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W. Taylor Birch House

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c. 1888, Thomas Franklin Schneider. 3099 Q St. NW
  • (Franz Jantzen)
  • (Photo by Karen Kingsley)

In red brick Victorian Georgetown, the W. Taylor Birch House is an anomaly, one of the few residences that can be described as Richardsonian for its flamboyant use of stone and brick. A round tower underscores the house's prominent location. The heavy stone at the first floor and the opposition of stone and brick at the window surrounds convey a kind of raw power. Abundant foliage around the house contributes to its forces-of-nature character.

Architect and entrepreneur Schneider, who designed the sky-piercing Cairo (see MH08, p. 303), was responsible for the Birch house, and it seems fitting that he should have defied the genteel traditions of Georgetown with such an earthy building.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Pamela Scott and Antoinette J. Lee
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Data

What's Nearby

Tudor Place
Cooke's Row
Oak Hill Cemetery Gatehouse
Residence
Robert P. Dodge House

Citation

Pamela Scott and Antoinette J. Lee, "W. Taylor Birch House", [Washington, District of Columbia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/DC-01-GT21.

Print Source

Buildings of the District of Columbia, Pamela Scott and Antoinette J. Lee. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993, 411-411.

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