Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-16
THE HOMES OF The EVENING STAR.
By HAL P. DENTON.

enough for a wagon or carriage to go
through.
The office of The Evening Star. upstairs.
was compact. Business manager, editor,
reporters. compositors were all thrown to-
gether in one room. Happy family it was.
Three windows in front, the saSheS of which
extended down to the floor, gave plenty of
light. The old single-cyinder press, with
a capacity of perhaps not more than thou
sand impressions an hour, performed its
daily mission in shed adjoining the build
ing in the rear. and man power was util-
lied in place of steam. which was not
adopted until several years later.
The Evening Star continued to grow in
the favor of tn, people of Washington and
the management, ever on the alert to keep
pace with needs and demands determined
upon other and more commOdous quarters
for its youthful protege. Although in eX-
istence less than two years. there was no
longer any question as to the success of
the venture. The little home above the
coach factory was inadequate for the con-
stanty increasing business.
From "a to 81.
September 30 1854 found The Evening
Star duly installed in another home. this
time in a three-story-and -attic building of
brick at the southwest corner of Penn
sylvania avenue and 18th street, where
the present massive granite structure
Of the United States Post Office De-
partm ent now stands. The building
was erected ~ William ]. Stone, an en-
graver in tie late twenties. The prop
erty was lown as lots II and y. in square
323, of he official plats of the city. and
was included in the original grant of the
farm of David Burns in 1892 by the orig
inal proprietor to the commissioners to lay
off the federal city.
The building was one of the largest in the
city at the time it was built Mr.. Stone
carried on the business of engraving. and
was engaged to a considerable extent in
government printing and furnishing maps
in addition to his private work. This old
building. which was the home of The Even
ing Star until 1881. was possessed of much
historic interest In 1888, when Washing
ton was invaded by a cholera epidemic
which carried off hundreds, especially from
the laboring classes who were employed on
the Washington city canal and in improv-
ing Pennsylvania avenue it used tenn
porarily as a hospital. Few there are liv-
ing today who remember that scourge
which caused terror and apprehension
among the people of the young and strug
Cling city Many patients were treated
within the walls of the building The older
employees of The Evening Star recall vivid
ly the stories that were told of the cholera
scare in the days that The Evening Star
made it's home there.
Stone needed only a portion of the build
ing for his own business and before The
Evening Star moved there it had been the
home of two printing offices. For some
time Mrs. Richardson used the upper rooms
and the rear building as a boarding house.
Several senators and representatives made
their headquarters there when Congress
was in session.
When The Evening Star became a tenant
of the building there was music store on
the corner. Next to this was an auction
store and then came the entrance to the
business office counting room of The
Evening Star. Adjoining the business office
on the west a variety theater. In this
old building The Evening Star made rapid