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Metropolitan Club

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1908, Heins and La Farge. 17th and H streets NW
  • (National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

The Metropolitan Club, situated in the midst of commercialism, is part of a cluster of clubhouses, providing a bulwark of old money and political influence. The prominent firm of Heins and La Farge from New York had probably gained the attention of the club's leaders by its work on Saint Matthew's Cathedral a few blocks to the north.

The main facade of the club building faces H Street, making for a quieter entrance than would one on 17th Street. The symmetrical three-story structure, which is formed of buff brick and trimmed in limestone, resembles a Renaissance Revival residence entered through a portico flanked by bowed bay windows. To the rear is an accordionlike Postmodern office addition designed by Keyes Condon Florance. Its design provides a breathing space between the club and the offices.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Pamela Scott and Antoinette J. Lee
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Data

What's Nearby

Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
National Permanent Building
Bachelor Flats
Office Building
Decatur House, National Trust for Historic Preservation

Citation

Pamela Scott and Antoinette J. Lee, "Metropolitan Club", [Washington, District of Columbia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/DC-01-DW08.

Print Source

Buildings of the District of Columbia, Pamela Scott and Antoinette J. Lee. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993, 224-224.

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