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Most Endangered Places
2000

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Most Endangered Places for 2000

Art Deco/Art Moderne Municipal Buildings

Three DC government buildings designed by municipal architect Nathan C. Wyeth in the early 1940s are threatened by possible sale, inappropriate alteration, and demolition for redevelopment. The Municipal Center (1941), 300 Indiana Avenue, NW, Recorder of Deeds Building (1942), 515 D Street, NW, and District of Columbia National Guard Armory (1942), 2001 East Capitol Street, SE, are civic symbols worthy of preservation. The Municipal Center is visited by hundreds of DC residents daily. Home to the Metropolitan Police Department and Department of Motor Vehicles, it features a commemorative fountain and massive ceramic murals honoring municipal employees. If this building is sold and demolished, the architectural ensemble formed by the Municipal Center and the Moultrie and Prettyman Courthouses will be destroyed. The Recorder of Deeds Building, a virtual temple to African-American history, is targeted for sale. Most of the recorders of deeds have been black. Portraits of 10 of them hang in the lobby and seven murals honor notable African-Americans, including Benjamin Banneker. The DC Armory is the headquarters of the DC National Guard and a venue for events and expositions. Planning agencies, including the National Capital Planning Commission, are not including this building in their plans for the redevelopment of the east end of East Capitol Street. The League will work with the Art Deco Society of Washington, DC, to prepare landmark applications for these buildings.

Co-chairs: Alexander M. Padro and Jerry Maronek

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