Carolina On The Hill

Carolina On The Hill is a historic condominium building located on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

The building was formerly used by the Sisters of Mercy religious order as a residential building called St. Catherine's Home.

Site
The building is at 101 North Carolina Avenue in Capitol Hill, occupying the intersection of North Carolina Avenue, East Street, 1st Street, and New Jersey Avenue, in a plot which was once part of Garfield Park. According to the original building plans, it has a frontage of 148 ft on North Carolina Avenue to the north, 131 ft on East Street, and 40 ft on the east and west sides.

Architecture
The original building at 101 North Carolina Avenue was designed by John S. Larcombe and is three stories high with a basement.

The building has a relatively simple design, with the exterior walls being built out of brick and stone. The fronts are broken with bay projections which continue into a partially-gabled roof. The main entrance was located on the New Jersey Avenue side, and was constructed from carved white sandstone.

Interior
In its original function as a boarding home and religious institute for the Sisters of Mercy, one floor contained the chapel and living quarters for the sisters, while the rest of the building was used by the boarders. It had room for 46 residents upon construction.

Grounds
The original design of the building included parking space on two sides of the building.

History
In 1894, the Sisters of Mercy religious order began renting the building at 222 North Capitol Street in Washington and operating it as a residential home for women. By December 1899, the Sisters were located at 310 East Capitol Street and were planning for the construction of a new building for the home on North Carolina Avenue.

Work began on the St. Catherine's Home project on March 21, 1900, when a small group of sisters and prominent Catholic citizens gathered to break the ground on the site. Construction of the building cost around $80,000 and was finished later that year. At a ceremony on October 14, 1900, Cardinal James Gibbons blessed the building with holy water and prayer. By then, the institute had already filled 40 of its 46 beds.