Hess is curatorial associate of “Unbuilt Washington,” an exhibition at the National Building Museum that explores what the District might have looked like if various architectural projects — from the 1790s on — had actually come to fruition.
What’s the biggest “missed opportunity” you came across?
There was one from the 1960s — a bridge over the Washington Channel by Chloethiel Woodard Smith and Associated Architects and it would have connected the southwest waterfront to East Potomac Park. It would have been lined with shops and restaurants and it would have had trolley rides from one side to the other because it was a pedestrian crossing. It really would have enlivened that area of the city that lots of people have been trying to enliven now for decades.
What about an opportunity you’re glad Washington missed out on?
We like to talk about the proposal for the completion of the Washington Monument. For a few decades it was just a stub. They’d only built about two-thirds, and by the time they finally had the money and inclination to finish, it was the Victorian area. So a lot of architects had these proposals to completely cover it in gothic style with gargoyles and other fancy things. There was even the idea of sticking a giant statue of George Washington on top.
What’s the purpose of this exhibit?
One thing we always come back to is nothing in the built environment is inevitable. A lot of people think Washington was predestined to be this neoclassical white marble city with the same architectural style from ancient Rome, but a lot of the proposed projects challenge that.
Where did you find these forgotten projects?
A majority of the original drawings in the show are from the Library of Congress.
— Courtney Zott
