Public Architecture Tour at the Kreeger Museum

Designed in 1963 by Pritzker Prize winning architect Philip Johnson along with Richard Foster, The Kreeger Museum is now offering a guided architectural tour of the former residence of David and Carmen Kreeger.  Completed in 1967, the Kreeger is an excellent example of Johnson’s Classical Modernism filled with 19th, 20th and 21st century paintings and sculptures, a Concert/Recital Hall, and a Sculpture Terrace overlooking a magnificent pool and colonnade. 

The tour will include special access to the private east elevation of the building which is set on 5 ½ acres in northwest Washington, DC.  It will also detail the design and construction elements of the poured-in-place concrete saucer domes, the 22 foot modular grid, and the use of cotton carpet as acoustical treatment on the interior walls of the Concert Hall.  Construction photos, taken for the General Contractor George A. Fuller Company, will be on view as well as the original architectural model completed in Philip Johnson’s Park Avenue Manhattan model shop.  Tours will be led by architect Karol Williams.

David Lloyd Kreeger and his wife, Carmen, had the vision and generosity to share their love of music and art with Washington, DC and the world.  Isaac Stern once said that David Lloyd Kreeger almost single-handedly transformed Washington into a major cultural center.  It is befitting that the Kreegers commissioned Philip Johnson to design their house in a monumental cadence of proportion and light that would surround their art and music.

About The Kreeger Museum
The Kreeger Museum is a masterpiece of modern architecture set within sculpture-filled gardens and tranquil woods.  Designed by renowned architect Philip Johnson, it is among the few examples of his work in DC.  Built for Washington philanthropists David and Carmen Kreeger, the non-profit museum displays the Kreeger’s collection of 19th and 20th century paintings and sculptures.  Highlights of the collection include Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, and Auguste Rodin, along with prominent Washington artists.  Also included in the collection are outstanding examples of African and Asian art. The art and architecture are conceptualized through the Museum’s programs, special exhibitions, and educational outreach initiatives, including lectures, concerts, master classes, panel discussions, artist talks and interactive children’s programming.