Renewal and Loss
- on Fourth Street was the first new structu re to open in the redeveloped Southwest. Originally called Capitol Park, the complex of high-rise and townhouse residences was designed by Chloethiel Woodard Smith of Satterlee and Smith.Smith was one of the visionary architects and planners who campaigned to start over again with a blank canvas in Southwest. Critics hailed Capitol Park as a “beautiful building, inside and out,”noting its inspiring views of the Capitol and the Washington Monument. Smith won awards for her creative design (efficiencies had a “folding wall” to create a separate bedroom) and materials.Soon she was the leading choice for designing other new Southwest buildings. Capitol Park replaced Dixon Court,a set of alleys inside the block bordered by Third,Fourth,H,and I streets.For years the press and social reformers presented Dixon Court as a blighted environment that incubated crime and disease.Its tiny houses, lacking plumbing and green spaces,were chroni- cally overcrowded and in need of repair.Yet when the court was the first to be demolished in , a close-knit urban community whose neighbors had worked together and watched out for one another was also destroyed. The relocati on of , Southwesters was an enormous job. Ma ny who were financially able left Southwest when urban renewal plans became public. Workers with the Redevelopment Land Agency helped others find affordable housing.In the Washington Housing Associationreported that percent of those displaced had moved to Southeast, percent to Northeast, and percent to Northwest.Only percent returned to South- west,with its higher prices.
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker