Historic Resources Inventory – Essential Properties Calvert Manor

Historic Resources Inventory – Essential Properties Calvert Manor Address: 1925-1927 N. Calvert St. RPC #: 15007026 Current Owner(s): Calvert Manor, LP c/o VA Housing Development Management Division P.O. Box 5127 Richmond, VA 23220 Building Date: 1950 Current Zoning: RA 8-18 Existing Protections: None Current Development Pressure: None Historic Designations: National Register Historic District, 1997 Virginia Landmarks Register, 1997 Significance Highlights: Designed by Mihran Mesrobian Significance Statement: Calvert Manor was built in 1948 and is recognized as a significant work of Mihran Mesrobian, a prominent Washington, D.C. architect who owned the rental property until his death in 1975. Calvert Manor is one of the last intact examples of his work in Arlington County, and is the only extant example of an individual mid-rise garden-apartment building designed by Mesrobian. The building successfully incorporates elements of the Streamline Moderne into a more traditional residential setting with the use of corner casement windows, an emphasis on the vertical and horizontal lines, and the contrasting light and dark colored masonry. Low-cost materials such as concrete blocks, cast stone, cement bricks, and glass block allowed the architect to accomplish the merit of his design while ensuring the economy of the project. Although the apartments are small and unadorned on the interior, amenities such as a parking lot, on-site laundry, outdoor drying yard, live-in janitor’s unit, and a communal playroom clearly indicate Mesrobian’s concern for the comfort and well-being of the working-class residents. Many of these amenities were required by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which guaranteed the financing for the project. Calvert Manor continued to be owned by the Mesrobian family until 1995. Born in Turkey to Armenian parents, Mesrobian was educated at the Academie des Beaux Arts in Istanbul. He immigrated to the United States and settled in Washington, D.C. in 1921. He began working as a draftsman for Harry Wardman, one of Washington, D.C.’s most prolific and well- known developers. His work during this period included luxury hotels such as the Carlton (1926), the Hay-Adams (1927), and the Wardman Tower (1928). In his private practice, Mesrobian’s Washington, D.C. commissions included the Dupont Circle Building (1931), a rug store at 1214 18th Street, N.W. (1931), and Sedgwick Gardens (1931-1932). Mesrobian’s design work during this period allow him to perfect his skill in combining distinct architectural elements under a primary style; he utilized Byzantine, Medieval, and Islamic elements and united them under a Moderne scheme. In addition to Mesrobian’s residential commissions, he was also responsible for the design of several shopping centers in Arlington County and in the neighboring City of Alexandria; only two of his commercial shopping centers are extant. Four of Mesrobian’s garden- apartment complexes are intact—Wakefield Manor, Lee Gardens North, and Lee Gardens South. Calvert Manor is Mesrobian’s only individual mid-rise garden-apartment building in Arlington County. The Calvert Manor was listed in the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C in the area of architecture as a unique individual garden- apartment building designed in an interpretation of the Streamline Moderne style by noted architect and property owner, Mihran Mesrobian. The building is one of the finest examples of his later work in Northern Virginia. Summary Description: As described in the 1997 National Register nomination, Calvert Manor is a three-story, walk-up, garden-apartment building. It is constructed of concrete-block bearing walls with red brick facing, highlighted by light-colored cast stone, cement brick details, and vertical bands of glass block. The building as designed by Mihran Mesrobian in 1948 employs Streamline Moderne elements, which became characteristic of the architect’s later work. Calvert Manor has two main entrances off of the west elevation (façade) leading to separate wings of the building, a low parapet surrounding a flat roof, and a partially exposed basement. The asymmetrical front façade incorporates a variety of shapes and textures to lend substantial action to an otherwise stark mass. The north wing is characterized by a bay front rising the height of the building. The bay windows are separated between floors by panels of light-colored cast stone. At the entrance to the south wing, a peaked roof tops the interior stair hall, creating the impression of a tower rising above the parapet. This roof is covered with slate tiles and capped by a copper finial. The verticality of each stair hall is further emphasized by the long narrow bands of glass blocks extending down from the parapet. The front façade also is penetrated by a wide variety of window openings containing original metal casements. These include small bull’s eye and rectangles, each framed completely by cast stone surrounds, as well as larger picture windows, bay windows, and, at the north wing, corner windows. Except for a row of glass-block windows in the north wing, all other windows in the building are also metal casements. The two main entrances of the building at the base of either stair hall are covered by small aluminum marquees and contain the original divided light wood doors with sidelights. Each of the major exterior vertical features of the building, such as stair towers, bay front, corners, and pilasters, are highlighted with light-colored cement brick quoins, rising from the top of the basement to the bottom of the parapet. Double bands of light-colored concrete encircle the building at the water table and parapet. The parapet is capped by cast-stone coping and penetrated by several decorative grilles of cast stone. A cast-stone lion is perched on the parapet of the south elevation, which faces Lee Highway. .

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