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Research dossier · Places & Architecture

Smith Row

building

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 4, 2026
Entity authorityQ85801673 ↗
Source-derived summary

Smith Row is a group of six Federal-style townhouses within the Georgetown Historic District in Washington, D.C. Built in 1815 by brothers Clement and Walter Smith, the structures extend from 3255–3267 N Street NW.

It was added to the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites in 1964.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Smith Row” as building. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1815, 1964—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Smith and building can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as building. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q85801673. Authority coordinates are 38.907, -77.066. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1815 and 1964.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Smith Row”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Smith Row primary sources, Smith Row archive and Smith research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Smith Row”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Smith Row” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.