Building Washington: Engineering and Construction of a New Federal City: 1790-1840 – Latrobe Chapter Lecture, by author Robert Kapsch
THE LATROBE CHAPTER OF THE SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS PRESENTSBuilding Washington: Engineering and Construction of a New Federal City: 1790-1840Latrobe Chapter Lecture by Robert Kapsch, Ph.D., M.ASCE, Hon., AIATomorrow! Tuesday, May 14 at … Continue reading
What Once Was “Good order, good taste, and with due regard to public interests involved”: the origins of the Shipstead-Luce Act
What Once Was “Good order, good taste, and with due regard to public interests involved”: the origins of the Shipstead-Luce Act By Matthew B. Gilmore* On May 16, 1930 Congress … Continue reading
Past Planning for the Future: DC’s 1950 Comprehensive Plan …
… or, Planning Atomic-Age Washington PUBLISHED: APRIL 10TH, 2017 Click this to find our archive of What Once Was articles. Tip: Click any image in the article to view that … Continue reading
The City of Our Hopes and Desires: Zoning Comes to Washington DC
By Matthew B. Gilmore For complete article click: http://intowner.com/2016/10/26/the-city-of-our-hopes-and-desires-zoning-comes-to-washington-dc/ It had a curious beginning. The tale begins with a bit of a mystery: The August 21, 1916 Evening Star reported that … Continue reading
Walking Tour – Foggy Bottom: Washington in Miniature
Date Saturday, October 15 2016 Time 2:00pm-4:00pm Location Foggy Bottom Metro Station entrance REGISTER: http://bit.ly/2dkGoVH Join AIA|DC and architectural historian Matthew Gilmore for an exploration of the little-known aspects of Foggy … Continue reading
Kidwell’s gambit: One man’s gamble and the creation of Potomac Park
“Kidwell Meadows — riverfront views!,” contemporary advertisements might have read had John Kidwell’s bold real estate gambit succeeded. His attempt failed but the federal government’s long legal efforts to quash … Continue reading
New Yorkers Transform How Washingtonians Live: Washington’s 19th Century Apartment Revolution
By Matthew B. Gilmore* In May of 1880 Congressman Fernando Wood, former mayor of New York City, applied for a permit to build “French flats” at 1418 I Street , … Continue reading
Petworth that never was: curious case of the missing plat
Matthew B. Gilmore, April 2016 Property subdivision related to development rarely generates much controversy. The case of Petworth is an exception–an interesting curiosity in the development of the District of … Continue reading
“High-handed usurpation and outrage”: The End of Washington City Canal
Benjamin Severson was incensed. The work he’d devoted so much time and energy into had been undone. Despite many critics, Severson, a civil engineer and foreman under Montgomery Meigs for … Continue reading
Slide deck: Coming to Washington – 1800 – Humanitini 1 – 2016
January 7, 2016 Humanitini: DC’s Tapestry of Regional Cultures Busboys and Poets – Brookland Since its founding, Washington, DC has reflected the regional cultures brought to the city by waves … Continue reading
Washington DC History Resources 