By Richard Stamm
The handsome five-story Renaissance style edifice located at 600 F ST NW (next to the Harman Center) would seem aptly named the Oriental Building Association given its proximity to Chinatown. However, as is often the case in this neighborhood, both the name and the building have rich histories beyond the obvious.
The building pre-dates the existence of present-day Chinatown by several decades, erected in 1909 when this area was populated by German immigrants. The building's architect, Albert Goenner (1860-1918), a German immigrant as well, studied in the technical schools of Stuttgart, Wurttemburg, and Zurich. According to his biographers, Goenner had emigrated to New York in 1880 where he worked for the next seven years at prominent architectural firms that specialized in "modern and efficient" apartment houses. One of those firms was Hubert Pirsson & Co. for which he worked in 1887 as supervising architect for their Shoreham Hotel (demolished) located at 15th and H Street in Washington.
Goenner apparently saw opportunities in DC because he moved to Washington that same year and opened his own architectural firm. The Washington Post's History of the City of Washington (1903), credited him with being responsible "to a very large extent" for introducing the apartment house to Washington. That may have overstated the fact a bit, but Goenner was noted for his "innovative apartment designs." In addition to apartment houses, Goenner's firm designed numerous buildings around this neighborhood, as well as in Alexandria county, Brookland (then a rural area) and Anacostia.
Of the many buildings Goenner designed, only a few of the churches, commercial buildings and residences exist today. Our neighborhood can boast one facade and three Goenner buildings. The German-American Fire Insurance Building at 511 7th St., next to the District Chop House, also housed Dietz's New Rathskeller in the basement from 1912-1918. The facade was incorporated into the Terrell Place development which also includes the old Hecht Company Store at the corner of 7th and F St. Three of Goenner's buildings, the Herman Building at 736-738 7th St. (now Fuddruckers), the Saloman Building at 708 7th St. (now part of Legal Seafood), and the Oriental Building Association remain relatively intact.
Although much is known about Albert Goenner, the name of the building is wrapped in somewhat of a mystery. The Oriental Building Association No. 6, established June 1, 1861, was a type of savings and loan that, as the name implies, provided loans for potential homeowners as well as construction companies, primarily German immigrants. The association's early records were all kept in German and all of it's board members were German/American. Two years before erection of the building in question, the property at 600 F St. was purchased by the association from Alvin M. Lothrop, partner to S. Walter Woodward of the Woodward and Lothrop Department Store. Prior to that, the association met a various locations around the neighborhood, such as St. Joseph's Hall located at the corner of 5th and H St. and 804 E St. NW.
What, then could the designation Oriental have in common with this German/American banking association? A possible clue to the rather incongruous name choice can be found in the 26th Annual Report to the Council of the District of Columbia on the Implementation of the D.C. Historic Landmark and Historic District Protection Act of 1978, which stated that the building association was "part of a larger fraternal organization...." Coincidentally or not, there was at least one similarly named fraternal order in Washington at the time of the association's 1861 founding, Oriental Lodge No.19 which also appears to have been German/American. The name has since been shortened simply to OBA Bank and the institution was relocated in 2003 to a building at the corner of 7th and G St NW. It is the oldest savings and loan in Washington; however, the changed name gives no hint to its origin or history... the most visible reference is the original name on the old building.
Sidebar:
The 1909 Oriental Building Association structure was added to the National Register of Historic Buildings in 2004 and is now partially encircled by the new Shakespeare Theatre's Harman Center for the Arts. When completed in 2007, the Harman Center will consist of a new 776-seat theater, augmenting the existing 451-seat Lansburgh Theatre on 7th Street. The new theater will occupy the two lower floors while the upper floors have been sold to the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craft Workers. For an interesting conversation with the architect of the Harman Center, go to www.shakespearetheatre.org and click on The Harman Center for the Arts tab at the top of the page.
Copyright © 2006 by Richard Stamm.
Rick Stamm is the curator of the Castle Collection at the Smithsonian Institution, as well as an author.
Editor's Note: The photograph from the previous page, along with dozens of others, can be viewed at the Goethe Institut's website, "Everywhere You Look: German-American Sites in Washington, DC," at: www.goethe.de/ins/us/was/pro/vtour/dc1/index.htm.