The Capital Traction Company Car Barn (also known as the Decatur Street Car Barn and the Northern Bus Garage) is a historic streetcar car barn in northwest Washington, D.C. Built in 1906 by the Capital Traction Company, it was later turned into a bus garage[2] and is currently owned by Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
Located at 4615 14th Street NW, near the end of the 14th Street streetcar line, the two-story brick structure was designed by local architects Wood, Donn & Deming in Italian Renaissance style and built by contractors Richardson and Burgess.[2] The building originally measured 537 by 208 feet (164 m × 63 m) and included two turntables.[2]
Starting in 1926, the Washington Rapid Transit Company leased part of its space for use as a bus garage.[2] It was fully converted to a bus garage in 1959[2] and later became WMATA’s Metrobus Northern Division garage.[3]
In 2013, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1]
In 2019, WMATA closed the building to replace it with a new one that will include storage and maintenance for electric buses, along with up to 27,000 square feet of retail space,[4] streetscape improvements, and a community room.[5] The architects are the firms of Beyer Blinder Belle and Wendel.[4] All but the eastern (14th Street) facade of the building was demolished in 2023. Construction is slated to conclude in 2027.[5]
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Laura V. Trieschmann; Jennifer J. Bunting (September 2000). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Capital Traction Company Car Barn / Decatur Street Car Barn; Northern Bus Garage" (PDF). National Park Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2018. With accompanying 13 photos from 2013
- ^ "Then and Now: Decatur Street Car Barn". Park View, D.C. 2011-04-08. Archived from the original on 2023-09-19. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
- ^ a b "14th Street Car Barn Redevelopment Will Only House Electric Buses". UrbanTurf. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
- ^ a b "History of Northern Bus Garage". WMATA. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
External links
Media related to Capital Traction Company Car Barn (Decatur Street) at Wikimedia Commons- "The History of D.C.'s Streetcars: 'Manspreaders,' meet 'end-seat hogs'". Washington Post.
- Capital Traction Company Car Barn (National Register of Historic Places)
- Article: "The Giant Car Barn on 14th St. NW: A 1907 Story" (Ghosts of DC, 2012)
- "Capital Traction Company Car Barn" (DC Preservation)
- Finding: Historic Landmark Case No. 01-05 (Historic Preservation Review Board, 2012)
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