Posts tagged Preservation
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National Permanent Building not so permanent
The Historic Preservation Review Board has rejected the landmark application for the National Permanent Building at 1775 Pennsylvania Ave NW, according to Dupont ANC Commissioner Jack Jacobson. In doing so, they have gone against their staff recommendation and sided with the Dupont ANC, which passed a resolution opposing the landmarking. Keep reading…
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Preservation versus taxidermy in Takoma Park
On the post about dwelling density, Alex B. writes, Keep reading…
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Inclusionary zoning v. historic preservation?
Will developers start getting pinched between inclusionary zoning and historic preservation, and the wishes of neighbors? Will some push to weaken one or the other? Do we need to do that, or is that just an argument meant to increase profits? Keep reading…
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Evans’ church bill goes beyond RLUIPA
There have been great and thoughtful comments on my post last week about the Keep reading…
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Dupont ANC should give great thought to deserve great weight
DC’s local elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissions are entitled to “great weight” from agencies on whose decisions the ANC has commented. But what does “great weight” mean, and are the ANCs getting the consideration they deserve? The Dupont Circle ANC has been asking this question frequently of late as the HPRB has disagreed with nearly all… Keep reading…
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Legalize Georgetown
I love DC’s rowhouse neighborhoods. I love the many buildings on a block with interesting colors and shapes. I love the neighborhood feel of the corner store. I love seeing people out walking their dogs, biking to work, or doing shopping. I’d like to preserve the neighborhoods that have this, and build new neighborhoods that have it too. Keep reading…
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Armenian Genocide museum retail? Yes
I wondered last week if the Armenian Genocide Museum planned for 14th and G will use its existing storefronts for actual retail. According to the HPO staff report that was approved by HPRB last week, the museum will restore the historic storefronts in the building. Steve Callcott of HPO also told me that at least some of the storefronts will actually be retail; HPO is pushing for all of… Keep reading…
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Church exemption from historic designation?
While I was debating parking zoning regulations, Councilmember Jack Evans announced a new bill that would exempt religious institutions from being designated as historic sites against their will. This is clearly aimed at the Third Church landmarking. Keep reading…
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Historic preservation: a blunt instrument for design review
Is historic preservation truly about preservation, or about design review for new and modified buildings? In DC, the historic preservation process has become a little of both. We want to avoid ugly renovations, pop-up eyesores, and awful new buildings, and historic preservation has become the forum for this review. But there is collateral damage. We’ve landmarked numerous… Keep reading…
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Right on, Harriet Tregoning!
When I moved to DC, many people asked how I could possibly like DC as much as New York. Certainly DC has a few flaws (we need more transit, for example). But DC is terrific in many ways, and on Smart Growth, the DC government is light years more progressive. Just look at this comment by Harriet Tregoning, DC’s head of planning, last night at the Dupont Circle Citizens Association:We… Keep reading…