Handcolored map indicating Sample A and B (every 12th block) in red, Sample C and D (every 11th unused block) in purple, and Sample E (every 10th unused block) in green. Basemap: City of Johnson City, Department of Streets, C.B.C, Feb. 1925, no. 177. Scale 1 in = 800 ft. / https://dc.etsu.edu/rare-maps/1108/thumbnail.jpg

Washington County, TN with a road map of Johnson City and surrounding areas on the back. Includes street index and subdivision index. Prepared by the Upper East Tennessee Section, Local Planning Assistance Office, January 1985. Approved by the County Commission of Washington County, February 4, 1985. Scale 1 in = 2750 ft. / https://dc.etsu.edu/rare-maps/1185/thumbnail.jpg

Washington County, TN with a road map of Johnson City and surrounding areas on the back. Includes street index and subdivision index. Prepared by the Upper East Tennessee Section, Local Planning Assistance Office, January 1985. Approved by the County Commission of Washington County, February 4, 1985. Scale 1 in = 2750 ft. / https://dc.etsu.edu/rare-maps/1186/thumbnail.jpg

Washington County, TN with a road map of Johnson City and surrounding areas on the back. Includes street index and subdivision index; map legend; business directory; and advertisements. Scale 1 in = 1.75 miles for the Washington County map. / https://dc.etsu.edu/rare-maps/1187/thumbnail.jpg

Washington County, TN with a road map of Johnson City and surrounding areas on the back. Includes street index and subdivision index; map legend; business directory; and advertisements. Scale 1 in = 1.75 miles for the Washington County map. / https://dc.etsu.edu/rare-maps/1188/thumbnail.jpg

Includes street index. Insert on back with text indicating "What to do and see within the Johnson City area." Copyright Champion Map Corporation. Distributed by Johnson City Chamber of Commerce. Undated, but likely post-1963. No scale indicated. / https://dc.etsu.edu/rare-maps/1191/thumbnail.jpg

Includes street index. Insert on back with text indicating "What to do and see within the Johnson City area." Copyright Champion Map Corporation. Distributed by Johnson City Chamber of Commerce. Undated, but likely post-1963. No scale indicated. / https://dc.etsu.edu/rare-maps/1192/thumbnail.jpg

No scale provided. Undated pocket map of Washington County indicating Johnson City's roads. / https://dc.etsu.edu/rare-maps/1195/thumbnail.jpg

No scale provided. Undated pocket map of Washington County indicating Johnson City's roads. / https://dc.etsu.edu/rare-maps/1196/thumbnail.jpg

The preservation and reuse of existing buildings has become more and more prevalent as costs rise, sustainability popularizes, and urban areas continue to grow. These are all important issues in the contemporary design world, but what can the building provide after solving these problems that will make it just as long-lasting and useful as the previous program? Historic buildings are filled with the evidence of old building techniques, materiality and textures, and stories of the past, so why not allow the building to serve as not only a container of learning, but as a learning tool itself. The program of this thesis, a middle school for creative writing and literature, allows the decaying Old Engine Company 26 in Washington, DC's Langdon neighborhood to be adaptively reused as part of a comtemporary, imaginative education campus. The project explores the connection and balance between new and old and the combination of stories this creates. Old Engine Company 26 began its story in 1908, but the imposed design has been given a story--the story from the childrens' book, The Phantom Tollbooth. The past and present stories will intertwine with the story the future students create by interacting with, learning from, and influencing the school building. The thesis serves as an example of how an adaptive reuse project can provide unique cultural, educational, and sensory facilities while still fulfilling the sustainability, economic, and planning needs of design. / Master of Architecture