Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-05-07

~ n the west side of Georgia ave-
III " nue. beyond the large group
w of buildings of the Walter
~ Reed Hospital is a small stone
house which one will have no trouble
in identifying as a gatekeeper's lodge.
Close to this little house are two sec
IONS of stone wall and between them
lords an old drive bordered with spruce
trees. This drive used to lead to a
large frame house on high ground
northwest of the gate and its keepers
lodge, but here and there a new street
cuts across it. and along the street
are new houses. The old drive disap-
pears for a while and reappears farther
on. only to be again displaced by new
streets. Now an. then one gets view
of the big frame house on the high
ground. Close to it the spruce-bor-
dered drive reappears and finishes its
course at the entrance of the house.
The acres around the house-and there
remain four of them-are closely
grown with trees and shrubbery. but
at the east front there is a wide, deep
lawn.
The name of the house is Bleak
House. Never in it's youth was it a
bleak house. but there is some appro-
priateness in the name now. 1t may
soon pass. and then another home as
ISOLATED with the history of Washing
ton will have persisted. Bleak House
does not mean much to Washingtoni-
ans of the present generation, but to
citizens of the District in the TOs it was
a familiar name and its mention today
will probably stir the memories of
thousands of men and women.
Bleak House was the summer home
of Alexander r. Shepherd He bought
the land from the CarrollCarberyLay
tract of Norway about 1871 or ~ and
erected the house at about that time
He was living at Bleak House at the
time of the tearing down of the North
ern Liberty Market. September. 1872.
Mrs. Shepherd and other members of
the family were living a Bleak House
at the time of Gov. Shepherds death
in Mexico. in 1902. Six years ago Bleak
House. with its broad fields and hand
some groves. was bought by the Lynch
burg Investment Company, and the
lands were subdivided, but the mansion
was allowed to stand. with four acres
OF its grounds about it. This part of
the tract was recently sold and the
fine lawns and gardens will be suboi-
vided and the house will probably be
torn down soon. Living there today are
William Z. Stephens. his wife and two
daughters.
To make a visit to Bleak House the
Rambler left Georgia avenue at kalmia
street, a street which strikes west
from Georgia avenue few yards south
of the District line. AT the junction
OF Kalmia street'and Georgia avenue
a broad, new street, Alaska avenue.
surfaced for easy automobile travel.
leads southwest. II passes through
fields where new houses are appearing
Rows OF cedars mark old lanes and
fence lines, and groves of trees alter
nate with green fields. Coming abreast
of the east front of Bleak House, a
path leads across the lawn The fine
old porch at the main entrance is be-
ing overgrown with honeysuckle and
the old carriage drive between the
under a mat OF honeysuckle. Cherry
trees and lilacs were in bloom and
birds were numerous and merry. Bleak
House and its garden is bounded by
four new streets, Alaska avenue on the
east Holly street on the north. Ger
anium street the south and 14th
street on the west. Samuel Gompers
Is preparing to build fne home near
by, and Daniel z. Roper. first assistant
postma ster general, has already esta D.
Ished for himself one of the beautifui
homes of Washington Also, close to
old Bleak House are the new cottages