8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great guide to Washington for anyone, July 3, 2007
This review is from: AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington, D.C. (Paperback)
A confession: I'm not a big architecture afficionado and had never heard of the AIA or its guides before my in-laws gave me this book, but I do live in Washington and am always looking for new sources of info about the city. This is a great overall guide to DC, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone ranging from locals to tourists.
Why? This book is great for three main reasons.
First, it's a great source of history about the big picture of DC and its most prominent areas as well as the nooks and crannies of the city. At the same time, that history isn't presented in an overwhelming way that makes the reader feel as if s/he is preparing for a high school history test. And even the minutiae that it contains are really pretty interesting, partly due to the high quality of the writing (more on this below.)
Second, it does a great job of organizing the city and guiding the reader through the different areas. All guide books break down the city into areas to some extent, but I often wonder if the writers have actually spent much time in DC. One can always quibble about where certain neighborhoods begin and end, but this book is far better than most and gives a good feel for what the actual areas are really like and how they got that way.
Finally, it's a great source of architectural info about tons of buildings throughout the city. Although I live here, it turns out that I've often walked past many notable buildings without a second glance. Now, not all of these buildings are notable for their strengths (which is one of the fun features of the book - it includes some dogs along with the highlights), but what I've found having read through much of this book is that I now notice some of the more subtle features of the buildings that the book points out.
Best of all, the book is eminently readable, so much so that I have actually used it as bedtime reading to get some entertaining history and insight into my neighborhood - what other guidebook have you done that with? And many of the descriptions are really fun (e.g. the Kennedy Center is what would happen if a "Las Vegas developer were to open a casino under the theme of 'Palace of the Soviets'" since it exhibits a "hefty dose of Stalinist bombast") or at least interesting (e.g. the Eccles Building of the Federal Reserve is "uncomfortably reminiscent of the...work of Albert Speer.")
Now, the book isn't an ideal guidebook since it naturally doesn't include (many) hotels, restaurants or detailed descriptions of the contents of, for example, the National Gallery. But for the first, you only need one rather than a long list, so find it online and skip the rest (assuming you're a tourist since locals don't need that info at all - unless you need someplace to put up your in-laws.) For the second, use Fodor's CityGuide Washington. The last is best available at a place like the National Gallery itself.
Get the Fodor's CityGuide and this book, and you've got a ton of things to explore whether you live here or are just visiting. For visitors, that combination would be more interesting, informative and entertaining than almost any other guidebook on the market for DC (and this book would be great reading if you've got a long trip to DC from, for example, the west coast or Europe.)
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
5 stars for content; 2 for photography..., July 18, 2008
This review is from: AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington, D.C. (Paperback)
this is a remarkable book--it is a must for anyone curious about the architecture of our nation's capitol (and even the briefest walk around town will make one curious). the selections are interesting and very well written; the reviews are largely objective and that was a relief. one major flaw in this book is the lack of good or appropriate photography to support the descriptions--i found myself confused when reading descriptions of buildings i wasn't standing right in front of and trying to decipher what i was supposed to see in the photo provided. for such an exceptional architectural guide, the author should really consider splurging on better and more descriptive photos! i thought setting up the guide along suggested walking routes was helpful as well.
one more thing--why no comment or information on that odd and misplaced structure stuck on to the side of the washington monument?
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Sahara of the Beaux-Arts!, March 23, 2008
This review is from: AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington, D.C. (Paperback)
Of course, Washington DC is known for immense neo-classicism, designed by the country's (and the world's) most important Beaux-Arts architects. This guide does a nice job of presenting the impressive array of neo-classical structures to the reader. The book is really quite good. The essays are well written, for the most part. Editorializing is kept to a minimum, which is nice considering the stark emotions Washington DC is able to inspire. The building selection is also good, with a nice balance between neo-classicism and modernism. I wish the authors had spent a little less time on the neo-classical theme and fleshed out federal Georgetown more. An excursion to Alexandria would have been nice too. I know, you can't have it all.
Most of the photography is off-the-shelf and is characteristically mundane, though practical.
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