BEST ADDRESSES; A Century of Washington's Distinguished Apartment Houses

Goode, James M.

ISBN 10: 0874744784 / ISBN 13: 9780874744781

Published by Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 1988

About this Item

Folio 13" - 23" tall; Clean and tight in original binding in near fine dustjacket. A century ago, the popularity of early Washington landmarks like Stoneleigh Court and the controversial Cairo (which, at a soaring twelve stories, shocked District officials into enacting the city's height limit) made it clear that apartment living was here to stay. By the 1920s, Beaux Art and Art Deco palaces offered residents all the luxuries of a first-class hotel: barbershops, ballrooms, rooftop terraces, and indoor pools. Soon other innovations in apartment living -- the garden complex, the cooperative, and the mixed-use building -- put Washington at the forefront of urban planning. Today the resurgence of the historic heart of the nation's capital has created an apartment boom rivaled only by that of the 1920s. Through residents' personal recollections, original floor plans, and more than 690 photographs, Best Addresses offers an intimate tour behind the facades of 162 remarkable buildings. Some have already been destroyed or dis-figured beyond repair, making their preservation here especially valuable, while others continue to set the standard for elegant living in the nation's capital.

Seller Inventory # 40825

Bibliographic Details

• Title: BEST ADDRESSES; A Century of Washington's Distinguished Apartment Houses
• Publisher: Smithsonian Institution, Washington
• Publication Date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0874744784
• ISBN 13: 9780874744781
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition; Second Printing.
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Architecture
  • Americana and American History

About this title

Synopsis

A century ago, the popularity of early Washington landmarks like Stoneleigh Court and the controversial Cairo (which, at a soaring twelve stories, shocked District officials into enacting the city's height limit) made it clear that apartment living was here to stay. By the 1920s, Beaux Art and Art Deco palaces offered residents all the luxuries of a first-class hotel: barbershops, ballrooms, rooftop terraces, and indoor pools. Soon other innovations in apartment living—the garden complex, the cooperative, and the mixed-use building—put Washington at the forefront of urban planning. Today the resurgence of the historic heart of the nation's capital has created an apartment boom rivaled only by that of the 1920s.

Through residents' personal recollections, original floor plans, and more than 690 photographs, Best Addresses offers an intimate tour behind the facades of 162 remarkable buildings. Some have already been destroyed or disfigured beyond repair, making their preservation here especially valuable, while others continue to set the standard for elegant living in the nation's capital.

About the Author

James Goode is the winner of Washingtonian magazine's prestigious “Washingtonian of the Year” award. He is the author of Capital Losses: A Cultural History of Washington's Destroyed Buildings, Second Edition and lives in Washington, DC.