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DESIGNING THE NATION'S CAPITAL: The 1901 Plan for Washington, D.C.
PREFACE
By Charles H. Atherton, FAIA, Secretary (1965-2004)
Commission of Fine Arts
FROM the inception of the Commission of Fine Arts in
1910 to the present day, there has been a splendid written record of its
activities, especially regarding the implementation of the Senate Park
(McMillan) Commission's recommendations for the development of
Washington. Having itself been an outgrowth of this commission, it was
only natural that out of respect for its origin, the major decisions on
the realization of the designs for the monumental core were carefully
chronicled.
The Commission's Secretary from 1922 to 1954, H.P.
Caemmerer, wrote a brief description of each new public building as it
was completed, and in 1932 the Commission published his 715-page book,
Washington, the National Capital, which outlined the history of
the development of the capital from L'Enfant's plan to the Federal
Triangle project, including public architecture of all kinds,
governmental and private, as well as memorials, statues, and parks.
There was, however, nothing written on the
architectural history of Washington outside the monumental core. The
impetus to do this came as a result of the passage in 1950 of
legislation creating the Old Georgetown Historic District, which the
Commission was to administer. Authorization was given to do a survey of
the area's architecture, but as is often the case, no appropriation was
attached. After more than fifteen years of trying to obtain funds, the
Commission decided it had to employ a different approach, utilizing
volunteers, student interns, and loans of personnel and services from
other agencies, in particular the Historic American Buildings Survey.
Thus a new publication program was born, first focusing on Historic
Georgetown and later, with congressional funding, branching out to
include books covering the early development of Washington architecture
(1791-1861), the bridges of Washington, and the industrial and
mercantile structures of the Georgetown waterfront. These were followed
by major works on the architecture of Massachusetts Avenue and Sixteenth
Street. There were some sixteen publications in all. And so, when the
100th anniversary of the Senate Park Commission's report occurred in
2002, it seemed appropriate that it be celebrated with a publication of
its own. Happily, Congress agreed.
As with any successful program, there is always one
person involved who deserves the lion's share of the credit. Sue Kohler
joined the Commission's staff in 1974 and was first associated with the
Massachusetts Avenue books and the volumes on Sixteenth Street. It
should be noted that her work on these publications was in addition to
her regular duties which included the recording of the minutes of
Commission meetings, a most arduous and demanding task, as well as the
writing of the Commission's Brief History series, updated every five
years or so. She was a rare find when she joined our small staff, seven
persons for most of these years. Her remarkable role in these publications,
including this one, represents a unique contribution to the
scholarship of the architecture of our national capital.
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Last Modified: March 20, 2009
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