Church Sues to Demolish Historic Church Building
The Third Church of Christ, Scientist in Washington, D.C., has filed suit against the city to remove the landmark designation on their building, which limits what can be done to alter the site -- or demolish it completely, which is the church's hope.
"'Little is more representative of a church’s theology than its architecture, and this building is not us," said Darrow Kirkpatrick, the church’s lay leader."
"The church has sought to demolish the Araldo Cossutta-designed chapel since 1991, making way for a smaller and more energy-efficient building. Those plans were disrupted when local preservation groups filed an application to designate the building as an historic landmark. The landmark application was essentially tabled until April 2007, when the church headquarters in Boston sold the land beneath the chapel to ICG Properties. ICG, a District-based developer, has proposed redeveloping the site to include a smaller church, as well as separate office and retail space.
The new plans revived the landmark application, and D.C.’s Historic Preservation Review Board voted unanimously in December 2007 to landmark the building."
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from the article:
"The church alleges that the 37-year-old building demands expensive upkeep and maintenance for the small congregation — it costs $8,000 to assemble scaffolding to change lightbulbs — and contains uninsulated walls that retain moisture and chill the rooms."
Charles Siegel
chuch
Christian Science.church as designated historic property
who owns the air rights? take the air rights and
build over the church.
over under sideways down.,
.
and let the Hysteric Pres people foot the cost. They can even pay to have old fashioned parishoners dress in period fashions .
or maybe let them just pay to offset the cost of land nearby. lol
I am not opposed to historic pres. Just not everything can be preserved. We need to pick and choose.
After all, isn't planning about helping allocate scarce resources?
true, the church has arch significance, and it is more important than say, the Stone Pony club where Linda Rondstat got her start, or the "love shack" outside of Athens where the B-52's started.
Why doesnt someone post photos of the nhood and church on line and let us see the issue crystal clear.
And where else are the architect's
gems?
You didn't link to a picture
Here's a picture on the D.C. Confidential Blog.
Yuck. How can we preserve just the minimum number of these brutal things necessary? Maybe the molds are still around so that a new one could be poured if we decide we need it later?