Toy Theater

Peter Waddell, an artist specializing in historic themes, created this fanciful interpretation of the largely undeveloped area that later became Dupont Circle as it was in the 1870s. “Stewart’s Castle,” at the rear, was designed by architect Adolph Cluss in 1873 for Nevada Senator William M. Stewart on what is now the northwest corner of Connecticut and Massachusetts Ave., NW. After the turreted structure was demolished in 1901 the site remained vacant until 1924, when Riggs Bank purchased the property and constructed its grand neoclassical branch (now PNC Bank). The building at front left represents the ornate British Legation that was at the northwest corner of Connecticut and N Sts., NW., from 1872 until 1931. Waddell took his inspiration for the composition from a toy theater he had as a child.