Dupont Circle in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

The Cairo

Historic Site, Washington, DC

— 1615 Q Street, NW —

The Cairo Marker image. Click for full size.

September 22, 2018

1. The Cairo Marker

Inscription. The Cairo apartment house, built in 1894, was (and remains) the tallest privately owned building in Washington. At 156 feet, it towered over its neighbors, prompting laws limiting building heights. Local architect Thomas Franklin Schneider packed the Cairo with luxuries and innovations: an elaborate lobby, rooftop garden, top-floor dining room, bowling alley, shops, and electric lighting. He modeled the Moorish Revival entrance after Louis Sullivan's Transportation Building at the 1893 Columbian Exposition. In 1904, Schneider converted the Cairo to an apartment hotel for permanent and transient guests.

As the city declined in the 1950s, Schneider's heirs sold the Cairo. Inland Steel Corporation renovated it in 1972, to Arthur Cotton Moore's design. Today, it is condominium residences.

Listed in the DC Inventory of Historic Sites, 1990, and the National Register of Historic Places, 1994.

Erected 2017 by The Historical Society of Washington, D.C.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce • Notable Buildings. A significant historical year for this entry is 1894.

Location. 38° 54.674′ N, 77° 2.254′ W. Marker is in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It

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is in Dupont Circle. Marker is at the intersection of Q Street Northwest and 16th Street Northwest, on the right when traveling west on Q Street Northwest. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1615 Q Street Northwest, Washington DC 20009, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. See You at the Center (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Foundry United Methodist Church Stormwater Features (about 400 feet away); Charlotte Forten Grimke House (about 500 feet away); The Stonesdale (about 500 feet away); Votes for Women (about 600 feet away); After the Civil War (about 600 feet away); All the Row Houses (about 700 feet away); Administration Building, Carnegie Institution of Washington (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Northwest Washington.

Regarding The Cairo. An interesting read on the up and down history of the Cairo: https://www.metroweekly.com/2003/01/high-times/

Also see . . .
1. The Cairo - Wikipedia. (Submitted on September 30, 2018.)
2. The Cairo - Metroweekly. (Submitted on September 30, 2018.)

Photographed By Allen C. Browne, September 16, 2012

2. The Cairo

Photographed By Allen C. Browne, September 16, 2012

3. The Cairo

Photographed By Allen C. Browne, September 16, 2012

4. Gargoyle

Photographed By Allen C. Browne, September 16, 2012

5. Gargoyle

National Register of Historic Places plaque for the building image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Allen C. Browne, August 3, 2008

6. National Register of Historic Places plaque for the building

Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 24, 2018. This page has been viewed 301 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on September 24, 2018. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on December 15, 2020, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.