By Skip Moskey

The following books on Washington social and architectural history are part of my ready-reference shelf at home.  The book on American House Styles by Baker, though not specifically about Washington, is one of the best available.

John Milnes Baker, A.I.A.. 1994.
American House Styles: A Concise Guide
(New York: W.W. Norton)

Kathryn Allamong Jacob. 1995.
Capital Elites: High Society in Washington, D.C. After the Civil War (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press)

James M. Goode. 2003.
Capital Losses: A Cultural History of Washington’s Destroyed Buildings, 2nd ed.  (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books)

James M. Goode & Bruce M. White. 2015.
Capital Houses: Historic Residences of Washington D.C. and Its Environs, 1735-1965.  (New York: Acanthus Press)

Martin Moeller Jr. 2013.
AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington, D.C.
(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press)
There are several editions. I use the 3rd edition, which is linked here.

Stephen T. Moskey. 2016.
Larz and Isabel Anderson: Wealth and Celebrity in the Gilded Age.
(Bloomington, IN: iUniverse.com)

Kathryn S. Smith, ed. 2010.
Washington at Home: An Illustrated History of Neighborhoods in the Nation’s Capital, 2nd ed.
(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press)