Tag: Washington DC
Heurich Mansion, Dupont Circle
The amazing Heurich House was the home of the brewing magnate Christian Heurich, who was the successful founder of the largest brewery in Washington, DC in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood. The Kennedy Center is now built on the remains of the brewery. However, the house survives, and much to my delight since leaving DC, has…
Dupont Circle: Blaine Mansion
Massachusetts Avenue, stretching out from Dupont Circle in Northwest, is filled with the Gilded Age mansions of the most eminent residents of Washington, DC in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries. The fountain in the center of Dupont Circle is still a gathering place for the neighborhood. The Blaine Mansion was the first mansion…
Lawyers’ Offices, Judiciary Square, Washington, DC
The defense attorneys who ply their trade at the nearby courthouses are famous for their flair and often ridiculous methods, but often secure not-guilty verdicts for their clients. There are still a few of their offices left in the old Federalist rowhouses on Judiciary Square.
Reversible Lanes, Cleveland Avenue, Northwest, Washington, DC
If your local streets department starts talking about reversible lanes, tell them, please no. Nobody uses the reversible lanes because, not surprisingly, they’re worried they’re going to get hit head-on from someone in the wrong lanes.
Kennedy-Warren Apartments, Woodley Park, Washington, DC
The Kennedy-Warren is a fascinating work of Art-Deco architecture, built in two phases, one in the 1920’s and the second one only five years ago. Plans had existed for the building to have its second wing completed one day, and the new addition seamlessly blends with the old building. Can you tell where the new…
Klingle Valley Bridge, Northwest, Washington, DC
The Klingle Valley Bridge in Northwest DC is a fascinating work of engineering, spanning one of the many deep ravines that empty out into the Rock Creek Valley. About a decade ago, a portion of Klingle Valley Road, which passes underneath Connecticut Avenue and the aforementioned bridge, washed out in a storm. The battle to…
Left Behind: A Church in Southwest, Washington, DC
Sliced off from its neighborhood, buffeted by an interstate, this Franciscan monastery continues on in the shadow of the massive government office buildings of Federal Center Southwest. What is cool is how the church received a Modernist makeoever, with this stylish railing that leads around the property. In back, this funky Modernist chapel completes the…
Rowhouses, Southwest, Washington, DC
Oddly enough, once all the historic 19th Century rowhouses had been swept aside, they proceeded to build these new ones in their place. While I’m not a huge fan of the design, Southwest could have used more of these streets during the rebuilt, considering how much of the area is dominated by large apartment buildings.
Southwest Freeway, Washington, DC
The Southwest Freeway was one of the few legs of what would have been a giant, destructive double loop of interstates planned for Washington, DC. Thankfully, the interstates were stopped before any more damage could be done. See the church below in the background here. Sadly, it was too late to salvage the connectivity of…