Posts by Mark Eckenwiler — Contributor
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The lessons of DC’s circles and squares
From the 1870s up to the present day, competing interests — erecting monuments and memorials, preserving space for civic recreation, and catering to vehicular traffic — have led to drastic changes in our shared public spaces. Keep reading…
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The many lives of DC’s “Apex” building
The building that would come to be known as the “Apex” on Pennsylvania Avenue in DC has evolved from a hotel to a bank, billboard, liquor store, and now an office for a historic Black women’s association over its nearly two centuries of existence. Keep reading…
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What we can learn from the history of DC’s circles and squares
From the 1870s up to the present day, competing interests — erecting monuments and memorials, preserving space for civic recreation, and catering to vehicular traffic — have led to drastic changes in our shared public spaces. Keep reading…
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This is what the FBI building site used to look like
As we face the prospect of another decade—and likely longer—with the FBI’s Hoover Building occupying prime space on Pennsylvania Avenue, it’s worth remembering the site’s past. These photos tell the story. Keep reading…
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DC’s Ben Franklin statue, built by the Washington Post’s founder, has a storied past
A statue of Benjamin Franklin stands on the southeast corner of 12th St. and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. A sheaf of papers in his left hand, Franklin gestures with his right as if arguing a point of policy. He faces the avenue, his back turned to the Old Post Office Building currently occupied by the Trump Hotel. Keep reading…
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What we can learn from the history of DC’s circles and squares
From the 1870s up to the present day, competing interests—erecting monuments and memorials, preserving space for civic recreation, and catering to vehicular traffic—have led to drastic changes in our shared public spaces. Keep reading…
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Check out what the FBI building site used to look like
As we face the prospect of another decade—and likely longer—with the FBI's Hoover Building occupying prime space on Pennsylvania Avenue, it’s worth remembering the site’s past. These photos tell the story. Keep reading…