The Saga of Saving and Reconstructing
RAMSAY HOUSE
by PeterH. Smith, Ph.D.,
Principal Staff, Historic PreservationSection
Departmentof Planning and Zoning
THE ALEXAIVDRIA CHROIVICLE
COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE:
Honoring the 25uh Binhdny of Alexandria, virginia
The Alexandriq Historical Sociee
-rrrtr,trr"f
,ttt
Ramsay House, located at 221 King Street, is a cultural icon in Alexandria,
g e n e r a l l yr e f e r r e d t o a s t h e o l d e s t h o u s e i n t h e c i t y . T o d a y i t s d i s t i n c t i v e o u t l i n e i s
a s y m b o l o f t h e h i s t o r i c h e r i t a g eo f A l e x a n d r i a . l t c u r r e n t l y i s t h e c i t y ' s v i s i t o r
c e n t e r a n d o f f i c e s f o r t h e A l e x a n d r i aC o n v e n t i o n a n d V i s i t o r s A s s o c i a t i o n .
i l l l u s t r a t i o n# 1 1 T h e r o u t e t o b e c o m i n g a c u l t u r a l i c o n t o o k m o r e t h a n t e n y e a r s a n d
was a torturous path filled with numerousthreats to demolishthe building. By the
t i m e t h e b u i l d i n g w a s r e c o n s t r u c t e di n 1 9 5 6 i t w a s m o r e a p r o d u c t o f t h e e a r l y
y e a r s o f t h e r e c o n s t r u c t i o no f C o l o n i a lW i l l i a m s b u r gt h a n a t y p i c a l A l e x a n d r i a
C o l o n i a le r a b u i l d i n g . T h a t f e w q u e s t i o n i t s a u t h e n t i c i t y i s a t e s t a m e n t t o h o w
m u c h A l e x a n d r i ac i t i z e n sa n d v i s i t o r s w a n t t o h a v e a t a n g i b l e l i n k t o t h e e i g h t e e n t h
century past of the city.
B y m o s t a c c o u n t s R a m s a y H o u s e i s c o n s i d e r e dt h e o l d e s t b u i l d i n g i n
A fe x a n d r i a a n d d a t e s a s c r i b e df o r i t s c o n s t r u c t i o n r a n g e f r o m 1 6 9 5 t o 1 7 5 1 . 1 l t s
r e p u t a t i o n a s t h e o l d e s t h o u s e w a s w e l l e s t a b l i s h e db y t h e e a r l y t w e n t i e t h
c e n t u r y . 2 I n d e e d ,t h e b u i l d i n gw a s r e c o r d e d b y t h e H i s t o r i c A m e r i c a n B u i l d i n g s
S u r v e y , a p a r t o f t h e N a t i o n a l P a r k S e r v i c e , i n 1 9 3 6 w i t h b o t h m e a s u r e dd r a w i n g s
a n d p h o t o g r a p h s . l t w a s o r i g i n a l l yt h e h o m e o f W i l l i a m R a m s a y , o n e o f t h e
f o u n d i n g t r u s t e e s o f A l e x a n d r i aa n d a p r o s p e r o u sm e r c h a n t .
In the first part of the twentieth century the building served variously as a
'
Datesascribedfor the constructionof RamsayHouse:
Source
1695
Milton Grigg, 1949bicentennialeditionof Gazetle
1121
Programfor dedicationof building, 1956
pre'1732
Gazettearticle, 1947
t] 25
Gazettearticle, 1963
t148
Fundraisingbrochure,1944
l7_51
The Historv of Old Alexandrra.Vireinia, 1928
l'hc rnostdelinitive work on Alexandriaarchitecture,EthelynCox's Historic AlexandriaStreetby Street,A
based
the issueand diplomaticallynotes:"A 1956reconstruction,
Surveyof E,xistinqEarly Buildines,sidesteps
on early photographsof the houseof William Ramsay.. . " Another standardwork on Alexandria notes that
Ramsayl{ouse is "reputedto be Alexandria'searlieststructure..." William FrancisSmith and T. Michael
Miller, A SeaportSasa.Portraitof Old Alexandria.Virsinia, (Norfolk, Virginia, Thc Donning Company,
1 9 8 9 )p, . 1 2 8 .
Datc
t
M u r y G . P o w e l l , ' I h e H i s t o r yo f O l d A l e x z u r d r i aV.i r e i n i a f i o m J u l v 1 3 . 1 7 4 9t o M a v 2 4 . 1 8 6 1 ,
in 1928. Reprintedwith a new index by WesleyPippenger(Westminster,N'laryland,Family
originally'published
L i n e P u b i i c a t i o n s1.9 9 5 ) .p . i 7 0 .
-tu;i36lt{A
R tpoz-
a
+
I
il**-.J,o,*o+I
Jrlutrr-r-r
Lt cvrrrol.
Or.tarrl ru-
Orl ,Trr+'
ilc't'
Lt'LYA:f.10[
J OUTH
' 5 c r t u . ilt r'-o"
lllustration No- 2--1936 Historic American Building Survey measured drawing
of the Ramsay House.
The drawing indicates the originat configuration of the building. A.A. Biggs,
delineator. WpA under
the direction of the IJ.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Branch
of plans ancl
Designs. Source: Speciat Collections. Alexandria Library
o
rJc
c i g a r f a c t o r y , a n t i q u e s h o p ( s ) , a p a r t m e n t s a n d a t e a r o o m . t R e p o r t e d l yt h e
b u i l d i n gw a s a l s o p o p u l a r a s a h o u s e o f i l l r e p u t e d u r i n g t h e e a r l y y e a r s o f W o r l d
War ll that cateredto the workers at the Navy's Torpedo Factory less than a block
away. Thus, by the mid-194Osthe building'shistory was known, but certainlynot
c e l e b r a t e d . l t w a s j u s t p a r t o f t h e c o l l e c t i o no f l a t e e i g h t e e n t h a n d e a r l y
n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y b u i l d i n g so n t h e l o w e r b l o c k s o f K i n g S t r e e t t h a t w e r e s l o w l y
d e t e r i o r a t i n ga n d p r i m a r i l y i n d u s t r i a li n u s e . U n l i k e G a d s b y ' s T a v e r n o r t h e S t a b l e r L e a d b e a t e rA p o t h e c a r y S h o p , b o t h o f w h i c h w e r e r e s t o r e d d u r i n g t h e 1 9 3 0 s ,
R a m s a y H o u s e n e v e r g a r n e r e dt h e s a m e t y p e o f i n t e r e s t o r a t t e n t i o n . 4l l l l u s t r a t i o n
#21
By 1931, an article in the Alexandria Gazette noted that the house was little
k n o w n b y t h e p e o p l e o f t h e C i t y a n d , f u r t h e r m o r e ,t h a t " V a r i o u s a r c h i t e c t u r a l
c h a n g e s . . . h a v ea l m o s t d e s t r o y e d t h e o r i g i n a la n d q u a i n t a p p e a r a n c eo f t h e
b u i l d i n g . . . H o w e v e r ,t h o s e w h o k n o w i t p i c t u r e i t a n a n c i e n t a n d c h a r m i n g
r e s i d e n c e . . . T h es p o t r e m a i n s h a l l o w e d b y m e m o r i e s o f t l r e i m m o r t a l W a s h i n g t o n .
I t w a s h e r e t h a t h i s c o u s i n , A n n e M c C a r t y r e s i d e dw i t h h e r h u s b a n d W i l l i a m
R a m s a yw h o b u i l t t h e h o u s e . . . . s
In late 1942, Ramsay House suffered a devastating fire that swept the
w h o l e b u i l d i n g f r o m b a s e m e n t t o a t t i c . 6 B e c a u s eo f t h e m a r g i n a l e c o n o m y o f t h e
i m m e d i a t e n e i g h b o r h o o d ,t h e b u i l d i n g w a s l e f t v a c a n t a n d b o a r d e d u p . H o w e v e r ,
t h e A l e x a n d r i af i r e d e p a r t m e n t d i d n o t c o n d e m n t h e b u i l d i n g p r e c i s e l yb e c a u s e i t s
historicimportancewas well known. The fire departmentchief was even quoted
as saying "l should like to see the RamsayHouse restoredas a museum." There
h a d b e e n s p o r a d i ce f f o r t s i n t h e l a t e 1 9 3 O s a n d e a r l y 1 9 4 O s t o s e e k t o r e s t o r e t h e
b u i l d i n g b u t n o t h i n g b e c a m e o f t h e m b e c a u s et h e r e w a s n o f u n d i n g . T h e p r i n c i p a l
leader of these efforts was Rebecca Ramsay Reese, the great-great-granddaughter
of William Ramsay, who was quoted as saying that the only obstacle to the
I 'I.u .oo*r were a popular phenomenonof the first three decadesof the 20th century. They were
"part-home,part-business"that were operatedby women and provided a very real alternativeto eating in hotels
and bars and often served as a meansfor the preservationof historic buildings. On the tea room phenomenon'
see, Cynthia A. Brandimarte, "'To Make the Whole World Homelike' Gender, Space,and America's Tea
Room Movement," WinterthurPortfolio, v. 30, no'1, Spring 1995' pp.l-19.
a
Indicative of this lack of recognition is the lact that one standard,though outdated,referencework on
Alexanclriaarchitecturemakes no mentionof the RamsayHouse and it is not included as an extant pre-1830
building in the list that is provided. See,DeeringDavis, StephenP. Dorsey, and Ralph Cole Hall, Alexandria
H o u s e s .1 7 5 0 - i 8 3 0 ,( N e w Y o r k , N e w Y o r k , B o n a n z aB o o k s , 1 9 4 6 ) .
-5
F.A. Long, "Washingron'sCousin Lived in Old llouse", AlexandriaGazette,ll1l1931, p.10.
I lcreafter,AG.
6
"posey RescuesWoman as Fire SweepsAncientRamsayHouse", AG, l2l8l1942,p.l-
4
r e s t o r a t i o n" w a s t h e l a c k o f a d e q u a t e m o n e y t o b u y a n d r e p a i r t h e o l d b u i l d i n g . "
Then on April 17, 1944 the Alexandria Gazette printed the astounding
a n n o u n c e m e n t t h a t t h e R a m s a y H o u s e w a s t o b e d e m o l i s h e dw i t h i n t w o w e e k s f o r
" a n a i r - c o n d i t i o n e do f f i c e b u i l d i n g . " T h e n e w s p a p e r c h a r a c t e r i z e dt h e p o s s i b l e
d e n r o l i t i o no f t h e b u i l d i n g a s a " c a t a s t r o p h e " . t T h e n e w o w n e r o f t h e p r o p e r t y ,
Frank Koplin a builderfrom Washington, clearly knew that the proposed demolition
would create widespread oppositionand sought to deflect some of it by offering to
give the building "to any person or group who will move it from its present site."
There was immediate reactionto the Gazette'sfront page article. By the
f o l l o w i n g d a y , t h r e e o r g a n i z a t i o n se x p r e s s e d i n t e r e s t i n s a v i n g t h e b u i l d i n g . T h e
K i w a n i s C l u b w a s i n t e r e s t e di n t h e b u i l d i n g f o r m e e t i n g r o o m s ; r e s i d e n t s i n Y a t e s
G a r d e n e x p r e s s e da n i n t e r e s t i n m o v i n g t h e b u i l d i n gt o t h a t s e c t i o n o f t h e c i t y f o r
u s e f o r c o m m u n i t y m e e t i n g s a n d r e c r e a t i o ns p a c e ; a n d , t h e T h o r n t o n S o c i e t y , a n
e a r l y n a t i o n a l p r e s e r v a t i o no r g a n i z a t i o n ,d i s c u s s e dt h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e b u i l d i n g
and sought ways to save it. Additionally,members of the City Council were
a p p r o a c h e da b o u t t h e C i t y o f A l e x a n d r i a a c q u i r i n g t h e b u i l d i n g . s A t t h e C i t y
C o u n c i l m e e t i n g t h e n i g h t f o l l o w i n g t h e p u b l i c a t i o no f t h e G a z e t t e a r t i c l e " o n e o f
t l r e l a r g e s t d e l e g a t i o n so f r e c e n t t i m e s " u r g e d t h e C i t y t o t a k e s o m e a c t i o n t o s a v e
t h e b u i l d i n g . A l l s o r t s o f h y p e r b o l ew a s u s e d i n a n e f f o r t t o c o n v i n c e C o u n c i l o f
the importance of the buildingwith the spokeswoman for the ColonialDames
s a y i n g t h a t t h e b u i l d i n g h a d " g r e a t e r h i s t o r i c a ls i g n i f i c a n c et h a n t h e B e t s e y R o s s
House in Philadelphia." The Gazefteprinted an open Ietter from nationallyknown
r e s t o r a t i o na r c h i t e c t T h o m a s T i l e s t o n W a t e r m a n u r g i n g a c t i o n t o s a v e t h e b u i l d i n g .
H e w r o t e : " D u r i n g t h e 1 6 y e a r s i n w h i c h l h a v e b e e n m a k i n g a n i n t e n s i v es t u d y o f
V i r g i r r i a ' se a r l y b u i l d i n g s , I h a v e n e v e r e n c o u n t e r e d a n o t h e r e x a m p l e o f i t s t y p e ,
w i t h a s m a n y c u r i o u s a n d f o r e i g n q u a l i t i e s . . .T h e h o u s e r o y a l l y d e s e r v e s
s y m p a t h e t i c c o n s i d e r a t i o ni n i t s p r e s e n t p t i g h t . " s
'
" R a m s a yH o u s et o b e T o r n D o w n " , A G , 4 l 1 1 1 1 9 4 4p, . l .
r1
" 3 G r o u p sA c t H e r et o S a v eR a m s a yH o u s e " , A G , 4 l l 8 l 1 9 4 4 , p . l .
')
" C o u n c i l S t u d y i n gR e q u e stto S a v eO l d R a m s a yl l o u s e " , A G , 4 l t 9 l 1 9 4 4 , p . l . F a y C a m p b c l l
Kaynor, "'l-honiasTilestonWaterman,Studentof AmcriczurColonial Architecture,"Winterthur Portfolio. r'. l0
nf C o l o n i a l
n o s .2 & 3 , A u t u r n n1 9 8 5 ,p . 1 0 3 .H e w a s o n e o f t h e o r i g i n a la r c h i t e c t fso r t h e r e s t o r a t i o o
clf such buildingsas
Williamsburgbeginningin 1928and was responsiblefor the rcstorationor reconstruction
thc Governor'sPalace. Waterman(1900-1951) "becameinvolvedin most of the key projectsin the castern
and opinions
scaboardstatesthat aff'cctedbuildingsof the colonialperiod and the early Republic. His attitucles
inlluenccdmany decisionsbearingon the treatmentor recordingof historic Americanbuildings." Hc was thc
aulhor of a numberof influentialarchitccturalbooks includingDomesticColonial Architectureof Tidcrvater
V i r g i n i a( 1 9 3 2 )w i t h J o h n B a r r o w s ;M a n s i o n so f V i r e i n i a ( 1 9 4 6 ) ,a n d , T h e D w e l l i n q so f C o l o n i a lA n r e r i c a
(1950) Watcrrnal was likely the individualwho was responsiblefor ensuriirgthat the RamsayHouse
"'u'its
r e c o r t i c db 1 ' t h e H i s t o r i cA m e r i c a nB u i l d i n g sS u r v e y( H A B S ) i n 1 9 3 6 . B e g i n n i n gi n i 9 3 3 h e b e c a n r ct h e
Waterman also quickly took private action to help save the Ramsay House.
He wrote to William Sumner Appleton, Director of the Society for the preservation
o f N e w E n g l a n dA n t i q u i t i e s i n B o s t o n a n d u r g e d h i m t o w r i t e t o t h e M a y o r u r g i n g
p r e s e r v a t i o no f t h e b u i l d i n g . A p p l e t o n w a s o n e o f t h e m o s t i n f l u e n t i a l
p r e s e r v a t i o n i s t so f t h e f i r s t h a l f o f t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y . 1 0
R e a l i z i n gt h e v e h e m e n t o p p o s i t i o nt o t h e p r o p o s e d d e m o l i t i o n , t h e o w n e r
voluntarily agreed to halt action three days after the Gazette had published its first
articleabout the impendingdemolition. Even after Mr. Koplin withdrew his plans,
t h e n e w s p a p e r r e m a i n e d t h e l e a d i n g v o i c e f o r t h e p r e s e r v a t i o no f t h e b u i l d i n g a n d
went so far as to commissiona drawing that depicted what the restored Ranrsay
House might look like. At the same time, the American Legionwlrich had saved
G a d s b y ' s T a v e r n , p l e d g e d $ 5 0 0 t o w a r d t h e r e s t o r a t i o r ro f t h e R a m s a y H o u s e w i t h
t h e a s s u m p t i o n t h a t t h e r e w o u l d b e s o m e o r g a n i z a t i o nf o r m e d f o r t h a t p u r p o s e .
C i t y T r e a s u r e rR o g e r S u l l i v a n a g r e e d t o h o l d t h e m o n i e s f o r t h e e x p e c t e d
r e s t o r a t i o ne f f o r t . 1 1
T h e f o l l o w i n g w e e k o r g a n i z a t i o n ae
l fforts began in earnest.A formal
c o m m i t t e e f r o m n u m c r o u s c i t i z e n a s s o c i a t i o n sw a s e s t a b l i s h e da n d S u l l i v a n w a s
named chairman of the "Committee to Save Ramsay House." Meanwhile, the City
C o u n c i l i n a n e x e c u t i v e s e s s i o nt h e p r e v i o u s w e e k h a d v o t e d t o e x p l o r e p u r c l r a s i n g
t h e p r o p e r t y a n d h a d e n t e r e d i n t o p r i v a t e d i s c u s s i o n sw i t h t h e o w n e r . C i t y C o u n c i l
r e c e i v e dn u m e r o u s t e l e g r a m s f r o m n a t i o n a l a n d s t a t e h i s t o r i c p r e s e r v a t i o n
o r g a n i z a t i o n su r g i n g t h e m t o t a k e a c t i o n t o s a v e t h e b u i l d i n g . A t t h e s a m e t i m e
both the Alexandria Association and the Gazetfe pledged money to the fledgling
d r i v e . t t W i t h a l l t h e i n t e r e s t a n d p r e s s u r e ,w h a t t h e p a p e r c h a r a c t e r i z e da s
asslslalltltrchitcctin thc NationalPark Scrvicewho was rcsponsiblefor revicw of all HABS documentation
altl
wlts a rcsidctrtof Alexanclriarcsidingin an apartmentin RebeccaRamsayReesc'shouseat 517 CarneronStrect.
r0
ThomasWatermanto William SumnerAppleton,April 2l , 1944. AlexandriaLibrary Spccial
Collcctions.On Appletonsee,JaneBrown Gillette, "Appleton's l-egacy,"Historic Preservation,v.46, no.4,
JulyiAugust1994,pp.32ff. and CharlesB. Hosmer, Presenceof the Past,(New York, New York, G.p. purnam
S o n s ,1 9 6 5 ) p, p . l 1 5 f f .
rr
"DemolitionHalted PendingIssueon Old RamsayHouse", AG,4l20llg41,p.I and AG,
1 1 2 1 1 1 9 1p
1 ., 1 ; " L c g i o n P l e d g e s$ 5 0 0 t o O p e n D r i v e f o r R a m s a yI ' I o u s e " , A G , 4 l 2 l l 1 9 4 4 , p . l
r2
"City GroupsMeetingToday to Map RamsayHouseDrive-, AG, 4124/lg44,p.l; "RamsayHousc
l J n i t O r g a n i z e s "A, G , 4 l 2 5 / 1 9 4 4 , p . 1 . T h e c i v i c g r o u p s t h a t w e r e i n v o l v e d i n c l u d e d P o s t 2r4hoef A m e r i c a n
Lcgion, Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club, Lions Club, Women's Club, GardenClub, United Daughtersof rhe
Confederacv,Kate Waller Barrett Chapter and Alexander Chapter of the Daughtersof the American Revolution
:md tlre AlexandriaAssociation."Thornton SocietyAppealsfor Action on RamsayHouse", AG,4/2611944,
p.l It is perhapstestamentto the comrnunity'ssentimentaboutRamsayHousethat all thesegroupscould
coalcscewithin a period of days, it is even rnoreremarkablethat they did, becausernostof the organizations
liad discontinuedactivitiesfor the durationof World War Il. Councilreceivedtelegramsnot onlv from the
"frantic citizen efforts," City Council really had little choice other than to acquiesce
to the demands of the citizens. By May 2, 1944 the Council had concluded
negotiations with the owner of the property to purchase the building for $9,50O
with the understanding that a private organization would undertake the restoration
of the building. The Council action came only two weeks after the Gazette had
broken the story of the proposed demolition. Sullivanwas quoted as saying: "The
C i t y w i l l n e v e r r e g r e t p u r c h a s i n gt h i s s a c r e d l a n d m a r k . . . . " C o u n c i l j u s t i f i e d t h e
p u r c h a s e a s c r e a t i n g a l a n d m a r k t h a t w o u l d l e a d t o i n c r e a s e dt o u r i s m i n t h e C i t y
a f t e r t h e e n d o f W o r l d W a r l l a n d a s a c e n t e r p i e c ef o r t h e b i c e n t e n n i a l c e l e b r a t i o n s
t h a t w o u l d m a r k t h e t w o h u n d r e d t h a n n i v e r s a r yo f t h e f o u n d i n g o f t h e C i t y i n
1949.13
Obviously
the next step
was the
formation of an
actual
o r g a n i z a t i o nt h a t
would have as
its central focus
the restoration
of the building
lllustation
#3-Conjectural
sketch of the restored Ramsay House by William
and efforts to do Haussmann that was used in the fundraising brochure printed by the Alexandria
Historical Society in 1944. According to publishecr accounts, Thomas Tileston
so began the
Waterman, a well known authority on eighteenth century architecture, was
following week.
consulted as to ifs accuracy. ln this rendition the front door opens onto North
The new
Fairfax Street and the chimney on the south side of the building is internal to
o r g a n i z a t i o nw a s
the struCture.
Source: Alexandia Association MMS Cotlection, Special Collections, Alexandria
named the
LibraryRamsay House
R e s t o r a t i o nA s s o c i a t i o n a n d S u l l i v a n w a s a g a i n e l e c t e d p r e s i d e n t . T h i n g s s e e m e d
t o b e o f f t o a f a s t s t a r t w h e n w i t h i n t h e w e e k , M r s . T . S . T a l i a f e r r o ,a s i s t e r o f
R e b e c c a R a m s a y R e e s e ,p l e d g e d $ 5 O 0 t o t h e e f f o r t . A t t h e s a m e t i m e t h e M o u n t
Vernon Chapter of the DAR pledgedthat it would "do everything in our power" to
Thornton Society but also from Milton Grigg, the presidentof the Northern Virginia Chapter of the American
lnstituteof Architectsas well as the presidentof the Columbia HistoricalSocietyin Washington,DC; "Ramsay
A c t i o n A s s u r e d " ,A G , 4 1 2 6 1 1 9 4 4
p ,. \ .
rr
" C i t y C o m p l e t e sD e a l t o B u y R a m s a yH o u s e " , A G , 5 / 3 / 1 9 4 4 , p . 1 ; " L a n d m a r kP u r c h a s eU p
T o n i g h t " , A G , 5 l 5 l 1 9 4 4 ,p . l ; " C o m m i t t e et o M a p C a m p a i g n "A
, G, 5/10/1944,p.1.
L-
s u p p o r t t h e r e s t o r a t i o np r o j e c t . l a B y t h e e n d o f t h e m o n t h t h e f l e d g l i n g
o r g a n i z a t i o nh a d l a u n c h e d a f u n d r a i s i n g d r i v e a n d p r i n t e d a s o l i c i t a t i o n b r o c h u r e
c o m p l e t e w i t h a c o n j e c t u r a l d r a w i n g o f a r e s t o r e d R a m s a y H o u s e . i l l l u s t r a t i o n# 3 1
The effort had an ambitious, if somewhat naive, plan in which every citizen in the
C i t y w o u l d c o n t r i b u t e a n d t h a t t h e d r i v e t o r a i s e t h e $ 2 O , 0 O Oe s t i m a t e d r e s t o r a t i o n
costs could be concluded within a two-week period. As the brochure noted "We
k n o w y o u r c i v i c p r i d e i s s u c h t h a t y o u w i l l b e e a g e r t o h e l p f i n a n c i a l l yi n t h i s
project."lu Many proved not to be so eager and this initialeffort was doomed to
failure.
City Council concludedthat the group's campaign was a bit too optimistic
a n d d i r e c t e d t h e m t o i n c o r p o r a t ea s a n o n - p r o f i t o r g a n i z a t i o n . A t t h e s a m e t i m e ,
as a means of hedging their bets, City Councilappointedits own committee to
monitor the progressof the group's efforts. Named to the City Council committee
were City CouncilmanEverett Hellmuth, City Manager Carl L. Budwesky and City
Attorney Joseph M. Pancoast.l6
It was not until the middle of July that the Ramsay House group got around
t o d e v e l o p i n ga f o r m a l p r o p o s a lf o r i n c o r p o r a t i o n . T h e p l a n t h a t w a s p r e s e n t e d
was somewhat more ambitious and farsighted than merely the restoration of the
b u i l d i n g . l t c a l l e d f o r t h e f o r m a t i o n o f a n A l e x a n d r i a H i s t o r i c a lS o c i e t y w h i c h
would have as its first and central goal the restoration of the building, but would
a l s o a c t a s a p r i m a r y a d v o c a t e f o r p r o t e c t i o n o f l a n d m a r k si n A l e x a n d r i aa n d a
" c e n t r a l c l e a r i n gh o u s e " f o r a l l t h e p u b l i c l a n d m a r k si n t h e c i t y . T h e p r o p o s a l
e n v i s i o n e dh i r i n g a n a r c h i t e c t " e x p e r i e n c e di n t h e r e s t o r a t i o n o f C o l o n i a l s t r u c t u r e s
o f t h i s a r e a o f t h e c o u n t r y . " T h e p r o p o s a lw a s s o m e w h a t m o r e v a g u e o n t h e u s e
o f R a m s a y H o u s e i t s e l f . I n g e n e r a lt e r m s i t w a s p r o p o s e d t h a t t w o r o o m s i n t h e
building be set aside for the display of "historic relics" while the other rooms and
basement could be used for "club meetings,socialfunctions and other gatherings."
14
"Committeeto Map", ibirl.; "sullivan HeadsCivic Group Formed for RarnsayCampaign", AG,
n u n d " , A G , 5 1 1 7 1 1 9 4 4p,. l . M r s .
5 1 1 2 1 1 9 4 p4 ., 1 ; a n d , " M r s . T a l i a f e r r oD o n a t e s$ 5 0 0 t o R a m s a yR e s t o r a t i oF
of
the
Mount Vernon Ladies
vice-regent
and
Taliaferrowas the widow of the Governorof Wyoming
DAR
Chapter", AG, 5/1111911
"Restoration
of
,
House
Gains
Support
of Ramsay
Associationfrom Wyoming.
p.3.
r 5 " R a m s a y C a m p a i g n L a u n c h e dA
" ,G , 5 1 2 9 1 1 9 4 4 , p . 1t h
; efundraisingbrochureisintheAlexandria
Library SpecialCollections,Box 240.
r6 "RamsayGroup TakesAction to Incorporate",AG, 6/211944,p.l; "City, RamsayOfficials to Meet
T u c s c l a fyo r F i n a l D e c i s i o n s " ,A G , 6 1 1 4 1 1 9 4 4 , p . 1a;n d , " W i l k i n s N a m e sH e l l m u t ht o R a m s a yG r o u p " , A G ,
6 1 2 11 1 9 4 4o. . 1.
T h e p l a n h a d t h e e n d o r s e m e n to f t h e C i t y C o u n c i l a p p o i n t e d c o m m i t t e e . l T
M o n t h s p a s s e d a n d n o t h i n g t a n g i b t e h a p p e n e dt o t h e h o u s e . B y t h e m i d d l e
of December the Gazette, which had been the early cheerleader for the
p r e s e r v a t i o no f t h e b u i l d i n g , c o u l d n o t c o n t a i n i t s e l f a n y l o n g e r a n d p u b l i s h e d a n
e d i t o r i a l w h i c h c h i d e d t h e o r g a n i z a t i o nf o r n o t d o i n g a n y t h i n g a n d w a r n e d t h a t t h e
c o m i n g w i n t e r m o n t h s c o u l d m e a n d i s a s t e rf o r t h e b u i l d i n g w h i c h w a s o p e n t o t h e
e l e m e n t s . T h e e d i t o r i a la p p a r e n t l yh a d t h e d e s i r e de f f e c t b e c a u s e s h o r t t y t h e r e a f t e r
C o u n c i l m a n H e l l m u t h i n t r o d u c e d a r e s o l u t i o nw h i c h c a l l e d f o r t h e c i t y t o u n d e r t a k e
tha work before weather completed tlre demolition process. The Ramsay House
C o n t m i t t e e ,h o w e v e r , s a i d t h a t t h e y h a d n o t d o n e a n y t h i n g p r e c i s e l yb e c a u s er h e y
were waitirrgfor some action from City Council. At the same tinre, they
; r c k r l o w l e d g e dt l r a t t l r e y h a d n o t r a i s e c ft h e r r e c e s s a r yf u n d s t o u n d e r t a k e t h r :
t " t : ; t o r a l i o n' w c r k . A r ; o m p r o m i s ew a s r e a c l r e d "a n d C o u n c i l a g r e e d t h a t t h e
i { ; s t o r i c a lS o c i e t y w o u l d b e " e x c l u s i v e l y " r e s p o n s l b l ef o r t h e r e s t o r a t i o n r r i } r i l et h c .
f ) r t y v v o u l dl n a i n t a i nt i t l e t o t h e b u i l d i n g . l s
A g a i r l , n o w o r k w a s d o n e o n t h e b u i l d i n g . M o n t h s p a s s e da n d t h e R a r r r s a y
H o t t s e E r o u p h a d s t i l l n o t i n c o r p o r a t e da n d a p p a r e n t l y i n d i c a t e d t o C i t y C o r . r n c it!h a t
t i r e y w o u l d r r o t d c s o u n t i l t h e d e t a i l so f a l e a s e o f t h e b u i l d i n gf r o m t h e c i r y t ( . )t h e
c r g a n i z a t i o tw
l e r e c o m p l e t e d .F i n a l l yi n N o v e m b e r ' ! 9 4 5 , e i g h t e e nm o n t i r s a f t e r t h e
u , t ' . 'l t a d o r i g i l r a ! l yp u r c h a s e d t h e b u i l c l i n g ,t h e R a m s a y H c l u s eg r o u p w a s r e a r J yt o
p r e s e n r ti t s r e s t o r a t i o n p l a r r st o C i t y C o u n c i l . I n n o t i n g t h e " s n a i l - l i k ep a c e o f
p r o g r e s s i o n " ,t l t e G a z e t t e q u o t e d t h e d e f e r r s i v eS u l l i v a n a s s a y i n g " a j o b d o n e
s l c w l y b u t w e l l i s m o r e d e s i r a b l et h a n o n e d o n e q u i c k l y a n d p o o r l y . " B y t h e e n c l o f
1945 tlte Ramsay House group and the City had agreedto the terms of a lease
u r l r i c hc a l l e d f o r t h e E r o u p t o r e s t o r e t h e b u i l d i n g w i t h t h e p r o v i s o t h a t a p o r t i o n o f
t h e L r r r i l d i nw
gould be for publicuse.t'
By this time the Ramsaygroup neededthe expert advice of a restoration
a r c h i t e c t a n d a p p r o a c h e da n u m b e r o f A l e x a n d r i aa r c h i t e c t s a b o u t t h e i r i d e a s f o r
t h e r e s t o r a t i o n ,c o s t e s t i m a t e s a n d f e e s c h e d u l e . T h e y s e l e c t e d M i l t o n G r i g g , a n
A l e x a n d r i a n a t i v e w h o h a d b e e n p a r t o f t h e o r i g i n a lC o l o n i a tW i l l i a m s b u r g
't "Ram.ry
H o u s eP l a nR e a d y " , A G , 7 l 1 7 1 1 9 4 4 , p . 1 .T, h e A l e x a n d r i aI { i s t o r i c a lS o c r e r yo r g l n i z . e iilr r
19'1'1
shouldnot bc confusedwith the presentHistoricalSocietvwhich was foundedin 1975.
i* "Unfinished
B u s i n e s s "e, d i t o r i a l , A G , 1 2 l 1 4 l 1 9 4 1p, . 4 ; " C o u n c i lW e i g h sP l a nt o R e p a i rF l i s r o r . i c
I I t r n r c " ,2 . / l l / 1 9 4 5 ,p . 1 ; a n d , " C o m m i r r e er o R e s r o r el , a n d m a r k " ,2 l l l l l 9 l 5 , p . l .
l
i') "'l'o
D i s c u s sR a r n s e y[ s i c . ] t { o u s eR e s t o r a t i o n " A
, G , 4 1 2 71 1 9 4 5p, . 1 ; " R a m s a yI { o u s eR e s t o r a r i o n
I { a n g sF i r c " , A G , 6 / 1 2 / i 9 4 5 ,p . 1 ; " R a m s a yI i o u s ct o G e t t { e a r i n gA g a i n ,N o v . 2 " , A G , l 0 l 2 2 l l 9 4 - 5 ,
1i.l:
" I l a r r t s a yH o u s eR e s t i l r a t i oP
n l a n sC o m p l e t e " ,A G , 1 l / 1 0 / 1 9 4 5 ,p . l ; a n d , " R a m s a yl { o u s eG
r roup folclto
I n c o r p o r a t e "A
, G , 1 2 1 2 1 1 9 4p5.,l
f-
a r c h i t e c t u r a ls t a f f i n t h e l a t e 1 9 2 O s a n d e a r l y 1 9 3 O s a n d , w h o h a d a n a c t i v e
p r a c t i c e i n t h e r e s t o r a t i o n o f h i s t o r i c b u i t d i n g si n V i r g i n i a . 2 0T h o m a s T i l e s t o n
Waterman was disappointed that he had not been selected and wrote to Clyde
L a m o n d , t h e g r o u p ' s v i c e - p r e s i d e n t h a t h i s e x p e r i e n c ei n t h e r e s t o r a t i o n w o r k a t
G a d s b y ' s T a v e r n a n d t h e S t a b l e r - L e a d b e a t eAr p o t h e c a r y S h o p p r o v i d e d a n
e x c e l l e n t b a c k g r o u n d w i t h w h i c h t o u n d e r t a k et h e w o r k a t t h e R a m s a y H o u s e . 2 1
By mid-1946 the City Council gave up on the Ramsay House group and
o p t e d t o u s e t h e b u i l d i n g f o r a d d i t i o n a lc i t y g o v e r n m e n t o f f i c e s a n d v o t e d t o
h o u s e t h e J u v e n i l e a n d D o m e s t i c R e l a t i o n sC o u r t i n t h e s t r u c t u r e . C o u n c i l
m e m b e r s e x p e c t e d o p p o s i t i o n f r o m t h e h i s t o r i c a ls o c i e t y a n d t h e y w e r e n o t w r o n g .
T h e n e w s p a p e r d e s c r i b e dt h e g r o u p a s " i n c e n s e d " o v e r t h e C i t y p r o p o s a l . T h e
g r o u p n o t e d t h a t t h e i r e f f o r t s t o " r e s t o r e " t h e b u i l d i n gw e r e s e v e r e l y h a m p e r e d b y
t h e f a c t t h a t b u i l d i n g m a t e r i a l sw e r e i n v e r y s h o r t s u p p l y a f t e r t h e e n d o f W o r l d
W a r l l . T h e g r o u p i n s i s t e dt h a t t h e b u i l d i n gs h o u l d b e a n " h i s t o r i c s h r i n e " a n d n o t
be put to use as an office annex to City Hall. Faced with vigorous lobbying by the
Society, Council backed down from its intent to move court offices into the
b u i l d i n gl e s s t h a n t w o w e e k s a f t e r t h e y h a d f i r s t p r o p o s e dt h e c h a n g e i n u s e .
T h e C o u n c i l r e s o l u t i o n a u t h o r i z i n gt h e c o n t i n u i n g r e s t o r a t i o ne f f o r t s w a s m a d e b y
F i r s t W a r d C o u n c i l m a nT h o m a s A . H u l f i s h , J r . C o u n c i l m a nH e l l m u t h a d d e d a
provision giving the Society an additional two and a half years to complete its
work.22
E v e n i f t h e C o u n c i l p r o p o s a lh a d b e e n a c a n a r d , i t d i d s e r v e t o l i g h t a f i r e
under the Society, and they began a more public role with their plans for the
r e s t o r a t i o no f t h e b u i l d i n g . W i t h i n s i x w e e k s o f t h e C o u n c i l t h r e a t , G r i g g h a d
p r o d u c e d a p e r s p e c t i v ed r a w i n g o f a " r e s t o r e d " R a m s a y H o u s e t h a t w a s u s e d i n
2"
Milton Grigg (1905-1982)receivedhis architecturedegreefrom the Universityof Virginia in 1929
and immediatelybeganwork at ColonialWilliamsburg. He went into privatepracticein 1933 and, in the mid1930s,was the restorationarchitectfor Gadsby'sTavern- Later he was the restorationarchitect for Monticello.
Grigg was nationally known as an ecclesiasticalarchitectand designeda hundred or more churchesnationwide.
In the historic district of Alexandria he was responsiblefor the designof the Parish Halls for both Christ
Church on North WashingtonStreet(1950)and St. Paul's EpiscopalChurch on SouthPitt Street(1947). See.
" T h e M a k i n g o f a P r o f e s s i o n , T e n W h o M a d e a D i f f e r e n c eI n" ,f o r m , v . 5 , n o . 3 , p p . 2 4 - 2 5 .G r i g g e n t r y b y
Roulhac Toledano. "Under his leadership,restorationof historic buildings was made a respectableendeavorfor
"
architects.
2t "sociery Will Apply for Charter", AG,l2l2l1945,p.l;Waterman to Clyde Lamond, October31,
1945, Alexandria Library SpecialCollections, vertical files.
r2 "JuvenileCourt Will Use Old RamsayStructure", AG,411711946,p.l; "RamsaySocietyIncensed",
A c , 4 / t 8 / 1 9 4 6 ,p . 1 ; " s o c i e t yt o F i g h t R a m s a yS i r eU s e " , A G , 4 1 1 7 1 1 9 4 6 , p . 1";C i t y A b a n d o n sP l a n st o U s e
6. 1 .
R a r r r s alvl o u s e ". A G . 4 1 2 6 1 1 9 4 p
10
i
fundraising efforts. 23
Over the course of the next six months, through the summer and fall of
1946, Grigg proceeded with his restoration investigation and research of Ramsay
House. By the spring of 1947 the Society had mapped out and had implemented a
s e r i o u s f u n d r a i s i n g e f f o r t . A s a f i r s t s t e p t h e o r g a n i z a t i o nc h a n g e d l e a d e r s h i pa n d
Councilman Hellmuth was elected president. As the campaign began significant
gifts were made to the Society by the Alexandria Association; prestigious
endorsements of the project were secured from the Governor, both United States
S e n a t o r s , t h e l o c a l C o n g r e s s m a na n d t h e M a y o r ; a m e m b e r s h i p d r i v e h e a d e d b y
sn
*:
t!l
..tr
,.**,1,"*n
*l
Mi
"."&
bf
ffiffiw
i:ia,-i;'*al*"
'i:"il,F:
..'
xi{l
l,l
.
'.,-.
lir i.\\l: s"
r\ljliR$i'.
lllustration #4--Ramsay House in late 1947 before reconstruction efforts began. The
sign on the house includes Milton L. Grigg's presentation rendering of a restored
Ramsay House. Courtesy:MauriceCrabill
p.1; "Need$25,000to Restore
" "Ramsay House Committee Meets June 7" AG, 5/18/1946,
Ramsa!
H o u s e " ,A G , 6 / 8 / 1 9 4 6 ,p . 1 ; " R e s t o r a t i o n
D r a w i n g " A G , 6 / 1 0 / 1 9 4p6.,1 .
t1
l--
R e b e c c aR a m s a y R e e s ew a s l a u n c h e d ;a n d , a l a r g e p o s t e r t y p e s i g n w a s p u t u p o n
R a m s a y H o u s e p o r t r a y i n g t h e r e s t o r e d b u i l d i n g . 2 4i l l l u s t r a t i o n# 4 1
Over the course of the next eighteenmonths the Society continued to
a c t i v e l y r a i s e t h e f u n d s f o r t h e r e s t o r a t i o n p r o j e c t . F u n d r a i s i n ge f f o r t s i n c l u d e d a
benefit card party and fashion show at Gadsby's Tavern sponsoredby the Colonial
D a m e s ; a p r o g r a m t o p h y s i c a l l yt a g [ i . e . t o u c h ] m e m b e r s o f t h e p u b l i c b y
A l e x a n d r i a A s s o c i a t i o n v o l u n t e e r s a n d t h e p r o c e e d sf r o m t h e 1 9 4 9 A l e x a n d r i a
Association'sannual tour of historic homes.25
O n e o f t h e p r o b l e m s i n a t t r a c t i n g s i g n i f i c a n tp u b l i c i n t e r e s t i n t h e r e s t o r a t i o n
o f R a m s a y H o u s e w a s t h e g e n e r a lu n s a v o r y r e p u t a t i o n o f t h e l o w e r b l o c k s o f K i n g
Street which, in the early 195Os, were viewed as being in a severelydeteriorated
a n d b l i g h t e d c o n d i t i o n a n d w h e r e " t h e l a r g e s t c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f u n d e s i r a b l ep e r s o n s
w e r e f o u n d i n t h e s h a d o w o f c i t y h a l l a n d p o l i c e h e a d q u a r t e r s . " 2 6G i v e n t h i s
p e r c e p t i o ni t i s l i t t l e w o n d e r t h a t m a n y c o u l d n o t s e e t h e e f f i c a c y o f r e s t o r i n gt h e
building.
D e s p i t e t h e o p t i m i s t i c h o p e s o f t h e S o c i e t y , t h e f u n d r a i s i n gw a s s p o t t y a n d
fitful and did not result in anything close to the $25,000 goal. The hopes of
r e s t o r i n g t h e b u i l d i n g f o r A l e x a n d r i a ' s b i c e n t e n n i a lc e l e b r a t i o n si n t h e s u m m e r o f
1949 were dashed. By the fall of 1949, there still had been no physical work
done on the building. Once again the Gazetfe called into question the ability of the
H i s t o r i c a lS o c i e t y t o r a i s e t h e n e c e s s a r yf u n d s a n d e x p r e s s e d i t s c o n c e r n a b o u t t h e
d e t e r i o r a t i n gc o n d i t i o n o f t h e b u i l d i n g a n d n o t e d s o m e w h a t s a r c a s t i c a l l y :
" A l e x a n d r i a , u n l i k e W i l l i a m s b u r g ,h a s n o R o c k e l l e rF o u n d a t i o nt o r e s t o r e i t t o i t s
C o l o n i a lg r a n d e u r . T i m e a n d n a t u r e b e i n g w h a t t h e y a r e , t h e c i t y m a y s o o n h a v e
r 1 " I l e l l m u t h E l e c t e dP r e s i d c not f L o c a l H i s t o r i c a S
l ocicty
l o c i e t y " ,A G , 2 1 2 8 1 1 9 4 7p,. 1 ; H i s t o r i c a S
l o c i e t yD o n a t e s$ 5 0 0 t o R a m s a yH o u s eF u n d " , A G '
N e w l l e a d sN a m e c l " .A G , 3 / 1 5 / 1 9 4 7 , p . 3 ;" H i s t o r i c a S
- : , t 1 9 l l 9 4,l p 1 , 3 ; " R a r n s a yH o u s eR c s t o r a t i o S
s a m e d ;F u l l M o n t h S e t A s i d e t b r F u n d D r i v e " , A G '
n ponsorN
,1/:u/1947
p ,. l .
15 "Coi,-'nial
p.2; "Tag Day Slatedto
DamesPlan BenefitStyle Show for Wednesday",AG, 61811948,
"
2
D
a
y
T
o
u r S l a t e df o r M a y 7 - 8 " ,
H
o
m
e
s
l
0
/
1
5
/
1
9
4
8
,
p
.
2
;
A
G
,
R
e
s
t
o
r
a
t
i
o
n
"
,
R a i s eF u n d sf b r R a n i s a yH o u s e
l{omes and
Tour
Historic
Residents
Alexandria
"society:
and
Washington
p.1;
AG. 3/14llg4g,
Ar:n Pettit,
p
.
4
.
A
l
e
x
a
n
d
r
i
a
"
,
G a r c l e nosf
AG, 51911949,
2 o " V a g r a n iP r o b l e mS t u d yi s A p p r o v e d " , A G , 8 1 2 3 1 1 9 5 0p,. 1 ; " R e a d e r sW r i t e " , A G , 8 1 2 6 1 1 9 5 0p,. 2 ;
" R e a d e r sW r i t e " . A G . 8 1 2 9 1 1 9 5 0
o.6.
t2
n o R a m s a y H o u s e e i t h e r . " 2 7i l l l u s t r a t i o n# 5 1
lllustration #5--Presentation rendering of a restored Ramsay House by Milton L.
Grigg, 195O.
S o u r c e : W a s h i n q t o n E v e n i n qS t a r
I n A p r i l 1 9 5 O t h e H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y o p t i m i s t i c a l l ya n n o u n c e d t o t h e C i t y
C o u n c i l t h a t t h e y h a d p o o l e d r e s o u r c e sw i t h t h e A l e x a n d r i aA s s o c i a t i o n a n d h a d
$ 9 , 0 0 0 o n h a n d w i t h w h i c h t o b e g i n r e s t o r a t i o nw o r k w h i c h t h e y s a i d w o u l d s t a r t
by May. The plan, announced by J. Hamilton Seeley,was to begin work on the
e x t e r i o r r e s t o r a t i o n w h i l e " c i v i c o r g a n i z a t i o n s "w o u l d e a c h b e g i v e n o n e r o o m o n
the interiorto "restore." However, there was a yet another problem. Rarnsay
H o u s e w a s l o c a t e d i n t h e c e n t r a l b u s i n e s sf i r e d i s t r i c t w h i c h m a n d a t e d t h a t
e x t e r i o r b u i l d i n g m a t e r i a l s h a d t o b e f i r e p r o o f . B e c a u s et h e r e s t o r a t i o n p l a n c a l l e d
f o r w o o d s i d i n g , a n e x c e p t i o n t o t h e f i r e d i s t r i c t r e g u l a t i o n sw a s n e e d e d b e f o r e t h e
w o r k c o u l d b e u n d e r t a k e n . I n r e s p o n s et o t h e S o c i e t y ' s a p p e a l , C i t y C o u n c i l , i n
time honored fashion, appointed a committee to study the matter.28
May came and went, so did the summer, and still nothing happened. The
d e a d l i n ef o r c o m m e n c e m e n t o f a c t u a l p h y s i c a l w o r k t h a t h a d b e e n e s t a b l i s h e db y
Council was September 1, 1950. By the middle of the month, when it became
clear that no restorationwork was about to begin, the frustration about the lack of
1' Phil Warren, "Ramsey
[sic.] House Decaysas CitizensWait for Stepson Renovation",,AtQ,
l 0 l 2 l t 1 9 4 9 o. . l .
" R a m s e yI s i c . ] H o u s eP r o j e c tO k a y e d " , A G , 4 l l 2 l 1 9 5 0 , p . l .
I3
L_
p r o g r e s si n r e s t o r i n gt h e b u i l d i n g r e a c h e d c r i t i c a l l e v e l s . O n e c i t i z e n a c t i v i s t w r o t e
a l e t t e r t o t h e M a y o r a n c l C o u n c i l c a l l i n g f o r t h e i r n m e d i a t ec l e r n o l i t i o no f R a r n s a y
H o u s e a n d i t s r e p l a c e m e n tw i t h s u r f a c e p a r k l r : g . H e c h i d e d C o u n c i l o n t h e i r l a c k o f
b a c k b o n e i n e l r f o r c i n g i t s o w n r e q u i r e m e i r t s . l ' { e w r o t e t h a t i f R a r n s a yH o l t s e w e r e
" o w n e d b y a p r i v a t e i r r d i v i d u a l[ i t ] w o u l d l r a v e ! o : ' r gt i i r c e b e e n c o n d e m n e d a n d t h e
t o t e a , i . i td o w n . T h e C o u n c i l , b t i n g r a t l r e r s e n t i m e t t t a l ,h a s f r o m
owners cor-npelled
y roup who are desirousof
a
c
q
u
i
e
s c e t ll n t h e r e q u e s t s o f a n , i ' r . . r r i t g
tirne-to-time
r e t a i n i n gh i s t o r i c a ll a n d - n r a r k sf o r p o s t e r i t y , a 1 t i u : e x p e n s e o f t h e t a x p a y e r s e v e n
i f b y s o d o i n g , i t h i n d e r sp r o g r e s sa n d e x p a l r s i o no f t h e C i t , , - . "
I
A t t h e s a m e t i m e , C o u n c i l a l s o r e c e i v e d a n . . : ' f f efrr o m a n i n d i v i d u a l w h o
o w n e d l a n d j u s t a c r o s s t h e P o t o m a c R i v e r i n l V ' l a r y l a ntdo m o v e t h e h o t r s e t h e r e
a n d r e s t o r e i t a t h i s o w n e x p e n s e . l { e c l a i n r e dt h a t h e h a d t a l k e d w i t h b o t h
R e b e c c a R a m s a y R e e s e a n d C l y d e C . L a m o n d , t w o o f t h e s t a u n c h e s t c h a r n p i o n so f
t h e r e s t o r a t i o no f t l r e b u i l d i n g , a n d b o t h h a d e x p r e s s e dn o o p p o s i t i o n . H e s a i d , i n
f a c t , t l r a t F J l r sR
. e e s es a w t h e p l a n a s a l e s s e r c f e v i l s , f o r a : ; h e ' w r c t e , " r a t h e r
t l r e n l e t t h e h o u s e f a l l i r r t o c o m p l e t e r u i n s i ; w o u l r j b e h e t t * r t o l e t s o l l l e , J l , eh a v e
t h e h o u s e w h o w o u l d r e s t o r e i t n e a r b y , a n c !t h u s t h e l r n u s e w o u l d n o t b e l o s t
f o r e v e r " " C o u n c i l r n a nB l a g g , w h o r r v a sa m e r n b e r o f t h e C o r n n n l t t e ea p p o i n t e d b y
C o u n c i l t o w o r k w i t l r t l r e H i s t o r i c a lS o c i e t y , a r r r lt h e A l e x a r r d r i aA s s o c i a t i o n
indicated that tl-regroups ttad apparerrtly giverr {rp on the project and had simply
Counciltook both requestsunder
f a i l e c lt o i n f o r m C o u n c i l o f t h e f a c t .
a d v i s e m e n t , b u t i r r d i c a t e dt h a t t h e y w o u l d g i v e t h e g r o u p s o n l y o n e m o r e w e e k t o
show progress r.rrthe demolition vrould be permittert. Alarrned, the Gazette
y ouse is
p u b l i s l r e da f r o n t p a g e a r t i c i e w i t h t h e h e a d l i r i e ." F l e m o v a !o f F l a n " l s a H
lmminent."2e
A t t h e e n d o f t h e o n e - w e e k r e p r i e v e ,i t w a s n i r l l o u n c e dt h a t t h e N a t i o n a l
L u m b e r m a n ' s A , s s o c i a t i o nw a s i n t e r e s t e di n h e l p i n g f u n d t h e r e s t o r a t i o n ,o s t e n s i b l y
b e c a u s e i t h a d m u c h o f i t s o r i g i n a ll u m b e r " i n t a c t . " T l r i s t r a d e a s s o c i a t i o r lw a s
a p p a r e n t l y s p u r r e d t o a c t i o n b y a l o c a ! r e s i d e n tw h o w a s t h e e d i t o r o f t h e W o o d
lndustries Weekty and had written severat articles in the trade publication about the
f a t e o f t h e R a m s a y H o u s e . 3 0B a s e du p o n t h i s l a t e s t h o p e , C o u n c i l o n c e a g a i n
e x t e n d e d t h e d e a c l t i n ef o r b e g i n n i n gt h e r e s t o r a t i o nw o r k t o e a r l y O c t o b e r .
T h e s e n e w t h r e a t s o n c e a g a i n g a l v a n l z e dt h e H i s t o r i c a lS o c i e t y a n d t h e
A l e x a n d r i aA s s o c i a t i o n i r r t o a c t i o n . B y t h e t i n r e t h e d e a d l i n ea p p r o a c h e d ,f i n g e r
)"
Lesle,* R. lllayer to trlayor and City Council, August 28, t950. Clerk of Citl- Council files; Seealso'
"L.8. ,tlal'er Sulttrtits !,etttr lo Cowrtr:il on Rttmscy ff,rrt.rr" 4!r:, 9,t20iIqSA,yt.2; Ilonaid I). f)ottrthut'trt
IIt,utc
(.'tltutt'ilrnrttt lI'. Albcrl ,!irirr.rr. St pf t:tnber i/5, 195A, '.--)i:tl,o.! ( it.': {.:t,;:tt".il
i'!!t:,:" llnntlcJ r,'/ Rr'rtrso,}'
i r I n s r r i n e n l " , . ! 9 - , 9 , ' 2 0 / 1 9 5 0 ,p " l .
p o i n t i n ga t w h o w a s t o b l a m e f o r t h e l a c k o f p r o g r e s s b e g a n . A t t h e f i r s t f a l l
m e e t i n g o f t h e A l e x a n d r i aA s s o c i a t i o n o n O c t o b e r 9 , 1 9 5 O , t h e A s s o c i a t i o n p l a c e d
t h e b l a m e o n t h e A l e x a n d r i a H i s t o r i c a lS o c i e t y a n d M i l t o n G r i g g , t h e p r o j e c t ' s
r e s t o r a t i o na r c h i t e c t . T h e A s s o c i a t i o n c h a r g e d t h a t t h e H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y h a d a
" d o n o t h i n g p o l i c y " w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e h o u s e . S e v e r a lm e m b e r s w e r e q u o t e d a s
saying that Grigg had apparently"lost interest in the project after having made an
e n t h u s i a s t i cs t a r t s e v e r a l y e a r s a g o . " O n e m e m b e r , W i l l i a m D . S i s s o n , w a s q u o t e d
as saying that all Grigg had ever shown the Association's property committee was
"a pretty water color painting of the Ramsay House."31 Grigg was incensed by
the criticism at the Association's meeting and by the ensuing newspaper coverage.
illlustration#'s6&71
T h e n e x t d a y t h e n e w p r e s i d e n t o f t h e A s s o c i a t i o n , F r e d e r i c kF o r d , c a l l e d
Grigg to acknowledge what had happenedat the meeting. The following day Grigg
f i r e d o f f a l e t t e r t o F o r d o u t l i n i n g h i s g r i e v a n c e sa g a i n s t t h e A s s o c i a t i o n a n d l a y i n g
o u t i n s o m e d e t a i l t h e r e a s o n st h a t w o r k h a d n o t y e t c o m m e n c e d o n t h e b u i l d i n g .
First and foremost, Grigg rightly noted that the Associationhad no official role in
t h e r e s t o r a t i o n o f t h e b u i l d i n g , w h i c h w a s s o l e l y t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t yo f t h e H i s t o r i c a l
S o c i e t y , a n d t h u s , h e h a d n o f o r m a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t yt o k e e p t h e A s s o c i a t i o n i n f o r m e d
of progressor lack thereof on the project. He went onto note that he had
c o m p l e t e d w o r k i n g d r a w i n g s f o r t h e r e s t o r a t i o no f b u i l d i n g i n 1 9 4 7 a n d t h a t h e
had gone so far as to also prepareworking drawings for the reconstructionof the
b u i l d i n g i f r e s t o r a t i o n w a s n o t d e e m e d f e a s i b l e . H e e m p h a s i z e dt h a t t h e
r e c o n s t r u c t i o nd r a w i n g s h a d b e e n d o n e o n h i s o w n i n i t i a t i v e a n d n o t e d t h a t h e w a s
t h e o n e r e s p o n s i b l ef o r s e c u r i n g t h e s e r v i c e s o f t h e S i m p s o n B r o t h e r s a s t h e
g e n e r a lc o n t r a c t o r f o r t h e p r o j e c t . H e w e n t o n t o d e s c r i b es e v e r a l t e c h n i c a l p o i n t s
that had not been resolvedin order to allow the project to begin. He concluded
that the Association had to take some action to set the record straight regarding
his involvement with the project.32
A s a m e a n s o f s p a r k i n gt h e p r o j e c t , t h e A s s o c i a t i o n a p p o i n t e d a s p e c i a l
three person committee to expedite fundraising for the project and to act as a
l i a i s o n w i t h t h e H i s t o r i c a lS o c i e t y . W i l l i a m H . S . S t e v e n s w a s n a m e d c h a i r m a n , a n d
R e b e c c a R a m s a y R e e s ew a s a p p o i n t e d a s a m e m b e r a l o n g w i t h t h e A s s o c i a t i o n ' s
p r e s i d e n t F r e d e r i c kF o r d . 3 3
r r D o r o t h yH . K a b l e r ," R a m s a y
H o u s eR e m o v a lA t t a c k e d " ,A G , 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 9 5 0p, . l .
32
G r i g g t o F r e d e r i c kF o r d , 1 0 / 1 1 / 1 9 5 0 .A l e x a n d r i aA s s o c i a t i o M
n MS CollectionS
, p e c i aC
l ollections,
AlexandriaLibrary.
3 3" D e m o l i t i o n o f
R a m s a yH o u s ei s H e l d U p " , A G , g l 2 1 l 1 9 5 0 , p . l ; " R e a d e r sW r i t e " , L e t t e ro f F l o y d
B. Quigg to Gazette,AG, 101711950,
p.2; and Kabler, "RamsayHouseRemovalAttacked", AG, l0/10/1950.
p.l. Stevenswasawellknownpreservationistwholivedintheeighteenthcenturyhouseat3l2QucenStrcct.
t5
L
\l
I
'.
,-
I
"ii,"i
,1'-'lii
L.
' l l i ti I
I'l
I
l r ' 1 l r l; j
i:
1
l.,iii
I
tl
Yjl:
lr {I , 'j ' [ ' l '
' "
tt
llll'
ut , / ,
ljjl
.,/'
.
.
'ir ,i
,1r'
l' r r;ll!,il
i
r, .il
t
li- r ,t,i
ilr li , ii
l"-\
'i
,r'.1-"
,r
1ffi
jjrir
.,?
lllustration #6 & 7--Two conjectural drawings of restored bedrooms on the second
Special
floor of Ramsay Hotrse done by Milton Grigg. Credit:RamsayMMS Collection,
Collections, Alexandria Library
I6
r')
r$
f,l .. [,
\ l 1 lE .
rlrf
l:lt
,iI
#{
lllustration No- 7
I7
1-
By the end of October, the Associationwas ready to report to Council that
there was substantial interest in the business community to undertake the
r e s t o r a t i o nw o r k a n d t h a t t h e s e r v i c e s o f b o t h a g e n e r a l c o n t r a c t o r a n d a n
e l e c t r i c i a nh a d b e e n s e c u r e d . l t w a s t h e c o n v i c t i o n o f t h e A s s o c i a t i o n t h a t t h e
n e c e s s a r yb u i l d i n g m a t e r i a l s w o u l d b e d o n a t e d t o t h e p r o j e c t . D e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t
t h e r e w e r e n o t a n g i b l e a s s u r a n c e s ,t h i s e n c o u r a g i n gr e p o r t p r o v i d e d e n o u g h
comfort to the City Councilthat they granted yet another extension of the
c o m m e n c e m e n t d e a d t i n ea n d C o u n c i l b e g a n t o t a l k a b o u t u s i n g t h e r e s t o r e d h o u s e
as a formal receptionarea for the Mayor. This extensiongranted the project
a n o t h e r 9 O d a y s t o b e g i n w o r k o r h a v e t h e b u i l d i n gt o r n d o w n . H o w e v e r , t h e r e
was no unanimous support for the project in the community. A number of
b u s i n e s s m e ni n t h e l o w e r b t o c k s o f K i n g S t r e e t f e l t t h a t t h e r a m s h a c k l e a n d r u n
d o w n a p p e a r a n c eo f t h e b u i l d i n g w a s h u r t i n g b u s i n e s s a n d l o w e r i n g p r o p e r t y
values.3o
I
l n t h e f o t l o w i n g w e e k s t h e A s s o c i a t i o n t o o k i t s f u n d r a i s i n ge f f o r t s s e r i o u s l y
a n d a n n o u n c e d a n u m b e r o f d o n a t i o n s o f m a t e r i a l sf o r t h e p r o j e c t i n c l u d i n g p a i n t
and structural iron work and it was expected that actual work on the building
would begin during the third week of November. The Associationmade an
a d d i t i o n a lc o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e H i s t o r i c a lS o c i e t y o f o v e r $ 4 , O O Ot o w a r d t h e c o s t s o f
restoration.35
At the Association'snext meeting in November 1950, they heard a report
f r o r n t h i s s p e c i a l c o m m i t t e e w h i c h p r e s e n t e da r e s o l u t i o n r e c o m m e n d i n g o n l y
r e s t o r a t i o n o f t h e b u i l d i n g a n d n o t r e c o n s t r u c t i o na n d t h a n k i n g G r i g g f o r h i s
" i n t e r e s t a n d e f f o r t s t o w a r d t h e r e s t o r a t i o no f t h e R a m s a y H o u s e . " F o r d h a d
written Grigg the day of the meeting to thank him for meeting with him, the
A s s o c i a t i o n ' s s p e c i a l c o m m i t t e e , a n d t h e H i s t o r i c a lS o c i e t y t o g o t h r o u g h t h e p l a n s
t h a t h a d b e e n p r e p a r e du p t o t h a t t i m e . H e s a i d h e w o u l d b r i n g e v e r y t h i n g t o t h e
a t t e n t i o n o f t h e A s s o c i a t i o n m e m b e r s h i p :" l a m s u r e w h e n t h e s e f a c t s a r e c a l l e d t o
the attention of the Association they will be deeply grateful to you and realize the
i n j u s t i c et o y o u o f r e m a r k s m a d e a t o u r O c t o b e r 9 ' h m e e t i n g . " 3 6
r a D o r o r h yH . K a b i e r , " C o u n c i lM a y A c t o n R a m s a yH o u s e " , A G , 1 0 1 2 4 1 1 9 5 0p ,. l ; D o r o t h yF I '
K a b l e r ," R a m s a yH o u s eP r o j e c tC o n t i n u e d," A G , 1 0 1 2 5 1 1 9 5p0.,l .
t-t "N.* ContributionsSpur Plan for Restorationof RamsayHouse; All-Out Appeal ls Sounded",AG'
lll2llg50, p.l; Dorothy H. Kabler, "AlexandriaAssociationto Hear Talks on PreservingAntiquitiesMonday
N i g h t a t G a c l s b yT a v e r n " , A G , 1 l / l l l 1 9 5 0 , p . 3 ; D o r o t h yH . K a b l e r , " R a m s a yH o u s eP r o . j c cPt r a i s e d " , A G '
I l i 1 4 / 1 9 5 0p,. l .
36Reportof the SpecialCommitteeto ExpediteRestorationof the RamsayHouse, llll3l1950 and Ford
ro Grigg, 1ll13/1950, both AlexandriaAssociationMMS Collection,SpecialCollections,AlexandriaLibrary'.
t8
A contract for the actual construction was signed in early November and
work began on gutting of the interlor of the building. Newspaper accounts noted
t h a t t h e g e n e r a l c o n t r a c t o r , E u g e n ea n d C l a r e n c eS i m p s o n , w o u l d u n d e r t a k e t h e
w o r k w i t h o u t p r o f i t a n d t h a t t h e p r i n c i p a lu s e o f t h e m o n e y t h a t h a d b e e n r a i s e d
would be for materials. Even though the work was underway there still was no
f i r m p l a n a b o u t t h e u s e o f t h e b u i l d i n g . T h e H i s t o r i c a lS o c i e t y c o n t i n u e d t o
promote the idea that one room on the first floor would become a ceremonialoffice
for the City's mayor. Beyond that ideas were quite vague, and the sharpest notion
w a s t h a t t h e o t h e r r o o m s w o u l d b e c o m e r e p o s i t o r i e so f " r e l i c s " . 3 7
P r o g r e s sw a s m a d e o n t h e r e s t o r a t i o n o f t h e b u i l d i n g a n d G r i g g p r e s e n t e d
h i s p l a n s f o r t h e r e s t o r a t i o nt o t h e O l d a n d H i s t o r i c A l e x a n d r i a D i s t r i c t B o a r d o f
Architectural Review in early December 1950. The Board, which included
n a t i o n a l l y k n o w n p r e s e r v a t i o n i s t sD e l o s S m i t h a n d W o r t h B a i l e y a s w e l l a s R e b e c c a
R a m s a y R e e s e ,a p p r o v e d G r i g g ' s d r a w i n g s , b u t n o t w i t h o u t e x t e n s i v e d e b a t e a b o u t
t h e l o c a t i o n o f t h e f r o n t e n t r y . G r i g g s u c c e e d e di n c o n v i n c i n g t h e B o a r d t h a t t h e
o r i g i n a le n t r a n c e w a s f r o m t h e e a s t s i d e a n d t h a t t h e b u i l d i n g d i d n o t o r i g i n a l l y
have an entrance on North FairfaxStreet.38
Just a few days later Grigg gave an interview to the Gazetfe outlining the
physical history of the buildingand his work in documenting the structure. He was
s t i l l c l e a r l y r a n k l e d b y t h e A s s o c i a t i o n ' s c r i t i c i s m o f a f e w m o n t h s e a r l i e ra n d m a d e
a n u m b e r o f i n j u d i c i o u sc o m m e n t s t o t h e r e p o r t e r . F o r e x a m p l e , h e s a i d , " w h y
Ramsay House stands at all is a mystery to me. No builderin his right mind would
use one by six rafters to support a roof - Ramsay House is simply defying the
laws of gravity."3e In other words, Grigg seemed to be saying that Ramsay
House did not warrant the efforts that were going into saving it because it was not
a good example of the colonial craftsman's work to start with.
B y e a r l y J a n u a r y 1 9 5 1 t h e n e w f o u n d a t i o n w a s r e a d y t o b e i n s t a l l e d ,a n d i t s
F l o u s e "A
, G , I l / 1 4 1 1 9 5 0p, . l ; " W o r k o n I n t e r i o r " ,A G , l l l l l l 1 9 5 0 , p . 4 ; " R e s r o r a r i oonf O l d R a m s a yH o u s c
B e g i n s " ,W a s h i n g t o tSt t a r , I l l 1 8 / 1 9 5 0 , p . B - 1 . A s t h e w o r k b e g a n ,J o h nW . C o l e , a l o n g t i m e A l c x a n d r i a
residentand ardentstudentof Americanarchitecturewho lived at 208 North Fairfax Strect,collecrcilnurnerous
sarnplesol original architecturalmaterialsfrom RamsayHouse includingsuch items as shingles,nails, noggin
and spikes. Thesematerialshave made their way into the Building EighteenthCentury AlexandriaDatabasc
maintainedby the Departmentof Plzrrningand Zoning eLncl
will eventuallybe analyzedand compareclto
numerousother architecturalfragmentsfrom eighteenthstructuresin Alexandria.
38 Minutes
of the Old and Historic AlexandriaDistrict Board olArchitectural Review. 121511950.
M i n u t e B o o k # l , p . 7 9 . F i l e s o f t h e D e p a r t m e not f p l a n n i n ga n d Z o n i n g .
3e Kristin
Norling, "Modern Homes Built Betterand wrth BetterMaterials.RamsavHouse Architect
S a y s " ,A G , 1 2 1 1 5 1 1 9 5p0. ,3 .
t9
L*
i n s t a l l a t i o nw a s d o n e b y m a s o n s w h o d o n a t e d t h e i r s e r v i c e s t o t h e p r o j e c t t h r o u g h
the Simpsons.
I
By February the Historical Society was boasting of the progress that had
b e e n m a d e o n t h e e x t e r i o r o f t h e b u i l d i n g . T h e i r p l e a s u r e ,h o w e v e r , w a s m u t e d
protect
somewhat by Col. Hellmuth who noted that while the exterior work would
goal
t h e i n t e r i o r f r o m t h e w e a t h e r , t h e S o c i e t y w a s a l o n g w a y f r o m r e a l i z i n gt h e
t
h
e
1
9
5
1
o
f
o f f u n d i n g t h e f u l l r e s t o r a t i o n o f t h e b u i l d i n g . a oI n t h e l a t e s p r i n g
to
addition on the east side of the buildinghad been removed because,according
i
t
s
W
i
t
h
G r i g g , i t w a s a " s t r u c t u r e n o t i n k e e p i n g w i t h t h e o r i g i n a lb u i l d i n g " '
r e m o v a l G r i g g s a i d h e w a s a b l e t o d e t e r m i n et h a t t h e o r i g i n a le n t r a n c e t o t h e
the
buildinghad faced the river and had not been on the FairfaxStreet side of
b u i l d i n ga s w a s t h e c a s e w h e n w o r k b e g a n o n t h e b u i l d i n g . F u r t h e r , t h e r e m o v a l
floor,
of the addition showed that there had been dormer windows on the second
a n o t h e r f a c t o r , t h a t c o n v i n c e d G r i g g t h a t t h e h o u s e h a d o r i g i n a l l yb e e n o r i e n t e d
provided views
e a s t t o w a r d t h e r i v e r b e c a u s et h e s e d o r m e r w i n d o w s w o u l d h a v e
of the river, accordingto his theory. The demolitionof the addition also
space to plant a garden which had been envisioned
c o n v e n i e n t l yp r o v i d " d
"
n
o
r
g
h
by Grigg as part of the overallproject.al
the
By the end of May constructionfencing had been removed from around
in
site and the "restored" "sheer white" facade began to become a fixture
was widely
downtown Alexandria. tn fact, this "restoration" of the Ramsay House
of King
s e e n a s a n i m p o r t a n t s t i m u l u s t o t h e r e v i t a l i z a t i o no f t h e l o w e r b l o c k s
Street with a number of retail merchantsdoing exteriorfix-ups'o'
p r o g r e s s o n t h e R a m s a y H o u s e s l o w e d c o n s i d e r a b l yo n c e t h e e x t e r i o r w a s
again called
e s s e n t i a l l yf i n i s h e d . B y t h e m i d d l e o f 1 9 5 2 t h e C i t y C o u n c i l w a s o n c e
on the
t t p o n t o p u t a d d i t i o n a lm o n i e s i n t o t h e p r o j e c t s o t h a t w o r k c o u l d b e g i n
familiar
i n t e r i o r . T h i s a d d i t i o n a l m o n e y w a s a c c o m p a n i e db y t h e n o w a l l t o o
debate about lvhat use the buildingwould serve once it was restored'
T h e i o n i c e x t e r i o r r e s t o r a t i o nw a s s o d i s t i n c t i v e t h a t t h e 1 9 5 3 G a z e t t e
store to
c o ' t e s t " K n o w y o u r C i t y " o f f e r e d g i f t c e r t i f i c a t e sf r o m a l o c a l f u r n i t u r e
of the
t h r ef i r s t t h r e e r e a d e r s w h o c o u l d c o r r e c t t y i d e n t i f y a p h o t o g r a p h
. , , , . B r i c kM a s o n sC o n t r i b u t et o R a m s a yH o u s e " , A G , l l 8 l 1 9 5 1, p . l ; " R a m s a yH o u s eP r o g r e s s e s "
A G . 1 / 2 3 / 1 9 5 1p.. 8 ; " R a m s a yH o u s ec h a r t e rG r o u pR o l l o p e n e d " , A G , 2 l 2 2 l 1 9 5 1 , p ' l '
'11 ..Ramsay
1' p 4'
HouseDormer Window SpacesUncoveredby Workcrs", AG,5l24ll95
o2 " Puinting Job BrightensKing StreetBlock" , AG, 1 I 14l l95l ' p '3 '
20
building.43
By the end of 1953 the City work force had expandedto such a degreethat
i t w a s c l e a r l y a p p a r e n tt h a t a d d i t i o n a ls p a c e f o r c i t y w o r k e r s w a s n e e d e d . T h e C i t y
M a n a g e r b e l i e v e d t h a t R a m s a y H o u s e w o u l d b e s u i t a b l e a s t h e h e a d q u a r t e r sf o r
t h e P o l i c e D e p a r t m e n t a s w e l l a s a c e r e m o n i a lo f f i c e f o r t h e M a y o r , t h u s f r e e i n g u p
much needed office space in City Hall. The City Manager said that additionalcity
m o n e y t o f i n i s h t h e r e s t o r a t i o no f t h e b u i l d i n g c o u l d b e t h u s j u s t i f i e d i f t h e C i t y
were to make use of it for City offices.oo
T h i s l i v e l y d e b a t e w a s i n t e r r u p t e d w h e n t h e F e d e r a lg o v e r n m e n t u n v e i l e d a
p l a n t o b u i l d a n e l e v a t e d e x p r e s s w a y t h r o u g h A l e x a n d r i at h a t w o u l d t a k e a r o u t e
along Fairfax Street from the south near Hunting Creek where the roadway would
be connected with a new bridge across the Potomac at Jones Point. This plan
would result in the demolition of the Ramsay House as well as portions of City Hall
making the discussionof the use of Ramsay House a moot issue. Citizenswere
o u t r a g e d a t s u c h a n i d e a , e s p e c i a l l ys o b e c a u s e t h e C i t y h a d r e c e i v e d n o i n k l i n g o f
the proposaluntil it was announced by state officialsin December 1953.45
The idea of an expressway through the heart of Alexandriawas found
wanting, and more wrangling over the use of the buildingcontinued. While
i n d i v i d u a l sw e r e o p p o s e d t o u s i n g t h e h o u s e f o r h e a d q u a r t e r sf o r t h e P o l i c e
D e p a r t m e n t , o f f i c i a l l y t h e A l e x a n d r i a A s s o c i a t i o n , t h e H i s t o r i c a lS o c i e t y a n d t h e
Old Town Civic Association endorsedthe idea with the caveat that the exterior be
m a i n t a i n e di n i t s " c o l o n i a l c h a r a c t e r " a n d t h a t o n e r o o m b e u t i l i z e d f o r a c e r e m o n i a l
o f f i c e f o r t h e m a y o r . T h e s e o r g a n i z a t i o n se n d o r s e d t h e p l a n b e c a u s e t h e y h a d n o t
been able to raise sufficient funds to restore the buildingand saw the use of the
b u i l d i n g f o r m u n i c i p a l o f f i c e s a s a m e a n s o f a t l e a s t a s s u r i n g t h e p r e s e r v a t i o no f
the building.ao
A few months later, in May 1954, the Chamber of Commerce came up with
a u n i q u e w a y o f p u b l i c i z i n gt h e h o u s e . A s p a r t o f a n a n n u a l C l e a n U p - - P a i n t U p
" ' " K n o w Y o u r C i t y ". I \ G . 1 l i l 1 9 - 5 1n. . 2 .
a+ "Historic
S h r i n c si n O l d C i t y A t t r a c tT o u r G u e s t sf r o r n a l l O v e r t h c W o r l d " , A G , 5 i - 5 l 1 9 5 2p, . l t 3 :
C o u n c i la p p r o p r i a t c $
d 1 , 9 8 8t o t h e H i s t o r i c a S
l o c i e t yo n 1 l 2 2 l 1 9 5 2 . " C o u n c i lS e e k sP r o g r a n rl b r
P r c s c r v a t i o nA
" ,G , l / 3 0 / 1 9 5 3 p, . l ; " M i l l i o n D o l l a rB u i l d i n gP l a nD i s c u s s ebdy C i t y C o u n c i l " .A G ,
l l l l l l 1 9 5 3 , p . l ; J i r n B u c k l e y ," C i t y C o r r s t r u c t i oPnr o g r a mD e c l a r e dE a s yt o I n i t i a t e " A
, G, I ll27 llc)53.p.).
a5 "Beverly
O p p o s e sR o a d P l a n ,S a 1 , E
s x p r e s s w aW
y o u l d B l i g h t H i s t o r i cC i r y " , A , G , 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 9 5p3.,l
ao "Council
Acts to ReorganizeTraffic Board", AG, ll27 llg54, p.8; The mayor was quoled as saying
he was opposedto the idea of a ceremonialoffice in the RamsayHouse and that "I can use rhe Clity Council
C l r a n r b e r s . "";C i t y U s e o f R a m s a yH o u s eO K " , A G , 1 1 2 9 1 1 9 5p4.,^ .
2I
w e e k s p o n s o r e d b y C h a m b e r st h r o u g h o u t t h e c o u n t r y , t h e l o c a l c h a m b e r d e c i d e d
to see how fast Ramsay House could be painted and to broadcastthe pseudoevent on television. Using donated paint and labor Ramsay House was given a
n e w c o a t o f w h i t e p a i n t i n o n e h o u r a n d f o r t y f i v e m i n u t e s o n M a y 1, 1 9 5 4 . T h i s
was not a demonstration of the careful analysis and the recreation of historic
p a i n t s t h a t o n e n o r m a l l y a s s o c i a t e sw i t h m e t i c u l o u s r e s t o r a t i o n p r o j e c t s ' T h e
C h a m b e r m a d e t h e m o s t o f t h e o c c a s i o n a n d w h e n " M i s s C i t y B e a u t i f u lo f 1 9 5 4 "
v i s i t e d A l e x a n d r i at h e f o l l o w i n g m o n t h t h e C h a m b e r p r o u d l y s h o w e d h e r t h e n e w l y
painted building.ot
Despite this burst of publicity,the RamsayHouse continued to remain
v a c a n t a n d u n f i n i s h e d . O n e o f t h e d i r e c t o r s o f t h e A l e x a n d r i aA s s o c i a t i o n w h o w a s
c o n c e r n e d a b o u t t h e l a c k o f p r o g r e s s o n t h e b u i l d i n gf e l t c o m p e l l e d i n 1 9 5 4 t o
w r i t e d o w n h i s r e c o l l e c t i o n ss h o w i n g h o w t h e A s s o c i a t i o n h a d b e e n t h e
o r g a n i z a t i o n a il m p e t u s t h a t w a s r e s p o n s i b l ef o r g e t t i n g a n y w o r k o n R a m s a y H o u s e
, n d " r * u y . E d w a r d V a n D e v a n t e r w r o t e : " A l t h o u g h t h e H i s t o r i c a lS o c i e t y h a d b e e n
in existencesince before the War, they had done nothing constructiveto carry on
t h i s w o r k [ t h e r e s t o r a t i o no f R a m s a y H o u s e l . " H e w e n t o n t o s a y t h a t i t w a s n o t
'1947
that action on the project began to proceed. "lt was at this
until April of
t i m e w h e n t h e m o v e m e n t w a s d y i n g o n t h e v i n e , t h a t t h e A l e x a n d r i aA s s o c i a t i o n
p u t i t s s h o u l d e rt o t h e w h e e l , a n d b e c a m e i n v o l v e d i n t h i s p r o j e c t ' " o 8
F i n a l l yi n l a t e 1 9 5 5 , a s p a r t o f t h e C i t y ' s o v e r a l lc a p i t a l i m p r o v e m e n t
p r o g r a m t h e C o u n c i l a u t h o r i z e ds u f f i c i e n t f u n d s t o c o m p l e t e t h e r e m a i n i n g w o r k .
Grijg once again revisedhis working drawings, and a buildingpermit was issued in
D e c e m b e r o f 1 9 5 b f o r a l l t h e r e m a i n i n gi n t e r i o r a n d e x t e r i o r w o r k o n t h e b u i l d i n g .
I t w a s e x p e c t e d t h a t b y t h e s p r i n g o f 1 9 5 6 t h e r e c o n s t r u c t i o nw o r k c o u l d b e
to
completed. As completion nearedthe Hunting Creek Garden Club volunteered
i n s t a l l a " C o l o n i a l " g a r d e n o n t h e e a s t s i d e o f t h e h o u s e . G r i g g h a d d e s i g n e dt h e
gardento complement his "restoration."as
a 7 . . R e p a i n t i nogf R a m s a yH o u s et o F e a t u r eC l e a n - U pW c e k " , A G , 4 1 2 0 1 1 9 5 4p,. 5 ; " R a m s a vH o u s et t t
is ReB e p a i n r e dA s K i c k - O f f f b r A n n u a lD r i v e ", A G , 4 1 2 3 l 1 9 5 4 , p . l ;" T h a t R a m s a yH o u s eP a i n t i n g
been
had
painting
the
24'h
when
April
(it
on
the
rained
p.l
Sclrcduledfor Tomorrow", AG, 4l3}llg54,
A
'
G
,
5
1
3
1
1
95p
4' l;
P
a
i
n
t
i
n
g
J
o
b
"
,
l
O
5
M
i
n
u
t
e
A
f
t
e
r
o r i g i n a l l ys c h e i l u l e d )";R a m s a yH o u s ei s a l l A - G l o w
" V i s i t f r o n r a B e a u t y ", A G , 6 l l 4 l 1 9 5 4 ' p . 6 .
a8 Van DevanterMemorandum, 112511954.AlexandriaAssociationMMS Collection, Special
Collcctions, AlexandriaLibrary.
ae ,,Work Completionon RamsayHouseVoted', AG, l}l12l1955, p.1; "Restorationof Ramsayllouse
Code
G a r d e nT o p i c o f H u n t i n gC r e e k " , A G , l / 1 9 / 1 9 5 6 ,p . 4 . B u i l d i n gP e r m i t# 1 2 4 7 7, l 2 1 1 3 / 1 9 5 5 '
EntbrcementBureau files, City of Alexandria'
I n A p r i l t h e r e c o n s t r u c t i o no f R a m s a y H o u s e w a s c o m p l e t e a n d t h e b u i l d i n g
w a s d e d i c a t e do n A p r i l 1 4 , 1 9 5 6 . A p l a q u e w a s i n s t a l l e do n t h e b u i l d i n ga s a
r i i e r n o r i a lt o R e b e c c a R a m s a y R e e s e , a d e s c e n d a n t o f W i l l i a m R a m s a y , a n d t h e
l t r o r n i n e n tc i v i c a c t i v i s t w h o h a d b e e n i n s t r u m e n t a l i n t h e e a r l y e f f o r t s t o e n s u r e
r i r c g r r e s e r v a t i o no f t h e b u i l d i n g w h o h a d d i e d t h e y e a r b e f o r e . u oT h a t s e c o n d
ul'eel<
i r r A p r i l X 9 5 6 w a s a n e x t r a o r d i n a r yw e e k f o r t h e A l e x a n d r i a A s s o c i a t i o n . N o t
o r - r l yd i d t h e A s s o c l a t i o n s p o n s o r t h e d e d i c a t i o n o f t h e R a m s a y H o u s e , M i l t o n G r i g o
s p o k e a b o u t h i s r e s t o r a t i o n w o r k a t M o n t i c e l l o a n d R a r n s a yH o u s e a t t h e i r r e g t r l a r
r l r e e t i n gt h a t w e e k , c o n d u c t e d t h e i r a n n u a l O l d H o m e s t o u r , a n d p e r h a p s m o s t
importantly, that week in April marked the opening of the "Our Town; 17491 8 6 5 " e x h i b i t i o na t G a d s b y ' s T a v e r n . " O u r T o w n " i s , a r g u a b l y ,t h e m o s t
i m p o r t a r r tl o c a l e x h i b i t i o n t h a t h a s e v e r b e e n m o u n t e d o f A l e x a n d r i a c o n s i s t i n g o f
p o r t r a i t sa n d w o r k s o f a r t . 5 1
, I \ t r r o c l r u r ep u b l i s h e d f o r t h e d e d i c a t i o n c e r e m o n y g l o s s e d o v e r t h e t o r t u r o u s r o a d
t o c c n r r p l e t i o na n d m e r e l y n o t e d t h a t " T h e R a m s a y H o u s e m i r a c u l o u s l ye s c a p e d
d e s t r u c t i c r nb y f i r e i n 1 9 4 2 . " T h e i s s u e o f t h e u s e o f t h e b u i l d i n g r e m a i n e d ,
h o w e v e r . T h e l r o u s e w a s d e d i c a t e d a s t h e c e r e m o n i a lo f f i c e s o f t h e M a y o r w i t h
t l r e v a g u e g o a l o f u s i n g i t f o r a c t i v i t i e s " r e l a t i n g t o p r e s e r v a t i o no f h i s t o r i c r e c o r d s "
o f t h e C i t y . T h e d e d i c a t i o n b r o c h u r e s t a t e d t h a t t h e A l e x a n d r i aA s s o c i a t i o n w o u l d
h a v e i t s l r e a d q u a r t e r so n t h e f i r s t f l o o r . T h e A s s o c i a t i o n h a s a l w a y s b e e n a
volunteereffort and, as such, has not had the need for a "headquarters." The
b u i l d i n g n e v e r s e r v e d a s t h e h e a d q u a r t e r sf o r t h e P o l i c e D e p a r t m e n t o r a n y o t h e r
m a j o r c i t y o f f i c e . S i n c e 1 9 7 3 i t h a s b e e n t h e A l e x a n d r i aV i s i t o r ' s C e n t e r a n d t h e
f i r s t i m p r e s s i o nt h a t m a n y f o r m o f A l e x a n d r i a ' s h i s t o r i c b u i l d i n g s .
I n 1 9 8 3 C o l . W i l l i a m G l a s g o w p r e s e n t e da p a p e r e n t i t l e d " A l e x a n d r i a , A
L e a d e r o f t h e R e s t o r a t i o nM o v e m e n t " t o a s e m i n a r a t t h e N o r t h e r n V i r g i n i a
C o r n m u n i t y C o l l e g ei n w h i c h h e p r e s e n t e da n e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t p i c t u r e o f h o w a n d
w t r y R a m s a y H o u s e c a m e t o b e r e s t o r e d . C o l . G l a s g o w ' s p r e s e n t a t i o nw a s q u i t e
p e r s o n a l a n d c r i t i c a l o f v i r t u a l l y e v e r y a s p e c t o f h i s t o r i c p r e s e r v a t i o nt h a t t o c l k
p l a c e i n A l e x a n d r i a f r o m i t s b e g i n n i n g si n t h e 1 9 3 O s . H e c h a r a c t e r i z e dt h e
p r e s e r v a t i o nm o v e m e n t a s t h e " d e s t r u c t i o n m o v e m e n t . " I n t h e p a p e r h e c l a i m e d
-t" Actuully two plaqueswcrc installcdon the building. A bronz.eone on the King Strcetfhcadc
htriurring,
Rcbeccalltrms.tvReeseand a wood one under the porch at the cntry way to the building. Tht'brotlrc
. h i s i s i n c o r r e c t . A l e x a n d r i lcr l i c tl t o i
s e f i r s t r n a y o ro 1 ' A l e x a n d r i a T
s
t
a
l r i u r l u c t c st h a i W i l l r a r nR a n t s a y ' r v at h
ilil,r iirr clcctcdMay'or funn of governmcntuntil afier a changein the Town Chartcr in 1780 Williarn Rantsltv
) i r i . l r c c nn a n r c c"ll . o r d I v I a y o r "o i A l c x a n d r i a a
, n h o n o r a r yp o s i l i o r l ,i n t h c 1 7 6 0 s ,
n R a n r s a 'trl'o u s e D e d i c a t i o nP l a n s ", A , G . 2 l l i 1 9 5 6 .p l ; " ] - o H t t n o t ! 1 r s i l t ' i ' q e
" " [ ' ' ( , s r ,s , [ i c 1 - . e . , ,o' U
i i : . r n i : ; i!rl ,o,r i : ci r r i : r I ) c d i c a l c r S
b r c h i t c ct o ( l i i r '
l , a t r r r " t l aAvp, r i l 1 , 1 " ,A G , l / ( r i1 4 5 6 ,p . l ; " - I l a m s a l ' . f o A
"
(
o
l
o
r
l
i
r
i
D
c
d
i
c
a
t i o n "A, a j J ' l ' 1i 1 ( i 5 { '
i - t ' tr i i i , - " '.,r l J t , 1 / 5 , ' l ( ) 5 6P,. l ;
C e r c n l o t r i cWs i l l M a r k R a n t s a lI l o L r s c '
, : . l i - { ' . L i r o , - i r r i r r' ". :t .l e t l i c l i t i t .{r. ' e r c n r o n i cl i,n; r ' I h t " R ' r r r i s l , ' r ' l l o u : ; eI lr:"u. r t s ; i rM M S f ' o l l c t : t i r : nS
. ; r t :ii: r i
t',,ij.. :t,ir;,'ilc..;i:,il:i.'
i-il;i,it-1.
that all other accounts of the preservation movement in Alexandria were "false
h i s t o r y " a n d " r e v i s i o n i s th i s t o r y " a n d t h a t h i s a c c o u n t , b a s e d l a r g e l y o n t h e
p e r s o n a lr e c o l l e c t i o n so f h i s f r i e n d s , w a s m a d e " t o s e t t h e r e c o r d s t r a i g h t . " I n C o l .
G l a s g o w ' s v e r s i o n o f e v e n t s s u r r o u n d i n gt h e r e c o n s t r u c t i o no f t h e R a m s a y H o u s e
t h e w h o l e p r o c e s s w a s e n t i r e l y c o n t r o l l e d b y R e b e c c aR a m s a y R e e s ew h o m a d e
t h e r e s t o r a t i o no f t h e b u i l d i n g h e r " t h i n g " , t o u s e C o l . G l a s g o w ' s p h r a s e . I n h i s
v e r s i o n M r s . R e e s e w a s u p s e t b e c a u s et l r e b u i l d i n g w a s b e i n g u s e d a s a b r o t h e l
a n d s h e s u c c e e d e di n c l o s i n g i t d u r i n g W o r l d W a r l l w h e n t h e r e w e r e n o t e n o u g h
men around to protest the act. Glasgow's account notes that Mrs. Reese
c o n t i n u e dh e r " c a n r p a i g n "f o r m a n y y e a r s u n t i l f i n a l l y , " A f t e r W a r l l , s h e f i n a l l y
w a s s u c c e s s f u l i n o v e r c o m i n g t h e o p p o s i t i o n o f t h o s e w h o b e l i e v e dt h a t i f s h e
wanted tlre danrn place restoredso rnuch why clidn't she just do it and live in it."
A c c o r d i r r gt o h i s a c c o u n t , " R e b e c c a , t t o w e v e r , c o r r t i n u e dt o l i v e i n a f i n e o l d l a t e
F e d e r a lb r i c k h o u s e a t t h e n o r t h e a s t c o r n e r o f S t . A s a p h a n d C a m e r o n s t r e e t s
where she took in borders. [sic.]"s2 Col. Glasgow distorts the facts with respect
t o R e b e c c a R a m s a y R e e s e . I n a b o u t 1 9 4 5 t h e R e e s e sm o v e d l o 2 1 9 S o u t h S t .
Asaph Street and she continuedto live there trntilher death in 1955. Thus, for the
e n t i r e p e r i o d d u r i n g w h i c h t h e r e s t o r a t i o no f R a m s a y H o u s e w a s a n i s s u e R e b e c c a
R e e s ed i d n o t l i v e o n C a m e r o n S t r e e t a s s t a t e d b y C o l . G l a s g o w . T h e R e e s e sd i d
live at 517 Cameron Street from 1923 to 1945. Glasgow also ignored Mrs.
R e e s e ' sm a n y o t h e r c o n t r i b u t i o n st o h i s t o r i c p r e s e r v a t i o ni n A l e x a n d r i a .
I
The issue of whether the house was ever moved fronr some other location
p
to its resent site is open to interpretation. Grigg's "lnterim Report" of 1946
s t a t e s : " C o n c l u s i v e e v i d e n c e e x i s t s i n t h e p r e s e n t b t l i l d i n gt < l" i u s t i f yt h e
c a t e g o r i c a ls t a t e m e n t t h a t t h e e a r l i e s tp o r t i o n s o f t h e b u i l d i n g f o r r n e r l y e x i s t e d o n
sorneother slte and were inoved to tlre presentsite either tn 1748 or 1749..."
Grigg footnoted this statement with the notation that this informationexisted in
t h e " A r c l r i t e c t ' s r e s e a r c l rf i l e . " U n f o r t u n a t e l y s u c h a f i l e h a s n e v e r b e e n l o c a t e d .
H e w e n t o n t o s a y t h a t t h e b u i l d i n g h a d l i k e l y s t o o d " i n t h e . . ! o n e sP o i n t
n e i g h b o r h o o d ,f o r p e r h a p s a q u a r t e r o f a c e n t u r y p r i o r t o t h e . . . e s t a b l i s h m e n to f t h e
city." For tlrls piece of information,Grigg cites in a footnote verbal statemetlts by
b o t h a M r . L . P . R o b e r t a n d M r s . C h a r l e sB e a t t y M o o r e . s 3 W t r e n t h e p r e p a r a t i o n s
w e r e b e g u n f o r t h e d e d i c a t i o no f t h e b u i l d i n gt h e i s s u e o f w h e t h e r t h e b u i l d i n g h a d
been moved from someplace else needed to be resolved so that the dedicatory
5t Col . William M. Glasgow,Jr., "Alexandria:A Leaderof the RestorationMovement", presentedal
NorrhcrnVirginia CornmunityCollege,October 15, 1983. Typescriptcopy at SpccialCollections, Alexandria
l-ibrary.
5t Milron L. Grigg, AIA, "Interim Reporton Research:RamsayHouseRestorationfor the Alexandria
for Selectionof Period to Which the Building
Historical Society; Containing a Report and Recr:mmendations
Shoulclbe Restored,"Charlottesville,VA, June l, 1946. SpecialCollections, AlexandriaLibrary. Hereafter,
Interim Reoort.
24
brochure could be clear on the subject. This was a subject of discussionat a
meeting of the Ramsay House Committee on March 5, 1956. The Committee
knew of Grigg's strong views. According to the minutes, in an attempt to resolve
t h e i s s u e , t h e C o m m i t t e e a s k e d t o m e e t w i t h K i t t y R e e s e ,o n e o f M r s . R e e s e ' s
daughters. She told the committee that "it was her mother's strong conviction
that the house had been built where it now stands, and that the date was about
1 7 2 4 . " 5 4 M r s . R e e s e ' sv i e w s w e r e e q u a t l y a s s t r o n g a s G r i g g ' s , a n d s i n c e t h e
buildingwas to be dedicatedto her the Committee wanted to show proper
deference. Given the conflicting stories about the origin of the house the
d e d i c a t i o n b r o c h u r e w a s d i p l o m a t i c a l l ys i l e n t a b o u t t h e i s s u e .
G r i g g ' s c o n c l u s i o nt h a t t h e h o u s e w a s m o v e d i s n o t i n c o n s i s t e n t w i t h
c o m m o n b u i l d i n g p r a c t i c e s i n e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r yA l e x a n d r i a . S m a l l e r f r a m e
buildingswere routinely moved from one location in the city to another. What is
s o m e w h a t c u r i o u s i s h i s c o n c l u s i o nt h a t t h e h o u s e h a d s t o o d " i n t h e J o n e s P o i n t
n e i g h b o r h o o d " . l n t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y , J o n e s P o i n t w a s e s s e n t i a l l ya t i d a l f l a t
prone to continuous flooding and with little land area that would have been
s u i t a b l e f o r b u i l d i n g . N e v e r t h e l e s s ,i t i s l i k e l y o n e o r t w o s t r u c t u r e s e x i s t e d w i t h i n
t h e g e n e r a lJ o n e s P o i n t v i c i n i t y i n t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y . W h a t G r i g g s a w a s t h e
"Jones Point neighborhood"in the mid-twentieth century was the result of
c o n t i n u o u s f i l l o p e r a t i o n st h r o u g h o u t t h e n i n e t e e n t h a n d t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r i e s .
H o w e v e r , b e y o n d r e p e a t i n g l o c a l o r a l t r a d i t i o n s r e g a r d i n gt h e o r i g i n o f t h e h o u s e
Grigg offers no convincing proof, either physicalor documentary, in his report that
the house was, in fact, moved. Grigg does note in the report that a number of
b u i l d i n g e l e m e n t s o n t h e e x i s t i n g h o u s e h a d b e e n r e - u s e df r o m s o m e o t h e r
eighteenthcentury buildingor buildings. Again, this was a common eighteenth
b u i l d i n g p r a c t i c e n o t o n l y i n A l e x a n d r i a ,b u t i n m o s t o t h e r C o l o n i a ls e t t l e m e n t s a s
w e l l . L u m b e r w a s r e l a t i v e l ys c a r c e a n d e x p e n s i v e a n d r e c y c l i n g w a s c e r t a i n l y
worth the labor involved.
G r i g g ' s " r e s t o r a t i o n " d e c i s i o n sr e g a r d i n gR a m s a y H o u s e w e r e , i t w o u l d
appeartoday, arbitrary. The buildinghe started out with and the buildingthe city
ended up with were very different. Indeed,by 1950 Grigg no longer claimed he
could restore the building,but would rather "reconstruct" it. ln October 195O he
wrote to the President of the Alexandria Association: "the Ramsay House is not
p r o p o s e d f o r r e s t o r a t i o n ,s i n c e a s s t a t e d b e f o r e t h i s i s n o w i m p o s s i b l e ,b u t i t i s
p r o p o s e d t o r e c o n s t r u c t a f a c i m i l e [ s i c . ] a f t e r d e m o l i s h i n gt h e p r e s e n t b u i l d i n g f r o m
the bottom of the foundations upwards and approximately eighty percent of the
m a t e r i a l su s e d w i l l b e n e w . " 5 u T h u s , G r i g g a p p a r e n t l yf e l t h e c o u l d t r a n s f e r h i s
5a Minutes of the Ramsay
House Committee,March 5, 1956. SpecialCollections, AlexandriaLibrary
55Grigg to Frederick
W. Ford, October 11, 1950. RamsayMMS Collection, SpecialCollections,
Alexandria Library.
25
knowledge and experience from reconstructing eighteenth-century facsimiles in
C o l o n i a l W i l l i a m s b u r gt o a b u i l d i n g i n A l e x a n d r i a . N o t o n l y w e r e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y A l e x a n d r i a b u i l d i n g t r a d i t i o n s d i s s i m i l a rt o t h o s e a t W i l l i a m s b u r g , b u i l d i n g
m a t e r i a l sa n d f o r m s w e r e q u i t e d i f f e r e n t . R a m s a y H o u s e , t o d a y , r e s e m b l e s n o
o t h e r e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r yb u i l d i n g i n A l e x a n d r i a a n d w i t h g o o d r e a s o n , b e c a u s e i t i s
n o t b a s e d u p o n A l e x a n d r i ap r e c e d e n t s . N o o t h e r e x t a n t w o o d f r a m e e i g h t e e n t h century buildinghas a brick foundation. All use stone as the foundation material.
N o n e u s e o v e r s i z e b r i c k i n E n g l i s hb o n d f o r f o u n d a t i o n m a t e r i a l . T h i s t y p e o f
f o u n d a t i o n t r e a t m e n t i s r o u t i n e l y u s e d o n v i r t u a l l y e v e r y r e c o n s t r u c t e dw o o d f r a m e
b u i l d i n g a t C o l o n i a l W i l l i a m s b u r g ,h o w e v e r . T h e w o o d s i d i n g t h a t G r i g g u s e d o n
R a m s a y H o u s e i s v i r t u a l l y i d e n t i c a lt o t h e b e a d e d s i x i n c h e x p o s u r e t h a t i s s o
c o m m o n a t C o l o n i a l W i l l i a m s b u r g . R e s e a r c ho f e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y w o o d s i d i n g i n
A l e x a n d r i ai n d i c a t e st h a t i t w a s c o m m o n l y m o r e t h a n t w i c e t h e w i d t h o f t h e s i d i n g
u s e d a t C o l o n i a l W i l l i a m s b u r ga n d d i d n o t d i s p l a y t h e u n i f o r m i t y f o u n d o n t h e
r e s t o r e d f r a m e b u i l d i n g st h e r e . I n d e e d , G r i g g v i r t u a l l y a c k n o w l e d g e d t h e
d i f f e r e n c e sw h e n h e r e - u s e d t h e w i d e r A l e x a n d r i a w e a t h e r b o a r d i n gw i t h a n
exposureof 12" to 13" for the siding on the east side of the buildingunder the
porch roof.
T h e r e a r e n o e x t a n t c e n t r a l e n t r a n c e w o o d f r a m e e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r yh o u s e s
in Alexandria-- all are side hall plans. However, many of the reconstructedwood
f r a m e b u i l d i n g s a t C o l o n i a l W i l l i a m s b u r gh a v e a c e n t r a l e n t r a n c e w a y a n d o f t e n
c e n t e r h a l l s . T h e g a m b r e l r o o f r e c o n s t r u c t e db y G r i g g i s e x t r e m e l y r a r e i n
A l e x a n d r i a a n d i s f o u n d o n n o o t h e r w o o d f r a m e e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r ys t r u c t u r e , a l l
of which have gable roof forms. However, there are severalbrick buildingswith
gambrel roofs dating from the late eighteenthcentury.s6 Measured drawings of
t h e h o u s e d o n e i n 1 9 3 6 b y t h e H i s t o r i c A m e r i c a n B u i l d i n g sS u r v e y s h o w t h e
o r i g i n a lg a m b r e l r o o f f o r m o f t h e b u i l d i n g b y a d a s h e d l i n e . A c e n t r a l e n t r a n c e
g a m b r e l r o o f f o r m f r a m e h o u s e , w h i l e w i t h o u t s t y l i s t i c t i e s t o A l e x a n d r i a ,i s a
familiarhouse form in Virginia'sTidewater area. This may argue somewhat for the
t h e o r y o f t h e b u i l d i n g b e i n g r e - l o c a t e df r o m a n o t h e r a r e a f u r t h e r t o t h e s o u t h .
A l m o s t w i t h o u t e x c e p t i o n e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r yh o u s e s i n A l e x a n d r i a a r e
o r i e n t e d t o t h e s t r e e t w i t h t h e e n t r a n c e d o o r g e n e r a l l yo p e n i n g o n t o t h e s t r e e t .
T h e R a m s a y H o u s e e n t r a n c e i s o f f a c o u r t y a r d . T h i s s e e m s p a r t i c u l a r l yo d d s i n c e
William Ramsay was a retail merchant and he would have needed street frontage
a n d a c c e s s i n o r d e r t o c o n d u c t a s u c c e s s f u l b u s i n e s s . A p l a u s i b l ea r g u m e n t c a n
b e c o n s t r u c t e d t o s u g g e s t a c e n t e r h a l l p l a n f o r t h e o r i g i n a lp e r i o d o f c o n s t r u c t i o n
with a doorway fronting the street and a secondary entrance fronting toward the
river.
5u Sce, for example,200
PrinceStreet(ca. 1780)and 106 SouthLee Street(1793).
26
Grigg's 19.16 "rnterim Report" reties
on findings and practices of the
williamsburg architects to determin_e
the appropriate treatment of Ramsay House.
Indeed' the report notes that both
s i n g l e t o n P . ' M o o r e h e a da n d w a l t e r M a c o m b e r ,
a l s o m e m b e r s o f t h e o r i g i n a lw i l l i a m s u - u r g
architectsas well as Fiske Kimball,then
D i r e c t o r o f t h e P h i l a d e l p h i aM u s e u m
of Art, advised Grigg on restorationplans
for
Ramsay House' Macomber, who had
b e e n R e s i d e n tA r c h i t e c t a t w i l l i a m s b u r g ,
c a m e t o A l e x a n d r i at o c o n d u c t o n - s i t e
i n s p e c t i o n so f G r i g g ' s e x p l o r a t o r y d e m o l i t i o n
of portions of the interior of the house
in iebruary and March of 1946.57
Kimball' the first chair of the Department
oi ar"r,r,"",ure at the University of
virginia' served as a member of the
Advisory Board of Architects for the
williamsburg restoration project. while
Ramsay House is a cultural icon in
Alexandria' it is more representative
of the earty phase of the restoration of
colonial williamsburg than of the building
traditionsof eighteenth-century
Alexandria.
No record of a final report on the "restoration"
of Ramsay House has been
l o c a t e d ' T h e o r i g i n a lo f t h e i n t e r i m
R e p o r t a n d t h e o r i g i n a lp h o t o g r a p h s a r e
included in the c.o.llectionof Grigg's papers
at Alderman Library at the University of
Virginiaalong with numerous oih", documents
r e l a t i n gt o h i s w o r k o n t h e b u i l d i n g .
The fact that no final version of a report
on Ramsay House is included may indicate
that one was never done.
The final form of the Ramsay House is
also curiously simitar to a gambrel
roof house plan published in the Novembe
r 1937 issue of Houseand Garden. That
issue included articles about the architecture,
furniture and gardens of the
w i l l i a m s b u r g r e s t o r a t i o na s w e l l a s d e c o r a t i n g
advice on how to furnish a home
with the williamsburg touch. lmportantly
the issue contained plans for three
houses designed by "the architects
of the Restoration, Messrs. perry, shaw and
Hepburn" which were described by the
President of colonial williamsburg as
having "true williamsburg characteristics"
and which "are the only plans for such
houses approved by the Restoration."ss
il;;;;;
for ,,House 1,, are for a wood
sided gambrel roof house with porch
that beais a striking resemblance to Ramsay
House' More striking, howevei, is a house
designedby Grigg in 1g36 in the Belle
Haven section of Fairfax county. That
hous" p,inlirtr"d in the June 1936 issue of
American Architect and Architecture,
is virtualiy identical to Ramsay House
complete with gambrel roof' central entry,
four section one story porch with wood
columns' three dormer windows, and one
interior and one exterior end brick
57
Interim Report
KennethChorley, ',By Way of Introduction,,
, House and Garden,November 1937,p.37
27
t h a t i s s o s i m i l a r t o p u b l i s h e d m i d - t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y r e s i d e n t i a lb u i l d i n g s d o n e i n a n
e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r ym o d e i s n o t h i n g s h o r t o f m i r a c u l o u s . I l l l u s t r a t i o n# 8 ]
lllil l llil llllllilil tl lrlilil
Itl!iltlr
I
l l l u s . # 8 - - R a m s a y H o u s e l o o k - a l i k ei n B e l l e H a v e n , F a i r f a x C o u n t Y , d e s i g n e d b Y
Milton Griggin 1936. Source: American
B y t h e t i m e t h a t t h e g e n e r a lc o n t r a c t o r s h a d f i n i s h e d i m p l e m e n t i n g G r i g g ' s
1942
d e s i g n f o r t h e R a m s a y H o u s e i n t h e 1 9 5 0 s , l i t t l e o r i g i n a l{ a b r i c w a s l e f t . T h e
of
f i r e h a d d e s t r o y e d o r i g i n a l m a t e r i a t sa n d G r i g g ' s d e s t r u c t i v e t e s t i n g i n t h e s p r i n g
and
1946 resultedin the removal of much of the existing plasterwork on the walls
c e i t i n ga s w e l t a s f l o o r b o a r d s a n d j o i s t s ' W h a t r e m a i n e d w a s s u b j e c t e d t o
repeaiedvandalismduring the period 1946 to 195O when the buildingwas vacant
ancl essentially open to thl elements. Thus, by the tirne that the reconstruction
was
w o r k b e g a n i n N o v e m b e r o f 1 9 5 O t h e b u i l d i n g w a s e s s e n t i a l l yr e b u i l t o n w h a t
4s'
p e r c e i v e dt o b e t h e h i s t o r i c f o o t p r i n t . F o r e x a m p l e , w a l l s t u d s a r e a l l n e w 2 x
28
c e i l i n gj o i s t s a r e a l s o n e w 2 x l u m b e r , t h e f l o o r s a r e n e w a s a r e t h e r o o f j o i s t s a n d
t h e r o o f i t s e l f , e x c e p t f o r a s m a l l s e c t i o n o f 1 8 ' r 'c e n t u r y s i d i n g u n d e r t h e p o r c h a l l
of the siding is new, all of the plaster work is new, the porch is new as is the
c h i m n e y o n t h e s o u t h s i d e a s w e l l a s t h e E n g l i s hb o n d b r i c k f o u n d a t i o n .
G r i g g ' s r e v i s e d 1 9 5 5 w o r k i n g d r a w i n g s f o r t h e b u i l d i n gd o n o t i n d i c a t er e use of any historic materials.Indeed, Grigg's 1955 written material specifications
for the reconstructioncall for the use of entirely new materialfor every phase of
t h e p r o J e c t . T h e w o r d s r e n o v a t e , f i x , c l e a n u p , r e h a b i l i t a t ed o n o t a p p e a r i n t h e
document. The only element of the buildingthat the contractor was told to reuse
w e r e t h e e x i s t i n g s h u t t e r s w h i c h w e r e n o t o r i g i n a lt o t h e h o u s e . 6 0 T h e H i s t o r i c
American BuildingSurvey drawings of 1936 note that the shutters are "not
original." The framing for a number of windows on the west side of the buildingis
o r i g i n a l e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y b u i l d i n g f a b r i c . 6 1 E v e r y t h i n ge l s e i n t h e b u i l d i n g i s
n e w a n d G r i g g ' s p l a n s w e r e d e t a i l e dt o t h e p o i n t t h a t h e h a d f u l l s i z e s e c t i o n
d r a w i n g s o f s u c h t h i n g s a s c r o w n m o l d i n g , p r o f i l e s o f t h e f i r e p t a c em a n t l e s a n d
molding as well as the stair rail. lt is not known if the rubble stone foundation reu s e s s t o n e s f r o m t h e o r i g i n a lf o u n d a t i o n .
Additionally,the garden is a fanciful creationthat does not attempt to claim
h i s t o r i c a lp r e c e d e n t s . W h i l e t h e i n t e n t i o n m a y h a v e b e e n t h e l a u d a b l e g o a l o f
"restoring" the buildingin the mid-194Os, by the time the project reached
fruition
i n 1 9 5 5 a n d 1 9 5 6 i t w a s a n a l l n e w b u i l d i n gt h a t t r i e d t o g i v e t h e i m p r e s s i o no f a
late eighteenth century house.
APPENDIX
Two of the Alexandria architects associated with the preservation and
r e c o n s t r u c t i o no f R a m s a y H o u s e , M i l t o n G r i g g a n d T h o m a s W a t e r m a n , w e r e
hugely influential in establishing restoration architecture as a legitimate part of the
p r a c t i c e o f a r c h i t e c t u r ei n t h e m i d d l e o f t h e 2 0 t h c e n t u r y . T h e y h a d w o r k e d
ffi Ramsay
House specifications inclutled in the Papers of Milton L. Gngg in Special Collections,
Alderman Library, University of Virginia.
6r
White not noted in the Gigg documents, the window framing systemwas obsemedirt 1994 when
the building was resided.
ffi
ffi
ri
i:l
ii
together as part of the original team of architects that designed the restoration of
C o l o n i a lW i l l i a m s b u r g i n t h e l a t e 1 9 2 O s a n d e a r l y 1 9 3 0 s . W h e n R o c k e f e l l e r
d i s b a n d e dt h e W i l l i a m s b u r ga r c h i t e c t u r a lo f f i c e i n 1 9 3 3 b e c a u s e h e b e l i e v e d t h a t
the work was complete, both Grigg and Waterman went into private practice and
e n d e d u p i n A l e x a n d r i a . H e r e t h e y b e c a m e i n v o l v e d w i t h t h e p r e s e r v a t i o no f s o m e
o f t h e C i t y ' s m o s t r e v e r e d l o c a l l a n d m a r k s i n c l u d i n gt h e S t a b l e r - L e a b e a t e r
Apothecary Shop and Gadsby's Tavern in additionto Ramsay House. In their work
h e r e t h e y b r o u g h t t o b e a r a d i s t i n c t W i l l i a m s b u r ga p p r o a c h t o t r e a t i n g h i s t o r i c
b u i l d i n g st h a t h a d b e e n l e a r n e d i n t h e e a r l y y e a r s o f t h e i r w o r k a t C o l o n i a l
Williamsburg.
MILTON LATOUR GRIGG, 1905-198262
G r i g g w a s a n A l e x a n d r i an a t i v e w h o w a s b o r n i n t h e D e l R a y s e c t i o n o f t h e c i t y .
H e r e c e i v e d h i s a r c h i t e c t u r ed e g r e e f r o m t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f V i r g i n i a i n 1 9 2 9 a n d
a l m o s t i m m e d i a t e l y b e g a n w o r k a s p a r t o f t h e o r i g i n a la r c h i t e c t u r a lt e a m w o r k i n g
o n t h e r e s t o r a t i o n o f C o l o n i a l W i l l i a m s b u r g . W h e n t h e a r c h i t e c t u r a ls t a f f w a s
d i s b a n d e d i n 1 9 3 3 , G r i g g e s t a b l i s h e dh i s o w n a r c h i t e c t u r a lf i r m w h e r e h e
c o n t i n u e d t o p r a c t i c e u n t i l h i s r e t i r e m e n ti n 1 9 8 O . T h e m a i n o f f i c e f o r h i s f i r m w a s
i n C h a r l o t t e s v i l l e ,a l t h o u g h f o r a p p r o x i m a t e l yf o r t y y e a r s G r i g g m a i n t a i n e d a
s a t e l l i t eo f f i c e i n A l e x a n d r i a , f i r s t o n P r i n c e S t r e e t a n d l a t e r o n S t e v e n s o n A v e n u e .
O f t h e o r i g i n a l W i l l i a m s b u r ga r c h i t e c t s w h o w o r k e d i n A l e x a n d r i a , M i l t o n G r i g g
s u b s e q u e n t l yd i d t h e m o s t w o r k i n t h e c i t y .
H i s p r e s e r v a t i o na n d r e s t o r a t i o nw o r k d r e w h e a v i l y o n h i s e x p e r i e n c e sa t t h e
W i l l i a m s b u r gr e s t o r a t i o n . I n t h e 1 9 3 O s G r i g g w a s t h e r e s t o r a t i o n a r c h i t e c t f o r
M o n t i c e l l o , T h o m a s J e f f e r s o n ' s h o m e i n C h a r l o t t e s v i l l e . 6 3I n A l e x a n d r i a h i s
r e s t o r a t i o nw o r k i n c l u d e d G a d s b y ' s T a v e r n i n t h e p e r i o d 1 9 3 2 - 1 9 3 4 f o r w h i c h h e
d i d " p a i n t r e s e a r c ha n d d e c o r a t i v e s c h e m e s " G a s w e l l a s t h e r e s t o r a t i o n o f t h e
f i r s t f l o o r o f t h e T a v e r n ; w o r k a t t h e 1 7 8 3 B e n j a m i nD u l a n y h o u s e a t 6 0 1 D u k e
S t r e e t f o r t h e n o t e d p r e s e r v a t i o n i s tH o w a r d J o y n t i n 1 9 4 5 ; a n d , w o r k o n t h e
e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y r e s i d e n c eo f W . H . S . S t e v e n s , o n e o f t h e m o r e a c t i v e
p r e s e r v a t i o n i s t si n t h e c i t y a t 3 1 2 O u e e n S t r e e t i n 1 9 5 6 . H i s p r e s e r v a t i o na n d
r e s t o r a t i o nw o r k w a s w i d e l y p r a i s e d a n d s u m m e d u p h i s c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o t h e
p r o f e s s i o n o f a r c h i t e c t u r e b y s t a t i n g : " U n d e r h i s l e a d e r s h i p ,r e s t o r a t i o n o f h i s t o r i c
62
See,JosephM. Lasala,"The Life and Careerof Milton LaTour Grigg, FAIA," Schoolot
Archirecture,Universityof Virginia, unpublishedmss., Fall 1990. Copy at SpecialCollections,Alexandria
Public Library.
63
fl
" R e s t o r i n gM o n t i c e l l oG a r d e n s " e
, d i t o r i a l ,A G , 9 l 1 5 l 1 9 3 9 ,p . 4 -
Dorothy H. Kabler, "Restorationof Gadsby'sWins Civic SupportOver the Years, Work is Done by
, G, lllll95l, p.2.
P a t r i o t i cG r o u p sa n d I n d i v i d u a l s " A
b u i l d i n g s w a s m a d e a r e s p e c t a b l ee n d e a v o r
f o r a r c h i t e c t s . , ,6 s
when the old and Historic Alexandria District
Board of Architectural Review was
e s t a b f i s h e di n 1 9 4 6 , o n e o f t w o p o s i t i o n s
on the Board for a,,certified architect,,
was left open at the request of Paul Delaney,
the city councilman who introduced
the ordinance' Delaney made the request
becausehe expected that Grigg would
b e r e t u r n i n gt o A l e x a n d r i aa n d c o u l d b e a p p o i n t e d
a member of the Board.
H o w e v e r , G r i g g n e v e r d i d r e - e s t a b r i s hu , " r i d " n " e
in Arexandria.
Grigg and his firm were protificand efficient
architectsand the work ranged
w i d e l y ' H o w e v e r , h e w a s n a t i o n a l l yk n o w n
a s a n e c c l e s i a s t i c a la r c h i t e c t a n d
d e s i g n e da h u n d r e d o r m o r e c h u r c h e s n a t i o n w i d e .
In the historic district of
A l e x a n d r i a h e w a s r e s p o n s i b l ef o r t h e d e s i g n
of the parish Halls for both christ
Church on North Washington Street (1gSO)and
S t . p a u l , s E p i s c o p a lC h u r c h o n
South Pitt Streer (19471.
Grigg was quite generousin sharing his knowledge
of eighteenthand early
n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y a r c h i t e c t u r ew i t h t h e c i t i z e n r - o f
Al""undria and lectured on a
number of occasion:
s u c h o r g a n i z a t i o n sa s t h e A l e x a n d r i a A s s o c i a t i o n , t h e
A l e x a n d r i a H i s t o r i c a l s1ooc i e t y a n d I o c a l c h a p t e r
of the Daughtersof the American
R e v o l u t i o n ' 6 6o f c o u r s e , G r i g g ' s g e n e r o s i t y i n
this area was rewarded with the
public's knowledge of his work which paid
d i v i d e n d si n c o m m i s s i o n r e f e r r a l s .
TI-IOMAS TILESTON WATERMAN. 19OO-1951
According to a recent article in the Winterthur
Portfolio, Waterman .,became
involved in most of the key projects in the
eastern seaboard states that affected
b t r i l d i n g so f t h e c o t o n i a l p e r i o d a n d t h e e a r l y
Republic. His attitudes and opinions
influencedmany decisionsbearingon the treatment
or recordingof historic
American buildings." He *u" onJ of the original
architects for the restorationof
c o l o n i a l w i l l i a m s b u r g b e g i n n i n gi n 1 g 2 a u n J
* u " r e s p o n s i b l ef o r t h e r e s t o r a t i o n o r
reconstruction of such buildings as the Governor's
Palace. His association with
williamsburg ended when the architectural office
was disbanded in 1933. shortly
thereafter he joined the staff of the newly established
Historic American Buildings
Survey (HABS) as assistant and then associate
architect in the National park
service' In that capacity he was responsible
for the supervision of a1 drawings
that emanated from the HABS offices. He remained
with HABS until 1942.
B e g i n n i n gi n t h e m i d - l 9 3 o s h e w a s a s s o c i a t e d
with the work of Henry Francis
ot
see, "The Making of a Profession,Ten who Made a Difference,,,
Inform, v.5, no.3, pp.24-25.
Grigg entry by Roulhac Toledano.
6o
st"' for example,"Milton Grigg will AddressCivic
Group", AG, ll30/1941,p. t, and ,,John
Alexanderchapter DAR Hears Talk on iistoricat
Sites,Archit.ct Milton Grigg Shows Slidesol-Many virgirria
S h r i n e s " ,A G , 1 0 t 2 4 / 1 9 4 1p.. 1 6 .
3l
d u P o n t a n d w a s l a r g e l y r e s p o n s i b l ef o r t h e e x p a n s i o n o f d u P o n t ' s m a n s i o n a n d t h e
creationof the Winterthur museum. He was the author of a number of influential
a r c h i t e c t u r a lb o o k s i n c l u d i n g D o m e s t i c C o l o n i a fA r _ c h i t e c t u r e
of Tidewater Virginia
(1932) with John Barrows; MenSjpog_qfJrutruA (1946); and, The Dwellings of
QqlanjelAmedce (1950).6? Rebecca Rarnsay Reese, one of the most prominent
p r e s e r v a t i o n i s t si n t h e c i t y , c a l l e d W a t e r m a n " a g r e a t g e n i u s " . 6 8
Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary
W h e n W a t e r m a n b e g a n w o r k a t H A B S h e r e s i d e di n A l e x a n d r i a a t 5 1 7 C a m e r o n
S t r e e t w h e r e h e r e n t e d a r o o m f r o m R e b e c c a R a m s a y R e e s e ,t h e m o s t a c t i v e a n d
w e l l k n o w n p r e s e r v a t i o n i s ti n t h e c i t y d u r i n g t h e 1 9 3 0 s , 4 0 s a n d S O s . W h i l e l i v i n g
i n A l e x a n d r i a ,W a t e r m a n w a s r e s p o n s i b l ef o r a n u m b e r o f i n f l u e n t i a l r e s t o r a t i o n
p r o j e c t s i n c l u d i n g t h e f a c a d e a n d w i n d o w r e s t o r a t i o na t t h e
S t a b l e r - L e a d b e a t eAr p o t h e c a r y a t 1 0 5 a n d 1 O 7 S o u t h F a i r f a x S t r e e t i n 1 9 3 6 - 1 9 3 8 .
u n w a t e r m a nd i d
succeed in creatingone of the nrost visuallydistinctivefacades
i n A l e x a n d r i a . H e a l s o p a r t i a l l y r e s t o r e d t h e e a r l y n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y a p p e a r a n c eo f
p o r t i o n s o f t h e i n t e r i o r o f t h e b u i l d i n g . F o r h i s w o r k o n t h e b u i l d i n g ,W a t e r m a n
r e c e i v e d a n a r c h i t e c t u r a la w a r d f r o m t l r e W a s h i n E t o n B o a r d o f T r a d e i n 1 9 4 O
w h i c h c i t e d t h e p r o j e c t a s " a s u c c e s s f u le f f o r t t o h o n e s t l y r e s t o r e a l a n d m a r k o f
A l e x a n d r i at o i t s o r i g i n a l h i s t o r i c a lc h a r a c t e r . " ' oW a t e r m a n w a s m o s t g e n e r o u s t o
t h e L a n d n r a r k sS o c i e t y o f A l e x a n d r i aw h i c h o w n e d t h e b u i l d i n g a n d h e p r o v i d e d l r i s
s e r v i c e sg r a t i s .
"' Fuy Caupbcll Kaynor, "ThomasTilestonWatermzur,
Studentof AmericanColonial Architcclurc,"
W i n t e r t h u rP o r t f o l i o ,v . 2 0 , n o s . 2 & 3 , A u t u n r n1 9 8 5 ,p . 1 0 3 .H e r e a f t e rK
s ileston
, a 1 ' n o r ", ' l ' h o r n a T
Waterrtran." Sce also, Dorothy I{olcombeKabler, "LandmarksSocictyPay Tributc to ThomasT. Watcrman
t o r G i l i s o f l l i s A r t i n R e s t o r a t i oW
n o r k " , A Q , l / 3 0 / 1 9 5 1 ,p . 5 .
orJ Diaries
of RebeccaRamsayReese,Entry for January21,1951. RarnsayMMS Collection,Spcciai
Collections,Alexardria Library. Waterman'sfuneralat the NationalCathedralwas attendedby a virtual who's
who of. lcadcrsof the nascenthistoricpreservationmovementin the United StatesincludingFrederickRath, the
1.irstE,xecutive
Director of the NationalTrust for Historic Preservation,
Helen Duprey Bullock, the Trust's llrst
'l'rust
historian,David E. Finley, Chairmanof the Boardof the
and Director of the NationalGallery of Art,
Worih Bailev the Director of the'Irust's WoodlawnPlantationand former curatorof Mt. Vernon, :rnd Delos Il
Srrrith,iur architectand early staff mernberof HABS and who had practicedwith Waterman.
h'/
Building Permit #2'76"1
, 91191i938.City of AlexandriaCode EnforcementBureaufilcs: seealso,
K a v n o r ," T h o i n a sT i l e s t o nW a t c r m a n , "p . 1 3 7 ; " l l i s t o r i c P h a r r n a cC
y o n v e r t e dl n t o M u s c u mb y l - o c a lS o c i c t l " ,
A Q . 1 / 2 u l 1 9 3 9p,. i .
'ti)
"Restorationof'Pharmiicl,Brings Award, LandmarkSociety,ArchitectHonored for Apothccary
P r o j e c t "A
. G , 3 / 1 4 / 1 9 4 0p. . 1 .
32
Gadsby's Tavern
W a t e r m a n w a s a l s o r e s p o n s i b l ef o r t h e r e - c r e a t i o no f G a d s b y ' s T a v e r n B a l l r o o m ,
1 3 8 N o r t h R o y a l S t r e e t . T h e o r i g i n a lw o o d w o r k i n c l u d i n gt w o m a n t l e p i e c e s ,
c o r n i c e s a n d w a i n s c o t i n g f r o m t h e f i r s t f l o o r a n d t h e o r i g i n a lb a l t r o o m o n t h e
s e c o n d f l o o r i n c l u d i n g t w o d o o r f r a m e s , t w o m a n t e l p i e c e s ,t h e m u s i c i a n s g a l l e r y ,
wainscot and cornice had been removed from the buildingin May of 1911 and
r e i n s t a l l e da t t h e M e t r o p o l i t a n M u s e u m o f A r t i n N e w Y o r k . 7 1W a t e r m a n w e n t t o
N e w Y o r k a n d t o o k m e a s u r e m e n t so f t h e w o o d w o r k a t t h e M e t r o p o l i t a n a n d
r e c r e a t e dt h e b a l l r o o m i n A l e x a n d r i a i n 1 9 3 6 . 7 2 I n 1 9 3 6 a l o n g w i t h D e t o s S m i t h ,
another HABS architect living in Alexandria, he restored the first-floor facade of
G a d s b y ' s a n d d e s i g n e d a c o m p a t i b l e d o o r w a y t o r e p l a c et h e o r i g i n a l w h i c h h a d
also been removed to the Metropolitan. This work includedthe removal of
i n a p p r o p r i a t e1 8 7 8 s t o r e f r o n t w i n d o w s . T h e n e w d o o r w a y w a s o n l y m e a n t t o
m i m i c a n e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r yd o o r a n d d i d n o t p r e t e n d t o r e - c r e a t et h e o r i g i n a l .
T h a t w o u l d c o m e l a t e r . I n a d d i t i o n , W a t e r m a n w a s a l s o r e s p o n s i b l ef o r t h e
r e s t o r a t i o no f t h e s t a i r s a n d t h e i n i t i a l w o r k o n t h e s e c o n d f l o o r l o d g i n g r o o m s o f
the City Hotel building.t3 His knowtedge of and work dealingwith the historic
architecture was summarized in his article "The Architecture of Alexandria,
v i r g i n i a " t h a t a p p e a r e di n t h e F e b r u a r y 1 9 4 5 i s s u e o f A n t i q u e s ( v . 4 7 , n o . 2 ) .
E D IT OR:
T. M ichaelM iller
EDITORIALCOMMITTEE:
M ar ilynW . Bur ke
James H. Johnson
C C opyr ight1999
AlexandriaHistoricalSociety
All Rights Reserved
"
Kabler, "Restorationof Gadsby'sWins Civic Support".
72
Thomas Tileston Waterman, "Gadsby's Tavern Ballroom" in Early American Rooms, Russell
HawesKettell, ed. (Portland,Maine; Southworth-Anthoensen
Press,1936),pp. 127-30. Seealso, Gadsby's
Tavern, HABS No. VA-100, ThomasT. Waterman,author. 5/6141.
13
For the restorationof the first windows see, Building Permit #li12,61911936. City of
Alexandria Code EnforcementBureau files.
33
WILLIAM RAMSAY --'The Romulus of Alexandria"
by T. Michael Miller
W i l l i a m R a m s a y w a s o n e o f A l e x a n d r i a ' se a r l y f o u n d e r s , a n d a n o u t s t a n d i n g
b u s i n e s sa n d p o l i t i c a l l e a d e r d u r i n g t h e 1 8 t h c e n t u r y . B o r n i n K i r k e n d b r i g h ti n t h e
G a l l o w a y d i s t r i c t o f S c o t l a n di n 1 7 1 6 , h e i m m i g r a t e dt o V i r g i n i aa r o u n d 1 7 4 2
w h e r e h e " b e c a m e i n t e r e s t e di n t h e t r a d e o f t h e u p p e r P o t o m a c a s e a r l y a s 1 7 4 4 . "
O n J u l y 1 3 , 1 7 4 9 , d u r i n gt h e f i r s t s a l e o f t o w n l o t s , R a m s a y p u r c h a s e d
p a r c e l s4 6 a n d 4 7 w h i c h w e r e s i t u a t e d o n t h e n o r t h e a s t c o r n e r o f K i n g a n d F a i r f a x
S t r e e t s a n d e x t e n d e d e a s t t o t h e P o t o m a c R i v e r . H e r e R a m s a y r e s i d e d ,c o n d u c t e d
b u s i n e s s ,a n d m a i n t a i n e d a w h a r f . T h e r e w a s a l s o a s m o k e h o u s e a n d k i t c h e n o n
the lot.
S h i p p i n g m e r c h a n t R a m s a y e n g a g e d i n b u s i n e s sw i t h J o h n D i x o n u n t i l 1 7 5 7
w h e n t h e p a r t n e r s h i pw a s d i s s o l v e d a n d D i x o n r e t u r n e d t o W h i t e h a v e n , E n g l a n d .
A s a t o w n t r u s t e e R a m s a y h e l d n u m e n o u sp o s i t i o n s o f c i v i c r e s p o n s i b i l i t y
i n c l u d i n gi n 1 7 5 4 a d j u s t e r o f w e i g h t s a n d s e a l s w i t h f e l l o w m e r c h a n t a n d b u s i n e s s
p a r t n e r J o h n C a r l y l e . F u r t h e r m o r e ,R a m s a y \ r u a sa m e m b e r o { t l r e C o m m i t t e e o f
S a f e t y , s u p e r i n t e n d e dt h e c o r n p l e t i o no f t h e F a i r f a x C o u n t y C r r u r t h o u s e ,w a s t h e
t o w n ' s f i r s t p o s t r n a s t e ri n 1 7 7 2 , s e r v e d a s c o l o n e l o f t h e m i l i t i a r e g i m e n t , a n d f o r
n r a n y y e a r s s a t a s a F : a i r f a xC o r - r r r tJyu s t i c e o f t h e P e a c e .
W i l l i a n rR a l n s a ym a r r i e dA n n M c C a r t y , t h e d a u g h t e r o f D e n n i s M c C a r t y , S r .
a n d S a r a h B a l l . T h e c o u p l e w e r e t h e p a r e n t s o f e i g h t c h i l d r e ni n c l u d i n ga s o n
D e n n i s w h o w a s e l e c t e d m a y o r o f A l e x a n d r i ai n 1 7 8 9 a n d 1 7 9 3 .
ln 1761, William Ramsaywas so admiredthat his fellow citizenselected him
t h e t o w n ' s o n l y h o n o r a r y L o r d M a y o r . T h e e n t h u s i a s t i ci n h a b i t a n t s d e c o r a t e d h i m
w i t h a g o l d e n c h a i n b e a r i n g a m e d a l . " U p o n o n e s i d e w a s r e p r e s e n t e dt h e i n f a n t
s t a t e o f A l e x a n d r i aa n d i t s c o m m o d i o u s h a r b o u r . . . " A f t e r t h e m o c k e l e c t i o n a n d
investment were over:
"the Lord Mayor and Common Council, preceded by officers of State,
Sword and Mace bearers and accompanied by many gentlemen of the
town and country, wearing blue sashes under crosses, made a grand
p r o c e s s i o n . . . w i t hd r u m s , t r u m p e t s a n d a b a n d o f m u s i c , c o l o r s
f l y i n g . " T h e s h i p p i n g i n t h e h a r b o r d i s p l a y e df l a g s a n d b a n n e r s w h i l e
guns fired during the afternoon. A very elegant entertainment was
prepared at the Coffee House, where the new Lord Mayor and his
entourage sat down to a sumptuous repast. This was followed by a
ball given by the Scotch gentlemenat which a numerous and brilliant
c o m p a n y o f l a d i e s d a n c e d . T h e c e r e m o n i e se n d e d w i t h f i r e w o r k s ,
34
b o n fi re s,a n d o th e r d e mo nstr ations."[M ar ylandGazette June 22,
1 7 62 ) w i l l i a m R a msa yd i ed on 1o Febr uar y17gs and was inter r ed! n
C h r i stC h u rchC e me te ry,Nor th W ashingtonStr eet.
ALEXANDRIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
1998-1999 Board Members
OFFICERS
M r s. Geor ge A. Haas
M r s . Sm i t h P a u l , P re si d e n t
M r . Jam es H. Johnson
Ms. Julia Claypool,
V i c e-P re si d e n t
Ms. Kr istin B. Lloyd
Mrs. WilliamE. Elwood,
Treasurer
Ms. Paula M assouth
M r . T. M ichael Miller
M r s . F . C . P l i tt, Jr., S e cre ta ry
M r s. Rober t Sennewald
DIRECTORS
Ms. Maur een Sher lock
M r s . T h o m a s E . B u rke ,
E x Offi ci o
Mr . Peter H. Sm ith
M r . G e o r g eK . C o m b s
M r . S t e p h e nA . H . T a y l o u r
35
The Alexandria HistoricalSociety, Inc.,
publishesThe AlexandriaChroniclequarterly.
It is mailedfree to members.
Annual dues: students,$10.0O;
Single,$20.00; Couple"$30.00;
A single edition of The Alexandria
Chroniclemay be purchasedfor $8.00
annuallyby writing to:
The Editor,AlexandriaHistorical
Society, 2O1 S. WashingtonStreet,
Afexandria,Virginia 22314
IN( ,
201 Sor.r'nr
WasrrNcloNSrnsEl
td 223 | 4
A l r,x nNoRr a,
Vr nc;tN
36