The Patterson Mansion (also known as the Patterson House or the Washington Club) is a historic Neoclassical-style mansion located at 15 Dupont Circle NW in Washington, D.C., United States.
It was built by Robert Wilson Patterson, editor of the Chicago Tribune newspaper, and used by him and his family for entertaining when he was in the city. Completed in 1903, it was deeded to the American Red Cross in 1948. The Red Cross sold it to the Washington Club in 1951. The structure was renovated and given a two-story addition in 1955. In June 2014, the Washington Club sold the mansion for $20 million to developer SB-Urban. The Dupont Current. December 11, 2013, p. 1. Accessed 2014-01-09.
The mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 5, 1972, and is one of two remaining mansions on Dupont Circle, the other being the Wadsworth House. It is a contributing property to both the Dupont Circle Historic District (added to the National Register in 1978) Accessed 2013-11-28. and the Massachusetts Avenue Historic District (added to the National Register in 1974). Accessed 2013-11-28.
History
The Dupont Circle site
The traffic circle that became Dupont Circle was first envisioned in 1791 by the L'Enfant Plan that established the route of Massachusetts Avenue NW. Much of the street passed through marshy areas that restricted development, including the area around Dupont Circle. After the American Civil War, several large mansions were built around the circle, where much of the area was still forested and afforded privacy.Williams, p. 9.
Major development began around Dupont Circle in 1871, when a group of mine owners from the western United States, led by Curtis J. Hillyer and Senator William Morris Stewart, purchased $600,000 of nearby land.Green, p. 347. A large number of palatial residences, including Stewart's Castle, were soon constructed on and around the circle.Connecticut Avenue. Washington, District of Columbia. HABS No. DC-698. Historic American Buildings Survey. National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. 1993, p. 3. Accessed 2013-11-28. In response to demands by this politically influential group, the city made major improvements to Massachusetts and Connecticut Avenue NW. The traffic circle itself, which had been enclosed by a rough wooden fence since the 1860s, was landscaped, pedestrian paths laid, and drinking fountains and gas street lighting added. Known as "Pacific Circle", it was renamed Dupont Circle in 1882 when the site was chosen for a statue to Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont that was erected in 1884.
Building the house On March 30, 1900, Robert Wilson Patterson's wife, Elinor "Nellie" Medill Patterson, purchased the lot at 15 Dupont Circle for $83,406 ($ in dollars) from a Mrs. Anna Howell Stewart.Smith, p. 74.Jennings, Kohler, and Carson, p. 93. Accessed 2013-11-28. Mrs. Patterson hired the architect Stanford White, who designed the Pattersons' home in Chicago, to develop plans for the house. Accessed 2013-11-28. They were finalized in April 1901,Smith, p. 87. with a projected cost of $85,000 ($ in dollars). The George A. Fuller CompanyJennings, Kohler, and Carson, p. 95. Accessed 2013-11-28. began construction in June 1901. The home was nearly completed 18 months later. But on November 15, 1902, four days before her son Joseph's wedding to Alice Higinbotham, paint cans in the attic of the north wing of the house caught fire. Although the house suffered fire and water damage,Smith, p. 105. it was repaired and the entire structure house completed by January 1903. The final cost of construction was $200,000 ($ in dollars).Jennings, Kohler, and Carson, p. 98. Accessed 2013-11-28.
Patterson years The Pattersons moved into the home in January 1903. They held the first party to which large members of the public were invited in February 1904, when Nellie Patterson hosted a gigantic cotillion ball for social debut of her daughter, Eleanor Josephine Medill "Cissy" Patterson.Smith, p. 106.
Until 1922, Nellie Patterson kept a full staff of about 10 to 15 servants, dressed in livery, to provide services to the family and guests at the Patterson Mansion.Jennings, Kohler, and Carson, p. 101. Accessed 2013-11-28. Her husband, Robert Wilson Patterson, died in 1910.
Nellie Patterson spent less and less time in the Dupont Circle mansion over the years, preferring her long-time home in Chicago. She became morbidly obese, then suffered a heart attack and lost weight. In September 1922, Cissy Patterson (herself spending more time at her other homes and abroad) allowed her daughter, Felicia, and her new husband, Drew Pearson, to take up residence in the mansion.Smith, p. 274. Nellie Patterson vacated 15 Dupont Circle for good in 1923, never to return,Smith, p. 249. and deeded the property to Cissy that same year.Jennings, Kohler, and Carson, p. 93-94. Accessed 2013-11-28. Although Cissy formally took up residence there in 1923,Hoge, p. 77. she spent most of her time elsewhere. The house was barely occupied from 1923 to 1929,Jennings, Kohler, and Carson, p. 102. Accessed 2013-11-28. as the Pearsons left for Asia in 1925 and never returned to the home.Smith, p. 275. Cissy Patterson's divorce from her first husband, Count Josef Gizycki, was finalized in 1917. She married New York City lawyer Elmer Schlesinger in 1925, but used the mansion little in the years afterward.Smith, p. 287.The National Register of Historic Places nomination form claims that Cissy and her husband Elmer Schlesinger occupied the house nearly full-time while he was general counsel of the United States Shipping Board. See: , accessed 2013-11-28. However, Elmer Schlesinger worked at the Shipping Board from June 23, 1921, to August 10, 1922. He did not marry Cissy Patterson Gizycka until April 11, 1925. See: "Wife Sues E. Schlesinger." New York Times. October 21, 1922; "Countess Gizycka Weds at License Bureau." New York Times. April 12, 1925.
The Patterson Mansion was the home of President Calvin Coolidge and his wife, Grace Coolidge in 1927. The White House needed extensive renovation which rendered it unliveable while construction occurred. In February 1927, Cissy Patterson offered them the use of her empty home.Smith, p. 288. The Coolidges stayed in the house from March 4, 1927, to June 13, 1927, after which they left for an extended vacation in the Black Hills of South Dakota.Gould, p. 267-268."Coolidges Plan to Take Patterson Home 6 Months." Washington Post. February 5, 1927."Coolidges Pack Up, Leave Tonight for Black Hills Lodge." Washington Post. June 13, 1927; "Coolidges Ready for Start Tonight." New York Times. June 13, 1927. Mrs. Coolidge found the rooms, which slanted slightly due to the odd shape of the lot, cramped. She felt the house was far better designed when it came to entertaining.Ross, p. 218.
From June 10 to June 12, 1927, Charles Lindbergh was a guest of the Coolidges at the Patterson Mansion upon his triumphant return from France after his non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean piloting the aircraft Spirit of St. Louis. Lindbergh's mother, Evangeline Lodge Land Lindbergh, also stayed in the mansion during this time."Mrs. Lindbergh Is Guest of President as She Awaits Famed Son." Washington Post. June 11, 1927; "Half Million Hail Lindbergh As Hero." Washington Post. June 12, 1927; "Lindbergh Bows at Shrine of War Dead, Visits Disabled Veterans at Walter Reed." Washington Post. June 13, 1927; Irvin, Warren. "Lindbergh Lands at Capital Today." New York Times. June 11, 1927; "Lindbergh's Mother Guest of Coolidges.' New York Times. June 11, 1927; Speers, L.C. "Lindberg Crowd Shatters Record." New York Times. June 12, 1927; "Lindbergh's Ride One Rolling Cheer." New York Times. June 13, 1927. The house was besieged by crowds every day he spent in the nation's capital. On June 11, Lindbergh appeared three times at the second floor balcony to wave and briefly speak to the crowd."Coolidge Thrilled By Honor to Flier." New York Times. June 12, 1927. Some of the most iconic photos of Lindbergh were taken during his balcony appearances.Washington, D.C. '96, p. 72.
After Cissy Patterson reoccupied the mansion full-time in 1929, it became a center of social life in Washington, D.C. The home was decorated in Patterson's unique style. This included the heads and pelts of 13 big-game animals (deer, moose, mountain lion, and mountain goat, and others) hanging on the walls of the main staircase. The ballroom was decorated in the Louis Quinze style, with a life-size portrait of Nellie Patterson and furniture in blue, pink, and white colors. The walls of the second floor dining room were painted a deep red, and the furniture was mahogany. The second floor library was lined with bookcases and decorated with Chinese artwork. In front of each bedroom suite fireplace on the third and fourth floors were an animal skin rug. The second floor bedroom suite in the northeast corner of the house was painted in red.
Cissy Patterson originally willed the house to her daughter, Felicia. But after a family argument in 1942,"7 More Wills Are Discovered Among Mrs. Patterson's Papers." Washington Post. October 30, 1948. Cissy changed her will and asked that the mansion be donated to the League of Republican Women of the District of Columbia.Smith, p. 564. She changed her mind again in 1946 and left it to the American Red Cross.Jennings, Kohler, and Carson, p. 94. Accessed 2013-11-28.
Post-Patterson owners
Cissy Patterson died on July 24, 1948."Mrs. Eleanor (Cissy) Patterson Dies at 63 of Heart Attack." Washington Post. July 25, 1948. Her will donated the building and most of its furnishings to the American Red Cross (ARC)."Red Cross Surprised by House Gift." Washington Post. July 31, 1948. (Family portraits and silverware were not included.)"Court's Aid On Patterson Estate Asked." Washington Post. July 14, 1949. Cissy's daughter, Felicia Gizycka (who had divorced Pearson and taken her father's last name), received an income of $25,000 a year; a house and property in Port Washington, New York; property in North Dakota; and a substantial amount of jewelry, paintings, furnishings, and family heirlooms.