The historic Kennedy-Warren, which sits majestically on Connecticut Avenue on the edge of Rock Creek Park, has been called the finest art deco apartment building ever built in Washington, with its imposing vertical facade and gleaming aluminum marquee entrance.
And now it's even finished.
THE KENNEDY-WARREN: The 1930s design of the Connecticut Avenue complex included the just-finished wing on the right.
(Photos Michael Temchine For The Washington Post)
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A nine-story wing that was called for in the original 1930s design of the apartment complex has just been completed on the south side of the building. The new wing, which accounts for more than a third of the entire complex, was part of architect Joseph Younger's original plan for the Kennedy-Warren. The owners went bankrupt in the Depression, though, and the wing wasn't built. Now that it's complete, the building at 3133 Connecticut Ave. NW has a newfound symmetry.
"It's always been a dream of the Saul family to finish it," said David Newcome, vice president of the B.F. Saul Property Co., which has owned the Kennedy-Warren since taking it over after the bankruptcy of original owners Edgar Kennedy and Monroe Warren Sr. in 1931. "It took 73 years, but we did it." The new wing was built largely according to the original design, with features such as the aluminum spandrels, set between the windows, that help give the building its distinctive vertical feel. The bricks of the new wing were hand-made to match the tans and oranges of the existing building. Newcome said the new structure cost about $45 million to build, making it one of the most expensive apartment buildings in Washington.
Opposition to the addition from some of the building's tenants and neighbors delayed the start of construction by several years. The Saul company made concessions to the tenants, including rent rebates during construction and improvements to the old building such as roof repairs and new carpet, to get the project through government approvals.
The Kennedy-Warren Residents Association is still in litigation with the management over how replacement windows in the old building will be paid for. But even though some residents have a contentious relationship with their landlord, the old Kennedy-Warren is a place that makes even those tenants feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
The impressive complex was built in an Aztec art deco design, also known as pueblo deco, an architectural sub-style of the late 1920s and early 1930s that was used mostly in the American Southwest for movie theaters, hotels and public buildings. The Kennedy-Warren's features include Aztec eagles carved into limestone in the facade; the use of aluminum outside, in the marquee entrance, and for the railings and balustrades; elevator doors with inserts of brass, copper and other metals; a 20-foot lobby ceiling with beams painted in a zigzag pattern of gold and pastels; and a pyramid copper tile roof.
"There are two art deco buildings that are outstanding in Washington," said historian James M. Goode, author of "Best Addresses," a guide to Washington's most distinguished apartment buildings. "One is the interior of the Justice Department and the other is the Kennedy-Warren." "Best Addresses" lists the Kennedy-Warren as one of the top 10 apartment buildings in the nation's capital.
The new wing adds 114 luxury apartments to the complex, ranging from studios to two-bedrooms with dens. Rents are among the highest in the District, from $2,100 to $8,000 a month. Many of the new apartments are larger units, said Kennedy-Warren general manager Tanya Marhefka, because B.F. Saul found it often had waiting lists for the building's bigger units.
There is also a health club in the new building with an indoor heated lap pool, steam saunas and exercise rooms, a conference room, and a small lobby, which echoes the design of the building's main lobby.
As part of the project, the main lobby of the Kennedy-Warren was renovated and a piano bar added off the lobby. The main dining room, which seats 200, was restored as a room that can be rented out for large public functions. The building's art deco step-down ballroom, the only ballroom in an apartment house in Washington, remains unused.
At the moment, though, it's still the old Kennedy-Warren -- what the owners prefer to call the historic wing -- that holds a special place in the hearts of many residents.
"I love the ambiance of the place," said Lee Cohen, who has lived in a two-bedroom with his wife for 10 years and has no plans to move. "We have one of the nicest apartments in Washington."
The historic building, with its 319 units and 33 floor plans, has attracted such notable tenants over the years as then-Rep. Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird Johnson; Harry Hopkins, a personal adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt; and the wives of 29 generals and admirals stationed overseas during World War II. H.R. Haldeman, an aide to President Richard Nixon during the Watergate years, also lived in the building.
