DC Metrocentric

Doesn’t look much different does it? Call us crazy, but our favorite then and nows are ones that show how amazing preservation work can be!

Completed in 1869 at 13th and K street NW, the building exterior as well as interior have both been designated as landmark preservation.

Besides being the site of one of the first public schools, the building also has some major historical significance. In April 1880, Franklin School was the site of a major scientific experiment when Alexander Graham Bell successfully tested his photophone, which transmitted sound over light waves, between the school building and his laboratory nearby on L Street.

Unfortunately, the building remained unoccupied for much of the last decade, but has been used as a homeless shelter since 2003. Of course with such a beautiful building in a prime location, there are plans on the table to convert the building into a Boutique Hotel.

The benefit of this would be the restoration of many of the interior spaces, which we think is great, as long as the plan includes maintaining a homeless shelter in the building or vicinity. 

Call us idealists, but can you imagine if a mixed use project like that worked? Having one part of a building as homeless shelter and the other half a boutique hotel? Clearly both sides would benefit with improved facilities for the shelter, and a beautiful historic location for the hotel.