Walter Reed Army Medical Center Historic District
The 110-acre Walter Reed Army Medical Center Historic District is a good example of redeveloping a historic campus for new uses.
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The Walter Reed Army Medical Center was one of the oldest operating U.S. Army general hospitals. Therefore, it played an important role in medical advancements, and the Walter Reed campus was also associated with medical education at the Walter Reed Army Medical School. The 110-acre campus – bounded by Alaska Avenue, Fern Street, Georgia Avenue, Aspen Street, and 16th Street NW – is also significant for its architecture and design. The campus’ layout was influenced by both Beaux Arts planning principles and John Shaw Billings’ revolutionary design for Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
The original site for the Walter Reed campus was acquired in 1905, and the hospital opened in 1908. Between 1920 and 1922, the hospital expanded with the acquisition of additional property that had already been subdivided into residential lots. Fifteen detached houses were included in the purchase, and were adapted for officer’s housing. Buildings and structures contributing to the historic district date from 1905 to 1956.
The Central Administration Building is the focal structure in the campus’ formal, axial plan, with a series of dispersed wards and support facilities arranged in an ample landscaped setting. The campus’ historic buildings are united by their Georgian Colonial Revival style architecture in red brick, with wood and limestone trim.
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center closed in 2011 and combined with the Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Since then, approximately 60% of the former Walter Reed campus has been redeveloped as The Parks at Walter Reed, a mixed-use development that encompasses both historic properties and new construction, while the other 40% has been rebranded as the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Missions Center.
The Parks includes a new supermarket, housing, and outdoor amenities. The redevelopment also includes the Children’s National Research and Innovation Campus and the DC International School.
DC Inventory: April 24, 2014
