglect, the original grandeur of the architecture was lost." OTJ Architects and Eichberg Construction were hired for the project. Due to the building's historic landmark status and location in proximity to
Rock Creek Park Rock Creek Park is a large urban park that bisects the Northwest, Washington, D.C., Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. Created by Act of Congress in 1890, the park comprises 1,754 acres (2.74 mi2, 7.10 km2), generally along Rock Cr ...
, the renovations had to be approved by the
United States Commission of Fine Arts The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States, and was established in 1910. The CFA has review (but not approval) authority over the "design and aesthetics" of all construction wit ...
and city's Historic Preservation Review Board. The project, which included adding a roof deck and skylights, window and facade restoration, and replication of the original carriage house doors, was completed in 2018.


Building


Architect

Ogden Codman Jr. (1863–1951) was a successful architect and interior designer from New England. A few years before designing his cousin Martha Codman's buildings, Codman Jr. married wealthy widow Leila Griswold Webb. He was gay. His wife died a few years after their marriage, and Codman Jr. inherited a large sum of money. He continued his work until moving to France in 1920, where he later retired. Although he had success as an architect, Codman Jr. is most known for his interior decorating skills. His notable clients included
Edith Wharton Edith Newbold Wharton (; ; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gil ...
, who coauthored with Codman Jr. the interior design manual ''
The Decoration of Houses ''The Decoration of Houses'', a manual of interior design written by Edith Wharton with architect Ogden Codman, was first published in 1897. In the book, the authors denounce Victorian-style interior decoration and interior design, especially ro ...
''. Another was
John D. Rockefeller Jr. John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist. Rockefeller was the fifth child and only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of th ...
, who hired Codman Jr. to design the interiors of his
Kykuit Kykuit ( ), known also as the John D. Rockefeller Estate, is a 40-room historic house museum in Pocantico Hills, a hamlet in the town of Mount Pleasant, New York north of New York City. The house was built for oil tycoon and Rockefeller fa ...
mansion. Codman Jr. was also hired by members of the
Vanderbilt family The Vanderbilt family is an American family who gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanth ...
. He decorated more than a dozen rooms at
Cornelius Vanderbilt II Cornelius "Corneil" Vanderbilt II (November 27, 1843 – September 12, 1899) was an American socialite and a member of the prominent United States Vanderbilt family. Noted forebears He was the favorite grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbil ...
's mansion in Newport, Rhode Island,
The Breakers The Breakers is a Gilded Age mansion located at 44 Ochre Point Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island, US. It was built between 1893 and 1895 as a summer residence for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, a member of the wealthy Vanderbilt family. The 70-room mans ...
, and rooms at
Frederick William Vanderbilt Frederick William Vanderbilt (February 2, 1856 – June 29, 1938) was a member of the American Vanderbilt family. He was a director of the New York Central Railroad for 61 years, and also a director of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad and ...
's
mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...
in New York.


Location and design

The Codman Carriage House and Stable is sited on Square 68, Lot 34-36, fronting 22nd Street NW in Dupont Circle. There is a small alley on the south face of the building. The north and east faces are on Twining Court, an alley located between 21st Street, 22nd Street, O Street, and P Street NW. The lots' proximity and easy access to Rock Creek Park and Dupont Circle were integral to Codman's choosing this site for the support building. The 9,604 square foot (892 sq m) building is an example of
Second Empire architecture Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, is a highly eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts originating in the Second French Empire. It was characterized by elements of many different historical styles, and al ...
and features a
mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...
. At the time the carriage house and stable were constructed, 2,200 city residents owned automobiles. Codman Jr. may have chosen the Second Empire style, which was considered dated at the time, rather than the Classical Revival style of Codman's residence, reflect the more traditional use of the building. The original portion of the building has a concrete foundation, and the walls are made of brick and stucco. The one-story west addition is made of concrete, and the one-story east addition is made of brick and concrete. The original portion measures 115 feet by 55 feet (47.2 m by 16.8 m) and includes a second floor. The central portion and west end originally housed the carriage house and the east end housed the stable. The central portion features three
bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
and a window on each side of the pedimented carriage entry. Above this are two
dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a Roof pitch, pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the ...
windows on each side of a circular window. The east and west ends of the original portion extend from the central portion. They feature windows on the first floor and dormer windows on the second floors.


Notes


References


External links

* {{Commons category-inline Buildings and structures completed in 1907 District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites Buildings and structures in Dupont Circle Second Empire architecture in Washington, D.C. Stables in the United States Historic district contributing properties in Washington, D.C.