Crystal Heights
Encyclopedia
Crystal Heights or Crystal City was a proposal by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright
for a hotel, apartment, and shopping complex in Washington, D.C.
, USA, at the corner of Florida
and Connecticut
Avenues N.W.
, in the vicinity of Dupont Circle
. Wright proposed the development in August 1940 for one of the largest remaining undeveloped tracts in Washington, known as the Dean Estates or Temple Heights. One version of the design called for 1,230 hotel rooms, 138 small apartments, parking for 1,500 cars, shops, and a theater - a diversity of uses almost never seen in structures of the time - all within a complex consisting of a broad base covering the whole site topped by 24 towers. The proposal was defeated primarily by zoning requirements that prevented a multi-purpose structure at the site and forbade towers from rising more than 110 feet. The planned towers would have been more than 200 feet tall. Today, the site is occupied by the Hilton Washington
.
The "crystal" name was a reference to the large amounts of glass featured in the building designs. Other materials to be prominently featured included white marble and bronze.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
for a hotel, apartment, and shopping complex in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, USA, at the corner of Florida
Florida Avenue (Washington, D.C.)
Florida Avenue is a major street in Washington, D.C. It was originally named Boundary Street, because it formed the northern boundary of Pierre L'Enfant's original plan for the Federal City...
and Connecticut
Connecticut Avenue (Washington, D.C.)
Connecticut Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., and suburban Montgomery County, Maryland. It is one of the diagonal avenues radiating from the White House, and the segment south of Florida Avenue was one of the original streets in Pierre Charles...
Avenues N.W.
Washington, D.C. (northwest)
Northwest is the northwestern quadrant of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and is located north of the National Mall and west of North Capitol Street...
, in the vicinity of Dupont Circle
Dupont Circle
Dupont Circle is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood, and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The traffic circle is located at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue NW, Connecticut Avenue NW, New Hampshire Avenue NW, P Street NW, and 19th Street NW...
. Wright proposed the development in August 1940 for one of the largest remaining undeveloped tracts in Washington, known as the Dean Estates or Temple Heights. One version of the design called for 1,230 hotel rooms, 138 small apartments, parking for 1,500 cars, shops, and a theater - a diversity of uses almost never seen in structures of the time - all within a complex consisting of a broad base covering the whole site topped by 24 towers. The proposal was defeated primarily by zoning requirements that prevented a multi-purpose structure at the site and forbade towers from rising more than 110 feet. The planned towers would have been more than 200 feet tall. Today, the site is occupied by the Hilton Washington
Hilton Washington
The Hilton Washington is a hotel in Washington, D.C. It is located at 1919 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., roughly at the boundaries of the Kalorama, Dupont Circle, and Adams Morgan neighborhoods.Developed by Uris Brothers and built in 1965 in a double-arched design, the hotel long sported the largest...
.
The "crystal" name was a reference to the large amounts of glass featured in the building designs. Other materials to be prominently featured included white marble and bronze.