SURVEY of 15 NEW DOMINION ERA (1946-1991) RELIGIOUS BUILDINGS in ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA: Management Summary
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May 2021 SURVEY OF 15 NEW DOMINION ERA (1946-1991) RELIGIOUS BUILDINGS IN ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA: Management Summary PREPARED IN FULLFULLMENT OF THE MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT, “REGARDING THE CHURCH OF THE RESURRECTION REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA,” 27 MAY 2019. PREPARED FOR: SPONSORED BY: PREPARED BY: DIVISION OF SURVEY AND REGISTER OFFICE OF HOUSING HEATHER MCMAHON, ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HISTORIC RESOURCES CITY OF ALEXANDRIA 3062 W. OLD U.S. HIGHWAY 64, APT. B 2801 KENSINGTON AVENUE 421 KING STREET, SUITE 215 LEXINGTON, NC 27295 RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23221 ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314 [email protected] Abstract This Management Report, prepared 1 May 2020, is in fulfillment of a Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Alexandria, Virginia’s Office of Housing and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, signed 27 May 2019. The report is part of mitigation efforts for the recent redevelopment of the Church of the Resurrection site in Alexandria. The report includes an introduction to the project and the methodology employed; a historic context for the study and a literature review; analysis of a Phase I reconnaissance survey of 15 churches in Alexandria and Fairfax County and of a Phase II evaluation survey of three churches; findings and recommendations; an appendix providing biographies of key architects and contractors; and a bibliography. Acknowledgements Heather McMahon, Architectural Historian, would like to acknowledge and thank the following individuals and organizations for their assistance with this project: Gwendolyn K. White, Ph.D., historian VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HISTORIC RESOURCES Blake McDonald, Architectural Survey and Cost Share Program Manager, Division of Survey and Register Austin Walker, Survey Program Assistant, Division of Survey & Information Management CITY OF ALEXANDRIA Eric Keeler, Deputy Director, Office of Housing Susan Hellman, Stephanie Sample and Amirah Lane, Principal and Urban Planners, Historic Preservation Division, Department of Planning and Zoning Annwyn Milnes, Appraiser Supervisor, Office of Real Estate Assessments Amy Bertsch, Communications Specialist, Alexandria Sherriff’s Office Jackie Cohan, City Records Administrator & Archivist, Archives & Records Center, Office of Historic Alexandria FAIRFAX COUNTY Christopher Barbuschak and Laura Wickstead, Virginia Room, City of Fairfax Regional Library Staff at the Office of Planning and Development, Fairfax County. AND Julia E. Randle, Registrar and Historiographer, Episcopal Diocese of Virginia Father Cayce B. Ramey, All Saints-Sharon Chapel, Fairfax, Virginia Reverend Robin Razzino, Church of St. Clement, Alexandria, Virginia Reverend Tim Bobbitt, First Christian Church, Alexandria, Virginia Ramsay and Diane Woodworth, Peace Lutheran Church, Fairfax, Virginia Terri Phillips, Administrative Director, Aldersgate United Methodist Church, Fairfax, Virginia 1 | P a g e Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Project Description and Deliverables ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 4 Deliverables .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Historic Context and Literature Review ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Agudas Achim Synagogue ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Aldersgate United Methodist................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 17 Alexandria Church of God/King Street Church ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 23 Alexandria First Church of the Nazarene ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 27 All Saints-Sharon Chapel ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 32 Beth El Hebrew Congregation ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 38 Church of St. Clement ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 42 Fair-Park Baptist Church/ Convergence ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 51 First Christian Church of Alexandria ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 55 Groveton Baptist Church ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 62 Immanuel Lutheran Church ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 67 Mount Vernon Unitarian ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 73 Peace Lutheran Church .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 77 Salvation Army Citadel Corps ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 82 St. Lawrence Catholic Church ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 86 Appendix A: Architects and Contractors ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 89 Appendix B: Annotated Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 111 Endnotes .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 114 2 | P a g e Introduction This survey of 15 New Dominion Era (1946-1991) religious buildings in Alexandria, Virginia, and its near environs stems from a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between the City of Alexandria and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR), “Regarding the Church of the Resurrection Redevelopment Project in the City of Alexandria, Virginia,” signed on 27 May 2019. The Church of the Resurrection in the West End neighborhood of Alexandria was a Mid-century Modernist church designed in 1965 by local architect William Phillips Brown II, AIA (1930-2017) and completed in 1966. The property owners had explored the option of redeveloping the site to include affordable housing units as well as a new, smaller sanctuary for their congregation. The redevelopment proposal approved by the City entailed the demolition of the historic building, however. In February 2019, Heather McMahon, Architectural Historian, prepared a Phase II (Evaluation) Survey report on the property for the DHR as part of the CHURCH OF THE RESURRECTION, CA. 1966,