Cairo Apartment Building
Encyclopedia
The Cairo apartment building, located at 1615 Q Street NW in Washington, D.C.
, is a landmark in the Dupont Circle
neighborhood and the District's tallest residential building.
The 164 feet (50 m)-tall brick building was designed by architect Thomas Franklin Schneider
and completed in 1894 as the city's first "residential skyscraper
". Today, the Cairo is a condominium
building, home to renters and owners of apartments ranging in size from small studios to multi-level two- and three-bedroom units.
The Egyptian theme of the building is stamped across its Moorish
and Romanesque Revival
features. Gargoyle
s perch high above the front entrance; some are winged griffin
s staring down from cornices, and others are more lighthearted. Along the first floor are elephant heads, which look left and right from the stone window sills of the front windows and which interlock trunks at the corners of the entrance arch. On the fourth floor are dragon and dwarf crosses. The carved stone facade hints at more exotic Middle Eastern origins.
The U-shaped building surrounds a Zen
stone garden courtyard
. The stone front steps lead up through a glass foyer into a marble-floored lobby with Egyptian columns and a lounge. A large mirror and photographs of the building's construction and other contemporary scenes adorn the lobby's eastern wall. Two square columns of red-orange marble anchor the space in front of two elevators, which serve the tenants of the 12 floors above. Between the elevators is a stairway that leads down through double glass doors into the central courtyard.
At the two interior southern corners are wide staircases of marble and wrought iron that span the height of the building. Some sections of hallways are marble-floored, and each apartment's outside door handle is a marble orb. Apartments have exposed red brick walls. The AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington, D.C. summed up the design: "For all its quirks, the awkward tower reigns as one of Washington's guilty pleasures."
The Cairo is in the center of the Dupont Circle
neighborhood, and its rooftop deck provides one of the most expansive views of the District's northwest skyline. Visible locations include the Washington National Cathedral
, Georgetown
, the Washington Monument
, the Capitol
, and The Catholic University of America
. It sits three blocks east of the Dupont Circle Metro station
, near restaurants, bars, and shops along 17th Street.
has kept the city's skyline unusually low for an American city.
Around 1900, the building was renamed the Cairo Hotel and became a center of D.C. society, with its ballroom frequently the center of social and political gatherings. Its guests and tenants have included F. Scott Fitzgerald
, Thomas Edison
, and other powerful political figures.
On March 15, 1897, the deposed queen of Hawaii, Queen Liliuokalani, stayed in the Cairo while she lobbied President Grover Cleveland
for compensation for the U.S. overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in January 1893. On February 15, 1905, the Cairo swirled with intrigue when, during a labor union strike, painter J. Frank Hanby fell to his death when the ropes supporting him broke. The ropes were found possibly to have been cut by acid, leading to a grand jury investigation into the cause of death and many high-profile articles in The Washington Post. The high society of Washington often held meetings at the Cairo Hotel, such as that between the Woman's National Democratic League and a Congressman from New Mexico in 1913.
The December 2, 1923 Washington Post
contained an advertisement for the Cairo Hotel that read: In June 1940, a newspaper headline reported "Two Bandits Rob Cairo Hotel, Escape in Chase".
A party held on the night of November 30, 1940, featured 500 canaries singing beneath the chandelier
s in the grand ballroom. The building also had a bowling
alley and a coffee shop
.
In 1954, the Cairo Hotel hosted Sunday mambo
parties, played by Buddy Rowell and promoted by Maurice Gervitsch, known as "Groggy". The dances were featured a 12-piece band, and (in segregated
1950s D.C.) had mainly white
and Jewish attendance. These glamorous and sensational days lasted into the late 1950s.
The building was sold in 1957 as a 267-room hotel, and on October 12 the new owners announced plans to spend $100,000 refurbishing the structure. In 1958, a fire caused by an electrical short-circuit on the sixth floor led to $25,000 worth of damage, but no structural problems.
The Cairo began to decline during the 1960s, when it was inhabited by squatters
, prostitutes
, drug addicts, student protesters, criminals, and even feral
dog
s. In June 1964, the FBI
tracked a 24-year-old escaped convict to the building.
In 1966, the D.C. Department of Health considered leasing the run-down building for use as a rehabilitation center
for alcoholics
. After a series of failed attempts at renovation, including a closure on August 7, 1972, the building was restored in 1974 under the leadership of architect Arthur Cotton Moore
. It was converted into condominiums in 1979.
At the building's centennial celebration in October 1994, Ross Elementary school students sang "Happy Birthday
" to the building in thanks for a $1,000 donation made by the Cairo Condominium Unit Owners Association. Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans
read a proclamation declaring it "Cairo Day" in DC. Of the building, he said, "It is a real monument in the area."
On May 29, 2007, a fire emptied the Cairo of its roughly 400 residents. At least nine emergency vehicles responded to the blaze. The fire heavily damaged one of the central units of the tenth floor. Firewalls prevented its spread, although some other units suffered water damage.
The building was repointed
between 2007 and 2009, a $2.1 million project funded by the condominium owners, who paid fees ranging from $7,980 to more than $25,000, depending on the size of their apartments.
In summer 2010, the lobby's years-old carpet was pulled up, exposing the original terrazzo
flooring for restoration. It revealed echoes of the facade's middle-eastern theme, with sandy hues and interlocking tile pattern.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, is a landmark in the Dupont Circle
Dupont Circle
Dupont Circle is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood, and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The traffic circle is located at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue NW, Connecticut Avenue NW, New Hampshire Avenue NW, P Street NW, and 19th Street NW...
neighborhood and the District's tallest residential building.
The 164 feet (50 m)-tall brick building was designed by architect Thomas Franklin Schneider
Thomas Franklin Schneider
Thomas Franklin Schneider was an American architect who designed about 2,000 houses in the capital city area. Other important buildings of his included the Cairo Apartment Building.-Buildings by Schneider:-References:...
and completed in 1894 as the city's first "residential skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
". Today, the Cairo is a condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
building, home to renters and owners of apartments ranging in size from small studios to multi-level two- and three-bedroom units.
The Egyptian theme of the building is stamped across its Moorish
Moorish Revival
Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of the Romanticist fascination with all things oriental...
and Romanesque Revival
Romanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
features. Gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
s perch high above the front entrance; some are winged griffin
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...
s staring down from cornices, and others are more lighthearted. Along the first floor are elephant heads, which look left and right from the stone window sills of the front windows and which interlock trunks at the corners of the entrance arch. On the fourth floor are dragon and dwarf crosses. The carved stone facade hints at more exotic Middle Eastern origins.
The U-shaped building surrounds a Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
stone garden courtyard
Courtyard
A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. These areas in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of court....
. The stone front steps lead up through a glass foyer into a marble-floored lobby with Egyptian columns and a lounge. A large mirror and photographs of the building's construction and other contemporary scenes adorn the lobby's eastern wall. Two square columns of red-orange marble anchor the space in front of two elevators, which serve the tenants of the 12 floors above. Between the elevators is a stairway that leads down through double glass doors into the central courtyard.
At the two interior southern corners are wide staircases of marble and wrought iron that span the height of the building. Some sections of hallways are marble-floored, and each apartment's outside door handle is a marble orb. Apartments have exposed red brick walls. The AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington, D.C. summed up the design: "For all its quirks, the awkward tower reigns as one of Washington's guilty pleasures."
The Cairo is in the center of the Dupont Circle
Dupont Circle
Dupont Circle is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood, and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The traffic circle is located at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue NW, Connecticut Avenue NW, New Hampshire Avenue NW, P Street NW, and 19th Street NW...
neighborhood, and its rooftop deck provides one of the most expansive views of the District's northwest skyline. Visible locations include the Washington National Cathedral
Washington National Cathedral
The Washington National Cathedral, officially named the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church located in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. Of neogothic design, it is the sixth-largest cathedral in the world, the second-largest in...
, Georgetown
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years...
, the Washington Monument
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...
, the Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
, and The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...
. It sits three blocks east of the Dupont Circle Metro station
Dupont Circle (Washington Metro)
Dupont Circle is a Washington Metro station in Washington, D.C. on the Red Line that opened for service on January 17, 1977.The station, which serves the neighborhood of Dupont Circle, has two entrances: the north entrance, on Q Street Northwest between Connecticut Avenue and 20th Street Northwest...
, near restaurants, bars, and shops along 17th Street.
History
At 12 floors, the Cairo towers above nearby buildings. At its opening in 1894, the building's height caused a tremendous uproar among local residents, who dubbed it "Schneider's Folly" and lobbied Congress to limit the height of residential buildings in the District of Columbia to prevent more "skyscrapers" from being built. The resulting 1899 Heights of Buildings ActHeights of Buildings Act of 1910
The Heights of Buildings Act of 1910 was an Act of Congress passed by the 61st United States Congress on June 1, 1910 to limit the height of buildings in Washington, D.C. The original act was passed in 1899 when the 55th United States Congress passed the Heights of Buildings Act of 1899...
has kept the city's skyline unusually low for an American city.
Around 1900, the building was renamed the Cairo Hotel and became a center of D.C. society, with its ballroom frequently the center of social and political gatherings. Its guests and tenants have included F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
, Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
, and other powerful political figures.
On March 15, 1897, the deposed queen of Hawaii, Queen Liliuokalani, stayed in the Cairo while she lobbied President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
for compensation for the U.S. overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in January 1893. On February 15, 1905, the Cairo swirled with intrigue when, during a labor union strike, painter J. Frank Hanby fell to his death when the ropes supporting him broke. The ropes were found possibly to have been cut by acid, leading to a grand jury investigation into the cause of death and many high-profile articles in The Washington Post. The high society of Washington often held meetings at the Cairo Hotel, such as that between the Woman's National Democratic League and a Congressman from New Mexico in 1913.
The December 2, 1923 Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
contained an advertisement for the Cairo Hotel that read: In June 1940, a newspaper headline reported "Two Bandits Rob Cairo Hotel, Escape in Chase".
Chandelier
A chandelier is a branched decorative ceiling-mounted light fixture with two or more arms bearing lights. Chandeliers are often ornate, containing dozens of lamps and complex arrays of glass or crystal prisms to illuminate a room with refracted light...
s in the grand ballroom. The building also had a bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
alley and a coffee shop
Coffeehouse
A coffeehouse or coffee shop is an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. It shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on...
.
In 1954, the Cairo Hotel hosted Sunday mambo
Mambo (dance)
Mambo .In the late 1940s, Perez Prado came up with the dance for the mambo music and became the first person to market his music as "mambo". After Havana, Prado moved his music to Mexico, where his music and the dance was adopted. The original mambo dance was characterized by freedom and...
parties, played by Buddy Rowell and promoted by Maurice Gervitsch, known as "Groggy". The dances were featured a 12-piece band, and (in segregated
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
1950s D.C.) had mainly white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
and Jewish attendance. These glamorous and sensational days lasted into the late 1950s.
The building was sold in 1957 as a 267-room hotel, and on October 12 the new owners announced plans to spend $100,000 refurbishing the structure. In 1958, a fire caused by an electrical short-circuit on the sixth floor led to $25,000 worth of damage, but no structural problems.
The Cairo began to decline during the 1960s, when it was inhabited by squatters
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
, prostitutes
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
, drug addicts, student protesters, criminals, and even feral
Feral
A feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...
dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s. In June 1964, the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
tracked a 24-year-old escaped convict to the building.
In 1966, the D.C. Department of Health considered leasing the run-down building for use as a rehabilitation center
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
for alcoholics
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. After a series of failed attempts at renovation, including a closure on August 7, 1972, the building was restored in 1974 under the leadership of architect Arthur Cotton Moore
Arthur Cotton Moore
Arthur Cotton Moore is an architect in Washington, D.C.. Born in 1935, he grew up in the Kalomara district of Washington, and after attending St. Albans School studied architecture at Princeton University. He received an Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects in 1977 and became a...
. It was converted into condominiums in 1979.
At the building's centennial celebration in October 1994, Ross Elementary school students sang "Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday to You
"Happy Birthday to You", also known more simply as "Happy Birthday", is a song that is traditionally sung to celebrate the anniversary of a person's birth...
" to the building in thanks for a $1,000 donation made by the Cairo Condominium Unit Owners Association. Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans
Jack Evans (D.C. Council)
Jack Evans is a Democratic politician from Washington, D.C. He currently represents Ward 2 on the Council of the District of Columbia and serves as its chairperson pro tempore....
read a proclamation declaring it "Cairo Day" in DC. Of the building, he said, "It is a real monument in the area."
21st century
The building was repointed
Repointing
Repointing is the process of renewing the pointing in masonry construction. Over time, weathering and decay cause voids in the joints between masonry units , allowing the undesirable entrance of water. Water entering through these voids can cause significant damage through frost weathering and...
between 2007 and 2009, a $2.1 million project funded by the condominium owners, who paid fees ranging from $7,980 to more than $25,000, depending on the size of their apartments.
In summer 2010, the lobby's years-old carpet was pulled up, exposing the original terrazzo
Terrazzo
Terrazzo is a composite material poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of marble, quartz, granite, glass or other suitable chips, sprinkled or unsprinkled, and poured with a binder that is cementitious, chemical or a combination of both...
flooring for restoration. It revealed echoes of the facade's middle-eastern theme, with sandy hues and interlocking tile pattern.
External links
- Metro Weekly feature article, High Times: A Brief History of 17th Street's Tallest Resident
- Washington Post: D.C.'s Fear of Heights
- Cultural Tourism DC: facts about the Cairo
- Google Maps satellite view of the Cairo
- Thomas F. Schneider, architect of the Cairo, biographical notes
- The Cairo: Tower of Style and Elegance, Washington Post review, 1996
- Testing the Upper Limits of D.C. Building Height Act, Washington Post, an architect's view
- Turning Points: Moments in DC's History, Washingtonian Magazine, "No Tall Buildings" section
- Let D.C.'s Buildings Grow, Washington City Paper
- The Case for Taller Buildings in the Nation’s Capital, The Infrastructurist