DC Metrocentric

Ok Washington, it’s time once again for a little game we like to call Find It! We post the pictures, you try to identify the building, and location. As always, submit you guesses in the comments sections.

UPDATE: You still have time to submit your guesses, We will announce a winner Thursday the 6th of Dec!

Who ever gets the most correct will win a copy of this lovely book, the Guide to Architecture in Washington DC, courtesy of the American Institute of Architects.

So Guess away, and in the case of a tie, we will randomly select a winner!

A.                                                                  B.

C.                                                                 D.

The Washington Business Journal got word this morning on a study commissioned by Metro to examine how to better utilize the parking at the East Falls Church station.

This is particularly interesting, given the this station is truly the only one on the Orange line that has not fully utilized the surrounding area for development.

And that’s just how the area residents like it, apparently community members are already voicing opposition! It does seem a little to early to pass judgment though since the results of the study won’t be finalized till 2008. Personally, we are all for creating more of a connection between the East Falls Church Station and the city of Falls Church, as well as helping bring more business and apartments within walking distance of the station (this will only mean less cars on the road, which is a good thing).

That’s not to say that some progress hasn’t already been made…

Read the rest of this entry »

We already know that the Nationals new stadium in SE has most of the structural elements up and that the new field has been installed planted. However there is still a lot of work to be done!

Photographer Scott Ableman does a nice job of catching this construction worker taking a break and enjoying the crisp November day! Enjoy the view buddy, but we hope you get back to work soon, we want that stadium all ready for us on opening day this April

You can add one more building to the “condos that once were” list. We just heard that Donatelli Development’s project at 14th and Irving streets, NW, in Columbia Heights is now going to be Rental units.

The building was originally planed to be 229 condo units and is by the same people who brought us The Ellington at 13th & U Streets, NW. The good news is that the look of the building designed by Torti Gallas & Partners is still going to remain unchanged. Many retailers including Potbelly, Five Guys, and a new restaurant from Hank’s Oyster Bar’s chef/owner Jamie Leeds will still be tenets.

You have to figure that all the new apartments in that area are going to bring down the prices to more reasonable levels. One can at least hope!  

The Old Stone House at 3051 M Street is the oldest intact house still standing in DC. It was built in 1765 for Christopher Lehman and is now owned by the National Park Service. Many areas of DC have very distinctive architectural tones set by the regular streets and row-houses which have been preserved. This is no different in Georgetown. 

Throughout DC, a variety of styles illustrate the national trend of architectural development from Georgian mansions and town houses through early Federal and Classical Revival houses to the ornate structures of the ante and post-bellum periods.

The Old Stone House typifies the ”look” of Georgetown. The majority of the buildings throughout Georgetown were constructed after 1870 and are characterized by the row-house construction popular in the late Victorian era. This dedication to preserving the architectural look of the area has made Georgetown one of the most beautifully preserved neighborhoods in the Country! [FlickrPhoto: NearDC]

It is not often that you hear of a project that was slated to be new condos switched to office space. PN Hoffman sent us an email yesterday announcing that their downtown condo project at 10th and G st will now be an office building. The planned project will include 140,000 sf of Class A office space on top of a newly constructed First Congregational United Church of Christ. The old church building will be completely replaced by the modern glass structure.

Cunningham + Quill Architects is handling the office space design, while NY-based Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects has created plans for the church. Construction is set to begin in February, 2008 with an expected completion date in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Ok we all know how developers are always itching to make up new more glamorous names for neighborhoods that have names that don’t sound hip. A recent travesty that has resulted from this trend is NOMA, which for the uninformed and unhip stands for “North of Massachusetts.”

Given the loose definition, NOMA could very well encompass everything from Dupont, to Logan Circle, and Mt. Vernon. Have no fear though, NOMA now has it’s own proposed business improvement district.

The area that NOMA is most often used to describe is the area right around Union Station. However despite the name being purely made up by developers, the change of name for this area is slightly forgivable given that the area used to be called Swampoodle (you can’t make this stuff up). Imagine a new condo development advertising it’s location in the historic, storied neighborhood of Swampoodle! Hilarious! 

This photo from 1957 looking down Pennsylvania Ave NW shows a downtown that doesn’t look that different than it does today.

At the end of the 1950s most of the cities streetcar tracks were being phased out, but these tracks connecting the Capital to the White House remained.

The all glass building on the left at 15th and Penn was only a year old at the time of the photo, and still looks modern even today. It is amazing how some architecture is timeless and fits into almost any era, while others (like the FBI building near by) look dated almost as soon as they are built! What other old buildings downtown do you think are ready to be updated/replaced?

No it’s not an optical illusion, and your eyes are not deceiving you, the building pictured below is sinking! When we were in Old Town Alexandria this past week we noticed the tilt of this building which is home to one of the many Starbucks on King Street.

Though the building looks perfectly safe, all the years of flooding from the Potomac look to have taken it’s toll on this 100 year old building, and that second story window on the left was definitely not hung with a level! We love it when buildings like this, that may have seemed beyond repair only 10 years ago, are preserved! Guess it’s the crookedness that gives it character!

As you can see, construction is progressing well at the site of the Courthouse Plaza East on Clarendon Blvd. The project will eventually feature a hotel and multiple restaurants and the proposed design will include a new pedestrian entry plaza from Clarendon Boulevard, improving the access and visibility of the existing street level retail.

Now that the build-out has begun in earnest, the details about the future tenets are now starting to become clear. The hotel will be a Marriott Residence Inn and will feature upgraded exterior materials and an elegant, urban interior design.

As for the restaurant, Georgia Brown’s one of the most successful restaurants in the Washington area, will act as an anchor for this new restaurant pavilion on Clarendon Boulevard. We can’t wait to have another (closer) location to enjoy the upscale southern cooking Georgia Browns is famous for!

New Student Loan Forgiveness Program [GeorgetownLaw]

Going Green? On Thanksgiving it’s Easy! [WPost]

Foreclosure Searches on Google [BubbleMeter]

Washington Post Chairman’s New Digs [Washingtonian]

UPDATE: Ok so it took us a while to get the picture up, but this past week, Kevin Connolly (from entourage) and Scarlett Johansson (from everything) were in Alexandria filming scenes for the movie “He’s Just Not That Into You.” The best part is that the movie is set in Baltimore so they were using the beautiful row houses of Old Town to represent Baltimore!

We know that our fair city has had its share of Hollywood around town lately but it’s always fun to have your lunch hour broken up by a film crew! People.com also now has the picture up!

We are enjoying the thanksgiving day parade and checking out all the house floats this years!

Wonder what they do with the floats when they’re done, those things look very structurally sound (other than the fact that they are on wheels), wonder if they could be used as a real house… though we don’t know any homeowners association in this area that would approve a house with that color scheme!

Have a Very Happy Thanksgiving!

Located at the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers is Washington DC’s Southwest Waterfront. This prime real estate was the location of one of the areas largest examples of the failed urban renewal projects of the 1960s. However all that is about to change, and the first step is the demolition of the now empty waterfront mall which began this week.

The project now also has a website, and the Hoffman-Struever designed Waterfront plans aim to produce an active, mixed-use, urban riverfront that showcases distinctive cultural destinations, and build upon the existing, strong waterfront community.  

Other than opening up the waterfront to more people, the best part of the project is the developers commitment to Sustainable Design. The project will be participating in the LEED-ND (Neighborhood Development) pilot program, in addition to all buildings being LEED-Silver Certified. That’s a big deal and hopefully being able to pull off a project of this scale that achieves sustainable certification will show other area builders that it makes sense!