This Romanesque Revival building, formerly known as the East Capitol Street Car Barn, was constructed in 1896.

The building was a repair shop and administrative offices for the Railroad Company in addition to a streetcar barn. Its history spans the stages in the rapid transit system, including the electrification of D.C. streetcars in the form of electrical-powered vehicles, and the end to horse-drawn carriages in the 1890s; the centralization of streetcar lines into a network in the early 20th century; and the replacement of the streetcar by the bus in the 20th century due to their flexibility.

One streetcar line went down East Capitol Street, turned north at the Capitol and then north again on 9th Street NW. In 1962 the final streetcar was operated in D.C., and the East Capitol Street Car Barn was later used to store buses. The Car Barn was finally taken out of service. For almost 40 years, the brick building stood empty before being converted into condos in 2004. Today they remain a desired address on Capitol Hill.

This appeared to be the main entrance into the streetcar barn. I guess there were once tracks providing access.

Car Barn, a peek inside the gate, posted earlier: