AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington, D.C. (Paperback)

~ G. Martin Moeller Jr. (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Accessible to architects and tourists alike, and perhaps especially locals." -- Jamie Hammon, Roll Call

"Although the guide is designed for the pedestrian, all but the most tireless trekkers will want to use the Metro subway system to get to at least some of the sites." -- Lori D. Kranz, Bloomsbury Review

Product Description

The fourth edition of the venerable AIA guide to Washington's architecture offers tourists, residents, and architecture aficionados insights into nearly 400 of the city's most important architectural landmarks, organized into 19 discrete tours. All entries carried over from the previous edition, published in 1994, have been thoroughly rewritten, and scores of entries have been added. This edition includes notable new structures such as the National Museum of the American Indian, as well as the classics that epitomize the city -- the White House, the Capitol, Union Station -- plus a number of private structures that are sometimes overlooked, including houses designed by Walter Gropius and Richard Neutra.

G. Martin Moeller Jr. blends informed, concise descriptions with lively commentary on each landmark, revealing often surprising details of the building's history and design. Every entry is accompanied by a photograph and includes the structure's location, the names of the architects and designers responsible for the building and any major alterations, and the corresponding dates of completion. Each entry is keyed to a new, easy-to-read map at the beginning of the tour.

From the imposing monuments of Capitol Hill and the Mall to the pastoral suburban enclaves of Foxhall and Cleveland Park, and from small memorials to vast commercial and institutional complexes, this guide shows us a Washington that is at once excitingly fresh and comfortably familiar.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press; 4th edition (October 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801884683
• ISBN-13: 978-0801884689
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #91,200 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great guide to Washington for anyone, July 3, 2007

By	Mark M "Mark M" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

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.)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a difference!, January 25, 2007

By	Katherine Rogers (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This guide is a tremendous improvement. The attention to detail is impressive, the guide is timely and VERY informative. I particularly liked the images with each entry. A basic concept and a welcome addition to this edition.

This guide is a must for MD/DC/VA natives, particularly to share with visitors so they can customize their own walking tours.

4.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars for content; 2 for photography..., July 18, 2008

By	M. Allen (iowa city, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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?