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Everything on New Buildings, Contruction, Destruction, Planning, Real Estate, Gossip, Development, and more! 

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Monumental Construction

In a town full of monuments we often take for granted the major effort that went into building these massive structures. Many modern advances in construction were not available when some of the most impressive, and grand in scale memorials were built.

The Lincoln Memorial’s architect Henry Bacon and sculptor Daniel Chester French employed hundreds of men and huge systems of pulleys to construct the building with its distinctive architectural acents modeled on a Greek Doric temple.

When you realize the effort it took to build some of these structures it really makes you appreciate their scale.

The Willard

Built in 1903 The Willard InterContinental Hotel right along Pennsylvania Ave has hosted everything from  Inaugural Balls to Heads of State. But more importantly, the Mint Julep is thought to have been invented at the hotel’s Bar.

It was one of the most prestigious hotels in Washington during the first part of the 20th century, however it fell on hard times after World War II and was eventually shuttered. In danger of demolition, the hotel was extensively renovated and enlarged by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates from 1979-1986 adding the InterContinental to its name.

With views of the White House, Washington Monument, and Capital it is situated at the cross roads of our Nations Capital. Which is probably why plans for Woodrow Wilson’s League of Nations took shape when he held meetings in the hotel’s lobby in 1916. We guess they had to meet in the lobby because even back then they couldn’t afford the high conference meeting room rates. Calvin Coolidge lived at the hotel for a month in 1923 while Warren G. Harding’s widow vacated the White House.

Famous “for DC” Homes

Most people only think of an airport when they hear Dulles, but the airport was of course named for a man, and that man was John Foster Dulles the Secretary of State under Eisenhower. Dulles spent most of his years in DC living in NW DC on Dumbarton Ave. It’s a very nice looking house, and with a two car garage, its much nicer than where our current Secretary of State lives.

 

Dulles wasn’t the only famous for DC person to live in the house… after the jump a White House connection and a little more history on Dulles…

Famous “for DC” Homes

 

Though you might only be able to classify the people who lived in this North West DC home as “Famous for DC” they have all had perversely far reaching effects on the country and the world.

This one residence was the former home of:

Felix Frankfurter (Supreme Court Justice)
Henry Kissinger (National Security Advisor and Sec of State under Nixon)
Cyrus Vance (Sec of State under Carter)
Location: 3018 Dumbarton Ave NW

Condi Rice’s Watergate Appartment

The Watergate Condos are some of the most prized real estate in the city.  Clearly they are valued for their nice views and in Condellezza Rice’s case, proximity to the State Department and White House doesn’t hurt either! Wonder if Condi’s recent late night piano jam sessions have been bugging the neighbors? 

[Photo: Time] The floor plan of Condi’s Apartment after the jump…

September 11th: Arlington

One of the nice displays for September 11, Arlington County hangs huge multistory flags from all their public buildings in and around Courthouse. These would look great year round!

Georgetown Waterfront

What’s that you smell on the shores of the Potomac River? That’s right… it’s progress! Things are moving right along with the construction of the Georgetown Waterfront Park.

The work is thanks to a public-private partnership with the National Park Service, the National Park Foundation and businesses, developers, individuals and organizations who banded together to raise the money necessary. Though work is still on schedual for Spring 2008 completion they still have not reached their goal for funds. If you would like to help out click here.

The park is going to be a great public use of a long neglected location and a benefit to the entire area. One of the most interesting parts will be the planned river viewing area for boat races, which could turn the area into a premier location for staging and viewing crew races. Exciting! 

Willson Pool Demo

Well summer may be officially over. Most pools are closed in anticipation of the weather, but the Willson pool is being demolished.  

Flickr user ANC 3F-04 took these striking pictures of the Willson pool demolition site, which is clearly not been secured. This presents a danger to the community to leave a construction site like this open to anyone. It also looks like it is not only the outside demo that is exposed, the door to the partially demolished building is also open.

[Photo ANC-3F-04]

BuildingOnBuilding: Mexico Embassy

It’s nice to preserve old architecture, but this is a clear age old case of how not to build around preserved and protected buildings. The Mexico Embassy has been a major eyesore for decades, This is the ultimate example of Building on Building Action in the worst possible kind of way.

[Photo from Flickr: Slack13]