L’Enfant Plan of the City of Washington
January 1791
1791-01-01
Pierre Charles L’Enfant
After Congress authorized a federal district along the Potomac River, President Washington identified an area of land measuring 100 square miles where the...
After Congress authorized a federal district along the Potomac River, President Washington identified an area of land measuring 100 square miles where the Eastern Branch (today's Anacostia River) met the Potomac just north of Mount Vernon, his Virginia home. The area already contained the port towns of Alexandria and Georgetown, but the new nation needed a federal center with space dedicated for government buildings. Washington asked L'Enfant, by then an established architect, to survey the area and recommend locations for buildings and streets.
This astonishing plan for the city continues to define Washington’s built form today. L’Enfant’s plan translates European models to American ideals. A central mall was designed as open to all (in contrast to European traditions of enclosed open spaces). L'Enfant placed “Congress House” on a hill with commanding views, rethinking European customs of reserving such sites for the leader's palace.
From this central site, diagonal avenues, later named after U.S. states, radiated, cutting across a grid street system. One diagonal avenue (later named Pennsylvania) extended northwest from Congress House to the “President’s House.” Public squares and parks were evenly dispersed at intersections. These wide boulevards facilitated cross-town transportation and offered long-distance views of important buildings and common squares.
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Federal Development Maps National Mall and Core Transportation Waterfronts
Proclamation Establishing First Building Regulations
October 1791
1791-10-17
President George Washington
Washington's proclamation specified building setbacks, heights and materials, among other related concerns. This proclamation is understood to be primarily...
Washington's proclamation specified building setbacks, heights and materials, among other related concerns. This proclamation is understood to be primarily concerned with aesthetics e.g., it specifies buildings on the Avenues shall be at least thirty-five feet. (Many of the preliminary planning decisions regarding the capital’s design are discussed in correspondence between Jefferson and Washington. Washington had not travelled outside of North America and therefore relied heavily on Jefferson, who was widely travelled and had seen some of Europe’s national and provincial capitals.)
Thomas Jefferson’s notes from March 1791 indicate that he was concerned about building heights as a means of controlling fires and considered a recommendation to Washington to limit building heights For example, Jefferson suggested building height limits “[t]o provide for the extinguishment of fires, and the openness and convenience of the town, by prohibiting houses of excessive heights.”
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Legislation National Mall and Core Transportation Zoning and Housing
Ellicott Map of the City of Washington
January 1792
1792-01-01
Andrew Ellicott
This map, which reflects minor revisions to the L’Enfant Plan, became the first broadly circulated plan for Washington city.
After Pierre L’Enfant’s...
This map, which reflects minor revisions to the L’Enfant Plan, became the first broadly circulated plan for Washington city.
After Pierre L’Enfant’s planning stirred political complications, he resigned and his surveyor, Andrew Ellicott continued the planning work. Ellicott straightened or eliminated some radial avenues in this map. To facilitate implementation, it numbered the blocks designated for private development.
The L’Enfant Plan and the Ellicott Map established the framework for the nation’s capital city and influenced Washinton’s development for more than 200 years.
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Federal Development Maps National Mall and Core Transportation Waterfronts
An Act to Provide a Permanent System of Highways Lying Outside of Cities
March 1893
1893-03-01
Fifty-Second U.S. Congress
Congress directed the DC Board of Commissioners “to prepare a plan for the extension of a permanent system of highways over all that portion of said District...
Congress directed the DC Board of Commissioners “to prepare a plan for the extension of a permanent system of highways over all that portion of said District not included within the limits of the cities of Washington and Georgetown.”
The act conveyed that the system “shall be made as nearly in conformity with the street plan of the city of Washington as the Commissioners may deem advisable and practicable.” It specified that new highways shall not be less than ninety feet nor more than one hundred and sixty feet. Further, it specified the Commissioners should “lay out at the intersections of the principal avenues and streets thereof circles or other reservations corresponding in number and dimensions with street intersections in the city of Washington.” Note that at this time, highways referred to present day streets and avenues, not freeways.
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Legislation Transportation
1894 District of Columbia Building Regulations Amendment
July 1894
1894-07-01
District of Columbia Commissioners
This amendment restricts building heights in DC to generally the width of the street at the building front.
In 1872, a year after Congress established a...
This amendment restricts building heights in DC to generally the width of the street at the building front.
In 1872, a year after Congress established a territorial government, its public works board introduced Washington’s first comprehensive set of building regulations which focused on health and safety. Five years later, the board established a seventy-five-foot height limit, with some exceptions.
The 1894 regulations established maximum height limits of 90 feet in residential areas and 110 feet in commercial areas. The regulations, when published in 1897, added an allowance for buildings on 160-foot-wide business street: enabling them to rise to 130 feet. Spires, towers, and domes could be erected to a greater height than the limit proscribed, when approved by the District Commissioners. On corner lots, the limitations of the broader street applied.
The law follows advancements in construction technology, including the use of iron and steel frames, along with veneer facades. Public safety, monetary, and aesthetic surrounding the 164-foot Cairo Hotel building, completed in 1894 at 1615 Q Street, NW, particularly spurred the legislation.
Paper by Alison K. Hoagland
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Legislation National Mall and Core Zoning and Housing
District of Columbia Highway Plan
April 1898
1898-04-01
District of Columbia Commissioners
Developed by Olmsted and Associates, this plan is also known as the Permanent System of Highways.
In the late nineteenth century, Washington was developing...
Developed by Olmsted and Associates, this plan is also known as the Permanent System of Highways.
In the late nineteenth century, Washington was developing beyond the original L’Enfant City. As small municipalities and subdivisions emerged, the street system became poorly connected. Congress authorized the federally appointed DC Board of Commissioners to plan “a permanent system of highways in that part of the District of Columbia lying outside cities” in its Highway Act of 1893. Before the twentieth century, highways generally referred to main pathways connecting urbanized areas.
This plan extended many of the streets contained in the original L’Enfant City to the outlying areas of Washington, while specifying some curvilinear streets or parkways, particularly where difficult topographic conditions existed.
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Maps Transportation
Act to Regulate the Height of Buildings in the District of Columbia
March 1899
1899-03-01
Fiftieth U.S. Congress
More commonly known as the Height of Buildings Act of 1899, it mirrors the restrictions adopted by the D.C. Commissioner’s in 1894, with additional...
More commonly known as the Height of Buildings Act of 1899, it mirrors the restrictions adopted by the D.C. Commissioner’s in 1894, with additional limitations for non-fireproof buildings. It limited these structures to seventy-five feet for commercial uses and sixty feet for residential, apartment, and hotel uses.
Congress amended the Act on nine subsequent occasions, with the most significant being the Height of Buildings Act of 1910.
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Legislation National Mall and Core Zoning and Housing
Report of the McMillan Senate Committee
June 1902
1902-06-10
U.S. Senate Park Commission
Now commonly known as the McMillan Plan, the report reinforced L’Enfant Plan concepts with recommendations to formally develop the monumental core. It also...
Now commonly known as the McMillan Plan, the report reinforced L’Enfant Plan concepts with recommendations to formally develop the monumental core. It also proposed a system of parks and parkways, including an arrangement encompassing the Civil War-era fortifications encircling the city.
In the late 19th century, various groups including the American Institute of Architects, local and state authorities, and members of Congress, formed to plan a centennial celebration of the capital city. Participants created a special committee to make final recommendations, choosing Senator James McMillan as chairman.
One key goal was to resolve conflicting development visions, particularly around the National Mall. Despite Congressional legislation in 1893 and 1898 to develop an official plan extending the L’Enfant Plan’s roadway system to the Washington city boundary, concerns about growth patterns persisted. The location of railroads, particularly on the Mall, was also a concern.
Senator McMillan introduced a joint Congressional resolution in 1901 to study public building arrangements and develop a comprehensive park system. The subsequent Senate Park Commission report became known as the McMillan Plan. It proposed an expanded “modern park system” so that the plan’s two elements would together form “one great composition designed to comprehend the entire District of Columbia.” Addressing environmental, viewshed, and quality of life concerns (e.g., water quality and seasonal heat), the plan called for an increase in the quantity and quality of parks, parkways, and fountains.
The Commission’s 1902 exhibition of the plan at the Corcoran Gallery of Art generated broad interest; but when implementation lagged Congress established new agencies to oversee development. It designated the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts in 1910 to review and advise on the design of new structures, and the Public Buildings Commission (a predecessor to the General Services Administration) in 1916 to facilitate federal office construction. It established the National Capital Park Commission in 1924, before reestablishing it as a planning agency as the National Capital Park and Planning Commission in 1926.
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Federal Development Maps National Mall and Core Parks Transportation Waterfronts
Building Height of Act of 1910
June 1910
1910-06-01
Sixty-first U.S. Congress
This act amends the 1899 building height act to provide more comprehensive regulations. Most notably it sets a formula whereby the maximum building height is...
This act amends the 1899 building height act to provide more comprehensive regulations. Most notably it sets a formula whereby the maximum building height is generally equal to the fronting street width plus 20 feet, measured from the sidewalk. It enabled buildings on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue between 1st and 15th Streets, NW to rise to 160 feet, the height of the Willard Hotel.
Particularly mindful of impacts to preeminent federal buildings, the Act requires a Schedule of Heights that places further height restrictions on structures near specified federal buildings.
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Federal Development Legislation National Mall and Core Zoning and Housing
Buchanan v. Warley
October 1917
1917-10-01
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States determined that ordinances prohibiting the sale of real property to Blacks in majority White-owned neighborhoods or...
The Supreme Court of the United States determined that ordinances prohibiting the sale of real property to Blacks in majority White-owned neighborhoods or buildings, and vice versa, violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
In reviewing a Kentucky city ordinance, the U.S.Supreme Court found that it surpassed the legitimate grounds of police power, as it interfered with individuals' rights of property. The “effect of the ordinance under consideration was not merely to regulate a business or the like, but was to destroy the right of the individual to acquire, enjoy, and dispose of his property.” The ruling did not address the right of owners or developers to restrict housing based on private agreements. Later, in a 1948 St. Louis case known as Shelley v. Kraemer, the court determined that racially restrictive housing covenants violated the Fourteenth Amendment.
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Zoning and Housing
Act creating a Zoning Commission
March 1920
1920-03-01
Sixty-sixth U.S. Congress
An Act to regulate the Height, Area, and Use of buildings in the District of Columbia and to create a Zoning Commission.
Establishes a D.C. Zoning...
An Act to regulate the Height, Area, and Use of buildings in the District of Columbia and to create a Zoning Commission.
Establishes a D.C. Zoning Commission composed of the District Board of Commissioners, the Superintendent of Public Grounds, and the Superintendent of the Capitol.
The act follows growing interest in zoning, including among the District Commissioners. It requires the zoning commission to adopt regulations within six months. The Act specifically requires building height, area, and use districts.
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Legislation Maps Zoning and Housing
DC Zoning Enabling Act
August 1920
1920-08-30
D.C. Zoning Commission
This inaugural District of Columbia zoning ordinance provided height, area, and use regulations.
Following Congress’ enabling legislation, the Zoning...
This inaugural District of Columbia zoning ordinance provided height, area, and use regulations.
Following Congress’ enabling legislation, the Zoning Commission hired Harland Bartholomew to devise a regulatory framework. The resulting 18-page text was accompanied by a map for each element. The area map specified four different lot occupancy allowances (40, 60, 75 and 90 percent). The height map included four categories of height limits (110, 85, 55, and 40 feet). The use map depicted a residential, an industrial, and two commercial districts.
The regulations’ development signaled the importance of planning for the non-park areas of the District, although building regulation precedents existed as far back as George Washington’s 1791 proclamation, “Establishing First Building Regulations, Including a Height Limitation, for All Private Construction in the Federal City.” Restrictions on uses dated to the 1870s when “business” and “residential” streets were identified. These terms facilitated allowances for certain commercial uses on portions of the L’Enfant Plan’s generous right-of-way or “public parking.” Street designations were later tied to building height limits.
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Legislation Maps Zoning and Housing
National Capital Park Commission Act
June 1924
1924-06-06
Sixty-Eighth U.S. Congress
Congress established the National Capital Park Commission to plan and acquire a comprehensive park, parkway, and playground system for the National...
Congress established the National Capital Park Commission to plan and acquire a comprehensive park, parkway, and playground system for the National Capital.
This legislation followed congressional concerns that Washington had made limited progress toward implementing the L’Enfant and McMillan Plans, and that it’s park system lagged far behind other U.S. cities.
Congress reported interest in the government acquiring Rock Creek valleys and tributaries, Klingle Ford Valley, lands fronting on the Capitol Grounds and along Pennsylvania Avenue, and lands in Washington’s outskirts for parks and playgrounds. Congress was also interested in creating a Fort Boulevard connecting the Civil War forts, expanding Piney Branch Parkway; and developing an arboretum in the vicinity of Mount Hamilton. Recognizing that the “Capital City” expanded into the surrounding states, Congress also expressed interest in securing lands in Maryland and Virginia, including the Rock Creek valley; both banks of the Potomac River up to Great Falls, Sligo Valley, and areas encompassing the Civil War forts. It conveyed interest in developing park boulevards to Mount Vernon and Fort Washington; forested parkways extending north along 16th Street; a park boulevard toward Baltimore; and three park boulevards radiating from the Memorial Bridge terminus in Virginia.
To accomplish these tasks, the act designated a seven-member commission “composed of the Chief of Engineers of the Army, Engineer Commissioner of DC, the Director of the National Park Service, Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, the officer in charge of public buildings and grounds, and the chairmen of the Committees on the District of Columbia of the Senate and House of Representatives…The officer in charge of public buildings shall be the executive and disbursing officer.” Note: the commission composition generally reflected the prevailing classification of park and recreation facilities as public works.
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Federal Development Legislation Parks Regional Planning Transportation
Annual Report of the National Capital Park Commission
June 1925
1925-06-30
National Capital Park Commission
The Commission prepared annual reports that conveyed early activities and were submitted to Congress.
The Commission’s annual authorization was $1,057,106,...
The Commission prepared annual reports that conveyed early activities and were submitted to Congress.
The Commission’s annual authorization was $1,057,106, based on its enabling legislation, which authorized “a sum not exceeding one cent for each inhabitant of the continental United States as determined by the last preceding decennial census.” Nine months after its enabling legislation, the Commission received its first appropriation of $600,000. The report noted that the Commission used funding to address “urgent cases of natural habitat destruction” which were attributed to dumping, filling, tree-cutting and building operations, particularly in the Piney Branch and Klingle Ford Valleys.
The Commission authorized a “Planning Committee” to plan for park extensions and coordinate the Commission’s authorities with other stakeholders. The committee prioritized McMillan Plan recommendations, noting concerns about available funding. It reported that it had successfully coordinated Highway Plan modifications and other activities. However, park development and acquisition proceeded slowly. The report conveyed that the Commission needed additional authorities “to develop the National Capital along the proper lines and in accordance with the best principles of city and regional planning developed in this country and in Europe.”
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Parks Regional Planning Transportation Waterfronts Zoning and Housing
Annual Report of the Director of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital
January 1926
1926-01-01
Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital
An annual report on the activities of the agency authorized to build and maintain public grounds, parks, monuments, and memorials in Washington.
Operating...
An annual report on the activities of the agency authorized to build and maintain public grounds, parks, monuments, and memorials in Washington.
Operating as an independent agency from 1925-1933, it shared a lineage with many federally controlled entities, including the District Commissioners (predecessor) and National Park Service (successor). The 1924 Park Commission Act (and NCPPC’s 1926 enabling act) specified the agency’s director (U. S. Grant, 3rd) serve as the Park Commission’s (later NCPPC) executive.
Its reports (see separate cards for the years 1925-1932) identify disbursements to NCPC’s predecessors for land acquisitions and review the year’s developments and activities on acquired lands.
• Memorials, statues, and monuments include National Memorial (building) to Colored Race, Women of the World War (building), Nuns of the Battlefield (sculpture), Pennsylvania Memorial Foundation (fountain).
• Facilities include Community Christmas trees, golf-croquet court, hurdling field, medicine ball courts, archery courts, roque courts, quoit courts, schlag-ball courts, speed-ball courts, tea houses, sand boxes,
• Activities include community singing, roller skating races, tourist camp, field meets, tug-of-war, easter egg rolling, Child Health Day, May Day exercises, ceremonies at various statues, Cherry blossom fete, and a ceremony on Decoration Day.
Photos illustrate construction progress. Diagrams distinguish agency expenses and Park Police arrest volumes e.g., for speeding, drunkenness, operating an auto while intoxicated, reckless driving, and disorderly conduct.
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Federal Development Infrastructure and Services Parks Preservation
National Capital Park and Planning Commission Act
April 1926
1926-04-30
Sixty-Ninth U.S. Congress
Congress “constituted a commission to be known as the National Capital Park and Planning Commission (NCPPC) to develop a comprehensive, consistent, and...
Congress “constituted a commission to be known as the National Capital Park and Planning Commission (NCPPC) to develop a comprehensive, consistent, and coordinated plan for the National Capital and its environs in the States of Maryland and Virginia.”
By 1926 the National Capital Park Commission had approved a park plan that provided a large park within a reasonable distance from every part of the District and a neighborhood park within walking distance of each resident. Including additions to Rock Creek Park and miscellaneous parks, the plan’s park acreage totaled 2,608 acres, compared to the system’s 2,442 acres in 1924.
However, the park commission lacked sufficient funds for implementation. It was also powerless to influence the city’s plan except for structuring growth within the configurations created by the protected parklands. Civic interests, specifically the Washington Board of Trade, conveyed that Washington needed an agency with broader authorities.
Congress established NCPPC with the “duty of preparing, developing, and maintaining a comprehensive, consistent, and coordinated plan for the National Capital and its environs.” It specified that the “plan shall include recommendations…as to traffic and transportation; plats and subdivisions; highways, parks, and parkways; school and library sites; playgrounds; drainage, sewerage, and water supply; housing, building, and zoning regulations; public and private buildings; bridges and water fronts; commerce and industry; and other proper elements of city and regional planning.”
It conveyed that NCPPC’s purpose was “to obtain the maximum amount of cooperation and correlation of effort between the departments, bureaus, and commissions of the Federal and District Governments.” The act conferred to NCPPC the duties of the Highway Commission, (specified in an 1898 act to provide a “permanent system of highways” in Washington). The act also conferred the authorities of the National Capital Park Commission (established in a 1924 act to create a park and playground system for the national capital) to NCPPC.
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Federal Development Infrastructure and Services Legislation Parks Regional Planning Transportation Zoning and Housing
Public Buildings Act of 1926
May 1926
1926-05-01
Sixty-Ninth Congress
The act authorized and funded federal developments, including the Federal Triangle, Supreme Court, and Government Printing Office.
Congress authorized the...
The act authorized and funded federal developments, including the Federal Triangle, Supreme Court, and Government Printing Office.
Congress authorized the federal government to clear and close streets in the triangle bounded by Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW and President’s Park. The project displaced a central market and a range of more modest government, commercial and residential buildings. A community of Chinese merchant immigrants relocated to other sites, and eventually to present-day Chinatown.
New buildings in this area between the White House and Capitol Building were to “combine high standards of architectural beauty and practical utility.” It specified “suitable approaches to said buildings and beautifying and embellishing their surroundings as nearly in harmony” with the L'Enfant Plan. The siting and design standards reflected those advanced in the McMillan Plan. Along with NCPPC’s establishment in the previous month, this act represented the federal government’s renewed commitment to fulfilling the McMillan Plan. As a newly-established agency, NCPPC facilitated the Triangle's development (see article).
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Federal Development Legislation National Mall and Core Transportation
A Standard City Planning Enabling Act
May 1926
1926-05-03
U.S. Department of Commerce
The act established the foundation for planning and zoning enabling legislation in the U.S. For many states, the Standard Acts, as they are known, still...
The act established the foundation for planning and zoning enabling legislation in the U.S. For many states, the Standard Acts, as they are known, still provide institutional structure, although some procedural and substantive components may have changed.
An advisory committee on zoning appointed by Secretary of Commerce (and later President) Herbert Hoover developed the first model language: A Standard State Zoning Enabling Act. The act reflects future NCPPC consultant Harland Bartholomew’s guidance. He suggested the term “comprehensive” to replace the less meaningful “well-considered” in a key section. This eventually provided the often used “in accordance with a comprehensive plan” language.
A second model, A Standard City Planning Enabling Act, was published in 1928. This covered six subjects:
(1) The organization and power of the planning commission, which was directed to prepare and adopt a "master plan."
(2) The content of the master plan for the physical development of the territory.
(3) Provision for adoption of a master street plan by the governing body.
(4) Provision for approval of all public improvements by the planning commission.
(5) Control of private subdivision of land.
(6) Provision for the establishment of a regional planning commission and a regional plan.
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Legislation Parks Transportation Zoning and Housing
NCPPC Coordinating Committee
June 1926
1926-06-18
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
The National Capital Park Commission, on March 18, 1925, authorized a City Planning Committee composed of representatives of federal and District agencies that...
The National Capital Park Commission, on March 18, 1925, authorized a City Planning Committee composed of representatives of federal and District agencies that made or implemented planning decisions, for the purpose of recommending plans for park extensions, changing the highway plans, and coordinating the work of the different authorities whose jurisdictions would be reached by the activities of the Commission.
The newly authorized National Capital Park and Planning Commission (NCPPC), at its meeting on June 18, 1926, directed that the Committee--then acting as the City Planning Committee--be continued as a "Coordinating Committee” to review various projects prior to their submission to the Planning Commission, with a view to proper coordination of the various interests involved.
NCPC, at its first meeting on August 8, 1952, passed the following resolution: “Be it Resolved, that there is hereby established and reconstituted a committee to be known as NCPC’s Coordinating Committee NCPC, as authorized in Section 2 (d) of the National Capital Planning Act of 1952. The Committee, hereby established and reconstituted, has the official duty to perform functions similar to those performed by the previously existing Coordinating Committee.”
Today, an interagency Coordinating Committee provides NCPC with information and recommendations on projects in the District before they come before the Commission.
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Federal Development Legislation Parks Transportation
Regional Planning Organization and Legislation Memorandum
October 1926
1926-10-01
Harland Bartholomew
This memorandum recognized the growing Washington area and recommended that the national capital have an authority that controlled regional planning and...
This memorandum recognized the growing Washington area and recommended that the national capital have an authority that controlled regional planning and development.
The memo followed the guidance document “A Standard City Planning Enabling Act,” which Bartholomew helped the U.S. Department of Commerce develop. It observed that NCPPC’s enabling legislation focused on park concerns, but insufficiently addressed other city planning elements and ongoing development patterns that extended well beyond the historic L’Enfant City. Foreshadowing future legislation, it recommended creating a metropolitan agency to plan and control physical improvements. It also recommended creating regional planning authorities to cooperate with NCPPC in Maryland and Virginia.
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Legislation Parks Regional Planning Transportation Zoning and Housing
Annual Report of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission
November 1926
1926-11-01
National Capital Park and Planning Commission
The Commission reported its updated composition (following the 1926 National Capital Park and Planning Commission Act) that included four citizens appointed by...
The Commission reported its updated composition (following the 1926 National Capital Park and Planning Commission Act) that included four citizens appointed by the President: Frederick Law Olmsted (a landscape architect noted for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, McMillan Plan, and U.S. Capitol Building grounds design); Frederic A. Delano (a railroad engineer, Federal Reserve vice-chairman, and leader behind newly-established regional planning programs in Chicago and New York City and the uncle of future President Franklin Delano Roosevelt); J. C. Nichols (a Kansas City-area developer known for his residential subdivisions and Country Club [shopping] Plaza); and Milton B. Medary (an architect who served as chairman of the U.S. Housing Corporation and as a member of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts).
Lt. Col. Ulysses S. Grant, III (grandson of President Ulysses S. Grant), directed the commission’s ten-employee administrative office. The report noted that Charles Eliot II (an Olmsted Brothers employee noted for conceiving what became Boston’s Emerald Necklace of parkland) was hired; in 1930 Eliot became staff director. Fred G. Coldren, who as chairman of the Washington Board of Trade’s parks committee drafted NCPPC’s enabling legislation, became NCPPC’s secretary. The Commission engaged Harland Bartholomew (a St. Louis-based consultant who prepared the 1920 DC zoning ordinance) to prepare a regionwide thoroughfare plan.
The Commission reported that it met monthly, with meetings generally lasting two days. It also reported reconstituting its predecessor’s City Planning Committee as the “Coordinating Committee,” and authorized it to recommend for or against federal agency development plans. The Committee met weekly. Among a brief program overview, the Commission noted the lands it acquired for parkland.
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Federal Development Parks Regional Planning Transportation
Preliminary Report on Relocation of Produce Markets: Washington, D.C.
January 1927
1927-01-01
Bartholomew and Associates
Document summary coming soon. The original document in PDF is available for review and download.
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Federal Development Infrastructure and Services National Mall and Core Transportation Waterfronts
Park System for the National Capital Washington Region
February 1927
1927-02-01
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
This report recommended five major regional park projects: Lower Potomac, Upper Potomac, Indian Creek, Rock Creek, and Northwest Branch. The report also...
This report recommended five major regional park projects: Lower Potomac, Upper Potomac, Indian Creek, Rock Creek, and Northwest Branch. The report also included Fort Boulevard and several sites of more local interest, particularly along stream valleys.
The report anticipated open spaces being used for motor roads, bridle paths, hiking trails, picnic groves, observation towers, “properly ordered tea houses,” and “refreshment places.” It advised preserving “natural beauty,” points of historic interest, wildlife and “natural wonders of the area.” It suggested that spaces “may be very useful in the teaching of botany, zoology, etc.” Report sections on “Methods of Procedure” and “Division of Costs and Responsibilities” described processes and costs for “withdrawing lands from urban occupation.”
The reports outlined the “factors governing [the] choice of open space areas” which included the region’s physical features, chiefly the “Y” shape of the rivers and its stream valleys. Other factors included existing open spaces; previous regional park proposals; and areas of special interest including natural history, “aborigines” (referencing archaeological materials), scientific, historic, architectural, and engineering features.
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Maps Parks Regional Planning Transportation Waterfronts
Fort Drive: Plan for a Parkway Connecting the Civil War Forts and Encircling the City of Washington
February 1927
1927-02-01
National Capital Park and Planning Commission
Describing what is now known as the Civil War Defenses of Washington, this plan explored connecting the lands that were once used as military installations on...
Describing what is now known as the Civil War Defenses of Washington, this plan explored connecting the lands that were once used as military installations on the high ground surrounding Washington with a “park drive.” It envisioned “a wide right-of-way, curving roads, and bits of existing woodland along the way,“ which would be integrated with local streets. Associated cost estimates were provided.
The plan followed a December 1926 Commission action to develop such a plan as a supplement to NCPPC’s “Park System for the District of Columbia.” NCPPC’s actions built upon the McMillan Plan’s preservation of the fort sites and the 1898 Highway Plan’s inclusion of a Fort Drive. The circumferential corridor concept also complemented NCPPC’s emerging bypass and thoroughfare planning.
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Major Plans Parks Transportation
Railroad Report for Washington D.C.
April 1927
1927-04-01
National Capital Planning Commission
This report, prepared by Harland Bartholomew & Associates, advanced eleven major recommendations that ranged from addressing prevailing grade crossings to...
This report, prepared by Harland Bartholomew & Associates, advanced eleven major recommendations that ranged from addressing prevailing grade crossings to expanding capacity at the Long Bridge crossing, enlarging the Virginia Avenue tunnel, and consolidating rail yards.
The report explored numerous considerations. For example, it anticipated that Washington would need limited industrial facilities as most production would be oriented toward the region’s residents, except for fuel production. To avoid these facilities marring “the beauty of Washington and its environs” the report encouraged investing in smokeless fuels.
Plates conveyed maps of railroad lines; volumetric diagrams of train movements through Washington; rail yard diagrams; Washington Union Station’s train schedule; passenger miles; railroad engine and car volume; perishable freight volume; and the number of loaded and empty carloads.
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Maps Regional Planning Transportation
Annual Report of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission
June 1927
1927-06-10
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
NCPPC reported that its work program consisted of eight “functional groupings:” 1. Highways (including thoroughfares of regional importance, thoroughfares...
NCPPC reported that its work program consisted of eight “functional groupings:” 1. Highways (including thoroughfares of regional importance, thoroughfares of secondary importance, and local streets); 2. Railroads and terminals 3. Mass transportation 4. Water supply and drainage 5. Parkways 6. General parks 7. Neighborhood centers; and 8. Zoning, etc.
The report conveyed that NCPPC generally adopted the McMillan Plan recommendations and determined that developing a regional park system was the most urgent implementation activity. Specifically, it identified a lower Potomac shoreline project between Washington and Mount Vernon, VA; a Potomac River gorge park; a broader Potomac River and Chesapeake & Ohio Canal reservation; an Anacostia River park system; an extension of Rock Creek Park into Maryland; and a water supply reservoir. Recognizing that population growth and other conditions evolved since the McMillan Plan, NCPPC also developed two major new projects: Neighborhood Recreation Centers and the Fort Boulevard. The report identified several additional projects along watersheds, including Piney Branch which it noted encompassed a historic Native American quarry.
The annual report noted the successful development of counterpart agencies that would help to facilitate and advance NCPPC’s goals. Virginia formed a state planning commission and Maryland established the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
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Maps National Mall and Core Regional Planning Transportation Waterfronts Zoning and Housing
Preliminary Transit Report: Washington, DC
November 1927
1927-11-01
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
In this report to NCPPC, Harland Bartholomew & Associates proposed two alternative transit plans.
Its “Intermediate Plan” combined “through-routes”...
In this report to NCPPC, Harland Bartholomew & Associates proposed two alternative transit plans.
Its “Intermediate Plan” combined “through-routes” streetcar lines, with the intent to reduce inefficiencies stemming from two separate streetcar systems and amend traditional routing practices that looped or “stub-ended” in congested areas.
Its “Ultimate Plan” encompassed the intermediate recommendations and several broader improvements. Recognizing that completion of the Federal Triangle and Arlington Bridge projects would increase transportation demand south of the White House and west of 15th Street, this plan recommended tunnelling under the Ellipse and improving B Street (Constitution Avenue) to provide a wide, continuous east-west route on downtown’s south end. Later, in its 1927 Annual Report, NCPPC noted giving “special thought to streetcar facilities” but opposed any surface car lines on B Street “because it would impede car and bus traffic.”
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Maps Transportation
A Report Upon a Major Thoroughfare System and Traffic Circulation Problems of Washington
December 1927
1927-12-01
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
This report prepared by Harland Bartholomew & Associates for NCPPC surveyed the city’s transportation system and recommended a five-tiered roadway...
This report prepared by Harland Bartholomew & Associates for NCPPC surveyed the city’s transportation system and recommended a five-tiered roadway system.
NCPPC, led by Commissioner J. C. Nichols, was cognizant of surging automobile use and increasingly intensive urban functions within suburban areas. Earlier leaders envisioned that the 1893 Highway Act would establish “a permanent system of highways.” However, deviations from the associated 1898 Highway Plan became routine. Builders encountered difficulties applying the 1898 plan to the undulating terrain, while homebuyers conveyed interest in curvilinear streets that weren’t necessarily contiguous.
To address the identified problems, the report proposed a five-tiered roadway system:
1. Radials to the dominant center e.g., Massachusetts Avenue, Connecticut Avenue, 16th Street, Bladensburg Road, New York Avenue, Benning Road, and Pennsylvania Avenue, SE.
2. Direct connections between subcenters, or inter-center routes e.g., Conduit Road, Wisconsin Avenue, New Hampshire Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue, and East Capitol Street.
3. Bypass routes around points of possible congestion e.g., Iowa, Alaska, and Idaho Avenues.
4. Gross routes or interchange routes e.g., Columbia Road.
5. Minor streets.
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Major Plans Maps Transportation
A Major Thoroughfare Plan
January 1928
1928-01-01
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
This plan conceived a “comprehensive system of wide, direct arteries in which the vital traffic flow of the community may freely move.” Following earlier...
This plan conceived a “comprehensive system of wide, direct arteries in which the vital traffic flow of the community may freely move.” Following earlier studies, including “A Report Upon a Major Thoroughfare System” and “Traffic Circulation Problems of Washington,” the plan identified three major thoroughfares: radial arteries, interchange routes, and cross-town routes.
It distinguished radial arteries into a primary and secondary classification, with the former being District of Columbia sections of the primary regional highways. The interchange routes facilitated shifts between the arterial corridors. NCPPC envisioned that cross-town routes would provide better east-west connectivity north of the historic L’Enfant City grid. High bridge crossings over Rock Creek Park would align with corridors identified by the Olmstead brothers in 1918.
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Major Plans Maps Transportation
“Round Points” in the Plan of Washington
January 1928
1928-01-01
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
In this paper, NCPPC’s Charles Eliot explores the open spaces anchoring star-shaped intersections that characterize the Plan of Washington (the L’Enfant...
In this paper, NCPPC’s Charles Eliot explores the open spaces anchoring star-shaped intersections that characterize the Plan of Washington (the L’Enfant and McMillan Plans).
Eliot relayed that L’Enfant distinguished sites on the “most advantageous ground commanding the most extensive prospects:” e.g., Dupont, Washington, Iowa, and Thomas Circles. Eliot noted that the concave vistas that radiated along avenues, to points (e.g., to and from the White House) brought unity to the corridor, regardless of architectural variance was expressed in the street wall (L’Enfant’s “reciprocity of sight”).
L’Enfant designed sites “proportional in magnitude to the number of avenues leading to them.” Unfortunately, Elliot noted, corresponding sites developed later are either poorly located or disproportionately sized. “We have Grant Circle sliding down a hillside, and Sherman Circle sunk in a hollow.” Rather than closing a vista, they are “incidents along the way” – so large as to disrupt the street composition. “From the traffic standpoint,” Eliot noted, “a four-way intersection seldom justifies gyratory control, and a circle is hardly an accurate expression in design of the end of the avenue.”
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Commemoration National Mall and Core Parks Transportation
Park System of the District of Columbia
January 1928
1928-01-01
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
Following several earlier studies and reports, NCPPC delineated its plan for the District’s Park System in its 1928 Annual Report. The plan incorporated two...
Following several earlier studies and reports, NCPPC delineated its plan for the District’s Park System in its 1928 Annual Report. The plan incorporated two project categories: Neighborhood Recreation Facilities and City Parks.
NCPPC’s neighborhood recreational facilities concept followed a study of Chicago’s parks conducted by Commissioner Frederick L. Olmstead and the University of Chicago (summarized in NCPPC’s 1928 Annual Report supplement, “Plans and Studies Washington and Vicinity”). With housing demand, automobile volume, and recreational barriers intensifying, NCPPC concluded that it was no longer tenable to assume children’s physical exercise demands could be fulfilled in underutilized streets, vacant lots, and unused private open spaces.
The report grouped a set of more broadly oriented park facilities into four groups: Rock Creek Park Stream Valleys, Fort Drive, Potomac River Parkways, and miscellaneous undertakings (e.g., valley acquisitions to reduce storm sewer demands).
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Infrastructure and Services Maps National Mall and Core Parks Transportation Waterfronts
Work of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission
March 1928
1928-03-10
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
The document transcribed the statements of Lieutenant Colonel Ulysses S. Grant, III; Major Carey Brown; and Charles Eliot, II before the House of...
The document transcribed the statements of Lieutenant Colonel Ulysses S. Grant, III; Major Carey Brown; and Charles Eliot, II before the House of Representatives Committee on the District of Columbia and the Subcommittee on Park and Playgrounds in a special session held on Saturday, March 10, 1928. It includes approximately a dozen NCPPC maps.
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Federal Development Maps Parks Regional Planning
Recreation Plan 1931
April 1928
1928-04-01
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
Developed by NCPPC’s Recreation Committee, the plan proposed a 160-unit system. While most of the units consisted of small children's playgrounds, it...
Developed by NCPPC’s Recreation Committee, the plan proposed a 160-unit system. While most of the units consisted of small children's playgrounds, it featured a smaller number of major recreation centers.
To facilitate planning and implementation, NCPPC established the Committee on the Recreation System for Washington (later becoming the Committee for Coordination of Plans for the District of Columbia Recreation System, before its 1962 dissolution). Charles Elliot advised the committee, which included members from all local and federal agencies that contributed to Washington’s recreation, school, and library facilities.
As described in its 1931 Annual Report, NCPPC recommended 25 10-20 acre recreation centers, together with multiple smaller playgrounds, scattered through the area served by each center. Recreation centers that served all age groups would be spaced at approximate two-mile intervals and local playgrounds would be arranged at quarter-mile intervals. Where possible, recreation centers would be arranged next to high schools, junior-high schools, and/or branch libraries, while local playgrounds would be co-located with elementary schools. Maps distinguished White and “Colored” (Black) facilities. The plan advanced Elliot’s 1929 proposal to officially differentiate between parks owned and maintained by the municipal government and those by the federal government. Parks were to be “more than local service, each more or less unique, and such as are appropriate to the Capital of the United States."
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Infrastructure and Services Maps Parks
Maintenance and Operation of the Washington, D.C. Park System: Preliminary Report
September 1928
1928-09-01
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
In anticipation of expanding the park system, this report examined costs and other maintenance implications. It found that Washington had 438 reservations...
In anticipation of expanding the park system, this report examined costs and other maintenance implications. It found that Washington had 438 reservations that are one acre or less, of which 342 are “improved:” 106 reservations between one-quarter to one acre, of which 72 are “improved;” and 41 reservations between one to five acres, of which 22 are improved. Out of the 41 large reservations, 28 are between five and 25 acres.
Noting that it cost approximately $164 per acre to cut grass at large parks such as Lafayette, Lincoln, and Garfield– as compared to approximately $289 per acre for smaller spaces, such as Dupont and Iowa Circles – the report noted concerns with the government managing a high proportion of small parks. It suggested that small center “parkings” and circles within development subdivisions were of more interest to developers selling properties.
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Infrastructure and Services Parks
Study for System of Airports: Washington and Environs
December 1928
1928-12-12
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
This study recommended a four-tiered system of airports, including the siting of what became Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
NCPPC described the...
This study recommended a four-tiered system of airports, including the siting of what became Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
NCPPC described the study, which it submitted to the Senate Committee on Territories and Insular Possessions, in its 1929 annual report. “For the central airport, sites at Gravelly Point for commercial use, and at Bolling Field extended for military use, are shown on the plan.” NCPPC particularly suggested Gravelly Point. It recommended several “emergency landing fields” near the central airport and a secondary ring of “auxiliary fields” suitable for local use or schools. Fifteen to 30 miles from the central airport, “intermediate fields” would provide [airline] service along principal roadways.
In 1929, through Public Law 1806) Congress authorized the extension of Bolling Field and through Resolution 106the formation of a special congressional committee on an airport for Washington (Res. No. 106). Spurred by wartime exigencies, and tired of Congressional delays, President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced in 1938 that a central airport would be built at Gravelly Point. Washington National Airport opened on June 16, 1941.
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Federal Development Legislation Maps Parks Regional Planning Transportation Waterfronts
General Orders Regulating the Platting and Subdividing of Lands in the District of Columbia
July 1929
1929-07-01
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
Land subdivision was a key issue in city development, along with the location of roads and allowable uses. Here NCPPC revised a highway map amendment and...
Land subdivision was a key issue in city development, along with the location of roads and allowable uses. Here NCPPC revised a highway map amendment and zoning enabling legislation (Zoning Act of 1938) activities .
This revision followed the model language of “A Standard City Planning Enabling Act” report by the Department of Commerce Advisory Committee on City Planning and Zoning, of which Frederic L. Olmstead was a member. The orders were issued by the DC Board of Commissioners and administered through the Office of the Surveyor.
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Legislation Transportation Zoning and Housing
Open Spaces in the Regional Plan
July 1929
1929-07-01
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
In this journal article, NCPPC staff member Charles Eliot introduced the emerging American concept of preserving wedges of open space radiating from city...
In this journal article, NCPPC staff member Charles Eliot introduced the emerging American concept of preserving wedges of open space radiating from city centers. He observed that these corridors may naturally occur, such as along rivers or ravines poorly suited for development. Eliot noted that NCPPC’s regional projects follow this concept. Reflecting a prevailing concern of NCPPC, the remainder of the article explored acquisition and financing strategies.
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Legislation Maps Parks Regional Planning Transportation Zoning and Housing
Proposed Recreation System for the District of Columbia
July 1929
1929-07-01
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
NCPPC park planner Charles Eliot outlined the relationship between the recreation centers, playgrounds, and school grounds proposed in NCPPC’s 1928 Annual...
NCPPC park planner Charles Eliot outlined the relationship between the recreation centers, playgrounds, and school grounds proposed in NCPPC’s 1928 Annual Report; and by extension, how to divide acquisition responsibilities between the District Commissioners and NCPPC.
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Federal Development Maps Parks
Drainage and Sewerage Problems Report
October 1929
1929-10-01
National Capital Park and Planning Commission
This report prepared for NCPPC by the Washington Region Drainage and Sewerage Committee addressed multiple questions, including whether to develop a separate...
This report prepared for NCPPC by the Washington Region Drainage and Sewerage Committee addressed multiple questions, including whether to develop a separate system for sewer and stormwater; ground water pollution, especially in existing or proposed parks; and “open-valley treatment of streams and problems of wash.”
NCPPC formed a multi-agency stakeholder committee in 1929 to address concerns related to stormwater management. NCPPC conveyed the committee’s report in its supplement to its 1930 annual report, “Reports and Plans Washington Region.” Among its conclusions, the Committee suggested that Congress call for experts to advise on a treatment plant for Washington. It noted “[t]he condition of the [Potomac] river is a matter of great economic interest to the shellfish industry as well as to the people of the Washington region.” The report highlighted several recommendations:
1. The region should build a separate sewer system.
2. The District and Maryland should continue building Potomac and Anacostia Rivers water interceptors.
3. NCPPC should commission a new survey on Potomac River pollution by the U.S. Public Health Service, in collaboration with the Maryland and Virginia State Boards of Health.
4. NCPPC should release a public statement advocating for the elimination of pollution from Rock Creek and Piney Branch.
5. The region should pursue a policy of open-valley treatment for rain water where both park and sewer needs are served.
6. The District should utilize sewer funding to purchase open valleys, and that NCPPC should request, via the Maryland Board of Health, that the state put the Oxon Run drainage area within the Washington Suburban Sanitary District.
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Infrastructure and Services Maps Parks Regional Planning Waterfronts
Washington Region Water Supply Report
October 1929
1929-10-10
National Capital Park and Planning Commission
Pursuant to NCPPC’s request, a Washington Region Water Supply Committee submitted a water supply report for Washington, including how to best coordinate...
Pursuant to NCPPC’s request, a Washington Region Water Supply Committee submitted a water supply report for Washington, including how to best coordinate these needs over the next 50 years.
Concluding there would be a supply shortage, the committee suggested:
(1) increasing the Potomac River water intake at Great Falls;
(2) developing a new Potomac River intake at Little Falls;
(3) developing reservoirs on one or more branches of the Patuxent River above Laurel, Md,
(4) developing of one or more reservoirs on the Seneca Creek or its branches,
(5) developing a reservoir on Occoquan Creek, and/or
(6) developing smaller streams in Virginia area for local use.
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Infrastructure and Services Maps Parks Regional Planning Waterfronts
George Washington Memorial Parkway (Brochure)
January 1930
1930-01-01
National Capital Park and Planning Commission
This illustrated brochure described the ongoing development of the parkway, particularly NCPPC’s acquisition and planning efforts. It announced that the...
This illustrated brochure described the ongoing development of the parkway, particularly NCPPC’s acquisition and planning efforts. It announced that the section from the Arlington Memorial Bridge to Mount Vernon would open by the 1932 bicentennial of George Washington's birth.
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Parks Transportation
National Capital Park and Planning Commission Annual Report 1930
January 1930
1930-01-01
National Capital Park and Planning Commission
NCPPC reported its accomplishments, recommendations, and future work program.
NCPPC kicked off the year with a presentation of its regional plan to an...
NCPPC reported its accomplishments, recommendations, and future work program.
NCPPC kicked off the year with a presentation of its regional plan to an audience of over 3,000. President Herbert Hoover conveyed a supportive message, while the Governors of Maryland and Virginia provided verbal remarks. The American Society of Landscape Architects, which subsequently devoted its whole annual meeting to the topic, adopted seven supportive resolutions.
The 1930 annual report reflected an expanding agency program. In addition to new activities related to the Capper-Crampton Act, several sections addressed roadway and building development. NCPPC proposed standard street cross sections, including sidewalk widths and street tree spacing. It encouraged the Zoning Commission to restrict buildings to no higher than the width of the street. Reflecting concerns with street capacity in the core, the report called for Federal Triangle buildings to accommodate employee and visitor parking demand. It also recommended a well-coordinated program of bridges and entries to the District.
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Federal Development Infrastructure and Services Maps National Mall and Core Parks Regional Planning Transportation Zoning and Housing
Reports and Plans of the Washington Region: National Capital Park and Planning Commission Supplement
March 1930
1930-03-13
National Capital Park and Planning Commission
This supplement to NCPPC’s 1930 Annual Report began with a textual record of the annual report presentation, including a message from President Herbert...
This supplement to NCPPC’s 1930 Annual Report began with a textual record of the annual report presentation, including a message from President Herbert Hoover. The supplement included an overview of NCPPC’s first comprehensive plan and complete versions of seven reports (summarized in the main volume of the 1930 annual report):
1. A study on Pierre L'Enfant (including his Plan of the City of Washington, reports, and correspondence with President Washington).
2. A recommended set of highway (street) plan modifications.
3. A recommended set of updated platting regulations.
4. Estimated costs for improving and enlarging the region’s park system.
5. A recommended housing program that consisted of “Principles” to guide housing development and “The Elimination of Alley Dwellings.”
6. A committee report advising NCPPC on water supply and demand.
7. A committee report advising NCPPC on drainage and sewerage problems.
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Commemoration Federal Development Infrastructure and Services Major Plans Maps National Mall and Core Transportation Urban Renewal Waterfronts
Housing Program for the District of Columbia
April 1930
1930-04-01
National Capital Park and Planning Commission
Developed by NCPPC consultant John Ihlder, the program particularly advocated for rehousing displaced residents and reutilizing cleared land in a manner...
Developed by NCPPC consultant John Ihlder, the program particularly advocated for rehousing displaced residents and reutilizing cleared land in a manner consistent with plans for schools, parks and public buildings.
The report (which followed 1914 Congressional legislation calling for the elimination of alley housing by 1918) found that “The primary purpose of the National Capital is…to provide facilities for carrying on the Federal Government's work. The development of the city should be such that this work can be carried on with the greatest possible efficiency and economy...The Government's buildings and the city, which is the environment of those buildings, should be dignified, spacious, comfortable-for both the Government buildings and the Capital City typify to us and to foreigners alike the standards and the aspirations of the American people. There should be nothing here that is mean or small or degrading.” Space-related concerns reflected emerging automobile congestion along with interest in automobile garages, parks, and private yards.
The report recommended that alley clearance activities should replace dwellings and effectively reutilize land for public purposes. Land reutilization should uphold neighborhood fabric and best serve public welfare. A “constructive program,” it noted, would reflect schools, playgrounds, small parks, and other public building efforts. After Congress passed the District of Columbia Alley Dwelling Act in 1934, Ihlder became director of the DC Alley Dwelling Authority. The report included some race-based data, specifically, statistics on the number of White versus “Colored” (Black) deaths per 100,000 residents, and rehousing efforts.
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Infrastructure and Services Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
Shipstead-Luce Act
April 1930
1930-04-01
Seventy-First Congress
Authorized the U. S. Commission of Fine Arts’ (CFA) review of private and semi-public buildings within District of Columbia areas of significant federal...
Authorized the U. S. Commission of Fine Arts’ (CFA) review of private and semi-public buildings within District of Columbia areas of significant federal interest, including the height, appearance, color, and texture of materials for exterior construction. CFA’s 1910 enabling legislation limited its review to the siting of statues, fountains, and monuments on public property.
Concerned with the nature of development and the slow pace of public land acquisition, particularly with respect toward the McMillan Plan, NCPPC led a multi-year advocacy effort that culminated in this act. NCPPC Secretary Fred G. Coldren was credited with drafting the legislation.
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Legislation Maps National Mall and Core Waterfronts Zoning and Housing
Capper-Cramton Act
May 1930
1930-05-05
Seventy-First U.S. Congress
Public Law No. 284, commonly known as the "Capper-Cramton Act," funded park acquisitions and greatly strengthened regional planning functions of the...
Public Law No. 284, commonly known as the "Capper-Cramton Act," funded park acquisitions and greatly strengthened regional planning functions of the Commission. The act, including sections providing a 50-50 funding basis, served as a model for similar grant programs later instituted in other parts of the country.
The act represented one of several legislative efforts to implement the McMillan Plan. During the late 1920s, NCPPC and its predecessor developed a regional park plan which encompassed McMillan plan recommendations. However, implementation lagged due to acquisition costs. U.S. House Representative and NCPPC ex officio member Louis Crampton and Senator Arthur Capper (who also had a crucial role in forming DC’s Alley Dwelling Authority) co-sponsored the legislation.
Implementation represented a significant amount of NCPPC’s focus during the 1930s. Maryland and Virginia’s need for federal acquisition approval and their relatively undeveloped planning staffs resulted in NCPPC assuming a large measure of responsibility for suburban planning.
The act’s legacy includes the George Washington Memorial Parkway, and a significant proportion of the District’s park and recreation properties. The act enabled the acquisition of multiple stream valleys, including Anacostia River and Rock Creek tributaries and headwaters in Maryland. Apart from the Mount Vernon Parkway, parkway acquisition lagged in Virginia, attributable to the slower pace of development and its regional planning organization. A significant proportion of land acquired pursuant to the act occurred by 1933; after which, the economic depression refocused government activity.
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Legislation Parks Regional Planning
The Preparation of Zoning Ordinances
July 1931
1931-07-01
U.S. Department of Commerce
The Department of Commerce published this pamphlet by its Advisory Committee on City Planning and Zoning to advise municipalities on formulating zoning codes,...
The Department of Commerce published this pamphlet by its Advisory Committee on City Planning and Zoning to advise municipalities on formulating zoning codes, especially inaugural ordinances.
This followed the committee’s development of standard planning and zoning enabling acts in the 1920s. Committee members included Frederick Law Olmstead and John Ihlder, who respectively served as a NCPPC Commission member and housing consultant.
Among other guidance, it conveyed the concept developed by Harland Bartholomew that zoning ordinances should be developed in accordance with a comprehensive plan.
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Zoning and Housing
The President's Conference on Home Building and Home Ownership: Committee on Housing and the Communi
December 1931
1931-12-01
Herbert Hoover Presidential Administration
This conference report conveyed strategies for the federal government to increase home building and ownership, including by facilitating long-term, amortized...
This conference report conveyed strategies for the federal government to increase home building and ownership, including by facilitating long-term, amortized mortgages; lower interest rates; reducing construction costs; and indirectly supporting low-income families.
Significantly higher home mortgage defaults and corresponding decreases in residential housing investment characterized this Great Depression period. Many middle-class families experienced impoverishment for the first time.
The conference assembled several hundred specialists into 31 specialized committees. Former NCPPC Chair Frederic A. Delano, president of the American Civic Association led the City Planning and Zoning Committee. NCPPC consultant Harland Bartholomew, president of the National Conference on City Planning, chaired the Subdivision Layout Committee. NCPPC consultant John Ihlder, executive director of Pittsburgh Housing Association chaired the Types of Dwellings Committee. Abram Garfield, a U.S. Commission of Fine Arts member led the Blighted Areas and Slums Committee. Nannie H. Burroughs, president of National Training School for Women and Girls on Washington chaired the Negro Housing Committee.
The Subdivision Layout Committee recommended that all new neighborhoods should have ‘appropriate restrictions.’ To define ‘appropriate,’ the Bartholomew report referred conference participants to an earlier document, a 1928 review of deeds showing that thirty-eight of forty recently constructed developments barred sale to or occupancy by African Americans. The review observed that racial exclusion clauses were ‘in rather general use in the vicinity of the larger eastern and northern cities which have experienced an influx of colored people in recent years.”
The conference adopted a resolution endorsing the President’s proposal for a system of home loan discount banks.
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Zoning and Housing
Land Transfer Act of 1932
May 1932
1932-05-01
Seventy-Second Congress
Authorized federal and District authorities to transfer jurisdiction between themselves upon recommendation of the National Capital Park and Planning...
Authorized federal and District authorities to transfer jurisdiction between themselves upon recommendation of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Fulfilling the 1930 Capper-Cramton Act involved transferring hundreds of parcels to assemble parks. Prior to this act, each transfer required a costly and time-consuming act of Congress.
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Federal Development Infrastructure and Services Legislation Parks
The Negro Housing Problem in Louisville
May 1932
1932-05-01
Louisville (Ky.) City Planning and Zoning Commission
Future NCPC Chair Harland Bartholomew prepared this report for the Louisville government on low-income housing, particularly focusing on housing for...
Future NCPC Chair Harland Bartholomew prepared this report for the Louisville government on low-income housing, particularly focusing on housing for “Negros.”
The report explores housing conditions, problems and rebuilding costs. It reveals perceptions of the period and of the author. For example, one section on improvement methods lists three obstacles to any rebuilding scheme for “Negros” housing: “1. A lack of desire among a large portion of the population for something better than they are accustomed to. 2. The conviction among most landlords that Negroes as a class, are poor tenants. 3. The general public apathy and lack of understanding of the Negro’s problems.”
It figures, [i]f it were possible to create among the negro masses a real desire for decent accommodations, the slums would automatically eliminate themselves as it would be impossible for the owner of rundown property to obtain tenants unless he made such improvements that would attract them.…All of which leads to the conclusion that some form of large-scale slum clearance and rehabilitation is the only real cure.”
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Zoning and Housing
National Housing Act (1934)
January 1934
1934-01-01
Seventy-Third U.S Congress
Public Law 73-479 created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) with the authority to insure long-term mortgage loans made by private lending institutions...
Public Law 73-479 created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) with the authority to insure long-term mortgage loans made by private lending institutions on homes and rental housing, and to insure lenders against loss on smaller loans financing home alterations, repair, and other improvements.
Part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal program, the act’s two central policy goals were to: 1) create an economically sound, publicly sponsored, mortgage insurance system; and 2) revive the residential construction industry that collapsed during the Great Depression.
In addition to FHA, it established the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation under the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, which administered deposit insurance for savings and loan institutions in the United States, a function Congress transferred to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1989. It also authorized the chartering of national mortgage associations to provide a secondary mortgage market. The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA or Fannie Mae) was originally chartered under this authority.
The act had significant, but disparate, impacts on residents and development patterns. In advancing the single, low down payment, long-term, low interest rate amortized mortgage, real estate became a major source of wealth for some Americans. To encourage (particularly to insure) “economically sound” loans, as the act specified, many went toward new construction, especially to White families in developing suburban areas.
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Legislation Zoning and Housing
DC Alley Dwelling Act
June 1934
1934-06-01
Seventy-Third Congress
Authorized the U.S. President to designate an agency to clear alley dwellings and redevelop this land for any purpose that served the city.
President...
Authorized the U.S. President to designate an agency to clear alley dwellings and redevelop this land for any purpose that served the city.
President Herbert Hoover recognized the Federal Triangle and the expansion of the Legislative Group around the U.S. Capitol as successful examples of replacing dilapidated dwellings. First Ladies Ellen Wilson and Eleanor Roosevelt were also actively engaged in efforts to end Washington’s alley dwellings.
The legislation built on a 1918 law that focused on housing war workers and represented the first federal legislation providing housing for low-income families. In establishing an Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA) that utilized eminent domain to clear and replace dwellings the 1934 act was considered pioneer public housing legislation. Previously, dilapidated housing was simply condemned and demolished. The ADA essentially became the nation’s first local housing authority. NCPPC advocated for this act in various ways, including John Ihlder’s 1930 housing report.
From 1934-1943, the ADA functioned as a federally controlled special authority. Ordered in 1941 to prioritize housing for war workers, it and the U.S. Housing Authority constructed Barry Farm Dwellings, among other projects. The ADA later evolved into the DC Housing Authority which is now an independent DC Government agency. Congress repealed the 1934 act’s alley dwelling ban in 1955, following zoning complications and concerns from residents in relatively prosperous areas who had improved alley dwellings.
Similar to later urban renewal efforts, clearing alley dwellings disproportionally impacted low-income and/or minority residents.
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Federal Development Legislation Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
Experiences with Zoning in Washington, DC 1920-1934
January 1935
1935-01-01
S.G. Lindholm for the DC Zoning Commission
The District of Columbia Zoning Commission reported its experiences since its adoption of the District’s first ordinance, conveying that an ordinance...
The District of Columbia Zoning Commission reported its experiences since its adoption of the District’s first ordinance, conveying that an ordinance revision was “desirable.”
The report described development of the code, including the creation of an "A" area district that required side yards (setbacks from streets weren’t required, as it recognized Washington’s generous street widths). It noted that the prevailing “preponderance of the "A" areas reflects both the popularity of the restriction and the bias of the Zoning Commission in favor of home (residential) Sections.” However, it noted “serious overcrowding in zones allowing apartment houses. It noted that the “down-town district is on the down grade, old, settled sections surrounding it touched by obsolescence.” Quoting a 1934 Harland Bartholomew speech, it concluded that too many residential areas were designated for commercial and industrial use.
The report recommended multiple revisions, with the most significant being administrative reform. Noting the volume of cases petitioning for exceptions, the report suggested an adjustment board as contemplated by the Standard Zoning Enabling Act. In 1938, Congress expanded the District of Columbia Zoning Commission’s authority, and authorized a Board of Zoning Adjustment.
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Infrastructure and Services Maps Transportation Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
Need for Zoning Review in Washington
April 1935
1935-04-01
Harland Bartholomew and Associates
In this manuscript from Harland Bartholomew & Associates’ records, Bartholomew conveyed that the present ordinance should be updated because it was a...
In this manuscript from Harland Bartholomew & Associates’ records, Bartholomew conveyed that the present ordinance should be updated because it was a prototype adopted before the courts had established the validity of zoning principles e.g., zones exclusively consisting of single-family dwellings.
Bartholomew conveyed underlying concerns that “overcrowding” and “blight,” which he found to be associated with apartment buildings and older areas of the city, may affect broader sections of the city. He observed some unintended consequences of early zoning. For example, an early amendment to DC’s code to establish a residential district prohibiting apartment buildings had unintentionally created (overcrowded) apartment districts, and as he noted, were in most of Anacostia. He recommended that DC adopt a single map; a single set of districts combining use, height, and area regulations; and lot occupancy/population density controls.
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Legislation Zoning and Housing
U.S. Housing Act of 1937
September 1937
1937-09-01
Seventy-Fifth Congress
This amendment to the National Housing Act of 1934 focused on concerns of substandard housing and concentrated poverty. It authorized a new U.S. Housing...
This amendment to the National Housing Act of 1934 focused on concerns of substandard housing and concentrated poverty. It authorized a new U.S. Housing Authority to provide loans and other assistance to state and local agencies for low-rent housing and slum clearance projects.
A 1932 Harland Bartholomew report on cities served as a basis for formulating the Act’s guidelines. Bartholomew’s theoretical and empirical analyses suggested that the housing solution for American cities was “horizontal” (characterized by low-rise buildings), especially with terraced houses for lower-income classes and detached houses for the higher-income classes.
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Legislation Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
Federal Highway Map
February 1938
1938-02-02
U.S. Department of Agriculture
President Franklin D. Roosevelt marked five transcontinental routes (in blue) on a 1935 U.S. highway system map showing the American Association of State...
President Franklin D. Roosevelt marked five transcontinental routes (in blue) on a 1935 U.S. highway system map showing the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials approved U.S. numbered highways (in red).
The United States’ Interstate Highway System was initially conceived as a network of tolled “superhighways” or expressways, that would be rented or sold to combine with toll revenue to pay the bills, including the use of right-of-way.
Recognizing that the roadway concept would also create jobs while mitigating federal costs, President Roosevelt dictated a memorandum as early as 1934. In February 1938, after proposals stalled, the President met with the Bureau of Public Roads’ (the Federal Highway Administration predecessor) director. Asking for a feasibility study, the President conveyed this routing map. It envisioned intercity routes that ended before the terminal points. For example, the route approaching Washington, DC ended in a junction in Virginia.
The Bureau submitted its report to the White House in April. Having heard of the study, Congress requested a similar report in its July 1938 Federal-Aid Highway Act.
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Maps Transportation
Zoning Act of 1938
June 1938
1938-06-01
Seventy-Fifth Congress
This act expanded the DC Zoning Commission’s authority, which was established by the Zoning Act of 1920. This act provided the Commission with “police...
This act expanded the DC Zoning Commission’s authority, which was established by the Zoning Act of 1920. This act provided the Commission with “police power” to regulate the height and bulk of buildings, as well as their lot occupancy and location of uses. It divided Washington into zoned districts. It authorized the Commission to promulgate regulations that were consistent with a Comprehensive Plan designed to meet prevailing public goals.
To advise the Commission on zoning text or map amendments, it specified a three-member Zoning Advisory Council, that included an NCPPC representative. It also established a five-member Board of Zoning Adjustment, which included one NCPPC member. The Act noted that its provisions did not apply to federal properties, which were subject to NCPPC review and approval.
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Legislation Zoning and Housing
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1938
June 1938
1938-06-01
Seventy-Fifth US Congress
Public No. 75-584 expanded the authorities for those governing the District’s , among other provisions.
The Federal Highway Act of 1921 designated two...
Public No. 75-584 expanded the authorities for those governing the District’s , among other provisions.
The Federal Highway Act of 1921 designated two highway classes eligible for federal-aid funds: primary or interstate and secondary or intercounty, with the total limited to seven percent of the rural road mileage within each state. Recognizing the District was entirely urban, the 1938 Act exempted it from the mileage clause.
Another provision enabled the District to receive federal highway funding, similar to how states receive them. This enabled the District to commence a regular road planning program, releasing its first highway plan in 1941. This was a more specialized and strong-minded highway effort compared to the 1893 highway plan and NCPPC’s 1930 thoroughfare plan.
Nationally, the act authorized the use of regular federal-aid funds for highway landscaping and to eliminate road and railway grade crossings.
It requested the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads report on the feasibility of a nationwide network of six tolled superhighways. The resulting Reporting in Toll Roads and Free Roads (1939) showed that demand was insufficient and the Bureau recommended a non-toll network. Access would be limited; within large cities, the routes would be depressed or elevated. Where traffic was modest, the network would utilize existing roadways.
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Legislation Transportation
Map of the Metropolitan Area of Washington, DC: Showing Division…into Residential Sub-Areas
June 1938
1938-06-01
Federal Housing Administration
To facilitate “economically sound” loans, as Congress authorized, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) developed this racially discriminating...
To facilitate “economically sound” loans, as Congress authorized, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) developed this racially discriminating map.
Lengthy underwriting manuals detailed FHA’s techniques for determining mortgages insurance eligibility under its authorizing legislation. Appraisals included ratings of the borrower, property, and neighborhood. The 1938 manual specified eight criteria, and associated weights, for rating neighborhoods: “relative economic stability; protection from adverse influences; freedom from special hazards; adequacy of civic, social, and commercial centers; adequacy of transportation; sufficiency of utilities and conveniences; level of taxes and special assessments; and appeal.” Most of the weight was associated with the first two categories.
A reoccurring neighborhood analysis principle was "inharmonious racial or nationality groups." The 1938 manual noted: If a neighborhood is to retain stability, it is necessary that properties shall continue to be occupied by the same social and racial classes. A change in social or racial occupancy generally contributes to instability and a decline in values. The manual recommended "enforced zoning, subdivision regulations, and suitable restrictive covenants,” (the latter of which the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated in its 1948 Shelley v. Kraemer decision.)
The manual advised underwriters to use FHA maps and other data sources to “check probable eligibility of locations.” Maps defined multiple grades of neighborhood quality. FHA described the grades for this 1937 map in an associated Housing Market Analysis document. Two of the lowest grades emphasized the presence of Black residents; “Type F” is “showing the effects of negro occupancy” and “Type H” does “not include sections originally intended for white occupancy and now occupied by negroes.” Other FHA maps used a color-coded grading, with the “Red” category similar to Type H; this practice later became known as “red-lining.”
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Maps Zoning and Housing
The Rehabilitation of Southwest Washington as a War Housing Measure
January 1939
1939-01-02
Arther Goodwillie
In conjunction with John Ihlder, the Washington Housing Association, Howard University faculty, and the District of Columbia Commissioners, Goodwillie laid out...
In conjunction with John Ihlder, the Washington Housing Association, Howard University faculty, and the District of Columbia Commissioners, Goodwillie laid out the case for developing war housing in Southwest Washington.
Arthur Goodwillie led the Conservation Service of the Home Owners' Loan Corporation, a government-sponsored corporation that President Franklin Roosevelt established in 1933 to refinance home mortgages in default. In line with the government’s emphasis on resource conservation, it proposed considering existing housing in old neighborhoods as resources. Using property assessment data, the memorandum demonstrated it would cost less to rehabilitate than raze Southwest’s buildings (fronting the street) . The memo also conveyed that greater housing density could be achieved by constructing apartment houses in the interiors of city blocks where alley dwellings stood.
Goodwillie, who consulted with NCPPC as he prepared the memo, formally presented it to NCPPC in 1942. NCPPC used its diagrams in a 1942 report and the 1950 comprehensive plan, Washington Present and Future. NCPPC’s 1950 work is set within the framework of the more intensive 1945 and 1949 Redevelopment Acts.
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Federal Development Maps Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
Proposed Recreation System: District of Columbia
March 1939
1939-03-15
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
This illustrated the recreation system plan with revisions to 1939, including “White” and “Colored” (Black) recreation centers, as recommended to NCPPC...
This illustrated the recreation system plan with revisions to 1939, including “White” and “Colored” (Black) recreation centers, as recommended to NCPPC in 1930 by its multi-agency recreation committee.
The Great Depression stalled facility development after a productive period of planning. In a 1933 executive order, President Franklin Roosevelt transferred management of the District’s parks to the newly established National Park Service Office of National Capital Parks (NCP). Two years later, NCP received a $1,000,000 allocation from the Public Works Administration. Later that year, NCP, NCPPC, the District of Columbia Commissioners , and the District Board of Education created the District of Columbia Recreation Committee to coordinate facility development.
To reassert its planning function, NCPPC commissioned a comprehensive analysis of Washington’s recreation system. Authored by Lebert Howard Weir, the 1934 “National Recreation Association Report on Public Recreation in Washington, DC and Environs” found the system woefully inadequate. It recommended establishing more effective and unified administration, as well as 91 new playgrounds.
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Maps Parks
Memorandum on 110’ Building Height Zoning District Regulations
November 1940
1940-11-11
Harland Bartholomew
Document summary coming soon. The original document in PDF is available for review and download.
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Zoning and Housing
Memorandum on Relation of Building Heights to Automobile Parking in the Central Business District of
January 1941
1941-01-01
Harland Bartholomew
Document summary coming soon. The original document in PDF is available for review and download.
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Infrastructure and Services National Mall and Core Zoning and Housing
Development of the Central Area West and East of the Capitol-Washington D.C.
April 1941
1941-04-02
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
This vision represents an updated version of NCPPC’s proposal for an extension of the National Mall eastward along East Capitol Street to an Anacostia Park...
This vision represents an updated version of NCPPC’s proposal for an extension of the National Mall eastward along East Capitol Street to an Anacostia Park terminus.
NCPPC conceived the concept in the 1920s during its earlier studies that focused on implementing the McMillan Plan recommendations. NCPPC released multiple diagrams that refined the concept, including in 1939, 1941, and 1952. During the early period NCPPC’s Economies of Planning initiative focused federal operations in the core. In later years, it was considered part of the government’s effort to decentralize the city’s core by integrating civic development along gateway corridors extending beyond the L’Enfant City into the rest of Washington.
However, interest and funding stalled with World War II. Post-war, NCPPC emphasized urban renewal in the central area and a more dispersed and anti-monumental suburban vision. In 1961, the District of Columbia Stadium (later renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium) opened where NCPPC once envisioned a sports auditorium.
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Commemoration Federal Development Maps National Mall and Core Parks Waterfronts
The Redevelopment of Southwest Washington: Plan A
February 1942
1942-02-01
National Capital Park and Planning Commission
This repackages an infill development proposal–including photographs, financial calculations, sewer diagrams, and proposed floor plans–originally developed...
This repackages an infill development proposal–including photographs, financial calculations, sewer diagrams, and proposed floor plans–originally developed by Arthur Goodwillie of the Federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation for NCPPC’s formal consideration.
Due to wartime migrations, Truman Administration forecasts anticipated that Washington’s 1942 year-end population would be 50 percent larger than that registered in the 1940 census. As the designated agency for planning community and housing facilities in Washington, NCPPC was challenged. It supported housing on land recently acquired for recreation.
The report noted it was costly to develop new land on Washington’s perimeter, which might have limited accessibility. NCPPC figured this program would both demonstrate the “national value of neighborhood rehabilitation” and help address Washington’s acute housing shortage.
Over the next decade, the agency considered more aggressive redevelopment concepts. In May 1952, it redefined the area suggested in this report as Southwest Project Area B and approved its renewal that October.
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Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
Transportation Survey and Plan for the Central Area of Washington, D.C.
January 1944
1944-01-01
J.E. Greiner Company and De Leuw, Cather & Company Consulting Engineers
This report, which echoed earlier recommendations, clarified that the District needed major improvements to improve accessibility to the central area’s...
This report, which echoed earlier recommendations, clarified that the District needed major improvements to improve accessibility to the central area’s retail and federal districts.
J.E. Greiner Company prepared the report for the D.C. Commissioners in cooperation with the DC Highway Department and the Federal Works Agency’s Public Roads Administration. The report allied for “extensive improvements in the existing street layout through the construction of grade separation structures and channelized connections,” and particularly recommended underground tunnels for streetcars operating along Connecticut and Pennsylvania Avenues and Fourteenth Street in downtown.
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National Mall and Core Transportation
American Planning and Civic Annual
January 1944
1944-01-01
National Capital Park and Planning Commission
This annual featured a section on the federal city that encompassed addresses by NCPPC Chairman Ulysses S. Grant, III, NCPPC Planning Director John Nolen, Jr.,...
This annual featured a section on the federal city that encompassed addresses by NCPPC Chairman Ulysses S. Grant, III, NCPPC Planning Director John Nolen, Jr., and National Capital Housing Authority Executive Director John Ihlder.
Grant highlights the planning legacy of the National Capital in “Planning for Postwar Washington,” while Nolan conveys “Planning for Postwar Washington.” Their commentary was originally presented at a February 19, 1943 dinner meeting of the Joint Committee on the National Capital.
Organized in 1932 to study and advise on projects in cooperation with NCPPC and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, this Joint Committee consisted of representatives from ten artistic, planning and engineering professional associations. President Franklin Roosevelt issued letter greeting the 1944 dinner meeting attendees.
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Federal Development
Interregional Highways: A Report...Recommending a National System of Interregional Higways
January 1944
1944-01-01
National Interregional Highway Committee
This report to Congress recommended a 34,000-mile interregional highway system, plus an additional 5,000 miles of auxiliary urban routes.
In 1941, President...
This report to Congress recommended a 34,000-mile interregional highway system, plus an additional 5,000 miles of auxiliary urban routes.
In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed a seven-member committee chaired by the Commissioner of Public Roads Administration (which also led its predecessor, the Bureau of Public Roads); it also included NCPPC Chairs, Frederic A. Delano, and future NCPC Chair Harland Bartholomew.
The report emphasized the value of prioritizing traffic flow, not only to improve overall accessibility, but also to counteract declining inner-city conditions. The report reaffirmed the Bureau's recommendation for a superhighway network in its earlier Toll Roads and Free Roads (1939) report. These reports shaped the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1944, which authorized a 40,000-mile "National System of Interstate Highways" by joint action of state highway agencies, subject to the Bureau’s approval.
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Maps Transportation
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944
December 1944
1944-12-01
Seventy-Eighth U.S. Congress
Public Law 78-521 authorized designation of a 40,000 mile "National System of Interstate Highways," to be selected by joint action of the state highway...
Public Law 78-521 authorized designation of a 40,000 mile "National System of Interstate Highways," to be selected by joint action of the state highway departments.
This amendment to the Federal-Aid Road Act of 1916 followed Interregional Highways, a 1944 report by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s National Interregional Highway Committee that recommended a 40,000-mile interstate highway system.
Congress authorized the interstate system to serve the national defense and “to connect by routes, as direct as practicable, the principal metropolitan areas, cities, and industrial centers, to serve the national defense, and to connect at suitable border points...”
Although it was the largest highway act to date, it did not provide special funds for or initiate an interstate highway construction program. The act’s funding went toward primary, secondary, and feeder road projects.
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Legislation Transportation
Redevelopment Act of 1945
August 1946
1946-08-02
Seventy-Ninth Congress
Established a multi-step, bicameral comprehensive redevelopment process that expanded NCPPC’s planning authority.
The act reflected a variety of...
Established a multi-step, bicameral comprehensive redevelopment process that expanded NCPPC’s planning authority.
The act reflected a variety of macroeconomic and political developments that followed the 1934 DC Alley Dwelling Act and included federal employment growth, military engagements, the implementation of a zoning ordinance, population growth, private investment, and settlement patterns. Some stakeholders advocated ending alley clearance activities, noting areas where private owners improved alleys. Others argued for broader federal redevelopment support: conveying concerns with the ineffectiveness of existing authorities, declining property values, and basing clearance activities on alley versus street frontage. Private interests raised concerns with the government funding housing redevelopment, with some advocating for private-sector redevelopment provisions.
Congress determined that it was “necessary to acquire property…for the discontinuance of the use for human habitation in DC of substandard dwellings and of buildings in alleys and blighted areas,” The act directed NCPPC “to make and, from time to time, develop a comprehensive or general plan of the District of Columbia, including the appropriate maps, charts, tables, and descriptive, interpretative, and analytical matter, which plan is intended to serve as a general framework or guide of development within which the various project areas may be more precisely planned and calculated, and which comprehensive or general plan shall include at least a land-use plan which designates the proposed general distribution and general locations and extents of the uses of the land for housing, business, industry, recreation, education, public buildings, public reservations, and other general categories of public and private uses of the land.”
To exercise any acquisition or redevelopment activities, the law required NCPPC to adopt project boundaries based on its comprehensive plan, then secure approval of the DC Board of Commissioners. Next, NCPPC must (develop and) adopt a redevelopment plan that was considered in a public hearing and approved by the District Commissioners. To implement the plans, the act established the DC Redevelopment Land Agency, providing it with eminent domain authority.
By emphasizing the role of private enterprise and linking slum clearance to comprehensive planning, the act presaged the transformation of United States housing policies, including the U.S. housing acts of 1949 and 1954. In 1954, the act was unsuccessfully challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court case Berman v. Parker.
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Legislation Major Plans Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
Approved Interstate Highway System
August 1947
1947-08-02
Federal Works Administration
The Federal Works Agency approved a National System of Interstates that consisted of 37,681 miles of principal highways, including 2,882 miles within...
The Federal Works Agency approved a National System of Interstates that consisted of 37,681 miles of principal highways, including 2,882 miles within cities.
The Public Roads Administration (successor to the Bureau of Public Roads) formulated the system based on the states and District’s recommendations.
However, construction on the system proceeded slowly. Without additional federal funding, states were reluctant to divert funds from local priorities. The route approval process wasn’t completed until 1955, with the release of the General Location of National System of Interstate Highways Including All Additional Routes at Urban Areas.
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Maps Transportation
District of Columbia Recreation System Plan
December 1947
1947-12-01
National Capital Park and Planning Commission
This maps the recreation system plan for the District of Columbia, including city-wide centers as well as “White” and “Colored” (Black) recreation...
This maps the recreation system plan for the District of Columbia, including city-wide centers as well as “White” and “Colored” (Black) recreation centers. NCPC prepared this map in collaboration with the Recreation Board of the District of Columbia.
Responding to Washington’s burgeoning population and inadequate recreational facilities, Congress created the Recreation Board of the District of Columbia in 1942. Its membership consisted of one representative from the Board of Commissioners of the District, the Board of Education, and the National Capital Parks Superintendent ; plus four other District residents appointed by the Board of Commissioners of the District.
The act authorized the Recreation Board to conduct a comprehensive program of public recreation in certain recreation centers, including playgrounds and "other recreational facilities which may be agreed upon between the Board and the agencies having jurisdiction over such facilities." It instructed them to utilize public properties assigned by NCPPC to the Commissioners of the District and make agreements for additional facilities with other federal agencies and the Board of Education.
The ensuing Recreation Board plan divided Washington into twenty-six areas: each area contained a large recreation center and several neighborhood playgrounds. Between 1942-1945, NCPPC acquired land guided by the plan.
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Maps Parks
Hurd v. Hodge
May 1948
1948-05-01
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled against Lena and Frederic Hodge, who sued James and Mary Hurd, the new owners of 116 Bryant Street NW, Washington,...
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled against Lena and Frederic Hodge, who sued James and Mary Hurd, the new owners of 116 Bryant Street NW, Washington, DC and their broker for violating a restrictive racial covenant.
In an earlier case (Shelley v. Kraemer), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial covenants violated the Fourteenth Amendment. Recognizing that the Equal Protection Clause does not explicitly apply to a U.S. territory not in a U.S. state, the court in this case also cited the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which stated that “All citizens of the United States shall have the same right, in every State and Territory, as is enjoyed by white citizens thereof to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property.”
In recognition of the case, the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, considered a contributing resource to the Bloomingdale Historic District, and is part of DC’s 20th Century African American Civil Rights Tour.
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Zoning and Housing
National Security Factors in Industrial Location
September 1948
1948-09-01
National Security Resources Board
Utilizing graphical depictions, this booklet discouraged dense agglomerations of "industrial facilities.” It reflected the Truman Administration’s approach...
Utilizing graphical depictions, this booklet discouraged dense agglomerations of "industrial facilities.” It reflected the Truman Administration’s approach toward the Cold War after coordination among federal agencies including NCPPC.
Congress’ National Security Act of 1947 directed federal agencies to provide a comprehensive security program for the U.S. It created the National Security Resources Board (NSRB) to advise "the President concerning the coordination of military, industrial and civilian mobilization."
NSRB coordinated with federal agencies to advance dispersion and decentralization approaches for federal operations. In 1947, the Public Buildings Administration issued a dispersal proposal calling for a 72-square mile Federal City centered in Suitland, Maryland.
The advisory publication reflects competing goals and federal government's reluctance to unduly disrupt or dictate economic activities. NCPPC was developing a comprehensive plan focused on the urban core, pursuant to the 1945 DC Redevelopment Act. By 1949 NSRB coordinated with the Truman Administration, NCPPC and the Federal Works Agency to finalize its recommendations for the national capital to the President.
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Federal Development Maps
Recreation System Plan Map
April 1949
1949-04-01
National Capital Park and Planning Commission
Document summary coming soon. The original document in PDF
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Parks
Housing Act of 1949
July 1949
1949-07-01
Eighty-First Congress
The act declared a goal of a “decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family,” and authorized multiple programs across the nation....
The act declared a goal of a “decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family,” and authorized multiple programs across the nation.
Provisions increased authorization for Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance, committed the federal government to building new public housing units, and supported housing research and rural housing. One of the most significant provisions formally established the practice of privately driven slum clearance (or “urban renewal” as termed in an amendment to the act).
Title VI—Miscellaneous Provisions included a section that addressed the District of Columbia, which in part specified funding transfers between the District Commissioners, NCPPC and other federal entities. The act modified the programs set up under the 1937 Housing Act by conditioning funding for slum clearance projects on affording "maximum opportunity" to private developers and by allowing slum areas to be redeveloped with other than low-income housing. A requirement to replace low-income units on a one-to-one basis in the 1937 Housing Act was amended to exempt low-income housing on built on cleared slum sites, therefore allowing redevelopments to proceed at lower densities.
Consistent with the concept developed in the 1945 D.C. Redevelopment Act, the nationwide act also required redevelopment plans to "conform to a general plan for the development of the locality as a whole." A section in the 1949 act generally carries the 1945 DC redevelopment provisions in the 1945 forward. It authorizes the National Capital Housing Authority to acquire sites within the District of Columbia for low-rent, public housing projects, independent of the redevelopment program.
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Federal Development Legislation Transportation Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
Special Aspects of Washington’s City Plan
November 1949
1949-11-11
Harland Bartholomew
Document summary coming soon. The original document in PDF is available for review and download.
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Federal Development Regional Planning Transportation Zoning and Housing
Open Spaces and Community Services: A Portion of the Comprehensive Plan...
January 1950
1950-01-01
National Capital Park and Planning Commission
The fourth of six bound monographs that comprised the Comprehensive Plan NCPPC released in 1950. This monograph detailed the open space and community services...
The fourth of six bound monographs that comprised the Comprehensive Plan NCPPC released in 1950. This monograph detailed the open space and community services components.
The monograph is divided into four sections. The first delved into the park, parkway, and playground system plan. It provided an update on acquisitions authorized by the Capper-Crampton Act. Among a handful of new parks, it recommended establishing Greenbelt Park from unused land acquired by the U. S. Farm Security Administration.
Sections two and three respectively focused on the physical planning program for the public school and library systems. A community services section covered public water supply, sewage disposal, health centers, fire services, and police protection.
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Infrastructure and Services Major Plans Maps Parks Regional Planning Waterfronts Zoning and Housing
Washington Present and Future: A General Summary of the Comprehensive Plan...
April 1950
1950-04-01
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
The first of six bound monographs that comprised the Comprehensive Plan NCPPC released in 1950. This monograph provided a general summary of the...
The first of six bound monographs that comprised the Comprehensive Plan NCPPC released in 1950. This monograph provided a general summary of the plan.
Underlying the national interest, President Truman endorsed the plan, noting that [Washington}“should be the best planned city in the world and a Capital befitting the dignity and ideals of a great nation in a family of nations."
The plan followed recent federal policies that authorized renewal of “obsolete” housing with a comprehensive plan. It also explored post-war issues, including the federal government’s growing presence, particularly beyond urbanized Washington, automobile congestion, and the natural environment.
Harland Bartholomew developed the plan as a consultant for NCPPC. The plan built upon NCPPC’s early work, particularly park planning, and on studies Bartholomew previously completed, including those on recreation and neighborhood identity. For example, NCPPC identified a need for a healthy and larger employment center: it recommended development projects within the area immediately southwest of the U.S. Capitol and within NCPPC’s earlier East Mall and Northwest Rectangle proposals. These precincts reflected NCPPC’s early work implementing the McMillan Plan.
As introduced in this monograph, the plan offered “a practical guide for step-by-step action to correct past mistakes and to build for future needs over the next 30 years.” While it was a momentous plan, implementation was slowed by leadership changes and broader transitions. NCPPC’s chairmanship shifted from its long-time chair, Ulysess S. Grant, III to several President Harry S Truman appointees in succession. William C. Wurster particularly reflected President Truman’s concern for urban minorities. By 1953, when Harland Bartholomew became NCPPC chairman, Congress had realigned NCPC’s authorities and Bartholomew reconciled the plan with new federal and metropolitan dynamics.
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Federal Development Major Plans Maps National Mall and Core Parks Regional Planning Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
Regional Aspects of the Comprehensive Plan: A Portion of the Comprehensive Plan...
June 1950
1950-06-01
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
This document is the sixth and final bound monograph that comprised the Comprehensive Plan NCPPC released in 1950. This monograph focused on the regional...
This document is the sixth and final bound monograph that comprised the Comprehensive Plan NCPPC released in 1950. This monograph focused on the regional context.
NCPPC illustrated through text and graphics the tremendous development growth in the region, noting concern with unplanned and inefficient patterns. As introduced in the first monograph, it conveyed the growing significance of federal employment. It provided a variety of recommendations from land use, transportation, and park plans to rail, airport, and waterway facilities. It concluded with a call for regional coordination.
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Federal Development Infrastructure and Services Major Plans Maps Regional Planning Transportation
Moving People and Goods: A Portion of the Comprehensive Plan...
June 1950
1950-06-01
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
The fifth of six bound monographs that comprised the Comprehensive Plan NCPPC released in 1950. This monograph detailed the transportation component.
The...
The fifth of six bound monographs that comprised the Comprehensive Plan NCPPC released in 1950. This monograph detailed the transportation component.
The plan advanced a modified version of Harland Bartholomew’s circumferential road scheme proposed in NCPPC’s early years, e.g. “A Report on a Major Thoroughfare System and Traffic Circulation Problems of Washington” (1927). The 1950 plan envisioned three circumferential routes – one roughly a mile around the White House, one along the Fort Drive corridor, and a beltway beyond the city – and strengthened radial roads. The plan envisioned two main arterial classifications. Express highways and parkways would be divided roadways with some access control. Major highways would be grade-level roads with traffic control measures to expedite flow. As text and section schemes conveyed, the plan did not approach the scale of later freeway programs, either in the overall system or the engineering of the roadways.
Calculating that a large proportion of Washingtonians were inclined to private automobile use and that the region had an insufficient population density to support a rapid transit system, the plan accepted the existing bus and streetcar system and did not propose developing new mass transportation networks.
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Major Plans Maps National Mall and Core Regional Planning Transportation
People and Land: A Portion of the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital and Its Environs
June 1950
1950-06-01
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
The second of six bound monographs that comprised the Comprehensive Plan NCPPC released in 1950. This monograph detailed the population, employment, and land...
The second of six bound monographs that comprised the Comprehensive Plan NCPPC released in 1950. This monograph detailed the population, employment, and land use components.
The narrative built upon a variety of charts, maps, and other informational graphics. Topics included the increasingly significant role of the federal government in the growing metropolitan region. Recommendations focused on regional coordination and modifications to land use and zoning documents.
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Infrastructure and Services Major Plans Maps Parks Regional Planning Transportation Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
Housing and Redevelopment: A Portion of the Comprehensive Plan...
June 1950
1950-06-01
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
The third of six bound monographs that comprised the Comprehensive Plan NCPPC released in 1950. This monograph detailed residential and redevelopment...
The third of six bound monographs that comprised the Comprehensive Plan NCPPC released in 1950. This monograph detailed residential and redevelopment components.
The monograph reviewed Washington’s housing inventory. In identifying problem areas, the plan employed six criteria: overcrowding; lack of repairs; lack of sanitation; age of buildings; insufficient open space; low rents; and juvenile delinquency and disease. Maps highlighted deaths caused by tuberculosis and syphilis; inhabited alleys; rent cost; owner occupancy (associated text observed that owners generally had more interest in long-term neighborhood development and maintenance); overcrowding (defined as proportions of dwellings with more than 1.5 persons per room); and the proportion of dwellings that “need “major repairs and/or lacked a private bath.”
The second half of the publication considered a redevelopment plan, based on the 1949 Housing Act. NCPPC conveyed its efforts would focus on the “problem” areas that extended northwest, northeast, and southwest beyond the National Mall. Overcrowding in the “old, obsolete” areas, it noted, reflected uneconomical land use. To provide more open space and recreation centers, the monograph included recommendations for redeveloping multistory apartment buildings and “denser single-family buildings.” The document specifically advanced a redevelopment scheme introduced in a 1942 Home Owner’s Loan Corporation memorandum . NCPPC tentatively concluded that Southwest offered the “most favorable possibilities” for a “pilot project.”
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Major Plans Maps Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
Fundamentals of an Improved Transport System for Metro Washington
January 1952
1952-01-01
Harland Bartholomew
Document summary coming soon. The original document in PDF is available for review and download. Note: document is undated; it may have been published in 1952.
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Transportation
Proposed Redevelopment Plan for Southwest Survey Area
April 1952
1952-04-01
Elbert Peets
NCPPC engaged Elbert Peets, an eminent L’Enfant Plan historian and NCPPC staff member as a private consultant to develop a plan for Southwest. Later known by...
NCPPC engaged Elbert Peets, an eminent L’Enfant Plan historian and NCPPC staff member as a private consultant to develop a plan for Southwest. Later known by its author, the Peets Plan was influential, but ultimately considered too conservative.
Echoing prevailing national security concerns about adapting to unforeseen situations, Peets recommended a gradual rehabilitation program. Such a gradual program, he noted, would minimize relocation problems and maintain the basic socioeconomic character. Peets recognized the historic character of the area's buildings, street grid, and tree canopy. Changes were modest, particularly for the residential areas and primary commercial areas, the latter of which lined Maine Avenue, and Fourth and Seventh Streets. Peets proposed expanding community facilities and introducing housing north of the planned expressway.
But multiple stakeholders, including the Redevelopment Land Authority (RLA) and the federal agency administering renewal funds (the federal government was anticipated to cover up to two-thirds of redevelopment costs), expressed concerns that the proposal wasn’t aggressive enough to justify the public expense. Surveys conducted by RLA between 1952-1953 in Southwest found that 31 percent of dwelling units had outdoor toilets, 60 percent had no baths, 31 percent had no indoor running water, 29 percent were without electricity, and 84 percent had no central heat.
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Maps National Mall and Core Parks Transportation Urban Renewal Waterfronts Zoning and Housing
Redevelopment Plans for the Southwest Survey Area
May 1952
1952-05-01
National Capital Park and Planning Commission
In what became known as the “compromise plan" for Southwest’s urban renewal, Harland Bartholomew advanced elements of previous plans.
In the summer of...
In what became known as the “compromise plan" for Southwest’s urban renewal, Harland Bartholomew advanced elements of previous plans.
In the summer of 1952, NCPC and other stakeholders found themselves wrestling with multiple competing proposals for Southwest, including a moderate one developed by Arthur Davis, an RLA consultant. Bartholomew prepared this plan under the direction of NCPPC for RLA. From the lens of NCPPC’s comprehensive plan, it compared a relatively conservative plan developed by Elbert Peets (see link) with a comparatively aggressive proposal known as the Justement-Smith Plan (see link).
Bartholomew expressed concern with Peet’s plan for minimal transformation; its large amount of commercial space, particularly along the waterfront; housing north of the planned Southwest expressway; and the conversion of streets to park space.
Bartholomew recommended rehabilitation "only where a building is in very good condition and so located that it does not interfere with the project.” However, disagreeing with Justement-Smith's emphasis on high-income residences, Bartholomew recommended focusing on low-income housing. The quantity of residential units Bartholomew recommended was halfway between that of the earlier two plans.
Bartholomew also suggested several general criteria, e.g. that the project maximize benefits for capital costs, be executable in stages, and minimize relocation problems.
The American Institute of Architects Washington chapter, of which Justement was an influential member, criticized Bartholomew’s report. The Washington Post and the Building Conference reported concerns that higher-cost housing would increase Washington’s tax base and attract residents who might otherwise live in the suburbs. Later, the U.S. Housing and Home Finance Agency (urban renewal funding administrator) determined that Bartholomew’s plan would be insufficient to qualify for federal funding.
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Federal Development Infrastructure and Services National Mall and Core Parks Transportation Urban Renewal
Rebuilding Southwest Washington: A Report to the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency
May 1952
1952-05-01
Justement, Elam & Darby
Later known as the “Justement-Smith Plan,” it proposed removing nearly all the structures and closing many L’Enfant Streets in Southwest Washington, DC...
Later known as the “Justement-Smith Plan,” it proposed removing nearly all the structures and closing many L’Enfant Streets in Southwest Washington, DC north of the Anacostia River.
Concluding that an earlier redevelopment proposal known as the Peets Plan was insufficient, RLA commissioned planner Louis Justement, of Justement, Elam, and Darley, and architect-planner Chloethiel Woodard Smith, of Keyes, Smith, Satterlee, and Lethbridge.
The authors considered “the purpose of urban redevelopment. Shall it be that of replacing slum and blighted areas with sanitary housing and disturbing existing residential and commercial uses as little as possible? Or shall it be that of stimulating change, growth, and progress throughout the redevelopment area?” They conclude that “using redevelopment as an instrument of change is the more hopeful solution, both from the point of view of that of (municipal and private) financing and that of the planning results obtained. Redevelopment…permits the city, for the first time, to deal in a purposive and creative fashion with obsolescence and rebuilding…Obsolescence and progress are but two sides of the same coin, much as death is a necessary condition of birth. We cannot have one without the other.”
Recognizing the importance of connectivity, the plan recommended a landscaped 10th Street promenade that would connect the area to the National Mall, along with infrastructure investments to reduce interstate road and railroad corridor impacts. The waterfront would be improved for residential, recreational and tourist use. Commercial and industrial facilities would largely cluster on the northern perimeter. Residential blocks would integrate high-rise apartment buildings with town houses inspired by those in Georgetown. Residences would be arranged beside private and semi-public spaces, along with “corner grocery” type stores.
To reconcile the opposing development proposals, NCPC consulted Harland Bartholomew, resulting in the “Bartholomew Compromise” report. After several counter-proposals, NCPC approved project area plans that incorporated elements of the Peets plan, although the Justement-Smith Plan ultimately proved more influential in the ensuing redevelopment.
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Maps Transportation Urban Renewal Waterfronts Zoning and Housing
National Capital Planning Act of 1952
June 1952
1952-06-19
Eighty-Second Congress
The 1952 Planning Act created two agencies responsible for planning in the national capital and its environs: the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC)...
The 1952 Planning Act created two agencies responsible for planning in the national capital and its environs: the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) and National Capital Regional Planning Council (NCRPC).
Congress established NCPC as a federal government agency funded directly through congressional appropriation (rather than, in the case of NCPPC, through the District government budget). In establishing NCPC, the act effectively reorganized NCPPC with authorities beyond the earlier “park” planning focus. The act authorized NCPC to (1) prepare and adopt a Comprehensive Plan for Washington and the federal establishment in the National Capital Region; (2) review and, in some cases within Washington, approve federal- and District-proposed development and construction plans; and (3) prepare an annual multi-year Federal Capital Improvements Program.
In establishing NCPC, the act largely carried NCPPC’s membership forward. Recognizing the increased importance of highway planning, the act designated the director of the Bureau of Public Roads (the Federal Highway Administration predecessor) as an ex officio NCPC member (NCPPC’s Forest Service member did not carry forward). It also included five presidentially appointed members (in contrast to NCPPC’s three), specifying that two be metropolitan Washington, DC residents.
The act empowered NCRPC to (1) prepare, adopt, and amend the general plan for the development of the region and make related recommendations to the appropriate developmental agencies, federal, state, and local; and (2) collaborate with NCPC, state, and local agencies.
The act specified NCRPC membership to consist of NCPC’s Chairman and the Engineer Commissioner of D.C. and two of their alternates. It authorized NCPC to appoint ten members and ten alternates as local representatives. Regional commissions and counties in Maryland and Virginia designated four additional members and alternates.
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Federal Development Infrastructure and Services Legislation Parks Regional Planning Transportation Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
NCPC Commission Agenda (multiple items, Southwest Redevelopment Plan)
October 1952
1952-10-01
National Capital Planning Commission
This microfiche image shows NCPC’s agenda. During the period, NCPC was involved in several major initiatives including the Highway Improvement Program,...
This microfiche image shows NCPC’s agenda. During the period, NCPC was involved in several major initiatives including the Highway Improvement Program, implementation of its 1950 Comprehensive Plan, and coordination with the National Capital Regional Planning Council under the 1952 National Capital Planning Act.
Multiple agenda items were the Southwest Development Plan.
For context, during the previous year, NCPC received funds to plan the 600-acre Northwest, 427-acre Southwest, and 350-acre Southeast urban renewal areas. NCPC subsequently convinced the Redevelopment Land Authority (RLA) to focus the funds in Southwest, near the U.S. Capitol Building. The two agencies then surveyed the condition of each structure in the area using criteria developed by the U.S. Census Bureau. In March 1952, the Washington Post reported that President Harry S Truman met with RLA regarding plans to rehabilitate housing in Southwest and said to “go right to it – that’s the way I feel about it.” After adopting and amending Southwest’s renewal boundaries three times in 1951, NCPC amended it again in May 1952 and defined two project areas - A and B.
Project Area A was the eastern segment of the Southwest project (south of D Street, northwest of Maine Avenue, and east of 7th Street). NCPC and RLA envisioned this area for office and commercial space. But in concluding that it presented perhaps the most complex planning issues, they advanced Project Area B in June 1952. Ultimately, Project Area A became part of Project Area C.
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Federal Development Transportation Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
A Report of Existing Conditions and a Plan for Redevelopment, Project Area B
October 1952
1952-10-24
National Capital Planning Commission
This was NCPC’s adopted renewal plan for a portion of Southwest. It reflected Harland Bartholomew’s “compromise” plan (see link) and written assistance...
This was NCPC’s adopted renewal plan for a portion of Southwest. It reflected Harland Bartholomew’s “compromise” plan (see link) and written assistance from Elbert Peets.
This publication includes NCPC’s transmittal letter seeking the statutorily required approval of the DC Board of Commissioners and NCPC’s resolution adopting the plan. The resolution outlined the Area B process and three constituent products: Land Use Plan, Site Development Plan and Specifications. The specifications included the project boundaries, which Congress required NCPC to separately adopt before developing (and approving) a renewal plan.
Area B became the first project undertaken under the D.C. Redevelopment Act of 1945 and the Housing Act of 1949 (see links). Studies characterized existing dwellings in this 45-acre area southwest of South Capitol Street and Virginia Avenue SW as 83% rental and 80% substandard. The District Commissioners were sued when they approved the plan in December. The Supreme Court weighed in on the redevelopment proposal in its February 1954 Berman v. Parker decision. A commercial business owner objected to the use of eminent domain by a public agency to take private property and then provide it to a private party for redevelopment purposes. Further, the commercial property was not “blighted.” The Court ruling allowed the urban renewal proposal to proceed.
In January 1956, NCPC modified the plan to replace planned retail with high-density residential uses. It accommodated a recommendation from Webb & Knapp, the Southwest Project Area C's developer, to focus Southwest’s primary commercial development in Area C.
Completed as Capitol Park in 1963, it became the first racially integrated housing complex in Washington, D.C. The renewal plan's requirements for low-income residents were also notable. While Washington’s race-neutral housing policy was trend setting, the low rent requirement proved difficult to achieve. Recognizing multiple considerations, including cost increases, the construction of public housing elsewhere in Southwest, and an absence of federal legislation supporting construction for lower-middle income households, NCPC approved the requirement’s elimination in June 1959.
Cloethiel Woodard Smith and Dan Kiley led the complex’s design. Capitol Park Apartments won an American Institute of Architects merit award in 1960. Capitol Park II townhouses won an Federal Housing Administration Honor Award. In 1959, President Eisenhower toured Capitol Park Apartments with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, showcasing it as an example of the United States' progress in eliminating slums.
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Urban Renewal
An Approach to the Mass Transportation Problem for the District of Columbia
October 1952
1952-10-27
NCPC
This report, prepared by Harland Bartholomew and Associates for NCPC, recommended establishing a Washington Area Transportation Committee to develop a mass...
This report, prepared by Harland Bartholomew and Associates for NCPC, recommended establishing a Washington Area Transportation Committee to develop a mass transportation plan.
The report acknowledged that suburban population growth and widespread preferences for private automobile travel presented substantial transportation problems. It conveyed multiple considerations including roadway congestion, travel speeds, parking demand, funding structure, and land use factors such as zoning and federal facility locations.
Following this report, in 1955, Congress obligated $400,000 to NCPC to enable it and NCPRC to jointly conduct a survey of the present and future mass transportation needs of the National Capital Region, as defined in the 1952 National Capital Planning Act, and to report their findings and recommendations to the President by August 1956. The agencies appointed a Joint Steering Committee to oversee the Mass Transportation Survey, created an advisory committee of transportation experts, hired a director and a small staff, and commissioned studies. The most influential member of the committee was Harland Bartholomew.
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Major Plans Regional Planning Transportation
Bolling vs. Sharpe: Desegregation of Schools and Playgrounds in D.C.
May 1954
1954-05-17
U.S. Supreme Court
Bolling v. Sharpe, 347 U.S. 497 (1954), is a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the Constitution prohibited segregated...
Bolling v. Sharpe, 347 U.S. 497 (1954), is a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the Constitution prohibited segregated public schools in the District of Columbia. Originally argued on December 10–11, 1952, a year before Brown v. Board of Education, Bolling was reargued on December 8–9, 1953, and was unanimously decided on May 17, 1954, the same day as the Brown decision.
The Bolling decision was supplemented in 1955 with the second Brown opinion, which ordered desegregation “with all deliberate speed.” In Bolling, the Court did not address school desegregation in the context of the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, which applied only to the states, but rather held that school segregation was unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court observed that the Fifth Amendment lacked an Equal Protection Clause, as in the Fourteenth Amendment. However, the Court held that the concepts of equal protection and due process are not mutually exclusive, thus establishing the reverse incorporation doctrine.
Full Case Name: Spottswood Thomas Bolling, et al., Petitioners, v. C. Melvin Sharpe, President of the District of Columbia Board of Education, et al.
Holding: Racial segregation in the public schools of the District of Columbia is a denial of the due process of law guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment.
Court Membership: Chief Justice Earl Warren, Associate Justices: Hugo Black, Stanley F. Reed, Felix Frankfurter, William O. Douglas, Robert H. Jackson, Harold H. Burton, Tom C. Clark, Sherman Minton.
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Infrastructure and Services Legislation Parks
No Slums in 10 Years Study: A Workable Program for Urban Renewal
January 1955
1955-01-01
Commissioners of the District of Columbia
This report to the Commissioners of the District of Columbia conveyed twenty-one recommendations “for the elimination of slums and the establishment of...
This report to the Commissioners of the District of Columbia conveyed twenty-one recommendations “for the elimination of slums and the establishment of machinery for preventing their future growth.”
Prepared by two former Federal Housing Administration officials (James W. Rouse and Nathaniel S. Keith) the report followed the 1954 Housing Act, which required communities to have a “workable program” to obtain federal urban renewal funding.
Many of the recommendations related to clarifying roles and developing municipal functions.
It recommended reconstituting the existing Slum Prevention and Rehabilitation Committee (which included NCPC) to encompass more District agencies. The District’s Office of Urban Renewal would become the principal clearinghouse for urban renewal policy and operations.
Concerned that many advanced renewal projects had become large, institutionalized undertakings inconsistent with the basic neighborhood concept of the renewal process, the report recommended integrating future public housing within neighborhoods by developing small properties on scattered sites.
It recommended that NCPC conduct studies on blighted areas and, utilizing standards in its 1950 comprehensive plan, recommended a series of neighborhood urban renewal plans. RLA would advance specific land uses, street plans, and community facilities plans within the neighborhood plans. This planning would culminate in a final urban renewal plan for review by NCPC and the District Board of Commissioners. To help implementation, the report recommended a for-profit redevelopment corporation focused on rental property rehabilitation.
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Legislation Major Plans Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
Berman v. Parker
February 1955
1955-02-01
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of David Parker, who as Commissioner of the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA), planned to take property...
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of David Parker, who as Commissioner of the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA), planned to take property as part of an urban renewal plan that NCPC developed.
The DC Redevelopment Act of 1945 broadened governmental authority to redevelop “blighted” areas, including activities that transfer properties to other private owners. Utilizing the authority in Southwest Redevelopment Project Area B, its first project advanced under the act, the government planned to take a store at 712 Fourth Street, SW.
The owner’s representative, Samuel Berman, noted it was a thriving business in a solid building. In seizing his property, Berman argued that the government was acting on an illegitimate aesthetic interest.
The unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “(i)t is well within the power of the legislature to determine that the community should be beautiful as well as healthy, spacious as well as clean, well balanced as well as carefully patrolled… The concept of the public welfare is broad and inclusive…. If those who govern the District of Columbia decide that the Nation's Capital should be beautiful as well as sanitary, there is nothing in the Fifth Amendment that stands in the way.” The court also found it to be of little importance that the act enabled transfers to other private companies. In the justices' opinion, the public purposes of the act—removal of blight and aesthetic improvement—justified the means.
This case significantly influenced development and property rights in the United States, and especially in Washington. It led to various regulations based on police powers, such as sign regulations, scenic protections, historic preservation, and aesthetic zoning. However, reflecting the relatively high proportion of minorities residing in older, redeveloped sections of the city, it disproportionately and negatively affected minorities.
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Federal Development Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
An Act Creating a Federal Commission to Formulate Plans for a Civic Auditorium [in D.C.]
July 1955
1955-07-01
Eighty-Fourth U.S. Congress
Public Law 84-128 created a commission to plan for a civic auditorium in DC, authorizing it to consult with federal and District agencies, including NCPC. NCPC...
Public Law 84-128 created a commission to plan for a civic auditorium in DC, authorizing it to consult with federal and District agencies, including NCPC. NCPC Chair Libby Rowe was a commission member.
Proposals for a civic auditorium in Washington date to 1789 when Pierre L’Enfant envisioned a “Presidential Palace” with “play houses, rooms of assembly, academies, and such sort of places as may be attractive to the learned and afford diversion to the idle.” In the 1930s, Congress considered a Cabinet-level Department of Science, Art and Literature; a monumental theater and arts building near the Supreme Court building; an auditorium for inaugurations or national conventions; and a "National Cultural Center," with the latter two facilities envisioned within the Judiciary Square area.
In 1957, the commission proposed a 100,000 square foot great hall, 4,200-seat auditorium and music hall, 1,800-seat theater, and a 2,000-space parking facility.
The commission’s preferred site was in Foggy Bottom, which eventually became the future John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Finding the location as “the only beautiful site on the Potomac River left in Washington,” the commission added that its prominence would “enhance the impression of the Center, much as it has the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials and the Capitol itself.” The commission also anticipated increased revenue potential due to its proximity to the population center and major hotels.
The commission advanced two sites in Southwest Washington that it considered were “worthy of earnest consideration…but more difficult to handle.” It noted that it didn’t “wish for the cultural center to be considered primarily as a slum clearance project.”
Many organizations raised concerns with the preferred site. By the mid-1950s, NCPC and other stakeholders had significant plans for the two sites, including an interstate at the preferred site. NCPC informed Congress that while the commission’s sites are generally suitable, they posed development challenges requiring congressional action.
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Federal Development Legislation Major Plans Waterfronts
Webb & Knapp Redevelopment Proposal for Southwest Washington
October 1955
1955-10-10
Webb and Knapp
This proposal William Zeckendorf that submitted to NCPC envisioned dramatic changes to the character and amenities of a renewal area in Southwest known as...
This proposal William Zeckendorf that submitted to NCPC envisioned dramatic changes to the character and amenities of a renewal area in Southwest known as Project Area C.
Also referred to as the Zeckendorf Plan after the prominent New York developer, this document updated an unsolicited 1953 proposal for an expanded Project Area C that his firm submitted to the Redevelopment Land Authority (RLA), the urban renewal implementation agency.
Authored by architects I.M. Pei and Harry Weese, the proposal contained four key elements: a new residential neighborhood; an improved waterfront; a north-south connection in a Tenth Street Mall (later known as L’Enfant Promenade); and a new regional, mixed-use center in L`Enfant Plaza. A town center would provide the neighborhood with a community and commercial hub. It broadly echoed Justement-Smith’s plan, except that Zeckendorf proposed denser development and a federal building precinct north of the railroad tracks.
In March 1954, RLA and Webb & Knapp signed an exclusive memorandum of understanding to develop the proposal. In November 1954, RLA announced its preferred plan for Area C was the Justement-Smith Plan (accommodating Zeckendorf’s proposal). NCPC approved a modified version of the proposal in its April 1956 Project Area C Plan (see link).
Zeckendorf received development rights for Area C. However, he sold many properties before completion as part of a mid-1960s bankruptcy.
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Federal Development Infrastructure and Services Maps National Mall and Core Transportation Urban Renewal Waterfronts Zoning and Housing
A Redevelopment Plan for Southwest Washington; a Webb & Knapp Project
January 1956
1956-01-01
Webb & Knapp
This large-format glossy color pamphlet promoted the firm’s urban renewal proposal. Formally submitted to NCPC in September 1955 (see link), the agency...
This large-format glossy color pamphlet promoted the firm’s urban renewal proposal. Formally submitted to NCPC in September 1955 (see link), the agency approved a modified version of the proposal in its April 1956 Southwest Project Area C Plan (see link).
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Federal Development Infrastructure and Services Maps National Mall and Core Transportation Urban Renewal Waterfronts Zoning and Housing
Urban Renewal Plan Southwest Urban Renewal Project Area C
April 1956
1956-04-05
National Capital Planning Commission
This publication conveyed NCPC’s adoption of the project-level plan for the largest section of Southwest’s urban renewal. The 442-acre area extended...
This publication conveyed NCPC’s adoption of the project-level plan for the largest section of Southwest’s urban renewal. The 442-acre area extended between the National Mall, Washington Channel, and South Capitol Street.
The publication included NCPC’s transmittal letter seeking the statutorily required approval of the DC Board of Commissioners and NCPC’s resolution adopting the plan. The resolution outlined the plan process and three constituent products: Land Use Plan, Site Development Plan and Specifications.
The specifications included the project boundaries, which the 1945 law required NCPC to separately adopt before developing (and approving) a renewal plan.
This plan reflected modifications from the general Southwest land use plan (adopted in October 1952 – along with detailed plans for Area B), and Area C's boundaries (adopted in June 1953). The principal Area C addition responded to developer Webb & Knapp’s proposal to include the area north of the railroad to Independence Avenue (it also reflected the balance of an area in Southwest that Congress first authorized for acquisition in its Public Building Act of 1926) and the produce market adjacent the Washington Channel. The revised boundary removed an area south of M Street and east of Canal Street. An area to the north was carved out as Project Area C – 1 in 1955. Area C-1 included a low-rent National Capital Housing Authority project constructed earlier in the century, which planners figured could be effectively redeveloped separately (it remains today).
Webb & Knapp, Inc. developed the land use and development plans (see link) based on an agreement and ongoing consultation with NCPC. Consultation reflected earlier proposals, including those by Elbert Peets; Arthur Davis; Louis Justement and Chloethiel Woodard Smith; and Harland Bartholomew & Associates. It calculated total direct costs at $108,241,000, or a net cost after reuse of $56,241,000.238.
Planning involved multiple complications and competing interests, particularly for an expressway and 10th Street Mall. President Eisenhower asked the Honorable George A. Garrett, former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland and President of the Federal City Council, to take a leadership role in March 1955. Garrett reported significant progress on December 1, 1955.
The project is notable for its incorporation of design competitions for its building projects (see link); mixing housing types (e.g. apartment buildings and row houses) in single developments; its efforts to obtain FHA insurance for residential buildings, and landscape and community "amenities."
A 1937-1939 complex designed by Black architect Albert I. Cassell as segregated public housing for Blacks was rehabilitated as St. James Mutual Homes. It became the country's first cooperative housing financed under the FHA 221 (d)(3) program for moderate-income families.
Southwest’s mid-twentieth century renewal was the largest such effort yet undertaken at that time in the U.S. and the largest project yet undertaken close to a downtown area. While not the largest urban renewal project implemented in Washington , it was the only full-scale and most comprehensive neighborhood redevelopment initiative.
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Federal Development Infrastructure and Services Major Plans National Mall and Core Parks Transportation Waterfronts Zoning and Housing
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956
June 1956
1956-06-01
Eighty-Fourth U.S. Congress
Public Law 84-627, also known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, substantially funded the nation’s interstate highway network.
When...
Public Law 84-627, also known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, substantially funded the nation’s interstate highway network.
When President Dwight D. Eisenhower took office in 1953, the states had only constructed 6,500 Interstate miles. Concerned about highway fatalities, economic interests, and national defense, Eisenhower advocated for completion.
Congress designated a 41,000-mile National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, expanding the planned network by 1,000 miles and increasing the federal government’s share of the project cost to 90 percent. (Congress renamed the system in 1990 to honor President Eisenhower.)
The act directly authorized $25 billion through 1969. For long-term financing to support expansion and maintenance, Congress established a revolving trust fund.
Three quarters of the originally designated mileage was under construction or open by 1967. As constructed, the system was the largest public works project in American history. With ongoing maintenance programs, it continues to represent a significant federal investment.
While created in part to help defend the nation in the event of an emergency, the interstates fundamentally altered community development patterns and accessibility. The system facilitated growing suburban areas, while fragmenting established urban areas. In broadly enabling economic growth, housing, and workplace accommodations, it also brought congestion, pollution, and automobile dependency. Although the system’s net impacts are widespread, they haven’t been equitably distributed. The investment in high-speed, limited access travel contributed to the decline of public transit and pedestrian facilities.
code192
Legislation Transportation
A New Zoning Plan for the District of Columbia: Final Report of the Rezoning Study
June 1956
1956-06-01
Harold M. Lewis
This report to the Commissioners of the District of Columbia recommended a complete revision of the zoning code. Portions of the report, including the Land Use...
This report to the Commissioners of the District of Columbia recommended a complete revision of the zoning code. Portions of the report, including the Land Use Plan, reflects joint efforts with NCPC.
Lewis’ report followed NCPPC’s call for major zoning revisions in its 1950 Comprehensive Plan. Lewis specifically noted letters NCPPC transmitted to Congress recommending its support for a revision.
Lewis’s wide-ranging report conveyed how to resolve conflicts between the Zoning Commission and NCPPC, and integrate new regulatory techniques and controls, e.g. floor area ratio controls; protections for the public’s right to light and air in the street, and off-street parking and loading requirements.
Lewis acknowledged urban renewal interests, including recommendations in the 1955 “No Slums in Ten Years” report and conducted detailed neighborhood studies. In finding dozens of “problem neighborhoods,” Lewis gave further support to the 1950 comprehensive plan’s recommendations that Shaw and portions of the northwest and northeast quadrants be redeveloped.
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Infrastructure and Services Maps Transportation Zoning and Housing
Memorandum to the Board of Commissioners...Southwest Urban Renewal Project Area C
November 1956
1956-11-11
Lt. Col., Corps of Engineers, U.S. Assistant Engineer Commissioner for Urban Renewal
In this memorandum to the DC Board of Commissioners, the Engineer Commissioner reported that “all required legal and administrative steps have been taken”...
In this memorandum to the DC Board of Commissioners, the Engineer Commissioner reported that “all required legal and administrative steps have been taken” and recommended that the Board of Commissioners approve the plan.”
The Board of Commissioners appointed an Assistant Engineer Commissioner in May 1955 to “head a permanently staffed Office of Urban Renewal, to represent them in urban renewal matters, and to coordinate the activities of the Workable Program for Urban Renewal” (see “No slums in ten years: A Workable Program for Urban Renewal: Report to the Commissioners of the District of Columbia” card).
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Federal Development Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
A Redevelopment Plan for Southwest Washington DC
April 1957
1957-04-01
National Capital Planning Commission, Webb & Knapp
Document summary coming soon. The original document in PDF is available for review and download.
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Urban Renewal
Zoning Regulations of the District of Columbia (1958)
January 1958
1958-01-01
District of Columbia Government
This update to the DC Zoning code established a unified set of zoned districts, a floor area ratio system, and new regulations addressing light and...
This update to the DC Zoning code established a unified set of zoned districts, a floor area ratio system, and new regulations addressing light and air.
This updated code largely adopted recommendations in the 1956 Rezoning Study of the District of Columbia; including parking requirements, which were approved in 1956. The study further articulated recommendations introduced in NCPPC’s 1950 Comprehensive Plan. The basic concepts of the 1958 ordinance remained until the most recent comprehensive revision, which the DC Zoning Commission adopted in 2016.
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Legislation Zoning and Housing
National Cultural Center Act
September 1958
1958-09-01
Eighty-Fifth U.S. Congress
Public Law 85-874 authorized a trustee board within the Smithsonian Institution to develop a “National Cultural Center” facility using donations.
The...
Public Law 85-874 authorized a trustee board within the Smithsonian Institution to develop a “National Cultural Center” facility using donations.
The act follows recommendations of a Congressional commission authorized in 1955 to plan a civic auditorium in Washington. It specified that NCPC shall select, including acquire by purchase, condemnation, or otherwise, land at a Foggy Bottom site to provide for the center and related facilities. Congress authorized appropriations for NCPC’s acquisition in 1963.
This was the first time that the federal government helped finance a structure dedicated to the performing arts. One of the central issues motivating elected officials was the Cold War. In 1962 John F. Kennedy noted that “[i]n the Nation's Capital, the Federal Government, of course, has special obligations…as the Capital of our Nation, Washington inevitably becomes to a degree a showcase of our culture.” Noting that “we are coming to understand that the arts incarnate the creativity of a free people…the National Cultural Center will play a vital role.”
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Federal Development Legislation Major Plans Waterfronts
City Planning in Washington DC, 1790-1958
September 1958
1958-09-24
National Capital Planning Commission, Harland Bartholomew
NCPC Chairman Bartholomew reviewed Washington’s planning history in this hardback manuscript.
Prepared for a course on Washington, DC planning,...
NCPC Chairman Bartholomew reviewed Washington’s planning history in this hardback manuscript.
Prepared for a course on Washington, DC planning, Bartholomew reviewed eight milestone plans, ending with “The Regional Planning Council Plan” (1958). Also known as the Mass Transportation Survey, NCPC and the National Capital Regional Planning Council finalized the survey in 1959 with Transportation Plan: National Capital Region (see link).
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Federal Development Parks Regional Planning Transportation Waterfronts Zoning and Housing
A Metropolitan Statistical Program for the National Capital Region
December 1958
1958-12-12
Eighty-Fifth U.S. Congress
Congress’ Joint Committee on Washington Metropolitan Problems recommended a statistical program, particularly for land use and housing; transportation; and...
Congress’ Joint Committee on Washington Metropolitan Problems recommended a statistical program, particularly for land use and housing; transportation; and water and sanitation.
Finding that Washington’s growth and decentralized development patterns presented problems, Congress appropriated funds in 1955 for NCPC and the National Capital Regional Planning Council to conduct a joint "survey of the present and future mass transportation needs of the National Capital region." As the survey proceeded, Congress authorized a broader examination.
In August 1957, House Concurrent Resolution 172 established a joint congressional committee to study the growth and expansion of the Washington metropolitan area. Its members were drawn from the standing House and Senate Committees on the District of Columbia. The joint committee initially focused on the region's water supply, pollution, economic development, park space, and governmental organization. As the Mass Transportation Survey neared completion, committee work shifted to transportation issues and resulted in the National Capital Transportation Act (Public Law 86-669).
Staff director Frederick Gutheim’s foreword to this first major committee report noted, “the metropolitan region has so recently emerged in the national scene that… [its needs are like] those of an underdeveloped country where such activities are just being inaugurated…. Furnishing the data…will require changes in existing Federal statistical procedures.”
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Infrastructure and Services Maps Regional Planning Transportation Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
Mass Transportation Survey, National Capital Region: Civil Engineering Report
January 1959
1959-01-01
De Leuw, Cather & Company
This report recommended a mix of highway and rapid rail transit construction.
Part of the Congressionally authorized Mass Transportation Survey, this report...
This report recommended a mix of highway and rapid rail transit construction.
Part of the Congressionally authorized Mass Transportation Survey, this report followed the General Development Plan and would precede the Transportation Plan. The report considered four alternatives to address the region’s sprawling development declining economic, cultural, and retail activity in the central area; and increasing private automobile trip.
The report recommended a scaled back but still substantial network of new interstate highways totaling 326 route-miles of highways. It recommended the first substantive public transit plan in a generation, with 36 stations along 34 miles of two rapid rail transit. It also found the central area would need 48,000 new vehicle parking spaces by 1980.
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Transportation
Meeting the Problems of Metropolitan Growth in the National Capital Region
January 1959
1959-01-01
EIghty-Fifth U.S. Congress
Congress’ Joint Committee on Washington Metropolitan Problems envisioned a broad federal legislative program. It recommended multiple regional development...
Congress’ Joint Committee on Washington Metropolitan Problems envisioned a broad federal legislative program. It recommended multiple regional development organizations and a congressional resolution declaring the federal interest in, and commitment to, a “sound” development pattern for National Capital Region.
The committee published this as its final report, following the timeframe provided in its authorizing resolution (see link on the Metropolitan Statistical Program). However, after Congress extended its tenure—enabling it to examine the then incomplete Mass Transportation Survey—the committee refined its recommendations in later reports (see links to Further Progress on Transportation and other Metropolitan Problems and Discussion Guide).
The committee envisioned the National Capital Metropolitan Conference (later renamed the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments) as “the voice of the region and the instrument for expressing…local interests.” It welcomed the conference formation of a committee on water supply and pollution control. It conveyed that the National Capital Regional Planning Council (NCRPC) would be developing its Plan for the Year 2000 in cooperation with the Baltimore Regional Planning Council.
Building on its analysis of planning [agency] budgets (see link), it recommended strengthening NCPC and the National Capital Regional Planning Council by providing with both with additional funds and personnel (specifically noting the Interior Department Appropriation Act for 1960 provided the agencies with a 65 percent funding increase). The report also recommended empowering a new agency to issue bonds on behalf of the federal government for regional public works.
It envisioned that the resolution would “recite the basis of the Federal interest,” instruct federal agencies with funding programs in the region to support “sound regional development,” and articulate the role of a proposed White House Coordinator for National Capital Affairs (President Kennedy established a regional coordinator position in 1962). This coordinated federal effort would create a “framework, guided by the locally approved metropolitan regional plan, into which other measures of regional development and the programs of local jurisdictions can fit.”
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Infrastructure and Services Regional Planning Transportation Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
General Development Plan for the National Capital Region
February 1959
1959-02-01
John T. Howard Adams of Howard & Greeley City Planning Consultants
This scoping report examines the land use implications of the Mass Transportation Survey.
Congress called for NCPC and the National Capital Regional...
This scoping report examines the land use implications of the Mass Transportation Survey.
Congress called for NCPC and the National Capital Regional Planning Council (NCRPC) to prepare a “survey of the present and future mass transportation needs” of the region in the National Capital Planning Act of 1952, and designated funding in their 1955 and 1957 budgets.
As the survey proceeded, those involved became convinced that a more wide-ranging and comprehensive study was required to explore challenges related to Washington’s growth. In 1957, Congress established the Joint Committee on Washington Metropolitan Problems consisting of members from the House and Senate Committees on the District of Columbia. Initially, the committee studied and prepared staff reports on the region's water supply, pollution, economic development, park areas, and governmental organization. Upon the completion of the Mass Transportation Survey in January 1959, the committee focused on transportation issues until its dissolution in 1960.
The survey became the first such study of Washington to be based on an integrated approach in which land-use implications of transportation were fully examined. It was also the first such study by a planning agency rather than an ad hoc committee or a highway group.
NCPC exercised overall policy direction, while daily work was supervised by a joint committee of the two agencies and the National Capital Regional Planning Council with representatives from Maryland and Virginia agencies. The Survey resulted in three reports: the General Development Plan, Civil Engineering Report, and Transportation Plan.
The scoping phase was essentially complete by January 1957: this published report encompasses minor revisions and map updates. The report built on data from earlier studies including those by the US Bureau of Public Roads Regional Highway Planning Committee for Metropolitan Washington that significant dispersals in residential, employment, and other destinations, along with significantly increasing private automobile usage. An initial forecast concluded these paradigms theoretically required expressways of up to twenty-six lanes. Contemplating national capital, residential, employment, accessibility, and open space considerations, including a 65 percent population increase, the report offered a general development plan.
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Transportation
Transportation Plan National Capital Region; The Mass Transportation Survey Report
July 1959
1959-07-01
NCPC, National Capital Regional Planning Council
The plan recommended 2.5 billion in transportation facilities, an interim federal agency to advance the transportation plans, and an interstate compact to...
The plan recommended 2.5 billion in transportation facilities, an interim federal agency to advance the transportation plans, and an interstate compact to facilitate the public transit component.
This plan, along with the previous Civil Engineering Report and General Development Plan responded to a Congressional mandate to prepare and deliver a mass transportation survey to the President. This plan largely echoed the civil engineering report conclusions, while adding a 66-mile express bus network.
To facilitate implementation, the plan recommended three administrative steps. Congress should ratify the interstate compact approved by Maryland and Virginia to establish a regional transit agency. Second, Congress should authorize a temporary public agency to begin design, acquisition, construction, and potentially operation of the facilities. And third, the first two steps should end when the three local jurisdictions agree to an interstate transit compact.
The White House endorsed the plan in November 1959, calling it “on the whole, a very excellent plan” and asked Congress to fulfill the plans administrative recommendations.
In hearings before Congress's Joint Committee on Metropolitan Washington Problems, the Survey met with generally favorable comment. Although debate on the program would continue in different forums for a decade, the committee’s support for a "balanced" system of highways and rapid rail transit added federal weight to apparent regional consensus. Congress issued a resolution of intent (P.L. 86-527) in 1960 agreeing for the first time to coordinate formally with local planning agencies federal decisions affecting physical changes in the metropolitan region.
Following the survey’s recommendation, Congress passed six laws between 1960 and 1966 to establish an interim National Capital Transportation Agency and the Washington Metropolitan Transit Agency. Stating his intent to make Washington a national model for coordinated metropolitan development, President Kennedy appointed the first White House special assistant for national capital affairs in 1962.
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Transportation
Federal Housing Act of 1959
September 1959
1959-09-01
Eighty-Sixth Congress
This Housing Act Amendment continued Congress’ general trend of providing broader federal benefits and more local discretion in urban renewal...
This Housing Act Amendment continued Congress’ general trend of providing broader federal benefits and more local discretion in urban renewal programs.
Provisions included the following:
1. Authorized grants (instead of advances) for community-wide urban renewal planning.
2. Increased relocation payment allowances to entities displaced by urban renewal.
3. Permitted land acquisition and property clearance expenditures by a college or university near an urban renewal project to be counted as a local grant-in-aid.
4. Reduced the proportion of residential property necessary for an area to qualify for renewal funding and simplifies the statutory requirements for an urban renewal plan.
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Federal Development Legislation Maps Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
Information Bulletin on National Capital Planning
April 1960
1960-04-01
NCPC and National Capital Regional Planning Council
An information booklet produced by NCPC and the National Capital Regional Planning Council in 1960.
The booklet conveyed historical background;...
An information booklet produced by NCPC and the National Capital Regional Planning Council in 1960.
The booklet conveyed historical background; organizational charts; information on commission, staff and (NCPC) coordinating committee members; and budget information for the agencies.
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Federal Development Maps Regional Planning
Joint Resolution to establish an objective for coordinating the development of the District of Colum
June 1960
1960-06-06
Eighty-Sixth U.S. Congress
Congress resolved to focus the attention of the federal and District of Columbia governments on a “sound pattern of metropolitan growth” by calling for new...
Congress resolved to focus the attention of the federal and District of Columbia governments on a “sound pattern of metropolitan growth” by calling for new policy and organizational arrangements.
The resolution, now codified at 40 U.S.C. §130-134 and D.C. Code § 2–1101-1105, reflected the committee’s intensive study of region’s development, which it reported in a 1960 guide (see link). Underlying the resolution’s broad proclamations, were many specific developments. For example, Congress’ earlier sentiment to support regional planning at the federal level, shifted toward one that more directly funded locally-lead regional efforts and presaged the National Capital Regional Planning Council’s dissolution in 1965.
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Infrastructure and Services Regional Planning Transportation Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
A Discussion Guide to Washinton Area Metropolitan Problems
July 1960
1960-07-03
Eighty-Sixth U.S. Congress
Congress’ Joint Committee on Washington Metropolitan Problems provided abstracts of its principal studies and discussion guides on metropolitan development....
Congress’ Joint Committee on Washington Metropolitan Problems provided abstracts of its principal studies and discussion guides on metropolitan development. In responding to broader national interest in this congressional activity, the report conveyed the Committee’s final recommendations for Washington.
Congress established this committee in 1957 to address challenges with metropolitan Washington’s development (see A Metropolitan Statistical Program for the National Capital Region). As the “principal employer and economic institution of the area, the federal government shares…a dependence on the Potomac River for water, sanitation facilities, commerce, and land uses. In turn, Federal activities have profound effects on maximum development of land uses in the entire metropolitan region.”
“The study was unique among metropolitan area studies in its combination of breadth of scope in structure of regional government and planning, and the depth in the selected areas of immediate action.” The committee’s work, including eighteen documents and three hearings “demonstrate[d] the interrelated character of water supply, sanitation facilities, transportation systems, economic development, planning and governmental organizations.” Congress recognized the importance of local leadership and support toward regional development.
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Infrastructure and Services Regional Planning Transportation Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
National Capital Transportation Act of 1960
July 1960
1960-07-07
Eighty-Sixth U.S. Congress
Public Law 86-669 authorized a National Capital Transportation Agency (NCTA) to prepare a Transit Development Program; and the District of Columbia, Maryland,...
Public Law 86-669 authorized a National Capital Transportation Agency (NCTA) to prepare a Transit Development Program; and the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia to form a regional planning and governance compact.
Congress found “it is essential for the continued and effective performance of the functions of the Government of the United States, for the welfare of the District of Columbia, for the orderly growth and development of the National Capital region, and for the preservation of the beauty and dignity of the Nation's Capital; (2) requires the planning on a regional basis of a unified system of freeways, parkways, express transit service on exclusive rights-of-way, and other major transportation facilities; (3) requires cooperation among the Federal, State, and local governments…; (4) requires financial participation by the Federal Government…; and (5) requires coordination of transportation facilities with other public facilities and with the use of land, public and private.”
Congress established NCTA to refine the Mass Transportation System proposals. Shortly after his 1961 inauguration, President Kennedy appointed more pro-transit leaders to the agency, who influenced its 1962 report (see link).
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Infrastructure and Services Legislation Regional Planning Transportation Zoning and Housing
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Regulation Compact Act of 1960
November 1960
1960-11-11
Eighty-Sixth U.S. Congress
Public Law 86-794 gave the consent of Congress to a DC-Maryland-Virginia interstate compact establishing the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission....
Public Law 86-794 gave the consent of Congress to a DC-Maryland-Virginia interstate compact establishing the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission.
In the National Capital transportation Act of 1960, Congress authorized local jurisdictions to develop such an interstate compact in July (Public Law 86-669).
A 1962 amendment (Public Law 87-767) added Dulles Airport (which opened that year on November 17) to the arrangement, and specifically exempted water transportation, school bus transportation, and Interstate Commerce Commission-regulated transportation from the WMATC’s regulatory purview.
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Legislation Regional Planning Transportation
Role of the District of Columbia in the Urban Renewal Program
December 1960
1960-12-01
DC Office of Urban Renewal
Utilizing flow charts and organizational diagrams, this publication described urban renewal activities, including organizational roles and project...
Utilizing flow charts and organizational diagrams, this publication described urban renewal activities, including organizational roles and project progress.
This reviewed housing and urban renewal efforts in Washington beginning with the 1906 Congressional acts to Create a Board for the Condemnation of Insanitary Buildings and to Provide for the Abatement of Nuisances. The review culminated with the 1955 ”No Slums in 10 Years” study, which presented recommendations to achieve its titular goal. The report conveyed progress on the study, including new District policies and processes. More broadly, the report clearly outlined the urban renewal process, including NCPC roles, and progress on extant renewal projects.
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Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
A Policies Plan for the Year 2000: The Nation’s Capital
May 1961
1961-05-08
NCPC and the National Regional Planning Council
This joint NCPC–NCRPC comprehensive regional plan follows the 1952 National Capital Planning Act. Reconsidering development paradigms and investment...
This joint NCPC–NCRPC comprehensive regional plan follows the 1952 National Capital Planning Act. Reconsidering development paradigms and investment priorities, it envisions a more inclusive, sustainable approach. Geographically, it conceived the region being defined by “wedges” and “corridors” of open space and development.
The plan marks a shift from discouraging population density, dispersing federal facilities, loosely planning suburban development, and prioritizing private automobile thoroughfares. It conveys renewed interest in park facilities, environmental protection, public transportation, historic resources, design quality, and broader participation in public decision-making.
Diagrams illustrate how the corridors, or “radials” (as in a hub-and-spoke arrangement) would comprise development hubs linked by a rapid mass-transit route and a parallel highway. Contrasting with these urban centers, wedges of open space would consist of undeveloped land, including parks, agricultural reserves, and federal property.
It reinvisioned the historic L’Enfant City as the region’s primary hub. It recommended maximizing development density within existing height limits, particularly along public transit corridors. While calling for the area to become the primary location for federal employment, such facilities would exist among a mix of uses, including residential, cultural, residential, and retail. To improve the general desirability and restore pedestrian connectivity, the plan suggested improving a network of “special streets” with broadened sidewalks, special tree plantings, and paving treatment.
President Kennedy endorsed the plan. Large portions of the plan were embraced in Maryland and, with modifications due mainly to topography, in Virginia. Distinguished by a bold and simple diagram, the plan inspired popular support for as long as fifteen years. Among specific projects, it influenced planning for Metrorail and Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and Capitol.
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Commemoration Federal Development Infrastructure and Services Major Plans Maps National Mall and Core Regional Planning Urban Renewal Waterfronts
Urban Renewal Feasibility Study, Howard University Study Area, Preliminary Report – Phase I
January 1962
1962-01-01
National Capital Park & Planning Commission
This study, prepared by Harland Bartholomew & Associates for NCPC, reported on the feasibility of urban renewal within an area centered around Howard...
This study, prepared by Harland Bartholomew & Associates for NCPC, reported on the feasibility of urban renewal within an area centered around Howard University. It followed the Federal Housing Act of 1959 that authorized federal grants for land acquisition and property clearance by universities.
The study concluded that the area would be eligible for slum clearance, rehabilitation and/or conservation (as identified in the Federal Housing Act of 1949) based on land use, conditions of structure, population density, land values, applicable plans (e.g., A Plan for the Year 2000) and other factors. It provided preliminary renewal plan boundaries but did not recommend proceeding until financing prospects improved.
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Maps Parks Transportation Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
Testimony Given before Committee on Appropriations, U.S. House
May 1962
1962-05-05
Harland Bartholomew
Document summary coming soon. The original document in PDF is available for review and download.
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Transportation
Recommendations for Transportation in the National Capital Region: Finance and Organization
November 1962
1962-11-01
National Capital Transportation Agency
This report to the President for transmittal to Congress noted financial considerations and increased concern over highway construction, since the Mass...
This report to the President for transmittal to Congress noted financial considerations and increased concern over highway construction, since the Mass Transportation Survey. It advanced a streamlined highway program focused on segments under construction or considered absolutely necessary. It generally advanced the Mass Transportation Survey recommended transit network. But instead of the predominately express bus system envisioned by the survey, the report called for an 89-mile rapid transit and commuter rail system (with the later element reflecting what is now the MARC Penn Line between Union Station and Bowie). A diagram illustrates that 94% of central employment area jobs would be within an eight-minute walk of a rail station.
The report’s new directions generated significantly more controversy than the earlier Mass Transportation Survey. Concluding that Congress would not fund the program, the Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the District of Columbia advanced a core twenty-three-mile segment from the program (H.R. Bill 8929). Known as the “bobtail” system, it would later reflect the basic configuration of Washington’s Metrorail system. In her testimony before the Committee, Chairman Rowe expressed favorable comments on behalf of NCPC for both the NCTA and bobtail systems (see link).
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Maps Regional Planning Transportation
Architectural Forum Magazine, Special Issue: Washington, DC
January 1963
1963-01-01
Published by Time, Inc.
This edition of the architectural magazine focused on Washington, with sections that explored “How Washington is Run,” “The Monumental City,” “The...
This edition of the architectural magazine focused on Washington, with sections that explored “How Washington is Run,” “The Monumental City,” “The Other [non-federal] City,” and “The Future City.”
The Forum prefaced the special issue on Washington by noting:
- It is the physical symbol of the U.S.; yet looks like no other American city…
- It was laid out according to one of the oldest and strongest city plans…in the country; yet it has…no detailed plan to guide its development in the immediate future, only an ideal concept of what…[it] should be in the distant year 2000.
- It…has produced some of the finest architecture, yet it had until very recently, not a single distinguished modern building…
- It is a [large] metropolis [with] vast suburbs, yet this metropolis is administered by a small clique of Southern Congressmen, most of whom come from rural districts.…
- In short, Washington seems to neither reflect nor to lead the nation which it serves.
- It is, to coin a phrase, a mess.
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Federal Development Maps Zoning and Housing
Prospective Demand for Industrial Land in the District of Columbia Year 1985
November 1963
1963-11-01
Economic Associates/NCPC
This report, prepared by Economic Associates for NCPC, forecasted the amount and characteristics of industrial demand in 1985.
This is one of the “1985...
This report, prepared by Economic Associates for NCPC, forecasted the amount and characteristics of industrial demand in 1985.
This is one of the “1985 Plan for Washington, DC’s” component reports, and was part of NCPC’s comprehensive planning efforts during the 1960s. While concluding that industrial character may moderately shift, it did not find Washington that would have significantly different land requirements. The report found indications that industrial uses increasingly were looking for highway access, and the ability to service both Washington and Baltimore. The forecast was consistent with NCPC’s vision of reduced industrial land in central Washington.
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Major Plans Maps Transportation Zoning and Housing
on wedges and corridors: a general plan for the maryland-washington regional district
January 1964
1964-01-01
Maryland-Nat'l Capital Park & Planning Commission
This first general plan for Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties was based on a planning framework that NCPC and the National Capital Regional Planning...
This first general plan for Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties was based on a planning framework that NCPC and the National Capital Regional Planning Council proposed for the region in 1961.
The framework articulated in The Nation’s Capital: A Plan for the Year 2000 (see link) channeled growth along major highways (“corridors”) radiating from Washington’s core, while preserving areas of open space, farmland, and low-density residential uses (“wedges”).
Prince George’s County, which did not adhere to the 1964 plan, approved an alternative plan in 1982. In contrast, the 1964 plan accurately predicted Montgomery County’s job and population growth for the year 2000. Its population distribution in 2000 also reflected the plan’s recommended growth corridor patterns. Montgomery credits the plan with supporting high quality park and school systems; preserving natural resources and farmland; and laying the groundwork for transit-oriented smart growth.
After amending the plan in 1969 and 1993, Montgomery modernized the Wedges and Corridors framework in 2022 with Thrive Montgomery 2050. The modernization recognized that the earlier focus on the convenience of driving and rigidly separate land uses had negative impacts, including disconnected neighborhoods and demographic segregation. The 2022 initiative placed a greater emphasis on the development of compact, complete communities; the role of major corridors as places to grow; and greater conservation of natural resources.
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Maps Regional Planning Transportation
John F. Kennedy Center Act
January 1964
1964-01-01
Eighty-Eigth U.S. Congress
Public Law 88-260 renamed the National Cultural Center and designated the facility as a memorial to President Kennedy.
While President Eisenhower signed the...
Public Law 88-260 renamed the National Cultural Center and designated the facility as a memorial to President Kennedy.
While President Eisenhower signed the National Cultural Center Act in 1958, President and Mrs. Kennedy provided critical fundraising and project momentum. Alongside financial concerns, prominent stakeholders continued to advocate for alternative sites, including Southwest, Judiciary Square, Franklin Park, the District building, and the future location of the National Air and Space Museum.
Following President Kennedy's assassination, President Johnson guided bipartisan legislation to rename the center in his honor. NCPC granted final approval to the preliminary plans in June 1964.
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Federal Development Legislation Major Plans Waterfronts
The 1985 Plan for Washington, DC: A Preliminary Report
September 1964
1964-09-01
National Capital Planning Commission
This report was an interim comprehensive planning document for interagency review and discussion purposes.
The report continued a program that NCPC began...
This report was an interim comprehensive planning document for interagency review and discussion purposes.
The report continued a program that NCPC began in 1959 to update the 1950 Comprehensive Plan. Whereas “The Year 2000 Policies Plan” (1961) could be considered a statement of policies for the whole region, this report introduced a more detailed policy framework for Washington.
NCPC’s report introduced goals and policies related to land use and transportation efficiency; employment opportunities; “satisfying living environments;” a “healthy urban environment;” and an “environment which is visually satisfying, and which combines harmoniously the best contemporary expressions with those of a rich and valuable heritage.” NCPC noted that this report deferred coverage of foreign missions, landmarks, skyline, and memorials, which would be addressed in special studies.
This 1964 report was one of two principal documents packaged in a series of preliminary documents – the other primary document being the “Community Improvement Program for Washington, DC: A Preliminary Report.” In 1962, NCPC coupled its comprehensive planning with a joint NCPC-District (adjunct of the DC Board of Commissioners) effort to conduct a long-range urban renewal needs survey and action program. The series included four categories of supporting documents: area, component, systems, and special reports. Several reports were funded by grants pursuant to the Housing Act of 1949, as amended.
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Federal Development Infrastructure and Services Major Plans Maps Parks Transportation Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
Third Belt Highway, Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area: A Prospectus
November 1964
1964-11-11
Harland Bartholomew and Associates
This prospectus, contracted by NCPC for a third belt highway, recommended a route approximately 25 miles (compared to the Capitol Beltway’s range of 7-12...
This prospectus, contracted by NCPC for a third belt highway, recommended a route approximately 25 miles (compared to the Capitol Beltway’s range of 7-12 miles) from Washington’s center.
The report reviews previous highway projects, including the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, which it noted “seemed to leave nothing to be desired, [y]et now we find bottlenecks.” It found “[t]he obvious lessons to be learned from these experiences are that 1) design standards change, and 2) if standards are high and the right of way ample, the improvements within it can be rebuilt several times. Such is probably our best hope for long life and insurance against early obsolescence.”
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Maps Regional Planning Transportation
Washington Skyline Study and 5-Dimensional City Concept
January 1965
1965-01-01
Clothoethiel Woodard Smith & Associates
This study declared that “emerging new concepts of cities and city life cannot be realized by regulations.” It recommended accommodating growth in a...
This study declared that “emerging new concepts of cities and city life cannot be realized by regulations.” It recommended accommodating growth in a multi-centered city by selectively increasing building height allowances, while improving viewshed protections.
Smith, who designed portions of multiple mid-twentieth century highway and renewal projects, observed shortcomings in earlier planning and regulatory frameworks, such as the McMillan Plan and the 1910 Height of Buildings Act.
“The Federal core - a green island with low white buildings remained as the object of all the tender loving care that we could command.” But as development began to fill up the zoning envelope beyond the core, it mirrored undesirable patterns of most other cities. Washington’s regulations prescribed basic dimensions for buildings. However, it didn’t prevent jumbled rooftop penthouse structures or taller buildings from looming above the ridgeline encircling the city. “Federal Washington received ‘design’ – local Washington got controls.” Smith’s perspectives reflected NCPC Chairman Rowe’s, who characterized high-rise buildings at that time as the “vertical ice-tray school of architecture.”
The study observed a prevailing acceptance that “large-scale design once confined to the Federal core must be exercised throughout the non-Federal city where people live and work.” Smith recommended approaches used in her renewal projects, including neighborhood-level planning, designing superblocks, and separating circulation modes. It also advanced a "skyline path" along Washington’s ridgeline.
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Maps Zoning and Housing
Social Impact of a Highway on an Urban Community
April 1965
1965-04-01
Health and Welfare Council of the National Capital Area, Barbara H. Kemp
This report surveys the social implications of constructing a highway in an urban area.
NCPC became a member of the President’s Advisory Committee on the...
This report surveys the social implications of constructing a highway in an urban area.
NCPC became a member of the President’s Advisory Committee on the Three Sisters Bridge and North Leg when it formed in 1963 to reexamine the proposed Inner Loop freeway. Recognizing that social impacts should be further explored, NCPC contracted with the council. Barbara Kemp authored the study, which was published in the Highway Research Record by the Highway Research Board (a predecessor to the Transportation Research Board), under the National Academy of Sciences.
The study reported that that little or no work in the U.S. had previously examined the social effect of a major project on a community. It found highway construction may create anxiety, resentment, and hostility. Recommendations included better community engagement, more low-income housing, and effective relocation services.
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Transportation Urban Renewal
1965-1984 Proposed Physical Development Policies for Washington DC
September 1965
1965-09-01
National Capital Planning Commission
In anticipation of finalizing a comprehensive plan in 1966, this plan outlined basic planning themes, principles, and features for Washington’s future. In...
In anticipation of finalizing a comprehensive plan in 1966, this plan outlined basic planning themes, principles, and features for Washington’s future. In practice, it represented an evolutionary step in Washington’s planning.
Between 1965 and 1969, NCPC produced a series of plans and reports that addressed social and environmental concerns that were introduced in its 1961 comprehensive plan. They also reflected broader themes and events, (e.g. civil unrest in 1968). To readily distinguish the plans, they became known by their cover color, with this being the “Brown Book.”
Focusing on Washington, this plan specifically supported a Community Renewal Program, which stemmed from planning grant programs authorized in 1950s federal Housing Acts. Led by the District of Columbia government, it was conceived as the “first detailed citywide analysis of housing and environmental conditions will provide an understanding of the magnitude of the problem of bringing all parts of the city up to minimum living standards.” The District contracted with NCPC to undertake many of the studies. Results would inform the comprehensive plan.
The plan explored the role of riverfronts and other underappreciated natural features, the government’s role in rehabilitating residential areas, and the federal government presence in Washington . It considered how to strengthen Washington’s identity, which it contemplated as a collection of distinct places.
It embraced Congress’s 1965 authorization of a 25-mile subway route (an early version of Metrorail). Underlying a shift from planning arterial roads for commuters, NCPC re-conceptualized Washington’s roadways as special streets (e.g. boundary, historic, symbolic and movement).
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Commemoration Federal Development Infrastructure and Services Major Plans Maps National Mall and Core Parks Preservation Transportation Urban Renewal Waterfronts Zoning and Housing
National Capital Transportation Act of 1965
November 1965
1965-11-11
Eighty-Ninth U.S. Congress
Public Law 89-173 authorized the National Capital Transportation Agency to plan, design, and construct a rail system described in the January 1965 “Rail...
Public Law 89-173 authorized the National Capital Transportation Agency to plan, design, and construct a rail system described in the January 1965 “Rail Rapid Transit for the Nation’s Capital” report, up to a total cost of $431 million with a federal share of $100 million.
The authorization reflected an improved funding environment for public transit. In 1964 Congress passed the Urban Mass Transportation Act, which enabled localities to use federal highway funds for mass transit projects.
A 1967 amendment (Public Law 90-220) advanced completion of service to the Southwest Washington DC federal employment center and delayed service expansion to Columbia Heights for funding reasons.
A 1972 amendment (Public Law 92-517) authorized the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to take over existing DC-area bus service from private bus companies.
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Legislation Regional Planning Transportation
Rail Rapid Transit for the Nation’s Capital
November 1965
1965-11-25
National Capital Transportation Agency
This report advanced a 25-mile rapid rail system, largely reflecting the core of the agency’s initial 1962 report (see link).
Departing from the National...
This report advanced a 25-mile rapid rail system, largely reflecting the core of the agency’s initial 1962 report (see link).
Departing from the National Capital Transportation Agency’s earlier recommended proposal for a federal or regional entity to operate the system, it recommended a private operator (which was understood as a concession to labor unions).
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Legislation Regional Planning Transportation
Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1966
June 1966
1966-06-06
President Lyndon Johnson
This plan abolished the National Capital Regional Planning Council (NCRPC) and authorized NCPC to “make such provisions as it shall deem necessary respecting...
This plan abolished the National Capital Regional Planning Council (NCRPC) and authorized NCPC to “make such provisions as it shall deem necessary respecting the winding down of the outstanding affairs of” NCRPC (see link).
To be effective, Johnson stated in his transmission to Congress that “regional planning must be a responsibility of the area’s State and local governments…It should not be a Federal function, although the Federal Government should support and advance it.” Johnson explained that NCPC’s 1952 establishment reflected that federal function. NCRPC was designed for governance and funding conditions which no longer exist. NCRPC worked with State and local governments to facilitate the establishment of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments in 1957 (see link). The 1965 Housing and Urban Development Act extended eligibility for a federal urban planning assistance program, commonly known as “Section 701" (referencing the section in the Act), to councils of government.
Johnson stated that the consolidation would save at least $25,000, while NCPC “will continue to represent the Federal interest in the planning and development of the region. Indeed, its work should increase as comprehensive regional planning by the Council of Governments is accelerated. In accord with the reorganization plan, the Commission will work closely with the Council of Governments in regional planning. The Commission will also deal directly with the suburban jurisdictions and assume the liaison functions now exercised by the National Capital Regional Planning Council.”
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Infrastructure and Services Legislation Regional Planning Transportation Zoning and Housing
Problems of Housing People in Washington, D.C.
July 1966
1966-07-01
NCPC
This study explored housing conditions and shortages.
NCPC conducted this study as it developed policies and proposals for an updated comprehensive plan....
This study explored housing conditions and shortages.
NCPC conducted this study as it developed policies and proposals for an updated comprehensive plan. Through evidence presented in charts and dozens of data tables, the study found a shortage of low-income housing. It observed that “urban renewal projects, code enforcement, and public improvements, as well as private market demolitions and rehabilitations removed low rent slum housing.” Echoing overcrowding findings from a District Community Renewal Program study, it observed that “slums are being shifted with low-income families to “good neighborhoods.”
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Zoning and Housing
WMATA Interstate Compact Act of 1966
November 1966
1966-11-11
Eighty-Ninth Congress
In Public Law 89-774, Congress consented to the 1960 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission compact amendments that transformed the commission into...
In Public Law 89-774, Congress consented to the 1960 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission compact amendments that transformed the commission into the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), and transferred the National Capital Transportation Agency’s functions and duties to WMATA.
Congress amended the act multiple times. For example, it authorized the U.S. Treasury to guarantee up to $1.2 billion of WMATA’s debt in 1972. In 1980, 1990, and 2008, it authorized additional appropriations of $1.7 billion, $1.3 billion, and $1.5 billion respectively. Congress’ 2008 amendment, which followed concerns about passenger safety, added federal representatives to WMATA’s Board and made funding contingent on WMATA creating an Inspector General. NCPC Executive Director Marcel Acosta served as a federal representative from January 2010- November 1, 2014.
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Legislation Regional Planning Transportation
Toward a Comprehensive Landscape Plan for Washington, DC
January 1967
1967-01-01
Wallace, McHarg, Roberts and Todd, Architects
As part of a growing environmental consciousness, the study explored the ongoing process of human interaction with natural resources.
Prefaced in a letter...
As part of a growing environmental consciousness, the study explored the ongoing process of human interaction with natural resources.
Prefaced in a letter releasing the study to stakeholders, NCPC Chairman Rowe noted that the Commission contracted for this preliminary methodology study anticipating that its staff would prepare a city-wide comprehensive landscape plan. Noted landscape architect Ian Mcharg, who led the study, observed that NCPC’s comprehensive landscape approach for an existing city seemed to be original.
The report conceived a work program and hierarchy of principles relative to the city’s natural form, constructed form (e.g. elements of the L’Enfant City), and genius loci (i.e. unique expressions).
NCPC advanced the report’s concepts into its Proposed Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital (see link) and succeeding planning framework.
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Federal Development Parks
Proposed Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital: Summary
February 1967
1967-02-01
National Capital Planning Commission
Later referred to by its cover as the “Green Book,” this draft plan focused on social problems, physical planning, and design. Detailing the broad policies...
Later referred to by its cover as the “Green Book,” this draft plan focused on social problems, physical planning, and design. Detailing the broad policies introduced in its 1965 “Brown Book” plan (see link), NCPC envisioned finalizing it later in 1967. Instead, the Green Book informed NCPC’s 1969 “Red Book” comprehensive planning document . None of these plans were adopted in entirety.
While addressing social problems of low-income residents, the Green Book affirmed an interest in buttressing Washington’s base of middle-income families. It expanded the Brown Book’s approach toward special streets and strengthening communities through the natural environment. Eschewing bold development proposals , it envisioned the planned public transportation system supporting commuter traffic. Development density would be focused in the central area and “uptown centers,” as it diagrammed in a proposed Anacostia Uptown Center.
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Commemoration Major Plans Maps National Mall and Core Parks Preservation Transportation Urban Renewal Waterfronts Zoning and Housing
Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967
June 1967
1967-06-06
President Lyndon Johnson
This plan abolished the Board of Commissioners and transferred the District’s executive functions to a single “Commissioner” (later known as...
This plan abolished the Board of Commissioners and transferred the District’s executive functions to a single “Commissioner” (later known as Mayor-Commissioner). It designated a new nine-member District of Columbia Council to fulfill the District’s legislative functions, of which more than 430 were described.
Like the previous arrangement, the Commissioner and Councilmembers were appointed by the U.S. President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Commissioner, Council Chair, and Council Vice-Chair replaced the previous Commissioner positions on the Zoning Commission.
Johnson’s transmittal letter noted that the nearly century-old governmental form was anachronistic and insufficient for the present size and complexity of District. This plan "will give the District a better organized and more efficient government, but only home rule will provide the District with a democratic government--of, by and for its citizens. I remain convinced more strongly than ever that Home Rule is still the truest course.”
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Infrastructure and Services Legislation Parks Regional Planning Transportation Urban Renewal Waterfronts Zoning and Housing
Fort Lincoln Urban Renewal Area
August 1967
1967-08-30
The National Capital Planning Commission and the Redevelopment Land Agency
This eight-page brochure outlined the urban renewal plan for around 25,000 citizens in the vicinity of the former Civil War fort in Southeast Washington, DC....
This eight-page brochure outlined the urban renewal plan for around 25,000 citizens in the vicinity of the former Civil War fort in Southeast Washington, DC. It is prefaced by a message from President Lyndon B. Johnson.
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Parks Waterfronts Zoning and Housing
Anacostia Urban Core
October 1967
1967-10-01
Victor Gruen, Associates
This study that Victor Gruen, Associates prepared for NCPC proposed urbanized development cores around planned Metrorail stations.
In a cover letter...
This study that Victor Gruen, Associates prepared for NCPC proposed urbanized development cores around planned Metrorail stations.
In a cover letter addressed to DC government officials and residents, Chairman Libby Rowe conveyed NCPC’s Urban Core concept. Initially referred to as “Uptown Centers” in its 1960s comprehensive planning work, the program linked development centers with transportation facilities. This study developed a statement of principles based on international corollaries and advanced a prototype for the planned Anacostia Metrorail station area.
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Transportation
Report to the President from the First Lady’s Committee for a More Beautiful Capital
January 1968
1968-01-01
Committee for a More Beautiful Capital
This reported on a First Lady Lady Bird Johnson initiative that addressed disinvestment and investments that fractured Washington communities by shifting...
This reported on a First Lady Lady Bird Johnson initiative that addressed disinvestment and investments that fractured Washington communities by shifting emphasis toward landscaping improvements and community engagement. NCPC Chair Libby Rowe was a committee member.
In 1964, NCPC Chair Rowe invited First Lady Johnson to “extend your interest in the White House’s beauty and history to the whole city…by setting up a White House Committee on Washington’s appearance.” Johnson would later note “A little beauty, something that is lovely, I think, can help create harmony which will lessen tensions. Some of our problems of crime and juvenile delinquency and mental health are fed by ugliness…Beautification efforts do not have to be expensive but can be carried out at all levels.”
This initiative, which was later expanded nationwide, brought together the National Park Service, local government, noted architects, and philanthropists. It mobilized neighborhood organizations, school groups, and volunteers toward many efforts including Metrorail advocacy, pedestrian circulation improvements, design guideline development, stream restoration, park rehabilitation, pocket park and visitor facility creation, tree and flower plantings, and converting of vacant buildings into community facilities.
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Parks Preservation Transportation
Civil Rights Act of 1968
April 1968
1968-04-01
Ninetieth U.S. Congress
Public Law 90–284 was a multi-pronged act: its three major elements are commonly referred to as the Indian Civil Rights Act (Titles II through VII), Fair...
Public Law 90–284 was a multi-pronged act: its three major elements are commonly referred to as the Indian Civil Rights Act (Titles II through VII), Fair Housing Act (Titles VIII and IX), and Anti-Riot Act (Title X).
This was the third major civil rights legislation of the 1960s, following the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It advanced on the heels of rioting, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, and the Vietnam War. The rioting stemmed partly from shortcomings of earlier legislation, while Dr. King had been closely associated with fair housing legislation. War casualties fell heaviest upon minorities whose families faced housing discrimination back home.
The Indian Civil Rights Act extended many of the guarantees of the U.S. Bill of Rights to Native American tribes. The Fair Housing Act clarified “fair” housing policy, prohibited housing discrimination, and established enforcement mechanisms. The Anti-Riot Act established penalties for traveling across state lines to incite, organize, promote, or participate in public disturbances.
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Legislation Zoning and Housing
Civil Disturbances in Washington, DC
May 1968
1968-05-01
NCPC
This NCPC report, prepared in cooperation with the District Government and D.C Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA), summarized the extent of the damage caused...
This NCPC report, prepared in cooperation with the District Government and D.C Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA), summarized the extent of the damage caused during four days and nights of civil disturbance that followed Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.
Conveying RLA damage estimates, the report provided maps, applicable zoning regulations, and other contextual information. RLA found 645 damaged buildings; approximately one-third of which “could not be economically rehabilitated.” Nearly half of the damaged buildings were located on Seventh Street NW; a quarter were on 14th Street, NW; and 15 percent on H Street, NE.
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Maps Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
Elements of the Comprehensive Plan
September 1969
1969-09-01
National Capital Planning Commission
This comprehensive plan document conveyed the plan framework, including four adopted chapters: broad goals, general land use objectives and two addressing...
This comprehensive plan document conveyed the plan framework, including four adopted chapters: broad goals, general land use objectives and two addressing transportation.
Published as a “brochure” and later known as the “Red Book” after its cover, it advanced revised proposals from the Green Book in four major chapters. However, the 1969 framework was never finalized.
The plan framed Washington as the “capital city,” “residential city,” and “central city” of the large metropolitan region. Focusing on improving the quality of life within the city, it did not plan for significant population or development increases. NCPC continued to advocate for an open, horizontal, green city.
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Commemoration Federal Development Major Plans Maps National Mall and Core Parks Preservation Transportation Urban Renewal Waterfronts Zoning and Housing
Washington, D.C.’s ‘Shaw School Urban Renewal Area’ – MICCO, A Unique Experience
September 1969
1969-09-29
Reginald Griffith, MIT
Reginald Griffith served as an NCPC Commissioner, and later, as NCPC’s Executive Director. One of his signature accomplishments during his tenure at NCPC was...
Reginald Griffith served as an NCPC Commissioner, and later, as NCPC’s Executive Director. One of his signature accomplishments during his tenure at NCPC was the Legacy Plan, which established a vision and framework for the nation’s capital in the 20th century that continues to influence planning activities today. Prior to this Griffith served as Deputy Director and Director of Planning for the Model Inner City Community Organization (MICCO). The Southwest Urban Renewal activities in Washington, DC razed entire neighborhoods and displaced thousands of people, predominantly African Americans, to create new office and residential neighborhoods. MICCO sought to create a different process and outcome for the urban renewal activities proposed in Shaw centered on the participation and involvement of the community. He received a master’s degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His thesis explored MICCO’s work, particularly with the community, for the Shaw School Urban Renewal Area.
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Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
A Program for Landmarks Conservation in the District of Columbia
December 1969
1969-12-31
Carl Feiss, FAIA, AIP
The report by Carl Feiss commissioned by NCPC expressed concern with the lack of landmarks conservation. “In making plans for the future of Washington, it is...
The report by Carl Feiss commissioned by NCPC expressed concern with the lack of landmarks conservation. “In making plans for the future of Washington, it is clear that plans now must be made for the future of the past.”
The report advised reestablishing the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts as the National Capital Fine Arts and Landmarks Commission (FALC), with eminent domain and expanded preservation authorities. The report conveyed concern that properties of architectural, but not necessarily historic interest – which the National Park Service might acquire – lacked protection, such as former residences currently used as chanceries. It also recommended enabling FALC to receive funds from both public and private sources, and to provide loans or grants to facilitate preservation of properties.
The report envisioned a process in which NCPC would develop plans to identify and preserve significant properties, in collaboration with FALC. After joint review, public meetings, and adoption with NCPC, FALC would publish and maintain an official landmarks conservation inventory. In 1973, these agencies collaborated as the Joint Committee on Landmarks to publish their first inventory.
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Commemoration National Mall and Core Parks Preservation Zoning and Housing
Georgetown Waterfront Area Study: Phase I Report: Development Concept Alternatives
November 1972
1972-11-02
NCPC and the DC Department of Highways and Traffic
Prepared for NCPC and the DC Department of Highways and Traffic, this report recommended a tunneled freeway, Potomac River park, and a moderate amount of...
Prepared for NCPC and the DC Department of Highways and Traffic, this report recommended a tunneled freeway, Potomac River park, and a moderate amount of building density in Georgetown south of M Street.
This study immediately responded to a message that President Richard Nixon delivered to Congress, in which he conveyed asking the District, NCPC, and the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Interior to develop a Georgetown waterfront plan. The planning interest followed the Joint Committee on Landmark’s designation of Georgetown as a Historic Landmark in 1964 and a 1968 Federal Aid Highway Act provision (based on the plan submitted by the DC Department of Highways and Traffic) for a freeway carrying traffic through Georgetown with no local access.
A group of noted firms, organized as the Georgetown Planning Group, analyzed several alternatives under the guidance of NCPC’s Coordinating Committee chaired by its Executive Director. To facilitate access to buildings and a waterfront park within the area, the group recommended rebuilding K Street on top of the freeway. As an interim measure, the group advised NCPC to request that the Zoning Commission revise its regulations to prevent development that would be inconsistent with the group’s concept.
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Maps Parks Transportation Waterfronts Zoning and Housing
The Urban River: A Staff Proposal for Waterfront Development in the District of Columbia
December 1972
1972-12-01
National Capital Planning Commission
This study proposed design guidelines to restore the ecological health of Washington’s rivers and provide public access to them.
This study followed...
This study proposed design guidelines to restore the ecological health of Washington’s rivers and provide public access to them.
This study followed NCPC’s comprehensive planning efforts in the 1960s, including “A Policies Plan for the Year 2000.” It recognized early planning precedents, including the L’Enfant and McMillan Plans (e.g., the former included a “water street” and canals that connected the river to the city’s core; the latter included waterfront parks, quays, and scenic drives.) Unfortunately, despite succeeding planning by NCPC and others, railroad, industrial and military developments significantly contaminated and curtailed public use of the rivers.
The study proposed several “general policies” related to public access and ecological restoration. Four “specific policies” (or categories) embraced a range of elements: Water Spaces (e.g., open waters designated for recreation, main navigation channels, landscaped waterfronts, and docking areas), Shoreline Elements (e.g., docking facilities, swimming beaches, boardwalks, and embankments), Urban Edge Elements (e.g., monuments, formal landscape compositions, building precincts, gateway bridgeheads), Park Edge Elements (e.g., overlook parks, playfields, buffer zones, and preserves), and Circulation Elements (e.g., riverside drives, community waterfront entrances, inland connections, and parkland bridges). Maps showed locations for these elements.
In 1976, NCPC integrated the study’s concepts in The Urban River into “Shoreline Acquisition and Development Policies and Programs. ”
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Commemoration Infrastructure and Services Major Plans Maps Transportation Waterfronts
Interview with Elizabeth Rowe
March 1973
1973-03-01
Audio interview of Libby Rowe by L. Richardson
Audio interview of Libby Rowe by L. Richardson, October 21, 1973.
Transcript of oral history interview of Elizabeth Rowe by Michael L. Gillette, LBJ Library, June 6,1975.
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Major Plans Preservation Transportation Urban Renewal
Landmarks of the National Capital
August 1973
1973-08-28
Joint Committee on Landmarks
This annotated map identified landmarks of the national capital, which comprised District of Columbia's Inventory of Historic Sites.
Washington’s first...
This annotated map identified landmarks of the national capital, which comprised District of Columbia's Inventory of Historic Sites.
Washington’s first official list of historic landmarks followed the committee’s preliminary list it recommended to NCPC and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts in 1965. The committee’s procedures were nationally noted for allowing residents to nominate a historic district, then known as “places.”
Pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the committee identified three categories of landmarks. It designated twenty structures and seven places as Category I “Landmarks of Great Importance Which Contribute Significantly to the National Cultural Heritage or that of the District of Columbia and its Environs, and Which Must Be Preserved."
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Maps Preservation
Beyond the Fireworks of 1976
December 1973
1973-12-01
The Afro-American Bicentennial Corporation
This report, supported by National Park Service funding, identified significant themes and sites that illustrated the role of Blacks in United States...
This report, supported by National Park Service funding, identified significant themes and sites that illustrated the role of Blacks in United States history.
As the nation approached the bicentennial of the American Revolution in 1976, this initiative emerged from concerns about inadequate minority inclusion; specifically, in Bicentennial activity planning and Black properties recognized by the federal government.
After the Bicentennial, the corporation reorganized as the Afro-American Institute for Historic Preservation and Community Development. It partnered with scholars and the National Park Service to landmark over 60 sites: properties within D.C. included the Carter G. Woodson House, Mary McLeod Bethune Council House, Blanche K. Bruce Home, the Mary Church Terrell House, Mary Ann Shadd Cary House, Charlotte Forten Grimke Home, and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in DC. It operated out of a Washington rowhouse at 1236 Euclid Street, NW.
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Preservation
District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act
December 1973
1973-12-01
Ninety-Third U.S. Congress
The Home Rule Act devolved congressional powers of the District of Columbia to local government. Among other provisions, it provided for an elected mayor and...
The Home Rule Act devolved congressional powers of the District of Columbia to local government. Among other provisions, it provided for an elected mayor and council, and amended the National Capital Planning Act.
The Home Rule Act reflected concerns with the planning and transportation programs that developed in the 1950s and early 1960s. During this period, as Washington became a majority-Black city and redevelopment projects disproportionately affected this community, continuing disenfranchisement of the Black community which particularly prompted change.
Congress established the Mayor of the District of Columbia as the central planning agency and NCPC “as the central Federal planning agency for the Federal Government in the National Capital, and to preserve the important historical and natural features thereof…” It authorized NCPC and the mayor to “jointly establish procedures for appropriate meaningful continuing consultation throughout the planning process for the National Capital.”
Congress also realigned NCPC’s membership. Whereas five citizen members were presidentially appointed, the 1974 act mandated that the DC Commissioners (later amended to the Mayor) appoint two of them. Additionally, of three presidentially appointed members, the act specified that two be residents of Maryland and Virginia.
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Legislation Regional Planning Urban Renewal
Grow with Books
April 1974
1974-04-04
National Capital Planning Commission
This flyer promoted NCPC’s National Library Week program in 1974.
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Infrastructure and Services
The Pennsylvania Avenue Plan
November 1974
1974-11-01
Pennslvania Avenue Development Corporation
Document summary coming soon. The original document in PDF is available for review and download.
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Federal Development
Shoreline Acquisition and Development Policies and Programs
February 1976
1976-02-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC identified eleven subareas along Washington’s rivers, and recommended improvements to support public access and ecology.
The study advanced NCPC...
NCPC identified eleven subareas along Washington’s rivers, and recommended improvements to support public access and ecology.
The study advanced NCPC policies and proposals developed in its 1960s comprehensive planning and 1972 The Urban River. It primarily advanced NCPC’s goals to secure the remaining four percent of non-publicly owned shoreline and develop an extensive range of river activities. It proposed new national parks along the Georgetown waterfront, Bolling-Anacostia complex, Oxon Cove inlet, and Buzzard Point. Generally, it recommended establishing an official shoreline, pierhead lines, continuous waterfront pedestrian/bike paths, and pedestrian/bike linkages; connecting the waterfront to surrounding areas; and studying archaeologically significant waterfront sites.
Departing from the 1972 study’s thematic approach, this report identified eleven subareas: Potomac Palisades; Georgetown Waterfront; Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, Potomac Park Memorials; Southwest Waterfront; Fort McNair, South Capitol/Street/Buzzard Point; Southeast Federal Center, Navy Yard; Eleventh Street, S.E.; Anacostia Park-West Bank; Anacostia Park-East Bank; Barry Farms, Bolling/Anacostia, Naval Research Laboratory; and Blue Plains, Oxon Cove. The report included a set of recommendations for each subarea. In addition to recognizing functional differences among the subareas, this approach brought greater attention to the full length of Washington’s waterfronts.
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Commemoration Federal Development Maps National Mall and Core Parks Transportation Waterfronts
Boundary Markers of the Nation's Capital
July 1976
1976-07-01
National Capital Planning Commission
This report discussed the stone markers Andrew Ellicott used to survey the boundary of Washington.
In recognition of the United States’ Bicentennial...
This report discussed the stone markers Andrew Ellicott used to survey the boundary of Washington.
In recognition of the United States’ Bicentennial celebration, NCPC published this report with assistance from the Daughters of the American Revolution DC Chapter and the American Society of Civil Engineers National Capital Chapter. The report provided a detailed historical narrative and reports on the markers’ conditions, including a 1915 Daughters of the American Revolution effort to erect protective cages around the markers. It also served as a visitor's guide.
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Commemoration Infrastructure and Services Maps Parks Preservation Regional Planning
Planning Washington, 1924-1976: An Era of Planning for the National Capital and Environs
July 1976
1976-07-01
National Capital Planning Commission
This booklet included an administrative history of NCPC, a summary of related legislation, a listing of its Commission and key staff members, and brief...
This booklet included an administrative history of NCPC, a summary of related legislation, a listing of its Commission and key staff members, and brief biographies.
It represented one of series of historical studies that formed NCPC’s program for the United States Bicentennial. This study focused on NCPC’s administrative history; it also recognized 1976 as the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive planning agency for the national capital.
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Federal Development Maps National Mall and Core Parks Regional Planning Transportation Urban Renewal Waterfronts Zoning and Housing
The Federal City: Plans & Realities
August 1976
1976-08-30
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution published this book in partnership with NCPC and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. It encompassed a historical narrative by...
The Smithsonian Institution published this book in partnership with NCPC and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. It encompassed a historical narrative by Frederick Gutheim and an exhibition description by Wilcomb E. Washburn. The Smithsonian Institution Building (Smithsonian Castle) hosted the exhibit for two years.
In illuminating Washington’s planning and development, the project aimed to inspire Washington’s residents and visitors–and to prevent some of the pitfalls of human settlement. The effort represented one of series of historical studies that formed NCPC’s program for the United States Bicentennial.
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Commemoration Federal Development Maps National Mall and Core Parks Regional Planning Transportation Waterfronts
Historic Preservation Plan of the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation
March 1977
1977-03-01
Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation
This plan supplemented historic preservation provisions in the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation’s (PADC) 1974 Pennsylvania Avenue Plan.
In...
This plan supplemented historic preservation provisions in the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation’s (PADC) 1974 Pennsylvania Avenue Plan.
In 1965, most of the Pennsylvania Avenue area was designated as a National Historic Site. Following its 1972 authorizing legislation, PADC developed a 1974 plan that restored the L’Enfant Plan’s street grid and symbolism where possible, while recognizing the city’s evolving fabric.
This 1977 plan recognized that some stakeholders still perceived preservation as a development impediment. Believing that preservation was an inseparable part of the development process, PADC’s approach focused on urban design rather than just individual buildings.
However, many of the area’s historic buildings and open spaces had lost their unifying contexts, other than Pennsylvania Avenue itself. The plan proposals retained significant buildings in place. It restored the early 20th century character in areas where more of the low-scale fabric remained, particularly in the 7th Street-Indiana Avenue area. Isolated structures of interest would be relocated to these areas and placed in traditional relationships to each other, to enhance the urban design and architectural qualities. This approach maximized new development capacity on the blocks with limited historic integrity. In addition to specifying the physical treatments for buildings, the report included sections on a documentation process, budget, schedule, procedures, techniques, and methodology.
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Commemoration Federal Development Infrastructure and Services Maps National Mall and Core Parks Preservation Zoning and Housing
Worthy of the Nation
July 1977
1977-07-01
National Capital Planning Commission; Frederick Gutheim, consultant
Developed as the “insiders’ illustrated Washington history book,” it conveys 186 years of planning for the national capital. It represents one of series...
Developed as the “insiders’ illustrated Washington history book,” it conveys 186 years of planning for the national capital. It represents one of series of historical studies that formed NCPC’s program for the Bicentennial of the United States.
Frederick Gutheim and Antoinette J. Lee begin with L'Enfant's survey of 1791, the uneven growth of Washington City as an early port, its rapid expansion during the Civil War, and the McMillan Plan of 1901–1902, inspired by the City Beautiful movement. They consider the close relationship between the growth in national ambitions and responsibilities and the density of the governmental presence―offices, facilities, military outposts, parks, and multiplying statuary and memorials. Gutheim and Lee also survey residential communities, commercial districts, and transportation infrastructure. They outline various efforts to shape and channel the phenomenal growth of the city during the twentieth century, including controversial attempts to rehabilitate some neighborhoods while largely destroying others in the name of urban renewal.
Illustrated with plans, maps, and new and historic photographs, the second edition of Worthy of the Nation provides researchers and general readers with an appealing and authoritative view of the planning and evolution of the federal district.
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Commemoration Federal Development Legislation Major Plans Maps National Mall and Core Parks Regional Planning Urban Renewal Waterfronts Zoning and Housing
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 1978
January 1978
1978-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Review of Commission Proceedings: - Winter 1978
- Spring 1978
- Summer 1978
- Fall 1978
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Infrastructure and Services Major Plans National Mall and Core Parks Preservation
PADC Quarterly Report to Congress
April 1978
1978-04-10
Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation
The Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation’s second quarterly report to Congress provided updates on its activities, including property acquisition and...
The Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation’s second quarterly report to Congress provided updates on its activities, including property acquisition and construction; historic preservation and zoning review procedures; and the development of a lighting plan.
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Federal Development National Mall and Core Preservation Urban Renewal
Metrogram: To Inform Community Leaders
October 1978
1978-10-10
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
This bulletin was the first in a series that described the planning and building of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) facilities....
This bulletin was the first in a series that described the planning and building of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) facilities. An accompanying chronology detailed events between the 1952 National Capital Planning Act (see link) and a 1977 Metrobus charter for Jimmy Carter’s presidential inauguration.
Milestones included WMATA’s adoption of a 98-mile Regional Metro System in March 1968. A November 1968 entry reported that “voters dramatically endorse Metro,” with over more than 71% approving a bonding referendum that would fund the locality proportion of costs for the heavy rail system.
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Regional Planning Transportation
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 1979
January 1979
1979-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Review of Commission Proceedings: - Winter 1979
- Spring 1979
- Summer 1979
- Fall 1979
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Federal Development
Oral History Interview with Harland Bartholomew
March 1979
1979-03-01
Frederick Gutheim
An oral history interview with Harland Bartholomew by Frederick Gutheim.
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Major Plans Transportation Urban Renewal Zoning and Housing
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 1980
January 1980
1980-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Review of Commission Proceedings: - Winter 1980
- Spring 1980
- Summer 1980
- Fall 1980
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Federal Development
Independence Avenue Constitution Avenue: Special Street Plans, Phase 1 Study
December 1980
1980-12-01
National Capital Planning Commission
This study provided a framework for improving the design and function of Independence and Constitution Avenues.
The study conveyed NCPC’s concern “that...
This study provided a framework for improving the design and function of Independence and Constitution Avenues.
The study conveyed NCPC’s concern “that present image of these two avenues, must be uplifted in a manner which removes inconsistencies in design and development intent and provides an overall unifying theme and character.”
The study considered several alternatives. One approach would treat the main avenues in the core–Pennsylvania, Maryland, Independence, and Constitution Avenues – with the same standards. Another emphasized Pennsylvania Avenue as the nation's most significant avenue, while the other avenues would have supportive treatments. Other alternatives would treat the avenues similar to other streets in the monumental core and/or retain the existing variety.
The study recommended a combination of alternatives that would improve the avenues where most needed; reinforce the corridors as framing elements to unify the Mall, U.S. Capitol grounds, and West Potomac Park; improve the pedestrian environment; and improve interpretation.
To advance the concept, it recommended a “sketch plan,” which proposed a suite of furnishings similar to those being installed on Pennsylvania Avenue.
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Commemoration Maps National Mall and Core Transportation
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 1981
January 1981
1981-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Review of Commission Proceedings: - Winter 1981
- Spring 1981
- Summer 1981
- Fall 1981
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Federal Development
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 1982
January 1982
1982-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Review of Commission Proceedings: - Winter 1982
- Spring 1982
- Summer 1982
- Fall 1982
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Federal Development
Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital Federal Goals
February 1982
1982-02-04
National Capital Planning Commission
Document summary coming soon. The original document in PDF is available for review and download.
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Federal Development
Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital
September 1982
1982-09-01
Government of the District of Columbia
Document summary coming soon. The original document in PDF is available for review and download.
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Infrastructure and Services
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 1983
January 1983
1983-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Review of Commission Proceedings: - Winter 1983
- Spring 1983
- Summer 1983
- Fall 1983
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Federal Development
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 1984
January 1984
1984-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Review of Commission Proceedings: - Winter 1984
- Spring 1984
- Summer 1984
- Fall 1984
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Federal Development
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 1985
January 1985
1985-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Review of Commission Proceedings: - Winter 1985
- Spring 1985
- Summer 1985
- Fall 1985
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Federal Development
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 1986
January 1986
1986-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Review of Commission Proceedings: - Winter 1986
- Spring 1986
- Summer 1986
- Fall 1986
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Federal Development
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 1987
January 1987
1987-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Review of Commission Proceedings (Compilation): - Winter 1987
- Spring 1987
- Summer 1987
- Fall 1987
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Federal Development
Conceptual Lighting Plan for the Pennsylvania Avenue Monumental Core
July 1987
1987-07-29
Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation
To enhance the downtown Monumental Area and emphasize the significance of Pennsylvania Avenue and the Monumental Core, The Pennsylvania Avenue Development...
To enhance the downtown Monumental Area and emphasize the significance of Pennsylvania Avenue and the Monumental Core, The Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation (PADC) established these guidelines for facade lighting. The goal to respect a symbiotic relationship between buildings and the Avenue through sensitive illumination that considers fixture placement, maintenance, and energy usage.
According to the plan, these objectives were achieved with carefully designed facade lighting that creates visual focal points, emphasizes architectural features, and strengthen connections between various points of interest. Overall, the finished facade lighting will contribute to the cohesiveness of the Avenue and the Monumental Core.
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Federal Development
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 1988
January 1988
1988-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Review of Commission Proceedings: - Winter 1988
- Spring 1988
- Summer 1988
- Fall 1988
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Federal Development
Initiative 2050: The Future of the National Capital Region and It's Federal Establishment
August 1989
1989-08-01
Massachusetts Institute of Technology/NCPC
Initiative 2050 was a 24-month regional collaborative program to look forward to the year 2050 and identify the major trends, changes, and influences which...
Initiative 2050 was a 24-month regional collaborative program to look forward to the year 2050 and identify the major trends, changes, and influences which will affect the federal government and the National Capital Region.
The program, jointly administered by NCPC and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), proposed to combine vision and creativity with pragmatism and experience to identify imaginative, long-range strategic alternatives and devise practical means for reaching those goals. The two overarching agenda items of Initiative 2050 will be the socioeconomic environment and the physical environment.
This memorandum proposes scenario teams to research themes related to current issues in the National Capital Region. Each team's role would be to develop and test a vision for the region's future based on four values: Efficiency, Education, Equity, and Health.
These teams would be part of a larger process to create a 2050 Plan for the National Capital Region. The outcomes of the scenario teams' work would be combined into a new framework for planning federal facilities and lands.
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Federal Development Regional Planning
Initiative 2050: A Challenge of Choice
November 1989
1989-11-01
NCPC
This brochure describes Initiative 2050, a major effort NCPC undertaken with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to identify the major trends, changes,...
This brochure describes Initiative 2050, a major effort NCPC undertaken with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to identify the major trends, changes, and influences which will affect the federal government and the National Capital Region by 2050.
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Federal Development
Fact Sheet
December 1993
1993-12-01
National Capital Planning Commission
This bulletin conveys information on NCPC’s commission members, responsibilities, goals, major programs, meeting schedule, and executive staff.
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Federal Development
Extending the Legacy: Planning American's Capital for the 21st Century
November 1997
1997-11-11
National Capital Planning Commission
This plan, like the L'Enfant and McMillan Plans before it, provided a long-term vision for how the nation's capital will grow and develop.
The Legacy Plan...
This plan, like the L'Enfant and McMillan Plans before it, provided a long-term vision for how the nation's capital will grow and develop.
The Legacy Plan influenced comprehensive plan updates and set the stage for more detailed planning as described in the Memorials and Museums Master Plan (see link) and the Monumental Core Framework Plan (see link). Many of Legacy’s goals that relate to new federal facilities, enhanced transportation, reconnecting Washington to its waterfronts, and improving gateways into the city are becoming reality. Examples include the Circulator and Kennedy Center waterfront connection.
NCPC features this document on its website. For more information, follow the link.
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Federal Development Major Plans Parks Regional Planning Waterfronts
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 1998
January 1998
1998-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Winter Commission to Consider Further Limits on Mall Memorials (page 2)
- International Center Prepares for More Diplomats (page 4)
- Proceedings (page 6)
- Other Commission Actions (page 10)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
Spring Reviewing Memorials: WWII, A Case Study (page 2)
- Federal Capital Improvements Programs: Tracking Jobs and Money in the Region (page 4)
- Proceedings (page 6)
- Other Commission Actions (page 10)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
Summer Pennsylvania Avenue: A Plan that Works (page 2)
- Proceedings (page 4)
- Other Commission Actions (page 9)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
Fall Special Supplement: Legacy First Initiatives
- GIS – A New Tool for Planning (page 2)
- Public Participation, Historic Preservation, and the New Convention Center (page 4)
- Proceedings (page 6)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
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Federal Development
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 1999
January 1999
1999-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Jan/Feb/Mar 1999
- The Federal Family Does its Part to Reduce Gridlock (page 2)
- Proceedings (page 4)
- Other Commission Actions (page 9)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
April/May/June 1999 The Commission Looks to its Task Forces (page 2)
- Proceedings (page 4)
- Other Commission Actions (page 8)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
July/August/September 1999 Review Commissions Propose New Policy (page 2)
- Proceedings (page 4)
- Other Commission Actions (page 7)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
October/November/December 1999 Technology Partners Celebrate (page 2)
- Proceedings (page 4)
- Other Commission Actions (page 8)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
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Federal Development
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 2000
January 2000
2000-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
January/February/March 1999 Comprehensive Planning (page 2)
- Proceedings (page 4)
- Other Commission Actions (page 8)
April/May/June 1999 New Transit Benefit Program (page 2)
- Proceedings (page 4)
- Other Commission Actions (page 6)
- Commission Notes (page 10)
July/August/September 1999 Preserving National Capital Open Space (page 2)
- Proceedings (page 4)
- Other Commission Actions (page 7)
- Delegated Actions (page 10)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
October/November/December 1999 Public Comment on Draft Master Plan (page 2)
- Proceedings (page 4)
- Other Commission Actions (page 7)
- New Chairman Named (page 10)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
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Federal Development
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 2001
January 2001
2001-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Jan/Feb/Mar 2001Interview with Chairman Friedman (page 2))
Federal Planning Conference (page 4)
Proceedings (page 5)
Other Commission Actions (page 7)
Delegated Actions (page 9)
Commission Notes (page 11)
April/May/June 2001Martin Luther King Memorial (page 2)
Proceedings (page 4)
Other Commission Actions (page 5)
Delegated Actions (page 6)
Commission Notes (page 7)
July/August/September 2001Ottawa Conference (page 2)
Memorials and Museums Master Plan (page 5)
Proceedings (page 6)
Other Commission Actions (page 8)
Delegated Actions (page 10)
Commission Notes (page 11)
October/November/December 2001Designing for Security in the Nation’s Capital (page 2)
Proceedings (page 4)
Other Commission Actions (page 6)
Delegated Actions (page 9)
Commission Notes (page 11)
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Federal Development
Memorials and Museums Master Plan
September 2001
2001-09-01
NCPC, U.S. Commission of Fine Arts
This plan identified, described, and evaluated 100 of the most suitable sites that sponsors could use when examining potential locations for future...
This plan identified, described, and evaluated 100 of the most suitable sites that sponsors could use when examining potential locations for future commemorative works and museums. It proposed a commemorative zone policy for siting them, including an area where no new memorials could be located. The plan also inventoried existing memorials and museums and forecast future demand for new museums and memorials. Note: Due to the adoption of a Reserve by Congress in 2003, four of the 100 sites were removed from future consideration.
NCPC features this document on its website. For more information, follow the link.
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Commemoration Federal Development National Mall and Core Parks
Designing for Security in the Nation’s Capital
October 2001
2001-10-01
National Capital Planning Commission
In response to the unsightly security features erected after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, this report guided the design of future security features in...
In response to the unsightly security features erected after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, this report guided the design of future security features in Washington, DC. NCPC prepared this report in partnership with members of an Interagency Security Task Force.
NCPC features this document on its website. For more information, follow the link.
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Maps National Mall and Core
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 2002
January 2002
2002-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Jan/Feb/Mar 2002 Fighting Downtown Gridlock (page 2)
- South Capitol Street (page 4)
- Proceedings (page 5)
- Other Commission Actions (page 8)
- Delegated Actions (page 10)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
April/May/June 2002 Pennsylvania Ave at the White House (page 2)
- Foreign Missions and International Organizations (page 4)
- Proceedings (page 6)
- Other Commission Actions (page 8)
- Delegated Actions (page 10)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
July/August/September 2002 South Capitol Street Study (page 1)
- Proceedings (page 3)
- Other Commission Actions (page 5)
- Commission Notes (page 7)
October/November/December 2002 The National Capital Urban Design and Security Plan (page 1)
- South Capitol Street Study (page 3)
- Security Projects (page 4)
- Memorial Projects (page 6)
- New Facilities (page 7)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
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Federal Development
National Capital Urban Design and Security Plan
October 2002
2002-10-01
National Capital Planning Commission
This plan guided the design of contextually sensitive physical security features in Washington’s monumental core and introduced a “kit of parts” for...
This plan guided the design of contextually sensitive physical security features in Washington’s monumental core and introduced a “kit of parts” for permanent physical security solutions. The first plan nationally to address the impacts of perimeter security in public space, it received the American Planning Association 2005 Current Topic–Safe Growth Award. Addendums were released in 2004 and 2005, respectively. This report, which built upon Designing for Security, was prepared by NCPC in partnership with an Interagency Security Task Force.
NCPC features this document on its website. For more information, follow the link.
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Maps National Mall and Core
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 2003
January 2003
2003-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Jan/Feb/Mar 2003 Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House (page 1)
- National Capital Planning Act 50th Anniversary (page 4)
- Commission Actions (page 5)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
April/May/June 2003 NCPC Receives Medal of Excellence (page 1)
- Commission Actions (page 4)
- Other Commission Actions (page 8)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
July/August/September 2003 First Lady Endorses Penn Avenue (page 1)
- Downtown Circulator (page 3)
- Commission Actions (page 4)
- A Tribute to Daniel Patrick Moynihan (page 5)
- Capitals Alliance Conference (page 10)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
October/November/December 2003 Capitals Alliance Conference (page 1)
- Kennedy Center Access Improvements (page 4)
- New Legislation for the National Mall (page 5)
- Commission Actions (page 6)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
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Federal Development
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 2004
January 2004
2004-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Jan/Feb/Mar 2004 South Capitol Street (page 3)
- Commission Actions (page 4)
- APA National Conference (page 7)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
April/May/June 2004 South Capitol Street (page 2)
- Commission Actions (page 4)
- Looking Ahead (page 7)
- Downtown Circulator (page 10)
- Comprehensive Plan (page 10)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
July/August/September 2004 K Charrette (page 2)
- Comprehensive Plan (page 4)
- Commission Actions (page 5)
- Surviving Security (page 7)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
October/November/December 2004 Pennsylvania Avenue (page 2)
- Surviving Security (page 3)
- Capitals Alliance (page 4)
- Commission Actions (page 5)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
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Federal Development
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 2005
January 2005
2005-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Spring Quarterly 2005
- South Capitol Street (page 2)
- News Briefs (page 4)
- Commission Actions (page 5)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
Summer Quarterly 2005
- The Circulator continued (page 2)
- Rail Study is Funded (page 4)
- Commission Actions (page 5)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
Fall Quarterly 2005
- Capitals Alliance continued (page 2)
- CSX Rail Relocation (page 4)
- Commission Actions (page 5)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
Winter Quarterly 2005
- NCPC Receives Honors (page 2)
- Green Infrastructure (page 3)
- Commission Actions (page 5)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
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Federal Development
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 2006
January 2006
2006-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Spring Quarterly 2006
- Rail Study Kicks Off (page 2)
- Worthy of the Nation (page 4)
- Public Forums (page 5)
- Commission Actions (page 6)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
Summer Quarterly 2006
- NCFP Public Meeting (page 3)
- RFK Stadium Site Study (page 4)
- Baseball Stadium Review (page 5)
- New Circulator Route (page 6)
- Commission Actions (page 7)
Fall Quarterly 2006
- NCFP Public Meeting (page 4)
- New York & Florida Avenue (page 5)
- Flood Prevention (page 6)
- Commission Actions (page 7)
- What’s Ahead (page 12)
Winter Quarterly 2006
- Worthy of the Nation Released (page 4)
- ULI on Rail Corridor Potential (page 5)
- Commission Actions (page 6)
- NCPC Accepting E-Submissions (page 9)
- New Commission Members (page 11)
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Federal Development
Historic Preservation Amendment Act of 2006
July 2006
2006-07-25
Council of the District of Columbia
This legislative Act amends the Historic Landmark and Historic District Protection Act of 1978 to add protection for archaeological sites, to amend the...
This legislative Act amends the Historic Landmark and Historic District Protection Act of 1978 to add protection for archaeological sites, to amend the definition of alterations, to establish the number of members that constitute the Historic Preservation Review Board, to provide for consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer for undertakings involving buildings owned by the District of Columbia, to improve enforcement under the act, and to make clarifying amendments.
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Preservation
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 2007
January 2007
2007-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
Spring Quarterly 2007
- Flooding (page 2)
- Capitals Alliance (page 4)
- Framework Symposium (page 5)
- CityVision...
Spring Quarterly 2007
- Flooding (page 2)
- Capitals Alliance (page 4)
- Framework Symposium (page 5)
- CityVision (page 6)
- Commission Actions (page 7)
- Looking Ahead (page 11)
Summer Quarterly 2007
- Framing a Capital City Symposium (page 2)
- Floodwater Forum (page 3)
- Rail Realignment Study (page 4)
- Worthy of the Nation Exhibit (page 6)
- CapitalSpace Public Review (page 7)
- Commission Actions (page 7)
- Commission Notes (page 11)
Fall Quarterly 2007
- Countdown to Capitals Alliance 2008 (page 4)
- Smithsonian to Host Worthy of the Nation (page 5)
- NCPC Launches New Website (page 5)
- Commission Actions (page 6)
- Update on Fort Belvoir (page 7)
- Commission Notes (page 10)
Winter Quarterly 2007
- 10th Anniversary of Legacy (page 3)
- National Capital Framework Plan (page 4)
- Worthy Tours at the Smithsonian (page 4)
- NCPC to Release Final Flooding Report (page 5)
- Commission Actions (page 6)
- Commission Notes (page 10)
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Federal Development
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 2008
January 2008
2008-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Spring Quarterly 2008
- Commission Bids Farewell to Long-Serving Member (page 4)
- Capitals Alliance 2008 (page 5)
- CapitalSpace Public Meeting (page 6)
- Commission Actions (page 7)
- NCPC Notes (page 11)
Summer Quarterly 2008
- NCPC Chairman Briefs Congress on Plans to Strengthen National Mall (page 2)
- NCPC Names New Executive Director (page 3)
- Plans Move Forward for a New Levee System on the National Mall (page 5)
- Public Briefing is Held on CapitalSpace (page 7)
- Commission Actions (page 8)
- Agency News (page 11)
Fall Quarterly 2008
- Capital Cities: Leaders in Sustainability (page 4)
- NCPC Launches Sustainability Initiative (page 7)
- Designs for National Mall Levee Unveiled (page 8)
- Public Comment Period Closes on Framework Plan (page 9)
- Commission Actions (page 10)
Agency News (page 15)
Winter Quarterly 2008
- Chesapeake Crescent Initiative Aims to Make Region a Global Powerhouse (page 3)
- City’s Aging Sewer System is the Focus of a New Study (page 4)
- Framework Plan Recognized by ASLA (page 4)
- Effort to Conserve Fort Circle Parks is Named a Regional Conservation Priority (page 5)
- Commission Actions (page 6)
- Agency News (page 11)
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Federal Development
Quarterly Review of Commission Proceedings 2009
January 2009
2009-01-01
National Capital Planning Commission
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary...
NCPC produced and distributed the Quarterly Review to provide the public with information about the Commission’s activities. Each report included a summary of major Commission actions and information related to change, growth, and development in the National Capital Region.
Spring Quarterly 2009
- Newsmaker Q & A with the National Park Service (page 6)
- North Capitol Street Study (page 7)
- Circulator Adds New Routes (page 8)
- Commission Actions (page 9)
- A Conversation with NCPC’s Chairman (page 13)
Summer Quarterly 2009
- Newsmaker: An Interview with Robert Peck (page 4)
- Revitalizing the Anacostia Riverfront (page 5)
- Blue Ribbon Panel Assesses Mall Plan (page 6)
- NCPC Kicks Off Speaker Series (page 6)
- Commission Actions (page 7)
- Agency News (page 11)
Fall Quarterly 2009
- Interview with Incoming Chairman Bryant (page 2)
- Building the Region Together (page 3)
- NewsMaker Q & A with Penelope Gross (page 5)
- A New Way on K Street (page 6)
- NCPC’s New Look (page 6)
- Building Blocks for a Vibrant Capital (page 7)
- Commission Actions (page 8)
- Farewell to Chairman Cogbill (page 10)
- Agency News (page 11)
Winter Quarterly 2009
- Newsmaker: Making a Difference with Local Youth (page 4)
- Framework Plan Promotes Vibrant Capital (page 5)
- Building the Region Together (page 6)
- Save the Date for Speaker Series and 10th St Corridor Meeting (page 6)
- Commission Actions (page 7)
- Agency News (page 11)
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Federal Development
Monumental Core Framework Plan: Connecting New Destinations with the National Mall
April 2009
2009-04-02
NCPC & U.S. Commission of Fine Arts
The Framework Plan provided in-depth analysis and tools to advance the Legacy Plan's goals (see link) to relieve development pressure on the National Mall;...
The Framework Plan provided in-depth analysis and tools to advance the Legacy Plan's goals (see link) to relieve development pressure on the National Mall; better integrate federal development with city life; and support a diversifying local economy, growing population, and expanding downtown. Its proposals focused on four specific themes and areas: Connect the Mall with the Waterfront (Southwest Rectangle), Enhance the Waterfront Experience (Potomac Park), Extend the Commemorative Landscape (Northwest Rectangle), and Link Downtown with the National Mall (Federal Triangle).
NCPC features this document on its website. For more information, follow the link.
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Federal Development Major Plans Maps National Mall and Core Parks
CapitalSpace: Ideas to Achieve the Full Potential of Washington's Parks and Open Space
April 2010
2010-04-01
NCPC, NPS CFA, D.C Government
CapitalSpace addressed the challenges of a substantial park and open space system that serves local and national visitors, with a quality and capacity that...
CapitalSpace addressed the challenges of a substantial park and open space system that serves local and national visitors, with a quality and capacity that have not kept growing with user needs. This initiative provided strategies for parks and open space throughout Washington, particularly in the city's neighborhoods. Through Six Big Ideas, the partners envisioned creating a beautiful, high-quality, and unified park system for the nation's capital. These include Link the Fort Circle Parks, Improve Public Schoolyards, Enhance Urban Natural Areas, Improve Playfields, Enhance Center City Parks, and Transform Small Parks.
NCPC features this document on its website. For more information, follow the link.
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National Mall and Core Parks Waterfronts
Memorial Trends & Practice in Washington, DC
November 2012
2012-11-01
National Capital Planning Commission
This report, prepared in consultation with the National Park Service and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, provides context about the commemorative planning...
This report, prepared in consultation with the National Park Service and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, provides context about the commemorative planning process and highlights recent research on memorial planning and construction.
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Commemoration
SW Ecodistrict Plan: A Vision for a More Sustainable Future
January 2013
2013-01-01
NCPC, DC Office of Planning
This plan is a long range, comprehensive approach to transform a 110-acre, isolated federal precinct into a well-connected, mixed-use neighborhood, workplace,...
This plan is a long range, comprehensive approach to transform a 110-acre, isolated federal precinct into a well-connected, mixed-use neighborhood, workplace, and cultural destination linking the National Mall and the Southwest Waterfront. As buildings and infrastructure are rehabilitated or redeveloped, the plan proposed district-scale environmental practices to achieve greater energy and water management efficiency and performance. The plan strives to meet future space needs of a modern federal workforce, identifies new public and private development opportunities and partnerships, and seeks to establish the district as a sustainability showcase.
NCPC features this document on its website. For more information, follow the link.
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Federal Development Parks Preservation Transportation Waterfronts
The Height Master Plan for Washington, DC
November 2013
2013-11-27
National Capital Planning Commission
The study explored potential strategic changes to the Height Act that could protect national interests, including views to and from iconic institutions and...
The study explored potential strategic changes to the Height Act that could protect national interests, including views to and from iconic institutions and civic features, and meet important long-term development goals.
The Commission released the plan following a year-long study with extensive community engagement and technical studies. It reaffirmed the importance of the Height Act and noted the potential for significant adverse impacts to national resources from increasing building heights, particularly within the L’Enfant City. It noted that there may be long-term opportunities for strategic changes in areas outside of the L'Enfant City where there are fewer federal interests. Congress later enacted only minor changes to the Act, for penthouses. President Obama signed into law this proposal.
NCPC features this document on its website. For more information, click the "View Webpage" button above.
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Federal Development Maps Zoning and Housing
The Freeway Revolt and the Coming of Metro
October 2018
2018-10-01
Richard F. Weingroff
This monograph chronicled the twentieth century development of Washington’s mass transportation system. It particularly captured the paradigm of increased...
This monograph chronicled the twentieth century development of Washington’s mass transportation system. It particularly captured the paradigm of increased freeway investments, which led to a revolt and shift in investment toward the mixed subway/above ground rail system that became Metrorail.
In developing the monograph, Weingroff, a Federal Highway Administration employee, noted that while “many large cities had similar battles, the District of Columbia's constitutional status made the DC Freeway Revolt unique because of frequent congressional involvement that no other city experienced routinely.” Weingroff also found Washington’s struggle notable because it peaked during a period when the region was rapidly growing beyond its urbanized core.
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Federal Development Maps Transportation
Decentralization vs Centralization of Government Employment in the Wash Metro Area
April 2024
2024-04-02
Harland Bartholomew
Document summary coming soon. The original document in PDF is available for review and download. Note: document is undated; it may have been published in 1948.
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Federal Development National Mall and Core Transportation
Report on Future Bridge Crossings
April 2024
2024-04-02
Harland Bartholomew and Associates
Document summary coming soon. The original document in PDF is available for review and download.
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Transportation
