United States Senate

12/16/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/16/2025 10:55

Square 686: A Capitol Hill Neighborhood Transformed

Senate Stories | Square 686: A Capitol Hill Neighborhood Transformed

December 16, 2025
By Senate Historical Office
Maps from the Baist's Real Estate Atlas depict the transformation of Square 686 between 1903 (top) and 1909 (bottom), when the land was cleared to make way for the new Senate Office Building.
Library of Congress
Baist Real Estate Atlas Maps, 1903 and 1909
Library of Congress

Maps from the Baist's Real Estate Atlas depict the transformation of Square 686 between 1903 (top) and 1909 (bottom), when the land was cleared to make way for the new Senate Office Building.

Today, the blocks around the Capitol hum with the movement of tourists, Capitol Hill residents, and members of Congress, their staff, and visitors. Office buildings, parks, fountains, and monuments line the streets, interspersed with row houses and various associations and businesses. At the turn of the 20th century, this land was also a hub of activity, but with many key differences. The densely populated neighborhoods then consisted mostly of apartment buildings, row houses, hotels, hospitals, businesses, store fronts, and churches. Between 1900 and 1910, developers began the transformation of the landscape around the Capitol. To its east, the Pennsylvania Railroad cut and bore a new tunnel directly underneath 1st Street fronting the Library of Congress. Several blocks to the north, planning for a new train terminal, called Union Station, was well underway. To the south, the House's new office building swallowed an entire city block. And just north of the Capitol, the Senate acquired the thriving city block designated Square 686 and constructed its first office building. 1

The new Senate Office Building was designed to address a critical need. Between 1850 and 1900, 14 states joined the Union, adding 28 senators to a building that was designed to meet the needs of fewer people. The Senate expanded its clerical staff during the same period, in part to support its growing workload, but there was limited workspace for them. Most senators conducted business at their desks in the Senate Chamber. Those who chaired committees gained the use of the Capitol's larger rooms, which doubled as the chairman's personal office and accommodated committee staff. These conditions forced senators and staff to use any available space in the Capitol, including alcoves in the attic, corners in the basement, and converted storerooms and closets. In desperation, some senators rented their own office space in nearby buildings. The Senate acquired the Maltby Building-a five-story apartment building located where the modern Taft Carillon now stands-in 1891, but it was not well-maintained. In early 1904, an inspection by Superintendent of the Capitol Elliott Woods identified structural flaws rendering the Maltby Building "extremely hazardous" and "not suited to the uses to which it is now put."2

Row houses at the northeast corner of Delaware Avenue and Constitution Avenue NE, the southwestern corner of Square 686, ca. 1880s.
DC History Center
Delaware Avenue and Constitution Avenue NE, Washington, D.C., ca. 1880s
DC History Center

Row houses at the northeast corner of Delaware Avenue and Constitution Avenue NE, the southwestern corner of Square 686, ca. 1880s.

By 1902 both the Senate and House had publicly acknowledged intentions to construct office buildings "at no distant day." The House moved more quickly than the Senate. The Civil Appropriations Act that passed on March 3, 1903, included a $750,000 appropriation to initiate House Office Building excavations. The next year's appropriation bill, authorized on April 28, 1904, set aside $750,000 for land purchases and $2.25 million for the construction of a Senate office building. The appropriation passed with wide support by a vote of 50-10. Just before the vote, Senator William Stewart of Nevada stated on the Senate floor he was "heartily in favor of the new building … though I shall not be here to enjoy it" due to his pending retirement. Senator William Stone of Missouri acknowledged that only some senators "have excellent quarters in the Capitol … their surroundings are pleasant, congenial, and conducive to good thought and to good work." In Senator Stone's opinion, a new office building would provide "a nearer approach to equality in the accommodations afforded senators." Some senators worried about the public perception of this expense. Senator James Berry of Arkansas opposed the measure. "I believe it is wrong," Berry stated. "I believe it is extravagant … and I believe that if we pass a bill here appropriating money to build offices and committee rooms for the Senate, costing even $33,000 for every Senator here, it will tend to give color to the charge of extravagance which has so often been made against this body."3

Senator Shelby Cullom of Illinois served on the Senate Building Commission, charged with overseeing the construction of the Senate's new office building.
U.S. Senate Historical Office
Shelby M. Cullom (R-IL)
U.S. Senate Historical Office

Senator Shelby Cullom of Illinois served on the Senate Building Commission, charged with overseeing the construction of the Senate's new office building.

With funding secured, the Senate formed the Senate Building Commission and selected Senators Shelby Cullom of Illinois, Jacob Gallinger of New Hampshire, and Francis Cockrell of Missouri to direct all expenditures, land acquisition, and building construction. They worked closely with Architect of the Capitol Elliott Woods and consulting architect John Carrère of the private firm Carrère and Hastings to develop building designs mirroring those of the new House Office Building. Planners had long decided on Square 686 to the north of the Capitol as the location for the new building. Bounded by B Street, C Street, 1st Street, and Delaware Avenue, Northeast, this block created symmetry with the location of the corresponding House building on the other side of the Capitol. In May 1904 the committee and Woods named Samuel Bieber, a Washington, DC-based banker and real estate expert, to establish price estimates and lead negotiations for land acquisition. In July 1904, when the commission conducted its initial land and title surveys, Square 686 consisted of 45 parcels with 178 owners possessing some financial stake.4

Eastern Dispensary and Casualty Hospital at 217 Delaware Avenue NE within Square 686, ca. 1900.
DC History Center
Eastern Dispensary and Casualty Hospital, Washington, D.C., ca. 1900
DC History Center

Eastern Dispensary and Casualty Hospital at 217 Delaware Avenue NE within Square 686, ca. 1900.

Square 686 was a typical Capitol Hill community. First divided into lots in 1799, people began constructing houses immediately thereafter. An alleyway-Orial Court-bifurcated the square from north to south. According to the 1900 U.S. Census, 300 individuals lived within Square 686, with 252, or 84 percent, renting their homes. Occupants included a cross-section of everyday DC life, such as railroad worker Albert Cox (246 Orial Court), chief of the U.S. Consular Bureau of the State Department and Consul to Canada Robert Chilton, Jr. (225 Delaware Avenue), and Treasury Department clerk Sallie Boaz (48 B Street). At the corner of First and C Streets, the Baltimore Yearly Meeting of Friends, one of the oldest Quaker organizations in America, operated a meeting house. At the center of the block on Delaware Avenue was Casualty Hospital serving the city's poor. The block was also home to stenographers, bookbinders, teachers, policemen, butchers, masons, speculators, and dairy workers.5

This 1901 view of the Capitol from the north shows the densely populated landscape that was transformed in the early 20th century as Congress expanded the Capitol grounds.
Library of Congress
View of the Capitol from the North, 1901
Library of Congress

This 1901 view of the Capitol from the north shows the densely populated landscape that was transformed in the early 20th century as Congress expanded the Capitol grounds.

Orial Court in Square 686 was similar to other alleyways found throughout DC during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Photographer Godfrey Frankel captured images of many of these in the 1940s, revealing dilapidated structures and crowded conditions. Yet residents developed strong community and family bonds and considered these alleyways home. While photographs of Orial Court have yet to be located, insurance maps suggest the alley, measuring 15 feet across, had 20 residences. According to the 1900 Census, 88 people lived in the court, predominantly African Americans. In comparison, just one household on the perimeter of the square was headed by an African American individual. The 1900 Census also recorded more than one household within each Orial Court structure, though the census recorded the same pattern in houses on the perimeter. Comparing employment, however, reveals significant differences. Residents of homes on the perimeter of 686 worked in a variety of professions; those calling Orial Court home overwhelmingly worked as domestic help (e.g., "houseworker," "washerwoman," "servant") or as laborers (e.g., "laborer railroad," "driver lumber," "whitewasher").6

Senate-appointed negotiator Samuel Bieber met with Square 686 property owners throughout May 1904. The Washington Post reported on May 1, 1904, that the square's 45 parcels assessed at "considerably less than $300,000," so the Senate Building Commission hoped all parcels could be acquired quickly given the $750,000 appropriation. A few weeks later, the commission met to hear updates on Bieber's negotiations. The Evening Star reported that Bieber's negotiated prices were "far in excess of the assessed value of the property." Exactly what those prices were remains unclear, but with Senator Gallinger out of town, Senators Cullom and Cockrell quickly determined "that it was not in the advantage of the government to accept any of the offers" and ordered the architect of the Capitol to proceed with condemnation, a legal process more popularly known as "eminent domain" by which the government purchases private land for public use at a price usually negotiated by a third party, such as an arbitrator or judge.7

A sample of condemnation lawsuit documents for Square 686 filed in 1904-5.
National Archives and Records Administration
Square 686 Condemnation Lawsuit Documents, 1904-5
National Archives and Records Administration

A sample of condemnation lawsuit documents for Square 686 filed in 1904-5.

In August 1904, the Square 686 condemnation proceedings began. Representatives for the 178 parcel owners and the government's attorneys appeared in the District of Columbia Supreme Court to negotiate. Following congressional guidance, the court created a three-person committee to navigate the complex condemnation process and appointed three "prominent citizens of the District," all wealthy men: Robert I. Fleming (architect and member of the D.C. Board of Commissioners), James F. Oyster (businessman and civic leader), and H. Rozier Dulaney (real estate agent). Throughout August and September, they toured Square 686 and held hearings to receive testimony from parcel owners. Their report, submitted in October 1904, identified 45 sale agreements totaling $746,111. The Senate Building Commission quickly approved the report, and funds were then distributed in December. All residents, including both owners and renters, vacated Square 686 by January 1905.8

Only one recorded instance survives of pushback from a Square 686 resident. W. H. Smith, a tenant living on the third floor of 28 B Street NE petitioned the court on August 9, 1904, that "by means of the condemnation and purchase of the square by the Federal Government, he will be forced to vacate the premises which he has peaceably and satisfactorily occupied as stated, subjecting him to both trouble and expense, with little or no hope of finding another apartment that will be as convenient or comfortable." Smith, a Government Printing Office employee, claimed $500 to account for potential damage to furniture and moving costs. Surviving records do not indicate whether Smith received payment, though by 1906 he was residing in a rental unit south of the Capitol on New Jersey Avenue SE, directly across the street from the construction of the new House Office Building.9

Postcard showing a view of the Capitol from Union Station, ca. 1911, with the new Senate Office Building visible on the left. The notation mentions the clearing of other squares between the Capitol and Union Station.
Library of Congress
Postcard, ca. 1911
Library of Congress

Postcard showing a view of the Capitol from Union Station, ca. 1911, with the new Senate Office Building visible on the left. The notation mentions the clearing of other squares between the Capitol and Union Station.

Following the condemnation proceedings, at least one Square 686 parcel owner-Casualty Hospital-seemed to welcome the change. The hospital building, a three-story brick converted residence, was woefully insufficient according to the hospital's board of directors. During the first three months of 1904, for example, hospital staff treated nearly 5,000 individuals, including 411 emergency cases and 115 surgeries within what The Evening Star described as "the present ancient structure." The same article reported that directors desired "a modern hospital fitted out with the latest medical and surgical appliances, and an ambulance … [given] the necessity for such an establishment … in the eastern part of the city." Within a year, Casualty Hospital reopened in a newly renovated facility six blocks to the east on Massachusetts Avenue, NE. Other parcel owners successfully relocated as well. Even though the Baltimore Yearly Meeting of Friends had just spent $2,000 in February 1904 to upgrade to their auditorium with a new floor, brick repairs, and a gallery extension, the group used the $21,800 received from condemnation to move to Columbia Heights in 1905.10

By the summer of 1905, Square 686 had been reduced to rubble, dirt, and a "dinkie railroad"-a short temporary locomotive line-that carried refuse north to the future site of Union Station. The once vibrant community of private residences and businesses would soon be replaced by the Senate Office Building, which opened in 1909, and the accompanying hustle and bustle of senators, staff, and visitors. Other construction projects followed over the next 70 years as the Senate cleared additional land to make way for new parks, monuments, and office buildings. These developments altered the Capitol Hill landscape to support the critical work of the United States Senate.11


Notes

1. "Cannon House Office Building," Architect of the Capitol, accessed December 5, 2025, https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/buildings-grounds/house-office-buildings/cannon; Thomas S. Hines, Burnham of Chicago: Architect and Planner (University of Chicago Press, 2009), 284-8; Building Conservation Associates, "Washington Union Station Historic Preservation Plan: Volume I" (2015), 22, accessed December 5, 2025, https://www.usrcdc.com/projects/historic-preservation-plan/; "Opposed to Open Cut," Washington Post, March 3, 1905.

2. "Maltby Building," U.S. Senate Historical Office, accessed December 5, 2025, https://www.senate.gov/about/historic-buildings-spaces/office-buildings/maltby-building.htm.

3. Senate Committee on the District of Columbia, The Improvement of the Park System of the District of Columbia, S. Rep. 57-166, 57th Cong., 1st sess., January 15, 1902; Shelby M. Cullom, Fifty Years of Public Service (Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1911), 347-8; Henry A. Converse, "The Life and Services of Shelby M. Cullom" in Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1914 (Illinois State Historical Library, 1914); "For House Offices and Extension to Capitol," Washington Times, February 12, 1903; "Consult Engineers on Office Building Site," Washington Times, March 7, 1903; "The House Office Building Criticized," Evening Star (Washington, DC), March 16, 1903; "Waiting for Titles," Evening Star (Washington, DC), June 11, 1903; "Is Not Privileged," Evening Star, April 27, 1904; "An Office Building," Evening Star (Washington, DC), April 21, 1904; Congressional Record, 58th Cong., 2nd sess., April 19, 1904, 5083-4, 5170-1; William C. Allen, History of the United States Capitol (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2001), 378-81.

4. "Office Building for the Senate," Washington Times, April 15 1904; "Dolliver Talks About the Trusts," Age-Herald (Birmingham, AL), April 21, 1904; "Real Estate Market," Washington Post, May 1, 1904; "Extension of the Capitol," Baltimore Sun, May 1, 1904; "Mr. Bieber Named," Evening Star (Washington, DC), May 4, 1904; "District Dock. 2, No. 624," July 18, 1904, Case 624, Box 55, District Court Case Files Relating to Admiralty and Condemnation Proceedings, Record Group 21: Records of the District Courts of the United States, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC.

5. Population Schedule for Washington, D.C., Enumeration District No. 118, Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900, Record Group 29: Records of the Bureau of the Census, Microfilm Publication T623, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC; Robert S. Chilton Papers 1, finding aid, Georgetown University Library Booth Family Center for Special Collections, accessed December 5, 2025, https://findingaids.library.georgetown.edu/repositories/15/resources/10018.

6. Godfrey Frankel, In the Alleys: Kids in the Shadow of the Capitol (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1995); Population Schedule for Washington, D.C., Enumeration District No. 118; George William Baist, Baist's Real Estate Atlas of Surveys of Washington, District of Columbia: Complete in Four Volumes, 1913, Library of Congress Geography and Map Division.

7. "Real Estate Market," Washington Post, May 1, 1904; Susan Mandel, "The Lincoln Conspirator," Washington Post, February 3, 2008; "Price Regarded as High," Evening Star (Washington, DC), May 25, 1904.

8. "Court Acts Upon Senate Building Site," Washington Times, August 10, 1904; "Preliminary Steps," Evening Star (Washington, DC), August 10, 1904; "Commission Named," Evening Star (Washington, DC), August 11, 1904; "District Court," Evening Star (Washington, DC), August 12, 1904; "Hearing of Testimony," Evening Star (Washington, DC), August 22, 1904; Robert Isaac Fleming Papers, Finding Aid, The Historical Society of Washington, D.C., accessed December 5, 2025, https://dchistory.catalogaccess.com/archives/104088; "District Dock. 2, No. 624," "Certificate of Publication"; "Senate Office Site," Evening Star (Washington, DC), August 12, 1904; "The Award Approved," Evening Star (Washington, DC), November 22, 1904; "In the District," Evening Star (Washington, DC), October 22, 1904; "Distributing Funds to Pay for Site," Washington Times, December 27, 1904.

9. "District Dock. 2, No. 624," W. H. Smith to Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, August 9, 1904, December 5, 1904; Boyd's Directory of the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.: R.L. Polk & Co., 1903); 895; Boyd's Directory of the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.: R.L. Polk & Co., 1906), 1043.

10. "Casualty Hospital Report," Evening Star (Washington, DC), April 23, 1904; "Capitol Hill Historic District (1976 Boundary Increase)," National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, January 26, 1976, D.C. Office of Planning, accessed December 5, 2025, https://planning.dc.gov/publication/capitol-hill-historic-district; "Permit No. 1136," Feb. 11 to Mar. 8, 1904, Permits 1135 - 1251, Record Group 351: Records of the Government of the District of Columbia, Series: Building Permits, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC; "St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church South," National Register of Historic Places Registration Form:, November 30, 2017, D.C. Office of Planning, accessed December 5, 2025, https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/St%20Pauls%20Methodist%20Episcopal%20Church%20South%20Nomination_1.pdf.

11. "Delay in the Work," Evening Star (Washington, DC), December 1, 1904; "Excavations Begun," Evening Star (Washington, DC), May 1, 1905.

Categories:
U.S. Capitol Complex
United States Senate published this content on December 16, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on December 16, 2025 at 16:55 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]