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Stewart's Castle

Buildings and structures demolished in 1901Castles in the United StatesDemolished buildings and structures in Washington, D.C.Dupont CircleResidential buildings completed in 1873
Second Empire architecture in Washington, D.C.Use American English from February 2019Use mdy dates from February 2019
Stewart's Castle
Stewart's Castle

Stewart's Castle, also referred to as Castle Stewart or Stewart's Folly, was a mansion in Washington, D.C., located on the north side of Dupont Circle between Connecticut Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue. The house owed its various names to the original owner, Senator William Morris Stewart, the imposing, turreted facade, and its prominence in an area considered undesirable at the time of its construction. Designed by architect Adolf Cluss, the house was completed in 1873 but only stood for 28 years. It was badly damaged in a fire in 1879 but later repaired and rented to the Chinese Legation from 1886 to 1893. The house was sold to Senator William A. Clark, who razed it in 1901, intending to build a new residence. The plans never came to fruition. The site remained vacant for over 20 years until the construction of a commercial building, which still stands.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Stewart's Castle (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Stewart's Castle
Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington Dupont Circle

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Latitude Longitude
N 38.91029 ° E -77.04424 °
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PNC Bank

Massachusetts Avenue Northwest 1913
20008 Washington, Dupont Circle
District of Columbia, United States
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James G. Blaine Mansion
James G. Blaine Mansion

The James G. Blaine Mansion, commonly known as the Blaine Mansion, is a historic house located at 2000 Massachusetts Avenue NW, in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The imposing house was completed in 1882 for James G. Blaine, a Republican politician from Maine who served as Speaker of the House, and later as a US Senator and US Secretary of State. He was also a presidential candidate who was narrowly defeated by Grover Cleveland in the 1884 United States presidential election. In addition to Blaine, the mansion has served as the residence of other prominent individuals, including wealthy businessmen Levi Leiter and George Westinghouse, and French ambassador Jules Patenôtre des Noyers. During World War I it was used as a meeting space for the newly formed United Service Club. Following the war, diplomatic occupants including the Japanese embassy and Colombian Ambassador Enrique Olaya Herrera leased the building. The mansion was used as office space for the Rural Electrification Administration during the Great Depression and by New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia during World War II when he led the Office of Civilian Defense. The United Nations leased part of the building as office space for the Food and Agriculture Organization in the late 1940s and Information Center in the 1950s. The lower floors of the mansion have remained in use as office space for various businesses since that time. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, the building was completely renovated after it was purchased by diplomat and attorney John R. Phillips and his wife, journalist and Obama administration official Linda Douglass. The renovation included converting the upper floors into a penthouse, renovating an adjoining commercial space fronting P Street, and constructing a narrow luxury residential building and underground parking deck on land adjoining the mansion. Designed by noted architect John Fraser, the mansion is a combination of the Châteauesque, Queen Anne, and Second Empire architectural styles. The mansion was one of several large residences that once stood on the perimeter of Dupont Circle, a traffic circle and small park at the intersection of 19th Street, P Street, Connecticut Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue, and New Hampshire Avenue. The other remaining large homes on the circle are the Patterson Mansion and Wadsworth House, more commonly known as the Sulgrave Club. The Blaine Mansion was added to the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites in 1964. The building is a contributing property to the Massachusetts Avenue Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1974, and the Dupont Circle Historic District, listed on the NRHP in 1978.

Leiter House
Leiter House

The Leiter House was a large mansion that once stood at 1500 New Hampshire Avenue NW in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Completed in 1893 for wealthy businessman Levi Leiter, the palatial 55-room neoclassical residence was designed by architect Theophilus P. Chandler Jr., whose notable works include Trinity Episcopal Church, the Stirling mansion, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, and the North Philadelphia station. The house was one of several mansions that were built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries around the perimeter of Dupont Circle, a traffic circle and park that was considered a fashionable area at the time. Leiter had made his fortune in real estate ventures after cofounding what would later become the Marshall Field & Company department store chain. He and his wife, Mary, wanted to be involved in social circles in the nation's capital and relocated with their children to Washington, D.C. in 1883. They spent the first decade in the city renting another large Dupont Circle house, the James G. Blaine Mansion, before moving into their finished home in 1893. Throughout their time in the city, the Leiters entertained at their residences, hosted foreign dignitaries and members of local society, and hosted a wedding breakfast and reception for their daughter, Mary, to George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston. Following Leiter's death in 1904, his wife continued occupying the house for several years, hosting the weddings of their other daughters, including Margaret to Henry Howard, 19th Earl of Suffolk. Mary gifted the house to her son, Joseph, and daughter-in-law on their wedding day in 1908. Joseph and his wife continued the tradition of hosting social events in the house for the next few decades. The couple allowed the Italian government to use their house during World War I and the Soviet government briefly rented the house for use as diplomatic offices in the 1930s. During World War II the US government rented the house as office space for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. It was during this time that Joseph's son, Thomas, sold the house to a local architect and real estate developer. Two years after the war, the building was demolished after being stripped of valuable building materials. It was replaced with the Hotel Dupont Plaza, now known as The Dupont Circle Hotel. The only remaining large residences that once lined Dupont Circle are the Blaine Mansion, Patterson Mansion, and Wadsworth House, home of the Sulgrave Club.