Federal Style Homes in Washington DC Metro Area

Any discussion about building design in Washington, DC has to include Federal-style construction. This bold design movement was hugely influential during the seminal days of the District, as well as Alexandria, Virginia. In particular, DC’s urban center and Alexandria Old Town are hot spots for the presences of existing Federal architecture.

By this point, it should be apparent that this is a very old style. Indeed, the design type was named for the Federal period, which existed from around 1788 to 1830. This coincided with the planning of Washington, DC as a city by architect Pierre Charles L’Enfant. The Federal Convention of 1787 resulted in the blueprint for governance, including the three branches of government and the Constitution. It was a time of enormous growth and construction in DC. Prior to that time, the area was more known for farmland and port trading, an example being Georgetown which was founded in 1751.

Enough with the dusty history lessons—exactly what does Federal-style architecture look like and where does it still exist?

That’s easy enough to answer. Look at the historic row houses in Old Town Alexandria dating back to the mid-1800’s with simple boxy look and flat roofs. That’s Federal design. Now look at even older narrow structures in Old Town with detailing around the windows and gabled roofs. Those are more likely to be examples of Georgian architecture.

Drilling down deeper, the Federalist philosophy of strength and stability was evident in the clean and simple lines of its corresponding architecture. But even though simplicity is a typically recognized hallmark, you can also find side gables and low-hipped roofs as well as elliptical fanlights over doorways in some buildings.

When it comes to the real estate marketplace, Federal-style architecture is typically found in row houses and townhomes, apartment buildings that have converted to condos for sale, and in some cases, detached single-family homes. In addition to Old Town, you can find these places in communities such as Adams Morgan, Kalorama, Logan Circle, Georgetown and other parts of DC.

But the style has also had a significant influence on a revival trend that cropped up in the 1920’s and 1930’s, with boxy porch-front row houses, as well as more recent fashions. For instance, new luxury townhome communities with nods to the Federal tradition include Cameron Station in Alexandria, the Mosaic District in Fairfax County and a number of buildings along the highly popular Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor in Arlington.

Prices, meanwhile, are all over the map from the low six figures for small condo units to over $10 million for large homes. To learn more, call District Partners at Compass, at 202-798-3600.