George Mason University Law School, Arlington, VA

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GMU Law School, at 3301 Fairfax Drive in the Clarendon neighborhood, is now surrounded by large new development. This was originally the Virginia Square branch of Kann’s Department Store, a well-known DC institution. It was built in 1951 by de Young Moscowitz and Rosenberg, who have been featured on this website several times recently for their bank buildings in Brooklyn, NY. The entrance and several other elements have been altered but the general idea and many original materials including crab orchard stone are still intact. The complex includes the brick structure behind as well with a separate entrance on the left side. A vintage image of the building and a full history if Kann’s can be viewed here, where one can see the original entrance. GMU has previously announced that they plan to demolish this complex, which follows the trend of rapid densification in this part of Arlington (see building in the background of image below as example).

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3 Responses to George Mason University Law School, Arlington, VA

  1. Pingback: Clarendon Office Building, Arlington, VA | Mid-Century Mundane

  2. Pingback: Spear & Company Building, Herald Square, NYC | Mid-Century Mundane

  3. Tom says:

    To Arlingtonians, when GMU bought Kann’s, the GMU law school became known as “Kann’s Law School.” Today, GMU’s law school is an excellent and well-connected institution. I personally used to visit the monkeys on my visits to Kann’s, especially in my travail upon waiting for my mother and sister’s to go dress shopping. O’ the horror.

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