What...Connects Two 19th Century Men to the ANWC Clubhouse? by Joan Timberlake The answer is a "great deal" as David R. Schuder discovered last fall while researching the history of our building at 1607 22nd Street (originally numbered as "1613").

The four-story French Revival townhouse, purchased by the ANWC in 1961, was custom-designed in 1906 for J. H. Cranford by the firm of A.B. Mullett and Company. Schuder completed the history while a graduate student at Virginia Polytechnical University in November 1998.

For many decades the firm's founder, Alfred Bult Mullett, had been considered one of the country's outstanding "architectural engineers." From 1866 to 1874 he had served as the supervising architect of the U.S. Treasury and both during his government service and later his designs for public buildings and some private commissions were acclaimed from California to Washington, DC. One of his most impressive buildings is here in the Nation's Capital-the mansard-roofed Old Executive Office Building, adjacent to the White House.

Mullett had two architect sons, Thomas A. and Frederick W., whom he had thoroughly trained in his ideas of design and the use of rich and elegant materials synonymous with the Mullett reputation. Cranford obviously was a man of exceptional taste (evidenced by the many fine details which exist to this day) and of wealth-$15,000 bought a lot more than it does today. Also, there's the fact that in 1907 Cranford added a two-story brick garage and servant quarters to the property at a time when few owned automobiles, much less had the extra money to build a place of shelter for them. (This addition was later sold, renovated entirely into living quarters, and now has the address of 2161 Florida Avenue.)

So, the next time you come to the clubhouse, take a moment to think of the names Mullett and Cranford. As we count down to the 21st century, original 1906 details still please the eye. Among them: the brick and limestone exterior with its arched balconies; the decorative mosaic-floored foyer that transitions into a black-and-white checkerboard pattern (as in the Old Executive Office Building); the beautiful stairwell with its rich wood trim and ornate milled pickets; the formal rooms with their fireplaces, crown molding and milled ceiling beams. These are just a few of the many attributes making our clubhouse an architectural treasure.

Joan Timberlake is a Washington-based independent writer.