Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-12
OLD POWER HOUSE SITE
LOCATION OF PROSPECTIVE Mu-
NIcIPAL BUILDING.
History of Square Numbered 255 in
the Official Plans of the
City.

That Square Of ground recently acquired
by the District government as site for its
municipal building, has an interesting his
tory. 1t Is known as square No 2o5 on the
official plans of the city and was formerly
the site of the Nailor stables, and later of
the Capital Traction Companys power
house. The square lies between d and E
streets and 1871 and 14th streets. Though
but few feet above and within three hun
dred yards of the old Tiber creek-subse-
quently converted into the Washington city
canal and later the B street sewer-which
in former years in time of flood and freshet
was likely to be overlooked the plat of
ground was looked upon with favor by
some of the early residents of the city. 1t
was included in the Davy Burns land,
which was acquired by the government
with other lands, to form the seat of gov
eminent.
Among the early3 owners of lots in this
square We're the first Secretary Of the Navy,
Benjamin Stoddert; Isaac Pollok, David
Peter, VIM. H. Dorsey, James H. Blake
(mayor of Washington, Col. Michael
Nourse, an original clerk of the treasury;
Col. John Tayloe father of Col. B. OSle
Iayloe. and proprietor at one time Of the
site now occupied by the Willard Hotel.
In the twenties the Plants, kerrs, De-
ments, Eckloffs and others were interested,
the Majors late In the decade establishing
stables on the D street side Prior thereto,
however, the northeastern part of the
square was the quarters for Baltimore
line of stages, with which Mr.. Azariah
Fuller was connected. Mr.. Fuller after
ward engaged in the hotel business many
years at the Willard stand, and in connec-
ton with that business ran the stables
known as the Hotel stables. In that day
one of the requirements for a license for
tavern or ordinary was provision for sta
hing least horses besides their
own These and more, too. were possessed
by Mr. Fuller when he became hotel
keeper. The well4known James Maher,
when he took charge of the Union, or
Western Hotel, at the southeast corner of
1872 and E streets, had no room OH the
hotel ground for stab,ng, and purchased
the northwest part of the square, where he
established his stables. The stable yards
were often the most attractive points for
the boys of sixty years ago, for when an
Indian delegation was in the city stopping
at Makers they found there ground for
target shooting. and at times hundreds of
boys and grown men would gather to see
the red man shoot, with bow and arrow,
pieces of money set up as targets.
Manufactures There.
That the square and neighborhood did not
of old bear the character they did In after
years it is only necessary to state that with
the advent of the Majors, in addition to the
stabling business mentioned above, much of
the 18th street side was occupied for manu-
featuring purposes, stage coach and wagon
building, bla cksrnithing. etc.
There were among the residents of the
square and vicinity Joseph T. Combs,
well-known butcher. who had his slaughter
house several hundred yards south; Lewis
Leprux, grocer; Capt. Alex. Rutherford,
marble cutter; John Plant, master brick
layer; James Baggott, printer, afterWard
captain of the corporation police; Thompson
Nailor, coach maker; E. c. Dyer, once a
clerk; Columbus fDenham, the veteran book
binder, and George T. Raub, retired soap
manufactures both pow living at the adj
vanced age of over eighty years. Among
others then living In the vicinity were John
L. Smith printer, magistra te and lawyer;
w. L. Jones, printer. Elkanah Waters wood
merchant, and Grafton Powell, long
nected with the, land office. In fact, the
term low could only be applied to the grade
of the ground. ..
For many years It was emphatically a
Nailor nefghborhood, for more than one of
the name lived this square and other
squares adjacent. There was a Majors row
on the square south. with grocery store
bearing the name. To the purchase of a
lot on d street by the elder Nailor he added
those on the 1917 street side, and finally the
whole avenue e street front to 14th
street. At one time he had the most ex-
tensive stables and coach building shops
in the District.
During the early fifties the stables were
destroyed by fire, with some forty head of
horses and other property, but he at once
rebuilt and resumed business. A three
story brick shop took up about half of the
E street front, and this was subsequently
used by the contractor for the public print
ing as the bindery. Then in the exciting
know nothing days 1t became the meeting
place of at least one of the lodges, and it
was generally believed that the plot to de-
story the stone sent by the pope of Rome
to the Washington monument was formed
in that hall.