Home > District of Columbia > Washington > Woodrow Wilson House, 2340 South S Street, Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, DC
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Item Title
Woodrow Wilson House, 2340 South S Street, Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, DC
LocationNorthwest,
Washington, DC
Find maps of Washington, DC
Created/Published
Documentation compiled after 1933.
Notes
Survey number HABS DC-133
Unprocessed field note material exists for this structure (FN-27 - FN-37, FN-75).
Building/structure dates:
1915 initial construction
Building/structure dates:
1921 subsequent work
National Register Number: 66000873
Significance: The Woodraw Wilson House was the Home of Thomas Woodrow Wilson 28th president of the United States from the end of his second term of office on March 4, 1921 until his death on February 3, 1924. Designed by Washington Architect Waddy Butler Wood in 1915 and built in 1915-16 for Businessman Henry Parker Fairbanks. This townhouse is a distinguished example of the adamesque mode of the Georgian revival style especially popular at that time in the Kalorama Neighborhood of Washington. it appealed to Mrs. Wilson, who was seeking a house to which the President could retire after his second term, as "an unpretentious, comfortable, dignified house fitted to the needs of a gentleman.'" She told her husband about her find but was completely surprised when on their fifth wedding anniversary on December 18, 1920, he took her to the house and following a Scottish custom presented her with a piece of sod from the garden and a key to the front door...
Subjects
U.S. PresidentsBrick BuildingsGalleries & Museums
Related Names
Wilson, Pres. Woodrow Thomas
Wilson, Edith Bolling
Wood, Waddy Butler
Murray, Andrew
Morris, Benjamin Wistar
Fairbanks, Henry Parker
Collection
Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)
Contents
Photograph caption(s):
1. PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF MAIN ELEVATION
2. MAIN ELEVATION, DETAIL OF DOORWAY
3. REAR ELEVATION
4. FIRST FLOOR, ENTRANCE HALL
5. MEZZANINE LEVEL, STAIR HALL
6. SECOND FLOOR, LIBRARY, VIEW TOWARD FIREPLACE
7. SECOND FLOOR, FORMAL DINING ROOM
8. SECOND FLOOR, FORMAL DINING ROOM, VIEW OF FIREPLACE
9. SECOND FLOOR, DRAWING ROOM
10. THIRD FLOOR, STAIRWAY, VIEW OF ARCHED WINDOW
11. THIRD FLOOR, BEDROOM
12. OBLIQUE VIEW OF NORTH FACADE FROM SOUTHWEST
13. DETAIL OF FRONT ENTRANCE WITH DRAWING ROOM WINDOW ABOVE
14. WALL FACING DECATUR PLACE AT SOUTH EDGE OF PROPERTY, FROM SOUTHEAST
15. OBLIQUE VIEW OF WALL FACING DECATUR PLACE, FROM WEST
16. DETAIL OF GATE IN WALL FACING DECATUR PLACE
17. TERRACED GARDEN FROM SECOND FLOOR PORCH, LOOKING SOUTH TOWARDS DECATUR PLACE
18. DETAIL OF (CLOSED) DRIVEWAY GATES LOOKING NORTH FROM DRIVEWAY
19. PRIVATE SIDE ENTRANCE ADDED IN 1921 TO GIVE BARRIER-FREE ACCESS FROM THE DRIVEWAY TO THE ELEVATOR. [Wrought iron railings, extended upper step of stoop (indicated by the darker concrete between the two vertical posts), and wooden ramp added by the National Trust to meet modern barrier-free access codes, circa 1980.]
20. WINE CELLAR [This is the lowest room in the house, under the service entrance from S Street. Note reinforced concrete floor slab above (reinforced concrete floor slabs were used throughout the house).]
21. ICE BOX ON WEST WALL OF KITCHEN, FIRST FLOOR
22. STOVE ON WEST WALL OF KITCHEN, FIRST FLOOR
23. GLASS FRONTED CHINA CABINET ON EAST WALL OF KITCHEN, FIRST FLOOR
24. VIEW INTO SOLARIUM FROM UPPER TERRACE OF GARDEN [Note the curved doors.]
25. VIEW FROM MAIN HALL THROUGH INTERIOR WINDOW TO SOLARIUM [Note how much light enters this interior space from the solarium. The hall also receives light from the lightwell window of the main stairs to the third floor, out of sight to the left.]
26. SERVING KITCHEN, SECOND FLOOR, SHOWING GLASS FRONTED CHINA CABINETS AND MONEL METAL SINK.
27. THIRD FLOOR MAIN HALL FROM SIDE HALL LEADING TO SERVICE STAIRS [This hall is lit by three natural sources, the lightwell window of the main stairs visible in the distance, the skylight in the linen closet at the extreme left, and from the glazed openings in the interior and exterior doors of the nurse's room, out of sight to the right.]
28. LINEN CLOSET ON THIRD FLOOR, SHOWING GLAZED OPENINGS WHICH GIVE LIGHT TO THE MAIN HALL [Photograph DC-133-27 was taken from the arched opening to the left.]
29. DETAIL OF SKYLIGHT IN LINEN CLOSET, THIRD FLOOR [The skylight is on the north roof, outside the laundry.]
30. GAS FIRED CLOTHES DRYER IN LAUNDRY, FOURTH FLOOR [No longer functioning; used for storage.]
31. DETAIL OF CONTROLS, ELECTRIC MOTOR, AND LOWER SHEAVES OF OTIS PASSENGER ELEVATOR ADDED IN 1921, BASEMENT. [The original equipment, shown here, operated on direct current from the Massachusetts Avenue trolley line, abandoned in 1961.]
32. DETAIL OF ORIGINAL OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY MOTOR, BASEMENT
33. DETAIL OF LOWER ELEVATOR SHEAVES, BASEMENT
34. DETAIL OF SHEAVES AT BASE OF ELEVATOR SHAFT, LOWER LIMIT SWITCH AND SHOCK ABSORBERS, BASEMENT
35. DETAIL OF DOOR TO ELEVATOR AND CAB GATE, FIRST FLOOR
36. DETAIL OF UPPER PART OF ELEVATOR CAB, SHOWING BOTH CAB GATES [The elevator opened to the west on the first and second floors and to the north on the third floor.]
37. DETAIL OF UPPER ELEVATOR SHEAVES AND TOP OF ELEVATOR SHAFT, FOURTH FLOOR
VIEW OF NORTH FACADE
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