Brentwood, Washington, D.C.
| Brentwood | |
|---|---|
| Neighborhood of Washington, D.C. | |
 Brentwood within the District of Columbia |
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| Coordinates: 38°55′07″N 76°59′25″W / 38.9187°N 76.9902°WCoordinates: 38°55′07″N 76°59′25″W / 38.9187°N 76.9902°W | |
| Country | United States |
| District | Washington, D.C. |
| Ward | Ward 5 |
| Government | |
| • Councilmember | Kenyan McDuffie |
Brentwood is a neighborhood in Northeast Washington, D.C. and is named after the Brentwood Mansion built at Florida Avenue and 6th Street NE in 1817 by Robert Brent, the first mayor of Washington City. He built it as a wedding present for his daughter Eleanor on her marriage as second wife to Congressman Joseph Pearson, and it stood for a hundred years before burning down in 1917.
The mansion stood on a large expanse of land, a farm owned by Mayor Brent, that also went to Eleanor. Congressman Pearson also purchased additional properties and expanded the estate further. The property then known as Brentwood was larger than the present (2007) neighborhood known as Brentwood. Images of the mansion may be found in the book "Capital Losses: A Cultural History of Washington's Destroyed Buildings" by James W. Goode, and in several books in the collection of the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. A descendant (Edward Sisson) of the family that owned the mansion throughout its existence has posted a collection of paintings, drawings, photos, and histories of the mansion on-line in an "album" titled "Worthington House and Brentwood Mansion" on a Mac Web Gallery site. The Frick Art Reference Library has drawings, paintings, and perhaps photographs (although none appear to be accessible on-line as of late 2007). On the web, a small drawing of the mansion, together with a brief description of its owners in 1873, Capt. & Mrs. Carlile Pollock Patterson, may be found in "Washington Outside and Inside" by George Alfred Townsend, at page 620, searchable as a "google book."
The design of Brentwood Mansion has traditionally been ascribed to the Capitol's architect, Benjamin Latrobe. The definitive 2006 book, "The Domestic Architecture of Benjamin Henry Latrobe," by Michael W. Fazio and Patrick Alexander Snadon, (who call the house the Pearson House) states that this is uncertain. At the time of the house's design, Latrobe was suffering family troubles and his records for this period are poor.
During the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877), Brentwood Mansion was a center of Washington social life, with many parties hosted by Elizabeth (Eliza) Worthington Patterson (daughter of Joseph Pearson and his third wife Catherine Worthington Pearson) and her husband Carlile Pollock Patterson. Patterson had known Grant since 1852; Patterson's brother-in-law David Dixon Porter, married to Patterson's sister George Ann, was the highest-ranking Admiral in the US Navy; and Patterson's brother Thomas H. Patterson was commander of the Washington Navy Yard (1873-1876) before becoming the Rear Admiral in command of the Asiatic Squadron (1877-1880). Patterson Street, N.E., which is adjacent to the property, was probably named for the Patterson family.
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Wikipedia