The Georgetown Metropolitan

As GM discussed yesterday, a mausoleum is being constructed in Oak Hill Cemetery for Ben Bradlee. This has alarmed preservationists, particularly those focused on landscape architecture. But was there anything to stop it?

Bureaucracy finds a way. After hearing some complaints about the construction, DCRA took a look and yesterday decided that a building permit is required after all.

For much of the city, that wouldn’t be a particularly big deal. Work would have to stop–perhaps for as little as a few hours–while someone ran down to the permitting office in  SW and get the permit.

But in Georgetown it awakens a long, patient beast who will slowly sit up and squint his eyes, and stroke his chin, and perhaps go back to sleep for a few months, then wake up again, squint his eyes, and stroke his chin, and open his giant maw and announce “too big”, and go back to sleep.

The giant, in this tortured metaphor, is the Old Georgetown Board. And once a building permit is applied for that affects an external structure in Georgetown, the application is routed to the OGB for approval.

It is not a fast procedure. Continue reading →

Photo by BKL.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Reminder: The Rose Park tennis courts will be dedicated for the Peters Sisters this Saturday at 3 pm.
• Author of the Georgetowner piece on the “secret app” suspected of being used for racial profiling is angry that the Post ripped him off (or basically re-reported his story without giving him credit) and, more troubling, got the story wrong.

1500 block of 33rd St.

Living in Georgetown, it seems appropriate to append Benjamin Franklin’s guaranty of death and taxes with “historic preservation review” because even in death you cannot escape it.

Or can you? Kriston Capps of CityLab published an interesting article yesterday about the construction of a mausoleum for the recently departed Benjamin Bradlee. It is going in around the ellipse near the entrance, seen above. This is what it looks like:

Photo courtesy of CityLab.

Capps explores the question of whether a row of new mausoleums underneath the magnolias is in keeping with landscape architectural integrity of the property. He briefly notes that the construction apparently isn’t subject to historic review by the Commission of Fine Arts.

But is that correct?

Any time a building permit is sought in Georgetown for exterior work that would be visible from a public road, it’s referred to the Old Georgetown Board for approval (the OGB essentially pre-reviews for the CFA, its senior body, but the CFA normally just rubber-stamps the OGB). If the change is not visible from a public street the application is routed to the DC Historic Preservation Review Board.

But no application was made for a building permit for this mausoleum, and so no application made its way to the OGB. (Interestingly, Stephen Muse–one of the OGB board members–is the architect of the project). Would the creation of a mausoleum even demand a permit? GM doesn’t have a firm answer to that. Technically any building more than 25 sq. ft. requires a permit. And that building definitely looks bigger than 25 sq. ft. Continue reading →

Photo by Victoria Pickering.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• CitySports is going to close. This is a bummer. While there have been a proliferation of sports good stores in Georgetown recently, CitySports was the only one that provided a full range of stuff you’d find in a traditional sports store. The other stores are mostly just clothes and shoes.
• Five million dollar home sells in five days.

Montrose Park

Next Wednesday at Georgetown Visitation, the public will be given an opportunity to review the state of the plans for the replacement of the West Heating Plant. The meeting will be hosted by the Georgetown Citizens Association and will also serve as a meeting of the whole of the ANC.

When last we heard publicly about these plans, this is what famed architect David Adjaye drew up for the project:

It would involve taking down almost all of the building, leaving just the 29th st. facade. The bulk of the current building, however, would largely be replicated in the new building. A park would be created on the south part of the lot. Continue reading →

Photo by Victoria Pickering.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• In response to the racial profiling controversy, the BID has shut down the Group Me app at the center of the controversy.
• Closer look at GU Hospital’s expansion plans.

Dumbarton Oaks

When GM is doing research on a building in Georgetown, one resource that often proves invaluable is the Historic American Building Survey (HABS). HABS is a massive collection of detailed building surveys of buildings throughout the country. And since Georgetown is home to a lot of historic buildings, it is well represented in the survey.

In particular, there was a wide survey done of Georgetown buildings in the 1960s available in HABS. It’s not all buildings in Georgetown, not by a long shot. But it includes dozens and dozens. Typically it includes a sharp black-and-white photo, like you see above. If you’re lucky, there’s also a thoroughly researched report on the property, tracing the chain of ownership all the way back to Georgetown’s founding. Here’s one for same house seen above (which is 1052 Potomac).  Continue reading →