The house at 421-1/2 6th St. SE retains its Federal-style heritage for all to enjoy. Hugh Densley, noted master plasterer who worked on the White House and US Capitol as well as an early developer of residential real estate, built this house and its adjoining neighbor shortly after the Federal government moved to Washington in 1800. Joseph Sparatt, owner of a grocery store, bought the finished house from Densley. Instead of a white house, picture this house with unpainted Flemish bond brick, stone lintels with keystones above the windows and door, a gable roof with dormer and an arched fanlight above the front door. Looking east, it would have faced the large estate of The Maples on South Carolina Ave. SE, which may be what attracted Densley to this site when there were few houses in the area.
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For more information on these historic sites, go to the restoration society’s web page for the walking tour at http://chrs.org/historic-sites-tour-2020/
Best to view in "Original" because other versions resized by Pbase are decidedly unsharp.
Home of Benjamin Latrobe, Architect of the US Capitol, posted earlier: