Posts tagged Preservation
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HPRB delays Hilton, landmarks HUD and Tax Court
At the request of the ANC and the property owner, HPRB has delayed consideration of the Washington Hilton for landmark status. They did unanimously landmark the HUD building and Tax Court. Boasberg pointed out that DC’s HPRB has no jurisdiction over federal properties, so adding these buildings to the DC Register is mostly a formality. Keep reading…
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Let’s write a better historic preservation law, part 1
We’ve been discussing historic preservation a lot lately, with many opinions on topics like the HUD building or Chicago. If we were writing the historic preservation law, what should it say? Keep reading…
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Landmark one curved egg crate, not both
This Thursday, the Historic Preservation Review Board will consider three modern buildings for landmark status: the HUD building at 7th and D SW, the Tax Court building at 2nd and D NW, and the Washington Hilton at Connecticut and T NW. An Express article on the Hilton from last September calls it “one of only two notable giant curved structures,” the other being the… Keep reading…
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Church anti-preservation bill comes back
In March, Councilmember Jack Evans (ward 2) introduced a bill to essentially exempt churches from historic preservation. It was clearly designed for Third Church, the Brutalist octagonal pipe that should not be a landmark, but would have much broader implications. Now, the bill is back, reintroduced on June 10 by Marion Barry (ward 8), Richard Layman reports. Keep reading…
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Why we need historic preservation
Last weekend, Greater Greater Fianceé and I traveled to Chicago for a wedding. While there, we visited Lincoln Park, one of Chicago’s most vibrant, lively, creative-class neighborhoods. Our friends have a great house, we ate in a great restaurant, and it was a beautiful day. Keep reading…
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New walkable Giant vs. “late commercial moderne”
Here are notes (MS Word) from Wednesday’s meeting about the Wisconsin Ave Giant. “The group of people that came out seemed rather evenly divided between those who wanted Giant to stop delaying and just build the new store and those who wanted to have Giant do things that they simply will not do,” such as make a smaller store or build even more parking than the development… Keep reading…
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HUD building up for landmarking
HPRB just released the agenda for June 26. Among the buildings slated for landmarking is the Department of Housing and Urban Development building at 7th and D Southwest. This is one of DC’s Brutalist buildings, whose lack of engagement with the streets create the desolate feel around L’Enfant Plaza. On the other hand, if there’s an iconic Brutalist building that… Keep reading…
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Demolition by neglect
Historic houses are protected by preservation laws, but weather, gravity, and animals don’t obey that law. That’s why some of our most beautiful buildings are literally falling down. Keep reading…
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Silver Spring taxidermy
Historic preservation can mean a lot of things. To some, it’s about keeping a vibrant, architecturally interesting neighborhood and ensuring pieces of a coherent whole aren’t ripped out indiscriminately. To others, it’s about maintaining a few significant pieces of notable architecture, like an art museum for buildings. And to some, it’s about stopping… Keep reading…
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(Im)Permanent Building update
Jack Jacobson provided me with some more details on the National Permanent Building landmark rejection. (In alphabetical order) Chairman Tersh Boasberg, Robert Sonderman, and Joseph Taylor voted in favor; opposed were Andrew Aurbach, Elinor Bacon, Catherine Buell, Maria Casarella, and James Kane; John Vlach was not present. Keep reading…