Posts tagged Preservation
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This GIS atlas reveals the history of Prince George’s County
Hey history buffs: Prince George’s Atlas has a slew of fascinating old aerial photos, maps, and other cartographic information about the county, including property boundaries and environmental information. What did your neighborhood look like a century ago? Keep reading…
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Cemeteries are a matter of land use — and justice
One of the most complicated (and perhaps uncomfortable) conversations people can have is about death. How will we choose to remember others or have others remember us? As urbanists, we can look at this topic from another lens too: the way we use land for our burial rituals, and how those practices might shift as our population grows and our housing shortage increases. Keep reading…
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As downtown DC’s Pershing Park becomes a World War I memorial, process preserves a landscape but doesn’t save the park for people
Pershing Park, a secluded pocket near the White House, is being converted into a national World War I memorial. At the behest of its promoters, the memorial removes the active spaces for people that made the park popular, while keeping secondary elements that close off the park from the city and keep it desolate. 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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Take a look at the exceptionally designed Kreeger Museum
Nestled among the spacious homes of Foxhall Crescent is the Kreeger Museum. This hidden gem’s genre-defying architecture is as unique as its art collection. Keep reading…
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Dulles Airport could have been located in Burke, but neighbors successfully stopped it
Three generations of residents in the region have grown up associating Dulles Airport with its Chantilly location. However, Dulles could have been located in Burke, were it not for a grassroots effort that convinced President Eisenhower to choose another site. Keep reading…
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DC has over 200 public schools named for people. Here is how they got their names.
Since the first “modern” DC public school was built in 1864, and promptly named for the mayor who built it, the public school and charter school systems have named 255 schools for individual people. Among them are 32 known slave owners, 10 former slaves, 10 abolitionists, 2 people who joined the Confederacy, 17 civil rights leaders, 26 presidents and 32 mayors or other city officials. Keep reading…
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Kingman Park residents push to expand historic boundaries
A nomination to expand the boundaries of the Kingman Park historic district just two years after it was originally designated reveals some unfinished conversations. Keep reading…
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Tell DC what you think of its Comp Plan
The DC Office of Planning is making proposed amendments to the District’s 2006 Comprehensive Plan, a robust document which is basically a long term road map for how we interact with the city, from housing to transportation, and land use. You, as residents of the District, now have until Friday, Jan.10, to provide public comment. 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…