The Residence Act of 1790, which established the site for the capital of the United States, provided for the appointment of three commissioners by the President (and without the need for Senate confirmation) to govern the District of Columbia, survey its land, purchase property from private landowners, and construct federal buildings.

Historian Bob Arnebeck argues it was Clark,[10] but most sources attribute Wheat Row to the important local architect William Lovering.

[16] According to the National Capital Planning Commission, they are probably the first houses built after the District of Columbia was chosen as the seat of the federal government.

The townhouses were considered small by the standards of the day,[9] of an out-of-date architectural style,[17] poorly constructed,[18] and built with inferior materials.

[8][11][19] The earliest occupant of Wheat Row was William Prentiss, a surveyor who helped lay out housing plats in the District of Columbia in the 1790s.

[26] That same year, 1317 4th Street was purchased by the National Craft Training Center, a newly established organization which taught handicrafts to poor and working-class girls.

[28] In late 1941, Mary Adams purchased 1319 4th Street, renovated it, and donated it to the Barney Neighborhood House in memory of her mother.

[30] Congress also gave the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) the authority to designate which land would be redeveloped, and how.

[31] A 1950 study by the NCPC found that the small Southwest quarter of the city suffered from high concentrations of old and poorly maintained buildings, overcrowding, and threats to public health (such as lack of running indoor water, sewage systems, electricity, central heating, and indoor toilets).

[32][33] Competing visions for the redevelopment ranged from renovation to wholesale leveling of neighborhoods, but the latter view prevailed as more likely to qualify for federal funding.

However, in December 1954, the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. successfully pressured the RLA into giving consideration to saving Wheat Row and the Duncanson-Cranch House.

On June 3, 1960, Shannon and Luchs announced it would build a $12 million, 447-unit cooperative apartment complex known as Harbour Square on the Wheat Row site.

[39] Construction on the project, designed by the architectural firm of Satterlee & Smith and now including financial partner John McShain, began in February 1963.

[41] Architectural historian Daniel Reiff has argued that the design is based on that of Hollis Hall, a dormitory at Harvard University constructed from 1762 to 1763.

Reiff has noted that Wheat Row is a prime example of the vernacular domestic architecture constructed in the District of Columbia during the city's first three decades.

Today, Harbour Square townhouses abut both the north and south facades, and prevent any openings in either wall.

A trench, surrounded by a black wrought iron fence and not visible from the street, permits light to enter the basement windows.

[42] Originally, the wood trim and stone band of Wheat Row were all white, which contrasted with the red brick of the building.

[42] The interior walls of Wheat Row, which are wood frame, have been modified many times over the years to accommodate modern appliances and conveniences (such as bathrooms).