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'''Crystal Heights''' (also referred to as '''Crystal City''') was a design by American architect [[Frank Lloyd Wright]] for a hotel, apartment, and shopping complex in [[Washington, D.C.]] The project would have been built on one of the largest remaining undeveloped tracts in the city, known as the [[Oak Lawn (Washington, D.C.)|Oak Lawn]] estate or Temple Heights, on the edge of the [[Adams Morgan]] and [[Dupont Circle]] neighborhoods. The site was bounded by 19th Street, [[Columbia Road]], [[Connecticut Avenue]], and [[Florida Avenue]], all in the [[Northwest (Washington, D.C.)|northwest]] [[Quadrants of Washington, D.C.|quadrant]]. |
'''Crystal Heights''' (also referred to as '''Crystal City''') was a design by American architect [[Frank Lloyd Wright]] for a hotel, apartment, and shopping complex in [[Washington, D.C.]] The project would have been built on one of the largest remaining undeveloped tracts in the city, known as the [[Oak Lawn (Washington, D.C.)|Oak Lawn]] estate or Temple Heights, on the edge of the [[Adams Morgan]] and [[Dupont Circle]] neighborhoods. The site was bounded by 19th Street, [[Columbia Road]], [[Connecticut Avenue]], and [[Florida Avenue]], all in the [[Northwest (Washington, D.C.)|northwest]] [[Quadrants of Washington, D.C.|quadrant]]. |
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One version of the design called for 2,500 hotel rooms, small apartments, parking for 1,500 cars, shops, and a 1,000-seat theater - a diversity of uses almost never seen in structures of the time - all within a complex consisting of a broad base covering the whole site topped by |
One version of the design called for 2,500 hotel rooms, small apartments, parking for 1,500 cars, shops, and a 1,000-seat theater - a diversity of uses almost never seen in structures of the time - all within a complex consisting of a broad base covering the whole site topped by 15 towers. The proposal was defeated primarily by zoning requirements that prevented a multi-purpose structure at the site and forbade towers from [[Height of Buildings Act of 1899|rising more than 110 feet]]. The planned central tower would have been 240 feet high (73 m) and the remaining buildings 14-stories tall. After his design was rejected, Wright heavily criticized local officials and the [[National Capital Planning Commission]]. Today, the site is occupied by the [[Washington Hilton]], commercial buildings, and an apartment building. |
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==History== |
==History== |
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===Crystal Heights=== |
===Crystal Heights=== |
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In 1940 a syndicate led by developer Roy C. Thurman purchased the estate, which at the time was described as "the last great undeveloped piece of property close to the center of the downtown area."<ref name=nourse/><ref name=syndicate/> |
In August 1940 a syndicate led by developer Roy C. Thurman purchased the estate, which at the time was described as "the last great undeveloped piece of property close to the center of the downtown area."<ref name=nourse/><ref name=syndicate/> Later that month Thurman announced initial plans for the site would include an 800-room air-conditioned hotel.<ref name=pressed>{{cite news | url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1940-08-10/ed-1/seq-16/ | title=Plan for Developing Temple Heights Pressed by Thurman | work=Evening Star | date=August 10, 1940 | accessdate=October 14, 2020}}</ref> |
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The following month Thurman hired noted architect [[Frank Lloyd Wright]] to design a massive $12-$15 million project, an early example of a [[mixed-use development]]<ref name=williams/><ref name=gross>{{cite news | title=Architect Visions $15,000,000 City of Future on Temple Heights | work=The Washington Post | date=September 25, 1940 | author=Gross, Gerald G.}}</ref> Construction was slated to begin at the end of the year. Wright's plans for the U-shaped project, which he called Crystal Heights and later Crystal City, was announced at a press conference at Thurman's 1643 Connecticut Avenue office. The plan included 14 towers containing a 2,500 room hotel and apartments, a theater seating more than 1,000 people, a large shopping center, gardens, fountains, and a five-level parking deck facing Florida Avenue. A large open terrace that included the entrance to the hotel would be located on top of the parking deck. Crystal Heights was designed to only occupy around one-third of the Oak Lawn estate. Wright and Thurman said some of the estate's trees, including the Treaty Oak, would not be cut down.<ref name=williams/><ref name=gross/><ref name=usonian>{{cite news | url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1940-09-24/ed-1/seq-21/ | title=Wright Designs 'Crystal City' for Temple Heights | work=Evening Star | date=September 24, 1940 | accessdate=October 14, 2020 }}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | Wright chose the name Crystal Heights because of the building materials he had chosen - bronze, glass, and white marble, with glass being the main material. He promised the "[[Palace of Versailles|Versailles]] won't look like much when it is finished" and described Crystal Heights as "[[Usonian]]" and "organic".<ref name=usonian/><ref name=gross/> The design for the duplex apartments, which would be in four of the fifteen towers, was similar to the St. Mark's-in-the-Bouwerie Towers in [[New York City]], a Wright project that had been cancelled. Around half of the hotel rooms that occupied the remaining towers were to have working fireplaces. Most apartments and hotel rooms would have a balcony and two sides of glass.<ref name=williams/><ref name=usonian/> |
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Wright said the project would "not be built on the heights" but "rather, it will be of the heights."<ref name=gross/> Because the property was on a hill, the parking deck design would have taken advantage of the gradual incline. A tunnel was planned within the parking deck, that would supposedly allow an 8-mile (12.9 km) line of cars to all park within 20 minutes.<ref name=usonian/> |
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| ⚫ | Wright |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 23:24, 14 October 2020
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Crystal Heights (also referred to as Crystal City) was a design by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright for a hotel, apartment, and shopping complex in Washington, D.C. The project would have been built on one of the largest remaining undeveloped tracts in the city, known as the Oak Lawn estate or Temple Heights, on the edge of the Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle neighborhoods. The site was bounded by 19th Street, Columbia Road, Connecticut Avenue, and Florida Avenue, all in the northwest quadrant.
One version of the design called for 2,500 hotel rooms, small apartments, parking for 1,500 cars, shops, and a 1,000-seat theater - a diversity of uses almost never seen in structures of the time - all within a complex consisting of a broad base covering the whole site topped by 15 towers. The proposal was defeated primarily by zoning requirements that prevented a multi-purpose structure at the site and forbade towers from rising more than 110 feet. The planned central tower would have been 240 feet high (73 m) and the remaining buildings 14-stories tall. After his design was rejected, Wright heavily criticized local officials and the National Capital Planning Commission. Today, the site is occupied by the Washington Hilton, commercial buildings, and an apartment building.
History
Site history
The land where Crystal Heights was to be built was the remaining portion of a historic estate originally called Widow's Mite, and later Oak Lawn, Dean Estate, and Temple Heights. The property was acquired in 1660 and during the next 200 years, land was sold until the remaining estate was around 10 acres (4 ha), bounded by present-day 19th Street, Columbia Road, Connecticut Avenue, and Florida Avenue. A Federal-style house was built around 1820 on the northern end of the property, just a few yards from the Treaty Oak, where it was said early settlers and members of the local Nacotchtank tribe signed a treaty. The house was later expanded and renovated into a large Second Empire building that overlooked the city.[1][2]
A Masonic group purchased the estate in 1922 with plans to build a large temple complex on the site. The $3,000,000 project would have included temples, an auditorium for 3,000 people, and a large central tower. Despite raising a large amount for the project, the plan was cancelled following the 1929 stock market crash and start of the Great Depression.[2][3][4] A few years later Congress proposed purchasing part of the property and turning it into a public park, but the offer was turned down.[1][5]
Crystal Heights
In August 1940 a syndicate led by developer Roy C. Thurman purchased the estate, which at the time was described as "the last great undeveloped piece of property close to the center of the downtown area."[1][5] Later that month Thurman announced initial plans for the site would include an 800-room air-conditioned hotel.[6]
The following month Thurman hired noted architect Frank Lloyd Wright to design a massive $12-$15 million project, an early example of a mixed-use development[2][7] Construction was slated to begin at the end of the year. Wright's plans for the U-shaped project, which he called Crystal Heights and later Crystal City, was announced at a press conference at Thurman's 1643 Connecticut Avenue office. The plan included 14 towers containing a 2,500 room hotel and apartments, a theater seating more than 1,000 people, a large shopping center, gardens, fountains, and a five-level parking deck facing Florida Avenue. A large open terrace that included the entrance to the hotel would be located on top of the parking deck. Crystal Heights was designed to only occupy around one-third of the Oak Lawn estate. Wright and Thurman said some of the estate's trees, including the Treaty Oak, would not be cut down.[2][7][8]
Wright chose the name Crystal Heights because of the building materials he had chosen - bronze, glass, and white marble, with glass being the main material. He promised the "Versailles won't look like much when it is finished" and described Crystal Heights as "Usonian" and "organic".[8][7] The design for the duplex apartments, which would be in four of the fifteen towers, was similar to the St. Mark's-in-the-Bouwerie Towers in New York City, a Wright project that had been cancelled. Around half of the hotel rooms that occupied the remaining towers were to have working fireplaces. Most apartments and hotel rooms would have a balcony and two sides of glass.[2][8]
Wright said the project would "not be built on the heights" but "rather, it will be of the heights."[7] Because the property was on a hill, the parking deck design would have taken advantage of the gradual incline. A tunnel was planned within the parking deck, that would supposedly allow an 8-mile (12.9 km) line of cars to all park within 20 minutes.[8]
References
- ^ a b c "Beautiful Temple Heights Estate is Center of Historic Washington Section". Evening Star. September 22, 1940. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "From a Bucolic 19th Century Estate to the Hilton & Universal Buildings" (PDF). The InTowner. December 12, 2009. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- ^ Goode, James M. (2003). Capital Losses: A Cultural History of Washington's Destroyed Buildings. Smithsonian Books. p. 94. ISBN 978-1588341051.
- ^ "Oak Lawn Famed for Treaty Providing Land for District". Evening Star. August 11, 1934. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
{{cite news}}:|archive-date=requires|archive-url=(help) - ^ a b "Temple Heights Option Taken by Syndicate". Evening Star. August 9, 1940. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- ^ "Plan for Developing Temple Heights Pressed by Thurman". Evening Star. August 10, 1940. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Gross, Gerald G. (September 25, 1940). "Architect Visions $15,000,000 City of Future on Temple Heights". The Washington Post.
- ^ a b c d "Wright Designs 'Crystal City' for Temple Heights". Evening Star. September 24, 1940. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
