District National Bank Branch Office (1924)

Posted by: Ghosts of DC on January 27, 2012 in Faces & Places of Yesterday 1 Comment

WOW. This one is awesome. It’s a colorized photograph from 1924 and it shows cars lined up outside the District National Bank, Dupont Circle branch.

I’ll need a little help locating exactly where this is. It’s highly likely that this building no longer exists. I can’t quite place it.

District National Bank, Dupont Circle (1924)

From what I can find in old newspapers, this appears the be the branch at Connecticut Ave. and K St. NW. The branch office opened in January of 1924 according to an article in the Washington Post.

The uptown branch of the District National Bank, at Connecticut avenue and K street northwest, will be open for business beginning next Tuesday, it was announced yesterday by Robert N. Harper, president. W. C. Looker, assistant cashier, who has been with the bank since its inception in 1909, will be manager of the branch.

According to the 1920 U.S. Census, Mr. Harper lived at 1515 16th St. NW (currently split into condos) with his wife Caroline, a son, mother-in-law, butler, a maid (the butler’s wife), a chauffeur, another maid, a lodger, the lodger’s wife and their son. A seriously full house and if you ride the S1, S2 or S4, you probably pass it every day on your way to work.

Robert Harper, 1920 U.S. Census

William C. Looker was living in slightly more austere accommodations at 2909 O St. N, with his wife Margaret, son William and daughter Margaret. Also, he was renting a house that had a value of $12,000 in 1920.