St. Aloysius Church Industrial Home for Women (104)

Northeast corner of K and North Capitol Streets, NE
Constructed in 1871, demolished ca. 1970

The Ladies Relief Society of St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church commissioned Cluss to design a residence for women "of reduced circumstance." Meant to be a self-supporting institution to house homeless women, the society intended to give residents work such as sewing, washing, ironing and "kindred branches of industry."

Cluss designed a U-shaped, two-story building with an open courtyard facing North Capitol Street. Only the north wing was completed in 1871, and the other two wings in later years. Cluss described the exterior as "chaste, modern style, all details being of original design." By modern, Cluss would have meant Rundbogenstil.

The Relief Society, originally headed by Eleanor Sherman, wife of the Civil War General William T. Sherman, sold the structure to the Sisters of Notre Dame, whose members taught at a Catholic girl's school on the opposite side of K Street. The Sister of Notre Dame owned the building until it was demolished in 1970 as part of an urban renewal project. Office buildings replaced the convent.

back

 

 

produced by STIMME.NET
Top of the page