The Harrison Apartments and Adaptive Reuse in DC

Washington, DC’s architectural story is one of evolution and adaptation, and few buildings illustrate that better than the Harrison Apartments. Tucked into the Judiciary Square neighborhood, this landmark structure has quietly held a place in the city’s history for over a century. Now reimagined as part of the new Arlo Hotel, the Harrison offers a compelling case study in historic preservation and adaptive reuse.

The First of Its Kind

Built in the late 19th century, the Harrison is the earliest known surviving example of a conventional apartment building in Washington, DC. It marks a turning point in the city’s residential development, when multi-family dwellings evolved into the rowhouse, still a dominant feature in the city’s architectural identity. With its blend of rowhouse-inspired forms and emerging apartment layouts, the Harrison stands as a significant touchstone in the evolution of DC’s built environment.

Balancing Character and Change

Transforming a 19th-century apartment building into a 21st-century boutique hotel requires a nuanced understanding of what makes a building historically significant. Preservation efforts at the Harrison were guided by best practices from the National Park Service, which emphasizes identifying a building’s “character-defining features,” elements like shape, scale, materials, and craftsmanship that convey its historic identity.

In the case of the Harrison, surviving architectural features were scarce after years of vacancy and deterioration. However, thoughtful preservation made the most of what remained. Four Corinthian columns on the upper floors and the building’s brick barrel-vaulted ceilings were restored and incorporated into the hotel design, offering guests a direct connection to the building’s past.

Preservation Tools and Trade-Offs

One technique preservationists often use is “preservation zoning,” which helps establish a hierarchy of historical significance for architectural components. While this approach wasn’t employed at the Harrison due to the condition of its interior, it’s a common framework for balancing preservation with modern function in similar projects.

Integrating new systems like HVAC, plumbing, or elevators into a historic structure poses additional challenges. These upgrades must be made with minimal disruption to the remaining historic fabric, requiring precision, creativity, and often compromise.

When it comes to materials, preservationists weigh both the aesthetic and practical values of historic elements. Restoring original wood windows or masonry may ensure longevity and maintain historical accuracy, but modern replacements can offer greater energy efficiency and lower costs. Each decision must reflect both the preservation priorities and the performance needs of the new use.

A Story Told Through Space

Restoring elements like the street-level drugstore entrance not only improves the building’s functionality, but it also helps tell its story. Public-facing features offer glimpses into a building’s original use and the neighborhood’s historical fabric. These layers of meaning contribute to a sense of place that resonates beyond the walls of a single building.

Projects like the Harrison also highlight the important distinction between rehabilitation and reconstruction. The former, as defined by the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards, allows for repair and alteration that supports a new use while retaining historic character. Reconstruction, by contrast, aims to replicate a lost structure exactly—a much stricter and less flexible approach. The Harrison’s transformation into the Arlo Hotel is a textbook example of successful rehabilitation: it preserves essential character-defining features while introducing new life and utility.

A Model for the Future

Before its transformation, the Harrison had been vacant for over two decades. Numerous redevelopment plans stalled, and the building continued to deteriorate. The Arlo project not only preserved a key piece of Washington’s architectural heritage, but it also activated a long-dormant site, bringing energy and economic vitality back to Judiciary Square.

The project’s success offers a roadmap for adaptive reuse across the city. The team behind the Arlo saw the Harrison not as an obstacle but as an asset. It was an opportunity to integrate historic design into a vibrant, mixed-use development. As urban centers across the country grapple with questions of growth, density, and identity, projects like this one show how preservation and innovation can go hand in hand.

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Special thanks to EHT Traceries for generously sharing their research expertise on the Harrison Apartments.