APR 2, 10:01 AM UPDATED 11:30 AM

Historic Board Says Transformer Sculptures Can’t Remain In Georgetown

Martin Austermuhle https://twitter.com/maustermuhle



Two massive Transformers sculptures have been standing outside a Georgetown home since January, drawing curious onlookers and complaints from some history-minded neighbors.

Victoria Pickering / Flickr

Optimus Prime may have survived a crash landing on pre-historic earth and the many battles with the Decepticons that followed, but he’s likely not going to escape the Old Georgetown Board alive.

Members of the federal board charged with reviewing any changes to the exterior of Georgetown’s historic homes hinted Thursday that two large Transformers sculptures placed outside a house on Prospect Street NW — one of Optimus Prime, the other of Bumblebee — will likely have to come down because they don’t comport with the neighborhood’s historic character.

“This really puts us in a position of having to look like the old curmudgeon bad guys and girls. But it’s certainly not appropriate for a historic district,” said H. Alan Brangman, chairman of the three-person Old Georgetown Board, speaking late Thursday afternoon.

The massive metal sculptures are made of real car parts and each weighs about two tons. They belong to Dr. Newton Howard, a brain scientist at Georgetown University with an affinity for “sentient living autonomous robots who can transform into other forms,” as his architect and zoning expert, Stephen duPont, told the board in trying to explain what Transformers are. (“The Wikipedia entry is 15 pages long. Toys sell for hundreds of dollars. I was not that familiar with these,” duPont said.)

Howard installed the Autobots on planters outside of his front door in January. And thus began the brutal battle of robots versus, well, Georgetown.

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