- State:
- WASHINGTON-DC
- Site Type:
- Public Housing, Civic Facilities
- New Deal Agencies:
- Alley Dwelling Authority (DC only), Housing Programs
- Started:
- 1935
- Completed:
- 1937
- Quality of Information:
- Very Good
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
Williston Apartments, consisting of two buildings with about 30 units, was an early project of the Alley Dwelling Authority (ADA). It was completed in 1937, and 265 families applied for apartments, highlighting the need for affordable housing in the nation’s capital.
Williston Apartments underwent renovations in 2008-2009, but the exterior appears much as it did in 1937 (see two images below). The number of rentable units remains about the same, “28 units of affordable housing, including 3 units constructed for wheelchair accessibility” (DC Housing Authority).
The ADA was one of the earliest New Deal initiatives to provide better housing for low-income Americans. It existed from 1934-1943 as a federally controlled special authority. It then slowly evolved into today’s DC Housing Authority, an independent agency of the DC Government.
Source notes
Report of the National Capital Housing Authority, For the Ten-Year Period 1934-1944, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1945, available on Hathitrust (accessed July 14, 2020).
“Development / Hope VI: Other DCHA Real Estate Projects - Williston Apartments,” DC Housing Authority (accessed July 18, 2020).
Site originally submitted by Brent McKee on July 30, 2020.
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