Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-17
CAPITOL PARK BORDER
Trees and Shrubbery Displaced
Commodious Buildings.
PLOT KNOWN AS SQUARE 687
Block of Dwellings Known for Years
as Dowson Row.
THE HOME OF CONGRESSMAN
Ground Contained Twenty-Four Lots,
Twelve on A and B Streets,
Respectively.
The HOME OF CONGRESSMAN

At the northeast corner of the Capitol
grounds, where the trees and shrubbery of
the park flourish, were once brick,
mortar and wood in the form of commo-
dious buildings, which, for large part of
century, furnished homes for families
and sojourners. 1t was designated as
square No. 6S7, located, on the original plan
of the city, between \ and streets north
and Delaware avenue and LIST street east,
and was included in the tract of Daniel
Carroll of Duddington. But nearly forty
years ago this square, at that period,
as stated, the site of number Of resi-
dences, was absorbed in the east grounds
of the Capitol, and the occupants found
homes elsewhere. Many of them, who had
bought ground at less than twenty cents
per foot We're paid ten times that amount
and liberal sums for the buildings. Nearly
all the buildings were of brick, and they
We're demolished and the material hauled
away In one instance, at least that of
the residence of John S. Meehan librarian
of Congress, a frame building erected forty
years previously, was moved half mile
or more on rollers to 9th street northeast,
and is in service today.
1t is patent that, situated near the ma
t1onal Capitol, as we'll as the temporary
capitol erected after the destruction wrought
by Ross and Cockburn in 1914. it has in
teresting history. In the division between
the commissioners and the proprietors in
1I91 the title to the whole square was
vested in Mr.. Carroll, but in 1874 the name
OF Greenleaf is associated with it. 1t was
plated for tWenty-four lots, ten each on
A and streets; and Mr.. Carroll before
1903 had, near the southwest corner of
the square, improvements valued at $50, 600,
with the ground assessed at ten cents per
foot, but subsequently reduced to eight
cents per foot.
Known as Dowson Row.
VI;
and garnet brick houses, known for many
years as Dowson row; and when demol-
ished. in 1878, the structures were found
to be in excellent condition, @theaworkmen
declaring they would have stood for years
The interior walls We're as substantial as
were the outside walls.
1t is on record that Mr. Dowson occupied
property in the row early as 1907, though
1t was not till 1917 that he became an
owner Then his holdings fronted seventy
eight feet on A street Mr.. Dowson had
control of four of the buildings for sew
lance as Mr.. Dowson's," Mr. Dowsons
No. !, Mr.. Dowson's No. g. and Mr.. Dow
sons No: B., respectively, and these were
a veritable congressional annex. often near
hundred members rooming here.
The Vice President to Mr.. Monroe Daniel
D. Tompkins of New York, long roomed
here. Senator 7. H. Benton of Missouri
was also d roomer for many years in the
twenties. before he took house as was
Senators Smith of Maryland Holmes of
Maine and D. Wolf of Rhode Island John
Randolph of Virginia, who was long a rep
resentative in the House, was here as
We're his colleagues, Mark Alexander, W. S.
Archer, James Jones and r. Sanders T.
III. Hall and Weldon Edwards of North
Carolina, p. F.. Tatnall of Georgia and w.
Eustes of Massachusetts and others also
had apartments there.
In 1917 Samuel Elliott, ir., acquired parts
of lots 10 and II, the corner of A street
and Delaware avenue, on which We're two
of the buildings, and these became known
by his name. One of these was leased the
next year to B. o. Tyler, who was promi-
rent in the lottery and exchange business
home here Yates G. McIntire, who were
in the same business, at that time one of
the industries of Washington, became the
owners in 1929. Later, in the forties John
of Foy's Hotel; and In the fifties it was
conducted by Mrs Whitney. While used
as public house it was as popular as
was any house of its size in the city.
In one of these houses lived H. Tins |
the doorkeeper of the Senate in the teens
of that century. and afterward Charles Tim
had drug store here and under H Tins |
roof during the sessions of Congress were
number of public men. Senators DECKER
son of New Jersey and Ceaser A. Rodney
made their homes here
Notable Guests.
The Tins family lived there for nearly
half century. and numbers of prominent
people were quartered under their roof !
Among those recalled in later years are
the affable, finished gentlemen, Senator |
David l.. Iulie, who long represented |
Florida, and Senator Dixon H. Lewis of |
Alabama, the heaviest man physically who |
ever sat in a Legislative body 1t is a |
matter of history that there was prepared
for him monstrous chair in Size and |
strength.
Mrs. Sarah Seaver occupied a house in |
this row in the thirties.
In the latter part of the twenties Mrs |
Elizabeth Queen moved to one of the |
houses in the row and conducted board
Ing house, remaining there until well into |
the thirties In 1892 Mr.. Joseph Follans-
bee, messenger in the Capitol, came I'D |
from the southeast part of the city to A |
street, east of the row, purchasing lot T. |
on which he built house. This was a |
four-story brick and few members of |
Congress roomed there during the ses-
sesions7sMilton Brown and W. A. Cooke in |
the forties
Mr. ]. w. Beck, in 1924, bought lot %
on LIST street and erected three-story |
brick residence, to which the name
disproportionate size with other houses
north and east and because it was sup
posed to be beyond the requirements of
his family. ]. A. Brightwell about this |
time bought the east half of lot on A
street and for a few years lived there |
Robert Brown who was long known as a
master stonemason on the Capitol. bought
one of the houses in the row on part lots
10 to II, and resided here in the forties and
ffties
Changes in Ownership.
In 1s41 Mr.. Thomas Scrivener, well
known for his long connection with the
Capitol and well remembered Jas the Gus
todian of the dome, settled here, buying
the west half of lot 9, fronting A street
Senators G. W. Jones of Tennessee and
G. McDuffie of South Carolina roomed
here in the forties. In the early part of
his life Mr.. Scrvener was engaged in the
grocery business at the corner of Della
ware avenue and A street On the 4th
of March, 1861, while the Inauguration of
President Lincoln was in progress at the