The U Street landmark widely known as “the RBG building” is headed to auction next week, raising questions about the future of the beloved mural of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Standing three stories tall, the mural depicts Ginsburg in her judicial robe with her hands open as a flock of birds flies above her. It’s an image that has become a staple of D.C.’s public art scene, even being an included stop on city tours.
“People know the building because it is the RBG building,” said owner lisa wise, who commissioned the artwork in 2019, one year before the justice’s death.
The building’s owner said she knew instantly what she wanted the mural to be.
“When we drove up and I saw the wall, I just thought that needs to be a mural of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and I would like her to be releasing a flock of birds.”
After Ginsburg died in 2020, the spot became an impromptu memorial, with neighbors leaving notes, flowers and candles at the base of the mural. wise said that moment reinforced how much the artwork meant to the city.
“Women whose power is embraced have the most to contribute,” wise said. “And I believe that Ruth Bader Ginsburg really was that. Her releasing that flock of birds is really a statement about anything being possible for women.”
The building, at 1508 U Street NW, will be offered through a commercial auction from Dec. 9 to 11. wise, the founder of property management companies Nest D.C. and Roost D.C., recently consolidated her businesses and said the time was right for the property to enter its next chapter.
She said she also planned ahead, and she and the artist, Rose Jaffe, designed the mural so that it could be moved.
“I did want to be able to move the mural. I’m always planning for what happens next,” wise said.
“I like looking at art that represents people, and Rose was aligned from a values perspective,” wise said on picking the muralist. “I wanted to support a female artist who was in D.C. proper.”
Jaffe and wise traded designs over email for days before settling on the final concept.
“And the nature of a mural in general is that it changes over time. It’s not a fixed piece of art,” wise said. “So we can move those elements and reinstall.”
Additionally, painting onto the building’s brick would have compromised the detail that made the portrait so striking.
“The brick would just break up all of your ability to have a finer detail. And we really wanted her face to be detailed … her descent collar to be detailed … and her engagement ring was really important for us to have featured.”
Only Ginsburg’s black judicial robe is painted onto the building itself. Everything else, the justice’s face, the collar, the birds, can be lifted off and reinstalled elsewhere.
No matter who buys the property, wise said she plans to donate the mural to an organization or community group that can preserve it.
“I’m a really big fan of the arts. I always have been,” she said. “I think it adds character to the city. It’s an investment in who we are.”
She said she hopes the mural stays in the District.
“It would be awesome if she stays in D.C. We have a lot of great buildings and a lot of great spaces where she can live,” wise said. “I want her to have a permanent home.”
wise said if the eventual buyer wants to keep and maintain the mural where it is, that’s also an option.
“If we have a buyer that says, ‘We can care for it, we’d like to have it stay here,’ that’s totally fine,” she said. “However, she does need to be tended to.”
After the auction, the mural’s future depends on both the buyer of the property and the community partners willing to host it.
“I want what’s best for the city,” she said. “The mural is an investment in creating landmarks and helping to define and make neighborhoods more special.”
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