924 25TH STREET NW
Year Built
1957
Click photo below to see full sized image.
D. Vogt, May 2022
Documents
History
The Foggy Bottom Historic District ends at 922 25th Street, but the next building is now the River Inn, an-all suite hotel. It was built as the Alamac Apartments in 1957, designed by architect Edwin Weihe. Three rowhouses were demolished for the new apartment construction -- 926, 928 and 930. Two of the houses were owned by U.S. District Judge Burnita Sheldon Matthews and her brother Edwin Shelton. The houses were rental units.
The River Inn converted to a hotel in 1978, just before a 1980 zoning change prevented such conversions. According to an article in the Washington Post in August 1978, "Most Alamac tenants have accepted the relocation payments of $125 for efficiencies or $250 for one bedrooms provided by Alamac, Inc. rather than stay at the hotel."
The River Inn hotel attracted tour buses and Foggy Bottom residents persuaded the city to ban such buses on residential streets. The ban was challenged, but upheld, creating a national precedent.
In the early 2000s, the hotel was home to a popular neighborhood restaurant, The Dish. The restaurant closed in 2021. In 2022, the restaurant reopened under the name, Matera.
Resident/Owner
now demolished number 926, 928 rowhouses, DC Judge Burnita S. Matthews and her brother, Edwin Shelton, owners, 1950s
-- 926 25th St - Rosie McClurkin, renter
-- 928 25th St - Mr. and Mrs. Sarah Brown, seven children, mother of Sarah, Mrs. Elizabeth Williams, renters
1963 -- 924 25th St.- Fannie M Boyls
1963 - Eulalie L. Jones
1963 - Marjorie V. Wheatley
1963 - Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Witt
Recollections
In 1954, at 928 house, "to drain it [the kitchen sink] Mrs. Brown applied a plunger to the drain outlet. As she did so, water squirted in several directions fromthe leaky drainpipe under the sink. A pail backstopped the drainpipe. Outside, water trickled almost continuously from a pipe onto the ground and into the backyard, where stand the outside toilet and the skeleton of a rotten wood and corrugated iron shed." .... "Mrs. Brown says her husband is a Government messenger and could afford to pay more than the $27.50 rent the family is paying, but with seven children she is having no luck finding suitable housing."
In 1954, at 926 house, Rosie McClurkin says, "she has received very good service on repairs, pointing to the roof that had recently been replaced. The house has electric light, hot water and an indoor toilet. ... Part of the kitchen floor paneling is buckled inward. Resting against the the panleing are several loose bricks. ... In the middle downstairs room stands a huge old jukebox. Mrs. McClurkin says its there primarily for the entertainment of the Royal Family Social Cub which meets in her home occasionally."
Above are excerpts from, Washington Post, Dec. 8, 1954, see Source Material
"Donna Honeycutt is one of the handful of Alamac Apartment tenants still residing at 924 25th St. NW, which offically became the River Inn apartment-hotel last weekend. .... Since the notices to vacate were issued in February, Honeycutt has had the "" loney, scary"" experience of watching her neighbors leave in a steady stream as the building has undergone conversion. Although she much vacate her $184-a-month efficiency by August 31, she still as no place to go." Excerpt The Washington Post article, August 3, 1978 cited in Source Material.
Source Material
"Face Lifting Gives Foggy Bottom New Look though Some Bad Housing Still Spots Area," by S.L. Fishbein, The Washington Post and Times Herald, December 8, 1954
"Hotels, Condos, Displace Residents of Apartments in Foggy Bottom Area," by Carol Krucofff, The Washington Post, August 3, 1978
Foggy Bottom News, June 1963, FBA member directory
The front view of a post card for the River Inn. (artist unknown)
The rear view of the River Inn with parking connecting to Hughes Mews. (D. Vogt, May 2022)
928 25th St (bottom photos) - rear facade and living room fireplace - the row house was demolished and replaced by The Alamac Apartments (now the River Inn) (Wash Post Dec. 1954)