Old President's Offices, 700 20th Street
From GWUEncyc
Building
Title: Old President's Offices
Address: 700 20th Street, N.W.
Square and lot, bordering streets: Square 102, lot 26 (G, H, 20th, 21st Street)
Architect: George S. Cooper
Date of construction: 1892, extensive remodeling 2000-02
Original owner: John Roster
Description: Architect George S. Cooper designed this dwelling for John W. Foster in 1892, complementing the adjacent house facing G Street to the west designed that same year by Victor Mindeleff. It was built by Theodore A. Harding. Together, the two houses are representative of late 19th century Washington row-house construction, both in scale and in excellence of the brick-work and ornamentation. Cooper took advantage of the house's corner site by orienting the entrance to 20th Street; this, being the longer facade, lends the house the appearance of grandeur belied by its narrow lot (16' 6" x 40'). An elegant stone stair covered by a porch supported by brick piers serves the entrance. Flanking the porch are two square projecting bays: one, three stories with a pyramidal slate roof; the other, two stories with a flat roof. A round one-story bay supporting an iron-railed balcony graces the G Street facade, and the mansard roof is interrupted on both facades by a cross gable. The surface of the smooth pressed brick is articulated by the rough stone belt courses and the window trim.
The building was remodeled in 2000. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia praised the GW Law School in front of a packed Media and Public Affairs auditorium at a dedication ceremony for the new law school “cornerstone” addition in 2002. The University placed a time capsule behind the cornerstone of the new building, including a letter from House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), a letter from President George W. Bush and a signed copy of President Trachtenberg’s book, “Thinking Out Loud.” Faculty and members of the Student Bar Association also contributed photos.
Historic designation: None
Document Information
Images: 0
Photographic Credit: n/a
Author or Source: Application for Historic Buildings Registry, 1974
Document Location: University Archives
Date Added to Encyclopedia: January 18, 2007
Prepared by: Lyle Slovick, Assistant University Archivist
For more information about GW history
Contact:
Special Collections Research Center [1]
The Melvin Gelman Library [2]
The George Washington University [3]
2130 H Street, NW Suite 704
Washington, DC 20052
202-994-7549
mailto:archives@gwu.edu
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