Restoration of The Historic Main Building
In 2009, the B. F. Saul Company, undertook the restoration and renovation of the historic main building, a project that was expected to cost $60 million. Contractors installed new double-hung mahogany windows, built a new roof and roof deck, and carefully cleaned the brick façade and aluminum spandrels following preservation standards. After discussions with the Art Deco Society of Washington, D.C. as well as the residents, the B. F. Saul Company decided to preserve the original floor plans of most apartments. As the contractors renovated each apartment, they kept the original hardware, including the glass doorknobs and brass hinges, as well as the kitchen cabinets and apartment doors, and they sanded and stained the original wood floors. To bring the building up to current standards, they replaced the wiring and plumbing, and installed a sprinkler system and central air-conditioning in the apartments and public areas. The central air-conditioning replaced the huge basement fans, which had been in use since 1931, as well as window units. The company put new stoves and refrigerators in the apartments and, for the first time, washers and dryers. Shops and businesses on the lobby floor supplied such services for the residents.
Valley Craftsmen, of Baltimore, Maryland, restored the elaborate Art Deco lobby. They re-stenciled the beamed ceiling in a geometric Art Deco design using gold leaf, and hand-painted the walls to resemble the original veneer panels. The Saul Company replaced the missing Art Deco chandeliers and wall sconces and restored the handsome inlaid Art Deco elevator doors on the second, third, and fourth floors. On each side of the lobby is a lounge. The south lounge was restored to its original design and the north lounge was converted to a piano-bar, which is open to residents. On the second floor, there is ballroom with fine Art Deco detailing. The ballroom was a popular venue for events of all kinds, and many of the best known big bands of the era played there. It has been closed for many years, but current plans (2011) call for it to be restored and reopened as an event space.
The Kennedy-Warren had a dining room, which was operated as a public restaurant from 1931 until it closed in 1990. Such dining rooms once were common in Washington, D.C. apartment houses, but the only one still in operation as of 2011 is in the Westchester, at 4000 Cathedral Avenue, N.W. The B. F. Saul Company reportedly plans to reopen the Kennedy-Warren dining room, but it will be open only to residents.
Read more about this topic: Kennedy-Warren Apartment Building
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