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The Peter Parker House, also known as the former headquarters of the
The Peter Parker House stands at the southern end of
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington D.C. with operations in Europe, South and East Asia, and the Middle East as well as the United States. Founded in ...
, is a historic 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 ...
at 700 Jackson Place
Jackson Place is a Washington, D.C. street located across from the White House and forming the western border of Lafayette Square between Pennsylvania Avenue and H Street, NW, beginning just south of Connecticut Avenue.
History
The block is s ...
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, Na ...
Built in 1860, it is historically significant for its association with the Carnegie Endowment, whose headquarters it was from its founding in 1910 until 1948. The building was declared 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 1974. and It has since been incorporated into the Blair House
Blair House, also known as The President's Guest House, is an official residence in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The President's Guest House has been called "the world's most exclusive hotel" because it is primarily used ...
complex serving high-profile official visitors to the capital.
Description and history
The Peter Parker House stands at the southern end of Jackson Place
Jackson Place is a Washington, D.C. street located across from the White House and forming the western border of Lafayette Square between Pennsylvania Avenue and H Street, NW, beginning just south of Connecticut Avenue.
History
The block is s ...
, presenting a side to 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) ...
, across from Lafayette Square. It is one of a series of relatively modest Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
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 ...
s built out of brick. It is three stories in height, crowned by an elaborate projecting wooden cornice. It is three bays wide, with its entrance in the rightmost bay accessed by a low flight of stairs. The entrance is framed by a sandstone segmental-arch pediment with brackets. Window sills and lintels, as well as corner quoining
Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th century encyclopedia, t ...
, are also sandstone.
The house was built in 1860. Its first prominent resident was Peter Parker
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August ...
, best known as a medical missionary to China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. In 1910 it was acquired by the recently founded Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Funded by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...
, he established it as a vehicle to promote and seek an end to international warfare. The organization occupied this building as its headquarters until 1948, when it moved to New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. During its tenure, the organization also acquired the adjacent buildings (704 and 708 Jackson Place), and expanded into them.
From 1961 to 1965 it housed the Civil War Centennial Commission, and by 1970 it had been purchased by the federal government. In the early 1980s, it along with 704 Jackson Place were internally combined into a single building and then merged with Blair House
Blair House, also known as The President's Guest House, is an official residence in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The President's Guest House has been called "the world's most exclusive hotel" because it is primarily used ...
by way of a connecting structure occupying the alleyway that had separated them.
See also
*List of National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C.
The District of Columbia, capital of the United States, is home to 75 National Historic Landmarks. The National Historic Landmark program is operated under the auspices of the National Park Service, and recognizes structures, districts, objects, a ...
* National Register of Historic Places listings in central Washington, D.C.
*Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington D.C. with operations in Europe, South and East Asia, and the Middle East as well as the United States. Founded in ...
References
External links
* {{Authority control National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C. Houses completed in 1860 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Italianate architecture in Washington, D.C.