DCPL CONSIDERED ISSUES REFERRING TO ESTABLISHMENT OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MUSEUM OF AMERICA
DeFacto Agency
2008-09-23 17:08:00
Armenia
YEREVAN, 23.09.08. DE FACTO. The District of Columbia Preservation
League (DCPL) convened its annual membership meeting September 18, at
the site of the Armenian Genocide Museum of America (AGMA), formerly
the National Bank of Washington. DCPL strongly supported the proposals
prepared by the architects of the AGMA project for the renovation of
the landmark building at the corner of 14th and G Streets, two blocks
from the White House. The plans for AGMA were approved earlier this
year by the DC Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) and the DC
Board of Zoning Adjustment.
Addressing an audience of over 150 guests were Rebecca Miller,
DCPL Executive Director, John D. Billingham, DCPL Board of Trustees
President, Dr. Rouben Adalian, Armenian National Institute Director,
and Gary Martinez, project architect with the firm of Martinez &
Johnson Architecture.
Thanking the AGMA for hosting its annual meeting, DCPL President
Billingham said: "It’s a wonderful building and it is really good to
see that the Armenian Genocide Museum is going to put it back into
a use that we can all benefit from." At the regulatory hearing of
the HBRB held in March 2008, DCPL representative Patrick Burkhardt
characterized the complementary efforts to construct the AGMA as well
as restore the historic building a "textbook marriage" of purpose
and use.
Following President Bellingham, Dr. Adalian responded by saying:
"I want to thank the League for its support and encouragement of
this ground-breaking project, a project dedicated to the importance
and values of human rights and the universal message of our common
humanity and collective responsibility."
Martinez explained to the audience how the historic building will be
renovated and expanded, and added that Dr. Adalian and all those who
are actively building this museum "are very sensitive, and I have to
say this from an architect’s point of view; they are very sensitive to
the issues of restoration and preservation for the existing building."
To note, the National Bank of Washington, previously the
Federal-American National Bank, was built in 1925-26. The building was
designed by nationally prominent bank and skyscraper architect Alfred
C. Bossom in association with distinguished Washington architect Jules
Henri De Sibour, the city’s leading practitioner of the Beaux-Arts
style. The building’s design incorporates a number of innovative
interior and exterior features, most notably the elevated two-story
banking hall, which is one of only twelve landmarked interiors in
the city of Washington.
The mission of the DCPL is to preserve, protect, and enhance the
historic built environment of Washington, DC, through advocacy and
education.
The Armenian Genocide Museum of America is an outgrowth of the
Armenian Assembly of America and the Armenian National Institute
(ANI), catalyzed by the initial pledge of Anoush Mathevosian toward
building such a museum in Washington, DC.