Pershing Park, designed by renowned American landscape architect M. Paul Friedberg, could be significantly altered if plans go through for a new National World War I Memorial Park in downtown Washington, DC. Pershing Park opened in 1981 and was named for General John J. Pershing in honor of his leadership during World War I. Plans for Pershing Park began in 1972 when Congress created the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation to direct and oversee improvements to “America’s main street.” The group's attention soon fell on the future Pershing Park site, a small block at the terminus of Pennsylvania Avenue, east of the White House. Friedberg's design created a multilevel park with lawn t

Mark your calendar! Docomomo DC is pleased to invite you to the annual fall Tour Day. This year's lecture and tour will feature Washington, D.C.'s brutalist architecture. October 7, 2017 Downtown Washington, D.C. Lecture followed by Walking + Metro Tour Update: Registration (through Eventbrite) is now live! Read more about Tour Day 2017, or skip the reading and go straight to buying your ticket.

Washington’s Metrorail has come under fire, literally, in the last few years, but the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)’s recent effort to paint the vaults at Union Station has sounded an alarm in the architecture and preservation community. Metrorail can trace its history back to 1967 when an interstate compact between the federal government, the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia authorized the creation of WMATA to develop and operate a regional transit system. WMATA approved initial plans for a 98 mile system in 1968, and construction began the following year. The first leg, 4.6 miles of track and five stations between Rhode Island Avenue and Farragut North

Docomomo DC Tour Day 2016: Montgomery Modern BusTour The Montgomery County Planning Department, in partnership with Docomomo DC and AIA Potomac Valley, hosted the Montgomery Modern Bus Tour 2016. The tour explored the Montgomery County work of Deigert and Yerkes, a leading modernist architecture firm in the Washington, DC area, best known for the National Arboretum Administration Building. Operating from 1947 to 1967, the partnership of Robert Campbell Deigert and David Norton Yerkes, created distinctive designs with variety in materials and textures, surprising angles, and contrasting spaces. Led by Montgomery Modern author Clare Lise Kelly, the tour included the rustic modern houses of Tu

Docomomo DC Tour Day 2015: Watergate Docomomo DC celebrates Tour Day in Washington by taking a rare tour of the landmark Watergate complex currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. Designed by Italian architect Luigi Moretti, the complex is a stunning example of mid-century modernism in the heart of the nation’s capital. Constructed between 1964 and 1971, the Watergate is comprised of three luxury residential cooperatives, two office buildings and a hotel. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 and composed of more than 600 residences, the Watergate complex is situated on the Potomac River. Tour Day begins with an introductory lecture followed by walking tours of the pu

Docomomo DC Tour Day 2014: Southwest DC Docomomo DC celebrates its first Tour Day in Washington by participating in a walking tour of Southwest DC. This neighborhood boasts the greatest concentration of mid-century resources in the city, with buildings and landscapes by I.M. Pei, Chloethiel Woodard Smith, Harry Weese, Sasaki Walker and Partners, and Dan Kiley, to name a few. The tour begins with a 30-minute introduction at Arena Stage followed by walking tours of the neighborhood, with access to unique interior spaces at Arena Stage, Waterfront Tower, River Park, and Harbour Square. The afternoon culminates with a reception in the roof-top Club Room at Harbour Square, overlooking Kiley’s Wat

Upcoming exhibit in the DC area: Montgomery Modern Exhibit From the Montgomery Modern website: The Montgomery Modern exhibit on mid-century modern architecture in Montgomery County is based on the book, Montgomery Modern: Modern Architecture in Montgomery County. 2017 Exhibit Schedule: March-April Montgomery County Planning Department, 8787 Georgia Avenue May-June Silver Spring Library, 900 Wayne Avenue. Author Talk, May 4th 6pm July-August Davis Library, 6400 Democracy Blvd. Author Talk on Jewish Community Builders, July 13, 7pm More information available here: Montgomery Modern ​