Foggy Bottom Historic District Arts Walking Tour

This tour was curated by: Foggy Bottom Association History Project

Entries on This Tour

1. It's a Bird, a Plane ... No, It's a Mural

Above the roof line of the 7-11 store you'll find a colorful commissioned mural, entitled "Together" of an animated family portrait. The couple and their bulldog are now former residents of the row house. Painted by Washington, D.C. muralist Kelly Towles, it's clear even from a distance this mural makes viewers smile while simultaneously questioning and thinking about what they see. His works show a broad scope of animation by depicting his take on classical portraiture, personified everyday objects, and abstracted figures. Towles mural may be best viewed from the triangular parklet across from the 7-11 store.

2. "Foggy Bottom" Mural - A Color Burst at the Varsity

Busy 24th Street is the outside border of the Foggy Bottom Historic District. The street features four traditional row houses sandwiched between modern apartment buildings, but the "gem of the block" is the mural, "Foggy Bottom." It was painted in 2017 for the Varsity Condo by Aniekan Udofian, a noted D.C. muralist. It captures the area's industrial past and the more recent educational spirit of Foggy Bottom. The mural's central figure is a Mad-Max style glass-blower, a reference to the Glass House, an early Foggy Bottom industry. The vibrant mural also shows factory smoke, the three red stars and stripes of the D.C. flag, George Washington's face and pencils, references to the nearby George Washington University.

3. Put a Little Cast Iron in your Step - Part 1

As you walk through the Historic District, notice the row houses with decorative historic cast iron entry stairs, stoops and railings. As functional art, they feature intricate patterns in the risers and the newel posts. The first stop is 2420 K St. which features jet-Black, well-maintained cast iron entry stairs with a delicate botanical design on the risers.The cast iron patterns for the risers (front of the steps) and newel posts (the posts supporting the handrails) brought architectural detail at a lower price than custom work. The openings in the design patterns helped to reduce the weight of the entry structure. In the days before air-conditioning, the front stoop was the place to sit and visit with neighbors as they walked by.Next door to the yellow row house is No. 2422, the Manila House (b. 1874), and St. Paul's Parish Church (b. 1948). See the "Foggy Bottom Historic District Walking Tour" (links below) for more details on this part of the neighborhood.

4. Put a Little Cast Iron in Your Step - Part 2

Continue down K Street and take a left onto 25th Street. You will pass another architectural cast iron entry at 951 25th Street in dire need of repair, so lets move on. At the white row house with the red door, 909 25th Street, stop enjoy the 'tulip over tulip' riser pattern at the cast iron entryway. The cast iron entry also needs restoration.The row houses on this side of the street (900 block of 25th St.) date from 1879 to 1979, including the tallest house (No. 949). See the "Foggy Bottom Historic District Walking Tour" (links below) for more details on this part of the neighborhood.

5. Work in Motion -- or so It Seems

The impressive sculpture "Gallo Grande" is best viewed from different angles, so take your time looking at it. It was designed at a time when the sculptor, Craig Schaffer, was experimenting with fractal forms. He stated, “The entire sculpture series is based on fractal forms—the shapes created by the ongoing processes of Life, such as the branching of plants to catch the sunlight, the convoluted unfurling of clouds, the formation and fracturing of mountains from the forces within the earth, and the jaggedness of the coastline as it interacts with the sea." Because of the non-linear, reflexive nature of real life, these processes tend to follow spiral paths. So his sculptures all contain spirals that, instead of illustrating any specific phenomenon, grow in the same reflexive manner as real complex systems.The sculpture has weathered well since its initial installation in 2008 for the Foggy Bottom Association's "Arts in Foggy Bottom" Exhibition - it is one of five artworks on this tour that were created for the Arts in Foggy Bottom and purchased as permanent installations.

6. Larger than Life "Garden" Mural

At the River Inn hotel, turn left down the alley past the parking area past the hotel's parking area. On your left you'll see the large flower garden mural. The "Garden" is painted on the rear façade of an historic row house at 923 Hughes Mews. It was created as part of the Arts in Foggy Bottom exhibition in 2014. Artist Elizabeth Graeber painted the image freehand using acrylic interior and exterior house paint. The garden mural seems fitting in an alley where there is little soil to plant a real gardens.Continue past the mural to visit the corner of Hughes Mews, which contains a small and picturesque group of historic alley row houses from the 1880s. The modern square brick house (909 Hughes Mews) replaced a one-story garage in 2002. Note the container garden that surrounds the house and the white sculptures on the roof above the garage door. After you leave the courtyard area, exit Hughes Mews by turning left on Queen Anne's Lane to 26th Street.

7. Albert Paley's Steel Entry Gates

The large renovated house at the corner of 26th and I Streets features forged, fabricated, and painted steel entrance and vehicular gates created by Albert Paley in 1981. The companion gates express forms of burned metal and rough forgings. He shows the possibilities of Blacksmithing with the vertical and low horizontal pieces imprinted with pattern and the large circular shape.Paley was a successful jeweler when he entered the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C.'s national competition in 1974 to design decorative doors for its shop. Winning the competition changed the focus of his work and changed Paley's career. His "Portal Gates" made of brass, steel, copper and bronze, instantly became an icon for the museum and led to numerous commissions, propelling his practice toward monumental architectural ironwork. Paley is probably the best-known for his use of iron as material for his large complex sculptures, furniture, and jewelry.

8. Shapely Sculpture Draws Attention

The etched metal surface of the free-form sculpture, "Nebulous" brightens I Street. Area artist Jeff Chyatte submitted this work for the "Human/Nature" themed Arts in Foggy Bottom Exhibition in 2021. The gracious curves of the sculpture attract us as the hazy surface of the metal distorts our reflection and the play of light. His work mirrors the subtle equilibrium found in nature. He explores the themes of balance, imbalance, and symmetry as he strives to understand human culture through discovery of the relationships between its basic components. Metallurgy and physics guide the artist's design and material choices as he seeks to communicate messages about strength, sustainability, and risk.

9. Mirror, Mirror on the -- Lamp Post

Across the street, at the curve on the parkland corner, stands a multi-mirror sculpture elevated by the trunk of the lamp post. This sculpture is perfectly named for its location, “Watching Post.” Artist Graham Caldwell created and installed it in 2014 as one of the exhibition sculptures in the Arts in Foggy Bottom Biennial event. With its large, small, and medium sized mirrors, it's also highly functional in this corner location. Caldwell picked the lamp post as a location because he liked the scale of the lamp post. According to artist, "he put the mirrors high enough off of the ground so they reflect things at some distance, but low enough that nearby people can see themselves."The juxtaposition of mirrors-in-the-round supported by an historic lamp post and globe adds another layer to this intricate artwork and connects the past with the present. What the many round mirrors can't show is the part of this historic neighborhood that was demolished for the construction of the freeways. The 1960s construction wiped out about one-third of the neighborhood and displaced over 270 families, demolishing row houses, stables, small businesses, and an elementary school between 26th and 28th Streets. Only three modest row houses remain on a truncated I Street, visible on the other side of the freeway.

10. Colorful Cows, the Capitol, and Milk Mural

Just after the lamp post sculpture, turn right on the access road before the first set of row houses on I Street. You can't miss Daniel Zeltner's red, white, blue and Black mural of cows, spilt milk, hearts and the Nation's Capitol. The lead blue cow, with its cow bells and heart-shaped spots, stands on a large red heart and the smaller red cow sitting in a puddle of milk are central figures. But keep looking because there are so many other images to see. The cow's face that turns the corner of the wall adds a touch of dimensional whimsy.Zeltner, who resides in Switzerland, was visiting Washington, D.C. and became friends with the house's owner. He painted it in 2014 at the owner's request.This row house itself (2532 I St.) was built by immigrant Irishman craftsman Peter McCartney in 1889. The interior retains the original mantle that McCartney also designed.

11. Roots Bare All

Dalya Luttwak's sculpture, "Five Tap Roots" reveals what plants prefer and need to conceal - their roots. The small row house garden at 811 25th Street draws our eye to the busy part of plants we can not see. The work was installed as part of the Arts in Foggy Bottom Exhibition in 2014 and originally contained four additional sculptures. The smaller sculptures were returned back to the artist. Her structural plant art takes us on a journey to the life underneath our feet and shares its intricate beauty. Since 2007, she has been working on a series of large-scale metal sculptures that symbolically represent the interwoven root systems of various plants.Luttwak's sculptures are site-specific or site-responsive. Sometimes she gets down on the ground and works from the roots she digs out of the earth -- she is serious about her work. To create a final piece of work, her other skills are tapped to photograph, copy, or draw roots as the basis for her completed work. Her work subtly suggests that viewers dig deep and 'uncover our roots.'This row of six story book houses were built in the 1890s. Their facades are more fanciful than the modest row houses with flat rooflines you've seen in the Foggy Bottom Historic District.

12. The Arc at the ARC Hotel

This shiny steel sculpture takes front and center in the landscaped bed of the ARC Hotel, renovated in 2018. California-based artist Randy Doering was approached by hotel management to create a sculpture to represent its brand identity. And the outcome is the fluid shiny sculpture designed to mimic the hotel's logo. The substrate for the work is a dimensional sculpture constructed of 316 marine grade stainless steel with a mirror finish. One of the hotel's principals shared his long term vision on the hotel. He was inspired by the terms “Arch" and “Arches” which are examples of a strong building method and signify stability, optimum design, efficiency and strength to survive the test of time. Doering checked all their boxes with his creation.The hotel began its life as the Channel House Apartments in 1960 and stands out amidst the historic row houses. It has plans to reopen its street entry restaurant in 2023.

13. Sculptures at the Watergate

Walking out of the Historic District, you can continue to appreciate area art by heading to the Watergate Complex. At the corner of 25th and H Streets, cross Virginia Avenue to the Watergate lower level. In the courtyard area you'll see a variety of sculptures and artwork. Dale Johnson, owner of Watergate Gallery and Frame Design, supports a diverse group of artists by exhibiting their work in the open space. The sculptures change, but there are always several pieces on display.By now, you might want to take a break from all you have seen. You can stop at one of the places in the lower courtyard or head back to street level and try Tazza Cafe on New Hampshire Avenue across from the side steps of the Kennedy Center. Or head back to Circa, Tonic/Quigley, GW Deli, or any of the restaurants in the Foggy Bottom/GWU area.As you walked through the Historic District and it peaked your curiosity about he narrow modest row houses and neighborhood history, try our "Foggy Bottom Historic District Walking Tour" (see link below). Use your phone, tablet, or desktop to visit the 19 stops and learn about the Historic District's people, lifestyles, history, art, and architecture. The tour tracks the neighborhood’s transition from working class in the 1870s to its current status. Each stop features a summary, descriptive details, images from past to present, and sources for additional information. Thank you so much for selecting this walking tour. Our Foggy Bottom Historic District Walking tours show that this once industrial neighborhood, which was saved from destruction, now has much to offer. We hope you will return often to walk the tree-lined streets as they change with the seasons.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Foggy Bottom Historic District Arts Walking Tour

Created by FBA History Project on January 17th 2022, 8:39:00 pm.

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Description

Murals, sculpture, and art in the Foggy Bottom Historic District. This tour features commissioned works and art installed as part of the Arts in Foggy Bottom Biennial Exhibitions. The tour can be viewed from the comfort of your home -- but many of the art pieces are site specific so we suggest you walk the tour as well. Viewing the art "in person" provides a sense of the art's scale and relationship to its surroundings.

Entries on This Tour

Foggy Bottom Historic District Arts Walking Tour

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