Helicon Works Blog

I asked some friends recently for their favorite buildings in DC. Many are predictable, some are unique. Here's the list ~

· Lincoln Memorial

· Jefferson Memorial.

· The Islamic Center (2551 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington D.C.)

· Finnish Embassy

· National Church (Episcopalian) --- and don’t miss the nearby garden, the crypt and attic spaces)

· Russian Orthodox Cathedral (close to National Cathedral)

· Outdoor space of the Hirshorn Gallery

· Atrium of the Portrait Gallery

· The Library of Congress (main building, all its interior and specially the interior dome/reading room – you need to be a member to gain access)

· The National Gallery of Art West Wing by John Russell Pope (esp. the dome and the courtyards)

· Union Station

· Franciscan Monastery,

· Botanic Garden,

· Arboretum,

· Kennedy Center Rooftop Deck,

· Roosevelt Island

· Jack's Boathouse

· Fletcher's Boathouse

· Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

· St. Matthew's emphasizes the drama of noisy street transition to silence, Romanesque (I think) church design with all the gold trimmings:
http://www.stmatthewscathedral.org/

· Hotel Tabard Inn - the best experience of smallness, human-scale flow, quiet, cozy, and awesome martini and life, nearby the cathedral:
http://www.tabardinn.com/ (also across the street is the Iron Gate restaurant with portico seating)

· The building of the Organization of American States (OAS) in DC

· U-Line Arena. It’s just a parking lot inside now so access isn’t restricted. It’s amazing and while not exactly quiet, it has very unusual lighting and relatively good sound isolation from the CIP concrete structure.

· For more interesting, forgotten buildings Check: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2010/07/23/GA2010072302501.html

· Fort Washington. We don’t have many massive buildings here in Washington, but it has massive masonry and earth walls and the quality of silence within those massive walls is very different than other quiet places. There are some interesting lighting conditions there as well.

· The Third Church of Christ Scientist, a sanctuary of the Christian Science movement (http://www.thirdchurchdc.org/washingtondc/910 16th Street, NW, 20006)

· Holy Trinity Chapel on N Street between 35th and 36th in Georgetown (original 1740s chapel) is an interesting space tied to a quiet garden.

· Metropolitan Community Church (Suzane Reatig, architect, 1993) http://mccdc.com/ --- 474 Ridge Street NW, Washington DC 20001

· The New Tenley Town Library

· Dumbarton Oaks Gardens in Georgetown (specially, the oval pool and pleached linden trees)

· The Dahlgren Quadrangle and Chapel of the Sacred (Georgetown University)

· The Olmstead grotto on the Capital grounds.

· The Scottish Rite of Freemasonry Temple by John Russell Pope at 16th and S streets NW DC (numerology and proportion are important in addition to light and silence; count each set of steps as you approach the front door)

· The Folger Shakespeare Library by Paul Cret (Luis Kahn's teacher); visit the Great Hall, Elizabethan Theater, and the Paster Reading Room.

· Adams Memorial in Rock Creek Cemetery (the one which is actually just north of the US Soldiers Home, i.e. close to cua); sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens; bench by McKim Mead; commissioned by Henry Adams for his wife Mirian Hooper Adams. It used to be surrounded by high bushes and hard to get past them and into this quiet contemplative space; they chopped the bushes down maybe 3 or 4 years ago, but maybe they've grown back. The hidden quality of this space made it quite powerful along with the mysterious figure seated in front of you.

· The Community Mausoleum at Fort Lincoln Cemetery behind the little church. Cemetery at east corner of Eastern Avenue and Bladensgurg Road just over the DC line in MD.

· First Congregational United Church of Christ by Williams and Tsien at 10th & G streets in NW DC.

· Lavinia Fici Pasquina's House (that light off the copper is quite magical!)

· Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on Constitution Ave across from the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

· The Corcoran Gallery of Art

· MacMillan Reservoir vaults.

If you made it this far, please add your favorites!!