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| British Legation, Connecticut Ave at N Street, NW. |
Architect John Fraser was first
listed in Washington’s City Directory in 1872, when he maintained an office at
515 7th Street, N.W. In 1874,
he moved his operation to 1509 Pennsylvania Avenue, where he would remain
through 1876. He was first listed as an
architect beginning with the 1877 Directory, when he designed the houses at
1433 to 1439 Q Street for developer George Truesdall. He was listed at 1333 F Street in 1890, when
he indicated that he had his son join the business that year.
Fraser was a native of Scotland and
had first practiced architecture in Philadelphia before coming to Washington in
1871. He first appeared in the
Philadelphia City Directories in the 1850s, and had formed a partnership with
civil engineer Andrew Palles coined ‘Fraser and Palles’ in that city in
1857.
Interestingly, Fraser attracted two
architects into his office that would go on to enjoy major success in their own
careers; Frank Furness (1839-1912) learned draftsmanship in the office, as did
Louis H. Sullivan. Eventually, Fraser
and architect George W. Hewitt entered into a partnership with Fraser, coined
‘Fraser, Furness, and Hewitt.’ The firm
lasted until 1871 when Fraser moved to Washington to serve as the Supervising
Architect of the U.S. Treasury.
Fraser
designed several residences and store buildings while in Washington, including
the row of houses at 914 to 926 French Street, N.W. In addition to 1433-1439 Q Street in 1877, he
designed the house at 1313 R Street in 1877, 1500 Rhode Island Avenue in 1879,
and 1407 15th Street in 1881.
In 1884, Fraser provided the plans for the first portion of the Kahn’s
Department Store at Pennsylvania Avenue and 7th Street (destroyed by
fire in 1979). Fraser was also the
architect for the British Legation, built in 1872 at the corner of Connecticut
Avenue and N Street, illustrated above.
It was torn down in 1931.
Fraser’s plans for the house at 1500 Rhode Island Avenue
were completed in 1879 for owners John T and Jessie Willis Brodhead, pictured
at right about 1925. It was purchased in
1882 by Gardiner Hubbard fro his daughter Mabel, who was married to Alexander
Graham Bell. In 1889, it was purchased
by Levi P. Morton, who hired architect John Russell Pope in 1912 to turn the
turreted Victorian into a classic revival house at a cost of $20,000. It remains on the site at Scott Circle in its
vastly altered form today.
Fraser
returned to Philadelphia in 1890 along with his son Archibald Alexander Fraser
and practiced architecture until his son’s death in 1895, at which time Fraser
retired to Riverton, New Jersey.
Copyright Paul K. Williams
