Then and Now: Homes near AFRH

History

Then and Now: Homes near AFRH

by Kent Boese • April 23, 2010 4:00 pm

Left: 592-600 Park Road, NW from the Washington Times, Aug. 23, 1908. Right: Today.

This row of homes on Park Road east of Georgia Avenue has certainly seen some changes over the years. They were designed in 1908 by architect N. T. Haller for builder Percy H. Russell. When they were completed Georgia Avenue was still named Brightwood Avenue, Park Morton (now behind and next to the row) wouldn't be built for another 53 years, and the Soldiers' Home (now the Armed Forces Retirement Home) was still open to the public.

In fact, the Soldiers' Home was considered a major selling feature of these homes. The real estate ad offering these homes to the public stated that one of their many advantages was "one of the most beautiful parks in the world—SOLDIERS' HOME—containing over 500 acres of land, which is yours without the care or expense of paying taxes, if you are "LUCKY" enough to own one of these houses."

9 comments

Tags: AFRH, DC, history, Park View

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Kent Boese posts items of historic interest primarily within the District. He's worked in libraries since 1994, both federal and law, and currently works on K Street. He lives in the Park View neighborhood, and is the force behind the blog Washington Kaleidoscope.

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About $95,000 in today's dollars.

by Eric F. on Apr 23, 2010 5:18 pm

And paid for in 3 to 5 years.

by shy on Apr 23, 2010 6:10 pm

And how did you get $95,000? Did you use a general inflation factor (for all goods and services)?

Unfortunately, when you're talking about such long periods of time, it's really impossible to 'inflate' a cost because there are soooo many variables involved ... But if you're going to try, here're a few ways:

$102,000.00 using the Consumer Price Index
$76,200.00 using the GDP deflator
$444,000.00 using the unskilled wage
$682,000.00 using the Production Worker Compensation
$580,000.00 using the nominal GDP per capita
$2,010,000.00 using the relative share of GDP

www.measuringworth.com/uscompare

by Lance on Apr 23, 2010 6:28 pm

Incidentally, Zillow.com puts it in the ballpark of 3 of the 6 possibilities listed above.

592 Park Rd NWWashington, DC 20010
ZestimateÂ®: $407,000Value Range: $346K Â– $456K

by Lance on Apr 23, 2010 6:31 pm

What a cool address the builder has!

Percy H Russell
**Russell Building**
927 G St NW...

By the way, in the original picture, do we see a railing of sorts making the porch roof hospitable?

by Turnip on Apr 24, 2010 6:49 am

Porch roof railing is between 1 and 2 feet tall; not really sufficient for a true measure of protection. Second floor openings were windows; not doors. Porch roofs not meant to be habitable. Porch roof railing just ornamental, like the cresting on the main roof. Architect was thinking beauty, not utility.

by crin on Apr 24, 2010 8:08 am

It's nice to see the railing on the porch roof in the old photo. Most were removed to avoid maintenance issues such as painting and replacing rotted wood since they were completely exposed to the elements. In many cases the original wood columns were replaced by brick and metal for the same reason.

by m on Apr 24, 2010 11:43 am

I love old advertisements--they're so matter-of-fact. These houses certainly lasted beyond 3-5 years. Was there a problem at the time with shoddy houses only lasting a few years? Also, who owned the Solders' Home, that it wasn't paid for by taxes?

by Matthias on Apr 25, 2010 8:13 pm

and now, you're not allowed on the grounds, and that part of the city has nearly no parkland to speak of.

tear down the walls, open up the grounds!

by IMGoph on Apr 28, 2010 9:28 am