The 2500 block of I Street features a variety of sizes and styles of working-class row houses. Irish immigrant builder Peter McCartney built several of these houses. McCartney built a number of houses in Foggy Bottom in the 1880s. He began as a carpenter and soon established a successful contracting business. His skill with brick and wood is found throughout the Historic District including in the corbelled brick cornices and delicate jigsaw work.

The largest group of existing houses (located on the south side of I Street) is unique because their set backs from the street allow for a variety of terraced landscaping. At the top of the street on the north side are three imposing row houses, in various stages of renovation. Many of the other houses on that side are modern.

In 1901, Michael J. Colbert and Loring Williamson trustees sold the house at 2500 I St. (no longer in existence) to J.J. Cunningham for $4,425. Colbert and Williamson were actively selling row houses in the neighborhood. (Evening Star, Mar. 16, 1901, p. 28)