The Cairo Hotel: How One Apartment Tower Wrote DC’s Skyline Law
A 35-year-old architect built 164 feet of Moorish-fantasy hotel into a Dupont rowhouse block. Congress hated it so much it made a law.
The Cairo
The Cairo apartment building at 1615 Q Street NW caused a scandal when it opened in 1894. At 12 stories it was by far the tallest building in Washington, and alarmed neighbors successfully lobbied Congress to cap building heights in the District. The Cairo is the building that gave Washington its low-rise skyline. These posts tell the story of DC’s most consequential apartment building.
The 1914 Washington Times Apartment Directory
The Washington Times published a pocket directory of DC apartments in 1914, listing addresses, rents, and neighborhoods across the city.
The Terrifying Tale of Albert Deal’s 120-Foot Elevator Shaft Fall
This is the incredible story of Albert Deal, a Pennsylvania steamfitter who fell 120 feet down an elevator shaft at the Cairo Flats in 1894. Miraculously, he survived with only a sprained back! Find out the story behind this amazing tale.
The Anonymous Story of Robert Muir, the Cairo Hotel Manager from the 1910s
Discover the anonymous story of Robert Muir, the Cairo Hotel Manager from the 1910s. Learn about his life, marriage to Marie, and his tragic death in 1931.
Queen Liliuokalani’s 1897 Trip to Stop Hawaii’s Annexation
On January 24, 1897, the deposed Queen Liliuokalani arrived in Washington on the night train. She had come to lobby against U.S. annexation of Hawaii — and checked into the Shoreham Hotel at 15th and H Streets.