Our Historic Mount Pleasant (HMP) Newsletter strives to inform community members about historic district permit requirements, technical issues and solutions, and other aspects of the historic district, including its history.
As Mt. Pleasant Evolves, Who Makes New Rules?
While some think of HMP as the great and powerful enforcer of preservation regulations, all decision-making power rests with DC’s Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB), ably supported by its Historic Preservation Office (HPO). The HPRB has overseen DC’s historic districts since 1983, establishing design standards and guidelines and reviewing proposed construction for compatibility. Sites around Rock Creek Park are also under the jurisdiction of the US Commission of Fine Arts and overseen by them as well.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Historic districts evolve. When new issues arise, HPO’s experts investigate and report on them to the HPRB and develop new guidance. One recent example concerned a required permit application for 1745 Park Road NW to install a roll-up gate on the alley. The HPRB Staff Report, drafted by Tim Dennée, an expert and nuanced HPO staff member who reviews work in Mt. Pleasant, considered issues such as use of garage-like overhead tracks, equipment housing projecting into the alley, and the need to conceal the housing and motor behind a fascia or entablature.
Mr. Denee found that, while existing gates in other historic districts might be considered characteristic, based on his survey of Mount Pleasant alleys, this is not the case here. In Mt. Pleasant, roll-up gates will be more likely to be approved if they minimize their visual impact. Gates on the first two lots in from a 90-degree intersection of an alley with a street will likely not be approved, nor will those even farther from a street intersection when the angle of the street clearly exposes them to the street.
Mt. Pleasant History
Most houses built in the early 20th Century did not have automobile garages or even parking places, since few people owned automobiles. During the 1910s, chauffeurs’ quarters were often included within garages, some times in a loft. In 1909, the developer of nine houses near 17th St. NW and Lamont St. NW said of the three remaining houses: “TWO OF THESE HAVE GARAGES OF THE MOST MODERN TYPE.” By 1916, some larger houses came with a garage, but most other houses, like the one at 1814 Kenyon St. NW, simply touted a “large rear yard to a 20-foot paved alley, with room for garage.”
By 1910, there were numerous books available with plans for building your own garage. “Radford’s garages and how to build them” by “The Largest Architectural Establishment in the World,” had fifty- five designs of every description (including Prairie Style). Some had pits for car repair and a room for the “Man” who took care of the car. It also had descriptions of garage equipment and accessories, like gasoline pumps and storage tanks. Garages were here to stay, the author wrote: “As a factor in the evolution of business and social life, the automobile, or self-propelled power-driven vehicle, is already playing a part as spectacular and important as did its predecessor, the bicycle.”
According to this 1916 ad, for a Tennessee Ave. NE development near Lincoln Park, “Properties Having Garage Conveniences Are Nowadays Sought For and Considered a Very Valuable Asset… We must have room for our auto is the first requirement.”
By 1920, as evidenced by a list of “Permits issued for more than an estimated cost of $100,” many people, like May Miller of 3323 18th street were building them. Hers cost $150.
Or you could order pre-fabricated one and two-car garages from the 1925 Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalogue for as little as $126! See the page, below for details.
Today, secondary buildings such as garages and sheds are important character defining elements in some historic districts. They give scale and texture to the environment, sometimes providing a pleasing contrast to the primary buildings.
