A. H. Beers' Apartment Building

This gracious reader's comment has prompted a formal response.


"Dear Preserving DC Stables Blogger: We just returned from a lovely 9 day stay in the Blagden Court area. It was great to see firsthand the stables, alleys, preservation efforts, etc. We stayed at the four story apartment building, 1305 10th St NW. Do you have any info on the building? We were curious...was this built after the stable period was at its height? Is it a 1920s structure? What a wonderful neighborhood you have. It is certainly worth preserving. It was very meaningful for us to read the many posts, and view the excellent images, on your blog prior to our visit. Sincerely, Kevin Minneapolis, MN"


The Atlantic apartment building at 1305 10th Street NW was constructed on March 15th 1911- permit number 3991. The architect was A.H. Beers who was well known in Washington and prolific, with 609 permits and 2,433 buildings between 1899 and 1912. Seventy-eight buildings were apartment buildings. The Atlantic (120 feet by 49 feet and 4 stories high) was one of his last buildings, erected at a cost of $35,000 and designed for 24 families of the working and middle class. 

Another example of Beers' architecture was profiled in the  blog "Then and Now" which described "The Toronto" in Dupont Circle. An apartment building adjacent to The Atlantic is The Henrietta, built a decade earlier at the turn of the century. The elegance of the architectural details is remarkable. 

The Henrietta 

The scale and configuration of these buildings are providing reference points and "texture" today for several 21st Century apartment buildings on same block of N Street that are in various planning stages. Further details are discussed in an earlier post. 

Construction of stables in Washington ceased around 1910, for the need was rapidly diminishing. There were very few cars in DC at the time these two apartments were constructed so parking was never considered an essential part of the original plans. 

The author greatly appreciates the kind comments of our Minneapolis visitor and reader. Thank you.