11 Most Endangered
St. Elizabeths Hospital
Year Listed:
Location: District of Columbia
Current Status: Endangered
Threat:
It may be the most famous mental hospital in America. But now Washington, D.C.'s St. Elizabeths Hospital, a sprawling 300-acre complex that dates back to the 1850s and has housed such illustrious residents as John Hinckley and the poet Ezra Pound, is also one of the most endangered. This National Historic Landmark, which at one time included a railroad, bakery, greenhouse and an impressive collection of Victorian and Colonial Revival buildings, is crumbling, and a shrinking patient population has left many historically significant structures vacant.
Update
The National Trust, the DC Preservation League, the Committee of 100 on the Federal City, the National Park Service, the National Coalition to Save Our Mall, the Commission of Fine Arts, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the DC Historic Preservation Office produced a consensus report (link below) detailing where new development might be appropriately sited, designed and scaled at St. Elizabeths.
Unfortunately, GSA proceeded to present its master plan for St. Elizabeths to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission without taking into account the recommendations of the consensus report. Both commissions heard passionate testimony against the current proposal from the preservation coalition and private individuals. On October 18th, the Commission of Fine Arts commented unfavorably on the submission and encouraged GSA to scale back its proposed density. On November 1st, the National Capital Planning Commission unanimously directed GSA to develop a master plan alternative with a maximum of 2.5 million square feet above ground.
