National Register of Historic Places Registration Form

NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
(M6)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
CLEVELAND PARK HISTORIC DISTRICT
WASHINGTON D.C.
Section number 8 Page _J__
The Neighborhood commercial precinct in the Cleveland Park Historic
District on Connecticut Avenue between Macomb and Porter Streets, N. W. has
been determined to be significant: for the following reasons.
It exemplifies the significant planning movement in the National Capital
to create small-scale commercial centers designed to service their immediate
residential neighborhoods.
It represents the designation of commercial "islands" along Connecticut
Avenue (of which Cleveland Park's commercial precinct is one) in the
District's original (1920) Zoning Ordinance which was a highly unusual
initiative at that time and reflects the most advanced concepts of city
planning for residential areas -- it may well be of national significance.
Preliminary evidence suggests this provision for commercial development
along Connecticut Avenue subsequently influenced zoning and the nature of
commercial development in other parts of the city and in nearby suburban
communities.
It exemplifies a significant aspect of the economic/historical heritage
of the National Capital in providing a full range of retail services to a
residential area; it was among che most fully developed of its type in the
city prior to WWII.
The Park and Shop complex established a model for planned neighborhood
shopping centers in the region, with a coordinated ensemble of stores, the
presence of each calculated to reinforce the attraction of others.
As a whole, the precinct represents probably the finest architectural
grouping of neighborhood commercial buildings in the National Capital and from
a national perspective, the grouping is an excellent example of period/type.
The commercial precinct includes outstanding individual works of
architecture:
The Park and Shop complex (1930) a nationally significant work in the
evolution of the shopping center which was widely publicized and praised
during the 1930's, a prototype for a number of other complexes in the
metropolitan area and elsewhere in the U.S. during the 1930's and 1940's is
among the most architecturally significant commercial properties in the
National Capital.
The Uptown Theatre (1936) is among the largest and finest neighborhood
movie houses built in the city and is an outstanding example of Art Deco
commercial architecture in the city and region and perhaps the finest 20th
century building of its type to survive in the metropolitan area.
The Fire Station #28 (1916) is an important example in the city of
Colonial Revival design used for a small-scale public building and is a
significant early example in the city of a firehouse designed exclusively for
motorized vehicles. It is a splendid representative of City Beautiful efforts
to employ high standards of public building design in neighborhoods and it is
among the finest example of its type remaining in the metropolitan area.
The Macklin apartments/stores (1939) is an ingenious mixed-use complex
with an unusually sensitive configuration designed in response to its urban
context and is a good example of Art Deco design.
Thomas E. Clark*s Showroom (3407 Conn. Ave. ^ now McDonald's Restaurant)
(1930) is an excellent example of Art Deco storefront design in the city and a