Historic designation and rejuvenation Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site

aerial view of pennsylvania avenue nw facing east in 2007. visible landmarks include old post office pavilion (bottom center, tower), j. edgar hoover building (center left, tan building), national gallery of art (center rearground), , market square (middle left, semicircular plaza).

moynihan left public service (temporarily) in 1965, , harry mcpherson, counsel president johnson, kept pennsylvania avenue redevelopment plan alive , shepherded through additional revisions. nonetheless, rejuvenation of pennsylvania avenue , area north of street began occurring 1965, though no permanent redevelopment authority had yet been established. first building developed under 1964 master plan 451 12th street nw (at site of old raleigh hotel). brutalist style structure designed edmund w. dreyfuss & associates, worked closely john woodbridge (a staff architect president s council on pennsylvania avenue , member of firm skidmore, owings , merrill).

on march 25, 1965, president johnson issued executive order no. 11210, established temporary commission on pennsylvania avenue. temporary commission charged analyzing engineering, financial, planning, , other relevant considerations essential ensuring adoption , implementation of 1964 master plan, recommending appropriate legislation president , congress. temporary commission instructed coordinate efforts national capital planning commission s master plan city. temporary commission interim measure designed ensure no buildings incompatible plan built until legislation regarding master plan passed. although aspects of master plan controversial among groups, district of columbia enacted zoning changes permit mixed-used development , buildings conformed owings plan in april 1965. construction of first private building under master plan, 451 12th street nw, began in august 1965. legislation make temporary commission permanent , give extensive powers introduced in october 1965, strong opposition proposed national plaza emerged , hindered passage of bill. size of plaza remained intact late 1967, , large new arts , office building (to built between 11th , 13th streets nw on e street nw) proposed.

after 2 years, congress had still not acted establish permanent pennsylvania avenue commission, president johnson issued executive order 11347 extend life of temporary commission on pennsylvania avenue 2 years. lack of redevelopment began have repercussions existing businesses on avenue. faced repeated threats existence , lower occupancy due competition , anti-vietnam war protests on pennsylvania avenue, willard hotel closed on july 15, 1968. temporary commission struggled obtain redevelopment along pennsylvania avenue. local landowners refused make investments long property remained subject condemnation. temporary commission subsequently scaled size of national plaza down half original size, , began seeking private development dollars build square , associated buildings. in october 1969, still stymied lack of movement on redevelopment, temporary commission agreed (at urging of member elwood r. quesada, president , chief executive officer of l enfant plaza corporation) seek $200 million in private financing build several luxury apartment buildings on north side of pennsylvania avenue. temporary commission ceased function on november 15, 1969, due lack of funds.

the j. edgar hoover building, headquarters of fbi.

moynihan, however, counselor president urban affairs in nixon administration in 1969, continued provide leadership on rejuvenation of pennsylvania avenue. moynihan proposed major shift in redevelopment plan: rather funding redevelopment solely federal funds, suggested creating government-owned corporation $200 million revolving fund spur redevelopment along pennsylvania avenue. interested in seeing redevelopment occur before bicentennial celebrations in 1976, congress took moynihan s plan in august 1970. extensive controversy still raged on many aspects of plan, nathaniel owings role in redevelopment plans. president nixon made daytime walking tour of pennsylvania avenue on september 8, 1970, , expressed support moynihan plan. bill, opposed local housing advocates , businessmen budget-conscious legislators, stalled in congress 2 years. in 1972, nixon once more signaled strong support bill bicentennial measure. in april, democratic representative wayne n. aspinall, chair of house committee on natural resources, , republican rep. john p. saylor, committee s ranking minority member, co-sponsored bill provided 15-member commission advised committee of landlords , tenants affected area. master plan created new commission have reviewed secretary of interior , relevant d.c. government agencies before being submitted congress, have 60 days disapprove plan majority vote of either house. legislation authorized new corporation spend $1 million preparing master plan, , authorized borrow $50 million treasury or private sources fund redevelopment. congress approved revised bill in october 1972, president nixon signed bill law on october 30, 1972.

the pennsylvania avenue development corporation (padc) created on april 17, 1973. president nixon named elwood quesada padc s first chairman, , corporation s board of directors had first meeting in june. revised owings plan redevelopment called question john woodbridge, padc s new staff director , architect in owings firm. upset way massive, brutalist-style j. edgar hoover building disrupted foot traffic , retail trade along pennsylvania avenue, padc instead proposed stronger emphasis on retail , housing in new master plan. among earliest projects approved market square, mixed-use development on north side of pennsylvania avenue nw between 7th , 9th streets nw contained housing retail areas , included space new memorial. padc laid out preliminary plan redevelopment march 1974, , approved final plan in october 1974. willard hotel, old post office pavilion, , other historic buildings on pennsylvania avenue retained , underground expressway removed plan.

market square, 1 of first developments approved in redevelopment of pennsylvania avenue.



freedom plaza, looking northwest old post office pavilion in 2005. plaza s inlaid stone depicts parts of pierre (peter) charles l enfant s plan city of washington, showing present sites of federal triangle, united states capitol, white house , part of national mall, plan s legends.

the padc asked congress appropriate $111 million land acquisition, landscaping, , other needs. plan saw yet further revisions during period, reducing size of buildings along north side of avenue, reducing size of proposed western plaza, , allowing greater variety of buildings , usage. in march 1977, congress provided first $29 million in funding , borrowing authority padc begin work. landscaping , widening of sidewalks began in fall of 1977, , rerouting of traffic began construction on new western plaza (renamed freedom plaza in 1988) undertaken. following year, staff began working on 2 development prospectuses: 1 willard , adjacent properties, , other properties surrounding national press building.

over next 2 decades, padc persuaded private corporations invest more $1.5 billion in executing master plan. padc funded improvement of public spaces, redesigning appearance of pennsylvania avenue , building 7 new plazas. among changes made alterations in lighting , benches, may removed accommodate inaugural parades , other large events , marches.

the pennsylvania avenue development corporation dissolved in 1996.

21st century rejuvenation drive

deterioration of pennsylvania avenue historic district apparent second decade of 21st century. padc s 1960s design (which emphasized low sidewalk lighting not detract nearby federal triangle or united states capitol) left street inadequately lighted @ night. national park service, chronically underfunded previous 4 decades, allowed sidewalks, landscape plantings, , seating deteriorate. refusal of federal government allow retail in federal triangle , j. edgar hoover building (largely security reasons) discouraged foot traffic @ night. combined low lighting, pedestrians felt street unsafe after dark.

property values in historic district reflected deteriorating physical , economic conditions: class office space in 2014 leased $80 per square foot less average nearby city streets, , vacancy rate office space anticipated reach 21.8 percent 2015. washington business journal editorialized on october 1, 2014, that, despite planning, little of value had been implemented on pennsylvania avenue. newspaper cited crumbling infrastructure, weak public spaces, , imposing, secure federal presence makes pennsylvania avenue dead zone outside of lunch rush , occasional march. described freedom plaza ill-planned, hoover building brutalist landmark sucks life out of entire block , reagan building structure never met expectations public gathering place , , federal triangle monolithic barrier severs connection national mall south.

in july 2014, national capital planning commission (ncpc) announced new pennsylvania avenue initiative. planning project includes 10 government agencies—led government of district of columbia, general services administration, national park service—and private landowners along pennsylvania avenue. ncpc said initiative first develop work-plan, , begin identifying , proposing solutions short-term needs. long-term strategic vision , framework developed on time address long-term issues.

in september 2014, bill introduced council of district of columbia resurrect padc, under control of , financed district s government, rather multiple parties ncpc s initiative anticipates. legislation introduced after concerns raised pennsylvania avenue needed revitalization .