Posts tagged Historic Preservation
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The historic designation debate is happening in northern Virginia too
Right now DC residents are debating the role of historic designations, and they're not the only ones. Historic designation is shaping debates over transportation and development in northern Virginia as well, as highlighted with two projects in Herndon and Reston. Keep reading…
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DC designated 3,000 properties as historic in the last 5 years, and more are coming
With 11 new historic districts in the last five years, the percentage of the city’s buildings designated historic is growing rapidly. Based on targeted and interested new neighborhoods, that growth doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon. Keep reading…
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Some in this gated community are trying absolutely everything to stop a new DC apartment building
Recently a group of neighbors along 16th Street NW, many from a gated community called Beekman Place, applied to downzone an area near Meridian Hill (Malcolm X) Park in order to stop a nine-story building from being built… despite the fact that the buildings across the street are almost the same height. Keep reading…
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Historic districts are a poor substitute for good planning, but great for dodging it
DC is growing, and as this spring’s passionate debate about the DC Comprehensive Plan revealed, managing this growth is one of the most important and contentious city planning discussions of our time. However, decisions about historic preservation are happening outside of this discussion, even though they’re having a big impact on our collective future. Keep reading…
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Bloomingdale is now a historic district, despite the ANC and neighborhood votes
The Historic Preservation Review Board voted unanimously to designate Bloomingdale a historic district two weeks ago at its July 26 meeting. This went against the opinion of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) and a neighborhood poll paid for by the Bloomingdale Civic Association where 55% of the respondents were against becoming a historic district. Keep reading…
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DC preservation officials: You don’t want a historic district? Too bad.
At their confirmation hearing last month, four Historic Preservation Review Board Commissioners confirmed that community opposition to a historic nomination does not play a role in their decision, and that they only evaluate applications based on whether or not a nominated building or district is historic. That stands in stark contrast to other city agencies that are mandated to incorporate community feedback. Keep reading…
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The Chevy Chase Trolley station that moved to the country
When the Chevy Chase Land Company started developing land north of Rock Creek Park in 1890, they built a streetcar to connect it to Washington, DC. That streetcar line ended at Chevy Chase Lake on Connecticutt Avenue, just south of the Georgetown Branch, where a small building on the west side served as a waiting station and office. Keep reading…
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DC’s historic preservation process is too easy to abuse
Recent contentious historic preservation cases have shown DC’s system can be abused by neighbors who simply want another tool to halt change in their neighborhood. Part of the problem is that the very process used to designate a site does not legally incorporate the views of the surrounding community. Keep reading…
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Historic preservation in DC needs reform
DC is undoubtedly a historic place, and it is essential that we use the tools we have to protect that history. However, DC is also a growing place, and a number of historic preservation cases and debates have revealed a preservation system in need of reform. Keep reading…
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A small group just pushed through a historic district in my neighborhood. Here’s what happened.
Last week, DC’s Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) voted to designate our neighborhood, Kingman Park, as a historic district. This happened even though a review of comments to HPRB found a majority of residents opposed the designation. Keep reading…