Woodrow Wilson House (Washington, D.C.)
Woodrow Wilson House | |
Location | 2340 S St., NW Washington, D.C. |
---|---|
Area | less than one acre |
Built | 1915 |
Architect | Waddy Butler Wood |
Architectural style | Georgian Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 66000873[1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
Designated NHL | July 19, 1964[2] |
The Woodrow Wilson House was the residence of the Twenty-Eighth President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson after he left office.[3] It is at 2340 S Street NW just off Washington, D.C.'s Embassy Row. On February 3, 1924, Wilson died in an upstairs bedroom.[3] It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964.[2][4] The National Trust for Historic Preservation owns the house and operates it as a museum.[3]
History
The house was built by Henry Fairbanks in 1915 on a design by prominent Washington architect Waddy Wood. President Woodrow Wilson bought it in the last months of his second term as President of the United States as a gift to his wife, Edith Bolling Wilson.[3] He presented her the deed in December 1920, although he had never seen the house.[3] The former president and his wife moved into the home on Inauguration Day,[3] which in 1921 was March 4 (not the current date of January 20). Wilson made several modifications to the house, including: a billiard room, "stacks" for his library of over 8,000 books, and a one-story brick garage.[3]
It was from the balcony of the house that Wilson addressed a crowd on November 11, 1923, as his last public appearance.[3] While the Wilsons had few guests, former British Prime Minister David Lloyd George and former French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau did visit the ailing former president there.[3] After Wilson's death in 1924, Edith Wilson lived there until her death on December 28, 1961. She hosted First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy for a brunch in the formal dining room. Edith bequeathed the property and all of its original furnishings to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.[3]
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b "Woodrow Wilson House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "National Park Service – The Presidents (Wilson House)". Nps.gov. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ Blanche Higgins Schroer, Carol Kolb, and Steven H. Lewis (March 17, 1977). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Woodrow Wilson House" (pdf). National Park Service.
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External links
- Houses completed in 1915
- Woodrow Wilson
- Presidential homes in the United States
- Historic house museums in Washington, D.C.
- National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C.
- Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.
- Colonial Revival architecture in Washington, D.C.
- Georgian Revival architecture in Washington, D.C.
- Presidential museums in Washington, D.C.
- National Trust for Historic Preservation