St. Elizabeths Hospital, Boiler House / Ice Plant, 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, Southeast, Ash Street, Southeast, Washington, District of Columbia, DC

For an overview of the Systems and Infrastructure Buildings, see HABS DC-349-CD
Significance: The Boiler House/Ice Plant (Building 52) functioned as the boiler plant, providing steam for heat to the campus buildings. It is significant for its association with the development of campus-wide infrastructure to support the west campus of St. Elizabeths. Constructed in 1892, the Boiler House/Ice Plant is a significant part of the campus plan as it developed in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The building is representative of the intended self-sufficiency of the campus at that time.
The Boiler House/Ice Plant is also significant in terms of its architectural design, as an example of the simple Italianate-inspired, late nineteenth-century construction on the St. Elizabeths campus. The building retains the character-defining random ashlar stone cladding with decorative corbelled brick window and door surrounds, slate roofs with dormers, and brick masonry chimney.
Survey number: HABS DC-349-BL
Building/structure dates: 1892 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1917 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1954 Subsequent Work
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 79003101