Sedgwick Gardens

About this property

Sedgwick Gardens is an apartment building at 3726 Connecticut Avenue Northwest, on the southwest corner with Sedgwick Street, in Northwest Washington D.C. It is located two blocks from the Cleveland Park station of the Washington Metro. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and represents a significant example of an Art Deco porte-cochere architecture in Washington. Sedgwick Gardens was designed by prominent Washington architect Mihran Mesrobian for local developer Max Gorin of the Southern Construction Company in 1931 for $500,000, and in 1932 opened as a rental apartments building. It is currently distinguished as one of the Cleveland Park Historic District apartment complexes in Washington. Its entrance has been designed so that the eye of any visitor is drawn upward toward of a pair of high relief female figures, a pair of bas-relief male figures, and further toward the rose window on the massive square elevator tower in the background. White brick bands within the red brick facade line the main and top floors while shorter white bands lay just below each floors’ windows. Triangular projecting sculptured panels and niches that hold wrought iron deco railings interrupt a peculiar cornice treatment, and additional light and air for most of the apartments are provided by the encirclement of two dozen projecting bays. The building represents an exceptional double-U design. The interiors of Sedgwick Gardens include solid mahogany doors, brass hardware, and limestone-marble in the octagonal lobby. Two dozen Moorish-style arches and columns, the six-sided skylight, and the restored octagonal fountain enhance the space. In the center rear of the lobby a small staircase leads to the first floor, just up half a story. In the style of the 1930s, dinettes replaced the large formal dining rooms in all 120 apartments. Originally each of these, including the one-bedrooms, contained a Murphy bed, but today only a few remain. In the current day, renovations continue to be made by its owners, DARO Realty, Inc., and in particular, attention has been paid to upgrade kitchens while still striving to preserve the apartments’ original architectural elements. The restoration included restoration architects and artisans to ensure that the original character of the building has been retained. The exterior, lobby and hallways have all been restored. Of particular note is the recent renovation of the lobby complete with marble and limestone floors, Moorish-style arches and columns, an octagonal water fountain, and an enormous hexagonal skylight that allows plenty of natural light.

Location

Categories

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

More in District of Columbia County

Historic places, battles, and census history across District of Columbia County.

More historic places in District of Columbia

Browse all historic places in District of Columbia.

Conflict records

Explore 19,000+ military engagements across American history.

District of Columbia history

Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.