In February 1931, D.C. Permit to Build #140167 was issued to Kennedy-Warren, Inc. to erect an eight-story apartment hotel at an estimated cost of $3,200,000. Architect Joseph Younger's original design of the Art Deco-style Kennedy-Warren apartment building included 441 apartments, with a total of 2,029 rooms, but the Great Depression and the financial difficulties it created resulted in only half of the original design being built.
A pre-construction Washington Star article noted an "ultra modern innovation" in the design: a circulation system that would pull cool air from the adjoining parkland and pump it into the building during the hot summer months. When the Kennedy-Warren was completed, it was considered the largest and most architecturally significant apartment building in the city.
In 1935, the Kennedy-Warren received a rear left wing addition. The supervising architect for the addition, A.H. Sonnemann, followed Joseph Younger's original design and constructed a portion of the uncompleted half. This addition brought an end to an unofficial hiatus on large-scale apartment building construction that had followed the completion of the original section of the Kennedy-Warren. It added 107 units to the original building, bringing the total to 317 of the planned 441. The Kennedy-Warren was the grand finale of pre-World War II development in the Connecticut Avenue apartment building corridor, and presently stands in excellent condition.
DC Inventory: January 17, 1990
National Register: September 7, 1994
]]>The garden-style construction at 3901 Connecticut Avenue NW fulfilled many of the aesthetic and logistic needs of the residents that lived there. The building had direct streetcar access that allowed commuting workers to easily travel to and from work, while also maintaining aesthetically-pleasing elements like its Tudor Revival exterior, suburban-like landscaping, and a large entrance lobby.
With all of the design elements and convenient location, the building appealed to middle-class residents for many reasons. With major growth in D.C.'s population in the interwar years between World War I and II, 3901 Connecticut Avenue NW had everything a federal employee needed in order to live comfortably within the city. The increase in social acceptance towards apartment-style living also helped with the transition towards many D.C. residents living in apartment buildings versus single-family homes. Designed by George T. Santmyers, this apartment building exemplified new housing and population trends within the city.
DC Inventory: March 28, 1996 (including lobby interior)
National Register: September 11, 1997
This site is a stop on the D.C. Apartment Buildings tour as an example of a Garden apartment building.
]]>Cathedral Mansions, a grand garden-style apartment building with over 400 units, was one of the first buildings constructed by Harry Wardman after D.C.'s 1920 zoning laws changed. Built in the Classical Revival style, the three buildings that make up Cathedral Mansions contains open landscaping meant to blend the man-made structures with the natural scenery found in the city.
With cities like New York and D.C. creating new zoning laws requiring open space in residential buildings, the grand garden building allowed for developers to continue to create larger apartment complexes while also retaining the natural landscape of their neighborhoods. Cathedral Mansions contained three separate buildings, with each having similar but distinct architecture that complemented one another. The buildings furthered the ability for more people to live and work in the city, with its location on Connecticut Avenue NW making it an optimal stop for the city's streetcar system. With the ability to commute using public transportation, apartment buildings like Cathedral Mansions became essential to creating "apartment corridors" where construction boomed during this time, especially after World War I concluded. Its success with the new zoning laws also made it an ideal location for future development in the area, with many buildings following suit in construction and design.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Cathedral Mansions North and Center were separately purchased and remodeled by different developers; Cathedral Mansions South was also purchased in the 1960s, but did not undergo the same level of remodeling as the others. Today, the buildings have a mixture of both commercial and residential units.
DC Inventory: May 17, 1989
National Register: September 9, 1994
This site is included on the D.C. Apartment Buildings tour as an example of a Grand Garden apartment building.
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