National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
National Register of Historic Places Registration Form National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 10244018 (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 35 The Broadmoor is another example of the suburban style apartment house occupying a five acre site and constructed at the same time as Tilden Gardens. It differs in that it is a single structure which wraps around an expansive lawn creating a formal appearance, whereas Tilden Gardens represents the more informal picturesque merging of its six buildings with a romantic landscaping scheme. Both, however, are clothed in medieval revival styles, drawing their decorative elements from English buildings of the 16th- and 17th-centuries recalling the Tudor and Jacobean periods. Joseph Abel, the architect, is a native Washingtonian born in 1905 and still living nearby. He received his architectural degree from George Washington University. He served an apprenticeship with George Santmyers in the 1920's and then worked as a draftsman for Arthur B. Heaton. Later he formed several partnerships with Charles Dillon (Dillon and Abel), with Julian Berla (Berla and Abel), and finally with Jesse Weinstein (Abel and Weinstein). His career spanned a variety of stylistic and technological changes, and he attempted to stay on the forefront designing some of the earliest International Style buildings in Washington D.C. He was also an innovator in the area of apartment house design and in 1947 he published the book Apartment Houses with co-author Fred N. Severud who was responsible for the section on structural engineering. "In July of 1947, Progressive Architecture stated that Abel's name was synonymous with advanced apartment house design in Washington D.C. 1 One year later, the Architectural Forum praised Abel's striking apartment buildings which have done so much to raise design standards and awaken the public to the necessity for change.'" ''(Antoinette Lee, Landmark Application for the Governor Shepherd Apartment House, Feb. 4, 1985) The Broadmoor is a familiar Cleveland Park landmark which signals the end of the commercial area and the beginning of a series of significant large apartment houses along Connecticut Avenue. Its extensive open space in front of the tall structure allows air and light to reach Connecticut Avenue thereby respecting its existence as an avenue of old world grace and charm. Sedgwick Gardens, designed by Mihran Mesrobian in 1931 for Max Gorin, president of the Southern Construction Company, represents the "Piece de resistance of Mesrobian's originality of plan and sculptural decoration" according to Caroline Mesrobian Hickman, an art historian (and Mesrobian's granddaughter), who has done extensive research on his architectural career.*(Caroline Mesrobian Hickman; "Mihran Mesrobian (1889-1975): Washington Architect;" Design Action; Vol2/Number3, May/June 1983, p. 4.) When this apartment house was completed in 1932 it quickly became known as the "Queen of Connecticut Avenue." It has an unusual plan which is uniquely well sited providing a very sumptuous and highly visible entrance at the corner of Connecticut Avenue and Sedgwick Street and enabling all of the apartments to have ample light, ventilation ana good views. It is also very significant because of Mesrobian's design of the original ornamentation which incorporates Byzantine and Middle Eastern (Islamic) motifs into an overall Art Deco scheme.
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 10244018 (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 36 Mihran Mesrobian was born in Turkey, but his parents were Armenian. He studied architecture at the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Istanbul and received a "diplome 1 in 1908. He was the Municipal Architect in Smyrna and then became an architect to the Sultan in Istanbul. In 1914 he was drafted into the Turkish Army where he served as a military engineer. After the war he returned to Istanbul, but the increasing hostilities of the Turks towards the Armenians led him to emigrate to the United States in 1921. He settled in Washington and joined forces with Harry Wardman, who was already heavily involved in real estate development by this time. Mesrobian became his chief architect and stayed with him through his bankruptcy, designing a few buildings for him on the little bits of land for which he was able to maintain ownership after his declaration of bankruptcy in 1930. Mesrobian's architectural style passed through several phases. *(Hickman, op. cit.) The Macklin of 1939 was also designed by Mihran Mesrobian in a more typical Art Deco stye. He introduced an unusual site plan which provided an interesting and successful solution to the combination of residential and commercial functions as well as parking on a steeply sloped corner lot at Newark and Connecticut Avenue. The apartment building with 18 units is entered at 2911 Newark through a clearly-defined Art Deco entrance. The shops, 3400-3408 Connecticut, are tucked into the hill below the apartment building and are entered from the parking lot at the corner. The functions are clearly separated because of the clever way the architect took advantage of the site. In addition the apartments are elevated above the Avenue with lots of air, light and good views. Another aspect of Mesrobian's site plan is very significant. The building is set back, it does not dominate this very important corner which has always marked the entrance into the oldest portion of Cleveland Park. From Connecticut Avenue, the hill-with its houses rising in a nice progression of front porches along the street-is clearly visible. Likewise, as one descends the hill on Newark Street, one has a view of the whole commercial area and beyond to Rock Creek Park, which calls to- mind the spectacular view the earliest residents of the streetcar suburb would have had as they walked down the hill to catch the streetcar into the city. By siting his building as he did, Mesrobian left some vital open space with a significant view clearly indicating the integral relationship between the residential community and its vital neighborhood shopping center.
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NPS <strong>Form</strong> 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 10244018<br />
(M6)<br />
United States Department <strong>of</strong> the Interior<br />
<strong>National</strong> Park Service<br />
<strong>National</strong> <strong>Register</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Historic</strong> <strong>Places</strong><br />
Continuation Sheet<br />
CLEVELAND PARK HISTORIC DISTRICT<br />
WASHINGTON D.C.<br />
Section number 8 Page 36<br />
Mihran Mesrobian was born in Turkey, but his parents were Armenian. He<br />
studied architecture at the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Istanbul and received a<br />
"diplome 1 in 1908. He was the Municipal Architect in Smyrna and then became<br />
an architect to the Sultan in Istanbul. In 1914 he was drafted into the<br />
Turkish Army where he served as a military engineer. After the war he<br />
returned to Istanbul, but the increasing hostilities <strong>of</strong> the Turks towards the<br />
Armenians led him to emigrate to the United States in 1921. He settled in<br />
Washington and joined forces with Harry Wardman, who was already heavily<br />
involved in real estate development by this time. Mesrobian became his chief<br />
architect and stayed with him through his bankruptcy, designing a few<br />
buildings for him on the little bits <strong>of</strong> land for which he was able to maintain<br />
ownership after his declaration <strong>of</strong> bankruptcy in 1930. Mesrobian's<br />
architectural style passed through several phases. *(Hickman, op. cit.)<br />
The Macklin <strong>of</strong> 1939 was also designed by Mihran Mesrobian in a more<br />
typical Art Deco stye. He introduced an unusual site plan which provided an<br />
interesting and successful solution to the combination <strong>of</strong> residential and<br />
commercial functions as well as parking on a steeply sloped corner lot at<br />
Newark and Connecticut Avenue. The apartment building with 18 units is<br />
entered at 2911 Newark through a clearly-defined Art Deco entrance. The<br />
shops, 3400-3408 Connecticut, are tucked into the hill below the apartment<br />
building and are entered from the parking lot at the corner. The functions<br />
are clearly separated because <strong>of</strong> the clever way the architect took advantage<br />
<strong>of</strong> the site. In addition the apartments are elevated above the Avenue with<br />
lots <strong>of</strong> air, light and good views. Another aspect <strong>of</strong> Mesrobian's site plan is<br />
very significant. The building is set back, it does not dominate this very<br />
important corner which has always marked the entrance into the oldest portion<br />
<strong>of</strong> Cleveland Park. From Connecticut Avenue, the hill-with its houses rising<br />
in a nice progression <strong>of</strong> front porches along the street-is clearly visible.<br />
Likewise, as one descends the hill on Newark Street, one has a view <strong>of</strong> the<br />
whole commercial area and beyond to Rock Creek Park, which calls to- mind the<br />
spectacular view the earliest residents <strong>of</strong> the streetcar suburb would have had<br />
as they walked down the hill to catch the streetcar into the city. By siting<br />
his building as he did, Mesrobian left some vital open space with a<br />
significant view clearly indicating the integral relationship between the<br />
residential community and its vital neighborhood shopping center.
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