Patterson House (Washington Club)
- Architect
- Stanford White
- Style
- Renaissance Revival
- City
- Washington, DC
The Patterson House was built for Robert Wilson Patterson, editor of the Chicago Tribune, who used it for entertaining while in Washington. Completed in 1903 to a Renaissance Revival design by Stanford White, it stands at 15 Dupont Circle NW. The family later gave it up, and it passed through the American Red Cross before becoming the Washington Club.
the building
One of two mansions left on the circle. The Patterson House is one of only two mansions still standing on Dupont Circle itself, the other being the Wadsworth House, a rare survival on a square that was once ringed with them.
From the Red Cross to a private club. The Pattersons' descendants deeded the house to the American Red Cross in 1948; the Red Cross sold it to the Washington Club in 1951, which renovated it and added a two-story addition in 1955.
A $20 million sale. In June 2014, the Washington Club sold the mansion to developer SB-Urban for $20 million, ending its run as a private club.
the style
The mansion is worked in the Renaissance Revival style, giving its Dupont Circle facade the formal, palazzo-like presence typical of the era's grandest private houses.
More on Renaissance Revivalthe architect
Stanford White was among the major American architects of his time; here he was commissioned directly by Robert Wilson Patterson, the Chicago Tribune editor who wanted a Washington house built for entertaining.
significance
The Patterson House was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 5, 1972, and is a contributing property to both the Dupont Circle Historic District, listed in 1978, and the Massachusetts Avenue Historic District, listed in 1974.
nearby
- Wadsworth, Herbert House (Sulgrave Club)
- Andrew Mellon Building
- Whittemore, Sarah Adams, House (Weeks House; Woman's National Democratic Club)
- Dupont Circle Building
- Blaine, James G., House
- Moore, Clarence, House (Old Canadian Embassy)