What interests me the most about the history of the 1968 DC riots is how much it impacted my neighborhood directly. 7th Street, as I mentioned yesterday, had the largest chunk of buildings damaged in the riots, and when you know where to look, you can still see the scars today. Part of the problem was that blocks that were damaged in the '68 riots were rebuilt in the 70's, which was just a bad era for public buildings. A perfect example of this is the timeless photo that has been reproduced a lot this week via the Library of Congress. Here it is again, in small form, followed by a closeup:
As you can see, the closeup shows that the picture was taken at the corner of 7th and N Streets, NW, right here in our beloved Shaw. I initially assumed that this was looking south on 7th St, toward Mt. Vernon Square and the damaged buildings in that area. However, I was able to find a couple of photos of the same corner on the website of the Historical Society of Washington, DC (which they seem pretty averse to folks republishing). These other photos, combined with the damage maps below, show that this photo is actually looking north on 7th St, which would make the buildings in the image the east side of the 1300 block of 7th St. Here is what replaced that block:
While this building may meet needs in terms of housing, it is a scar in the neighborhood--it completely disrupts the flow of the city--mostly three stories buildings suddenly meet this ugly thing. Unfortunately, the other sections on 7th that were damaged have been replaced with equally hideous buildings--structures that look like they should have been in the suburbs, not in a major city. Excluding the convention center, look at the blocks between Q St and L St on 7th--numerous buildings that are painful to look at (if only Jane Jacobs had been advising the redevelopment efforts). Not only that, but there are also numerous empty lots, that as far as I can tell, have been empty since the riots. Below are damage maps and pictures of the 7th St corridor.
I definitely recommend going to Flickr to view these images in larger formats. (The whole set on Flickr here.) What the image above shows is the damage on 7th St on the map and then in an aerial photo. The black shapes are buildings damaged over 50% (and essentially considered a total loss). In particular, note that the buildings on the corner of 7th and P Streets, both the northeast corner and the southwest corner were destroyed. As far as I can tell, nothing has been rebuilt in either spot since the riots. Correct me if I'm wrong. Next is a larger version of the aerial photo of 7th St. Note the numbers at various points, which correspond to the images in the next set.
While this building may meet needs in terms of housing, it is a scar in the neighborhood--it completely disrupts the flow of the city--mostly three stories buildings suddenly meet this ugly thing. Unfortunately, the other sections on 7th that were damaged have been replaced with equally hideous buildings--structures that look like they should have been in the suburbs, not in a major city. Excluding the convention center, look at the blocks between Q St and L St on 7th--numerous buildings that are painful to look at (if only Jane Jacobs had been advising the redevelopment efforts). Not only that, but there are also numerous empty lots, that as far as I can tell, have been empty since the riots. Below are damage maps and pictures of the 7th St corridor.
These images are hard to get much out of without looking at very closely. I decided to focus on the corner of 7th & P Streets NW. I took pictures of the intersection today and compared them to what I found in the images contained within this report. The first images are of the SW corner of 7th & P, i.e. the 1400 block of 7th street. You'll note the O Street Market on the left.
Obviously, this whole block has issues due to the destruction of the O Street market, but the corner of 7th & P seems to have been vacant for 40 years. (Am I wrong?) Next is the NW corner of 7th & P streets.
In this block, you'll notice that a huge chunk of the west side of 7th street was absolutely destroyed. Unfortunately, the damaged buildings were replaced with Kelsey Gardens, a project that was not suited for the city and prevented any efforts to return this section of 7th to the bustling main street that it used to be. Lastly the NE corner of 7th & P streets.
Here the damage photo comes from the Shaw Heritage Trail sign right by this corner. The damage shows this corner was also decimated. Today it remains empty. A true tragedy.
(All the damage photos & maps come from the National Capital Planning Commission report referenced yesterday, unless otherwise noted.)
(All the damage photos & maps come from the National Capital Planning Commission report referenced yesterday, unless otherwise noted.)
[this is good]
Posted by: Ned | 02/09/2009 at 07:52 AM
[this is good]
Posted by: petia | 03/12/2009 at 01:46 PM
[this is good]
Posted by: peltonin | 04/11/2009 at 12:22 PM