Henderson Castle (Washington, D.C.)

Henderson Castle (also known as Henderson's Castle, Boundary Castle, and Prospect Castle) was a large Romanesque Revival house once located at 2200 16th Street NW in Washington, D.C. Built in 1889 for former Senator John B. Henderson, who introduced legislation for the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolishing slavery, and his wife, Mary Foote Henderson, the castle was sited on a prominent location overlooking the city. At the time, the area was mostly undeveloped, a fact Mary saw to change through decades of real estate development. Architect Eugene C. Gardner designed the castle and later renovations were carried out by architects Thomas Franklin Schneider, George Oakley Totten Jr., and Laussat R. Rogers. Mary hired Totten to design many of the grand mansions and embassies on 15th and 16th Street NW which she sold to wealthy residents and foreign governments.

The Hendersons entertained prominent citizens at their castle, including Andrew Carnegie, members of Congress, foreign delegates, and justices of the Supreme Court. Mary was an advocate for women's rights, vegetarianism, and the temperance movement. Mary made national news when she and other members of the Independent Order of Rechabites took over 1,000 bottles of alcohol from the castle's cellar and smashed them on 16th Street. As part of her plans to develop the Meridian Hill neighborhood, Mary convinced Congress to buy land across the street from the castle, which was developed into Meridian Hill Park.

After Mary's death in 1931, the Hendersons' vast art collection and fine furniture were sold at auction at drastically reduced prices. The castle remained unsold and it was converted into the Castle H Swim and Tennis Club in 1937, which included a boarding house on the upper floors. Loud after-hours parties annoyed neighbors, including Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer, whose White-Meyer House was located behind the castle. The couple purchased the castle property in 1941. It continued to be used as a boarding house and social event space until 1948, when all of the remaining contents were sold at auction. In January 1949, the castle was demolished. The property remained vacant for almost 30 years until Katharine Graham, daughter of the Meyers and publisher of The Washington Post, sold it to a real estate developer. A gated townhouse community, Beekman Place, was built on the site in 1976. Part of the castle's original perimeter wall and entrance gate still stands on 16th Street.