Do you love Brutalism or hate it? Local journalist Amanda Kolson Hurley makes the case for preserving Washington’s bevy of Brutalist beauties.  “It could certainly be that on this side of the Atlantic, the sun-drenched optimism of California in the 1950s holds a broader appeal than the harried mood of the late 1960s and ’70s,” she writes in this week’s cover story in the Washington Post magazine. “The midcentury-modern movement encompassed popular furniture designs and housewares, which encouraged retailers such as Crate & Barrel to revive the look, nodding to icons like the Eames lounge chair in product lines. Brutalism, by contrast, is a self-serious style not known for creature comforts. In Washington, however, Brutalism’s ubiquity means we will have many chances to decide whether it is worth saving.”

If you want to explore DC’s Brutalist treasures, such as the Watergate pictured above, this Blue Crow Media map will do the trick.