Thursday Doors – Dupont Circle

History, Thursday Doors 55 comments
Anderson House driveway doors

The title should say “to and from” Dupont Circle, but let’s not quibble over minor details. I was about to say “last month” when I realized that it’s August and the pictures I have to share today were taken in June. What happened to July? Anyway, way back in June, when I was commuting for two days from Silver Spring, MD to the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C., I took the Metro’s Red Line train from Silver Spring to Dupont Circle. Along the short walk to the Cosmos Club, I passed a couple of blocks of brownstones and, of course, I paid attention to the doors.

Most of the doors were just your normal run of the mill entrance doors, but when homes are squished in side-by-side, people seem to go to great lengths to give their door, entrance, yard, etc. a look that will set it apart. It’s not the door, as much as it’s the whole package.

As I approached the Cosmos Club, I was surrounded by larger buildings with more impressive doors. The surprise door (would that be a door prize?) of the week was discovered by accident, as I was trying to get a better picture of the entrance to the Cosmos Club.

I walked across the street to get enough distance to bring the entire building into the frame, and I stepped into the driveway of the Anderson House. I waited forever for a lull in the traffic, and I snapped the photo I wanted. Since the Anderson House seemed to be a public space, I decided to walk over and get a picture of the front door.

This is what door freaks aficionados do. We are people who used to settle for pictures of interesting buildings who have mutated evolved into people for whom a building seems to be made interesting by its doors. This is due to exposure to the main carrier of the door addiction virus, Norm Frampton. Norm is not just a carrier, he’s equally infected. In fact, we celebrate his contribution each week on Thursdays by visiting his site. We pet the blue frog that stands guard, and we view a vast amount of doors, contributed from all over the world.

Only after I took the photo of the front door, did I notice the amazing doors that control access to the driveway. How I could have missed these doors remains a mystery. I’ll chalk it up to being preoccupied with the traffic.

The Anderson House is the headquarters of the The Society of the Cincinnati. From their website:

“The Society of the Cincinnati is the nation’s oldest patriotic organization, founded in 1783 by officers of the Continental Army and their French counterparts who served together in the American Revolution. Its mission is to promote knowledge and appreciation of the achievement of American independence and to foster fellowship among its members. Now a nonprofit educational organization devoted to the principles and ideals of its founders, the modern Society maintains its headquarters, library, and museum at Anderson House in Washington, D.C.”

One of the early members of the society, Major Pierre L’Enfant, a French officer who joined the American Army in 1777, served in the Corps of Engineers, later was involved in the planning and design of the city of Washington, D.C.

I mention Mr. L’Enfant because he has a connection to Thursday Doors. One of my earliest contributions to this remarkable blogfest was a post about the doors of The Lockkeeper’s House in Washington, D.C. The canal system of which the locks were a part, was designed by Pierre L’Enfant.

I always like the color that’s added by the reflections.
Metro Red Line. A.K.A. my ride for the week.
It’s sandwiched in between a street full of buildings, but its unique and pretty.
I guess if you live on Q St, you make a big deal out of it.
Anderson House
Anderson House front entrance.
Anderson House front door
Gate doors on the right side of the driveway.
This building stood out because it’s kind of bland and normal.
A lot of work went into dressing up this entrance.
This would be pretty sweet to come home to each day.
Just another house in the row.
I love the colors and the iron work balcony.
This is the building in Silver Spring where the first two days of meetings were held.
This is the Discovery Channel building. I have no idea what those doors are for, but I couldn’t resist.
I can imagine, after a long hot day in the city, that those stairs are a mini-challenge.
Dupont Circle to Silver Spring – nice easy ride.
I’m sure there’s a door in there. I wanted to give you a sense of the walk,

55 comments

  4. Wow. When my eyes first caught sight of your posting in the Reader, I immediately recognized the photo of the ceiling of the Metro in DC and was a little confused. Had I read the post’s title, I would have realized why. I have walked around Dupont Circle a fair amount over the years and it is a wonderful area to explore on foot, with interesting architecture and a fascinating assortment of people. Had this not been a Thursday, I think you could have titled today’s offering “A Washington post.”

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    1. That would be a good title for a post, Mike. I don’t know why, but I really like the look of the underground Metro stations. I don’t imagine they’d like me camped out taking pictures, though. Dupont Circle is a pretty area.

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        1. I have a series of shots like this, grabbed quickly with my iPhone. The stations are very pretty, and compared to Boston and New York, clean and bright. However, emerging up onto the hot and humid streets is an experience that’s hard for those cities to match. As much as I wanted to stop and take pictures, I also wanted to get to the next air-conditioned space.

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  8. Oh I do so love row houses. Who doesn’t love row houses? They’re so charming! I do love the dressed up door the most, but the best photo is probably the train — that’s a great shot. :)
    Really like that Discovery Channel area as well — very MC Escher kinda vibe, given your perspective.

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  10. A beautiful collection of homes – some people really put effort into enhancing the look of their entrance. However, it’s the interior shot of the gates to the Anderson House that make the *wow* for me. It’s a shame that the magnificent entrance to Anderson House is hidden from view until you venture inside the gates, but there’s something about a courtyard and the gates that lead to it that capture my imagination!

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    1. Thanks Joanne. It was amazing how private it felt inside those gates and behind that wall. I shake my head when I think I almost walked past without seeing them at all.

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  11. Dan, you are so right about the Anderson House driveway doors! What a beauty. I wasn’t familiar with the Society of the Cincinnati. That description lends itself to all manner of speculative thought. Hugs on the wing!

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  12. Beautiful area for doors, Dan! As far as I can remember you showed a pic about the inside of the Cosmos club before, but not about the surroundings.The atmosphere seems similar as parts of Amsterdam, where history and wealth rules!.

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  19. The walk was lovely. The history on the Anderson House is quite interesting. I’d never heard of it before. I think the gates are lovely!
    The metro station with the green hue felt futuristic, cool perspective shot.

    I left a couple of comments on the image pages. I do that because I’ll forget what I wanted to say, an saw by the time I get back here. :)

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    1. Thanks Deborah. I saw the comments. I’m on my phone, so I’ll have to reply later but I appreciate them. It’s funny that one of my favorite places in DC is a subway station, but I really like them.

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  22. Anderson House has so much fodder for doors and beauty abounds! I loved the black rod iron lamp fixtilure inside arched black doors. The stonework engravings or details are stunning.
    I liked the Que Street door, like salmon or pale pink dove color, along with the green tunnel of the Metro Red Line.
    The house you say it would be sweet to call home really does have a beautiful door! Finally, there’s a cream colored townhouse that has red stucco Italian tiles on its roof!! Wow!

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    1. There is a lot of beauty in that area. Thanks for visiting and commenting. It’s funny when people point out the colors. I like the Que St door, but, apparently, I have no idea what color it is. I’ll take your word for it :-)

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  23. The black grillwork arch which has the rod iron lamp hanging in it adds to the whole effect with connecting circles in its pattern. I went back to study this and also, “fixture” was the word my fingers meant to type. Thanks, Dan for this plethora of doors to study! 😁

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