Gingertown has made its way to the nation’s capital, and no, that’s not a redhead reference.
In an effort to raise money for charity, David M. Schwarz Architects launched their fifth annual “Gingertown,” a mini-gingerbread city sponsored and designed by approximately thirty organizations and people.
“We started just doing a very basic town square style plan. Last year, we did a D.C. street scape inspired one with major avenues and traffic circles,” Kathryn Garrett, the “Mayor of Gingertown,” told The Daily Caller.
The Gingertown models in Dallas and Nashville are all built on the same master plan, but there are no design guidelines for any of the structures. The Nashville plan was built in “western” style with tootsie rolls, so each Gingertown has its own flair, Garrett told TheDC.
Garrett noted the differences between the D.C. Gingertown and Nashville and Dallas Gingertowns.
“We get people that come in with plans in place, they’ve done full scale models or mockups already and different materials just because they know exactly what they’re going to do. So there’s a level of intensity here in D.C. that’s a little higher I think than any of the other cities just because it’s our fifth year doing it,” Garrett said.
In its fifth year, the Gingertown project will donate $800 for each charity it fundraises for, up from last year’s $500 donation to each cause. With a matching donation from Schwarz Architects, the total to be distributed to charities will be in excess of $5,000.
Sponsors had the option of designing their portion of Gingertown, and donor Roxanne Roberts of The Washington Post requested that her section be modeled after Klondike Bars. Walter P. Moore sponsored a lot modeled after Washington Dulles Airport. But in Gingertown, the airport is called “Rudolph International Airport.” Davis Construction built their plot as a platinum building with solar panels. PageSoutherlandPage, an architecture and engineering firm, sponsored a “Ministry of Naughty and Nice” structure and incorporated coal for the naughty.
Though one sponsor created a “bridge to nowhere” plan with a BP logo and photo of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Gingertown is not a politically charged charity fundraiser.
“We do like to have a little bit of fun sometimes, just kind of tongue-in-cheek,” Garrett said.
Gingertown can be found on the second floor of Washington Square, which is located at 1050 Connecticut Avenue. But if you are interesting in taking a look, you have to be quick. It will be broken down tomorrow.