Patterson Mansion
The Patterson Mansion is a historic Neoclassical-style mansion located at 15 Dupont Circle NW in Washington, D.C., in the 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 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 and the Massachusetts Avenue Historic District.
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.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. A large number of palatial residences, including Stewart's Castle, were soon constructed on and around the circle. 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 from a Mrs. Anna Howell Stewart. Mrs. Patterson hired the architect Stanford White, who designed the Pattersons' home in Chicago, to develop plans for the house. They were finalized in April 1901, with a projected cost of $85,000. The George A. Fuller Company 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, it was repaired and the entire structure house completed by January 1903. The final cost of construction was $200,000.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.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. 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 allowed her daughter, Felicia, and her new husband, Drew Pearson, to take up residence in the mansion. Nellie Patterson vacated 15 Dupont Circle for good in 1923, never to return, and deeded the property to Cissy that same year. Although Cissy formally took up residence there in 1923, she spent most of her time elsewhere. The house was barely occupied from 1923 to 1929, as the Pearsons left for Asia in 1925 and never returned to the home. 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.
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. 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. 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.
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. 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. Some of the most iconic photos of Lindbergh were taken during his balcony appearances.
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 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, Cissy changed her will and asked that the mansion be donated to the League of Republican Women of the District of Columbia. She changed her mind again in 1946 and left it to the American Red Cross.
Post-Patterson owners
Cissy Patterson died on July 24, 1948. Her will donated the building and most of its furnishings to the American Red Cross. Cissy's daughter, Felicia Gizycka, 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.Felicia Gizycka challenged the will on September 13, 1948. Gizycka claimed it was not the last will signed by her mother, that Cissy was of unsound mind and under undue influence, and that the witnesses had not signed the will correctly. Over the next few months, the case took a number of twists and turns, including the suicide of a former beneficiary, an alleged break-in at the Gizycka home, and a number of accusations made by both sides in the dispute. Seven previous wills and two current codicils were discovered. The existence of so many other wills, none of which substantially benefitted Felicia Gizycka, led to extensive legal maneuvers. A trial was set for January 18, 1949, and then moved to February 9. On January 28, 1949, a settlement in the case was reached by the parties. Under the new agreement, Felicia Gizycka received $400,000 from the estate, along with the New York and North Dakota properties. In return, she gave up the right to inherit personal property, which would be used to help pay taxes. The settlement did not disturb the provisions of the will donating the Patterson Mansion and its contents to the Red Cross, but did allow the will to be probated and the deed transferred.
The Red Cross, however, had no use for the Patterson Mansion. The organization had a magnificent structure, the Neoclassical American Red Cross National Headquarters at 430 17th Street NW, which served as its national headquarters. Furthermore, on July 1, 1947, Congress enacted legislation donating federal land along the north side of E Street NW between 20th and 21st Streets for a new District of Columbia Chapter headquarters. The national organization had already committed $700,000 to build this structure.
The Red Cross decided to sell the mansion instead. It opened the house to the public in April 1949 to build public interest in a forthcoming auction of the home's many furnishings. The auction raised little interest. The Red Cross put the building and its furnishings up for sale in November 1949 with a $700,000 asking price.
The property lingered on the market until the Washington Club, a private women's club, bought the Patterson Mansion on January 11, 1951. The purchase price was not immediately disclosed, but later was discovered to be just $450,000. After a title search was completed, the deed transferred on March 1, 1951. Included among the furnishings in the home were several Gobelins, Flemish, and French tapestries and a large amount of period furniture. After some renovations to bring the structure in line with current fire codes, the Washington Club occupied the building on November 8, 1951. The club rented out the second and third floor bedrooms and their associated suites of rooms to club members. The third reception room, once Felicia Gizycka's bedroom and known as the Countess Room, was renamed the "Dorothy Betts Marvin Room" in honor of Washington Club president Dorothy Marvin, wife of George Washington University president Cloyd H. Marvin.
In 1956, the Washington Club constructed a two-story addition on the east side of the Patterson Mansion. The windows on the first and second floor on the east side were walled up, and three new doors cut on the first floor to provide access to the addition. Two doors were cut on the second floor. A butler's pantry, kitchen prep area, toilet, elevator entrance hall, and banquet hall were built on the ground floor. Stairwells were added on the four corners of the addition. A reception room and small toilet were constructed on the south end of the second of the addition, while a large auditorium occupied the central section. A stage, dressing rooms, and storage area were built on the north end of the second floor.