NFS Form 10-900-b OMB No 1024-0018 (Revised March 1992) '5 fp n? rj n/7 r? United States Department of the Interior -"« v-lJ is i i W National Park Service 2TI994 National Register of Historic Places ?OWAL Multiple Property Documentation Form fiEGiSTER This form is used for documenting multiple property groups relating to one or several historic contexts. See instructions in How to Complete the Multiple Property Documentation Form (National Register Bulletin 16B). Complete each item by entering the requested information. For additional space, use continuation sheets (Form 10-9000-a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer to complete all items. X New Submission Amended Submission A. Name of Multiple Property Listing Apartment Buildings in Washington, D.C 1880-1945 B. Associated Historic Contexts (Name each associated historic context, identifying theme, geographical area, and chronological period for each.) Apartment Buildings (1880-1945) m Working Class Housing, Alley Dwellings, and Public Housing (1865-1950) C. Form Prepared bv _____ ______________________ name/title Emily Hotaling Big and Laura Harris Hughes Architectural Historians organization Traceries date July, 1993 street & number 5420 Western Avenue_______ telephone (301)656-5283 city or town Chew Chase_____ state Maryland zip code 20815____ D. Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, I hereby certify that this documentation form meets the National Register documentation standards and sets forth requirements for the listing of related properties consistent with the National Register criteria. This submission" meets the procedural and professional requirements setiorth m 36 CFR Part 60 and the Secretary of the Interior's Standard^ and Guidelines for /y^neoljdcv and/HistWa^res^btion. ffl/J Se/ continuation sheet for additic Signature and title of certifying official Date State or Federal agency and bureau I, hereby certify that this multiple property documentation form has been approved by the National Register as a basis for evaluating relaied properties for listing in the National Register. Signature of the Keeper of the National Register Date of Action Apartment Buildings in Washington. D.C. 1880-1945 Washington. D.C. Name of Multiple Property Listing State Table of Contents for Written Narrative Provide the following information on continuation sheets. Cite the letter and the title before each section of the narrative. Assign page numbers according to the instructions for continuation sheets in How to Complete the Multiple Property Documentation Form (National register Bulletin 16B). Fill in page numbers for each section in the space below. Page Numbers E. Statement of Historic Contexts (If more than one historic context is documented, present them in sequential order.) 1-66 F. Associated Property Types (Provide description, significance, and registration requirements.) 1-37 G. Geographical Data 1 IL Summary of Identification and Evaluation Methods 1-21 (Discuss the methods used in developing the multiple property listing.) L Major Bibliographical References 1-15 (List Major written works and primary location of additional documentation: State Historic Preservation Office, other State agency, Federal agency, local government, university, or other, specifying repository.) Primary location of additional data: E*3 State Historic Preservation Office Q Other State agency EU Federal agency d Local government O University G3 Other Name of repository: Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 120 hours per response including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P.O. Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127; and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Project (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20503. NFS Form 10-900-b OMB No 1024-0018 (Revised March 1992) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number E Page 1 E. Statement of Historic Contexts (If more than one historic context is documented, present them in sequential order.) THE HISTORIC CONTEXTS SUB-THEMES I. The Introduction of Multi-Family Buildings in the District of Columbia II. The Earliest Purpose-Built Apartment Buildings III. The Luxury Apartment House: Hotel as Home IV. The Popularization of the Apartment Building V. The Evolution of the Master Apartment Building Architect VI. The Apartment Building as a Washington Institution VII. Modernism and the Apartment Building: Times, Style, and Technology VIII. Public Housing Comes to the Nation's Capital INTRODUCTION This study focuses on the "purpose-built" apartment building, the building designed and constructed to serve as a multiple dwelling.1 Nearly 4,000 "purpose-built" apartment buildings were built in Washington, D.C., dating between 1880 and 1945. Of these, approximately 3,000 are standing today. The history of the development of the Washington apartment building is both important and engaging as the account of how a new building type is introduced, cultivated, and permanently established within an urban center, and its effect on the city. The clustering of several families under one roof is often the result of economic or political necessity. Under many circumstances the question of how to house these families is moot: the families make do, working together as an extended family, or perhaps accommodating each family unit on separate floors. But to plan for the housing of separate families as independent units who choose to be lodged within the confines of a single building is a different issue, and one that has resulted in the formation of a specific building type- the "purpose-built" apartment building. : Those buildings that were designed to serve other purposes are significant here only in how they affected the appearance and utilization of the purpose-built building, either as a part of its evolution or as a source for inspiration. NFS Form 10-900-b OMB No 1024-0018 (Revised March 1992) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number E Page 2 Apartment living was introduced to Washington, D.C. in the 1870s with the make-shift conversion of large buildings, including institutions and single-family residences, into small self-sufficient living units. Some of these conversions included kitchens and baths, others did not. However, unlike their predecessor, the boarding house, or their corresponding form, the hotel, these revised buildings were intended to be permanent residences capable of accommodating numerous family units. Early Precedents The concept of multi-family living is recorded as early as ancient Rome, where apartment "houses" were a popular solution to urban living in the fourth century B.C. In keeping with economic principles still in force today, these multiple-family dwellings allowed lower and middle class people to live near urban centers by fitting many families into buildings that did not require much land. Over the centuries, the increase in construction of the apartment building resulted in the evolution of specific forms and floor plans as well as the establishment of relevant building codes concerning setbacks, fire-proofing, and height limits. The need for the building type was constant until the fifth'century A. D. when the fall of the Roman Empire and the resulting severe decline of the city rendered their function moot. The Renaissance saw a resurgence in the type's popularity, once again spurred by the growth of cities. As trade, wealth, and population made urban life attractive again, so was there an increase in interest in providing multi-family living arrangements. Venice, Europe's most populated sixteenth century city, boasted numerous apartment buildings, several of which still stand today. Other cities, such as Vienna and Edinburgh, also retain examples of apartment buildings from the period. In more modern times, most cities exhibited variations of the apartment building. Notably, London and Edinburgh developed individualized forms. It was the French example, however, which emerged as the most influential model of the building type for the United States. Paris, which still houses over 95 percent of its residential population in apartment buildings, has been regarded as a major center of apartment building design since the 1600s, although few of the earliest buildings remain. In the late nineteenth century, the Ecole des Beaux Arts brought new life and beauty to the form of the traditional multi-family dwelling. With Paris' development into one of Europe's premier cities in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the apartment building continued to solve the need for abundant and economically viable housing for its burgeoning population. It was the late nineteenth-century, French apartment buildings that