From the other thread, Colon described US architecture as lacking novelty, except for some public buildings. Even though DC is an atypical US city in many respects, I readily admit that DC lacks instances of residential architecture novelty.
Novelty and experimentation is not the goal. It's more that the residential architecture is a play on the theme. There are historical architecture boards that have some power over construction, but if you wanted to do something novel, you probably could. However, in DC, history pays. You can get certain tax breaks for improving buildings built long ago in the Washington style, so long as the facades are maintained.
Some caveats/information before we see some snaps that I took today while riding around on my bike:
(1) The city of DC is only about 1/10th of the Washington metropolitan area. The suburbs are not done in the same style as DC proper.
(2) Some neighborhoods have slightly different styles. Georgetown is in a slightly different style than DuPont Circle. DuPont Circle is in a slightly different style than Shaw/Logan Circle. But DuPont Circle and Shaw/Logan Circle tend to share more design elements. Mostly to do with the era that the structures were built.
(3) The neighborhoods of DC have been built when money became available. Mainly, this is 1890s-1900s (Washington style), the 1920s through 1940s (art deco), and early 2000s (Washington style revival). Many neighborhoods of DC have been ravished by general factors common to US cities, including the race riots of the 1960s, white flight in the 1960s through 1980s, and the crack/crime epidemic of the late 1980s and 1990s.
(4) I'm not an architect and am only showing things as I see them. Perhaps the architects here, such as Smiley, can correct anything that they see wrong. Also, these snaps are of generally poor quality.
(5) All of these snaps are within 2 or 3 blocks of zoned commercial. All of these areas are right next to downtown.
Novelty and experimentation is not the goal. It's more that the residential architecture is a play on the theme. There are historical architecture boards that have some power over construction, but if you wanted to do something novel, you probably could. However, in DC, history pays. You can get certain tax breaks for improving buildings built long ago in the Washington style, so long as the facades are maintained.
Some caveats/information before we see some snaps that I took today while riding around on my bike:
(1) The city of DC is only about 1/10th of the Washington metropolitan area. The suburbs are not done in the same style as DC proper.
(2) Some neighborhoods have slightly different styles. Georgetown is in a slightly different style than DuPont Circle. DuPont Circle is in a slightly different style than Shaw/Logan Circle. But DuPont Circle and Shaw/Logan Circle tend to share more design elements. Mostly to do with the era that the structures were built.
(3) The neighborhoods of DC have been built when money became available. Mainly, this is 1890s-1900s (Washington style), the 1920s through 1940s (art deco), and early 2000s (Washington style revival). Many neighborhoods of DC have been ravished by general factors common to US cities, including the race riots of the 1960s, white flight in the 1960s through 1980s, and the crack/crime epidemic of the late 1980s and 1990s.
(4) I'm not an architect and am only showing things as I see them. Perhaps the architects here, such as Smiley, can correct anything that they see wrong. Also, these snaps are of generally poor quality.
(5) All of these snaps are within 2 or 3 blocks of zoned commercial. All of these areas are right next to downtown.
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