Tag: Historic Districts

iWant

Dear Apple,
Forget Georgetown. The parking is lousy and there is no metro station. When my Mac mini needs a fixin’ or whatever, I don’t want to bring it on the bus or haul it on my bike. I could, but I don’t want to.
When Georgetown rejects you for the umteenth or whenever you’re tired of submitting design proposals you know won’t fly with the ANC and the Historic Preservation people, come to the land of the Green line. Columbia Heights, U Street, Gallery Place and Penn Quarter would love to have you. Yes, these areas have historic districts, but they also like business. And the thing with Gallery Place, it’s still called Chinatown so you’d have to put Chinese characters on your signage. That shouldn’t be a problem since a lot of what you have comes from China anyway.
Gallery Place also has a bunch of hipster white earbud pod people walking around with office drones and other people who will buy your stuff. People like tourists from places where there are no Apple stores. People who want to kill time before a game.
So come to the land of the Green line, you’d like it over here.

1115 Rhode Island Ave NW

I lived across the street from this spot for nearly a year in the basement of the squat apartment and never really gave it much thought. Then when I went to work at that place that pays me, I kept seeing the address pop up in various documents and really couldn’t place it in my head. Well bopping around in databases it popped up with a picture and now I know why I kept seeing the address, it’s part of the Historic American Buildings Survey (Survey number HABS DC-470).
Here’s my problem. There are over 900 locations in the District of Columbia in this survey. New York City, over 200. New York is bigger, older, and more f’ing populous why does the District have such a concentration of ‘historic’ buildings? Among the District’s buildings on the list are some notable and inarguably truly historic buildings, with an actual role in national history, and then, there are some plain Janes.

Historic Districts- When Citizens Bite Back

Bloomingdale Scott beat me to it, but there is an article in the InTowner about the citizen opposition to the imposition of an historic district on to their neighborhood. I think that it’s great that citizens are challenging and questioning the process of historic districting.
DC has a lot of old houses and buildings, which are labeled historic by virtue of their age, which makes a lot of NW DC and Old City DC targets for districting. What neighborhood doesn’t have a number of houses and building 50 years old and older?
Regardless of if an HD assignation is actually appropriate or not for a neighborhood, it is good for the residents and property owners to address their concerns at a point where there is some turning back. For those aiming for HD status, it is good to present their arguments and explanations to their neighbors. And for the Historic Preservation Office and the Historic Preservation Review Board, it can’t be easy having to deal with a zillion little HDs all over the place with, so this citizen slow down may be for the best.

When quaintness attacks!: Washington Globes

I say get a ladder and a can of spray paint if you haven’t been able to sleep because of the quaint globe street lights that add that historic feel, but pollute the night sky and creeps around your blinds keeping you awake. In today’s Post there is an article about “Washington globe” lights and how they impact the quality of life of residents who can’t sleep or see less of the night sky because of these street light fixtures.
I tagged this under historic districts because along with brick walks these quaint looking lights follow. And sometimes they don’t have to be in historic districts but they are there for the aesthetics. The high powered light bulb isn’t historically accurate but there for street safety and though making the street safer by shining a penetrating light, that same light penetrates parts where it is unwelcomed.
When I bike into and back out of Georgetown, I pass by one of these so fashioned globe street lights and have noticed the house side of it blackened with what could be spray paint. In the day, it looks sort of vandalized and ratty, but I gather it does the job to abate the nighttime annoyance. The other side of the street is protected by thick leafy trees, so they don’t have this problem.

When Historic Districts Attack- Fair Housing

From the tissue strewn couch of InShaw:
I’m a bit ill this week so not much commentary on this, except to say this is an update on a Marc Fisher article I blogged about before. Mr. Fisher updates us, saying others have gotten involved with the elderly couple, such as HUD and some pro-bono lawyers, after reading his first article. So give “Human Dignity Also Needs to Be Preserved” a read.

When Historic Districts Attack- The 4th Amendment

File under WTF?
Thanks Ray for pointing out an article in the Washington Times (as I hardly ever read that paper) of a couple who won a lawsuit against the DC government for a raid on their home, unlawful seizure of papers from said home, regarding perceived Historic Preservation violations.
A little Google search regarding the saga reveals differing opinions on if the couple actually did the HPRB dance correctly, which is not the matter that makes me fearful, it was the police raid of their home that concerns my little libertarian heart. The portion of the 4th amendment the violation in this is “no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
According to the lawsuit [pdf] a March 26, 2003 warrant was issued to search the home of Ms. Elkins and Mr. Robbins, but the warrant didn’t say anything about seizing papers or the like. The next day DC’s finest and DCRA “officials went throughout the home (including the
bedrooms of sick children home from school), opening drawers, observing, and taking photos.”
Seriously, this is just supposed to be about exterior crap, not worthy of a f*ing raid. One of the few things I agree with the pro-Historic District people on is that HDs are about the outside aesthetics of house, and what can be observed from the street, etc, etc. However, this, is something else. Investigate the case for yourself, decide if DC went too far a violated a family’s privacy and order.
On the bright side, Ms. Elkins, an artist, has turned her experience into art.

Historic districts- more stuff from the Eckington Listserv

The exchange on the yahoo listserv has been quite informative.
First off, let me say that I respect those who support HDs difference of opinion, as I strongly disagree with it. Y’all have your own reasons for support, I have my own for not supporting certain HDs. Second, I believe in the marketplace of ideas, where the different sides present their arguments and evidence and let people judge for themselves. And lastly, let us acknowledge the subjectiveness of several terms that get bandied about in these things like expensive and burdensome. What is fine and not a problem for one person could be hard and disastrous for another.
Scott Roberts provided info about the fight against Brookland HD designation:
“Battle of the Vinyl Windows” by Jeff Horwitz, Washington City Paper, 8/5/05
“Brookland: Historical or Hysterical? Possible Designation Riles Brooklanders” by Elizabeth McGowan DC North August 2005
“Historic District Off the List“, DC North September 2005
Mentioned in the articles listed above was Carolyn Steptoe on the side against, who also has added to the Eckington list discussion. She mentioned that HD designation occurs in 3 phases and the process was in phase 3 when she learned of it. It appears the sampling of Brookland residents she queried knew nothing of any of the phases. Her statements also make me wonder about community input and awareness, which can go to the problem of communication, which can be difficult when dealing with different populations regardless of the issue.
A comment via the Bloomingdale listserv (which I’m not on) wandered on reading:

“The Historic Preservation Board may have advise on renovations, windows and doors, etc; however, what they suggest is not always what they will approve. They still have final approval of any and all exterior renovations to a historic dwelling. AND, if you have a door that lets out heat during the winter and A/C in the summer, you cannot just go to Home Depot and buy a door to replace the bad one. You must submit an application, get on the calendar (which usually takes one month or more) and sometimes submit drawings, pictures, and other documents, to help the Board with their decision. Even after all that, they still may not approve your door. So the simple task of changing a defective door, is not so easy anymore. Plus during the review process, your neighbors can attend the review meeting and “have their say” as to whether they like, or don’t like what your are doing to your house. If they express a negative opinion, the board can side with your neighbors and you must start again. Thus, the process for you to actually change your door becomes subject to the red-tape of the system. So it could take several months and even years to get your defective door replaced. The same process goes for any change you wish to make I.E. painting the exterior, replacing gutters, anything associated with the exterior. Having this designation is a double-edge sword. It will be good for keeping the architectural fabric of the neighborhood consistent, and will stop the unsightly 3rd floor additions, but will make simple tasks of keeping your home nice looking and efficient harder for everyone.”

And this last thought (as this post is getting long) there is an extra consideration one must take in. There are things you can do without a permit from DCRA such as installing window screens and storm windows; repairing exisiting fencing with like materials; painting (whether they mean interior or exterior it is not clear); brick pointing; replacing non-rated windows & doors; replacing roofing, siding and gutter and so on IF you don’t live in a historic district (see DCRA Permit Factsheet PDF).

InShaw’s Historic Preservation Greatest Hits

There is a, er, discussion, going on over on the Eckington Listserv about historic districting. And it was funny re-reading my words as one of my old posts was used as part of the argument against HDs. Although I love history, and I’m truly blessed to work in a history field, I strongly believe that history has its place and it should not always be dominate. I also take issue with a push for HDs motivated by something other than an actual historical narrative that has some meaning and value outside of the place in question. Upper-middle class aesthetics (and a inaccurate view of the past based on romantic notions) to me do not justify the extra complication of an HD on the homeowner or landlord.

Gentrification and Historic Preservation:
Part 1— Intro
Part 2– This Old House vs Old House Journal
Part 2a
Part 2B
Part 3— When it is Right

Why don’t we make the whole d@mned District Historic and get it over with– Really what isn’t ‘historic’ or old in this city.

Still Anti-Historic District– Read the comments about the windows.

Rob Goodspeed has a great post on the topic of DC Historic Districts and the Architecture of Gentrification.

Historic Preservation

Richard Layman of Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space, has a posting where the comments exchange got me to thinking about what Historic Preservationist people could do to improve. The topic was attracting younger volunteers but something in the comments about the problem with leadership, made me wonder if what would make the groups appeal to younger volunteers would also make them more attractive to the general public. First, need to state that I’m a bit distrustful of historic preservation groups and historic districting. Not for the sake of being contrarian, but because I see some HP and HD efforts counter to certain values I hold.
So here are some suggestions:

1. Get leadership that inspires and engages the general public. Not just wealthy donors, but the volunteers, all generations, homeowners, renters, regular Joes and such with a vision that speaks to them and their values.

2. Discernment and at least do a better job at publicizing it. Historic preservation groups come off to me like the girls who can’t say no. But I do realize that you don’t approve everything, and you don’t find every old building to be ‘historic’. If you publicized what isn’t historic a bit better that would calm my fears a bit. Not completely, but it builds confidence that you might be able to determine what is historic and what isn’t.

3. More honey and less vinegar. Take a cue from the environmental/ green movement. Knowing that some people will do wrong, trust that most people want to do right and encourage them and their efforts big and small.

4. Show more sensitivity to different income levels, abilities, and aspirations. Some people are DIY people, some people are on fixed incomes, some people need to age in place and some are really into being green and saving the environment. Tax breaks and low interest/subsidized loans are not the same as a grant (learned that in college I did). What options exist for green homeowners who want solar panels, green roofs, compact florescent bulbs in exterior light fixtures and maybe some other early adapter type green tech that isn’t really pretty?

5. Be positively proactive. In a neighborhood with townhouses where the average square footage ranges below 1,000 to 1,500, it is possible that families intent on remaining in the District might want to add space. If you’ve got architects and artists, maybe they can draw up a pattern book of acceptable additions for the various District building styles, for various needs (growing family, aging in place, etc) at various price points. Same for wheelchair ramps, not-so-steep stairs, and wider door entrances. And though it is something that can get dated quickly, provide local locations where items to purchase are and price ranges. Telling me not to use regular cement from Home Depot to patch up a brick wall is useless information. Telling me that I need type 3 cement and I can get it at Fragers on Capitol Hill for around X dollars, helpful. Maybe HP and HD groups do this, if they do publicize it more. Realize what peoples’ needs are and address them before the construction/ repairing begins.

These are just suggestions, dismiss at will.