Historic Buildings That Influenced Contemporary Design

Join acclaimed D.C.-based architect Phil A. Esocoff, FAIA, for a look at four buildings that respond to their immediate and neighborhood contexts in sometimes surprising ways.  Esocoff should know; he worked on each of them at different times during his 44-year career.  The walk includes interior tours of two of the sites visited.

D.C. Landmarks from the 19th and 20th Centuries

See how a condominium building Escocoff designed in the Shaw Historic District pays tribute both to the poetry of Walt Whitman, who lived nearby during the Civil War, and the still-standing former home of Senator Blanche K. Bruce, the first Black man to serve a full term in the Senate. 

Notice how a contemporary residence grandly responds to the scale and formality of Massachusetts Avenue, one of Washington’s historic boulevards.  

Discover how a commercial office building incorporates a landmark structure in downtown—and how its Art Deco details were preserved and restored.

Architectural Tour Highlights

The walk will visit:

     - The Whitman, a condominium erected in 2006 (interior tour)

     - Quincy Court (2007) and Quincy Park Lofts (2005), two residential buildings overlooking Samuel Gompers Memorial Park

     - Ten Ten Mass, built in 2007 as a residential building with ground floor retail

     - The landmarked 1939 Greyhound Terminal building and its 1991 counterpart (interior tour)

Philip Esocoff, FAIA, has practiced architecture in the nation’s capital for over thirty years, and is a recognized authority on urban planning and architectural design.  His award-winning projects include Senate Square in D.C.’s H Street corridor, The Jefferson in Penn Quarter, 2401 Pennsylvania Avenue in Foggy Bottom, and diplomatic housing for the Peoples Republic of China in Kalorama. Esocoff received his professional education at the University of Pennsylvania and at the Architectural Association, London, and has been inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects.  He is married to D.C.-based architect, Amy Weinstein, FAIA.