Calling all mid-century design fans! Join Reference Librarian, Gillian Mahoney, for a virtual presentation on January 21st at 3pm EST to learn more about Charles M. Goodman, one of the D.C. area’s most influential mid-century architects. Best known for his designs for the Hollin Hills neighborhood in Fairfax County, Virginia, Goodman frequently worked with local builders and developers to make modern houses available to the mass market.
In addition to Goodman’s single-family residences, come learn about some of his other projects including the Washington National Airport and Arlington Unitarian Church, both in Virginia, and River Park in Southwest D.C. We will also demonstrate how to request and view the materials in the recently processed Charles M. Goodman architectural archive – now open for research in the Prints & Photographs Reading Room by appointment.
River Park in Southwest D.C. is a complex of townhouses and apartment blocks designed by Goodman in the early 1960s, as seen in the drawings and renderings below:
Houston House still provides downtown Houston, Texas, with nearly 400 apartments in its 31 stories.
Just outside Washington, D.C., in McLean, Virginia, the Structural Clay Products Institute (SCPI) in Westgate Research Park was a project designed by Goodman in 1967. The SCPI’s work with brick and other clay-fired structural materials led to the statement on a plaque featured on the exterior of the building that reads, “Everything passes, may this remain.”
And finally, an overall view of the SCPI project in model form:
The works above are just the tip of the mid-century iceberg! Come and learn more about how Goodman’s designs have shaped the Washington, D.C., area and beyond. The presentation will be recorded if you cannot join us live and available on the Library of Congress website at a later date.
Learn More:
- Register to attend the virtual presentation Finding Pictures: Charles M. Goodman Collection which will take place live on Wednesday, January 21st from 3:00-4:00pm EST.
- Watch recordings of past Finding Pictures talks.
- Read a previous Picture This post about the processing of the Charles M. Goodman Collection: Just About “Ready for Research.”
- Please contact the Prints & Photographs Reading Room through Ask a Librarian to inquire about the Goodman Collection and to set up an appointment for viewing original materials.