The Argyle Apartments in Mount Pleasant

Completed in 1913, the Argyle apartment building was conveniently located at the northern terminus of the Mount Pleasant trolley line. Today it is an aged and humble-seeming structure, yet it was constructed with quality materials and elegant finishes and marked a turning point for its developer, who would go on to build two of Washington's most notable landmarks.

Postcard view of the Argyle around the time it opened (author's collection).

Garfinckel's, Washington's Fashion Arbiter

The retail enterprise founded by Julius Garfinckle (1874-1936) in 1905 was a relative latecomer to the city's department store field. Woodies, Lansburgh's, the Palais Royal, Kann's, Goldenberg's, and Hecht's all were established by the 1890s, making for a saturated and highly competitive market by the turn of the new century. But Garfinckle's store (he later changed his and the store's name to Garfinckel) carved out a unique, high-end niche and held on to it for 85 years, cultivating generations of dedicated shoppers who depended on the store for the trendiest and classiest apparel. When Garfinckel's finally declared bankruptcy and closed in 1990, it was a heart-wrenching experience for employees and customers alike.

The former Garfinckel's building as it appears today (photo by the author).