Home

About

In the News 

Business Member Directory

Join

Calendar

Newsletter

Most Endangered Places
2001

DC's Historic Districts

Historic Site Inventory

Contact

Most Endangered Places for 2001

Washington Rowhouses
Located throughout the District of Columbia

Dilapidated row houses at Florida Avenue and 5 th Street, NW

The row house is Washington's quintessential building type, being the earliest type of non-governmental building erected in the nation's capital and continuing to be built today. The bulk of the city's housing stock is composed of two, three, and four story brick attached and semi-detached buildings, in styles ranging from Federal and Italianate to Victorian and Modern. These buildings are present in every District neighborhood. Because of the economic conditions and population shifts that occurred in the second half of the 20th century, many thousands of these row houses now stand empty and deteriorating. These abandoned buildings represent a unique opportunity for the District of Columbia to both stimulate the restoration of historic buildings in our neighborhoods and help address the housing crisis the city is currently facing.

DCPL has advocated for increased preservation enforcement, and the new Demolition by Neglect law was a League initiative. The League has also worked with members of the DC Council to introduce legislation that would give tax credits to owners of historic housing stock to encourage their renovation, restoration, and return to use in housing District families of all income levels. The Williams administration has recently introduced similar legislation. DCPL is working with the mayorÕs office and the Council to fine-tune this proposal and press for its passage and implementation. (Pictured: .)

Chair: Kate Farnham

PREVIOUS | NEXT