Leon Emil Dessez (April 12, 1858 – December 25, 1918) was an American architect 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, Na ...

He designed public buildings in Washington D.C. and residences in Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, including some of the first in

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the name of both a town and an unincorporated census-designated place (Chevy Chase (CDP), Maryland) that straddle the northwest border of Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Several settlements in th ...

, where he was the community's first resident. His work includes the 1893 the conversion of

1111 Pennsylvania Avenue 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue is a mid-rise Postmodern office building located in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is tall, has 14 stories, and has a four-story underground parking garage. It is a "contributing" resource to the Pennsylvani ...

, The Shepherd Centennial Building, into the Raleigh Hotel (razed in 1911) Goode, ''Capital Losses: A Cultural History of Washington's Destroyed Buildings,'' 2003, p. 218. and the

Normal School for Colored Girls Normal School for Colored Girls (now known as University of the District of Columbia) established in Washington, D.C., in 1851 as an institution of learning and training for young African-American women, especially to train teachers. As Miner Norm ...

(1913), designed with

Snowden Ashford Snowden Ashford (1866–1927) was an American architect who worked in Washington, D.C., his native city. Born on January 1, 1866, Ashford was educated at Rittenhouse Academy and at the Christian Brothers Roman Catholic school. He studied archit ...

Early life

Dessez was born in Washington, D.C. on April 12, 1858. Bessie Semmes Dessez, mother of Captain J.H.S. Dessez and Elizabeth S. Dessez.

Career

Dessez began his career employed under Colonel Thomas Lincoln Casey on plans for the

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and the ...

and spent three years as an architectural and engineering draftsman in the Navy Yard at Washington. He and

Lindley Johnson Lindley Johnson (January 18, 1854February 27, 1937) was a noted Philadelphia architect. Johnson was born in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended Germantown Academy before graduating from the University of Pennsylv ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

designed the first four houses in

and Dessez became its first resident. Dessez was elected to the American Institute of Architects as fellow 1896. He was one of the Washington D.C. AIA chapter's charter members in 1887 and he served on a committee for the restoration of the

Octagon House Octagon houses were a unique house style briefly popular in the 1850s in the United States and Canada. They are characterised by an octagonal (eight-sided) plan, and often feature a flat roof and a veranda all round. Their unusual shape and app ...

, now the AIA headquarters. He also worked pro bono to develop Washington D.C.'s building codes and investigated school building construction and design. He died in Washington D.C. December 25, 1918. Properties he is credited with designing listed on the National Register of Historic Places include

Lucinda Cady House Cady-Lee is an historic house located in the Takoma neighborhood in Washington, D.C. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975 as the Lucinda Cady House. The house is named for Lucinda Cady and her daughter Ma ...

, 7064 Eastern Ave., NW.

Washington, DC ) , 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 ...

; Engine House No. 10, 1341 Maryland Ave., NE.

;

Miner Normal School Normal School for Colored Girls (now known as University of the District of Columbia) established in Washington, D.C., in 1851 as an institution of learning and training for young African-American women, especially to train teachers. As Miner Norm ...

, 2565 Georgia Ave., NW.

; and

Truck Company F Truck Company F, at 1336-1338 Park Rd. NW in Washington, D.C., was built in 1900. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. The listing included two contributing buildings. It was designed by architect Leon E. Dessez i ...

, 1336-1338 Park Rd. NW

Other works

*G.E. Hamilton Residence *628 E. Capitol St. NE (1885) * Official residence for the vice president at the Naval Observatory, known as the Admiral's House (1893) on Observatory Circle, at Massachusetts Ave. at 34th St. NW. A Late Victorian red brick building (since painted over) the porched home was built with a

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * Mi ...

and dormers. *926 F Street Northwest, a three-story brick building for law firm Wold and Cohen. * Gallinger Hospital which became

District of Columbia General Hospital The District of Columbia General Hospital was a hospital located in Washington, D.C. It was operational from 1806 to its controversial closing by mayor Anthony A. Williams in 2001, as the city was trying to cut costs while recovering from bankrup ...

*Workhouse at Occoquan, now the

Lorton Reformatory The Lorton Reformatory, also known as the Lorton Correctional Complex, is a former prison complex in Lorton, Virginia, established in 1910 for the District of Columbia, United States. The complex began as a prison farm called the Occoquan Work ...

, 1909 The planning "revolutionized the architecture of penal institutions" with its open air design. *The Stoddert (1899), 2900 Q Street NW; Apartment building in Georgetown *House ("residence") for E.J. Stellwagen (1899 plans), Baltimore (i.e., Biltmore) Street and Columbia Road (lot 2, block 2), N.W., Cliffbourne, Washington, D.C. * Corby Mansion (C. 1893) 9 Chevy Chase Circle, was Senator

Francis G. Newlands Francis Griffith Newlands (August 28, 1846December 24, 1917) was a United States representative and Senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party. A supporter of westward expansion, he helped pass the Newlands Reclamation Act of 19 ...

house from 1893 to 1898, remodeled in 1911 *St. James Episcopal Church 1891–1897 14 Cornwall St, Leesburg, Virginia, later additions were added (1931?) * Kappa House (1908) 1708 S Street, NW. Originally a residence, it became the Washington DC Alumni chapter of

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...

fraternity since June 4, 1949. Georgian architecture style *Garfield Memorial Hospital, replaced by

Washington Hospital Center MedStar Washington Hospital Center is the largest private hospital in Washington, D.C. A member of MedStar Health, the not-for-profit Hospital Center is licensed for 926 beds. Health services in primary, secondary and tertiary care are offered to ...

*Soldiers' Home, Washington, D.C., now the

Armed Forces Retirement Home The Armed Forces Retirement Home refers to one of two facilities, one in Gulfport, Mississippi, the other in Washington, D.C., that house veterans and active duty members of the United States Armed Forces. Current status In 1991 Congress incorp ...

* D.S. Porter House (plans) 1894 9 East Lenox Street, Chevy Chase. Craftsman and Colonial Revival architectural styles *Powell Junior High School (1910) demolished *Fairmont Field Club (1912) Destroyed by fire 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dessez, Leon E 1858 births 1918 deaths 19th-century American architects Architects from Washington, D.C. People from Chevy Chase, Maryland