A Rich History | The M.A. Winter Office Building

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A Rich History
The M.A. Winter Building was constructed in 1908/09 at
an estimated cost of $50,000 by “Colonel” Mahlon
Adolphus Winter and George W. Faris to house Colonel
Winter’s patent medicine business, which he called“proprietary medicines.” Today, we might call him a“Snake Oil Salesman” and consider his remedies ofquestionable medical value. In 1906 a British medicaljournal “The Lancet” listed his medicines under the titleof “Quack Advertising” and added:“The remedy in question, which isguaranteed by the vendors to mitigate orremove a great variety of aliments, is“composed of the choicest barks, roots, andherbs.” The absurdity of asking a medical
man to sell a quack remedy of unknown
composition, guaranteed to give relief in a
multitude of diseases might serve a purpose
in a jest- book but not elsewhere. The truthis that both the M.A. Winter Co. and its
wonderful medicines are unworthy of serious
consideration.”
Washington Post August 1, 1913
In 1912 Winter and Faris built an addition to the M.A.
Winter Building (now known as 1438 U Street) which
was built to the specifications of the US Postal Service.
The estimated cost of the addition was $46,000. It was
the first substation built as a post office in Washington up
to that time. It operated as Post Office Station 9 until
1940. A description of the new building appeared in aWashington Post article of April 7, 1912:“The Post Office Department intends that
this shall be a model substation and in thefuture the same plans will be used whereever a substation is erected.”
Washington Post April 7, 1912
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By 1915 other offices including the WinterManufacturing Company, a toilet paper specialties
manufacturer, the American Funding Corporation and theFreight Audit and Adjustment Company also occupied
the Building.
In 1918 the Building was commandeered by the US
Army for use by the War Risk Insurance organization a
US Congress chartered agency established to ensure theavailability of marine insurance during World War I.
In 1920 the Building was the home a several storage
companies: first, Winter Building Storage and in 1923 theNational Capital Storage and Moving Company.
Col Winter sold the Building in 1936 to Freda Levy whoowned it until 1943. During her ownership the Building
was occupied by the Railroad Route Board.
From 1936 through 1942 the Building was leased to theU.S. Postal Commission as a part of the U Street Station.
In 1943 the US Maritime Commission was listed as anoccupant of the Building.
In the 1960ies records show conflicting information
regarding the occupants of the Building. Both theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Scienceand the Veteran’s Administration Supply Department arelisted as occupants.
The last known use of the Building was as a retail outlet
for the St Vincent de Paul Catholic Charity in the early
1970ies. It was an abandoned shell when, in 1985, it waspurchased by its current owners and renovated into theoffice building that it is today.

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A Rich History | The M.A. Winter Office Building

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Copyright 2011 The M.A. WinterCompany | 1436 U Street Northwest, Washington, D.C. 20009| Contact Us | (202) 483-1666

Copyright 2011 The M.A.Winter Company | 1436 U Street Northwest, Washington D.C. 20009• M.A. Winter Energy• The M.A. Winter Office Building• Floor Plans• A Rich History• The Neighborhood• Contact Us

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