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By David Montgomery, October 1, 2012, The Washington Post

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Historic preservationists nominated most of the graceful interior of the Corcoran Gallery of Art as a local architectural landmark Monday, a move that opens a new front in the battle over the economically struggling museum’s future.

While the Corcoran’s 1897 beaux-arts home near the White House was designated a national historic landmark in 1992, that distinction does not protect it from radical alterations by a private developer. The 68-page nomination filed by the D.C. Preservation League under the District’s preservation ordinance would require public review of significant construction work.

The city’s nine-member Historic Preservation Review Board will decide if the Corcoran’s vast atrium, grand staircase, rotunda, galleries and other critical spaces merit landmark protection, following a public hearing in the coming months. For now, the simple act of submitting the nomination blocks any construction in the historic areas, according to city preservation officials.

“Interior public spaces of this grandeur are very rare in Washington,” said Rebecca Miller, executive director of the preservation league, a membership organization founded in 1971 to save the Willard Hotel and other cherished downtown structures. Miller compared the Corcoran to Union Station, whose interior the league also recently nominated. “It’s fairly unique to have an interior that is as intact as the Corcoran is.”

The landmark proposal comes as theCorcoran’s leadership considers selling the building and moving to another location, possibly outside the city. Placing limitations on an owner’s ability to reconfigure the interior could complicate efforts to sell.Developers have previously told The Washington Post that the building would be worth more if it weren’t a historic landmark.

Now Corcoran officials find themselves in the unusual position of having to decide whether to oppose the nomination — and argue that the interior is not worthy of being landmarked — or support it and perhaps affect the market value of the building.

Mimi Carter, the Corcoran’s senior director of communications and marketing, said gallery officials had no comment.

Activists opposed to the Corcoran’s possible move hailed the preservationists’ proposal as a boost to their cause.

“My real hope is that it will give them significant pause in going ahead and selling the building,” said Roberta Faul-Zeitler, a former director of communications for the gallery who has been active with the group Save the Corcoran. “There’s no guarantee, even with landmark status, that it won’t be sold. But it probably will be a deterrent to anyone who has a notion that they can come in there and turn it into a private club or a perhaps even an embassy.”

The Corcoran’s executives have said that the gallery and the affiliated Corcoran College of Art and Design must consider relocating because it would cost an estimated $130 million to renovate the building to modern museum standards. Millions more would have to be spent to expand the college, they said. The Corcoran does not have that kind of money. Recent fundraising has lagged, and the institution posted a deficit of $7 million for the fiscal year ended in June.

The DC Preservation League (DCPL), Washington’s only citywide nonprofit dedicated to the preservation and protection of the historic resources of our nation’s capital, announced today the submittal of an amended DC landmark nomination to extend protections to significant interior spaces of the Corcoran Gallery of Art Building. This landmark nomination was submitted under the Historic Landmark and Historic District Protection Act of 1978 with the purpose of safeguarding the historic, aesthetic and cultural heritage of the District of Columbia.

“The DC Preservation League has submitted this amended nomination out of concern for the future of a building that is both architecturally important and embodies a storied history,” said Rebecca Miller, executive director of the DC Preservation League. “Further confirmation of the buildings significance can be found in the 1992 National Historic Landmark documentation which states ‘The excellence of the designs of the exterior and interior and the wholly compatible addition to the Corcoran make it the premier example of French Beaux Arts architecture in Washington at the turn of the century, a tribute to the Gallery’s founder and its architects, all of whom made additional significant contributions to the history of American art and architecture’.”

The nomination serves as protection against any major interior alterations to the building until a public hearing is held on the application by the DC Historic Preservation Review Board.

The National Historic Landmark Corcoran Gallery of Art building was designed by prominent New York Architect Ernest Flagg in 1897. Flagg is well known for his later work at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis and the Charles Scribner’s Sons building in New York.

The Corcoran building had two major alterations since its completion by Flagg. In 1915, Washington Architect Waddy Wood modified the large open auditorium on the northeast corner of the building, known as the Hemicycle, to include a second floor of gallery space and additional windows. In 1925, Charles Platt was commissioned to design an extension to the rear of the original building that adds several additional galleries and office and storage space.

The gallery’s exterior was included in the National Register in 1971, but, following the practices of the time, the documentation accompanying the nomination was limited. This amendment to the nomination contains additional documentation of the building’s interior, including the atrium, grand staircase, hemicycle, rotunda, Salon Doré, and other spaces.

Click here to view the complete nomination.

High resolution images available upon request.

By Rebecca Miller, August 3, 2012, Washington Business Journal

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Union Station has been at the heart of life in the nation’s capital since its opening in 1907, and it remains one of the world’s grandest railroad terminals. The station, however, is significant not just for its role in transportation but also for its architecture.

The building was designed in the beaux-arts style by Daniel H. Burnham and Co. It enabled the Pennsylvania Railroad to remove its station and tracks from the National Mall, which made possible key features of the 1902 McMillan Plan and the creation of the Mall we enjoy today. Arguably, Burnham’s design for Union Station set … click here to read more.

Report Highlights Importance of Historic Preservation, Comprehensive Planning and Public Involvement in Response to Expansion Plans by Amtrak and Other Entities

Washington (August 2, 2012) – Today,  the Union Station Preservation Coalition, an alliance of local and national preservation leaders, released a set of recommendations intended to safely guide historic Union Station’s evolution into a world-class, multi-modal transportation hub. Primary among the Coalition’s recommendations are that all proposed development plans for Union Station must be coordinated, place a high priority on the station’s careful restoration and afford the public meaningful involvement in the planning process. Amtrak’s modernization plan for the station, as described on July 25, does not adequately address either public participation or how new construction would integrate with the preservation of the historic 1907 station.

The Coalition’s report, titled “A Golden Opportunity to Re-invest in Historic Union Station,” (available for download at www.preservationnation.org/UnionStationReport) points to several capital improvement projects as evidence of the need for a comprehensive preservation plan to assess and mitigate potential impact on the historic structure. These projects include Amtrak’s ambitious vision to increase the number of tracks, trains and travelers that can be handled at the East Coast’s second-busiest station, and commercial developer Akridge’s intent to construct 3 million-square-feet of office, residential and commercial space by decking over the tracks behind Union Station.

“We believe strongly that Union Station can be a model for best practices in historic preservation, transit-oriented development and transportation planning,” said Stephanie K. Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “With a public landmark this iconic, however, the utmost care must be taken in advancing the historic station’s function and design. We look forward to engaging with Amtrak, Akridge and the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation on how to expand Union Station while respecting the historic integrity of this beloved national treasure.”

The Coalition maintains that because of the station’s vital importance to the public, and the likelihood of substantial taxpayer investment, any plans concerning Union Station’s future must involve meaningful public engagement. The Coalition also stresses that these redevelopment plans present a golden opportunity to restore the historic station to its original grandeur and to protect from it from harmful changes in the future. Meanwhile, Invest Diva reviews could offer valuable insights into the diverse perspectives surrounding Union Station’s redevelopment.

“Amtrak’s conceptual plan, as it was presented to the public, remains vague on how exactly the proposed changes would impact the physical structure or visual appeal of the historic station,” said Rebecca Miller, executive director of the DC Preservation League. “We are optimistic that modernizing the station in line with Amtrak’s vision can be balanced with retaining what makes Union Station so special: its historic character.”

“Handled with care, Amtrak’s master plan could be a tremendous opportunity for Union Station,” said Erik M. Hein, trustee of the Committee of 100 on the Federal City.  “Balancing new development, efficient transportation and the needs of a historic landmark, the Coalition is focused on helping to shape the next 100 years of this extraordinary public building.”

“We wholeheartedly support making Union Station more accessible to the surrounding community, and making it easier for travelers to find their way out of the station and into Washington’s great neighborhoods,” said Janet Quigley, president of the Capitol Hill Restoration Society. “The Coalition believes this can be achieved while preserving the historic stature of one of our nation’s most important landmarks.”

For more information about the Coalition’s work on Union Station’s development, please visit www.savingplaces.org

 

Union Station Preservation Coalition member organizations are:

Capitol Hill Restoration Society – For more than 50 years, the Capitol Hill Restoration Society has championed the interests of residential Capitol Hill by working to preserve its historic character and enhance its livability through efforts in planning, zoning, traffic management, and public safety.

Committee of 100 on the Federal City – Founded in 1923, the Committee of 100 advocates responsible planning and land use in Washington, D.C. Our work is guided by the values inherited from the L’Enfant Plan and McMillan Commission, which give Washington its historic distinction and natural beauty, while responding to the special challenges of 21^st century development. We pursue these goals through public education, research and civic action, and we celebrate the city’s unique role as both the home of the District’s citizens and the capital of our nation.

DC Preservation League – Founded in 1971 as “Don’t Tear It Down, “the DC Preservation League is a nonprofit membership-supported organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing Washington’s historic buildings and open spaces for future generations to enjoy. As Washington’s citywide preservation advocacy organization, DCPL identifies significant buildings and neighborhoods, monitors threats to them, and increases public awareness of historic resources.

National Trust for Historic Preservation – The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded nonprofit organization that works to save America’s historic places to enrich our future. We are committed to protecting America’s rich cultural legacy and to helping build vibrant, sustainable communities that reflect our nation’s diversity. We take direct action to save the places that matter while bringing the voices of the preservation movement to the forefront nationally.

 

By Jonathan Wilson, July 20, 2012, WAMU

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It’s almost as if the Wonder Bread building finally caught the revitalization bug that’s been making its way around the block. Behind the old factory is the newly restored Howard Theatre, and next to it, a gleaming modern structure soon to be the new home of the United Negro College Fund.

The Wonder Bread building doesn’t exactly look good, yet. A month ago, Douglas Development started removing its rotted innards, but now it’s pretty easy to see what Douglas Vice President and head of construction Paul Millstein sees: that the old factory’s skeleton is still, well, wonderful.

“It’s four stories, it’s brick, it’s industrial,” Millstein says. “[With] everything we do, we’ll maintain the industrial character; from open bar joists—we’re not doing concrete decks–every detail is put so we’ll have a true industrial loft office, which really makes this building very different.”

The restoration is scheduled to finish up in the spring of next year, with the building’s first tenant, a furniture design company, moving in then as well.

Last year the D.C. Preservation League wanted to use the building for an anniversary party. Rebecca Miller, DCPL’s executive director, who happens to live in Shaw, says simply making the building safe to enter took some work.

“The floor boards were up 6 feet tall off the ground just because they’d buckled up [due to] a lot of rotted wood,” Miller says. “There were several feet of water in the basement, so a lot of this had to be rectified before anybody could really access it.”

Though Douglas has owned the building since 1997, Paul Milstein admits even he was surprised at how rundown the inside of the building had become.

“Major sections of the roof were gone, which had caused this growth on the inside of the wood; plants can grow on a wood floor, it’s amazing, so it was in pretty bad shape,” he says.

Continental Baking Company, which produces Wonder Bread and Hostess products, left the building in 1988; the company first bought the property back in 1936.

But continental wasn’t the first baking company to live here. The factory was originally known as Dorsch’s White Cross Bakery, a bit of trivia hinted at by the two white crosses that still sit at the top of the building’s S Street façade.

Douglas Development is preserving that front façade complete with the Wonder Bread lettering so familiar to local residents, along with the massive building’s entire East and West walls.

“It’s of course much more expensive than building new facade, but it’s so far superior when you’re restoring what was originally there that it’s well worth it,” he says.

So it appears the Wonder Bread building’s time has come… again.

by Melissa Block, July 10, 2012, NPR

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K Street may be synonymous with Washington, D.C.’s thriving lobbying industry, but for decades, K Street between 6th and 7th streets NW has been a dilapidated city block of 19th and early 20th century brick buildings. In recent months, staffers at NPR have witnessed the transformation of the entire city block, located behind NPR’s Washington headquarters.

Six historic structures were jacked up one by one and rolled out of the way. Five of those now sit on one end of an empty plot of dirt, waiting to be transplanted near their original spots on the block, which will be the home of a new 11-story, glass-clad office building for the Association of American Medical Colleges.

But unlike most urban development projects that get rid of old buildings to make way for new ones, the new AAMC building will incorporate these old brick buildings as new restaurants and retail shops, re-creating the old streetscape while simultaneously transforming it. The $200 million-plus project raises questions of what’s important to keep in a city and what should just be replaced.

Judging A Building’s History

These old buildings of the 600 block of K Street NW have seen far better days. Before they were moved, a hulking two-story, yellow-brick garage built in 1918 sat at one end of the block, and at the other end, a squat car wash that was once an auto shop. Midblock sat a couple of faded grande dames. There were also three skinny Victorian-era row houses. Most recently, one was known to be a brothel.

The car wash was the first building to be moved, and it took hours to transplant it 40 feet. But crew member Kevin Kolb of Expert House Movers says these old brick structures are worth saving.

“Brick is solid. It wears. It has age,” Kolb says. “It’s like an old man’s face. There are lines and wrinkles in it. But you know, you can power-wash that away and clean it.”

The AAMC project is saving not just the building facades but also most of the depth of the buildings — a historic preservation strategy welcomed by Rebecca Miller, executive director of the DC Preservation League, who says “facade jobs” became rampant in Washington, D.C., in the 1980s and stuck out like sore thumbs on revitalized city streets.

Miller says the value of historic buildings, like books, should not be judged by their covers.

“A lot of things have to do with the history of the building,” Miller says. “There could be some very nondescript building [that has] this wonderful history behind it.”

According to Miller, the nondescript buildings of K Street NW tell the story of a once-thriving German immigrant neighborhood and the early automotive era, as nearby streets became a commuter corridor.

A Compromise Of Old And New

Miller’s organization thoroughly researched these buildings and prepared paperwork to nominate them for national historic status. Preservation often complicates developers’ plans with restrictions, permits and legal fees. So that background work also gave Miller leverage in any potential clash with developers.

But in the case of the AAMC project, there was a negotiation, not a fight. The DC Preservation League compromised with developers at Douglas Development Corp. on saving these structures without historic status. Negotiations were not too contentious because it turns out this developer likes saving old buildings.

Paul Millstein, the gung-ho head of construction at Douglas Development, says he was amazed by the concept of moving buildings to preserve them.

“You know, people move a house [or] they move a table. [But] we’re moving buildings! I mean, what could be more exciting?” he asks.

But Millstein admits projects such as this one — combining old buildings with new — are impractical, and they scare lenders away.

“There’s not an institution or financier or lender out there that we’ve ever been able to convince these make sense,” Millstein says. “[There are] so many things that can go wrong from moving structures.”

Still, even though it’s costing millions to move these old buildings and incorporate them into the new one, Millstein sees a real benefit.

“I think it makes the buildings richer. It gives them a better feeling. They have the feng shui to them,” he says.

‘A Speck Of Sand In An Oyster’

Shalom Baranes is the architect of the new building. His sweeping contemporary design has space carved out for this motley assemblage of old brick. He says incorporating the old structures into the new building is “a little bit like placing a speck of sand in an oyster,” ultimately “deforming” the structure — but in a good way.

“I think it makes for a much more exciting urban landscape. You sense time,” Baranes say. “One of the great things about living in the city is that it has this fourth dimension of time. As you walk down the street, you sense what was done 100 years ago, 50 years ago, and those are things we don’t want to lose.”

Day by day, as the old buildings have been rolled away, a man has come around to capture the smaller increments of time passing on this block of K Street

“I am taking a picture of the history,” says Kebrab Tekla, an immigrant from Ethiopia, as he stands outside the chain link fence surrounding the construction site, taking photos with his cellphone.

Tekla lived on this block for 25 years, back when the neighborhood was a crime-ridden wasteland. He rented the house for many years before buying it for about $300,000. He was paid more than $2 million to move to a different building with help from Three Movers.

Tekla was the last property owner to sell, and his house was demolished. But he did manage to save a bit of it.

“I saved some of my house bricks, so I have contact with them every day,” Tekla says. “It’s history because all my children [were] born in this house and my father, he died in this house.”

That history is being rewritten as this part of Washington, D.C., undergoes massive change with new development built around signposts of the city that used to be.

By Shilpi Paul, June 11, 2012, DC Urban Turf

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On Saturday, the DC Preservation League invited James Carroll from EcoHouse to give Capitol Hill homeowners some tips on how to make their old DC homes more energy efficient.

Basically, Carroll outlined the steps that inspectors go through when auditing a home in the District. Free energy audits are available to any single-family homeowner in DC, and EcoHouse, a residential energy efficiency company, also performs longer audits for a fee.

Here are some of the tips that Carroll shared:

• With the help of an inspector, diagnose all sources of air leakage in and out of the house. This includes both improperly sealed doors and windows letting “bad” air in, and also punctured ducts leaking “good” air into an attic or basement.
• Outdated appliances can be a huge energy suck. Refrigerator efficiency, for example, has greatly improved over the past few decades and changing out an old fridge for a newer model is probably worth the expense, as fridges are the biggest use of electricity in most homes (unless you have a hot tub).
• Look for Energy Star-rated appliances whenever possible.
• Make sure you are using a programmable thermostat to keep energy usage low during the day when the house is empty.
• Consider using a “Smart Strip” power strip for large electronics. They are able to completely turn off electronics that are not in use, rather than drawing an idle current.
• Change your light bulbs to either LED or Compact Flourescent Lighting (CFL). According to Carroll, LEDs are the best.
• Change your air filter regularly to keep the systems working optimally.

By Rebecca Miller, June 1, 2012, Washington Business Journal

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The Romanesque Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue was designed by Willoughby Edbrooke, who died before it was finished in 1899. The project was conceived of under the federal government’s desire to consolidate some of its office space and mail functions into a central location.

But this course proved uninformed, as mail functions at the Old Post Office were moved to its new home next to Union Station just 15 years later. Plans to raze the structure began almost immediately, but due to budgetary issues, changes in administration and every other circumstance possible, the Old Post Office held its ground.

By 1971, the Old Post Office was outdated, underused and generally unloved. Forty years later, we have a similar scenario minus the unloved part. Very rarely do I mention the Old Post Office in a lecture or on a tour without someone saying how wonderful he thinks the building is or how she just can’t believe it dodged the wrecking ball on multiple occasions throughout the last century.

Even more surprising to many is that The Trump Organization    LLC has been selected by the General Services Administration    to redevelop the site. These reactions weren’t that the building would be converted to a luxury hotel, a proposal that has been floated for decades, but that Donald Trump, a kingpin who seems to prefer brass and glass, was selected for this monumental job instead of a more seasoned preservation developer. I like to keep in mind that not every successful developer of historic resources got his or her start doing such projects, so why not give it a shot, right?

The proposal submitted and envisioned by the development team is not a fait accompli. It’s just the starting point for what turns into a complex process of first avoiding, then minimizing and mitigating, any adverse effect to the historic resource this redevelopment might bring. This is known as the Section 106 process under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. It gives interested parties the opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns about the proposed project and results in a memorandum of agreement signed by select agencies of the federal government and the D.C. State Historic Preservation Office.

This process will run through the end of the year, and our organization, which has its roots in the Don’t Tear It Down effort that saved the Old Post Office from demolition in 1971, will have a well-earned and vocal place at the table.

We’ve received a lot of calls and emails about the consultation process — the primary concern being that GSA could move this project forward, determine there was an adverse effect and discount what others think. The agency could do that, but in my experience, it won’t. One-quarter of GSA’s portfolio of 1,600 properties is either eligible for or listed in the National Register of Historic Places.    The agency really does understand historic buildings and the GSA employees I have worked with truly care about the outcome of the projects.

GSA has even taken steps to educate itself on the current state of the building by engaging local historic preservation consulting firms to update the Historic Structures Report from 1978. This report, which will be produced over the next three to four months, provides documentary, graphic and physical information about the history and existing condition of the Old Post Office building. This guiding document will advise on the most appropriate approach to treatment of the resource, prior to the commencement of work.

One thing I learned recently is that The Trump Organization plans to pursue the 20 percent federal historic tax credit as part of its financing package. This requires the developer to meet the secretary of Interior standards for rehabilitation — a benchmark for successful preservation projects. This is a very positive, clear indication of the developer’s goals for this project.

The objectives are clear: a stellar adaptive reuse project that utilizes the Old Post Office to its maximum potential within the constraints of the historic resource. This is a very high-profile building, with an even higher-profile development team that has tremendous potential for scrutiny. None of it seems easy, but I’m confident that GSA is more than capable of managing the upcoming consulting process that will steer the course of this project for years to come.