President's Office, George Washington University

The President's Offices are principally important as significant survivors from the period when Foggy Bottom was a fashionable residential area. These two Victorian rowhouses at 700 20th Street, N.W., and 2003 G Street, N.W., stand as a visual reminder of the area's turn-of-the-century prominence. Designed as separate units by two local architects, George S. Cooper and Victor Mindeleff, these houses reflect Foggy Bottom's residential character, both in style and building type. Their association with the university during the twentieth century serves to link the school to the history of Foggy Bottom and provides the campus with a rich architectural heritage.

These finely designed and executed late-nineteenth-century rowhouses were typical of the housing stock of the period in Foggy Bottom. Their form and design vocabulary embody the distinctive characteristics of an architectural style, period, and building type that were significant to the appearance of the city; and these buildings represent the work of architects who have significantly contributed to the architectural heritage and development of the National Capital (Criteria c). Furthermore, their role in the development and everyday functioning of the university associates them with an institution that is an important element in the broad patterns of the city's history (Criteria A). The buildings retain the integrity of location, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. The significance of the buildings has been recognized by their listing as a Historic Landmark of the District of Columbia.

The two rowhouses which comprise the President's Offices at 20th and G Streets, N.W., were designed in 1892 for John Foster by different architects. Victor Mindeleff designed the townhouse known as 2003 G Street, N.W., while George S. Cooper was the architect for the house at 700 20th Street, N.W.

Both houses were built by Theodore A. Harding, a successful local real estate developer, as well as the contractor. He was the father of Clarence L. Harding, of the Washington architectural firm of Harding and Upman. The Harding father and son worked together on many projects, but Theodore Harding also worked often with both George S. Cooper and Victor Mindeleff Harding's houses can be found throughout the city, most notably in the Dupont Circle area. These two buildings seem to form a natural unit, due not only to similar design elements but also to the use of the same materials and construction methods. Theodore Harding, as the contractor for both houses, helped create this unity.

Mindeleff and Cooper were both prominent local architects, designing many notable residential and commercial structures throughout Washington. Many examples of Mindeleff's work once lined the streets of the Foggy Bottom neighborhood, including two other rowhouses on G Street for John Foster, and three on 20th Street for Theodore Harding. All of Mindeleff's houses in the 20th and G Streets vicinity have been demolished except the rowhouse at 2003 G Street, N.W., the western half of the President's Offices.
Cooper, who trained locally with the architectural firms of Gray and Page, Hornblower and Marshall, and A.B. Mullett, also concentrated on residential design. Numerous houses in the Dupont Circle area have been attributed to him, including 1801 20th Street, N.W. Cooper did not limit his practice to residential architecture, and his designs included commercial buildings and apartment houses.

Some of his more notable contributions to Washington architecture are The Bond Building (1901) at 14th Street and New York Avenue, NW., a city landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the now-demolished Washington Riding Academy at the southwest corner of 22nd and P Streets, N.W. Additionally, Cooper designed such apartment houses as The Analoston (1893). 1718 Corcoran Street, N.W.; the Balfour (1900), originally known as The Westover, at 16th and U Streets, N.W.; The Berkeley and Carrolton (1902) at 1733 and 1735 Willard Street, N.W.; and the Decatur (1903), on Decatur Place.

The house at 700 20th Street, N.W. was designed four years after he had established an independent architectural practice. Cooper expanded his role in later years, becoming a building owner and builder as well as an architect. He is noted as the first architect to design apartment buildings in multiples, using the same plan. This resulted in compatible streetscapes as well as savings in the cost of design and per unit costs of materials. His apartment buildings were among the first designed to attract Washington's middle class and illustrate the beginnings of the acceptance of apartment house living. Throughout his 40-year career, he designed free-standing homes and rowhouses.

These two rowhouses were converted to administrative offices by The George Washington University when it acquired them, circa 1930, in response to the growing demand for additional space. They were then used for President Marvin's offices. The buildings currently house the offices of the Dean of Continuing Education.

The two townhouses known as the President's Offices are noteworthy among the campus buildings for both their architectural quality and as representations of the history of the Foggy Bottom neighborhood and the university. George Washington University, by virtue of its academic standing and its physical presence, stands as a significant institution in the District of Columbia. The history and development of the school, from its beginnings in the early nineteenth century to its current status as a major urban university, is inextricably linked to the history and development of Washington as the Nation's Capitol.

The George Washington University began in 1821, as the Columbian College under a charter granted by President Monroe. The small school was located near Florida Avenue and Sixteenth Street in northwest Washington. By 1870, it had grown to include a medical school and a law school. At the urging of William Corcoran, a noted philanthropist, and Columbian College trustee, the school was renamed the Columbian University in 1873, and shortly thereafter it relocated to the city's financial district on H Street, between 13th and 15th Streets, N.W.

It was not until 1905 that the university adopted the name of our nation's first president. In 1904, the George Washington Memorial Foundation chose Columbian University to fulfill the first president's dreams for a national university, and the following year the school was renamed The George Washington University.

Operating now as a national university, the school grew ambitious and began its search for a location that would allow for a spacious, self-contained campus environment. The reality of the cost of such a plan, however, almost destroyed the university. In 1912, faced with serious financial troubles, the university was forced to reorganize and relocated to the inexpensive rental property at 2023 G Street, N.W.From this modest new beginning, the school took hold in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood and developed into a leading university.

The history of George Washington University can be traced through four major periods of development: the Needham years, the Harris Plan, the Marvin era, and the Elliott years.

Charles Needham was president of the university from 1902 through 1912 and was instrumental in transforming the school into a national university. His optimism and visions for the school outpaced financial realities, however, and his quest for a formal campus setting ultimately crippled the school.

Upon assuming the presidency in 1902, Needham set out to elevate the university to national standing. Universities around the country were designing, redesigning, and relocating their campuses to meet the challenges of a new twentieth-century aesthetic, and Needham was determined to make his university a part of this movement. By 1904, the school had been selected as the university to fulfill George Washington's dream for a major academic center in the District of Columbia, and Needham developed plans to correspond to this new function. A site was selected at Van Ness Park, and an architectural competition was held for the new campus design. Percy Ash, the school's professor of architecture, invited six architectural firms to submit plans proposing a general scheme for the site and specific designs for a memorial building. With the help of Charles Mikimo, Chairman of the Park Commission, and Bernard Green, Superintendent of the Library of Congress, Ash selected George B. Post and the son of New York for their classically inspired design based on the teachings of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. The five-acre site, however, proved too small for the needs of the university, and a new search was launched for a more appropriate location.

This change, however, which would require an additional $2,500,000, caused several of the earlier funding pledges for the Van Ness site to be voided and likewise marked the beginning of the school's financial crises. Bank notes became due on the Van Ness property, refinancing demanded more capital, and operating funds were used to cover the mounting debts. Compounded by the economic panic of 1907, the school found itself unable to pay its professors and was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Drastic measures were needed to save the university from financial ruin and in 1908 Needham was swiftly replaced by Admiral Charles Herbert Stockton. After a long distinguished naval career, Stockton was called upon to exercise his strict discipline in the failing school. Costs were cut, realistic goals were identified, and finally, relocation was achieved. In 1912, the school moved to its present Foggy Bottom location and purchased its first building at that site, the former St. Rose's Industrial School.

This step marked the beginning of a new era for the school. With its financial situation now stabilized, and adequate space secured, the school could now concentrate on developing an appropriate campus. Through the influence of newly elected trustee, Maxwell Woodhull, a neighbor to the school, the Board of Trustees was encouraged to expand its campus at the Foggy Bottom location. The once-fashionable neighborhood was in transition, and the lowering of real estate prices gave the school the opportunity to acquire the property needed for a formal campus plan.

Between 1910 and 1920, and under the leadership of Stockton, his successor William Collier, and Woodhull, the university gradually acquired numerous lots in the south portion of Square 102, the city block bounded by 20th, 21st, G, and H streets, N.W. In 1921, Woodhull bequeathed his house at the corner of 21st and G Street to the school, further establishing the university's stronghold in that block.

After World War I, enrollment increased at the university, placing further space demands on the school. Washington developer and university trustee Harry Wardman encouraged the Board to purchase a building at 14th and K Streets for the law school, but after some deliberation, the Board reaffirmed its commitment to Square 102 and acquired the building strictly for investment purposes. It was now official: The George Washington University would permanently develop its campus at Square 102 in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington.

Howard Lincoln Hodgkins became president pro tempore in 1921 and immediately set out to develop the formal campus that had been the dream of the school for so many years. In 1922, Hodgkins proposed the purchase of 2014 H Street, the renovation of the G Street buildings, and finally the development of Square 102 into a formal campus. The plans were presented by Albert Harris, a professor of architecture at the university and the District of Columbia's newly-appointed Municipal Architect.

William Mather Lewis was elected as the permanent president of the university in 1923, and under his direction, the Harris Plan was begun. By 1926, two of the eight proposed buildings of the Harris Plan were completed. Corcoran Hall, begun in 1923, was located at the western edge of Square 102, and Stockton Hall, completed in 1926, was located across the quadrangle at the eastern terminus of the cross-axial plan.

As the campus was finally taking shape, problems arose concerning the future of the medical school. Talk of mergers with other area health programs not only cast doubts on the continuation of the medical and nursing schools but also halted progress on the development of the other branches of the school. It was not until 1927 that the issue was resolved and that plans for the quadrangle could be resumed.

That same year, however, a new president was appointed to the university. President Cloyd Heck Marvin rejected the principles of the Harris Plan and set out to develop a new image for the university. Marvin approached the university in a completely different manner than his predecessors, bringing a new direction and philosophy to the school. One of his primary objectives was to enhance the image of the university by improving its physical environment and expanding the campus. The Harris Plan was rejected, and Marvin embarked on a new campaign that stressed his belief in functional architecture. Between 1928 and 1934, the school acquired nineteen additional properties in and around Square 102, including the two townhouses that were to become the President's Offices. Also in this period, several new buildings were erected that set a new style for the school grounds.

In recent decades, the campus continued to grow under the leadership of President Lloyd H. Elliott. During his presidency from 1965 to 1988, Elliott strengthened the school's position among institutions of higher learning by expanding the school's research capabilities and academic programs. He orchestrated the construction of an additional 3.7 million square feet of space for the campus, including a medical school, student center, athletic center, academic building, and support facilities. Additionally, he focussed on new activity on Square 102 in the realization of the Harris Plan for a formal campus. The Jacob Burns Law Library, designed by Mills, Petticord, and Mills, was constructed in 1970, and the Law School complex, designed by Keyes, Condon, and Florance, was completed in 1984. The quadrangle itself was renovated to provide a well-landscaped central focus to the campus, continuing the Marvin philosophy of providing a cohesive quality to the university.

As changes to the university continue, the older buildings on the campus gain greater significance. The President's Offices, representing the neighborhood's past and the university's development, remain to anchor their important corner of the campus.