The Cleveland Abbe House, also known as the Timothy Caldwell House and Monroe-Adams-Abbe House, is a historic house at 2017 "I" Street NW in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Built in 1805, it is a good example of Federal period architecture, and has had a series of distinguished residents. Most notable are

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

, who occupied it as

United States Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the President of the United States, U.S. president's United States Cabinet, Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's Presidency of George Washington, administration. A similar position, called either "Se ...

and as

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

while the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

was restored after the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, and historian

Henry Adams Henry Brooks Adams (February 16, 1838 – March 27, 1918) was an American historian and a member of the Adams political family, descended from two U.S. Presidents. As a young Harvard graduate, he served as secretary to his father, Charles Fra ...

. However, it was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1975 for its association with meteorologist

Cleveland Abbe Cleveland Abbe (December 3, 1838 – October 28, 1916) was an American meteorologist and advocate of time zones. While director of the Cincinnati Observatory in Cincinnati, Ohio, he developed a system of telegraphic weather reports, daily we ...

(1838–1916), the founder of the

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

, who lived here from 1877 until his death. It is now home to the

Arts Club of Washington The Arts Club of Washington is a private club to promote the Arts in Washington, D.C. Founded by Bertha Noyes in May 1916, its first president was Henry Kirke Bush-Brown; Mathilde Mueden Leisenring was among its original members, as were Susa ...

Description and history

The Cleveland Abbe House stands on the

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

campus northwest of the

, on the north side of "I" Street across from James Monroe Park and near its junction with

Pennsylvania Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue is a diagonal street in Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland, that connects the White House and the United States Capitol and then crosses the city to Maryland. In Maryland it is also Maryland Route 4 (MD 4) ...

. It is a three-story brick

row house In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house (British English, UK) or townhouse (American English, US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings party ...

, built out of red brick and topped by a dormered gable roof. It is four bays wide, with the entrance in the leftmost bay. Windows are rectangular sash, with stone sills and splayed keystone lintels. A stone stringcourse separates each of the floors from the next. The main entrance has an elaborate Federal surround, with sidelight windows and a large half-round transom window. The interior of the house retains original Federal period finishes.

History

Timothy Caldwell built the house around 1802 to 1805.

lived there from 1811 to 1817, a period during which he was Secretary of State and

War Secretary The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

. From his inauguration as America's fifth President in March 1817 until the White House was fully restored in September 1817, the Cleveland Abbe House served as the Presidential residence. In the 1820s, the house was occupied by the British legation.

lived here with his parents,

Charles Francis Adams Sr. Charles Francis Adams Sr. (August 18, 1807 – November 21, 1886) was an American historical editor, writer, politician, and diplomat. As United States Minister to the United Kingdom during the American Civil War, Adams was crucial to Union effort ...

, and Abigail Brooks, in 1860 to 1861.

, founder of the U.S. Weather Bureau, lived here from 1877 to 1909. It was during his ownership that a number of alterations were made to the house. He raised it from to stories, demolished some of its outbuildings, and built additional rooms onto the rear. After Abbe's death in 1916, the

purchased the building.Abbe House (Arts Club of Washington)
/ref> The house was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as "Arts Club of Washington" in 1969. It was declared a

as "Cleveland Abbe House" in 1975. and

References

External links

Cleveland Abbe House
NHL summary at the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

Abbe House (Arts Club of Washington)
NRHP Travel itinerary listing at the

Arts Club of Washington
- History of the Cleveland Abbe House {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbe, Cleveland National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C. Houses completed in 1802 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Foggy Bottom Federal architecture in Washington, D.C.

Description and history

History

See also

References

External links