Third Church of Christ Scientist Tour!

DCPL Members Only Tour!

These tours have been rescheduled 

Saturday, November 23rd and December 7th, 2013
10:00AM to 12:00PM
1600 I Street, NW
Metro: Farragut North ( Red Line) and Farragut West (Blue/Orange Line)

Designed by I.M. Pei & Partners in 1967-68 and constructed over the next three years, the landmark Third Church of Christ, Scientist, and Christian Science Monitor Building at 16th and Eye streets, NW, constitute a complex of extraordinary architectural distinction for Washington, DC. Slated for demolition and redevelopment in 2014, the proposed mixed-use office and retail project will include a 10,000 square foot church and meeting space for the existing congregation.

Please join the DC Preservation League for an educational tour of the site and church edifice led by Professor Richard Longstreth.

DCPL MEMBERS ONLY!
Space Is Limited

Special thanks to the Third Church of Christ, Scientist Board of Trustees and ICG Properties for allowing access to the site.

Currently both tours are full. If you would like to be placed on the wait list please email Amanda at amanda@dcpreservation.org

We Are Moving!

The DC Preservation League is excited to announce its move to the Dupont Circle neighborhood where we will continue our work to preserve, protect and enhance the historic resources of our Nation’s Capital for current and future generations to enjoy.

New Location as of August 26, 2013:
1221 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 5A
Washington, DC 20036
T 202.783.5144
F 202.783.5596

Thank you all for your support!

The Historic Preservation Office is Now Accepting Nominations for the District of Columbia Awards for Excellence in Historic Preservation

The Historic Preservation Office is pleased to announce the availability of nomination forms for the 2014 District of Columbia Awards for Excellence in Historic Preservation. The awards ceremony is slated for May 2014 to coincide with Preservation Month. Nominations are due Friday, October 11 at 5 pm.

CLICK HERE for the nomination form.

 

Awards will be selected by committee to recognize individuals, initiatives, and completed projects in the following categories:

• Archaeology: Recognition of outstanding achievements in contributing to the understanding of the past through archaeology.

• Design and Construction: Recognition of exceptional design work in restoration, rehabilitation, and/or new construction affecting a landmark or property in a historic district. Projects of all sizes and levels of complexity are encouraged. Submissions may be submitted for residential, commercial, public or institutional categories work. Projects must have been completed within the past three years to be eligible.

• Education: Recognition of innovative and exceptional preservation educational programs, curricula, or informational tools that focus on preservation and history. Outstanding media coverage of preservation issues by reporters, writers, publishers and publications are also eligible.

• Lifetime Achievement: Recognition of an individual who has made significant, long-term (20+ years) contributions to the preservation of Washington’s architectural and cultural resources.

• Stewardship: Recognition of efforts on behalf of a significant historic resource listed in the D.C. Inventory of Historic Sites or the National Register of Historic Places that exemplifies superior stewardship and preservation.

• Volunteerism and Community Involvement: Recognition of volunteer efforts of an individual, group of individuals, or an organizations involved in preservation advocacy, projects or initiatives.

 

CLICK HERE for the nomination form.

 

 

The Sherman Building Reconstruction Tour: DCPL Members Only!

Armed Forces Retirement Home
3700 North Capitol Street, Washington, DC 20011
Saturday, August 10, 2013
10:00am-12:00pm

The Sherman Building is located adjacent to the Lincoln Cottage on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH) in northwest DC.  This impressive masonry building was constructed between 1852 and 1891 and is the product of local architectural luminaries including Barton S. Alexander, Edward C. Clark, and William M. Poindexter & Co. Today, the building is the focal point of the Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Historic Landmark.

The 160-year old landmark building sustained extensive damage during the 5.8-magnitude earthquake that hit the mid-Atlantic region on August 23, 2011. During the earthquake, over 200 stones fell from the building. Remaining masonry parapets were left jumbled in place, and substantial cracks in the 120-foot iconic clock tower were visible from the ground. In the face of this devastation, AFRH immediately began emergency stabilization efforts and prepared the damaged building for Hurricane Irene, which hit DC only four days after the earthquake. AFRH then undertook months of extensive planning and assessment before commencing a comprehensive repair effort in August 2012. In less than a year, a broad program of structural remediation and masonry reconstruction has led to the successful recovery of this key historic resource.

Space is limited!

Click here to register!

Now Accepting Nominations for 2013 List of Most Endangered Places

The DC Preservation League is accepting nominations for its annual list of Most Endangered Places in Washington for 2012. The online nomination form can be found HERE and must be submitted no later than COB Monday September 9, 2013. Selections will be announced in October 2013.

This list, issued annually since 1996, has included historic buildings and places such as the west campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital, McMillan Reservoir, Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial Library and the Joseph Taylor Arms Mansion (Chancery of the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The list of Most Endangered Places in Washington is chosen by the DCPL Board of Trustees based on nominations submitted by concerned individuals, communities and organizations. Nominations are assessed based on the severity of the threat to the resource in question, whether through demolition, neglect, or inappropriate alteration. The list can include buildings, parks or other landscaped areas, or even vistas and other aspects of the city’s unique planned history.  All Most Endangered Places selected are located in the District of Columbia.

Detailed descriptions of each site listed in past years including information about the threats motivating their inclusion on these lists can be found on our Endangered Places Link.

History of the plant: Even industrial heating plants deserve their place in the District’s registry of historic landmarks

By Rebecca Miller, June 13, 2013, Washington Business Journal

>>>Read original article. 

Excitement has surrounded the development and preservation communities with the General Services Administration’s auction of the West Heating Plant located next to Rock Creek in the Georgetown Historic District.

This monumental building, with its streamlined Moderne style is an undeniable landmark structure in Washington.

Backing up this statement of “landmark structure” is the Determination of Eligibility prepared for GSA by The Louis Berger Group. To fulfill its Section 106 responsibilities under the National Historic Preservation Act, GSA also placed a covenant on this property, citing that any redevelopment must follow the Secretary of Interior Standards for Rehabilitation, thus creating no adverse effect.

Here is a little history about the site. The West Heating Plant‘s design was originally conceived of in 1940 by Public Building Administration consulting architect William Dewey Foster, but was delayed by World War II and was later built in 1946 to 1948. The plant’s purpose was to support the Central Heating Plant at 13th and C streets SW and supply heat to the existing and future government buildings in downtown.

The Central Heating Plant remains in use, but the GSA terminated the heating capabilities at the West Heating Plant in 2000.

In addition to history of the building, the DOE goes on to assert why the West Heating Plant meets the architectural, government and industry criteria for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. It should be noted that D.C.’s designation criteria are based on those of the National Register.

“Built between 1946 and 1948 under the direction of the PBA, the WHP was the second of two heating plants constructed to provide steam heat to the rapidly increasing number of federal buildings in Washington,” it read. “Following the success of the Central Heating Plant, built in 1933-1934, particular attention was placed on the design of the WHP. The result is an industrial building that is monumental in scale but minimalist and utilitarian in design and effectively demonstrates a shift from the Art Deco style of the Central Heating Plant to the Moderne.”

At the time of its construction, the West Heating Plant was the most modern heating plant of its kind in the country. Today, the plant possesses a very high level of integrity required by the National Register, including integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association.

The D.C. State Historic Preservation Officer will be the enforcer of the covenant placed on the property, which under the Secretary of Interior Standards requires the structure be used as it was historically or be given a new use that requires minimal changes to its materials and features. The plant will clearly not be rehabbed for its historical use — the equipment, boilers, tanks and others will all need to be removed, but the standards only allow for minimal changes to the building façade.

Not only does this property have SHPO review, but review by the Old Georgetown Board and the Commission of Fine Arts. With a straightforward Determination of Eligibility and a restrictive covenant, the logical next step should clearly be local designation and protections for this building.

Listing the West Heating Plant in the D.C. Inventory of Historic Sites is the right thing to do and will add no further restrictions to the site than the covenant already conveys.

Smithsonian Arts & Industries Members Only Tour!

Saturday, June 08, 2013
Smithsonian Arts & Industries Building
National Mall
Metro: Smithsonian (Blue/Orange Line)

Tour Times
9-10:15 am
10:30 – 11:45 am

Join the DC Preservation League and the Smithsonian Institution for a tour of the Arts and Industries Building (AIB). Designed by Adolf Cluss and Paul Schulze to house the rapidly growing collections of the National Museum, AIB was built between April, 1879 and March, 1881. It is the Nation’s best-preserved example of nineteenth century world’s fair or exposition architecture.

Due to lack of funds, the building fell into a state of disrepair. Concerns over a leaking roof and structural deficiencies caused the Smithsonian to close the building to the public in 2004. In 2009, Smithsonian began efforts to repair the building’s shell including structural repairs, the replacement of the roof and windows, and improvements to bring the building into compliance with current codes for wind, snow, seismic and blast performance.

DCPL Members Only!
Space Is Limited!

9:00am Tour Registration
10:30am Tour:  This tour is full!

 

St. Elizabeths West Campus Walking Tour

Must Sign Up By Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 14!

St. Elizabeths West Campus Walking Tour
Saturday, May 18, 2013
10:00am-12:00pm

Join the DC Preservation League in partnership with the General Services Administration for a walking tour of the historic west campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital, a National Historic Landmark. Tours of St. Elizabeths campus are being offered on a limited basis depending on the course of construction activity.

Space is limited and reservations are required.

Because of security issues walk-ons will not be permitted on the tour.

Click here to register.

Give Today to Support Historic Preservation in Washington, DC.

Donate Today!

DC Preservation League
641 S Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20001

Tel: (202) 783-5144
Email: info@dcpreservation.org