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Description:
The Mihran Mesrobian House at 7410 Connecticut Avenue, is located in Chevy Chase, a residential subdivision that was originally developed in the early 20th century by the Chevy Chase Land Company. The single-family dwelling stands on the southeast corner of Woodbine Street and Connecticut Avenue, the latter being the major north-south transportation artery that bisects Chevy Chase. Mesrobian (1889-1975), the well-regarded Washington-area architect, designed the house in 1941 at his and his family’s personal residence. The Art Moderne style wood-framed structure consists of two stories and a full basement. The elevation facing Woodbine Street features a two-car garage with a den above the garage. The house is constructed of whitewashed brick that is stretcher-coursed except for the stringcourses, which are set with headers. The roof is hipped and is covered with slate. Steel-frame casement windows are used throughout and have a silver color protective coating. Signature elements of the Art Moderne style structure include areas of glass block at the front entrance and both stories of the south elevation, asymmetrical massing, whitewashed brick to resemble concrete, and a 2nd-floor sun porch. Narrow brick stringcourses and inset geometric panels further define the elevations. The interior contains an entrance hall from which the common areas are accessed. The first-floor plan is multilevel, with the formal living room, dining room, and den accessed by low rises of stairs. The second floor contains the private areas, with three bedrooms, two baths, and a sitting room that overlooks Connecticut Avenue. In 1945, Mesrobian designed a red brick and cinderblock fence with classically inspired cast-stone decoration that defines the perimeter of the property. The architect also designed the gates and railings on the property and on the interior of the house. He designed the landscape plan and selected the trees and other plantings, largely Kwanzan cherry trees, boxwoods, azaleas, ligustrum, roses, and ground ivy, a number of which survive.
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Significance:
The Mihran Mesrobian House was constructed in 1941 to the designs of the well-regarded Washington-area architect Mihran Mesrobian. Mesrobian designed the house for himself and his wife, Zabelle, in the Art Moderne style fairly late in his career. Although Mesrobian was better known for his Beaux-Arts, classically inspired designs of the 1920s, and Art Deco buildings of the 1930s, both he and Zabelle wanted a modernist residence. Preliminary drawings as well as the elevations and plans for the house as built survive. It was the only house he designed for himself and served as his residence for nearly thirty-five years, until his death in 1975. The house is a highly visible example of a Washington-era residence designed by an architect for his own use, due to its location on the major traffic artery of Connecticut Avenue. The modernist house is a striking anomaly among the traditional, revival style residences that line Connecticut Avenue and side streets of Chevy Chase, Maryland. Preliminary drawings for the residence show extensive experimentation with the Art Moderne and International Styles, demonstrating that Mesrobian considered a much more radical, modernistic design than what was built. Concessions to the Chevy Chase Land Company’s conservative design covenants resulted in a significantly modified design that retains certain modernist elements such as glass block and flat roofs, while introducing less radical decoration such as denticulated brick, double stringcourses, incised geometrics, and a hipped roof. The Mihran Mesrobian House is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural design, by a master architect as his own residence. It is a creative example of the Art Modene style, reflecting an informed blending of elements of modernism and classicism. The exterior and interior retain integrity of design, workmanship, and materials. The house has not been altered or enlarged since its construction in 1941. The integrity of location is intact, even the basic design of the gardens and most of the original plantings.
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