As October begins, we are just six weeks out from #DCHistCon — so we’re visiting Ward 6 with @OPinDC! Read on for a look at how modernist architecture changed D.C. communities, and check out the Heritage Guide for a more in-depth look at Ward 6. https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/page_content/attachments/Ward%206%20Heritage%20Guide%20Final.pdf

It’s not ironic that modernist structures can be historic! Ward 6 features examples of modernist architecture. In the post World War II era, federal officials and developers implemented policies using the term “urban renewal” to justify the massive redevelopment of Southwest D.C.

As block after block of buildings were demolished, residents were forced from their neighborhoods to resettle elsewhere. Brick and frame row houses were replaced by a mix of apartment buildings and townhouses.

Prominent architects and landscape architects designed Modernist federal office buildings and housing bounded by parks and green spaces. Modernist architecture is preserved as historic itself, but for many, its history and design symbolize the displacement of D.C. communities.

Examples of modernist buildings in Southwest include the Department of Housing and Urban Development (1), Skyline Hotel (2), and Town Center Park (3) exhibiting different forms of modernism. https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/Modernism_Brochure.pdf

Until recently, Southwest was a primarily residential neighborhood of working and middle class families, with a fringe of riverfront industry, invigorated by a strong sense of community. (Learn more with @SmithsonianACM!) https://storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/34d99cccb2c5454da7b4f08e482c1987?item=2

But when new mixed developments moved to Ward 6 — adding office buildings, apartments, condos, a soccer stadium, and the Wharf community — this area of the District became increasingly young and white and a booming center of nightlife and traffic. https://www.culturaltourismdc.org/portal/828 

There’s more to Ward 6 than we can include in a single post, from Southwest to Navy Yard, Capitol Hill, Mount Vernon Square, and Shaw — 25% of the area is now protected by historic districts.

For more on historic landmarks and beloved community sites, check out the Ward 6 Heritage Guide. To learn about communities that lived in Southwest prior to Urban Renewal, see Anacostia Community Museum’s online A Right to the City exhibit, linked in this thread.