This week, the 50-year-old Rosslyn Holiday Inn was imploded to make way for a new
development project that will include residential, hotel, and conference facilities. This
massive yet controlled demolition was awesome to watch and caused quite a stir for
miles around.
District Real Estate® is excited that the Washington Metropolitan area continues to
grow (check out development projects we’re working on with our development partners
here) Watching the demolition got us thinking about all the structures in D.C. that are
protected and can’t be removed/destroyed because of their historical significance.
According to the 2020 District of Columbia Historic Preservation Plan, the city has more
than 700 historic landmarks and 27,000 contributing buildings in historic districts.
Washington has one of the nation’s largest inventories of protected historic properties.
Many of these landmarks are well known— the White House, the Capitol, the Supreme
Court, the Smithsonian Castle, and the Washington National Cathedral for example.
But a few are less famous and still will never be demolished because of their historical
significance. Some of the lessor known are:
The Uline Arena,1132, 1140, and 1146 3rd Street NE Washington D.C. The site of
many historic events including where the Beatles played their first American concert.
The Arena was later named the Washington Coliseum. Today, it is an REI Flagship
store and a co-working space where District Real Estate® has an office, along with its
sister company, OFFMARKETDC, and its architect’s office.
The President Gerald R. Ford Jr. House, 514 Crown View Drive, Alexandria VA. Built
in 1955, it was the home of Gerald Ford from then until he became President on August
9, 1974.
Building 54, formerly the location of The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology at Walter
Reed Army Medical Center is the nation’s only building constructed to survive a
hydrogen bomb. Today, it is a home for the American College of Radiology.
Embassy Gulf Service Station, P Street near Dupont Circle and the entrance to
Georgetown. Built in 1937 as part of an effort to create buildings that looked less like
gas stations and more like banks and libraries.
L. Ron Hubbard House, 1812 19 th Street NW Washington D.C. used to be a private
home during the Gilded Age. The property is currently being used by the Church of
Scientology.
