1 (previously 2437) SNOWS COURT NW
Year Built
1890
Click photo below to see full sized image.
D. Vogt, 2022
Documents
History
Numbers 1-7 Snows Court are seven original red brick (now painted) row houses, built in 1890. They maintain their historic facades as well as original brick rears. The houses are 13 feet wide and 28 feet deep. They are 2 1/2 stories, with side entry stairs leading up to a first floor door. Segmental arches are present above the door and all windows. A simple brick motif cornice runs the length of all seven buildings. All units have cellar windows on the lower right side of the façade. The houses were renumbered in the 1950s.
They were built by James H. Grant for developer Samuel Norment. (Norment was the same developer responsible for the Fitzgerald (840-844 New Hampshire Ave.) and adjoining row houses.) This grouping of homes helps us visualize how the entire alley must have looked during the late 1800s. In 1905, these very basic dwellings with four to five rooms rented from $6.50 to $9.30 a month. They may have been occupied by at least two families and additional boarders.
Starting in 1952, new residents and developers started buying and renovating the neglected Snows Court row houses, following the example of the nearby Georgetown neighborhood. In 2022, these small, but geographically desirable, homes sell in the $800 - $900k range. " ... The 93 year old dwellings, which had deteriorated into scarcely more than hovels, each occupied by 10 or 12 unfortunate Negros, were stripped back to the bare walls. All interior partitions were removed, and new flooring was laid over the old. Gas, electricity and inside plumbing, which none of the houses had before, were installed," according to an article about Snows Court in the Washington Star in 1953.
In 1959, Snows Court had "its first wedding. It was solemnized by Justice Whitaker of the Supreme Court." Ms. Barrett, the bride, was his secretary. It was held in June, in the living room of the rowhouse.
In 2022, there were plans to locate an additional modern row house (to be compatible with the Historic District) on the vacant lot next to No. 1. Construction started in summer 2025. This is the first new house built in Snows Court in well over 100 years.
Resident/Owner
1872 - Alfred Snowden (later residing at this address) allegedly had an affair with Georgetown resident, Eliza Jane Johnson. Her husband, Charles Johnson, murdered her as a result. (Scranton Republican, Oct. 9. 1872)
1891 - Snowden resided at house; he and Joseph Diggs (2435 Snows Court) (both "colored") were found to be ill by the police and sent to the hospital. (Evening Star, April 1, 1891)
1910 - Ella Swann, resident, died age 50 (Evening Star, Oct 28, 1910, p. 7)
1910 - Henry Offutt family holds funeral service at here, at his sister's house . (Evening Star, Jun 1, 1910, p.7)
1913 - George Locker, dies at age 100. (Evening Star, Jan 17, 1913 p. 7) Ten years earlier, "George Locker, a negro living near Heurich's Brewery," was injured in the leg by an explosion when blasting in the area. (Times Herald, Aug 1, 1903, p.10)
1924 - Elmer Duckett (colored) - his daughter Grace Washington was sentenced to 30 days in jail for slashing him twice across the face with a butcher knife, despite his plea for leniency. (Evening Star, May 27, 1924)
1927 - Police respond to a fight at the Snows Court address and engage with the Elmer and Annie Duckett, both of whom are arrested. (Washington Daily News, April 4, 1927) Annie Duckett dies at in 1934 age 49. (Evening Star, Oct. 21, 1934, p.18)
1930 - House vacant (City Directory)
1940 - Mamie H. Williams (City Directory)
1945 - Joseph Towels, age 53, (colored) arrested for failure to isolate himself while suffering tuberculosis, agreed to report to sanitarium. (Evening Star, Oct. 17, 1945, p. 4)
1947 - James Carter, age 59, (colored) thrown from his horse and wagon on Constitution Avenue and suffered a fractured leg (the horse had been frightened by a train whistle). (Evening Star, Dec. 9, 1947, p. 7)
1958 - Vacant, Ad describes it as a "Cute 2-bedrm, a.-c house, garden; $150" Bonnie B. Foster, realtor. Evening Star, Feb. 28, 1958, p. 46)
1959 - Ceila Barrett (and the new Mrs. James Liebeler), Margaret G. Bryan (City Directory)
1970 - Betty G. Boardman (City Directory)
1983 - Drew Blumenthal
2011 - William Cowdrick (DC Deeds)
Recollections
Source Material
FBA History Project, FB Historic District Walking Tour, "Snows Court Row Houses ." https://theclio.com/tour/2098/6
Foggy Bottom Association News, Feb. 1961
Rhea Radin, "From the Bottom Up," Foggy Bottom News, June 1959
George Beveridge, "City's Foggy Bottom See Test Ground of Urban Renewal," Evening Star, Oct. 23, 1955
EHT Traceries, historic area building survey, Nov. 1983
Isabelle Shelton, The Washington Star, Nov. 8, 1953
"Snows Court News," FBA News, October 1959
The windowless side view of the house and brick side entry. (D. Vogt, Dec. 2022)
A view of the rows facing 25th Street in 1972. (Evening Star, PM Schmick, Aug 2, 1972)
View south towards alley dwellings in the summer of 1947. Gas tanks tower over the rooftops. (unknown, 1947)
Winter 2021, with views of rear facades of the seven rows and condo building in distance. (D. Vogt, Dec. 2021)
A view of the historic 7 rows from 25th St. entrance. (D. Vogt, Dec. 2022)
1-7 Snows Court in the 1950s with rear view of 931 25th St, GWU Gelman Library. Special Collections
Jos. M. Wise Realty ad for renovated Snows Court row houses 1-6, around 1950-1960