Mid-Century Modern Design, Virginia, and Charles Goodman – a Rich History

Mid-Century Modern Design, Virginia, and

Mid-Century Modern Design, Virginia, and Charles Goodman – a Rich History

Have you ever looked at some of the buildings and neighborhoods in and around Northern Virginia and wondered who created them? Many of the trademark buildings we have come to know and love were built by visionary architects like Charles Goodman.

Richard Guy Wilson in his 1992 book,  The Making of Virginia Architecture. States that “His designs formed the basis of the generic Modern American house and school, widely imitated in every part of the country. The result was a body of architecture of great distinction that captured Americans' imagination for many years.”

Receiving his degree at Chicago's  Armour Institute of Technology (now the Illinois Institute of Technology), and at age 28 came to Washington DC to work as an architect for the Public Buildings Administration and then for the U.S. Treasury Department. As a Government contractor Charles Goodman designed post offices and other federal buildings. In 1939, he was selected to be the government’s architect to help design National Airport. Elements of Goodman’s original design were retained, including the sweeping lobby of Historic Terminal A. The terminal, which opened in 1941, has a massive, slightly curving wall of windows perfect for viewing the planes taking off and landing.

Gregory Hunts in his essay The Architecture of Hollin Hills  describes Goodman’s early projects; “Goodman developed a system of modular construction that eased the building process, simplified expansion, and produced an unpretentious, straightforward aesthetic based on repetitive building components.”

In 1946 Goodman joined forces with developer Robert Davenport to build the neighborhood Hollin Hills in Alexandria VA Goodman’s work on Hollin Hills ended in about 1961, but his impact continued to spread across the DC area. Besides the 400-plus Goodman-designed homes in Hollin Hills, there are more than 275 in Montgomery County, in communities such as Hammond Hill, Hammond Woods, Rock Creek Woods, Wheatoncrest, and Hollinridge.  There are more Goodman homes in Lake Barcroft Estates, Oak Forest, and The Commons of McLean in Fairfax County, and another 134 townhouses and an eight-story apartment building in the River Park Cooperative Homes in Washington, DC.

“Goodman was nothing if not productive, and his work also includes gas stations, churches, motels, a shopping center, medical centers — a range of projects that reflected his restless imagination.” writes Gregory Hunts.

Other notable designs include Reagan National Airport, The Goodman Home, The Alcoa House.

Stay tuned as I document the process of preparing a Charles Goodman MCM home in Hollin Hills this Fall and bring this special property to the market!