National Register Listing

Quarters B, Washington Navy Yard

a.k.a. Second Officer's House

Charles Morris Ave., SE., Washington, DC

The Joint Committee on Landmarks has designated Quarters B at the U.S. Navy Yard a Category II Landmark of importance which contributes significantly to the cultural heritage and visual beauty of the District of Columbia. The original part of the house was the first permanent building erected at the Navy Yard, one of the country's most historically significant military installations. Quarters B is generally believed to have been erected as a residence for the second-ranking officer of the Yard, the purpose which it has served through most of its history. However, documentary evidence indicates that the house was, in fact, built to accommodate the Superintendent of the Navy Yard as well as the officer of the Marines responsible for guarding the Yard, Erected late in 1801 as a simple 2-3 story Federal-style brick house, Quarters B has been altered and enlarged substantially over the years.

The precise date of construction of the original part of Quarters B has long been in question. Historian Taylor Peck, a normally reputable source, says that Quarters B was remodeled in 1801 from the original farmhouse which already stood in the Navy Yard, and that its rear wall formed part of the eastern boundary wall of the yard. However, the house does not appear on the "Enumeration of Houses in the City of Washington made November 1801." The following letter dated October 10, 1801, from Robert Smith, Secretary of the Navy, to Captain Tingey, then Superintendent of the Yard, almost certainly refers to Quarters B.

"You will be pleased to contract with Mssrs. Lovering and Dyer for the building of a house to accommodate the officer of Marines and the Superintendent of the Navy Yard, agreeable to the inclosed plan, and have it forwarded with all necessary expedition. All extra work will be allowed for."

According to Navy records, the contract for the house was let to Lovering and Dyer on the same day; that is, October 10, 1801. In all probability, Quarters B was completed in late 1801 or early 1802, after the "Enumeration" was printed.

Who actually occupied Quarters B during its first decade is unknown, although physical evidence does point to the house having been divided into two quarters, and a map of 1814 identifies the northern end as being the residence of the second officer with the office of the purser and paymaster combined in the south section.

When the British captured Washington on August 24, 1814, and Captain Tingey ordered the Navy Yard set fire to prevent the British from using the Yard and its ships to their advantage, both Quarters A (Tingey's House) and Quarters B (Lieutenant Haraden's House) were untouched, but the people of the neighborhood plundered them to such an extent that "not a movable object from cellar to garret was left, and even the fixtures and locks off the doors were taken."

During most of its existence Quarters B has served as the residence of the second officer of the yard. During the Civil War federal troops stationed in the yard were quartered there. It is now the residence of a high-ranking Naval Officer and his family.
The house has been well-maintained. A recent development plan for the Navy Yard calls for the preservation of Quarters B as part of the residential complex. The planned improvement of Leutze Park across the street from the house should further enhance its site.

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1973.