Built for a friend of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and one of Capitol Hill’s oldest houses, the Maples on D Street in Southeast will rest abandoned and boarded against vagrants until purchased and renovated.
Sonja Sweek lives in an 1851 house she restored, a half block from the Maples. She was one of the parties that submitted bids this week on the Maples.
“I am very old-fashioned,” Sweek said. “I’d love to have all my kids here.”
Sweek hopes to re-establish a day care facility, create a doctor’s office and build a living area for her family within the home.
At least one other bidders has planned apartments for the site.
The D.C. Preservation League has put the Maples on its annual list for endangered places in the city.
The list, selected by the DCPL’s board of directors from citizen submissions, comprises historically, culturally and architecturally significant locations that the group says are threatened.
The six sites include the Third Church of Christ, Scientist, at 900 16th St. NW. The church’s congregation battled the DCPL to get city approval so it could raze the church and build a new one there.
The city approved the demolition plans May 13, although DCPL says it plans to appeal.
