Metropolitan Club

The Metropolitan Club, Washington, DC

Designed in 1908 by Heins & LaFarge, the Metropolitan Club at 1700 H Street, N.W. is listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites and the National Register of Historic Places.

What initially appeared to be a simple project creating several new openings in a wall to provide access to an adjacent building became quite complicated once the wall finishes were removed. The complexity was compounded by minimal documentation of the original building and subsequent structural modifications. The challenges to preserve the integrity of the wall, discovered during the demolition phase, included an offset masonry bearing wall, undocumented steel columns, and previous alterations.
With extensive field work to establish and document the existing conditions, close coordination with the contractor was required. Solutions were developed and step-by-step approaches for transferring the loads safely were achieved successfully.