By Richard Stamm
No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly - Oscar Wilde
Covered by layers of grime, soot, and marred by a red neon sign, the little Art Deco building that now houses the Coyote Ugly saloon at 719 6th Street NW seems to have been infected with a double dose of ugly. But hidden behind the Ugly sign are two of four stylized shallow bas-relief panels depicting the history of printing that not only decorate the façade, but subtly announce the building's original use.
Gilbert LaCoste Rodier designed the structure for his brother, Henry Tate Rodier, owner of the United Publishing Company. The firm published, among many other things, The Bulletin, a small daily newspaper that ran from 1894 until 1956; its name is inscribed above the front door. The Bulletin was a one-, sometimes two-page paper that specialized in publishing daily sports scores, but which also printed some news articles culled from the wire services.
Long before the days of play-by-play radio broadcasts (or even radio for that matter), Washington got its news of sporting results from the paper posted on bulletin boards set up in prominent locations around the city. Rodier purchased the paper in 1915, which by then had already been in operation for 21 years. Thirteen successful years resulted in the simultaneous expansion of the United Publishing Company and the erection of its new home on 6th Street in 1928.
The Bulletin was distributed to a thousand locations three times a day, six days a week, delivered by boys on bicycles to whom Rodier paid $3.50 each. The paper's posting in taverns, theaters, drugstores, barbershops, and restaurants was eagerly awaited by uncounted Washington sports fans. Rodier became a well known figure in Washington sports circles during the 1930s, 40s and 50s, a close friend of the original Washington Nats president Clark Griffith, as well as the sponsor of a local horse racing prize and golfing trophy, both of which bore his name. A racehorse, Henry Tate, was even named after him.
By 1956, with regular broadcasts of sports on television and radio and with extensive coverage by the big daily newspapers, The Bulletin became obsolete and ceased operations. Rodier continued to serve on the board of United Publishing until September 1964 when he finally sold the business and the building. By 1967, the publishing company had relocated and the building on 6th Street was vacant.
A series of tenants occupied the structure over the next three-plus decades (printers, restaurants, bars, and a neighborhood heroin treatment center to name a few). Each tenant has left its mark on the Bulletin building, and although the facade is pock marked and scarred from signs and awnings, none had penetrated the four bas-relief panels, until the most recent occupant.
More than just decoration, the now damaged panels are what architectural historians call the character-defining elements of the façade. They are reputed to be some of the earliest surviving examples of architectural Art Deco figural sculpture in Washington, as per a detailed article by Alison Luchs published in Trans-Lux, the newsletter of the Art Deco Society of Washington, Winter, 1988. Dubbed by Luchs "The Progress of Printing," they depict from left to right: a Chinese man working at a revolving wheel typesetting device; Johann Gutenberg (c.1400-c1468); Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790); and a 1928 era printer or typesetter. According to Luchs, the four "unpretentious and eloquent" panels celebrated one of Washington's few major industries and carried special meaning for the building's creators.
The damage they have suffered so recently is truly lamentable and in an effort to protect the façade from further destruction by future tenants, the Art Deco Society of Washington and the D.C. Preservation League have jointly applied for landmark status for the building.
Copyright © 2006 by Richard Stamm.
Rick Stamm is the curator of the Castle Collection at the Smithsonian Institution, as well as an author. He would like to thank Linda B. Lyons, Education Chair, Art Deco Society of Washington for providing a copy of Alison Luchs' article. Visit ADSW's web site at http://www.adsw.org/ to learn more about the Art Deco Style.
Editor’s note: Coyote Ugly has left the building. The building continues to morph into other bars.