The D.C. Preservation League is seeking nominations for its 15th annual Most Endangered Places List. Miller, the league’s executive director, explains what the listing does for the city. Are there specific kinds of buildings you are looking for?
There are not specific types. It can be pretty much anything that is a landscape, any kind of structure.
Have any been saved once they got on the list?
Certainly. One of the early buildings was the city hall, the Wilson Building. Our list advocacy led to the D.C. government purchasing it back and rehabbing it. Also, we have the D.C. War Memorial, which is under restoration and rehabilitation as we speak.
What building from past lists are you most excited to get fixed up?
Oh, goodness. Well, I’ve worked on the D.C. War Memorial for seven years, so that was pretty exciting for us. … Some other buildings are The Maples up on Capitol Hill. It’s one of the oldest structures in the city, and they’ve just gone through the Historic Preservation Review Board and was previously pretty derelict.
So what’s going to happen to it now?
It’s going to be rehabilitated into condos. And there will be some additions that will be put on the South Carolina [Avenue] side. That was only on the list a few years ago.
Are there any buildings that have been lost even once on the list?
We have some things that have not had really much attention brought to them, such as the Holt House, which is owned by the Smithsonian properties. It’s up by the National Zoo.
When you go out of town, do you seek out historic buildings?
I do, actually. I am going to Napa. I am going to visit a few historic wineries. I spend a great deal of my time going to historic buildings. I travel a lot to Europe. … So I love doing it. I’m very lucky.
Kytja Weir
