Corcoran School founder’s former country home in Brookland will be protected

A historic site in Washington, D.C.’s Northeast neighborhood, Brookland, will not be razed, in part thanks to the work of the D.C. Preservation League. In a Facebook post (found below), the D.C. Preservation League has confirmed that the Basilica of the National Shrine of Immaculate Conception withdrew its raze application for the Harewood Gatehouse, the former country residence of William Corcoran, one of the founders of Riggs Bank and the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

Located at 3600 Harewood Road NE, the estate was originally designed by architect James Renwick in the 1800s with two stucco and wood frame additions built in the 1900s. In 1872, Corcoran sold the property to the Soldier’s Home, which was later sold to the Catholic University of America in 2004.

After filing the raze permit in August 2017, Basilica Reverend Monsignor Walter R. Rossi told Curbed DC in September 2017, “Simply put, we did in fact look into preserving the house, but it will be cost prohibitive as well as inhibit our plans for the property.”

Rossi did not provide the exact cost of the preservation for the estate by the time of the previous article’s publication. He also did not elaborate as to what the plans for the property were. Following the filing of the raze application, the D.C. Preservation League deemed the property “one of Washington’s most endangered places” and proceeded to file a landmark nomination for the building.

With the Basilica agreeing to the landmark nomination, that means there is no opposition to the protection of the site. The landmark nomination is on the consent calendar before the Historic Preservation Review Board on May 24.

• Corcoran School founder’s former country home in Brookland may be razed [Curbed DC]