Posts tagged Preservation
-
How Cleveland Park’s historic district cost the neighborhood 42 homes in one project
Cleveland Park is one of several places in the District where the Office of Planning has proposed amendments to the Future Land Use Map to enable the potential future development of more housing in desirable neighborhoods. Even after navigating the zoning process to appeal for a higher-density allowance, new projects in Cleveland Park will still have to conform to the limitations of the neighborhood’s historic district, which, in addition to its goal of preserving history, was designed specifically to limit that exact kind of density. Keep reading…
-
The Historic Preservation board reversed its decision and designated Colony Hill as a historic district
For six days, it looked like the District’s Historic Preservation Review Board may have finally voted against a historic district application for the first time in its known history. But after a reconvened meeting, four board members changed their votes and designated Colony Hill as the latest historic district in DC. Keep reading…
-
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…
-
A suburban development tests the limits of DC historic district designation
Ward 3 neighborhood Colony Hill’s nondescript historic district application will test the Historic Preservation Review Board’s minimum standards and raise further questions about preservation’s relationship to the history of racial segregation. Keep reading…
-
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…
-
Environmentalists and development: a complex relationship in a hyperbolic election season
In election races in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, candidates are claiming they “support the environment” or “are for smart growth.” Some of those candidates also seem to be against most development while others are more supportive. It’s hard to make sense of all this. What’s the green view of growth? Keep reading…
-
DC’s height restrictions are contentious. Here’s what we could learn from cities around the world.
Height restrictions aren’t a black-and-white issue; cities around the world have balanced historical preservation and modern development in a variety of different ways. What could DC learn from Paris, Milan, London, and others? Keep reading…
-
DC has more historic buildings than Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia combined. Why?
As of 2016, DC had designated 26,749 properties as historic landmarks or historic districts. That’s 19.4 percent of all properties in the District — a proportion many times higher than in cities that are larger and/or older than Washington. Keep reading…
-
Liberty at Lorton: How a notorious prison got a new life as a housing complex
In my previous post about the Lorton Reformatory in Lorton, Virginia, I went over the history of the prison complex from its beginnings in the 1910s to its closure in 1999. In this article, I turn my focus to the long road to redeveloping the prison site and its grounds into a place that the Lorton community could be proud of and see as useful. Keep reading…
-
Here’s a fascinating story about the old Lorton, Virginia prison
The Lorton Reformatory is a prison in Lorton, Virginia that closed in the late 1990s. In May 2018, it reopened as a sprawling complex of apartments called Liberty at Lorton about 19 miles outside of DC. The development is a great example of how a historical site can supply housing in a region that badly needs it, while still preserving a historical landmark with a storied history. Keep reading…