St. Elizabeths Hospital, C Building, 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, Southeast, Washington, District of Columbia, DC

For an overview of the Lettered Buildings, see HABS DC-349-BY
Significance: The C Building (Building 73) is significant for its association with the treatment of mental illness on the St. Elizabeths Campus. As one of the new patient residential and treatment buildings for the campus in the twentieth century, the C Building formed an integral part of the function and use of the campus for the treatment of mental illness and related disabilities. The building was a residence for patients and also incorporated facilities for innovative hydrotherapy treatments. The building also contained an operating theater, where operations could be viewed by medical staff, furthering the training mission of the hospital.

The C Building is also significant for its architectural design. Designed by the noted architectural firm of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, the lettered building group is a notable example of the firm's designs for institutional campuses. Constructed in the early 1900s, the C Building is a part of the campus plan as it developed during the Richardson-era expansion. The lettered building group is united by the campus layout as well as the common use of the Renaissance Revival style, featuring brick masonry, large window openings with divided lights, and overhanging roofs covered with clay tile. The Beaux Arts style structure was influenced by the Palladian villas and had a three-story brick center building with colonnaded portico flanked by two-story wings. The C Building is nearly identical to the nearby B Building.
Survey number: HABS DC-349-B
Building/structure dates: 1903 Initial Construction
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 79003101