Posts tagged Kingman Park
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Historic districts can stymie planning. Sometimes that’s the goal.
How does historic district designation affect planning? A recent application for historic status in Chevy Chase got us looking through our archives. Keep reading…
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A Chevy Chase group wants a historic district. What’s a historic district?
Historic districts sound charming, but what do they mean for neighborhoods’ ability to grow and evolve with changing needs over time? We’ve got an explainer for that. Keep reading…
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The Kingman Park Historic District is a little bigger now
DC’s Historic Preservation Review Board has approved an expansion of the Kingman Park Historic District, granting a victory to the applicants who were disappointed with the Board’s decision to reduce their desired boundaries in the initial designation process two years ago. Keep reading…
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What’s a historic district, anyway?
Historic designation can be complicated, but since DC has more than 50 historic districts, it’s important to understand. Here’s a breakdown of what it actually does. Keep reading…
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DC historic homeowners get the green light to ask for front-facing solar panels (but don’t make them green, or blue!)
Responding to outrage that followed Greater Greater Washington’s report on that hearing, the DC’s Historic Preservation Review Board revised its guidelines to say that front-facing solar panels could be okay if “necessary” to achieve climate goals such as DC’s 2019 clean energy law. The board approved the guidelines, including the proposed changes, at that meeting as the start of what will surely be a long conversation within the preservation community about how to integrate planetary preservation. Keep reading…
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A grand Bicentennial project was partly built on Kingman and Heritage Islands. Now most traces have disappeared.
In the early 1970s, the District created a Bicentennial Commission to manage the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the American Revolution. DC Mayor Walter Washington wanted the District to have its own Bicentennial project, focused on providing new opportunities to young people by creating activity centers, and drawing new tourist dollars to city coffers. 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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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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Huge improvements for safety, cycling, and walking on C Street NE are back on (cycle) track
C Street NE near RFK Stadium is a mega-street with fast-moving traffic. A project to calm traffic and make it better for walking and bicycling is moving forward, after transportation officials almost cut back the project but reversed course in the wake of community uproar. Keep reading…
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Kingman Park’s historic district is poised for approval, despite continued division and debate
Last week, DC’s Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) again discussed making Kingman Park a historic district, after the unusual decision to delay it earlier this year. It seems clear that the district will soon be approved, but the ensuing debate revealed some troubling aspects of DC’s current historic designation processes. Keep reading…