Foxhall is named for the road that passed by the summer home built by Henry Foxall, owner of a cannon factory on Foundry Creek in what is now Glover Archbold Park. Foxall’s cannons are credited with helping to defeat the British during the War of 1812. Thomas Jefferson, Foxall and their friends enjoyed violin concerts at Foxall’s Spring Hill home in what is now Foxhall Village.
Farms-including the Ready Farm along Q Street near 45th occupied our area during the 1800’s and some remained intact until shortly before WWII. Foxhall Road, MacArthur Boulevard, and the Palisades area include many summer homes of prominent Washingtonians dating to the late 1800’s.
Building of the Village...
Foxhall Village was built in the late 1920’s. After visiting the English town of Tewksbury, Harry Boss of the construction firm Boss and Phelps returned to Washington determined to replicate the Tudor-style houses he had admired in England. By 1927, nearly 150 homes had been finished in the little community of high-end and architecturally-acclaimed residences in suburban Washington. Today there are over 300 homes in Foxhall Village, which is now a designated Historic District.
The FCCA also tracks a wide range of issues that affect the neighborhood. From historic preservation and pets and potholes to private schools and pollution the FCCA is always striving to make our community a better place to live.
Foxhall Today
Though the houses in Foxhall Village look very similar, no two are exactly alike. Some are two stories tall, some three. Some have marble fireplaces, and some don't have fireplaces at all. Most of the houses have screened-in back porches. Fluted molding gives a little something extra to each home. And certain features are a trademark of the neighborhood: leaded-style windows, curved chimney pots, stone globes on the pediments and stone crests, called medallions, affixed to the brick facades.
At the time, Boss and Phelps described the first homes as "situated on a high, gently rolling tract of land, desirably removed from the noise and bustle of the City Proper -- yet within three miles of Washington's main business districts."
Today the neighborhood is just a short walk down either P Street or Volta Place to the shops along Georgetown's Wisconsin Avenue. During last winter's heavy snowstorms, many Foxhall residents made the trip by foot to Georgetown to stock up on supplies.
Foxhall Community: the Citizens Association