Albin DeMary, a clerk at the Assay Office, built the Hopffgarten House around 1899, and Wayland & Fennell gave it its Georgian Revival face in 1923. Its dignified façade today owes much to the work completed by Wayland & Fennell in 1923; those Georgian Revival modifications have not been altered substantially since. This house was first built about 1899 for Albin C. DeMary, a clerk at the U.S. Assay Office.
In 1905 DeMary sold it to E. Van Buskirk, who made extensive improvements. Harry Hopffgarten purchased the house in 1915; he hired contractor Arthur O. Maus to remodel in 1919, then brought in Wayland & Fennell in 1922 for the addition and basement excavation finished in 1923. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
You can almost feel the layers of care - from DeMary's original commission to Van Buskirk's improvements to Hopffgarten's long stewardship. In 1960 a 75-ft tree fell against the back, and Hopffgarten subsequently removed all of his 50-year-old trees, a practical response that changed the grounds. Wayland & Fennell gave this Neo Classical house its 1923 face, while at the rear a 75-ft tree fell in 1960 and Hopffgarten cleared away his 50-year-old trees.