The 945 O Street NW stable and home that just hit the D.C.market this month, is an unusual property. The configuration of the home and stable is very typical of the construction in the D.C. post-civil war era. However, usually, one encounters stables in the alley. It is rare to have a chance to visualize the "anatomic and architectural cross-section of pairing" of the home and the coach house. It isn't easy to appreciate the configuration of the two buildings otherwise.
A small courtyard bridges the land between the home and the stable. There is a drain in the center of the courtyard. These spaces functioned as a place to cool off a horse, wash them down and groom them (including shoeing). It was a real luxury to have your own "off-street stable." For those who did not have a stable of their own, other options existed. For example, one could rent a stall at Tally-Ho - now the D.C. archives building at 1300 Naylor Court). Tally Ho was a "zip horse" facility, housing horses and renting carriages.
The 945 O Street stable is the only surviving stable behind homes on the north side of this O Street NW 900 block. Naylor Court across the street has remnants of 15 stables.
The beauty of stables for the author is their functional configuration. They can serve almost any imaginable purpose. After the passing of the one horsepower ear around 1910, most D.C. home-associated stables became garages with space in the hayloft for storage.
Today, other uses for coach houses include work/live options, exercise studio, artist's studio, a writer's "room of one's own", guest space, aging parent space, or a landing pad for boomerang kids. It's worth checking out 945 O Street NW to see the stable and courtyard. Visit the connected, magnificently unmolested but lovingly maintained home and you will enter an era of grace. Each bedroom has a bathroom. Bells in the kitchen connect to the rooms. Over/under balconies take advantage of the unobstructed west-facing side of the house. Most homes would be cheek-by-jowl with no side light unless light wells were created. Having this much light is extraordinary. When you buy the home, the stable comes included!
The full details about the house and stable along with 72 photographs are here: -
The listing agent is Elizabeth Blakeslee from Coldwell Banker
(202) 812-2398 mobile (202) 387-6180 office
