Park Tower

Built 1929, Park Tower signifies the changing architectural aesthetics for the coming decade.

Park Tower illustrates the significant effort expended at the beginning of the twentieth century to develop Sixteenth Street as a prestigious avenue; this was a fashionable address for congressmen, professionals, and other notables during the 1930s.

Designed by architect William Harris, Park Tower exhibits many of the qualities and details associated with Art Deco, while also reflecting important changes in aesthetic philosophies. Built in 1929, the structure was one of the first major buildings to break away from the city’s predominant Beaux Arts and Colonial Revival expression styles.

The five-story apartment building features an irregular plan. The exterior is a series of repetitive bays covered in golden buff-colored brick, with a rooftop loggia which rises above squared bays. The building also features limestone and patterned brick with chevron, diaper, and oak leaf motifs.

DC Inventory: January 20, 1988
National Register: October 30, 1989

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2440 16th Street NW