The History of Century House

Located at 607 Prince St. in Old Town Alexandria, Va., Century House, the SAME headquarters building, was constructed about 1846. Undoubtedly it was built as a Victorian town home and was occupied as a private dwelling for a few years. Sometime afterwards, Dr. George Klipstein assumed ownership of Century House and practiced medicine in the house until he was 85 years old. Century House actually was a full-fledged medical treatment facility, acclaimed by some to be the only hospital in existence during the early stages of the Civil War.

 

During Dr. Klipstein’s ownership, the interior of Century House was converted from a town home to a hospital. Dr. Klipstein had his private office to the left of the foyer—now the office of the SAME Executive Director—and the large room to the right—then most likely a dining room, now the SAME Conference Room—was converted to an operating room. The second floor, which presently houses the Departments of Membership and Conferences and Education, was the recovery room. Dr. Klipstein and his wife, Naomi, lived on the third floor, now home to the Departments of Communications and Marketing and Finance. Historical records even indicate there was a morgue on the first floor, and those who did not survive were carried to the twin carriage house, where horse carriages delivered the remains to their resting places.

 

Dr. Klipstein passed on in 1929 and left the property to his wife. When she died in 1962, the property passed to various relatives and commercial endeavors. At one time there was an Arthur Murray dance studio on the first floor. In the late 1960s there was a very classy curio shop. The property was purchased by the Thomas and Sewell law firm in 1972. The house was totally renovated and restored to its original décor insofar as possible. All facilities were upgraded accordingly.

 

The SAME headquarters gets its name from its previous owners, who coined “Century House” because the property was well over 100 years old. This was done at the time of the nation’s bicentennial in 1976 when the Century House was one of about a dozen town homes selected by the City of Alexandria for an open house walking tour. SAME purchased Century House in October 1980, relocating its headquarters from Washington, D.C.