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A WINDOW ONTO THE HOLIDAYS Contributors

Bradley W. Johnson I used to love going to New York City each December to see the Steven K. Dickens, AIA, LEED AP
(“Urban Divine” and “Business
holiday-season storefront windows, and now that we have our own
Acumen”), is senior associate with
60 linear feet of storefront window space at the District Architecture
Center, I’m trying to bring a bit of that tradition back to our own
Eric Colbert & Associates.
downtown. Since we moved here in 2011, we’ve decorated our window
space during the holiday season with snowflakes, a toy train set (I never Peter James, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
want to make another origami tree again as long as I live!), and a stun- (“Multi-Family Affair”), is an associate
ning installation evoking a hearth that was designed by Cooper Jones with Perkins Eastman DC.
and Maureen McGee. More recently, we had a beautifully rendered
explanation of the lack of affordable housing in our region, designed Deane Madsen, Assoc. AIA (“Schools of
by EL Studio—a topic that connects to the season’s theme of concern for our fellow citizens. Thought” and “Fine Points”), is a writer
This year’s window, which we will install on December 4, is about, well, windows. The and architectural photographer based in
exhibition was inspired partly by a short trip I took this past August to Montreal. The McCord Washington, DC, and founder of the
Museum—Montreal’s museum of social history—had a number of interesting exhibitions, informal architectural appreciation
including one consisting of historic photos of storefront windows. That particular exhibition society Brutalist DC.
wasn’t actually in the museum itself—it was outside, on a busy downtown sidewalk, where
it could not only engage the interest of passersby, but at the same time remind them about G. Martin Moeller, Jr., Assoc. AIA
the museum. (“Bespoke Living” and “Special
Mentions”), is an independent curator
Welcome! the National Building Museum. He is
and writer, as well as senior curator at

the editor of ARCHITECTUREDC.

Ronald O’Rourke (“On Common
The photos in that exhibition weren’t all of holiday-season windows, but they were Ground” and “Little Gems”) is a regular
interesting all the same, because they showed all manner of goods, and how stores marketed contributor to ARCHITECTUREDC. His
them. Long ago, before you could simply search for it on Amazon, this is how you shopped. father, Jack O'Rourke, was an architect
In that sense, the photos encoded a fair amount of social history. in San Francisco for more than
So this year, we will provide a window onto the social history of the holidays by staging four decades.
an exhibition of Washington-area holiday-season windows from the early 20th century. The
exhibit will be viewable from the street, so visitors will be able to see it any time, even when the
DAC isn’t open. There’s definitely a nostalgic value to the photos, which is quite appropriate,
as nostalgia is a not-insignificant part of the holiday-season atmosphere. But as with the
exhibition in Montreal, there’s some social history to be found in the photos, as well. Among
other things, the photos are a reminder that Washington was once a much smaller town.
Make sure not to miss the photo of the holiday-season meal for the horses.
In their heyday, holiday-season windows were a form of shared public experience—
moments of clever design that people from all walks of life looked forward to seeing together.
In this era of fragmented media and self-tailored information bubbles, such shared experiences,
like holiday-season windows themselves, are now fewer and harder to find. Today, we’re
more likely to be caught up in our silos, sometimes due to politics, and sometimes due to
our smartphones. It’s nice to have something that brings us all together for a moment of joy
that doesn’t involve swiping a screen. And as a bonus, you can learn a little history along
the way. Wishing you the happiest of holidays,

Mary Fitch, AICP, Hon. AIA
Publisher
mfitch@aiadc.com
@marycfitch

P.S. No, I didn’t forget my annual thank you to the great writers who help make this magazine
possible. Thanks to Steven Dickens, AIA; Peter James, AIA; Deane Madsen, Assoc. AIA; and
Ronald O’Rourke. And thanks also to our wonderful editor (and frequent writer), Martin
Moeller. One of our best writers, Denise Liebowitz, decided to retire this year. We wish her
well, and we’ll really miss her voice in these pages. I also owe big thanks to Jim Hicks, who
makes this magazine look so beautiful, and the fabulous Jody Cranford, who sells the ads
that make it possible for us to keep this magazine an entirely free publication. Thanks to
you all, and best wishes to you for the New Year!
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