'Leon Emile Dessez was born April 12, 1858 in Washington, D.C., one of eleven children of French immigrants Leon Dessez Sr. and Wilhemina Gebhardt, who had German ancestry. Dessez Sr. was a civil engineer, having been trained in Paris, and designed fortifications for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Dessez Jr. remained with the rest of his family in Washington throughout the war and attended the local schools there. At age 19, he began learning architecture at the firm of Hornblower and Poindexter. With no formal university training, he then worked on the design of the Washington Monument under Thomas L. Casey, after which he was an assistant to the architect of the Washington Navy Yard. Dessez was designing houses in the city as early as 1882 and in April 1886, he opened a private architectural practice.

A significant early commission was the home of Henry and Lucinda Cady in the Takoma neighborhood of Washington, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. He designed another smaller house in the area, after which he became involved in the development of Chevy Chase, Maryland. This new Washington suburb was being developed by Francis Newlands, for whom Dessez created building regulations for the community and designed the first two homes as chief architect for the Chevy Chase Land Company, a position he held for almost three decades.

In the early 1890s, he continued to design houses including one for Francis Newland, and the Admiral's House at the Naval Observatory in 1893, which is now the residence of the vice-president of the United States.

Also around that time, he designed the conversion of a office building into the Raleigh Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, a very prominent location. After this project, he was involved in the design of many municipal buildings including hospitals, fire stations, and other civic building.

In 1919, Dessez designed the "first 20th century prison without bars" for Washington, located in Occoquan, Virginia. It was designed so that prisoner would receive sunlight and ventilation in their cells. This design was directed by Washington's first municipal architect, Snowden Ashford

He designed the Normal School for Colored Girls which was built in 1913 and listed on the NRHP in 1991. It is now part of the University of the District of Columbia. He may have worked on buildings at the Gallinger Hospital also.

He was an early adopter of reinforced concrete, credited with the first office building in the city made completely of the fireproof material, the design dating to 1899.

Profession

Dessez did not specialize in any building type or architectural style. He did big and small jobs, private, corporate, and public, primarily in Washington with some in other areas of Virginia. He worked his entire career in his own practice, dealing with both the technical and aesthetic aspects of design. After his death, his drawing were held by relatives.

Other building

Buildings showing his style

1. .The Bliss residence; 1882; second empire style; Dessez's only work of this style. also has elements of Queen Anne and Romanesque such as a two-story town and rough hewn stone foundation

1. . Castaggini rowhouses at 321-23 2nd St., S.E. on Capitol Hill; 1887; Queen Anne; good example of his work circa 1885-1895 with highly elaborate ornamentation typical of the style.

1. . Cady-Lee; 1888; Queen Anne; The only known example of Dessez's suburban Queen Anne work, and one of few remaining in Washington. on NRHP

1. . Boyle townhouse "S" St., N.W. An example of his transition from Queen Anne to neoclassical, showing square corners and denticular detailing.

1. . Commercial building; 1890; corner of 7th St. and Florida Avenue; still has Queen Anne tower, but less ornamentation overall.

1. . Admiral's residence at the Naval Observatory; retained Queen Anne elements such as wrap-around porch and steep gables, with neoclassical pillars and ordered window.

1. . Starting in the mid-1890s, rather than Queen Anne, Dessez used more Georgian and colonial revival, but also some Tudor, Spanish mission, and "country" French. The 1893 Newland's Mansion on Chevy Chase Circle is his only known Tudor style house.

1. The Raleigh Hotel, at 12th and Pennsylvania, is French neoclassical, his only known example. Matched the prevailing style of large hotels in the city that were being built at that time.

1. Row houses at 312-316 "K" St., N.E.; 1898 have no traces of Queen Anne

1. The Miner Normal School of the early 1900s; Georgian dominate

1. Kanawha Apartments of 1902; plain Georgian/neoclassical

1. Row houses on Connecticut Avenue/Upton Street, N.W. with neoclassical pediments, keystoens, lentils, etc.

1. Dessez residence on Jenifer St., N.W. in 1911, similar with fan light, pilasters, French influence.

1. Residence at 3811 Jenifer St.; completely colonial revival with no French influence.

Fire houses

Dessez designed many firehouses for the DC Fire Department in a variety of styles, including Gothic, Spanish colonial, Romanesque and neoclassical

• Engine House No. #11 on Park Road, c. 1919, orange brick and sandstone with classical elements.
• Station Houses Nos. #2 on 12th St., N.W., (1910). Classical design, included the department headquarters.
• No. 24 on Georgia Avenue (No.# 24) a scaled down version of Station #2 in brown brick
• No. 23 on "G" St. N.W. at 21st St. , included a tower
• No. 9, on Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E. as a Spanish colonial style. With tower, more informal and appropriate for then-suburban setting.

Other

In 1887, he and former employer Joseph Hornblower were among the founding members of the American Institute of Architects chapter in Washington. He remained a member until his death, regularly attended AIA conventions, and for a short time was vice-president.

In 1908, he volunteered on a committee to revise and create the first formal building codes for Washington as well as a committee to inspect public schools for safety and construction violations.

Dessez served on the committee to restore the The Octagon House.

Personal life and death

In 1885, he married Bessie Robertson Semmes of Washington, D.C. with whom he had four children. He died on December 25, 1918, having contracted the Spanish flu. He was working on the design of a new hospital for the Soldier's Home at the time. He was buried in the Congressional Cemetery.

Notes

References

External links

• {{ Find a Grave}} template missing ID and not present in Wikidata. (photo of gravestone)