The Anderson House
About
Date: Completed 1916
Historic Designation: Local Historic District, December 17, 2022
Current Use of Property: Private Home
The Anderson House, located at 3500 14th St. N., is a vernacular four-square single-family dwelling influenced by the Prairie architectural style. Joseph C. Anderson constructed the original portion of the house ca. 1912 shortly after purchasing the land. In ca. 1916, Anderson expanded the original rectangular footprint with a front addition and porch that give the house its distinctive four-square massing. The dwelling is also an example of a large home in Arlington that was not associated with a farm or homestead before the construction boom of World War I. The house was constructed on the “Hayes tract,” part of 66 acres owned and developed by the Hayes family, one of the first developers of the Clarendon area. It was from them that Joseph Anderson purchased the land.
The four-square plan was popular in the Midwest between 1900-1920 and is largely associated with Prairie-style homes. Pattern books and magazines spread this style to suburban areas throughout the United States, including Virginia, where they were adapted into less ornate local and vernacular styles. The Anderson House features typical Craftsman architectural details such as a prominent front porch supported by wide masonry columns and wide overhanging eaves. However, its squared-hipped main roof and shallow-hipped porch roof are indicative of the Prairie architectural style. Given the popularity and abundance of Craftsman, bungalow, and Colonial Revival homes in Arlington during this period, the Anderson House is architecturally distinctive. The exterior character-defining features of the house, including the bullnose radial brick, windows, doors, and porch columns, have been well-preserved.
Architectural Details
The Anderson House is a vernacular four-square dwelling with unique stylings. It consists of a T-shaped plan with a brick foundation, a full-width wraparound porch, a second-story porch, a low-pitched hipped roof, and three brick chimneys. The current configuration of the house is the result of three subsequent renovation phases, two that took place before 1940 and another in 2016. A ca. 1916 addition converted the original rectangular house into a four-square massing. In 1939, a brick basement and first-story rear addition with a shed roof replaced an existing back porch. This rear addition was replaced with a larger two-story rear addition in 2016. The oldest portion of the dwelling is built of brick laid in seven-course American bond. The ca. 1916 addition is laid in running bond and the 2016 rear addition is covered in cement stucco. The original roof material was slate. The typical window for this residence is a 1/1 single-hung wood sash window with exposed stone lintels and sills.
The north (front) elevation of the dwelling faces 14th Street North. The corners of this elevation are constructed of distinctive bullnose radial bricks with rounded corners. A full-width, wraparound porch with a rounded projection on its west portion adorns the first floor and the second story on the east and west. The porch also features bullnose radial brick columns that support a shallow-pitched copper standing seam roof dating to 2004, as well as bracketed eaves and a beadboard ceiling. The porch has a distinctive steel pipe railing along the east and west portion of the first floor. The same railing type completely encloses the second story porches.
Example of bullnose radial brick at the Anderson House.
Significant People
Alonzo Hayes (1810-1858): Born in Barrington, New Hampshire. Educated at Dartmouth College, Union Theological Seminary, and Andover Theological Seminary and ordained as a Congregational minister in 1843. Married Malvina Gilman (1810-1891) of Washington, D.C. in the same year. Moved to Ballston, Arlington, Virginia in 1853 and purchased 66 acres from William Ball in 1854. Died in Ballston in 1858.
William Douglass Hayes (1853-1928): The only child of Alonzo and Malvina Hayes to be born in the Washington, D.C. area. Educated at a trade school in Taunton, Massachusetts. Married Etta Cameron in Arlington in 1878 and moved to Nebraska. They returned to Arlington permanently in 1893 and constructed a house in Ballston on family land. Married Katie Barclay in 1902. Their children Douglas and Catherine remained in Arlington.
Joseph Clayton Anderson (1873-1950) and Edith Harlow Anderson (1878-1949): These two Washington, D.C. natives purchased land from William and Katie Hayes in 1911 and constructed the first iteration of the Anderson House ca. 1912 then built an addition on the main elevation ca. 1916. Joseph worked as a store merchant and an insurance salesman. This dwelling was the Andersons’ primary residence, and they had a servant living with them in the house at least until 1930. Their children Audrey A. Brown and Bowman C. Anderson subdivided the family land into three lots in 1950 and sold Lot #2 (3500 14th Street N.), which included the dwelling.
More Information