The Dominican House of Studies is a Catholic institution in Washington, DC, housing both the Priory of the Immaculate Conception, a community of the Province of St. Joseph of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), and the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception, an ecclesiastical faculty of theology. The house is dedicated to the theological formation of Dominican friars and the service of the church in the Archdiocese of Washington. It serves as a formation community for Dominican candidates for holy orders and the Dominican cooperator brotherhood. It is also the location of the Thomistic Institute and the academic journal The Thomist. Building The Dominican House of Studies is located in Washington, D.C. on Michigan Avenue NE, directly across from The Catholic University of America. This part of northeastern Washington was once known as "Little Rome" but is today more commonly referred to as Edgewood. The building was initially called the College of the Immaculate Conception and located on what was then Bunker Hill Road NE. It was designed in the Gothic style by architect A.O. Von Herbulis, architect of several buildings for the Catholic Church. The exterior walls were to be built of Indiana limestone, the building was to accommodate about 150 students, and the estimated cost was $300,000. A building permit was applied for in April, 1903. The contract for construction was awarded to the Brennan Construction Company at the beginning of June, 1903. Construction could not begin, however, because a building permit had still not been issued due to a question of whether the proposed slate roof supported by wooden beams complied with laws passed by Congress limiting the height of residential buildings that were not completely fireproof. On June 19, 1903 District of Columbia Engineer Commissioner Col. John Biddle recommend a permit be issued, and construction could finally commence. Construction was completed in 1905 and a private dedication by cardinal James Gibbons was held at 12:00 noon on August 20, 1905. The dedication was held privately since the chapel was not yet complete and available for public viewing. At the time of the building's dedication about 40 students from Kentucky and Ohio were in residence at the college. Once the chapel was completed in 1907 it was publicly blessed in a solemn ceremony by then-Archbishop Diomede Falconio, the Apostolic Delegate to the United States. Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception History The Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate