April 21, 2006
Meeting on Fate of MLK Library
There's no question that something needs to be done with the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, which, after 30 years of neglect and mismanagement, is in about as good a shape as a D.C. group house populated solely by young men in their first two years out of college. The carpet is threadbare, nothing works like it's supposed to, and it's really a pretty depressing place to read. Not exactly qualities you hope for in a big city library.
The building itself, however, was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the leading modernist architect in the entire friggin' world. It's not only the only Mies in our nation's capital, it's the only library Mies ever designed. That the building is an architectural landmark is not in dispute. What is to be done with building, on the other hand, now is. And Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at the library, located at 901 G Street, NW, there will be a public hearing to listen to community feedback on the fate of the library. Council-member Kathy Patterson is slated to appear. Call the D.C. Council's Committee on Education, Libraries, and Recreation at 202-724-8195 and if you'd like to register to speak at the meeting.
It's one of those terribly complicated District planning issues, but the bottom line is this: In one camp, you've got D.C. Mayor Williams, who appointed a task force last year to look into overhauling the entire library system for the city. Since then, he has been convinced that the MLK Library is not viable, and would like permission to lease it out for 99 years to a private entity to be determined later. The proceeds would then be used to help pay for the aquisition and construction of a new, smaller main library at the old convention center. In the other camp, you've got architectural, cultural and historic preservationists, as well as longtime District residents, who would like to see the Mies building restored and preserved for, if not its original, at the very least a public, purpose.
ANC 2C01 Commissioner Alex Padro has drafted a lengthy letter in favor of finding some way to save the MLK Library.
Our city has been able to find a way to fund what will ultimately be a $1 billion dollar baseball stadium. We need to similarly agree to renovate a landmark building that houses an institution that is both a tribute to one of the most important leaders our country has ever known, an institution intended to uplift and enrich all of our citizens, at a cost that is comparable to constructing a building of the same size as we currently own.He continues:
Selling or leasing the space allotted for a new library on the old Convention Center site and using the proceeds to help pay for renovating the MLK Library makes far more sense. Together with income from renting out space for special events, a cafe and bookstore in the building, and leasing out excess space in the MLK Library if indeed less space is needed than the renovated building would offer would also help offset the cost of renovations, making it possible for the Council and a new mayor (Williams is not running for reelection, and his term ends this year) to move forward and transform the current library into the 21st century learning and cultural center that our city deserves, preserving Mies' legacy.
For more information on the signifcance of the building and the issues involved in saving it, please also see these extensive breakdowns by local blogger and art critic Kriston Capps, who will be penning an Opinionist of his own on this very issue on Sunday.
What do you think should be done with the MLK Library?
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Please show up and make your voice heard, no matter what your opinions on the current/future MLK library. We need to be sure that the community's voices are heard on this important issue - one that goes far beyond arguments about architecture (i.e. the quality of the main and branch libraries - currently in shambles at best, etc.).
And if you can roll out of bed early, the Woodridge, Capitol View, Francis A. Gregory, and Chevy Chase branches are closed on Saturday for a "Fix It Up" campaign from 9am - 2pm. Unfortunately many us will have to cut the volunteering a bit short to make the meeting at MLK, and I'll apologize in advance for looking so scruffy tomorrow.
I love this building externally, I just wish it weren't so terrible inside. When DC originally got Mies van der Rohe to design the building, it was considered a major coup for the city, which has not had a prestigious architectural history. It would be a major step backward if we lost this structure...
Restore it as a public building.
Mabye start a campaign to get the (overly-politicized) HPRB to landmark it, as they recently did another notable building less than 50 years old, the Watergate.
this building is ugly inside and out, and if it means raising money for an updated, improved library system in other parts of the city, i'm all for leasing it out
I've heard a compelling argument to turn the MLK library building into a school for the performing arts, which I think is a good idea. The space seems like it would be great for that sort of thing, and it could be a real draw to performing arts students across the country.
It's the ugliest building around town- but it's in a great location. I'm with TCS. Use the lease money to improve the library system.
It is an eyesore.
And when you walk by it reeks of urine thanks to the homeless who use the "historically designed" street-level overhang area as a shelter.
I vote wrecking-ball.
not prestigious?
you mean not avant-garde.
take a look around. the plain, dirty-looking unkempt buildings are the modernist ones which are difficult to maintain and not loved more than several years by their tenants and owners
pretige is not beauty
I hate the building and the modernist architect that it represents. I agree with richwise. Take a wrecking-ball to the damn thing.
I don't mean to sound dismissive, but what is archeticturally significant about this building?
I know he's a famous architech, but did he have a bad day, or is its beauty lost on me?
I just don't see it...
Gary,
Be dismissive. I never saw the appeal of this ugly building. Even in college when taking an art history course I was told this building was the model of the modernist movement. I didn't care then and don't care now. Its horrible and needs to go.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is known in Chicago for his ugly leaking buildings...and we have a classic example. Bulldoze it.
Well, obviously I am in the minority here, but I still like this building. I like that is black in a maze of beige. I like the lack of ornamentation. I like the big broad expanse of windows. And yes, I even like the frickin' overhang. In a fairly staid (and increasingly monotonous) neighborhood, this building stands out. (Pepco building, aside.)
I realize that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But just because something is out of fashion, designwise, doesn't mean it should be paved over. If we stuck to that premise, all of the marvelous old buildings we now cherish in this city would have been trashed long ago. In fact, that sort of thinking is how we lost so many others. Even if you don't care for this building, I would like to suggest keeping an open mind. Thanks.
bulldoz it and sell the land
The library, I'm sure, has a copy of "The Emperor's New Clothes," and I think the most instructive thing would be for everyone to go re-read that book and consider it an allegorical piece representing the building and modern architecture as a whole. A whole generation of trendy arts dilettantes dares not criticize ugly modernist dumps for fear of looking unsophisticated.
What irritates me most about the MLK library are the staircases, which remind me mostly of a parking garage. (In fact, much of the interior brick seems inspired by parking garages.) Of the doors in the stairwells, there's no distinction between doors that lead you to the places you're trying to get to and those that lead to "off limits" places. In fact, they all look like they'll lock behind you, leaving you trapped.
The staircases are so uninviting, I think, because van der Rohe probably thought everyone would ride the elevators. The modernists had an unfounded faith in technology--stairs are so old-fashioned! And natural light, too--modern, high-tech fluorescent lights are the way of the future! We now know that this makes for a most ungraceful aging.
If the building isn't going to be torn down, perhaps there's a way for the building's supporters to use it: a headquarters for the modernist architecture fan club, if you will. And let the library move to a better building.
There already is a school for performing arts, located in Georgetown/Glover Park, called the Duke Ellington School for the Performing Arts. It is in the beautiful structure formerly known as Western High School.
Pave MLK.