Stephen Decatur House
WASHINGTON, DC
Naval war hero Admiral Stephen Decatur, Jr. built this house, designed by Henry Latrobe, on the square in front of the White House in Washington, DC in 1818. Encore Sustainable Architects’ Ward Bucher was the architect for the design-build team tasked with the historic preservation and restoration of this National Historic Landmark complex owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and occupied by the White House Historical Association. Mr. Bucher authored the Historic Structure Report (HSR) for the Slave Quarters documenting the existing conditions and history of both the structure and its inhabitants.
Design and construction work at the property repaired, conserved and restored exterior masonry, windows, stucco and slate roofing, as well as interior finishes and data systems. The converted second floor of the Slave Quarters wing is now a digital education facility and the Carriage House was updated to continue as an event facility, both great examples of adaptive reuse of a historic structure. The design-build team was managed by the Oak Grove Restoration Company.
The property can be toured for free on non-holiday Mondays.
The full team on this project included:
Project Manager: Katherine Malone-France, Oak Grove Restoration Company (Mrs. Malone-France is now with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.)
Construction Supervisor: Hank Handler, VP, Oak Grove Restoration Company
Contract Technical: Elizabeth Milnarik, Architect, Representative National Trust for Historic Preservation
Historical Architect: W. Ward Bucher, AIA, Bucher/Borges Group PLLC (Now Encore Sustainable Architects)
Historical Research:
- William Bushong, White House Historical Association
- Katherine Malone-France, Oak Grove Restoration Company (Mrs. Malone-France is now with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.)
Specialized Building Investigation:
- Hank Handler, VP, Oak Grove Restoration Company, Conservation Materials and Techniques Advisor
- Christiana Cunningham-Adams, Cunningham-Adams Fine Arts Conservation, Mural Conservation
- Bruce Schuettinger, Schuettinger Conservation Services, Historic Finishes Consultant
- Gerald Forsburg, Gerald Forsburg Associates, Measured Drawings & Construction Plan Production
Program Reviews:
- Neil Horstman, President, White House Historical Association
- Katherine-Malone France
- Cindi Malinick, National Trust for Historic Preservation
