St. Elizabeths Hospital, Cow Barn, 2700 Martin Luther King Jr Avenue SE, Washington, District of Columbia, DC

Significance: According to the 1884 Annual Report for St. Elizabeths Hospital, "the new barn, a building 120 x 60 feet, with foundations and basement of brick and superstructure of wood, now drawing towards completion, will afford ample room for the hay and other forage crops cut from the farm as well as commodious quarters for our growing herd of milch cows." Built as part of the complex of agricultural buildings located on the east side of the former Nichols Avenue, the Cow barn was constructed to accommodate the Hospital's herd of about 100 dairy cattle and their associated dairying operations. About 1917 new concrete floors and columns were installed in the lower and middle levels of the cow barn. The current cement asbestos shingle roof may have been installed at that time as well.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N992
Survey number: HABS DC-349-P
Building/structure dates: 1884 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1917 Subsequent Work
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 79003101