816 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVENUE NW

Year Built

1885

Click photo below to see full sized image.

D. Vogt, 2022

Documents

History

The front entry door has a three-paned transom window. 812-818 New Hampshire Ave. were built in 1885 for developer R.A. Beuchler. The two-story, two-bay houses feature pressed brick molded arches above the windows and doors, and decorated cornices that run the length of the four buildings. They are somewhat similar to the buildings at 815 to 821 25th Street, but the doors are on the right, rather than the left, and they have wider windows.

Resident/Owner

1921 - Initial "A", laborer and John Johnson, age 7, b. 1915, DC
1958 - Ann Goodwin
mid- 90s - owners Bob and Frieda Stromborm
owner - Omar Ashmawy

Recollections

"Bob and Frieda Stromborm owned 816. They, too, were long term residents of Foggy Bottom. In the early 2000's they sold and moved to Oregon. We believe both have passed. After they moved, 816 was purchased by Omar Ashmawy. At that time, Omar was Counsel for the Ethics Office of the House of Representatives. While the house is currently rented, Omar is still the owner. " excerpted from email by Larry Lane (814 New Hampshire Avenue), March 28, 2024

"We understand that in the late 1980s/early 1990s there was a major boiler explosion at the GW Inn. While we have limited knowledge of this event, it appears to have been the source of damage to the front facade of our home [814] and of 816, and probably the cause of need to re-anchor the walls of 818. In each of our renovations, we have had to address ceiling and wall plaster crackings in the front rooms of 814." excerpt from an email by Larry Lane (814 New Hampshire Avenue), March 28, 2024

Source Material

FBA History Project, Foggy Bottom Historic District Walking Tour, "Architectural Variety on New Hampshire Avenue." https://theclio.com/tour/2098/14
Foggy Bottom News, June 1958
EHT Traceries, historic area building survey, Nov. 1983
Sumner School Archives, DC, Briggs School student register, 1921 -22