Announcing Washington’s Most Endangered Places 2000

Introduced at DCPL’s Annual Meeting, Washington’s Most Endangered Places 2000 list contains three new listings made possible by three deletions from the 1999 list. The Warder Toten House, long an eyesore on 16th Street, NW, and the definition of "demolition by neglect," was removed as a result of its purchase by a Virginia developer who plans a Tax Act restoration of the property to the Secretary of Interior’s standards. Warder Toten House advisor and architectural historian Judy Robinson credits its future success with having been on the Most Endangered List. DCPL testified before the Historic Preservation Review Board on behalf of the project developer’s plans, which will include an apartment building to the rear of the property.

D.C.’s Historic Firehouses were also removed this year. The League’s former president, Sally Berk, is preparing a multiproperty application to the D.C. Historic Preservation Division for all historic firehouses after having successfully designated Engine Company No. 3 on New Jersey Avenue, NW. The Fire Department recently placed that firehouse back in service, and DCPL members had the opportunity to tour it with Captain Gary Palmer following our Annual Meeting.

Mayor Anthony Williams was present at the 1999 Annual Meeting when the Brooks Mansion was placed on the Most Endangered List. It was removed this year with the help of DCPL members Tom and Angela Rooney and their tireless efforts as Brookland activists. Mayor Williams spoke at a recent event at the Brooks Mansion announcing its lease by D.C. Access cable television, which will be working with the League in the preservation
process. "Placing the Brooks Mansion on the Most Endangered List brought the needed public attention which resulted in its success," stated Ms. Rooney.

The three new places added to this year’s list are the McMillan Reservoir Sand Filtration Site, Art Deco/Art Moderne Municipal Buildings, and 921—941 F Street, NW. Modeled after the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s program, DCPL announced its first such list in 1996. To qualify for listing, a site must be a resource with historical, architectural, or cultural significance that is in danger of demolition, substantial alteration, or deterioration through neglect or vandalism. The League’s Landmarks Committee is responsible for soliciting nominations to the list, evaluating the nominations, and making recommendations to the Board of Trustees who then
approve the final list. The Landmarks Committee works throughout the year to develop programs to raise public awareness about the plight of these resources and to develop possible preservation solutions to save them. Each endangered site has a task force led by a chair. In keeping with DCPL’s educational mission, the task forces lead site visits throughout the year.

The D.C. Preservation League’s 2000 list of Washington’s Most Endangered Places includes the following: the McMillan Reservoir Sand Filtration Site, Art Deco/Art Moderne Municipal Buildings, 921—941 F Street, NW, the Anacostia Historic District, SE, the Anacostia River Basin, Historic D.C. Public Schools, Historic D.C. Theaters, Holt House at the National Zoologic Park, the Mary Church Terrell House, and the Old Naval Hospital. These sites include newly nominated places, as well as sites from previous years. For more information, contact Landmarks Committee Co-chair Jerry Maronek at (202) 955-5616.

McMillan Reservoir Sand Filtration Site

Bounded by Michigan Avenue, North Capitol, Channing, and 1st Streets, NW

The 1905 completion of the McMillan Reservoir Slow Sand Filtration Site was a Washington public health milestone. Its innovative system of water purification, which relied on sand rather than chemicals, led to the elimination of typhoid epidemics and the reduction of many other communicable diseases in the city. The 25-acre site consists of regulator houses, sand bins, washers, and underground sand filtration beds.  A legacy of the City Beautiful Movement, the complex is an engineering wonder that served its original purpose until 1986.  Since its purchase by the District government in 1987, the site has deteriorated severely from lack of maintenance.  It is now threatened by pressure for commercial and residential development. McMillan Reservoir was designated as a D.C. Historic Landmark in 1991. DCPL supports the McMillan Park Committee and other community organizations that promote park and recreational use of the site.  The League will participate in the upcoming Community Design Workshops being sponsored by D.C. Office of Planning. Co-chairs: Matthew Nowakowski and Wanda Bubriski

Art Deco/Art Moderne Municipal Buildings

Three D.C. 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, the Recorder of Deeds Building (1942), 515 D Street, NW, and the 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 D.C. residents daily. Home to the Metropolitan Police
Department and the 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 shrine 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. Seven murals honor notable African Americans, including Benjamin Banneker. The D.C. Armory is the headquarters of the D.C. 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, D.C., to prepare landmark applications for these buildings. Co-chairs: Alexander M. Padro and Jerry Maronek

921—941 F Street, NW

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington intends to demolish all but the facades of the last remaining intact, 19th-century, commercial row in downtown Washington to build an 11-story office building in its place. The three-story buildings, which the Archdiocese has owned since their construction in the 1880s, are adjacent to the nationally landmarked St. Patrick’s Church and Carroll Hall. In addition to retail businesses, the row’s tenants include artists in the only remaining affordable studio space in the Downtown Arts District. The Archdiocese plans to consolidate Catholic Charities’ regional offices at Carroll Hall and pay for the move with revenues from the new office building. It claims the right to demolish these protected buildings through a provision in the local law called "special merit." The church argues that the public benefits of relocating Catholic Charities far exceed those of historic preservation. DCPL contends that under the law, special merit is only applicable where demolition is "necessary," which the Archdiocese has failed to prove. Last year, the mayor’s agent for historic preservation
denied the Archdiocese’s application for a demolition permit. He reaffirmed DCPL’s position, concluding that destroying the buildings would imperil the future of the Downtown Arts District by removing the artists from their studios, set a serious precedent by permitting the demolition of historic buildings through special merit, and compromise the integrity of important D.C. historic sites. The Archdiocese has appealed the decision and is one step closer to leveling the historic buildings. Chair: Patrick Lally

Anacostia Historic District, SE

Bounded by Martin Luther King, Jr., Avenue on the west, Good Hope Road on the north, Fendall Street and the rear of the Frederick Douglass Home on the east, and Bangor Street and Morris Road on the south

Anacostia has been on the League’s list since the program began in 1996 and remains on the DCPL list because it continues to decline despite the efforts of community and civic organizations. It was listed on the D.C. Inventory of Historic Sites in 1973 and on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Anacostia contains a number of vacant and critically deteriorated buildings that threaten the integrity of the historic district as well as impede revitalization of the community. Chair: E. Renée Ingram

Anacostia River Basin, A Cultural Landscape

Bounded by the District Line, NE (roughly at New York Avenue) to Greenleaf Point, SW

The banks of Washington’s "other" waterway encompass a rich, yet neglected, array of natural and cultural resources. The Anacostia River is a veritable oasis of scenic tranquility and wildlife diversity amidst flotillas of garbage and sewage. Local and national landmarks, such as Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Seafarers Yacht Club, and Poplar Point (the former site of the Architect of the Capitol’s nursery) are some of the river’s lesser-known assets. Since placing the river basin on the 1999 list, a Memorandum of Understanding between the District of Columbia and federal entities has been enacted to initiate waterfront revitalization. DCPL promotes sound planning for the Anacostia that works to restore and incorporate, rather than eradicate, the existing and cultural resources along the river’s banks. The Landmarks Committee is in the process of mapping these resources and will advocate their preservation at the upcoming Anacostia Waterfront Initiative planning session. Co-chairs: Jerry Maronek and Wanda Bubriski

Historic D.C. Public Schools

D.C. Public Schools announced plans in 1997 to sell or lease 51 of 153 schools built between 1864 and 1959. These schools are historically significant and eligible for landmark status. In 1999, the League sponsored landmark applications for the Webster School (1882), 740 H Street, NW, and supported other school nominations. DCPL will be nominating additional historic schools in 2000. The League is also working with the PTA to preserve the Stevens School (1868), 1050 21st Street, NW, the oldest elementary school built to provide equal facilities for
African American children. A multiproperty nomination has been submitted to the D.C. State Historic Preservation Office. While some schools have been successfully sold and redeveloped without significant alterations, others have been sold and threatened with demolition. The Oyster School was demolished by the D.C. city government in 1999. Co-chairs: Tanya Beauchamp and Marc Fetterman

Historic D.C. Theaters

From the 1920s to the 1970s, Washington’s historic theaters were thriving centers of community life, hosting both live stage performances and motion pictures. Several Washington theaters helped introduce the Art Deco style to the city, as well as many film industry innovations. Demolition by neglect threatens many of our theaters. The Tivoli (1924), 3215 14th Street, NW, is an example. Designed by nationally known theater architect Thomas Lamb and built by local movie theater pioneer Harry M. Crandall, the Tivoli was erected at a cost of more than $1 million. It featured an 1800-seat auditorium and a lobby decorated with marble columns, ornate fountains, and pastoral murals. The Tivoli has been dark for almost 25 years, but it is in an area slated for redevelopment. Other endangered historic theaters include the Academy (Meaders), Atlantic, Atlas, Congress, Dunbar, Georgia, Howard, Jesse (Stanton), Naylor, Newton, and Park Theaters. The League has filed a landmark application for the Atlas Theater (1938), 1331 H Street, NE, designed by John J. Zink. The League continues to advocate the protection, rehabilitation, and reuse of theaters as originally intended. Co-chairs: T. David Bell and Charles Cassell

Holt House at the National Zoological Park

2700 Block of Adams Mill Road, NW

Built before 1827, and possibly as early as 1805, Holt House is the most important Washington example of the early Classical Revival style. Owned by the National Zoo since 1890 and vacant for the past 12 years, this plantation house is linked to the history of 19th-century industry along Rock Creek, as well as to the history of slavery in the nation’s capital. Holt House was listed on the D.C. Inventory in 1964 and the National Register in 1973.  Although funds were allocated in fiscal year 1998 for a preliminary assessment of structural conditions, the study has yet to be completed. Meanwhile, this important structure and cultural asset continues to decay. DCPL will continue to work closely with the Kalorama Citizens Association’s Holt House Task Force to promote the restoration of this important Washington landmark. Co-chairs: Wanda Bubriski and Matthew Nowakowski

Mary Church Terrell House

326 T Street, NW

Mary Terrell was a distinguished educator as well as suffrage and civil rights activist.  She was the first African American woman to be appointed to the D.C. Board of Education (1895), and she served as president of the National Association of Colored Women (1897) and as a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (1909).  In 1953, at age 90, she led a successful drive to end the segregation of public facilities in Washington, D.C.  Her husband, Robert Terrell, was principal of the M Street High School and the first African American judge on the D.C.
Municipal Court. The Terrells’ purchase of this c. 1900 house spurred racial integration of LeDroit Park.  Owned by Howard University, this National Historic Landmark, also listed on the D.C. Inventory and National Register, has long been vacant and is severely deteriorated.  Under the aegis of the Howard University Community Association, architectural studies have been undertaken to restore the building for use as a museum. No further architectural work has been commissioned within the last year.  DCPL is actively encouraging Howard University to restore this property. Co-chairs: E. Renée Ingram and Tip Kendrick

Old Naval Hospital

9th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, SE

The Old Naval Hospital was built in 1865 to serve Civil War forces on the Potomac. Used as a naval hospital until 1911, it then became the Temporary Home for Veterans of All Wars, a private institution providing lodging for those pressing pension claims in Washington. Owned by the federal government and leased to the District since 1966, this local and national landmark is slowly being demolished by neglect. In addition to the main building, the complex includes landscaped grounds, a detached stable, and an elaborate monumental cast iron perimeter fence. The building currently houses a D.C.
government-sponsored social services facility that has no immediate plans to address the deterioration. Councilmember Sharon Ambrose has proposed renovating the hospital as the mayor’s official residence, but no plan is in place to secure this threatened landmark’s future. Co-chairs: Patrick Lally and Donna Hanousek

Produced by Landmarks Committee Members Doug Pulak, Cathy Anderton, Wanda Bubriski, Jerry Maronek, and Alexander M. Padro