Tingey House, officially known as Quarters A, is the

official residence An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...

of the

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the highest-ranking officer of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an Admiral (United States), admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the United States Secretary ...

of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. Built in 1804, it is located at the

Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is a ceremonial and administrative center for the United States Navy, located in the federal national capital city of Washington, D.C. (federal District of Columbia). It is the oldest shore establishment / base of ...

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 ...

, and is part of the Yard's historic Officers Quarters. The residence is known as Tingey House in honor of its first resident and yard commandant, Commodore

Thomas Tingey Thomas Tingey (11 September 1750 – 23 February 1829) was a commodore of the United States Navy. Originally serving in the British Royal Navy, Tingey later served in the Continental Navy. Tingey served with distinction during the Quasi-War and ...

. According to popular legend, Tingey's ghost haunts the property.

Location

Tingey House is located on the grounds of the

and adjoins Leutze Park, the yard's parade ground. It is part of "Admirals' Row" ( Officers Quarters), a group of historic homes that serve as official residences for senior Navy officers and their families.Washington Navy Yard, Washington DC

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

Program,

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...

. The House is also called the Commandant's QuartersNational Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form: Washington Navy Yard

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

. or Commandant's House. Tingey36sdf

Tingey House lies immediately east of the

Latrobe Gate The Latrobe Gate (also known as Main Gate, Washington Navy Yard) is a historic gatehouse located at the Washington Navy Yard in Southeast Washington, D.C. Built in 1806 and substantially altered in 1881, the ceremonial entrance to the U.S. Nav ...

(also called the "Main Gate").

Layout

Tingey House is a two-and-a-half-story structure with a

gable roof A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of a gable roof c ...

. According to a 1970s-era

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

nomination form, the first floor contains a dining room, library, kitchen, and two parlors; the second floor contains four bedrooms, and the attic contains two chambers. There is a

porte-cochère A porte-cochère (; ; ; ) is a doorway to a building or courtyard, "often very grand," through which vehicles can enter from the street or a covered porch-like structure at a main or secondary entrance to a building through which originally a ...

and enclosed porch on the south and east sides of the House.

History

Early history

In 1801,

Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...

Robert Smith ordered the construction of "a house to accommodate the officer of Marines and the Superintendent of the Navy Yard." The resulting building was designed by William Lovering and completed in 1804. The Georgian-style property was named after its first resident, Thomas Tingey, the superintendent of the Washington Navy Yard. As the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

advanced on Washington during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, the property survived Tingey's orders to burn the Washington Navy Yard. However, following the British withdrawal from Washington and before Tingey could reoccupy the home, it was looted by area residents. A memorial plaque to Tingey is fixed to the side of the house: TingeyPAKWA324

Modern era

Tingey House was used by different naval officers until 1977, when

One Observatory Circle Number One Observatory Circle is the official residence of the vice president of the United States. Located on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., the house was built in 1893 for the observatory's superintendent. The ...

, formerly the home of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), was reassigned for use by the

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

. The CNO's new official residence became Tingey House. In June 2008, Tingey House completed a significant renovation, which included the addition of an expanded

kitchen A kitchen is a room (architecture), room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a Kitchen stove, stove, a sink ...

and china closet, construction of a larger staff wing, rehabilitation of the home's

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

, and the remodeling of several bathrooms. TingeyInterior

The Washington Navy Yard is listed as a Superfund site, and the "Admirals' Row" group of homes suffer from nearby lead-contaminated soil, thought to be caused by

lead-based paint Lead paint or lead-based paint is paint containing lead. As pigment, lead(II) chromate (, "chrome yellow"), lead(II,IV) oxide, (, "red lead"), and lead(II) carbonate (, "white lead") are the most common forms.. Lead is added to paint to accel ...

, lead roofing, and lead

water main A water distribution system is a part of water supply network with components that carry potable water from a centralized treatment plant or wells to consumers to satisfy residential, commercial, industrial and fire fighting requirements. Defi ...

Haunting

According to popular legend, the ghost of Thomas Tingey occupies Tingey House. The first reported sighting of Tingey's ghost was in 1853, by the daughter of the Navy Yard's then-commandant. In August 1960, Rear Admiral Thomas Robbins reported that his pet dog, Lucky, barked madly at an empty chair in the home's

drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th ce ...

until Robbins recited the

incantation An incantation, spell, charm, enchantment, or bewitchery is a magical formula intended to trigger a magical effect on a person or objects. The formula can be spoken, sung, or chanted. An incantation can also be performed during ceremonial ri ...

, "Good evening, commodore, we're glad to be living in your house," after which the dog behaved normally.

Notes

References

External links

{{US Navy navbox, state=collapsed Buildings of the United States government in Washington, D.C. Official residences in the United States Reportedly haunted locations in Washington, D.C. United States Navy Houses completed in 1904 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.