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DC Church Gets Demolition Permit Despite Its Historic Landmark Status

By Howard M. Friedman

Washington, D.C.'s Third Church of Christ, Scientist, has finally won the right to demolish its downtown church building, despite its designation in 2007 as an historic landmark. The concrete building, designed by architect Araldo Cossutta, is an example of "brutalist" architecture. (Photo of building.) The Washington Post reports on the decision handed down Tuesday by the Mayor's Agent for Historic Preservation. In In re Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Washington, D.C., (DC Hist. Pres. Off., May 12, 2009), the Mayor's Agent held that denying a demolition permit will cause the Church unreasonable economic hardship-- a ground under the District's historic landmark law to allow demolition. The building is in need of substantial repairs that the Church cannot afford. The opinion concludes:

Although the Church?s present predicament results from design choices it agreed to, albeit reluctantly, those choices were made in the hope of achieving breakthrough architecture. To force this congregation to live with, and almost certainly die as a result of the failure of its experiment would dissuade others from choosing the novel over the mundane.

However the decision conditioned granting of the permit on the Church's maintaining its downtown presence in a new building. It is not clear whether this ruling moots a pending federal court action challenging the historic landmark designation originally imposed on the Church. (See prior posting.)

Full post as published by Religion Clause on May 14, 2009 (boomark / email).