Adolf Cluss School in Limbo
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | July 8, 2010
Adolf Cluss' Franklin School in Washington, D.C., was last restored in 1992.
Credit: Adolf Cluss Project
In 1880, Alexander Graham Bell stood atop a castle-like school in Washington, D.C., to test one of his inventions, an early fiber-optic device known as the "photophone."
Today that school building is empty and deteriorating. The District of Columbia owns the Franklin School, designed in 1869 by German-born architect Adolf Cluss. For the past seven months, city officials have been considering proposals for the school's future. The National Historic Landmark was last used as a homeless shelter.
"There's water on the top floor, and there are broken windows or open windows," says Joe Browne, chairman of the steering committee of the Coalition for Franklin School, whose members toured the building last November. "Because there's no climate control, [an] original mural is deteriorating fast."
Of the 89 buildings designed by Cluss, only 11 still stand. Cluss' Eastern Market on Capitol Hill was revived after a devastating 2007 fire, but the Franklin School in the city's downtown, and the Arts and Industries Building on the National Mall stand neglected.
"The city is aware of people's discontent about its stewardship of historic buildings," says Rebecca Miller, executive director of the DC Preservation League, which listed the Franklin School as one the city's most endangered historic places in 2004 and again in 2005. "[The Franklin School] is on a prominent square, so people really notice it."
Officials have debated a solution for the Franklin School for about a decade. In 2005, the city approved a developer's proposal to turn the school into a boutique hotel; however, that plan stalled. The homeless shelter closed in 2008, leaving the 14-classroom school vacant. Last fall, the city issued a request for proposals, due Jan. 19, 2010, but has not yet made a decision. (The city's Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development did not respond to requests for comment.)
The school is one of just 13 historic buildings in the nation's capital with a landmarked interior. Unfortunately, this protection does not require the city to uphold any maintenance standard. The city's Prevention of the Demolition of Historic Buildings by Neglect Amendment Act of 1999 officially prevents owners from neglecting such properties, but the law "is very difficult to enforce," Miller says.
A city-commissioned study in 2002 estimated that restoration of the Franklin School would cost $22 million. Eight years later, that estimate could be much higher.
"The interior is going to be really expensive to rehab because of the deterioration," Miller says. "I've heard from many developers that it's a very difficult site to make work, so the city would have to make a tremendous investment in the building."
Browne's group wants to see the building restored to its original use as a school, and submitted a proposal to the city in January detailing that idea.
"If the building were converted to a hotel, then it's lost," Browne says. "There would be no way of regaining that building for practical purposes. It's a very important decision that the city has to make."
For more photos, stories, and tips, subscribe to the print edition of Preservation magazine.
Subscribe to the Today's News RSS feed
Comments
Submitted by Miriam at: July 19, 2010
A city's identity is considerably formed by its history. Or, Franklin School tells us so many things about Washington's past: the care of a city's administration for the education of future citizens, the development of public education, the importance of school buildings for a city's infrastructure and urban planning, and much more. Don't pass up this single opportunity to preserve this important authentic landmark where residents and visitors can look and feel the city's past!
Submitted by Esteban at: July 19, 2010
This building is a school and there are DC charter schools educating kids in church basements and in non-metro accessible run-down buildings on the edge of the city. The city wants to turn Franklin School into a boutique hotel. What's wrong with this picture?
Submitted by AOI of DC at: July 18, 2010
As the District of Columbia's oldest civic organization, the Association of the Oldest Inhabitants of the District of Columbia is extremely concerned about the deteriorating conditions at the Franklin School and have called upon city officials to ensure the building's safety but to also return it to the public inventory for use as an educational institution. We applaud the National Trust for getting behind this initiative.
Submitted by bill at: July 18, 2010
The DC Govt desperately needs tax revenue producing real estate on its rolls. If a public or semi-public use occurs with regard to the future Franklin School, how will those revenue needs be met?
Submitted by Charles at: July 18, 2010
The Franklin School is a very important D.C. property and should be retained for contiued educational use.
Submitted by Alan Lessoff at: July 18, 2010
I am an urban historian who has written about nineteenth-century Washington and co-edited the 2005 book on Adolf Cluss. We of course at times exaggerate the importance of this or that building, but the Franklin School truly is a major landmark worth going to great lengths to preserve and bring back into use. It is a highly significant representative of late-nineteenth-century Washington as well as of the reform of urban public education after the Civil War.
Submitted by John at: July 18, 2010
Since the D.C. government initiated a bid process and appears to be serious about a responsible future for this marvelous old building, isn't there any way to demand accountability from D.C. about its own process?
Submitted by Judy at: July 18, 2010
Please help us put pressure on the Fenty administration to save this landmark building.
Submitted by Jerry A. McCoy, Washingtoniana Division, DC Public Library at: July 18, 2010
I have been privileged to tour this incredible structure from basement to attic. I hope an adaptive reuse can be arrived at that will preserve its important interior.
Submitted by Kesh at: July 18, 2010
I would hope that we did not save this glorious building from demolition in the 1970s only to see it destroyed by neglect and misuse. DC spent $62 million renovating the Phelps school; surely we can invest the money necessary to renovate the Franklin and restore it for educational purposes.
Submitted by Cornelia Jane at: July 15, 2010
I am a lifelong Washingtonian. In a city known mostly for stone buildings, we need to preserve these beautiful remnants of our red-brick architecture days.
Submitted by Brian at: July 9, 2010
Certainly sounds interesting and I agree it would be a shame if the inside was gutted for the hotel if it has survived this long.