In 1978, a representative of the U.S. Department of the Interior paid a visit to Washington. The goal was to provide an inventory of buildings for the National Register of Historic Places. What was found in Washington was a modest array of Federal, Italianate, Queen Anne and Greek Revival styles; as well as many “plain, frame, often style-less structures of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.”

But the frequency and distribution of surviving examples determined the Greek Revival style enjoyed a heyday in Washington’s antebellum years. Many of those homes can still be found lining the streets of the historic district—a tribute to the Washington’s past and the aesthetic sensibilities of its residents long ago.

The following are a few noteworthy examples of the Greek Revival style found in Washington, as written in the original report.

 

 

Havens House

Among the larger and more imposing of the group is the two-story Havens House, a three-bay weatherboarded structure with a notable veranda built or embellished in the early twentieth century. A wooden fence, with pickets arranged in a wavy pattern, large trees, and excellent landscaping, and two important Flemish bond brick outbuildings (smokehouse and kitchen) magnify the charm and significance of the property. The outbuildings are reminders that the grounds of the nearly every house during the nineteenth century contained subsidiary structures necessary for cooking, curing, storage, stabling of animals and housing of slaves and servants. Architectural detail of the center hall plan house—which include Federal as well as Greek Revival motifs—suggest that the house was at some point enlarged and embellished in the mid-nineteenth century as it was once again the early twentieth. Notable elements include the Federal style dogleg stair with its graceful rounded and ramped handrail; simple three-part Federal mantels; and the Greek Revival style symmetrically molded door and window surrounds, two-panel doors, and heavily molded baseboards.

 

243 East Main Street

More straightforwardly Greek Revival is the house at 243 East Main Street, a typical three-bay, two-story house with standard Greek Revival details. The door surround, with its transom and sidelights and Greek key detail, and the door itself — a heavily molded six-panel design — are notable features which suggest the use of pattern books by local builders, here perhaps one by Asher Benjamin. Of significance are the cable moldings on the cornerposts, an unusual detail that may have been derived from a pattern book, and the Italianate brackets — a popular architectural motif until the end of the nineteenth century in Washington.

 

Rodman House

Certainly the tree-shaded Greek Revival style Rodman House on West Main Street is one of the finest houses in Washington. The house is thought to have been built either by the Grist family or more probably the Rodman family. The Rodmans are thought to have acquired the property from a Hull Anderson, a freed black. … The Rodman family, distinguished in a number of generations, lived here until recently when the house was sold out of the family. The five-bay, two-story frame structure is well detailed inside and out. The porch with its Doric type posts and cast iron balustrade (rarely seen in Washington), cornice with Italian brackets, heavily molded cornerposts and decorated stuccoed interior end chimney are important survivals. Inside the center hall plan house contains a heavily detailed stair with brackets, a bulbous turned newel, and turned balusters plus a complete program of Greek Revival trim and mantels—one in marble.

 

Greek Revival cottages

Two examples of the Greek Revival cottage remain in the city. The Warren House, also known as Greenhill, is an attractive one-story gable roofed frame house on a full height, raised basement. The five-bay main floor is reached by a steep spiral stair leading to a one-bay porch. The center hall plan interior features simple Greek Revival motifs, including mantels, two-panel doors, ceiling roundels, hardware, and other details. The house is thought to have been built about 1850 by Edward Jenner Warren, who moved from Vermont to Washington about 1846.

 

Related to the Warren House is the Respess House at 132 East Fourth Street, a notable one-story Greek Revival cottage with stuccoed walls struck to imitate ashlar, similar to the wall treatment of the Bank of Washington. The house, with its hipped roof, interior chimneys, three-bay façade, and wide porch conforms more closely to the model of the “typical” Greek Revival cottage than the Warren cottage, which has some more old-fashioned features.