The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-02-17
NEW WASHINGTON HOMES
Palaces in Preparation For Aspirants
TO Social Leadership.

| tendency Of people OF wealth and leisure TO
come here TO live, it is much easier 70 buy a
fine house than % sell one. No one has had
this fact brought home more closely to him
than has ex-senator Palmer Of Michigan, at
present the United States minister to Spain
A few years after coming here Mr..
Palmer erected a very beautiful house
on K street, facing Mcpherson square,
one of the most desirable and
aristOcratic localities in the city The house
was built Of New York freestone and the
| interior decorations are most elaborate and
costly. The diniDg-rOOm is said to he the
finest in Washington and all the wood used
in it was imported by the senator personally
and dressed in Michigan under his supervi-
sion. For two years past Mr.. Palmer has
been prosecuting in the courts a suit
against his builder, who ne claims robbed
hun Of several thousand dollars. The fact
Is set forth in the senator's bill Of complaint
that the contract price Of the house, exclu-
| sive of interior decorations, was $40 900,
and that before it was turned over to him
| the price lad gone up to a little more than
$4,000. He claimed that this was owing TO
the desire OF the builder to get money with
out performing work, and that he had been
| charged for materials that were never used.
| Inc builder brought at once a counter suit
against Mr.. Palmer, and now threatens
that as soon as Mr.. Palmer comes home
from Spain he will sue him for
libel When Mr.. Palmer left here last
spring his beautiful house was closed,
his furniture sent to his home in De
troit, and sign put up announcing that
| the house was for sale. The sign is still
| there and the house is boarded up and de-
| serted during all this gay season. During
| the three winters that the senator occupied
| 1t, it was the scene of some of the most
| elaborate entertainments ever given at the
| n ha . no IL
underneath the roof; there is private ele-
vator, and each floor has bath room.
| Notwithstanding these attractions no one
offers to buy the house, and when Minister
Palmer returns from Spain next summer to
make his contest for governor of Michigan,
he will probably still have his house on his
hands.
| When Secretary Fairchild left Washing
| ton on the incoming of the Harrison admin
istration he sold his fine house, which he
| had purchased only short time before, to
| Senator Hearst of California. The house is
large, square, roomy brick structure,
built in the solid, sensible style of twenty
years ago, and is located on New Hamp-
| shire avenue, near the fashionable aristocrat
Dupont circle This house was for years
the only one of any pretentions whatever
| i'll the north vest section that is now built up
| 5Olidly with fashionable and costly houses.
| The opening up and extension of new streets
placed it in the centre of the most desirable
section of new Washington. Mrs. Senator
| Hearst, who aspires to be the popular So
| cety leader in Washington, purchased the
! house with n view to enlarging and bsauti-
| flying it, and making it the scene Of the
most open-handed hospitality of any house
| in Washington. Plans were at once pre-
| pared for the entire remodeling of the big
| house, and the work is not finished vet
Senator and Mrs Hearst reside at hotel
ana watch with eagerness the progression
| of the work On their new home The
senator is not so anxious for its completion
as Mrs. Hearst is, because he de-
tests society and fashionable entertainments
| of all sorts. He never takes part in any of
| it, and finds his amusement outside of the
Senate chamber in driving behind good
horses, and sitting in the back room at
| John Chamberlain's telling and listening to
| good stories with circle of intimate
friends. Mrs. Hearst, however, takes
great interest in the plans for the recon-
struction of the Fairchild house. She has
| had it 50 completely remodelei that no One
who saw it when. Mr.. Fairchild resided
there would recognize it. Its entire
shape has been changed, a new roof
substituted, ball room, and porte
| cochere added until it is new q most
spacious mansion, entirely fitted for the
series of extensive entertainments that Mrs.
Hearst contemplates during the present
season. 1t Is said that she will fairly dazzle
| Washington society, accustomed as 1t is to
elaborate entertaining, by the brilliancy of
| the balls, dinner parties, receptions and pri-
vate theatricals that she has upon her pro-
| gramme. Mrs Hearst and the thousands of
| people who expect to be hidden to her enter
tainments are beginning to fear that the
| house will never be completed. The delay
has been caused by a freight blockade that
has existed here for six months, of which
many prominent people besides Mrs Hearst
have been victims.
One of the largest and most solid houses
| under construction in Washington is being
erected by the daughter of the late Presi-
dent Garfield, now the wife of J. Stanley
| Brown, who was the private secretary of
| President Garfield during the few months
that he was in Office. The house is a huge.
square. substantial one. with few of the
| decorations and additions now so popular in
| stylish houses. 1t is of the style of twenty
five years ago, but is a very roomy and
comfortable-looking residence of red brick,
with light stone trimmings. 1t is situated
on Massachusetts, avenue, one of the
finest streets in Washington and
| stands on the very lot where the
father of Stanley Brown once, not many
years ago, worked in little shop
at his trade as a carpenter. Adjoining this
big house is the little brick cottage which
was formerly the home of the Browns which
the famous Russian traveller and lecturer.
George KEENAN,, is now occupying, having
fixed it up in a very pretty and cozy little
home. AS soon as the big house is COM
pleted Mr.. and Mrs. Brown are coming to
Washington to live. Their house is large
enough to entertain all Washington society
in it at one time, but whether the Browns
intend to enter prominently into the gave
ties of the capital is not known. Since her
marriage the Presidents daughter signs her
name "Mollie Garfield Stanley-Brown
Washington house owners and house
builders have been in state of mind for
several weeks over decision rendered by
one of the district judges Some months
ago Mrs. Cole, a wealthy lady of San Fran
cisco, erected a large and costly house on
Dupont circle. When it was nearly fin
ished it was discovered that the bay window
extended a short distance over the building
line on the parking belonging to the gov
eminent reservation. Notwithstanding the
fact she showed permit officially signed by
the district commissioners to build this win
dow exactly as it was built, the court de-
cided that she had violated the law, and or
dered the bay window torn down. Mrs.
Cole then started on a raid of her
own, and, accompanied by an inspector,
made measurements of a large number of
houses occupied by public officials and other
prominent citizens. Her search revealed
the fact that a great many houses had bay