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On Apartment Therapy

Home Design

May 28, 2008

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One of the few modernist buildings in DC, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library has been the source of controversy since it opened in 1972. The building was designed by legendary architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe just months before his death, and is his only library design that was ever built. The recessed ground floor loggia, cantilevered upper floors, and grids of painted steel and dark windows mark the library as a masterpiece of the modern movement...

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Southwest DC may have some ugly mid-century architecture, but it also has at least one totally cool property, namely River Park, which was done by Charles Goodman, an IM Pei disciple -- open floorplans, lots of glass, and still affordable not far from the center of the city. There are apartments there going for around $125k and it's two blocks from a subway, five blocks from the new Nationals Stadium, three blocks from the new Arena Stage, three blocks from the soon-to-be-new waterfront, &c. CJL on Jun 2, 2008

it may not be the most attractive building, but it has historical and architectural significance, which is why, to me, it should be preserved. At least it stands out from all the neo-classical buildings downtown..
Also, I have no problem with the fact that the homeless find it a useful place to get out of the elements. They're not blocking the entrance anyway, but usually off to the side. sixfive on Jun 2, 2008

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