319 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
From a press release:
“Washington, DC’s Capitol Hill neighborhood will soon have a new destination for classic American cocktails and cuisine, with the early 2015 opening of Stanton & Greene at 319 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE.
Spanning three floors of a meticulously restored building just two blocks from the US Capitol and Supreme Court, the 180-seat Stanton & Greene will evoke the easy elegance of the Capital city’s bars of the early- to mid- 20th century.
The ground floor is home to a traditional American bar and brasserie with period details: a classic thick-edged marble bar top, handmade brass sconces, a custom-milled oak bar rail, hand-stitched cognac leather booths, the original tin ceiling pattern, honed tobacco-colored floor tile, and vintage crackled porcelain wall tiles. The bar and restaurant will be open seven days a week for lunch, dinner, brunch, and drinks.
Quite the transformation from Pour House
A restored oak staircase leads to the second floor, revealing a soaring 16-foot space with original skylights, an Art-Deco bar beautifully hewn by hand from American ash, and three huge windows overlooking historic Pennsylvania Avenue. The second floor bar and lounge will be open to the public and also available for private events. Like its downstairs counterpart, the upstairs bar will offer a classic cocktail menu and draught local craft beers.
August Paro, a film set designer by trade and co-founder of Beuchert’s Saloon at Eastern Market, has led the design and renovation of Stanton & Greene, carefully sourcing, and re-creating fixtures true to the period and refining art finishes by hand. Every aspect of the restaurant has received extensive attention to detail to evoke the feel of a bygone era.
“For us, it’s about the intangibles that make up the soul of a restaurant; how all the restored and found pieces interact to create what you feel,” says Paro. “The highest compliment I can think of might be someone walking in the first time and saying it feels like it’s been here since Lyndon Johnson was twisting arms on the Hill as a Congressman.”
The restaurant’s name is both a tribute and a play on a century-old living arrangement between two of Capitol Hill’s oldest and closest neighbors: in the center of nearby Stanton Park, named for Lincoln’s Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, sits a statue of American revolutionary war hero General Nathanael Greene.
“The inspiration for the name comes from these two American figures who are linked across the centuries in the park as close neighbors,” says Eli Hengst. “It’s the kind of historical footnote that’s unique to Capitol Hill and D.C. and we hope Stanton & Greene evokes the same sense of place.”
The focus of Stanton & Greene is cocktails and a carefully-curated spirits list – and, while seasonal and artisanal specials will be available, the founders’ aim is a simple, elegant, and classic cocktail menu. (more…)
