User:Billiardsteve
The Kennedy-Warren
[edit]Opened in 1931, the Kennedy-Warren is an historic art deco apartment building located in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Washington, DC. Located adjacent to the National Zoo on Connecticut Avenue, the building has been the home of such notable figures as Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson.
History
[edit]In 1930, builders Edgar S. Kennedy and Monroe Warren, Sr. commissioned Joseph Younger to design an art deco apartment residence for a plot of land in upper northwest Washington, DC. The original plans included a north and south wing as high as twelve stories along with luxurious features never before seen in the Washington area. The building featured its own restaurant, and was designed with Washington's first air-conditioned apartments. Utilizing the cool air from deep within Rock Creek Park, the Kennedy-Warren had massive fans that drew that air from the park and up into its residences.
Construction of the north tower was completed in mid-1931, and the Kennedy-Warren opened with 317 air-cooled apartments on October 1st. But the Great Depression caused owners/builders Kennedy and Warren to fall into bankruptcy, halting contstruction of the south wing. The B.F. Saul Company took control of the Kennedy-Warren following the bankruptcy, and has managed the building ever since. In the mid-1990's the B.F. Saul Company decided to complete the original design and build the south wing. In 2002, Hartman-Cox Architects began the construction of the new south wing closely adhereing to the original 1930's design. Though the residences were built larger than those in the north (now called the "historic") wing, the new design incorporated many of the art deco features that brought the Kennedy-Warren into popularity in the 1930's. The architects had aluminum and stone castings specially made to match exactly those on the historic wing. Decorative aluminum also covers the main entryway and is used extensively in the grand lobby.