The Northumberland Apartments is a historic apartment building in the

U Street Corridor The U Street Corridor, sometimes called Cardozo/Shaw or Cardozo, is a commercial and residential district in Northwest Washington, D.C., most of which also constitutes the Greater U Street Historic District. It is centered along a nine-block st ...

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, ...

The

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

building was constructed in 1909-10 by local real estate developer

Harry Wardman Harry Wardman (April 11, 1872 – March 18, 1938) was a real estate developer in Washington, D.C. during the early 20th century whose developments included landmark hotels, luxury apartment buildings, and many rowhouses. When he died in 1938, one-t ...

and Albert H. Beers. In 1980, the building was placed 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 ...

Siting

The Northumberland Apartments occupies a significant lot on New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. The irregular shape of the lot, created by the intersection of this major diagonal avenue and the grid of L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the Federal City, dictated the shape of the building. The Northumberland's eclectic, classical facade blends harmoniously with the buildings in the area and contributes to the visual variety and richness of the New Hampshire Avenue streetscape between Sixteenth Street and Florida Avenue. The building remains an unaltered element in a neighborhood identity created by Victorian

rowhouse In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...

s, large apartment buildings, and churches and institutional buildings. The variety of building types and styles, and the unusual spatial configuration of the short blocks and irregularly-shaped lots, creates a richness of streetscape seldom found so intact in the city today.

Design

Exterior

Beers designed the Northumberland in an eclectic early-twentieth century adaptation of eighteenth-century classicism. Its design and conception were French in origin, illustrating Beers' familiarity with the current fashion in apartment design. The quality of construction, materials, and craftsmanship found in the building is exceptionally high. The Northumberland stands in its original state; this unaltered condition contributes significantly to the building's importance. The Northumberland is perhaps the only such example of an early-twentieth century luxury apartment building left intact in Washington. The Northumberland is approached by a semi-circular driveway. The building is red and white brick and dressed limestone and features an eclectic collection of classical architectural elements. The facade is divided into three horizontal bands. The upper and lower bands are white brick and stone and are each two stories high. The configuration of the

fenestration Fenestration may refer to: * Fenestration (architecture), the design, construction, or presence of openings in a building * Used in relation to fenestra in anatomy, medicine and biology * Fenestration, holes in the rudder of a ship to reduce the w ...

is the same on both levels, although the scale is smaller in the upper band. The windows are paired vertically - an arched window above a square one - and contained within a quoined

Gibbs surround A Gibbs surround or Gibbs Surround is a type of architectural frame surrounding a door, window or niche in the tradition of classical architecture otherwise known as a rusticated doorway or window. The formula is not fixed, but several of the ...

that encompasses the windows and the

spandrel A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame; between the tops of two adjacent arches or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fill ...

between. Similar limestone quoins are also found at the corners of the two bands. The middle band of three floors is rough red brick. The rectangular windows are unusually large and are capped by pressed brick

jack arch A jack arch is a structural element in masonry construction that provides support at openings in the masonry. Alternate names are "flat arch" and "straight arch". Unlike regular arches, jack arches are not semicircular in form. Instead, they are ...

es with stone console keystones. An elaborate metal bracketed

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

forms a projecting cap for the building and eloquently defines the roofline. The variety and richness of the materials and textures contribute to the impressive dignity of the Northumberland. Other detailing, including limestone ledges and quoins, add a decorative element. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the facade is the

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

-inspired recessed entry. The curved space, framed by two pairs of

Ionic columns The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

and

pilasters In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall ...

, is high and over wide. Above is a high

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

capped by two classical stone urns. The wide door, with its elliptical

fanlight A fanlight is a form of lunette window, often semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway, and is sometimes hinged to a transom. Th ...

and

sidelight A sidelight or sidelite in a building is a window, usually with a vertical emphasis, that flanks a door or a larger window. Sidelights are narrow, usually stationary and found immediately adjacent doorways.Barr, Peter.Illustrated Glossary, 19th ...

s, is set in a deep niche. The fenestration plays a major role in determining the feeling of the facade. The windows are unusually large for the period, some measuring over square. The variety of

sash A sash is a large and usually colorful ribbon or band of material worn around the body, either draping from one shoulder to the opposing hip and back up, or else running around the waist. The sash around the waist may be worn in daily attire, bu ...

types, including 16/1, add to the richness of the design. Consoles and metal ornamentation provide additional embellishment. The consoles are two types - metal under the projecting cornice and limestone above the windows. The Former are decorated with deeply chased

acanthus leaves The acanthus ( grc, ἄκανθος) is one of the most common plant forms to make foliage ornament and decoration, and even as the leaf distinguishing the heraldic coronet of a manorial lord from other coronets of royalty or nobility, which us ...

. The latter are classical in style and serve as the keystones in the jack arches above the windows. Other decorative metal details include four types of molding (

dentil A dentil (from Lat. ''dens'', a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice. Dentils are found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and also in later styles such as Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian Reviv ...

egg and dart Egg-and-dart, also known as egg-and-tongue, egg-and-anchor, or egg-and-star, is an ornamental device adorning the fundamental quarter-round, convex ovolo profile of moulding, consisting of alternating details on the face of the ovolo—typically ...

ogee An ogee ( ) is the name given to objects, elements, and curves—often seen in architecture and building trades—that have been variously described as serpentine-, extended S-, or sigmoid-shaped. Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combinatio ...

, and plain), a large floral

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

, and chamfered metal panels.

Interior

The exterior of the Northumberland, in spite of its variety of materials and architectural elements, hardly prepares one for the explosion of decorative features and materials in the main public space of the building. The

lobby Lobby may refer to: * Lobby (room), an entranceway or foyer in a building * Lobbying, the action or the group used to influence a viewpoint to politicians :* Lobbying in the United States, specific to the United States * Lobby (food), a thick stew ...

has been described as unique among Wardman's many buildings. Some connoisseurs of architectural history consider it the most distinctive lobby in the city. Eclectic in design and decoration, it reflects the taste in vogue in New York City luxury apartments at the turn of the 20th century. It boasts two huge fireplaces and four columns with ornamental capitals. The staircase and lighting fixtures exhibit fine handwrought iron work. The central staircase, with white-grey marble steps, branches at the landing with separate marbleized staircases leading to each wing of the building. The three stairways are well related visually. Facing the entrance at the first landing are three original curved stained glass windows with heraldic monograms (the initial N). The two fireplaces, which face one another, are high, wide, and deep. The construction is wood, marbleized to match the color of the walls. The two marbleized staircases curve slightly and extend from the lobby to the first floor. Each is headed by a

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a d ...

in the form of an

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

tall, containing six marble steps, and six unusually shaped

balusters A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its cons ...

. Quasi columns form the end of the staircases, complete with eclectic capitals and elements of decoration that form part of the over-all lobby pattern. An elegant

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

highlights the entrance to the corridors. The main staircase to the first landing has thirteen marble steps. The lobby floor consists of the same ceramic tile and decorative pattern as is found in the corridors. The

transom Transom may refer to: * Transom (architecture), a bar of wood or stone across the top of a door or window, or the window above such a bar * Transom (nautical), that part of the stern of a vessel where the two sides of its hull meet * Operation Tran ...

over the door is in the form of an arc and is decorated with an impressive marbleized border. The lobby of the Northumberland is distinguished by a wealth of decorative ornamentation associated with European architectural embellishments derived from classical, medieval, gothic, and renaissance motifs. Its great size ( and height () allowed the architect and builder great freedom in designing the motifs that make up the decoration. The marbleized walls, columns, side staircases, and fireplaces provide an elegant background for the ornamentation. The yellowish color of the imitation marble blends harmoniously with the basic buff color of the decorative plasterwork, accentuated with touches of gilt.

References

External links