Evening Star Newspaper, August 3, 1930, Page 86

8 THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, AUGUST 3, 1930. ‘ifteenth Street at New York Avenue BY JOHN CLAGETT PROCTOR. E who are old enough to look backward for 50 years or more sometimes pause in amazement when we visualize the great changes that have taken place in Washington during the time we have known the National Capital. Unimproved squares and lots innumerable then existed all over the city, except in a few areas right in the heart of the downtown sec- tion. The word “path” then so frequently heard seems now almost obsolete, though it was then in frequent use, for the pathways were then our avenues by which we cut off distance and saved time in reaching our destinations. It was nothing unusual then in the outlying parts of Washington to travel for some distance on one of these pathways, which naturally took the most direct course over the vacant com- mons. For building purposes iron construction ma- terial was then seldom used, and even archi- tecture in general has changed greatly from what it was half a century ago. In this con- nection one of the things we seldom see now is a one-story house, whereas 50 years ago it was a very common sight. Indeed, the old- timer is fully conscious of the fact that the Washington of his boyhood days is not the same Washington he lives in now. Of course, the city has changed all over, and the man who left here even a few years ago might now experience difficulty in finding his way around town were he to return again. Take for instance, the intersection of Fifteenth street and New York avenyie and the blocks around this busy thoroughfare, for when even we, who see this neighborhood every day, re- gard the changes here as astounding, what would the fellow say who had been away from here for the short space of 20 or 30 years? A few days ago the writer dropped in on Robert V. Fleming, the president of the Riggs National Bank and a native son, and one whom Washington has every reason to feel proud of. Of course, Mr. Fleming is interested in the District of Columbia and everything that has anything to do with its uplift and welfare, and naturally he is also interested in the city’s old landmarks, especially those in the vicinity of the bank over which he presides. The two pictures herewith of the Riggs Bank corner as it looked years ago were received by the writer from Mr. Fleming upon the occasion of his visit. To many these views are familiar. George Hadfield was the designer of the bank build- ing, and the residence to the west was erected at the same time for the accommodation of Richard Smith, the cashier of the Bank of the United States, of which this building, erected in 1824, was a branch. The present Riggs Bank Building stands upon the site of the cashier’s residence, and the building of the American Security & Trust Co. occupies the site of the old Riggs Bank, the razing of which commenced May 3, 1904. OOKING at the picture of this old building today, it does not strike us as being any- thing out of the ordinary, and yet we are told by Mr. Bryan, the historian, that “when it was erected it was the most notable structure in the city, other than a public building.” Not only is this a notable corner, but the entire square has at various times shone promi- nently in American history. Indeed, the very first house erected in this block, known as square 221, is the house once owned by John Quincy Adams, now the Cosmos Club, and the one in which died the famous Dolly Madison, said to have been the most attractive, vivacious and beautiful of all White House queens. This square, according to the records, was originally owned by Samuel Davidson, who in the division of the lots conveyed title of the entire square to the Government, probably se- lecting his number of lots from property situated elsewhere. At first, there were in all 24 lots in the square, lot 1 being at the northwest corner of Pennsylvania avenue and Fifteenth street— the bank corner. ' From Fifleenth street to Madison place, opposite the Treasury, were Jot 1, referred to, and lots 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, the last one being at the corner of Madison place. Going north, on the side with the Be- lasco Theater, were lots 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, and lot 18 was where the Cosmos Club stands. On H street were lots 14, 15, 16, 17, and at the Union Trust corner, lot 18. The east side of the square was made up of lots 19 to 24. In 1887, among the owners of property in this square we find on the Avenue side: George 'W. Riggs and W. W. Corcoran; on Madison “place, A. B. and J. Houghton (where the the- “ater stands), J. D. Cameron, Henry R. Rath- bone and the Cosmos Club; H street side, _H. R. Rathbone, Sarah A. Hagner and Worm- ley’s Hotel, and the Fifteenth street side then included the Riggs Bank property, the Royal Government of Pruss’a and Wormley's. R. JOURDAN MAUKY ISRAEL of New York City, through his brother, Percy B. Israel of this city. both native Washingtonians, supplied the writer with his recollections em- bracing dates somewhere between the years 1867 and 1880, at a time when he and his brother were boys and living in this neighbor- hood. In a general way, he says that Gen. Thom occupied two very small one-story bricks on PFifteenth street just north of the bank, and that in the middle of the block was the Prussian legation. Wormley’s, recalled by all the early residents, occupied the site of the Union Trust Building, at the southwest corner ot H and Fifteenth streets. For years this hotel had a v»ry high standing and many prominent men rmade it their home, including Roscoe Conkling, who had previously resided in an adjoining H street bouse. Here stopped also the Englisn Joint High Commission. on the Geneva award, and the place was especially popular with noted, titled Englishmen when visiting Washington. James Wormley, the proprietor, though Squares in That Business Center Have Been Notable for Historic Buildings Associated With Famous Names—Stories of Events Recorded Fifty and More Years Ago—John Welcker’s Hotel and Wormley's. Another view of the old Riggs Bank Building. partly of colored extraction, yet was one of the most successful and highly regarded hotel proprietors in this city, and his death on October 18, 1884, brought forth general regret. A sketch of him published at the time gives us a good idea of the' man now dead these 46 years. It reads: “James Wormley, the celebrated hotel pro- prietor, died at the Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston, on Saturday afternoon, of calculus. He had been ill for some time, and on Friday an operation was performed, from the immediate shock of which *he died. The body was taken in charge by two sons of the eceased and brought to Washington yesterday afternoon and laid in the Sumner parlor of his famous hotel. The flags of the principal hotels were hung at half-mast out of respect to his memory. “James Wormley was born of free parents on Fourteenth street, this city. Hiz mother was nearly white. His father kept a livery stable near Willard’s Hotel, and the young man began life as the driver of a hack. Through some friendly and influential ac- quaintances thus made he was selected to take charge of a clubhouse on G street, and he soon distinguished himself as a caterer. “Steward at some of the leading clubs, he attracted the attention of the late .Reverdy Johnson, who, when United States Minister, carried him to Enbland as a ‘diplomatist on dishes,” and he used terrapin and canvas-back to the same end that the Ambassador used notes and protocols. He opened Wormley’'s Hotel, on Fifteenth and H streets, in the Winter of 1871, and has conducted it since that time. “Mr. Wormley was present at the death bed of Lincoln, and he appears as the only colored man in Littlefield's picture of the death of the President. He Wwas also present at the death bed of Sumner. He was noted for his charity to the benevolent institutions here. “At the time of his death he was probably worth not less than $100,000. He leaves four children, three sons and a daughter, all married, and as many as 25 grandchildren. His eldest son will probably carry on the business. “The funeral will take place from the hotel at 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon. The Rev. Drs. Sunderland, Waring and Grimke will offi- ciate. The pall bearers will be: Active—John F. Cook, John T. Given, Isaac Landis, M. W. Galt, James G. Berrett, Hon. B. K. Bruce, Henry Burch and R. H. Cleaves. Honorary— T. E. Roessle, C. W. Spofford, C. C. Willard, O. Y. Staples, Franklin Tenney, Theophile Felter, George 8. Kraft and William Henry Smith. “The interment will be made at Harmony Cemetery. Hundreds of the friends of the deceased called this morning to view the body, and there were not a few who shed tears. The funeral exercises will be conducted in the large parlor opposite the S8umner parlor.” MR. ISRAEL also mentions the Dolly Madi- son house, on the southeast corner of H street and Madison place, and the United States surgeon general's office, west of the Riggs Bank, on the Avenue side, and next to this the Freedman’s Bank Building, later occu- pied by the Department of Justice, Regarding the corner where stands the Union Trust Building—the site of Wormley's Hotel— Mr. Israel says that this corner belonged to Samuel Hooper, a Representative in Congress from Massachusetts, who also owned the north- west corner. After increasing his holdings by the purchase of the Conkling house, Mr. Hooper had the entire property remodeled into a hotel, where he established Mr. Wormley in business. The latter had previously served as head waiter at Willard's. Representative Hooper died in Washington on February 14, 1875, and is buried in Oak Hill C>metery. In 1891 the west side of this; square—the Madison place side—included the old Rodgers, or Seward, dwelling (where now. stands the Belasco Theater), the Ogle Tayloe house, the home of Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, the residence of Secretary of the Treasury William Windom, and at an earlier date the residence of Dr. James S. Gunnell, erected in 1831, and where he was living when he was made the city postmaster. This site is now occupied by the Treasury Annex. There was, indeed, much history connected with the old Rodgers residence, erected about 1831 by Commodore John Rodgers, for here lived Roger Brooke Taney when he was serve ing as Secretary of the Treasury in the cabinet of President Andrew Jackson. James K. Paulding later occupied it while serving as Secretary - of the Navy during the administra- tion of President Van Buren. Still later it became a club, and on the sidewalk in front occurred the Sickles-Key tragedy, just preced- ing the Civil War. Subsequently it became the residence of Secretary Seward, and it was here that his life was attempted on the night of the assassination of President Lincoln. Im later years it became the home of James G. Bla‘ne, and here that great statesman died January 27, 1893, at the age of 63. Much has been wriiten of the Ogle Tayloe house, which stands on the north side of the alley that separates the building and grounds from the theater property. It was begun by Benjamin Ogle Tayloe, son of John Tayloe, in 1828. He took up his residence there about 1830. In later years it became the home of Senator Don Cameron, and afterward Vice President 'Hobart resided there, followed & short while later by Senator Mark Hanna, dur- ing which time it became known as the “Little White House.” The building and grounds now belong to the Cosmos Club, and in the rear the club has its lecture room. Returning to the Fifteenth street side of this square, we also find that Samuel Harrison Smith, founder of the National Intelligencer, established his Winter quarters about midway of this block in 1828, the site being at about 734 Fifteenth street. THE most, famous place on the east side of Fifteenth street between New York avenue and H street was John Welker's Hotel, which then included numbers 723-727 Fifteenth street, and here lived, according to Mr. Israel, “Richard Irving, the credit Mobilier man, and Samuel Ward, the king of the lobby, brother of Julia Ward Howe, and clascinal scholar.” In his “Events of the National Capital,” The old State, War and Navy Building, which stood at the southwest corner of Fifteenth street and Pennsylvania ave- nue, on the site now occupied by the northern extension of the Treasury.