From The Archives

Elegant Queen Anne in Close-in Washington, DC Suburb

The property is located on a large 3/4-acre corner lot in the quiet neighborhood of Old Town College Park in College Park, Maryland, home to the University of Maryland flagship campus, just inside the beltway surrounding Washington, DC.

The house was built in 1915, as the descendants of the original landholders, the Calvert family of Riversdale, began to subdivide and develop their portions of the estate as “streetcar suburbs,” for the growing federal workforce, who wanted the benefits of gracious country living within commuting distance of the city. The original trolley line has been replaced by a park and bike path, but the house is now located a block from a stop on the Metro subway line to Washington, as well as the commuter train to Baltimore.

The house has variously been described as Queen Anne, Foursquare, Colonial Revival (or “all of the above”!). Regardless of classification, it features a wraparound porch (part of which was later used to build out a first-floor bathroom on the side), mullioned windows with a distinctive arrow pattern and original glass, high ceilings, an intriguing triangular coat closet, french doors, two dormers projecting through the gable roof, refinished hardwood floors, and a separate parlor, living room, and dining room. It has five bedrooms (including two on the third floor) plus a two-room bedroom suite, three full baths, an unfinished basement with an outside entrance, and a detached 1-car garage with offstreet parking. A two-story rear addition houses what is now the kitchen, with a sunny back bedroom above it. The exterior has aluminum siding below and asbestos-cement shingle above, replicating the original wood clapboards and shingles, which still exist beneath the siding. There are no major maintenance issues to address. The house has a gas furnace and hot-water heater, window air conditioners, and remodeled bathrooms and kitchen. It was recently painted, inside and out, and the floors and stairway were refinished.

The history of the area centers around agriculture, transportation, and education. A stone building across the street, now home to the Ladies Club, was originally a barn on the vast Calvert estate, whose mansion still stands in nearby Riverdale. Before farming silted up the Anacostia River, the nearby town of Bladensburg was originally a deep-water port – the site of a brief skirmish as the British advanced on Washington in the War of 1812. Within walking distance of the house, on the other side of the subway and commuter rail stations, is the College Park Airport, billed as the world’s oldest continually operating airport, where – at around the same time the house was built -- Wilbur Wright tested his Model B flyer and trained the first military aviators. The airport museum traces the history of the airfield’s aviation “firsts,” including the first testing of a bomb aiming device and an aerial machine gun, the first airmail service, and the first controlled helicopter flight. The present University campus originated with the Maryland Agricultural College, founded by a Calvert descendant to encourage scientific farming practices. The surrounding region is particularly rich in Civil War history, with many battlefields and similar sites within easy driving distance.

The house is a contributing property in two designated historic districts.

Located in a highly-rated elementary school district, the house is within walking distance of the University of Maryland campus, shops, farmers markets, playgrounds, a skating rink, pool, tennis center, and a hiker/biker trail along a branch of the Anacostia River to a local lake park.