1357 Good Hope Heads to Auction

Last call for conscientious developers and investors: 1357 Good Hope, the oldest existing commercial building east of 13th Street, is being auctioned off at 11AM next Wednesday on site. For the auction listing, Click Here


the proposed building for the site: unattractive and totally wrong in the "entrance to the historic district" context. corrugated metal and MLK Salvation Army vibes

I hope that the auction will draw bidders who see the value in the existing structure. However, the sellers are marketing it as a tear-down, pointing out the unfortunate fact that it is not in the existing historic district (it sits directly on the boundary) for why it should be demolished.


the corner entrance from the exterior, all boarded up...


...and the opposite view, looking out from the inside. The tin ceiling is completely intact, many of the original windows remain behind the boards, and the full glass door with sidelights is pretty baller

I had the chance to check out the interior the other day for the first time and fell in love with the place in a completely new way. Here is a building that's been abandoned for a few decades, but hasn't suffered through any catastrophic events or deteriorated aside for a lot of flaking paint. It has two upstairs apartments, and a largely intact first floor store with original detailing.


just inside the 14th street door is this old two-piece phone for calling the apartments on the second floor


the building is only one portion of the property. Also included is this large lot and another building in the rear

I'm not the most hard-core preservationist there is, but certain pieces of the historic fabric of places need to remain in place for there to be a cultural context. If there were other buildings like this in the same location, it would be a different story. Tearing this building down will erase an important gateway to Historic Anacostia.

Crossing my fingers that someone awesome buys this.

See Also: Campaign to Save 1357 Good Hope