Exposed Chalkboards Rather Than Exposed Brick

• February 5th 2013

by Shilpi Paul

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When developers started digging into the former Edmonds School building on Capitol Hill, the site of a new 30-unit condo/townhouse project, they were inspired by what they discovered.

Behind the aging drywall, developers CAS Riegler and Ditto Residential found chalkboards of varying sizes that still had writing and drawings on them from the building’s former life. (The Edmonds School was built in 1903.) Cursive lessons, names and a striking chalk drawing of a woman with a parasol and a baby on her back are some of the artifacts that were discovered.

CAS Riegler’s Adam Stifel told UrbanTurf that they want to turn the discovery into an amenity for future residents. The large, embedded chalkboards will be part of the condo units, which will range from junior one-bedrooms to three-bedroom lofts. They will expose the chalkboards the way builders expose brick, and residents will likely be able to use them for their intended purpose.

As for the smaller boards, they plan to preserve and display them somewhere in the building, perhaps in common areas or in units themselves. They are also hoping to find a use for the graffiti-covered rafters, which were also uncovered during demolition.

Readers, do you like the idea of a usable chalkboard wall in your home?

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/exposed_chalkboards_rather_than_exposed_brick/6613.