Tenth Precinct Station House
This station house reflects the priorities of the DC police department as it sought to reform its image in the late 19th century.
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Built in 1901, the Tenth Precinct Station House was designed by the firm of A.B. Mullett and Company, a Washington firm established in 1889 by Alfred B. Mullett and his sons, Frederick and Thomas.
The senior Mullett had been the supervising architect of the U.S. Treasury from 1866 through 1874, during which period he was in charge of the design and construction of the State, War, and Navy Building and some forty other government buildings.
This station house is notable for what it represents in the history of policing in DC. Through the 1880s, the city's police department had been widely viewed as corrupt and politically partisan, and reforms were made in an effort to improve the department's image. This imposing station house was one of several built during this period, and it was designed to project an air of authority over the neighborhood that surrounded it.
DC Inventory: October 15, 1986
National Register: November 10, 1986
