Portland_Flats

The Portland Flats (later known as the Portland Hotel) was the first luxury apartment building constructed in Washington, D.C. Construction of the elaborate building, designed by architect Adolf Cluss, was completed in 1881. It was built on the south side of Thomas Circle, a traffic circle and park where 14th Street NW, M Street NW, Massachusetts Avenue NW, and Vermont Avenue NW intersect. The triangular-shaped building's main architectural feature was the corner tower and dome, which resulted in the Portland Flats resembling an ocean liner sailing into Thomas Circle.
Portland Flats was built as a business venture for Edward L. Weston. Apartment buildings had become a popular residential option in his native New York, and the trend continued in Washington, D.C., after completion of the Portland Flats. Its design and prestige influenced dozens of apartment buildings being constructed in the city within a decade of its completion. There would eventually be hundreds of apartment buildings constructed in Washington, D.C., during the next several decades. Many of these were later demolished, including the Portland Flats in 1962. It was replaced with an office building that was later converted into a hotel. The design of the Portland Flats later inspired an identically-named residential building constructed in Brookland.