MLK Library Now a Protected Landmark

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LOVERS OF WASHINGTON'S neoclassical architecture usually think that D.C.'s central public library, named for Martin Luther King Jr., is an modernist eyesore. But the District's only building designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, one of the giants of 20th century architecture, is a favorite for those who like structures that deviate from the norm.

The building, one of the first to honor King, has been a topic of conversation in preservation circles over the past year as plans were floated by then-D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams to replace the neglected library with a new structure as part of a mixed-used development on the site of the former Washington Convention Center a few blocks away.

This morning, there's news, relayed by Life in Mount Vernon Square, that the library has been granted landmark status by the D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board. That means that the demolition or significant alteration to the exterior or ground-floor public spaces is prohibited.

Recently, D.C.'s chief financial officer, Natwar Gandhi, warned D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and D.C. Council members that D.C.'s borrowing levels could irk Wall Street, threatening future publicly financed development, including a soccer stadium at Poplar Point and a new central public library.

Just as Fenty has shelved plans for a new central library, renovations have begun at MLK, as the Examiner reported this week. The only work slated, though, $2 million for restroom, lighting and technical upgrades. That's pretty modest, considering what's necessary to make the library a distinguished structure again.

Now that MLK is has been declared a historic building, wouldn't it be great to bring back the original furniture, pictured at top, that was on the library's ground floor?

» "D.C. Diary: Diving Into Library Rhetoric" [Free Ride/Express]
» "New Library Chief Pushes Relocation Plan" [Free Ride/Express]
» "MLK Library Declared Landmark" [Life in Mount Vernon Square]
» "By the Numbers: D.C.'s Borrowing" [Free Ride/Express]
» "D.C. Public Library to Begin Renovations at MLK Memorial" [Examiner]

Top photo courtesy DCPL Collection, D.C. Community Archives, Washingtoniana Division, D.C. Public Library; photo at left by Michael Grass/Express