Pierce Springhouse and Barn

Coordinates: 38°56′24″N 77°3′8″W / 38.94000°N 77.05222°W / 38.94000; -77.05222
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Peirce Springhouse and Barn
Pierce Barn in 2008
Pierce Springhouse and Barn is located in District of Columbia
Pierce Springhouse and Barn
LocationTilden Street and Beach Drive, N.W., Washington, District of Columbia
Coordinates38°56′24″N 77°3′8″W / 38.94000°N 77.05222°W / 38.94000; -77.05222
Built1820
NRHP reference No.73000222[1]
Added to NRHPOctober 25, 1973

The Pierce Springhouse and Barn, also known as the Art Barn, is an historic barn and springhouse located in Rock Creek Park, at Tilden Street and Beach Drive, Northwest, Washington, D.C.[2]

History[edit]

Pierce springhouse in 2013

The springhouse, built in 1801, is located in the median of Tilden Street west of the barn.

Issac Peirce built the barn for his farm complex.

In 1971, the barn was used as an Art Gallery, operated by Associates of Artists Equity.[3] David Major, a counterintelligence adviser at the Reagan White House, ran a spy tour that claimed the pigeon coop of the barn (above the art gallery) was used to spy on the nearby Hungarian and Czechoslovak embassies.[4][5]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/73000222_text
  3. ^ "An Administrative History-Pierce Mill and the Art Barn". National Park Service. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  4. ^ "The Spy on the Wall Tour: Washington's Cold War Monuments". Washington Post. 2001-01-24. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  5. ^ "The Cold War Spy Station in an Attic Pigeon Coop". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2018-11-28.