[adsw-announce] Preservation Alert: Demolition of Kennedy-Warren Apartments Has
Preservation (preservation@adsw.org)
Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:40:30 -0400
This press release can also be seen with photos here:
http://www.adsw.org/publications/2008/KennedyWarrenPressRelease.pdf
For Immediate Release
CONTACTS: Media: Jim Linz (703-263-2106 or 703-568-3745 (cell))
jlinz@adsw.org
October 27, 2008
Demolition of Kennedy-Warren Interiors Has Started
Within days after the Art Deco Society of Washington (ADSW) filed a
landmark application seeking to protect the interior spaces of the famed
Kennedy-Warren Apartment Building, ADSW has learned that demolition has
begun on the historic interiors of several apartments. These apartment
interiors are largely unchanged from when the building opened in 1931.
ADSW calls on owner B.F. Saul to halt further demolition until the
landmark application can be considered. ADSW believes that many
alternatives to demolition exist for one of the city's most renowned
historic properties.
Located adjacent to the National Zoo, the Kennedy-Warren opened with 317
apartments in 1931. Designed in the Aztec Deco style by architect Joseph
Younger, the original owners and builders, Edgar S. Kennedy and Monroe
Warren, Sr., filed for bankruptcy soon after the building was completed
and B.F. Saul obtained the rights to the building. A rear wing was added
in 1935.
Entering the individual apartments in the original building is like
opening a time capsule. The units have the original hardwood floors,
bathroom fixtures and ceramic tile, and Hoosier-style kitchen cabinets.
The high ceilings, curved archways, thick plaster walls, and wide wood
moldings instantly return the visitor to the ambiance of the Art Deco
era.
Although a second wing was included in Younger's original plans, it was
not until 1996 that B.F. Saul pursued plans to complete the Kennedy-
Warren as originally envisioned by Joseph Younger.
The new South Wing was completed and opened in 2002. B.F. Saul did a
careful replication of the exterior of the original building in the new
construction and a meticulous restoration of the main lobby. However,
the interior elements of the Art Deco style seen in the corridors and
apartments of the original building were not carried forward in the
design of the interior corridors and apartments in the new south wing.
ADSW has learned that in addition to gutting the interior of the
apartments, Saul plans to lower the ceilings in as well as shorten the
length of corridors and remove distinctive architectural elements from
both the apartments and corridors. These include the novel milk shafts
and forced-air vents.
One of the novel features of the Kennedy-Warren apartments that B.F.
Saul plans to remove are the milk shafts. Each unit in the historic
wings has a small compartment between the hallway and the kitchen with
doors on both the interior and exterior. The milkman would open the door
in the hallway to leave milk and other dairy products. The tenant could
retrieve the goods by opening the door in the kitchen.
On Friday, October 17, 2008, the Art Deco Society of Washington took the
first step toward what it hoped would be the inclusion of the interior
spaces of the city's most prominent Art Deco apartment building on the
National Register of Historic Places. The Society, a nonprofit
preservation organization known for its successful campaigns to save
some of Washington's Art Deco treasures — including the Greyhound
terminal, the Silver Theatre, and the Greenbelt Community Center - filed
a landmark application with Washington, D.C.'s Historic Preservation
Office (HPO) intended to stave off planned demolition of much of
building's original interiors.
ASDW is troubled to learn that in the first week after the landmark
application was filed, at least seven apartment interiors were
demolished. While the demolition to date has been limited to apartment
interiors, ADSW is concerned that this demolition work could be expanded
to include the corridors, ballroom, and other public areas.
ADSW is particularly concerned about the possible effects of any planned
renovations on the Ballroom. The Ballroom has not been used for many
years and is in disrepair, suffering from years of neglect. At least two
areas of serious decay are clearly visible in the ceiling.
Although B.F. Saul spokesperson James Goode told ADSW in July 2008 that
the Ballroom will eventually be restored, a representative of the
project's architectural firm provided no such assurance when contacted
by ADSW earlier this week. ADSW has learned that at present, B.F. Saul
has not decided what to do with the ballroom and there is nothing in
current renovation scope of work concerning the Ballroom.
ADSW believes that several options exist to “modernize” the Kennedy-
Warren while preserving its historic fiber. These include air
conditioning the building without lowering the ceilings; reusing the
original hardwood flooring wherever possible and using “green” materials
such as cork and linoleum, popular in the 1930s and once again readily
available, and preserving as many of the historic apartments as
possible.
Although real estate agents and home improvement television programs
frequently urge sellers to “update” their kitchens and baths to
facilitate a sale, many Decophiles and others interested in historic
interiors prefer to live in homes and apartments that have not been
altered over time. For these individuals, finding a house or apartment
with its original kitchen cabinets, tile bathrooms, and plumbing
fixtures is more of a selling point than central air-conditioning,
dishwashers, or granite countertops. The historic wing of the
Kennedy-Warren offers such individuals a rare opportunity to live in an
unspoiled building, and ADSW believes that authentic apartments in the
Kennedy-Warren would find a strong market among them.
ADSW believes that the demolition of the historic interiors of the
Kennedy-Warren will essentially turn what has been for almost 80 years
Washington's most famous apartment building, into yet another façade
project, stripped of almost all interior architectural elements beyond
the lobby.
ADSW urges interested parties to express your concerns to B.F. Saul, the
Historic Preservation Office, the Advisory Neighborhood Commision, and
Councilmember Cheh. Contact information is provided below.
To receive updates on the state of the Kennedy-Warren directly from
ADSW, email info@adsw.org
End
Contact Information:
B.F.Saul:
B. Francis Saul II
B.F. Saul Company
7501 Wisconsin Avenue
Suite 1500
Bethesda, MD 20814-6522
D.C. Council Member Mary Cheh:
Mary Cheh Councilmember Ward Three
(202) 724-8062
mcheh@dccouncil.us
Rob Hawkins, Esq. Legislative Assistant, Public Services & Consumer
Affairs Committee Councilmember Mary M. Cheh, Chair 202-724-8062
rhawkins@dccouncil.us
Historic Preservation Office:
Office of Planning
Government of the District of Columbia
801 North Capitol Street NE
Suite 4000
Washington, DC 20002
By Web Email: op@dc.gov
Website: http://planning.dc.gov
Advisory Neighborhood Commission:
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3C
425 Brandywine Street NW
Washington, DC 20016-1843
202-657-5725
515-474-8595 (fax)
For more information about the Art Deco Society of Washington,
visit www.adsw.org.
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