12th and Pennsylvania Ave, NW

Back in Aug. 2011 I I asked if you liked the idea of the Old Post Office Pavilion becoming a Luxury Trump Hotel. Yesterday GSA announced it’s gonna happen:

The Old Post Office is located at the corner of 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in the Federal Triangle neighborhood. Recognizing that the building had outlived its usefulness as Federal office space, Congress directed GSA in 2008 to enter into a long term lease for the Old Post Office under Section 111 of the National Historic Preservation Act, thereby guaranteeing the restoration and retention of all of its historic features while allowing the private sector to determine how to develop it to its fullest potential.

“The Trump Organization plan will preserve the historic nature of the building and improve the vitality of Pennsylvania Avenue,” continued Peck. “This redevelopment represents good business sense on behalf of the American taxpayer, the Federal Government and the District of Columbia.”

After closely evaluating the submissions, GSA determined the Trump Organization proposal represented the strongest development team, best long term potential for the local community, and most consistent stream of revenue for the Federal Government. GSA is committed to effectively and efficiently managing the Federal real estate footprint to achieve the best value for America’s taxpayers and communities, consistent with the President’s Campaign to Cut Waste.

The Trump Organization proposal calls for converting the Old Post Office to a luxury hotel with more than 250 rooms, along with world renowned restaurants, a spa, and conference facilities, while preserving and enhancing all of its historic features.

In accordance with the request for proposal, GSA and the Trump Organization will spend the next year negotiating a detailed agreement for the building’s redevelopment – specifying building usage, historic preservation requirements and details of the Federal Government’s revenue stream. GSA will only move forward if an agreement is reached that provides a positive return for the taxpayer.

While negotiations proceed, GSA will relocate the existing Federal tenants in the Old Post Office, including the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

If negotiations proceed as anticipated, redevelopment of the Old Post Office is expected to commence in 2014 with occupancy in 2016. At the end of the lease, control of the building will revert to the Federal Government.

The photos don’t do it great justice but you can sorta tell how unique it is. The Nigerian embassy is located at 3519 International Court, NW.

Right?

The Planet Chocolate City building is located at 3225 Georgia Ave, NW and has been vacant for years. Don’t you think this would make an awesome location for a Chocolate City Beer pub?

Dear PoPville,

Do you know what building this is on the corner of 7th and Constitution, NE? I always forget to ask at the drycleaners. Thanks!

Anyone know the story about that big red brick building?

Thanks to a reader for sending the photos of Progression Place coming above the Shaw metro on 7th St, NW. They write, “Admittedly not too thrilling, but still a solid sign of progress!”

This property is gonna make for some extraordinary before/after photos.

Back in Oct. 2011 we noted that a serious roof deck was coming to the Brixton at 9th and U St, NW. A reader writes:

“I have been glad to see the building directly across U St from Nellie’s being fixed up with what looks like a new roof deck. I noticed this morning that sometime this past weekend their faux-stone façade was painted white. I don’t know why they didn’t just take that ugly stuff off, but it is what it is.”

These are gonna make for some sweet before and after photos.

According to the Neighborhood Development Company:

“The project will consist of a sustainable, mixed-use affordable rental housing development with ground floor retail to be built at the intersection of Georgia Avenue, NW and Lamont Street, NW of Washington, DC.

The project is being jointly developed by NDC and Mi Casa Inc. It will contain 69 units with 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail. At least 50% of the units will be affordable at 60% to 80% AMI. Delivery is scheduled for the 3rd Quarter 2011.”

Not sure when the delivery is scheduled for now, but it’s def. encouraging to see demo start. Here’s a rendering of The Heights on Georgia Avenue (3232 Georgia Avenue, NW):

Thanks to a couple readers for sending the great photos of the Howard Theater sign going up right now. Howard Theater is located at 7th and T St, NW and plans on reopening in April 2012. You can see what it looked like in Nov. 2011 here.

Thanks to a reader for sending an update on the reno going on at the corner of 14th and Taylor St, NW. You can see what it looked like in May 2011 here.

Streets of Washington is the brilliant blog covering some of DC’s most interesting buildings and history written by John DeFerrari. John is also the author of the equally brilliant Lost Washington DC. Following is a new occasional series called ‘Streets of Washington Presents…’ featuring some fascinating buildings around town. The Evening Star Building has always been one of my favorites. I was blown away to learn about the history. As a result it is a long post, not all contributions will be this extensive. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

It was a sad day in Washington in August 1981 when The Washington Star ceased publication after more than 128 years of service. The Star’s tenure had stretched back before the Civil War, an amazing run that witnessed the historic sweep of the city’s development from small town to sophisticated metropolis. “The Rock of Gibraltar in Washington journalism is The Washington Star, one of the world’s really great newspapers,” historian Fred A. Emery wrote in 1935. The rise and fall of this bygone institution has its own grand sweep, with its greatest achievements occurring when it was quartered in the majestic marble building at 11th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, that still bears its name today.

The Star began inauspiciously enough in December 1852, one of dozens of newspapers that sprang up for limited runs in 19th century Washington City. In fact, two other D.C. newspapers had already used the Star name, the Columbian Star from 1822 to 1827, and the first Washington Star in 1841. The third Star, the one that would matter, began as a four-page broadsheet with a run of 250 copies, printed on a hand press in a small office at 8th and D Streets, NW. The paper’s first owner, Captain Joseph Borrows Tate, sought to distinguish the Star from all the other rags published throughout the city by striking a tone of impartiality: “The Star is to be free from party trammels or sectarian influences…devoted in an especial manner to the local interests of the beautiful city which bears the honored name of Washington.” The paper’s neutral stance and focus on local news became its trademark and, in time, gave it broad appeal and commercial success. It also led at times to overly innocuous reportage, as in this oft-quoted remark by reporter William Tucker that appeared in the paper’s first edition: “Our courts are sitting, but the business with which they are engaged is not of a very interesting character.”

Tate sold the paper within a year to William Wallach (1812-1871), an aggressive Texan who worked hard to build up the business, moving its office to the southwest corner of 11th and Pennsylvania in 1854. Wallach hired a promising young reporter, Crosby S. Noyes (1825-1908), in 1853, and Noyes quickly became the Star‘s star. One of his many assignments was to report on the hanging of John Brown at Harper’s Ferry, WV, in 1859, which he did in flowery, dramatic prose. The Star maintained an anti-slavery stance in those days and, once the Civil War began, was decidedly pro-Union, despite the strong Southern sentiments then common in Washington.

Crosby S. Noyes (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The paper grew in prestige during the war years, aided by its exclusive connections with an early incarnation of the Associated Press. Through the AP, the Star‘s vivid coverage of the war’s impact on Washington was relayed across the country. The New York Times often reprinted war reports from the pages of the Star, and the paper’s prestige increased. Supposedly, as soon as Abraham Lincoln finished delivering his second inaugural address, he handed the text to Crosby Noyes so that it could be printed in the Star.

In 1867, Wallach retired and the paper was bought by Noyes and four other investors: Samuel H. Kauffmann (1829-1906), Alexander “Boss” Shepherd (1835-1902), Clarence D. Baker, and George W. Adams. Shepherd, who would become governor of D.C. in 1873, sold his share of the enterprise within a few years, as did Baker, and Adams remained a behind-the-scenes investor. That left Noyes and Kauffmann to establish a family dynasty that would preside over the Star for another 100 years. Noyes exercised editorial control, while Kauffmann served as publisher and handled the business side.

Continues after the jump. (more…)

Dear PoP,

Can you please give a horse’s ass award to the empty lot on the north side of the 1400 block of Chapin St NW? It once promised the “Privado Condos” but has been sitting accumulating garbage for at least two years. The fence, and accompanying weeds and trash, has also been encroaching on the sidewalk making it difficult to pass. Ruins what is otherwise one of my favorite blocks in DC.

Interestingly their Website is still live (thought the phone number listed is out of service):

And here’s the rendering of what could have been:

Dear PoPville,

I’ve thought for years this would make a great spot for a pub – same block as the Passenger,
across from the Convention Center, growing neighborhood. Any word what’s actually going in here?

Back in June 2010 I nominated these buildings for a horse’s ass award.

I hear that one of the buildings had a portion of the second floor that was threatening to fall off possibly after the earthquake. So I think Douglas Development (the owner) is taking the opportunity to gut all three buildings. At the moment there is no planned use for the space.

Aug. 2011

Back in Aug. ’11 when we got hit by that big earthquake these rowhouses got wrecked on R St, NW between 5th and 6th in Shaw. Awesome repair work:

Jan. 2012

Too early for a thumbs up/thumbs down vote for this one from the 1200 block of H St, NE?

It’s amazing to see the progress at the building going up in Shaw at Rhode Island and R St, NW, I wish I could find my before photos…

Renew Shaw notes:

625 Rhode Island Avenue NW – located on Rhode Island Avenue between Sixth and Seventh Streets, this is a project designed by Suzane Reatig Architecture that will be developed by The United House of Prayer for All People. It will be a 32,125 square foot multi-family building comprised of 16 units, eight of which will be affordable to households earning 60 to 80 percent of the AMI, with a mix of two and three-bedroom units, ranging from 1,150 to 2,200 square feet. Additionally, there will be 11 surface level parking spaces, open green space at ground level, a green roof, small rooftop deck, and developers will shoot for LEED certification.

Rendering of 625 Rhode Island Ave, NW via Suzane Reitig Architecture