St. Elizabeths Hospital, Home, 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, Southeast Willow Street, Southeast, Washington, District of Columbia, DC

For an overview of the Detached Group, see HABS DC-349-BX
Significance: Home (Building 36) is significant for its association with the treatment of mental illness on the St. Elizabeths Campus. As one of the largest buildings included in the expansion of the patent housing facilities beyond the original Center Group (Buildings 1 through 8) in the 1880s and 1890s, Home formed an integral part of the function and use of the campus for the treatment of mental illness and related disabilities. Upon its completion, Home functioned as a new patient ward building commissioned to relieve the hospital of overcrowding.

Home is also significant for its architectural design. Designed by Edward Clark, the resident architect of the U.S. Capitol at the time. The building includes typical design features of the late nineteenth century buildings on the campus, including broad wrap-around wood-framed porches, eclectic masonry detailing, and building massing with many projecting bays. However, the design also includes innovative approaches to address heating and ventilation concerns. Exterior and interior corridor walls incorporate an air cavity with flues to facilitate circulation and conditioning of the interior air. The plan of the building was designed with spaces and features specific to the patient group intended to occupy each floor.
Survey number: HABS DC-349-AS
Building/structure dates: 1883 Initial Construction
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 79003101