2413 I STREET NW
Year Built
1885
History
No. 2413 is an end unit that borders the passageway to Snows Court. This house was part of a group (Nos. 2413-2419) that were built by Duvall and Marr in 1885. All of the houses originally had two bays and two and half stories. The house features a flat front and transom over door. In 1890, Thomas Alexander owned four row houses from 2413 - 2419 I St.
In March 2025, construction began to add five new exterior windows facing the passageway. The upper exterior wall is two bricks deep, and lower part of the wall where window wells are located are three bricks in depth. In April 2025, a false brick wall was discovered on the lower rear level. Behind the wall, an area of approximately 10' x 10' was discovered. This area was filled to the top with dirt, bricks, and debris. A vintage 1940s glass milk bottle was discovered, Thompsons Dairy.
Resident/Owner
1890 - Thomas H. Alexander, owner
1914 - Vacant
1920 - initial only, "L", laborer, Lillian Grant, age 7, b. 1915, DC
1958 - Mr. & Mrs. Nathaniel Davis
-- David (died in 2005) and Marge White
1963 - Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Davis (?)
2021 - Mary Jane Raffii
2025 - renovations
Recollections
I remember Marge would often be standing at her front door smoking a cigarette and saying hi to neighbors. There was a gorgeous flowering tree near the entry door. After her husband died, and her health began to fail, her neighbor across the street would check on her daily. Robert Vogt, at 2417 I St, also had regular visits with her. (D. Vogt, April 2025)
Source Material
Boyds City Directory, 1914
Foggy Bottom News, June 1958
Foggy Bottom News, June 1963, member directory
FBA History Project, "Working-Class Row Houses." Clio: Your Guide to History. https://theclio.com/tour/2098/3
FBA History Project, "The Historic District's Longest Row." Clio: Your Guide to History. https://theclio.com/tour/2098/18
Sumner School Archives, DC, Briggs School student register, 1921-22
Street view, with passageway to Snows Court (D. Vogt, May 2022)
Street view of house front (D. Vogt, Mar. 2023)
Semi-feral cat, Kitty Snows, graced I St with her presence beginning in 2021. (D. Vogt, 2021)
Marge White in her car in front of 2513 I St. (1950s, Vogt collection)
Early summer 2025, new windows are placed in the passageway wall. (D. Vogt, June 2025)
Far left house (2413) original rear facade in the 1950s. (private collection, Morella Hanson)
The metro line construction on 2450 block of I Street. Vibrations from the work caused damage to several houses on the block. (private collection, Morella Hanson)
This type of metal stair rail was typical in many of the homes renovated in the 1950s. (D. Vogt, Oct 2024)
Before the 2025 renovations, this window well in the front wall of the basement (it could have been a coal chute in earlier times) let in light. (D. Vogt, Oct 2024)