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German-American Architect Adolf Cluss' Footprint on the DC Cityscape
During the period of rapid growth following the Civil War, German immigrant Adolf Cluss (1825-1905) became the most influential architect in Washington, D.C. Cluss was born into a family of architects and master builders in Heilbronn, Germany. He worked as an engineer in railroad construction and became very involved with the Communist League, even serving as a leader in the Revolution of 1848, before emigrating to the U.S. that same year. In Washington, D.C., Cluss first found work as a draftsman for government agencies. In 1858, he broke off his ties to Karl Marx and other communists for reasons which remain unknown. Not long thereafter, at the age of thirty-nine, Cluss finally broke into the field of architecture. Working alone or with partners, he won many contracts for major public buildings. His clients included the federal and city governments as well as private residents, and he was friends with President Grant and other political and military leaders. Of the dozens of buildings that Cluss designed in D.C. area, only eight have survived. The Eastern Market, the National Museum, the Sumner school, the Franklin school, the Calvary Baptist Church, the Masonic Temple, and the H.H. Wells Residence are in the District. The other, a building that once functioned as City Hall, Masonic Temple and Market House, is located across the river in Alexandria, Virginia. It has been altered considerably and the Market House was razed in the mid-twentieth century, but the Cameron Street side of the building still conforms with Cluss’ design. The historic Eastern Market building in the Capitol Hill area, which is owned by the D.C. government, was severely damaged by a fire which broke out on April 30, 2007. The German-American architect Adolf Cluss designed and built the Italianate style building with an open floor plan and natural lighting in 1873. The market, which had been in continuous use for the last 134 years by food vendors, is now uninhabitable. Efforts are being undertaken to raise money to restore the building and its role as a market for the community.
Designed and built by Adolf Cluss and Paul Schultze, the Arts and Industries Building is the Smithsonian Institution’s oldest building. Constructed between 1879 and 1881, it was originally built to house exhibits acquired from the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876 and was known as the National Museum. It remains the best preserved example of nineteenth-century “world’s fair” or “exposition” architecture in the United States. The red-brick building with polychrome accents has remained closed to the public for the last three years due to a failing roof. It may be redeveloped if the Smithsonian Institution can find a suitable partner.
Built upon massive foundations, the Masonic Temple was originally designed by Adolf Cluss and Joseph Wildrich von Kammerhueber to be a five-story Italianate palazzo style building; however, the fifth floor was never completed due to lack of funding. President Andrew Johnson, a Master Mason, led a group of masons in a parade to celebrate the completion of the building in 1868. Stores inhabited the ground level and a ballroom, which was one of the city’s most important social scenes in the 19th century, was located on the second floor. The building served many purposes after the Grand Lodge moved to new headquarters in 1908. In the 1990s, Karchem Properties carried out an award-winning renovation of the building, which is now connected to their adjacent property by a skylit atrium. May 31, 2007 Links
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