Washington Post, September 9, 1906 |
The idea of holding a yard or garden contest for urban
dwellers might always seem like an odd occurrence with our small city lawns, but
they have served as an ever popular fundraiser for the past few decades. Few may have suspected, however, that these
have been popular for the last 100 years, with one held in the Eckington
neighborhood in 1909, just four years after many of the long rows of town homes
were built.
The September 9, 1906 Washington
Post covered a garden contest amongst members of the North Capitol and
Eckington Citizen’s Association, who were “imbued with a desire to make the
locality as attractive as possible.” It
was judged by “three newspapermen” who remained nameless, but who almost
ensured that the event would be covered by the Post, who named three prize
winners.
The area of the citizens association included the 2300 block
of 1st Street, N.W. It was built in two phases in 1902 by the
Middaugh and Shannon real estate development company; the seventeen homes from
2302 to 2330 1st Street
were issued a building permit on March 14, 1902, while a permit was issued for seventeen
homes across the street from 2303 to 2331
1st Street on June 23rd of
that year. The homes were designed by
architect Joseph Bohn, Jr.
2300 Block of 1st Street, NW |
The house that won first prize at 2332 1st Street was occupied
by Dr. Jesse B. Schafhirt, who listed himself in the 1907 City Directory as a
“surgeon dentist” with an office in the “second floor front” of the LeDroit Building at 8th and F
Streets, N.W. Today that building serves
as the eastern portion of the Spy
Museum. Interestingly, the architect of the houses on
the 2300 block of 1st
Street also had an office in the LeDroit building
in 1902, and was likely the way Dr. Schafhirt came to know about the
development. His house was occupied in
1910 by Eugene Finch, an assistant supervisor of a Railroad.
The second place winner’s house at 2327 1st
Street was also occupied by a new resident in 1910, Francis Phillips, a
stenographer at the Commerce Department. Fire Department employee and third place
winner Harry Barker lived close by at 1625
1st Street.
It is also interesting to note that at least one resident of
the 2300 block of 1st Street was unhappy with the contractor’s work
on their residence. A long letter
written to the DC Inspector of Buildings in 1903 by the owner of 2313 1st Street,
Mary F. Rainey included several items of concern. They included a “skylight in the dining room
that should be protected, in case of a heavy storm or other accidents [that]
might break the outer glass of said skylight…thereby endangering the life or
lives of any person or persons who may happen to be in the room at the time.”
She claimed three pieces had already fallen, and that the
house was damp, the plumbing defective, the concrete walk in the backyard was
not properly graded, slate falls off the front turret, and “several bricks are
left out and several others defective.”
The article on the Eckington lawn contest read:
“Two Dr. Jessie B. Schafhirt, of 2332 1st Street,
NW, was given the first prize of $5, the
second, $3, went to C.F. Bryant, 2327 1st Street, NW; and the
third, $2, fell to Harry B. Barker, a fireman of No. 12 Engine Company, who has
made the lawn of that house one of the most attractive in the vicinity.
Engine Co. 12 in Eckington |
Believe in Enterprise
The members of the association believe in enterprise, which
they feel sure can be couple with beauty in bringing Eckington up to a high
standard as a place homes. Nothing in
their estimation contributes so largely to this end as well keep lawns and
parkings. They have urged in particular
the necessity of having the parkings in a good condition, but hitherto they
have been made unable to consider them an ornament to the locality.
In visiting the different parts of Eckington it was apparent
that there had been a decided effort on the part of most persons to make their
lawns attractive and oft times artistic.
About one out of every three had made some attempt to improve his yard,
and the total effect showed what even the slightest effort could do toward
improving a street.
In making the awards the committee was influenced by three
things – the condition of the grass, the use f plants, both as to flowers themselves
and their adaptability to the size of the lawn, and whether the yard made an
attractive picture for the greater part of the year or only when a certain
plant was in bloom.
With these considerations in mind, they drove about
Eckington, and while they found that many places met one or two of the
conditions, the three finally selected were the only ones which satisfied in
all.
In many instances the use of plants was too profuse for the
size of the lot. In fact, this and the
poor condition of the grass were the two points which worked against many of
the lawns. On several lots the plant
known as the elephant ear had been used, with the result that the yards were
all ears and nothing else. The other
features, which might have been utilized with good effect, were entirely concealed
by the huge leaves of the plant.
On other lots this plant
had been used with excellent effect, and especially where they were
sufficiently deep to permit it, made a pleasing picture when grouped at the
base of the home. But, on a small lot,
planted in the center, it appeared as if the owner had an elephant on his
hands.
In naming Dr.
Schafhirt’s lot as the winner of the first prize, the judges did so because it
came the nearest to filling all of the conditions. The lot is on a corner, which gives fine
opportunities for a profusion of flowers without presenting an overcrowded
appearance.
A large variety of plants has been planted on it, but they
have been selected with the idea of having one or two in bloom from spring to
fall. In this way, there is no
confliction, and the yard presents a pleasing appearance most of the time.
In the spring two flowering peach trees lend their blossoms,
and after they have gone, a crimson rambler adds color to the scene, and so on
throughout the season some flower is in bloom.
At present, the lawn and lower part of the house is gay with clematis
and geraniums.
The lawn itself is well kept, and the parking around the
trees has even survived the attacks of pedestrians.
Mr. Byrant, to whom the second prize was given, has a small
lot, and it was the effective way in which he has used sop small a space that
led the judges to give him second place.
It was the intention of the association to confine the
awards to private individuals, but the work done by Harry B. Barker at No. 12
engine house was, an opinion of all, entitled to reward, and consequently, he
qualified for third place. His efforts
have made the engine house one of the show places in Eckington.”
No comments:
Post a Comment