The Only Constant is Change

Part of the stone structure on the left was built in 1766 facing quiet, residential Bridge Street in a busy Maryland port city, and by the late 1800s Bridge Street had become M Street NW, a major commercial thoroughfare in Washington, DC. Between 1800 and 1950, a series of businesses operated in the stone building, including a clockmaker's shop, a paint-finishing and glazing business, and a convenience store, while families lived upstairs. Historic maps and records also show wooden buildings on this lot between 1800 and 1950, including a blacksmith's shop, a lunchroom, licensed heating and plumbing, clothing shops, domestic residences, and stables, though no records revealed a garden there. The site was saved from development in the mid-1900s because people mistakenly believed George Washington had worked and slept here while planning the Capital City in 1791. On January 24, 1960, the National Park Service opened a museum at the Old Stone House, and today visitors can tour it and explore a garden filled with boxwoods, roses, Irish yew, peonies, irises, asters, and more.

Washington, District of Columbia · United States