Posts tagged Cat:historic
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Eckington is wrestling with whether to be a historic district
Eckington is the latest DC neighborhood to explore historic status. Residents’ debate over the subject has centered on their ability to make changes to their property, like adding solar panels and build additions, and the impact such a move would have on affordability. The effort is being led by the Eckington Civic Association (ECA), which has engaged QED Associates… Keep reading…
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Preservationists ask to shrink 3rd Church replacement
Historic preservation staff want to remove 2 floors from the proposed building that will replace the Brutalist Third Church of Christ, Scientist and the Christian Science Monitor building at 16th and I in downtown DC. Responding to pressure from preservation groups and the Historic Preservation Office (HPO), the owners shrank down their original proposal to one with very… Keep reading…
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Old Anacostia’s spirit unshakable despite vacant properties
Anacostia waits. With entire half-blocks of its commercial district vacant, many of the remaining occupied buildings serve a plenitude of aid agencies. With nearly a fifth of the historic neighborhood’s residential properties vacant, this area of the city remains an economic dead zone. Although a smattering of small businesses have opened in the past year in Anacostia,… Keep reading…
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Historic board stands up to mid-rise opposition
DC’s Historic Preservation Review Board approved concept plans for the Hine project on Capitol Hill last month, making a clear statement that while they’ll push to improve the quality of development, they’re not going to bow to neighbors’ demands to substantially shrink it down. Historic review can greatly improve many development projects. Keep reading…
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Congo wants circular driveway at 16th and Riggs
The Republic of the Congo has purchased the historic Toutorsky Mansion at 16th and Riggs, NW, and is requesting permission to replace much of the front yard with a circular driveway. The embassy can function in the space without the driveway, and DC should deny that element. The 18-room house, built in 1894 for for Supreme Court Justice Henry Billings Brown, writer of the famous… Keep reading…
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DC grid isn’t Maryland’s only street name pattern
Yesterday, I discussed the extension of DC’s alphanumeric street naming system into Maryland. But there are other naming systems which are perhaps less logical but quirky enough to deserve mention. Bowie, Maryland has a quasi-systematic set of named streets. Most of the suburban style housing built in the post war era falls in to sections where each street starts with… Keep reading…
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Maryland’s systemic streets
Last year, I mapped Washington’s street-naming system and state-named avenues. But the logical organization of street names doesn’t end at the DC line. The alphabetical and numerical naming of streets continues into Maryland (and Arlington). Washington’s numbered streets run north-south and increase in number as distance from the Capitol increases. Keep reading…
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Washington’s first sidewalk cafe
A modest, four-story storefront once stood near the corner of 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW overlooking Washington’s first sidewalk café. From an illegal gambling parlor to a trendy 1960s discotheque, the building saw much in the way of what Washington had to offer for nighttime entertainment. It began its colorful career in about 1872, although according… Keep reading…
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HPRB denies S Street addition
The Historic Preservation Review Board decided not to follow the Dupont Conservancy’s recommendations and will not allow the 3rd floor mansard roof at the corner of 15th and S Streets, NW. Keep reading…
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Historic committee favors addition atop historic rowhouse
Additional floors on top of historic rowhouses, sometimes called “pop-ups,” are one of the most reviled modifications outside historic districts. And for good reason: they’re typically ugly, cheap, and stick out like sore thumbs not just for their height but for the use of materials totally incompatible with the old houses. Meanwhile, local historic… Keep reading…