hillrag.com • September 2015
Est. 1981
CAPITOL HILL 165 D Street, SE 4BR/3.5BA 2-Unit House Todd Bissey 202-841-7653
D ISTE L T JUS
CAPITOL HILL
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1367 K Street, SE #101 1BR/1BA $236,500 Fern Pannill 240-508-4856
1101 & 1103 9th Street, NE
ON G SO N I COM
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1128 Columbia Road, NW 2-Unit Boutique Condo
112 Kentucky Ave., SE 2-Unit Property
Colin Johnson 202-536-4445
Pete Frias 202-744-8973 www.PeterFrias.com
www.1128columbiacondos.com
4 NEW 2-LEVEL 3BR/3.5BA CONDOS IAL ERC M COM
This has the single greatest roof-deck that I have ever seen for an individual condo.- Dan G., Realtor
CAPITOL HILL
804 H Street, NE 790 sq.ft. - $1,895
CAPITOL HILL
1102 4th Street, NE $879,500
Stan Bissey 202-841-1433 www.BisseyTeam.com
Genie Hutinet 202-413-7661
“WHERE WASHINGTON SHOPS FOR A NEW ADDRESS!”® 225 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20003
Tel: 202-544-3900 www.johncformant.com
Sales • Rentals • Commercial Leasing • Property Management • Investments
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When it comes to real estate,
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What’s Inside?
38
Herbs, the Last Frontier
44
Great Gardens of Capitol Hill
50
It’s All About Space
54
Beyond the Rain Barrel
Catherine Plume
58
N&M House Detectives
Catherine Plume
In every issue:
62
The ABC’s of Zoning: Part 1
66
Garden Lady
22 Calendar
158 Last Word
50
Cheryl Corson Derek Thomas
Bruce Wentworth
Ken Jarboe
Wendy Hill
69
Bulletin Board
80
District Beat: Crossing The River
84
Hill Rag Crossword 152 Classified Ads
homes and gardens SPECIAL
capitol streets
18 What’s on Washington
88
37
Jonetta Rose Barras
The Numbers: What We Know about Charter Soumya Bhat
School Finances
Sept. 86
The Eastern Market Report
Peter Waldron
community life 89
E on DC
90
Washington Area Community Investment Fund Invests in DC
115
E. Ethelbert Miller Phil Hutinet Bill Matuszeski
92
Our River: A Timetable for Restoration
94
South by West
96
H Street Life
98
The Capitol Riverfront
100
Used Book Donations Support Programs at
William Rich Elise Bernard Michael Stevens
Neal Gregory
Southeast Library
real estate 103
The District Source
106
Changing Hands
Shaun Courtney Don Denton
arts and dining 115
Catania Bakery
Annette Nielsen
135
on the cover: Gustave Caillebotte Dahlias, Garden at Petit Gennevilliers, 1893 oil on canvas overall: 157 x 114 cm (61 13/16 x 44 7/8 in.) framed: 188 145 cm (74 57 1/16 in.) Private Collection See the Caillebotte exhibit called “The Painter’s Eye” at the National Gallery of Art. On exhibit until October 4, 2015. www.nga.gov
120
Dining Notes
Celeste McCall
124
The Wine Girl: Cognac
Lilia Coffin
126
Theater: Don’t Wait to Dive In
128
At the Movies: Second Look
130
Art and The City
132
The Literary Hill
Barbara Wells Mike Canning
Jim Magner Karen Lyon
health and fitness 135
New Yoga Studios On or Very Near
the Hill
Pattie Cinelli
kids and family 139
Kids & Family Notebook
144
Making the Education Choice
Kathleen Donner
145
New Sounds for a New School Year
& Chris Bulbulia
146
School Notes
150
Blyth-Templeton Academy Opens at the
Hill Center
María Helena Carey Hannah Jacobson
Susan Braun Johnson Paul Rivas
Chiropractic Cures Foot Pain A middle-aged male with a chronic foot pain came into the office. He’d been everywhere. My analysis was that the pain either came from a subtle foot misalignment or from the sciatic nerve via his back. Four visits later, 90% improvement and getting better. Try chiropractic first. For the better health and life experience of you and your family Dr. David Walls-Kaufman Capitol Hill Chiropractic Center 411 East Capitol St., SE | 202.544.6035
F A G O N
MIDCITY
GUIDE TO CAPITOL HILL
YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
Capital Community News, Inc. • 224 7th Street, SE, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20003 202.543.8300 • www.capitalcommunitynews.com EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Melissa Ashabranner • melissaashabranner@hillrag.com PUBLISHER: Jean-Keith Fagon • fagon@hillrag.com Copyright © 2015 by Capital Community News. All Rights Reserved.
Editorial Staff
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Arts, Dining & Entertainment A��: D�����:
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Serving The Capitol Hill Community Since 1984
T������: W��� G���:
Jim Magner • jjmagner@aol.com Emily Clark • clapol47@gmail.com Celeste McCall • celeste@us.net Jonathan Bardzik • jonathan.bardzik@gmail.com Karen Lyon • klyon@folger.edu Mike Canning • mjcanning@verizon.net Jean-Keith Fagon • fagon@hillrag.com Stephen Monroe • steve@jazzavenues.com Barbara Wells • barchardwells@aol.com Jon Genderson • jon@cellar.com
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C������� E�����: Kathleen Donner • calendar@hillrag.com, bulletinboard@hillrag.com
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Elise Bernard • elise.bernard@gmail.com Ellen Boomer • emboomer@gmail.com Stephanie Deutsch • scd@his.com Michelle Phipps-Evans • invisiblecolours@yahoo.com Maggie Hall • whitby@aol.com Mark Johnson • mark@hillrag.com Stephen Lilienthal - stephen_lilienthal@yahoo.com Pleasant Mann • pmann1995@gmail.com Meghan Markey • meghanmarkey@gmail.com John H. Muller • jmuller.washingtonsyndicate@gmail.com Jonathan Neeley • neeley87@gmail.com Will Rich • will.janks@gmail.com Heather Schoell • schoell@verizon.net Virginia Avniel Spatz • virginia@hillrag.com Michael G. Stevens • michael@capitolriverfront.org Peter J. Waldron • peter@hillrag.com Jazzy Wright • wright.jazzy@gmail.com
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Homes & Gardens
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Real Estate
Don Denton • DDenton@cbmove.com
We welcome suggestions for stories. Send queries to andrew@hillrag.com. We are also interested in your views on community issues which are published in the Last Word. Please limit your comments to 250 words. Letters may be edited for space. Please include your name, address and phone number. Send Last Word submissions to lastword@hillrag.com. For employment opportunities email jobs@hillrag.com. 16 H Hillrag.com
#EntreeDC2015
BREAKOUT SESSIONS:
Date:
Monday, September 21, 2015
Time:
8:00 am – 1:00 pm
Location:
Walter E. Washington Convention Center 801 Mt. Vernon Place, NW Washington DC 20001
To Register: www.EntreeDC2015.com What:
Third Annual Entrée DC: Food & Drink Forum 2015
Audience:
Business owners who want to grow their business, get ideas, and have an opportunity to network with other business owners, and District leaders.
• DC Government Regulatory Processes • Do’s and Don’ts of Operating a Food Industry Business in DC • The 5 BIGGEST Business Public Relations Mistakes • How to Get Financing to Open a Business • Entering into a Building Lease Agreement • Ins and Outs of Food Trucking, Public Markets, and Vending
Money Smart for Small Business: Organizational Types & Tax Planning and Reporting
How to Open a Small Business by Navigating through DCRA’s Regulatory process
Navigating Government Contracting with DC Procurement Technical Assistance Center
Date:
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Date:
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Date:
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Time:
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Time:
5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Time:
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Location: 1100 4th Street, SW 4th Floor (E-4302) Washington, DC 20024
Location: 1100 4th Street, SW 2nd Floor (E-200) Washington, DC 20024
Location: 1100 4th Street, SW 4th Floor (E-4302) Washington, DC 20024
To Register: http://goo.gl/fmMWwS
To Register: http://goo.gl/36Pgmb
To Register: http://goo.gl/kmMfO5
Money Smart for Small Business: Recordkeeping & Time Management
The Regulatory Process of Starting a Business
SmartStart Program Integrated Licensing and Money Smart for Small Business Program
Date:
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Date:
Monday, September 28, 2015
Date:
Monday, September 28, 2015
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Time:
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Time:
9:00 am – 11:00 am
Time:
Location: 1100 4th Street, SW 4th Floor (E-4302) Washington, DC 20024 To Register: http://goo.gl/FnMlPO
Location: 1800 Good Hope Road, SE Washington DC 20020 To Register: http://goo.gl/qNOhFX
Location: 1100 4th Street, SW 2nd Floor (E-268) Washington, DC 20024 To Register: http://goo.gl/1ASgGv
For further information, please contact: Jacqueline Noisette (202) 442-8170 jacqueline.noisette@dc.gov | Claudia Herrera (202) 442-8055 claudia.herrera@dc.gov | Joy Douglas (202) 442-8690 joy.douglas@dc.gov
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Art All Night: Nuit Blanche DC
Watch as DC’s creative community reimagines public and private space and invites us all to see our city anew. Indoor and outdoor venues will showcase work by artists in a diverse range of media-with vibrant visual arts, street performances, live music, and DJs contributing to an unprecedented mash-up of cultural experiences in the nation’s capital. Art All Night: Nuit Blanche DC will be held on Sat., Sept. 26, from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Sun., Sept. 27. It takes place in the Dupont Circle, Shaw, North Capitol, H Street NE and Congress Heights neighborhoods. For more information, visit thedcarts.com Art All Night 2014. Photo: Valerie Russell
Rosslyn Jazz Festival
The Rosslyn Jazz Festival, Sat., Sept. 12, 1 to 7 p.m., is the annual free music celebration in Gateway Park just across Key Bridge in Rosslyn. This year is the 25th anniversary of the festival. It features locally, nationally and internationally acclaimed artists including Funk/Afrobeat ensemble The Funk Ark at 1 p.m.; internationally acclaimed Sonny Knight & The Lakers at 2:20 p.m.; Ethiopian pop music inspired Debo Band at 3:30 p.m.; and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, a group whose music has been featured on the HBO series Treme at 5:20 p.m. The festival is two blocks from the Rosslyn Metro Station and there is $5 flat-rate parking at 1911 N. Fort Myer Dr. A full schedule is available at rosslynva.org Photo: Courtesy of Rosslyn BID
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DC Department of Parks and Recreation Annual Doggie Day Swim
The annual DPR Doggie Day Swim is on Sat., Sept. 12, noon to 4 p.m. at Upshur Pool, 4300 Arkansas Ave. NW; Francis Pool, 25th and N Streets NW; and Randall Pool, South Capitol and I Streets SW. Capacities are: 75 dogs at Upshur Pool, 150 dogs at Francis Pool and 75 dogs at Randall Pool. With the end of the outdoor swimming season, this event provides dogs with a one day opportunity to enjoy a swim and play fun aquatics games. The DC Department of Health will be on hand to monitor the health and safety of the pets and their owners; to ensure all dogs have a DC dog license and to provide outreach and education on animal related issues. Licenses will be issued on site, however dog owners must have all the required documentation (proof of rabies and distemper vaccinations; and proof of spaying/neutering) and fee payment. Read the rules at pr.dc.gov/release/dpr-hostssixth-annual-dpr-doggie-day-swim. Annual Doggie Swim at Randall Pool. Photo: Andrew Lightman
H Street & Barracks Row Festivals
The H Street Festival is on Sat., Sept. 19, noon to 7 p.m. on 10 blocks of H St. NE. There will be 14 stages of music; over 100 restaurants, food trucks and food vendors; the standard array of community information tables; and a Washington Nationals Presidents’ race at 3 p.m. starting at the Eighth Street Stage. For more information, visit hstreet.org. The Barracks Row Fall Festival is Sat., Sept. 25, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Eighth St. SE, between E and I Streets. The festival has plenty of activities for the whole family, including a military chef cook-off, a performance by Trapeze School New York, swing dancing, an ice carving competition, live music, food trucks, fashion trucks and information tables. The DC Area Drone User Group will showcase do-it-yourself and consumer drone technology. For more information, barracksrow.org Dancing to music at the H Street Festival. Photo: Andrew Lightman
National Cathedral Blessing of the Animals
The annual Blessing of the Animals celebrates the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and the environment. This year’s blessing at the National Cathedral takes place on Sun., Oct. 4 at 2:30 pm. The service features a brief prayer followed by individual blessings. All animals are welcome and must be leashed. cathedral.org. No need to drive. There are blessings right on the Hill. On Sun., Oct. 4, there is a Blessing of the Animals at Christ Church, 620 G St. SE. at 11 a.m. and another at St. Monica & St. James Episcopal Church, 222 Eighth St. NE at 11:30 a.m. The Rev. Canon Gina Gilland Campbell blesses a dog and its owner at Washington National Cathedral’s annual Blessing of the Animals. Photo: Courtesy of Washington National Cathedral
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SEPTEMBER CALENDAR
Dead Man’s Run 5k and Kids Fun Run at Congressional Cemetery.
Photo: Kathy McClean Photography
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Oct 3, 6 PM (kids run at about 6:05 PM). $40 for the 5k, $10 for the untimed kids run (around a 2k distance). Packet pick-up at 5 PM. Bags may be left inside the Chapel during the race until 7 PM, and a volunteer will oversee them. Strollers and dogs allowed. No retractable leashes; all participating dogs must be properly vaccinated and well-socialized. Contact Congressional Cemetery race staff with questions at 202-543-0539. congressionalcemetery.org
CAPITOL HILL VILLAGE CORNER
Exit Strategies E
xit Strategies is a ninepart series of 2-hour classes that address life planning for individuals and families to prepare for aging. Topics include:
SPECIAL EVENTS
The BEACH at the National Building Museum. Through Sept 7. Spanning the Great Hall, the BEACH, created in partnership with Snarkitecture, covers 10,000 square feet and include an “ocean” of nearly one million recyclable translucent plastic balls. National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. 202272-2448. nbm.org V-J Day 70th Anniversary Commemoration at WWII Memorial. Sept 2, 10:30 AM. As part of the ceremony, World War II veterans and representatives of the United States and the Pacific Theater Allies will lay wreaths at the Freedom Wall. wwiimemorialfriends.org Truckeroo Food Trucks. Sept 11, 11 AM to 11 PM. Half St. and M St., SE, near Nat’s Park. Truckeroodc.com
A. Legal aspects such as wills, estates, powers of attorney and medical directives; B. Financial issues including identifying and communicating financial resources and budgeting and cost planning and; C. Household concerns ranging from rightscaling your household, to archiving materials, to managing one’s electronic resources and identities.
The course is intended for anyone in a family with aging members—including seniors, spouses, adult children or others. Classes are interactive with informational components and resources, with in-class exercises and discussions and home work. The course will discuss how individuals and families can prepare for this time, as well as share hands-on tactics for challenging conversations. The course addresses both how to prepare and create exit strategies. Classes are free for Capitol Hill Village members or
The Key to Your Community
$200 for non-members. To register call Capitol Hill Village Offices at (202) 543 1778. Class dates are: September 10, 17, 24. October 1, 8, 15, (break). October 29, November 5, November 12. Classes will be held in the evening on Capitol Hill. Class size is limited to 30 participants. •
Columbia Heights Neighborhood Festival. Sept 12, 11AM to 6 PM. 11th St. NW, between Kenyon St. and Park Rd. columbiaheightsday.org East of the River Book Festival. Sept 12, 11 AM to 3 PM. This event highlights the creative work of authors who are independently published and/or from small presses in the area. Anacostia Arts Center, 1231 Good Hope Rd. SE. eastoftheriverbookfestival.com “This Old Warehouse” Celebration at Community Forklift. Sept 12, 10 AM to 3 PM. They’ll have antique experts giving advice on appraisals, vintage shops and preservation societies with information tables, oldtime music and entertainment, food trucks, free restoration workshops all day long and a rare opportunity to
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{september events calendar}
ative tastes from more than 35 of the neighborhood’s best restaurants, as well as a Craft Beer & Wine Garden. The Taste will move from Wisconsin Avenue to K Street, along the Georgetown Waterfront. tasteofgeorgetown.com
Photographer and philanthropist Howard G. Buffett meets with children receiving food aid at a school in Tajikistan. Photo: Courtesy of Howard W. Buffett
LAST OF THE OUTDOOR SUMMER MUSIC AND MOVIES
Navy Memorial Concerts on the Avenue. Sept 1, 7:30 PM. 701 Pennsylvania Ave. NE. navyband.navy.mil
“40 Chances-Finding Hope in a Hungry World” at Newseum. Sept 18 to Jan 3. The Photography of Howard G. Buffett,” featuring 40 of Buffett’s photos documenting the world hunger crisis as part of a global awareness campaign. Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. newseum.org check out our large selection of vintage tools and hardware. Community Forklift, 4671 Tanglewood Dr., Hyattsville, MD. 301-985-5180. communityforklift.org
items, a campfire, and much more. Benefits the C&O Canal National Historical Park. $175. Historic Great Falls Tavern, 11710 MacArthur Blvd., Potomac, MD. ParkAfterDark.org
Snallygaster-DC’s Largest Craft Beer Festival. Sept 12, 1 to 6 PM. A benefit for Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture, Snallygaster is once again setting new heights tapping no fewer than 300 unique craft beers, featuring more than 10 of DC’s finest food trucks & vendors, multiple musical acts, entertainment, games, family fun and more. The Yards, First and N Streets SE, across from Nationals Park. snallygasterdc.com
Turkish Festival. Sept 27, 11 AM to 7 PM. Explore the Wonders of Turkey in DC. Pennsylvania Ave. NW, between 12th and 14th Streets and Freedom Plaza. turkishfestival.org
Adams Morgan Day. Sept 13, noon to 6 PM. Festival is along 18th Street and Columbia Road in Adams Morgan. facebook.com/adamsmorganday Park After Dark. Sept 19, 6 to 10 PM. This event is held under the stars in the C&O Canal NHP at the Historic Great Falls Tavern. Attendees will kick back and enjoy live music, great food, libations, unique live and silent auction
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Chili Pepper Day at the National Arboretum. Oct 3, 1 to 4 PM. Taste-test a variety of peppers, sample chili-based foods, watch live demonstrations, and pick up informational materials at this annual drop-in event celebrating the cultivation and use of chili peppers. Explore the National Herb Garden’s extensive collection of over 60 varieties, including some of the world’s hottest peppers. Free. No registration required. US National Arboretum, 3501 New York Ave. NE. usna.usda.gov Taste of Georgetown. Oct 3, 11 AM to 4 PM. The annual Taste of Georgetown, celebrates its 22nd year with cre-
Harbor Nights Summer Concerts. Wednesdays, 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Sept 2, Justin Trawick and the Common Good; Sept 9, Phil Kominski; Sept 16, The Suitors; Sept 23, Dan Haas Duo; Sept 30, The Bubbas. Washington Harbor, 3050 K St. NW. thewashingtonharbour.com
Capital Riverfront Outdoor Movies. Sept 3 at sundown. The Sound of Music. They invite you to come early, bring a picnic, and enjoy the show. Canal Park, 200 M St. SE. capitolriverfront.org National Symphony Orchestra Labor Day Concert at the Capitol. Sept 6, 8 PM. Dress rehearsal is 3:30 to 6 PM. Gates open at 3 PM. In case of inclement weather, the concert will move to the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Call the NSO Summer Concert Hotline at 202-4168114 after 2 PM. Yard’s Park Friday Night Concert Series. Fridays, through Sept 11, 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Come to Yards Park to relax and enjoy the river view, fantastic bands, food and beverage, and a large variety of great restaurants within a five-minute walk from the park. Family-friendly lyrics and grassy open space make this an enjoyable event for adults and kids alike. The Yards Park, 355 Water St. SE. yardspark.org Hot 5 @ Hill Center: (outdoor) Jazz on a Summer’s Eve. Sept 20, Nasar Abadey; 5 PM. Performance is preceded
by a short Q&A with the artist. Sponsored by Stella Artois. Hill Center, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. hillcenterdc.org Live! Concert Series on the Plaza. Through Oct 2, weekdays, noon to 1:30 PM. Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. itcdc.com
music
“Chamber Music: The Life and Legacy of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge” Exhibition at Library of Congress. Through Jan. 23, 2016. Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge was an accomplished pianist and avid composer whose passion was chamber music. In pursuit of her vision to make chamber music available to all, she built at the Library of Congress in 1925 an intimate, finely tuned auditorium that bears her name and established a foundation at the Library, ensuring that her support for contemporary music would continue for many generations. James Madison Building, Performing Arts Reading Room Gallery (First floor), 101 Independence Ave. SE. loc.gov Music at Ebenezers. Sept 3, The Walking Guys. Ebenezers Coffeehouse, 201 F St. NE. 202-558-6900. ebenezerscoffeehouse.com American Roots Concerts at the Botanic Garden. Sept 10, 3 to 5 PM, Jonny Grave, Blues; Sept 25, 3 to 5 pm, South Rail Band, Americana/ Roots. Concerts are in the Conservatory Garden Court. usbg.gov “Notes from the Crypt” Chamber Music Concerts at Congressional Cemetery. Sept 13, Oct 11, Nov 15; 4 PM. These one-hour concerts are held about once a month in the historic 1903 Chapel. The program is followed by a wine and cheese reception. Admission is free, and seating is first come, first served. Historic Congressional Cemetery is at 1801 E St. SE. 202-543-0539. congressionalcemetery.org
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{september events calendar}
minster Presbyterian Church, 400 I St. SW (Fourth and I, south side of intersection). westminsterdc.org Church of the Epiphany Weekly Concerts. Every Tuesday, 12:10 PM. Free but a free will offering taken. 1317 G ST. NW. 202-347-2635. epiphanydc.org
THEATER
Shakespeare Theatre Company 25th Anniversary of Free For All! Sept 1 to 13. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. shakespearetheatre.org Scena’s The Importance of Being Earnest at the Atlas. Through Sept 13. Scena’s gender-bending production of Earnest is back—reset in the decadent, roaring 20s and with a sexy, surprising twist. Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. scenatheatre.org
Crowds fill the Walter E. Washington Convention Center during the 2014 National Book Festival. Photo: Colena Turner
National Book Festival.
Dogfight at the Keegan. Through Sept 19. On the night before their deployment to Vietnam, three young marines set out for one final boys’ night of debauchery. Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW. 202265-3767. keegantheatre.com
Sept 5, l0 AM to 10 PM. Approximately 150 authors, illustrators and poets will make presentations in pavilions dedicated to Children; Teens; Picture Books; Biography & Memoir; Contemporary Life; Culinary Arts; Fiction; History; International Programs; Mysteries, Thrillers & Science Fiction; Poetry & Prose; Science; and Special Programs. Evening activities begin at 6 PM with a Poetry Slam, a Graphic Novels Super Session, a Great Books to Great Movies panel and a first-time-ever pavilion dedicated to Romance fiction. Read more at loc.gov/bookfest. Fiddling Poet Comes to Hill Center. Sept 25, 8 PM. Ken Waldman, Alaska’s Fiddling Poet, will be joined by West Virginia songwriter, guitarist (and yodeler) John Lilly. $15. For more information, call the Hill Center at 202549-4172 or visit hillcenterdc.org. R Kelly at Verizon Center. Sept 26, 8 PM. Starting his career in 1992, he has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide, won 3 Grammy Awards (24 nominations), 6 American Music Awards, 6 Billboard Awards, 8 Soul Train Awards and 3 NAACP Image Awards. ticketmaster.com
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The Music of Faith in Times of War: Musical Treasures from Mid-17th Century Vienna. Sept 26, 7:30 PM. This illustrated musicology lecture and concert will discuss how the emperor used music to successfully navigate through a disastrous war, revealing an inspirational story of the power of music and the Catholic faith. St. Vincent’s Chapel, 620 Michigan Ave. NE. Jazz Night and Blues Night in Southwest. Jazz is every Friday, 6 to 9 PM. Blues is every Monday, 6 to 9 PM. Expect a large, fun and friendly crowd. The cover is $5. Children under 16 years of age are welcome and free. Reasonably priced meals offered. 202-484-7700. West-
Night Falls on the Blue Planet at Anacostia Playhouse. Sept 3 to 27. Renee has had a rough couple of years. Screw that--a rough life, shaped by alcoholism and estrangement. All that changes when she gets a massage and discovers that her body is a world unto itself. She starts to map and explore a lifetime of trauma: but is she healing, or is she vanishing into her own world? Anacostia Playhouse, 2020 Shannon Pl. SE. 202-2902328. anacostiaplayhouse.com Rorschach’s TRUTH & BEAUTY BOMBS: A Softer World at the Atlas. Sept 4 to Oct 4. Somewhere, not far from here, there’s a place where we can touch the clouds and all the monsters are real. Based on Emily Horne and Joey Comeau’s web comic, this softer world explodes with brutal honesty and dark wit. Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. rorschachtheatre.com
Women Laughing Alone with Salad at Woolly. Sept 7 to Oct 4. What’s on the menu for Meredith, Tori, and Sandy: the three women in Guy’s life? Healthy lifestyles, upward mobility, meaningful sex? Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, 641 D St. NW. 202-393-3939. woollymammoth.net Chimerica at Studio. Sept 9 to Oct 18. In 1989, Joe, a young American journalist, photographs a protester facing down four tanks in Tiananmen Square. In 2012, with election season bringing US-China relations into the spotlight, Joe decides to seek out the subject of his most famous image—just as an old friend from China reaches out with an agenda of his own. Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW. 202-332-3300. studiotheatre.org Yerma by Fernando J. López at GALA. Sept 10 to Oct 4. GALA launches its 40th anniversary season with the world premiere of a new adaptation of Yerma by Fernando J. López, a tragic poem originally written by the Spanish playwright Federico García Lorca. Spanish with English surtitles. GALA Hispanic Theatre, 3333 14th St. NW. 202234-7174. galatheatre.org Destiny of Desire at Arena. Sept 11 to Oct 18. On a stormy night in Bellarica, Mexico, two baby girls are born — one into a life of privilege and one into a life of poverty. When the newborns are swapped by a former beauty queen with an insatiable lust for power, the stage is set for two outrageous misfortunes to grow into one remarkable destiny. Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW. 202-4883300. arenastage.org
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Queens Girl in the World at Theater J. Sept 16 to Oct 11. It’s summer 1962 in Queens, New York. The sounds of doo-wop music fill the night, the Civil Rights movement is
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stirring and 12-year-old Jacqueline Marie Butler is on the verge of adulthood. Theater J, 1529 16th St. NW. 800-494-8497. washingtondcjcc.org Taffety Punk’s Inheritance Canyon at CHAW. Sept 18 to Oct 10 (pay what you can on sept 17). Survivors of a mysterious disaster face their greatest enemies--themselves--as they struggle for meaning within the restrictions of their new lives as government guinea pigs. Trapped in a canyon with unexplainable anomalies, their desires threaten the very fabric of time and space. Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, 545 Seventh St. SE. taffetypunk.com texts & beheadings / ElizabethR at the Folger. Sept 19 to Oct 4. Through poems, prayers, and private letters, the woman who swore that she would not make windows into men’s souls reveals her own. Folger Shakespeare Theater, 201 E. Capitol St. SE. 202-544-7077. folger.edu OpenStageDC at Corner Store. Sept 25, 6:30 PM. A Washington based open mic event for theatre artists-providing writers and performers a casual, intimate setting to present new work. Five one acts or excerpts from longer plays are presented in 10 minute segments for one dynamic and varied hour. $10 Donation. The Corner Store, 900 So. Carolina Ave. SE. cornerstorearts.org
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The Guard (World Premiere) at Ford’s. Sept 25 to Oct 18. In this world-premiere comedic drama, playwright Jessica Dickey paints shimmering portraits of Rembrandt, Homer and those who protect the art we cherish. Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St. NW. 202347-4833. fords.org Salomé at Shakespeare. Oct 6 to Nov 8. A tale as provocative as the Dance of the Seven Veils. Accord-
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ing to the New Testament tale, Salomé, Princess of Judaea, danced for Herod Antipas and asked for the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter. Lansburgh Theatre, 450 Seventh St. NW. 202-547-1122. shakespearetheatre.org
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Washington Nationals Baseball. Aug 29 and 30; Sept 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26 and 27. washington.nationals.mlb.com Eastern High School Varsity Football. Sept 3, 6 PM at Falls Church; Sept 11, 6 PM vs Richard Wright; Sept 18, 6 PM vs. Wilson; Sept 25, 6 PM at McKinley Tech; Oct 2, 6 PM at Roosevelt; Oct 10, 2 PM vs. Phelps (homecoming); Oct 16, 6 PM at Bell at Cardoza; Oct 23, 6 PM vs. McKinley Tech; Oct 30, 6 PM vs Roosevelt; Nov 6, 6 PM at Cardoza.
Corner Store Classical Sunday with National Symphony Orchestra’s “Last Stand Quartet” is Sun., Sept. 27, 5 to 7 p.m.
Music at the Corner Store. Sept 5, 7 PM, Me and Molly; Sept 12, 7 PM, Dead Men’s Hollow; Sept 27, 5 to 7 PM, National Symphony Orchestra’s “Last Stand Quartet” presenting a night of quartets by Barber, Haydn and Beethoven. $30, rsvp only. The Corner Store, 900 So. Carolina Ave. SE. cornerstorearts.org
Beat the Deadline 5k. Sept 5, 7:30 AM. Start and Finish on F St. NW, between 13th and 14th. press.org/5k Washington Mystics Basketball. Sept 8 and 15. Verizon Center. mystics.wnba.com Nation’s Triathlon. Sept 13, 7 AM. Swim the Potomac River; Bike and run--start and finish at West Potomac Park. nationstri.com
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DC United. Sept 15, 8 PM vs. Arabe Unido; Sept 19, 7 PM vs. Crew SC; Oct 2, 7 PM vs. NYCFC. RFK Stadium. dcunited.com Navy-Air Force Half Marathon & Navy 5 Miler. Sept 20, 7 AM. Starts and ends on
Washington Monument Grounds. navyairforcehalfmarathon.com 13th Annual Hope for the Homeless Golf Tournament. Sept 21, 1:30 PM. Tournament at the Glenn Dale Country Club benefits the Capital Hill Group Ministry. chgm.net Freedom 5K at President Lincoln’s Cottage. Sept 26, 8 AM. $30. President Lincoln’s Cottage, 140 Rock Creek Church Rd. NW. lincolncottage.org/freedom5k2015 Yoga “Mortis” at Congressional Cemetery. Every Monday through end of October, 6 to 7 PM, in the chapel. All levels welcome and no reservations are necessary. Props and a limited number
of mats are provided. Wear comfortable clothing. $10 suggested donation. Historic Congressional Cemetery, 1801 E St. SE. 202-543-0539. congressionalcemetery.org Free Yoga at Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Fridays through Sept 11, 9 to 11 AM. Class with be an all-levels, vinyasa class on the Hirshhorn Museum outdoor plaza. hirshhorn.si.edu Free public tennis courts in Ward Six. King Greenleaf Recreation Center, 201 N St. SW; Garfield Park, Third and G Streets SE; Randall Park First and I Streets SW; Rosedale Recreation Center, 1701 Gales St. NE; Sherwood Recreation Center, 640 10th St. NE. All courts are open daily, dawn to dusk. Some are lighted for extended evening play. Courts are available on a first-come, first-served basis for one hour intervals; extended use of tennis courts requires a permit. Proper shoes and attire is required. 202-671-0314. dpr.dc.gov/dpr Public Skating at Fort Dupont Ice Arena. Fridays, noon to 2 p.m. and Saturdays 12:45 to 1:45 p.m. Public Skate, $5 for adults (13 to 64); $4 for seniors and children (5 to 12); $3, skate rental. Fort Dupont Ice Arena, 3779 Ely Pl. SE. 202-5845007. fdia.org East Potomac (outdoor) Pool. Closes for season on Sept 30, 6 PM. 972 Ohio Dr. SW. dpr/dc/gov
maRkets anD sales Market SW “night market”. Sept 25 and Oct 23, 4 to 9 PM. Bills itself as “an evening of arts, food, flea & fun, live music.” Market is at Fourth and M Street SW. marketswdc.com
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year, Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair is an exhibition and sale of handmade goods from independent artists. washingtoncitypaper. com/craftybastards Smithsonian Craft2Wear Show. Oct 2, 10 AM to 8 PM; Oct 3, 10 AM to 5 PM. (Advance Chance Party held Oct. 1, 5:30 to 9 PM, $75.). Over 50 American craft and wearable art designers, all previously juried into the renowned Smithsonian Craft Show, will offer unique jewelry, clothing and accessories for women and men in all price ranges, with many items under $100. National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. 202-272-2448. Craft2Wear. Smithsonian.org H Street NE Twilight Farmers Market at Starburst Plaza. Thursdays through mid-September, 3 to 7 PM. The Starburst Plaza Intersection is where H Street, Bladensburg Road, Benning Road, Maryland Avenue and Florida Avenue NE meet (1500 block of H St. NE). hstreet.org Eastern Market. Daily except Mondays and important holidays. Weekdays, 7 AM to 7 PM; Saturdays, 7 AM to 5 PM; Sundays, 9 AM to 5 PM. Flea market and arts and crafts market open Saturdays and Sundays, 9 AM to 6 PM. Eastern Market is Washington’s last continually operated “old world” market. 200 block of Seventh St. SE. 202 698-5253. easternmarketdc.com H Street NE Farmers Market. Saturdays, through Dec 19, 9 AM to noon. Located at H St. and 13th Streets NE. EBT/Food Stamps can be redeemed at the information table. All EBT customers and WIC/Senior coupon customers will receive “Double Dollar” coupons to match their EBT dollars or WIC/Senior coupons redeemed up to $10. freshfarmmarket.org Branch Avenue Pawn Parking Lot Flea Market. Saturdays, year-round (weather permitting). Set up after 10 AM. 3128 Branch Ave., Temple Hills, MD. Fresh Tuesdays at Eastern Market. Every Tuesday, 3 to 7 PM. Tuesday afternoon farmers’ line of fresh produce. Eastern Market, 200 block of Seventh St. SE. 202-698-5253. easternmarketdc.com Maine Avenue Fish Market. Open 365 days a year. 7 AM to 9 PM. 1100 Maine Ave. SW. 202484-2722.
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Fashion Trucks on U. Sundays, noon to 5 PM. Fashion Trucks offer a mix of crafts, clothes, accessories and jewelry at the former home of the Sunday U St Flea in the parking lot, next to Nellie’s Sports Bar at 912 U St. NW. ustreetflea.com
civic liFe
Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs Action Forum. Sept 12, 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM. The purpose is to examine how they can work more collaboratively across different cultures and ethnic backgrounds and to create implementable strategies for MOAPIA. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt. Vernon Pl., NW. Register at dctakesaction.eventbrite.com. Southwest Waterfront AARP Chapter Luncheon Meeting. Sept 16, noon. Meeting subject is promoting library programs and services for the SW 50-plus community. $5 for lunch. Current AARP members and prospective members welcome. River Park Mutual Homes Community Room, 1311 Delaware Ave. SW. For more information, contact Chapter President Betty Jean Tolbert Jones, bettyjeantolbertjones@yahoo.com or 202-554-0901. Congresswoman Norton’s NW District Office. Open weekdays, 9 AM to 6 PM. 529 14th St. NW, suite 900. 202-783-5065. norton.house.gov ANC 6A. Second Thursday, 7 PM. Meeting at Miner Elementary School, 601 15th St. NE. 202-423-8868. anc6a.org ANC 6B. Second Tuesday, 7 PM. Meeting at Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. 202-543-3344. anc6b.org ANC 6C. Second Wednesday, 7 PM. Meeting at Heritage Foundation, 214 Mass. Ave. NE, first floor conference room. 202-547-7168. anc6c.org ANC 6D. Second Monday, 7 PM. Meeting at 1100 Fourth St. SW, DCRA meeting room, Second floor. 202-554-1795. anc6d.org ANC 6E. First Tuesday, 6:30 PM. Meeting at Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Library, 1630 Seventh St. NW. anc6e.org Have an item for the Calendar? Email it to calendar@hillrag.com. ◆
Are you a small business owner? Are you looking to improve your place of business? If so, consider submitting an application for a GREAT STREETS SMALL BUSINESS GRANT through the DC Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED). Grants of up to $50,000 each will be awarded on a competitive basis to owners of small retail and service-oriented businesses in 13 Great Streets corridors who want to renovate or expand their place of business. Prospective applicants can verify their location eligibility by using the interactive mapping tool at www.greatstreets.dc.gov. Visit greatstreets.dc.gov to learn more and apply today!
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the hill Rag fall issue
September 2015 H 37
the Last Frontier d by Cheryl Corson, RLA, ASLA
o you have small dusty bottles of dried herbs in your kitchen dating from the Bush Administration? While our culinary abilities have grown, some of us still use herbs as our parents or grandparents did. Not only are we missing out on flavor, but on medicinal benefits these easy to grow plants have when used internally and topically (on the skin). Herbs are the last frontier in self-care and plenty of local talent is available to help you get started. What is an herb? The answer depends on who you ask, but the Herb Society of America defines it broadly, saying that, “Herbs are valued for their flavor, fragrance, medicinal and healthful qualities, economic and industrial uses, pesticidal properties, and coloring materials (dyes).” See: http://herbsociety.org/.
heRBs as meDicine?
Apprentice herbalists examining leaves. Photo: Lucy Walker.
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You have reservations. Eating a salad of fresh sorrel and dandelion greens is one thing, but you may be nervous or feel a little foolish cooking up your own herbal medicine. Says Maia Toll of www.herbi-
ary.com: “I have come to realize that this [fear of herbal medicine]…is a little deeper than the mere fear of kitchen chemistry gone awry. This is a cultural fear. We don’t take care of ourselves, doctors do. We don’t make our own medicine, we buy it. Our kitchen is not hygienic enough for making medicine. There is a lot of space between optimal wellness and health that has deteriorated to the point of needing medical intervention, and that is the space we need to reclaim.” Says Molly Meehan, local herbalist and founding director of Centro Ashe (www.centroashe.org): “Herbalists have lagged behind the food movement, and marketers in the $8 billion a year herb industry have sold us on the benefits of certain rare plants over other more common, local ones. Herbs like Golden Seal and Wild Yam are good examples, where overharvesting has resulted in threatening these natural resources here and in other countries.” Molly supports people growing and learning about herbs right where they live. Her passion goes beyond knowing that
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growing and making various herbal products is easy, effective, inexpensive, and fun. Her background in social justice and international affairs feeds her practice of herbalism. She sees herbs and herbalism as a four part vehicle for social change: 1. Supporting food sovereignty (http://usfoodsovereigntyalliance.org/what-isfood-sovereignty/); 2. Practicing environmental stewardship, wherever you live; 3. Sustaining the local food producing community by participating in CSA’s and farmer’s markets; 4. Contributing to race and class equity. Meehan’s blog says it best in a recent article called, “11 Ways You Can Help Create a Thriving Local Herbal Community” (http:// www.centroashe.org/blog/10-ways-you-canhelp-create-a-thriving-local-herbal-community. Just about every local source for herbs, herbal products, and herbalist practitioners is listed and linked in this piece.
culinaRy heRBs WoRKing oveRtime
Let’s use the familiar garden herb basil as an example of a culinary plant with medicinal properties. We can make pesto with basil, nuts, oil, garlic, and parmesan cheese. We like layering
whole basil leaves on fresh slices of tomato with fresh mozzarella. But basil is also known as an anti-depressant. It has antiseptic properties too. Try rubbing fresh crushed leaves on insect bites or stings to relieve itching. Inhale the leaves in a steamy bowl of hot water as a decongestant for colds. There are many more uses of basil that will change how you view that beautiful garden plant. Try looking up the medicinal qualities of other common culinary herbs like rosemary and parsley, or even the ubiquitous annual marigold, an antibacterial and antifungal and can relieve eczema and sunburn. You’ll be surprised at the medicine cabinet you may already have in your yard or balcony garden.
heRBs foR fun
Adults and kids can learn about herbs by doing craft projects. Workshops abound, as well as online resources. If we want to pass on the love of plants and curiosity about their many qualities to children, we’d better make it fun. You can make bath sachets, incense, soap, natural dyes, leaf and flower collages, musical instruments, masks, and delicious teas from readily available, inexpensive herbs. Centro Ashe’s Pleasure Medicine series (http://www. centroashe.org/pleasure-medicine-series.html) presents many of these activities. With their various colors and aromas, herbal tinctures are beautiful as well as useful. Photo: Cheryl Corson.
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Aroma can reveal inherent properties of herbs. Photo: Centro Ashe.
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The next workshop, on Sept. 12, will be devoted to the art of coffee roasting on an antique roaster with coffee from a Guatemalan family farm. Coffee is an herb too! Participants will share a pot-luck dinner and socialize while they learn.
2015 chesapeaKe heRB gatheRing
One of Molly Meehan’s greatest gifts is her ability to identify keepers of local plant knowledge of all ethnic backgrounds and create a platform for them to share what they know. The latest wave of American herbalism, says Meehan: “has been dominated by whites and neglects the traditions of people who never lost their heritage. There is amazing diversity in the DC region and the story of herbalism won’t change unless we have others tell their stories.” And that’s exactly what will take place on Sept. 26 to 27 at the third annual Chesapeake Herb Gathering in nearby Nanjemoy, MD, at the Melwood Recreation Center. Borrowing from the Boy Scout tradition of overnight weekend events, the Gathering is a campout lasting from noon on Saturday to noon on Sunday. Admission is $85, or $60 for groups of six or more. I will be
there and welcome Capitol Hill friends and gardeners to pitch their tents with me. Workshops for children are included, making this a great family event. Here’s what you can expect: four workshops with over 20 options to choose from, including, “Growing Your own Medicine,” “Plant Walk for all Ages,” “Arurvedic Cooking: Chai and Spices,” “DIY Herbal Cheese,” “Brewing Basics,” and “Herbal support for Men.” Molly will set the stage with her opening keynote, “Community Herbalism and Social Change.” There will be vendors, on site meals, a silent auction, plus an evening campfire with “Story Seeds” storytelling. See: www.centroashe.org for full program and registration information. If you are hesitant to rely solely on You Tube videos to begin using herbs for healing, this gathering should be just what you need to build confidence and network with local practitioner. Afterwards, you will be able to purchase fresh and dried herbs from places like Eastern Market and Yes! Market with more intention and follow through. You’ll be able to choose some herbs to grow in your own gardens based on the types of remedies you want most easily available, and you’ll learn techniques for preserving your herbs so that your new favorite teas, tinctures, infusions, and salves will be accessible year-round. Cheryl Corson is a local licensed landscape architect serving Capitol Hill and beyond since 2003. She traveled with Molly Meehan to Costa Rica last January on Centro Ashe’s annual Roots and Culture tour, further sparking her interest in herbs and herbal remedies. For garden and landscape design assistance, see: www.cherylcorson.com. ◆
September 2015 H 43
Great Gardens of Capitol Hill by Derek Thomas
T
he gardens in this year’s Best Gardens of Capitol Hill roundup are both a nod to the past, to give us a chance reflect on what garden grandeur is, and a look to the future, when garden plants are becoming chosen for water conservation and the busy lives of their owners. Traditional gardens are a Capitol Hill mainstay. Lush, overflowing gardens filled with winding, meandering pathways and well-thought-out elements, they create a sense of space and a reflection of time. They are the elegant gardens, whose contents are beautiful yet needy, grand in substance while desirous of lots of attention and almost constant care. Then there are the new, more
646 East Capitol St. NE. Photo; Melissa Ashabranner
minimalist gardens that take into consideration the strain that many of today’s stressors have placed upon our desire to garden. Not to mention the gardener’s desire for a worry-free, clean, and self-sustaining plot of land. This year marks the 10th year of my reflections on gardens and the grandeur of Capitol Hill. So it is fitting that we reflect and look forward.
646 East Capitol St. NE
804 East Capitol St. NE. Photo: Melissa Ashabranner
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This garden is a lush reminder of times gone by. Rectilinear gravel paths create a grottoish effect. The perennials are well chosen for their lush, multi-textured, multicolored, intertwining foliage. The plantings are perfectly timed so that everything, from sweet woodruff to sage, thyme to woodland ferns, oak leaf hydrangeas to flowering trees, has its time and importance in this very well designed collision of sensual stimulations – like a paint chart where differing shades of green in their proper time will have flo-
ral effects exploding atop and ablaze in a showman’s show. This riot will last long into the summer, with each participant breaking way and giving props to yet another important showoff performer. The center urn takes us back to a time when gardens were the welcome mat of every home, and the brick walkway and brick defining border along the gravel path remind us of the time when carriages rode down East Capitol Street and folks … well they took the time to speak not into phones but to each other and admire and give praise to the Capitol Hill gardens and gardeners.
804 East Capitol St. NE Discarding as an exercise many of the garden principles from the last century, but with sharp duality expertly mixing these very themes and the connectivity of gardening practices like a gardening savant, the garden comes forth with easy, stressless flow. The house has a very interesting
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side yard, while the front garden is wide and strapping. This double-wide front garden is built around an easily flowing, random stone path that winds through the front yard to the side and creates spatial relations for crape myrtles and English boxwoods. Prominence is achieved by a large Kousa dogwood that perfectly accents the strong white fence that runs east to west along the side yard and divides the garden’s public front from its private rear. The perennials are multiple: Euphorbia, coneflower, Mexican feather grass, Oriental lilies, alliums – a colliding, kaleidoscopic, Rembrandt-inspired tapestry. Traditional irises meet nontraditional creeping thyme, and drought-resistant succulents clashing with water-hungry columbine and sweet William make the mix sweet. The importance of this garden is in its study of a time when springtime walks meant more to us than the news of the most recent Metro train breakdown.
rose, a huge crape myrtle giving a grounding effect to the fabulous, two-story New Orleans revival side porch. The pathways combine seamlessly with the foundation evergreens, giving this garden prominence and importance in every season. Contrasting colors and eccentric, heterogeneous ease make this garden one to be remembered and to look forward to year after year. The roses sprawling over the fence take away the harshness of wrought iron and remind us why we love the history and allure of Capitol Hill. Add this to your garden walks from season to season, and the reasons why the Hill is dear to us all will be given the proper punctuation.
903 Ninth St. NE
This garden is a modern minimalist’s dream. The walkway is a unique take on a Celtic pattern; the brick wall is made from tumbled bricks that are intended to simulate an aged warehouse pattern. The wall was designed in a unique yet functional form. The center of the garden is home to a young dogwood, and at its base lie rows of Mexican feather grass, bookended Hinoki cypress planted to the southwest, and contorted filbert done in a red planter for just the right amount of pop. A wonderful rusted relief planter frames the two front windows right above the solitary ice cream table. The plant-
154 11th St. NE Wow, wow, wow! Roses and barberry, clematis and prim-
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903 Ninth St. NE. Photo: Dax Coley
er that divides and screens the neighboring property has beautiful purple grasses and trailing sweet potato vine. The planter adds whimsy with its letters and numbers, and there’s an espaliered holly along the north fence. The black and blue sage is a welcome background for people and hummingbirds. A planter filled, indeed overflowing, with sedum is a pacesetter in this water-wise garden of the future. This garden’s beauty lies in its textured grasses, specimen evergreens, forgiving sedum, and unique square within a square flow: artistically done, water-wise, and forgivingly green.
1002 I St. NE This is one of my favorite styles of garden. Mix in a little bit of this and a little bit of that and the garden becomes complete. Loads of annual color blend with just a pop of whimsy to give an easy flow. This unassuming gardener’s garden is a nod to the sprawling petunia-, geranium-, and coleus-filled gardens of the 1970s when we unabashedly and unashamedly planted annuals upon annuals, and each garden was another explosion of color without form, without rhyme, without reason, just joyous. “I think this was before reality TV started to tell us what to think.” The garden has an overgrown yet beautifully flowering sentinel of an old rose that is a perfect backdrop and screening to the front porch. The nondescript planter is filled with fun coleus and accenting pink petunias. The sprawling purple and white striped petunias form a lush, colorful, soft carpet. Nice. Very, very nice.
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I look to the future, when water and other resources become ever more costly. Our gardens must change to meet this need. We must keep the past, love the present, and embrace the future. Gardens like life are in constant flux, and those that are remembered today will be cherished tomorrow. Keep gardening and never stop loving the craft of the garden. Enjoy.
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903 Ninth St. NE. Photo: Dax Coley
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September 2015 H 49
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It’s All About
Wentworth, Inc. opened the new kitchen to the dining room. Photo: Geoffrey Hodgdon
Expanding on the Good “Bones of a Home by Bruce Wentworth, AIA
J
ust like many of the homes on Capitol Hill, this 1920s, this Northwest Tudorstyle home has good bones and distinct character. The owners wanted to build on the home’s charm while adding space they needed for their growing family. When they met with the Wentworth, Inc. design/build team, the owners discussed incorporating a two-story rear addition above the basement level garage. This would convert an underused covered porch into a sunroom/play area
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The sunroom addition by Wentworth opens into the dining room and adjacent kitchen. Photo: Geoffrey Hodgdon
for their son on the main level. In addition, it would provide a second floor walk-in closet with dressing room that could double as a small office adjacent to their master bedroom. Storage is always an issue in DC’s older houses. So with these changes, the owners would have a house that meets their needs for years to come. While expanding the house, the owners decided to give the kitchen a complete remodel. Their objective was to increase efficiency while also connecting the kitchen to the dining room. The existing house lacked windows
and light at the rear. The new addition would allow more natural light to stream in, opening up views to the backyard from the kitchen and added spaces.
WoRK Begins
After receiving DC building permits, on-site prep and demolition began with the design/ build team salvaging roof slates from the existing porch per the owners’ request. The client also wanted to preserve the original pegged-oak flooring in their dining room that was replicated in the new kitchen and sunroom. This re-
Wentworth incorporated a breakfast bar with custom wood top into the kitchen remodel. Photo: Geoffrey Hodgdon
September 2015 H 51
A microwave drawer and pullout shelves provide an organized kitchen in the new design by Wentworth. Photo: Geoffrey Hodgdon
quired covering the floors with sheets of protective material before demolition began. By working with a design/build team like Wentworth, there was constant communication between architects, craftsmen and owners, resulting in immediate resolution of any issues as well as execution of the designs as planned.
Kitchen Design
For the new kitchen, the owners wanted an efficient, easy-to-clean area open to the adjacent dining room and with maximum storage. The clients also desired a small breakfast bar area where their son could sit while the couple prepared meals. Besides being dark, the existing kitchen did not make the best use of available space. In the new kitchen design, careful attention was given to appliance
The new dressing area in the second floor master bedroom provides a cozy corner for a desk. Photo: Geoffrey Hodgdon
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placement. The wall between the dining room and kitchen was opened up, accommodating a peninsula with a custom walnut countertop. Wentworth also replaced the old glass block at the south side of the kitchen and the narrow horizontal window looking into the backyard with new larger corner windows. These captured morning and southern sunlight, providing a view from the sink area. To make this kitchen remodel a seamless process, Wentworth studied how the owners cooked in their kitchen as well as the type and function of cabinets they preferred. The owners selected flat recessed door panels and painted cabinets with full-overlay construction by Woodharbor, and a mix of drawers, pullout shelves and fixed shelving. From cabinet layout to cabinet accessories, paint colors, countertop materials and backsplash tile, every detail was a collaborative effort between Wentworth and the homeowners so they received a kitchen they love. While the owners decided to recycle their existing smaller refrigerator, Wentworth also adjusted the opening in the new plan to accommodate a larger refrigerator in the future. Additional finishing touches included recessed and pendant lighting. Bianco River Silestone counters, Streamline Artic White backsplash tiles from Architectural Ceramics, and a Blanco sink with Grohe faucet.
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September 2015 H 53
Beyond the Rain Barrel Exploring Water Conservation Options for Capitol Hill Homes
T
his summer, the California drought and the resulting water conservation efforts are peppering newspapers and airwaves. This ongoing and alarming story has some DC residents thinking about our local water supply and water conservation efforts. Byron Buck is a 15-year Hill resident, the owner of National Capital Kitchens, and a native southern Californian. Through his remodeling work, he’s regularly privy to a “behind the drywall and backsplash” perspective of Capitol Hill houses. This experience has made him ponder how Hill residents can incorporate water conservation measures into their homes.
What is gReyWateR?
“The use of greywater (wastewater from bathroom sinks and washing machines that does not contain body or food wastes) is becoming an issue that is generating more interest every year. As a kitchen remodeler, I’m aIways looking at ideas that could improve life inside the home. Utilizing greywater is an interesting area for exploration,” says Byron. “Creating a secondary plumbing path for greywater as a part of a kitchen or home remodel is a viable investment. Opening up walls is the largest and most expensive part of such an undertaking, so creating a greywater system as a part of a renovation makes practical and economic sense. The plumbing itself is
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by Catherine Plume Byron estimates that the total cost of creating a greywater system in a typical Capitol Hill house would range between $3,000 and $3,500. As roughly one-third of most household water consumption goes towards landscaping (where the vast bulk of any greywater would be used) a greywater system can reduce the water costs of a monthly bill by approximately one-third. (Note that there are water related fees included in any DC Water bill that would not necessarily be reduced.). You can use this figure to roughly estimate how long it would take any system to pay for itself. DC law regulates the capture and use of greywater. In addition to the secondary indoor plumbing system, greywater systems require a storage tank and must be equipped with a filter and a pump. Kitchen sinks are not allowed since food, which is considered a waste product, is washed there. Dishwashers are usually not a good source of greywater because detergents are typically high in salt which is harmful to plants and soils. As greywater is most commonly used for irrigation outside the home, it’s Rain barrels: One way to conserve water. Credit C. Plume important to use “plant friendly” cleaning products that don’t contain salts, borelatively simple and inexpensive in comparison to ron, chlorine bleach or other harmful chemicals. the cost of creating the path through already finGreywater should not be stored for any longer ished walls or ceilings. At National Capital Kitchthan a day to avoid the breakdown of nutrients ens, we recommend that a greywater path be crethat can create foul odors. ated at the same time,” he continues.
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Rain Barrels, a Simpler Conservation Measure
If you’re not ready to install a greywater system in your home, consider taking a first step in water conservation by installing a rain barrel or other feature to reduce storm water runoff. As rainwater runs off impermeable surfaces such as roofs, patios, driveways, roads, and sidewalks, it picks up pollutants - oil, grease, nutrients from fertilizers, and bacteria from pet waste. Here in DC, this polluted storm water eventually drains into the Potomac and Anacostia rivers. Storm water pollution can be reduced by capturing the water in rain barrels to irrigate your yard and in rain gardens. More permeable surface area can be created by planting trees and installing pervious pavers that will absorb rainwater runoff before it picks up pollutants. As most DC homes have no storm water controls, DC’s Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) RiverSmart Homes program
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(http://green.dc.gov/riversmarthomes) provides rebates of up to $1,200 to homeowners who install any of these storm water reduction features. To qualify for the rebates, a DC homeowner can sign up for a RiverSmart home audit at http:// green.dc.gov/service/riversmart-homes-application, and an auditor will schedule a visit to help you determine what features to install. RiverSmart Homes also has a list of contractors and nonprofit organizations that can help with any installation. DOEE also offers a Rain Barrel Rebate Program of $50 to $500 for homeowners who do not want to wait for the storm water audit or want a different rain barrel other than those offered through the RiverSmart Homes program.
Grey Water Reclamation in Its Infancy
On the West Coast, with the current drought, greywater systems make economic and en-
40 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE | REASONABLE RATES vironmental sense as any increase in the amount of available water is significant. But Byron recognizes that it’s early days for greywater systems on the East Coast. “At the present time, the conversion to greywater (by East Coast residents) will probably be among people who are concerned about the environment rather than among people who are economically motivated to fi nd alternative sources of water. There is an economic benefit, but right now, admittedly, that benefit is low,” says Byron. Still, many Capitol Hill homeowners rightly see themselves as one of many temporary stewards of a home that has housed families for over a hundred years - and one that will hopefully continue to do so for many years to come. Over the life of any older Capitol Hill home, previous owners have installed a wide array of systems – electricity, heating and cooling systems, indoor plumbing, and indoor kitchens - to perpetuate the life of the house. As world population increases and droughts become more frequent, potable water will become an ever important commodity. The technology already exists to convert greywater into potable water. Installing a greywater system in your home is a forward thinking investment that may one day represent a very attractive amenity that some future owner of your home may be very grateful for.
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September 2015 H 57
N&M House Detectives by Catherine Plume
M
Unlock the History of Your Capitol Hill Home
any a Capitol Hill resident has wondered about the previous inhabitants of their home, and what their house looked like in years past. Earlier this year, Michelle Pilliod Carroll and Nina Tristani set out to do what they had long planned to do – research the history of their Capitol Hill homes. Over several weeks, they visited various institutions around DC including the Historical Society of Washington, DC, the Washingtonia Collection at the Martin Luther King Library, the Library of Con-
gress and that National Archives to gather bits of information about their homes. Once they finished their research, they compiled the information into a hard copy book. Now, four months later, an adventure that started as a lark for these long time Capitol Hill residents has become a second career for both. “After finishing the books for our own homes we discovered how much we enjoyed the process and learning about the history of DC. We thought others would be interested in something similar for their own homes, and N&M House Detectives was created,” says Nina.
The final product a house history in hardback! Photo: Michelle Pilliod Carroll
N&M House Detectives working a case. Photo: Carolyn Peterson
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To date, N&M House Detectives (www.nmhousedetectives.com) has completed some 10 house history projects. For a cost of $400 plus a $50 publication fee, they will produce a 20page 8” x 11” color book documenting the history of a home. (Discounts are available for the purchase of multiple books on different homes.) The books include copies of building permits, census reports, directory listings, maps, neighborhood and archival pictures, a history of the surrounding area and more. While N&M House Detectives is Capitol Hill based, they can research any home in Washington, DC proper. While it typically takes four weeks to research a property, it can take a bit longer for an older (pre-1877) building or a commercial building. Through their research, they’ve discovered some interesting quirks about DC. For example, building permits were not required until 1877. Then, from the 1890’s until 1964, the Department of War (now Defense) had to approve building extensions or alterations on DC houses. They’ve also learned about some interesting Capitol Hill personalities such as Wil-
September 2015 H 59
H y p e r L o c a l | hīpər connotes information oriented around a well defined community with its primary focus directed toward the concerns of its residents. synonym:
HillRag.com
Daily online. Monthly in print.
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. lōk(ə)l |
liam Prout, who sold parts of his extensive Capitol Hill land holdings for the construction of Christ Church on G Street SE and Eastern (Branch) Market. “With each project we are uncovering fascinating pieces of history for not only a home but its neighborhood. A new assignment opens us up to the rich history of Washington DC and new discoveries,” Michelle says. Nina and Michelle have found that the skills, knowledge and accomplishments from their former careers are serving them well in their new endeavor. (Nina was a scholarly publisher while Michelle owned and operated a meeting planning company.) And, customers are thrilled with their work. “When I was young, my parents purchased a building in DuPont Circle which housed my father’s dry-cleaner and three apartments. I’ve always loved the building, and when N&M House Detectives presented me with a book about my family’s building, I was blown away! They even found the building permit from 1879! I learned so much about the building’s story, including its owners and inhabitants dating back to the 1900s. They even found photos from as far back as 1951! The entire history is packaged in an inviting and attractive book. I can’t express enough how meaningful and fulfilling having this information is. N&M House Detectives do an unusual -and amazing -- job!” says customer Stephen Paderofsky, Principal at Estate of the Art.
Thomas Landscapes Over 20 Years of Experience Aside from revealing a property’s history, N&M House Detectives gather crucial information for securing renovation permits in the Capitol Hill Historic District or marketing historic homes for sales. As Leigh Mailloux, President, LR Mailloux Construction, Inc., says, “I needed help with a historical provenance for a home on Capitol Hill. N&M House Detectives uncovered the information I needed to get approval from the Capitol Hill Restoration Society and an expedited permit. All this in addition to information on the builder, original owner of the home and more!” Realtor John Smith commissioned N&M House Detectives to publish a historical book as part of a home sale. “They did a great job! I highly recommended them!” While clients have been pleased with their work, N&M House Detectives made ardent converts out of the librarians at the various research facilities they patronize. “They share our enthusiasm and have become an invaluable resource for each new project,” says Nina. So, if you’re looking for a unique gift for a DC homeowner - be it yourself, a friend or neighbor - or even just to document the renovation of your home, consider putting N&M House Detectives on the case! Catherine Plume is a lifelong environmentalist, a writer, and blogger for the DC Recycler: www.DCRecycler.blogspot.com; Twitter @DC_Recycler u
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The
ABC ’s of Zoning
part.1
A
by Ken Jarboe
ttend any meeting on zoning and you will be confronted with a barrage of acronyms: BZA, ZC, PUD, OP, DCRA, OZ, ZA, ZRR, ANC, R-4, C-2-A. It’s enough to confuse even those in this town use to the governmental alphabet soup. Before confronting the nomenclature, let’s start at the basics: building permits, zoning and land use planning regulations. Land use planning regulations are the end point and building permits are the mechanism. The intermediate step is the work of zoning.
Yes! There is a Plan As set forth in the Home Rule Act, land use planning in the District of Columbia is embodied in the Comprehensive Plan. All zoning and building permits flow (theoretically) from the principles and policies established in the Comp Plan, as it commonly called (http://planning.dc.gov/page/ comprehensive-plan). The Comp Plan is prepared by the DC Office of Planning (OP), submitted by the Mayor, approved by the Council and encoded as Title 10-A of the DC Municipal Regulations. The current version was created in 1984/85. A new version was adopted in 2006 with further amendments added in 2011. (Maps of the plan are available at http://planning.dc.gov/page/comprehensiveplan-future-land-use-maps.) As the most recent version states: “The Comprehensive Plan is relevant to most people’s daily lives and interests since it directs how and
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where change and development will occur...It will affect where development occurs; where green space, recreation facilities and parks are improved; and how neighborhoods are conserved and enhanced as desirable places to live.” The Comp Plan contains a variety of policies consisting of 13 “Citywide Elements,” “10 Area Elements,” an implementation plan and a land use map. The Citywide Elements cover everything from housing and transportation to environmental and historic preservation to community services and education. The Area Elements detail goals for specific parts of the city. For example, two of the many policies in the Capitol Hill Area are: • Establish traffic management strategies to reduce commuter traffic on East Capitol Street, Independence Avenue, C Street NE, 17th Street SE, and other predominantly residential streets that also function as through streets. • Promote continued investment, maintenance, and modernization of important community public facilities in the Capitol Hill Planning Area, including schools, libraries, and social service facilities. The Comp Plan is not selfimplementing however. Theoretically, actions by the Council and DC agencies should follow the plan, but such actions are not mandated by the plan. The Council can also adopt so-called “Small Area Plans.” These schemes tweak the Comp Plan to fit a specific area. In Ward 6, the Council has adopted Small Area Plans for both Res-
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ervation 13 (The Hill East Waterfront) and Southwest. Where the Comp and Small Area Plans provide overall vision, the actual mechanics of location, usage, density and size of buildings are governed by Zoning Regulations, which in the words of the Home Rule Act can “not be incompatible with the Comprehensive Plan.”
Zoning regulations govern two aspects of a building: size (both height and “area”) and use. Uses are generally classified as residential, commercial, industrial or mixed use (commercial and residential) – with special purpose and waterfront zones as well. Within each of those major categories there are subcategories. Residential zones run from R-1-A (single family detached homes) to R-5-E (large apartment buildings). Commercial zones go from C-1 (neighborhood retail) to C-4 (downtown business district) and C-5 (the Pennsylvania Avenue Development District). The zoning map designates the zoning district for each part of the city. Most, but not all, of Capitol Hill is zoned either R-4 (rowhouses) or C-2-A (medium density commercial centers). In contrast, most of Southwest is zoned for a higher density at R-5 (apartment/ condo buildings) and C-3 (medium/high density commercial centers) with some R-4. Shaw and the Northwest areas of Ward 6 are zoned a mix of R-4, R-5, C-2 and C-3. Each zoning district has
its own list of allowed uses. For example, an R-4 zone generally limits buildings to two dwelling units per building. Most R-5 zones place no restrictions on the number of units in a building (subject to certain unit size minimums). A movie theater is allowed in a C-2-A zone but not in a C-1 zone. (The DC Zoning Map can be found at http:// maps.dcoz.dc.gov/) Each of the zoning district categories has its specific limits on height and massing (as measured by the floor-area ratio FAR) and has requirements for lot size, lot occupancy (the percentage of a lot that a building may cover), size of rear and side yards and the number of parking spaces. For example, buildings in an R-4 zone are limited to 35 feet in height and cannot exceed 60 percent lot occupancy. Of course, there are buildings and uses that are grandfathered—generally those that were in existence when the zoning regulations were first adopted in 1958. There are also zoning overlays that create special rules for an area. For example, the part of the area along Eighth Street SE south of the freeway is an overlay that limits the building heights and places some wrestrictions on the number of bars and restaurants. This article is the first of a twopart series. Look for the next installment in the October Hill Rag. Ken Jarboe is a long time resident of Capitol Hill. A former ANC Commissioner and Chair of ANC 6B, he has sat through and testified at many zoning meetings and hearings. He currently serves as a Resident Member of ANC 6B’s Planning and Zoning Committee. u
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The Capitol Hill Garden Club presents
Dear Garden Lady, by Wendy Blair
my Hill Rag The Hill Rag has been Capitol Hill’s neighborhood news source since 1976. Flip through its pages to see the recent doings of your friends and neighbors. Visit www.hillrag.com and subscribe to our daily newsletter to keep up on what’s happening around the corner and across Ward 6.
Published Daily Online & Monthly in Print Capitol Hill’s News Source Since 1976!
W W W. H I L L R A G . C O M
My oriental lilies are now hidden and need to be planted closer to the house. Can you advise about when and how to transplant them? Best do this in the fall. First, water them well several hours before, to moisten the soil to the depth of the bulbs. Cutting foliage back to a height of eight inches makes division easier and reduces stress to the plants. Slide a garden fork (a spade could damage a clump) under the bulbs and lift the entire clump free of the soil. Divide bulbs that have doubled by gently pulling them apart with your hands. Replant the bulbs in fertile, well-drained soil in a sunny location. While large bulbs prefer a depth of four to six inches, smaller bulbs require a depth of one to two inches. Large bulbs may bloom the next season, whereas it may take a two or three years for the small bulbs to reach blooming size. I read that giant white Trilliums are now available. I recall wild Trilliums as a child up north in the early spring woods – we were forbidden to pick them because they were rare. I assume they must be bulbs. How can I get some for my decadent southern garden in DC, and how do I plant them? Trillium Grandiflorum (largeflower ‘wake robin’) is endangered in some states, scarce
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partly because deer eat them. Trilliums are tricky to grow from seed, which must be planted in the autumn, and bare-root seedlings will not be available from native plant nurseries until April. Search online. Try Prairie Moon Nursery, for one. Trilliums need loamy, sandy soil and a bit of sun but not much. Around here, definitely place them in afternoon shade. Every year it’s the same thing. My garden is a wasteland in September. Please make me miserable with some ideas of what I should plant for next year at this time. New England Aster (aka Michaelmas Daisy) is a must. Then, in alphabetical order, consider Japanese anemone, coneflower, autumn crocus, liatris (gay feather), monkshood, salvia – and sedum ‘autumn joy’. Right now, treat yourself to some gorgeous potted mums. I get too much mail. If you had to limit yourself to one gardening magazine, what would it be? Capitol Hill members value Fine Gardening: fgservice@ taunton.com or call 1-800-8888286. Written by expert gardeners for fairly fairly serious amateur gardeners, it is not just a rehash of this year’s batch of popular “new” gardening ideas you see in supermarket magazines.
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Feeling beset by gardening problems? Send them to the Problem Lady c/o The Capitol Hill Garden Club at andrew@hillrag.com. Your problems might prove instructive to others, and help them feel superior to you. Complete anonymity is assured. u
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Standard Cleaning Service 703-719-9850 www.standardcleaning.com
MacKay Roofing 202- 210-2179 www.lmackayroofingdc.com
Suburban Welding 703-765-9344 www.suburbanweldingcompany.com
Maggio Roofing 800-ROOF-495 www.maggioroofing.com
Sundance Contracting LLC 202-547-4483 www.sundancecontracting.com
Maid Brigade 866-800-7470 www.maidbrigade.com
Thomas Design Consultants 301 -642-5182 www.ThomasDesignConsultants.com
Maid Pro 202-399-3090 www.maidpro.com/capitolhill
Traditions General Contracting 202-536-4769 www.traditionscontracting.com
Mattress Discounters 1-800-BUYABED www.mattressdiscounters.com
Wentworth Studio 240-383-1226 www.wentworthstudio.com
Michaliga Masonry 202-544-4484 • 202-257-8957 www.michaligamasonry.com
Wilcox Electric 202-546-1010 www.wilcox-electric.com
Mirrors Decorated 202-286-5371 www.mirrorsdecorated.com
Window Washers Etc. 202-337-0351 www.windowwashersetc.com
N&M House Detectives www.nmhousedetectives.com
Windows Craft Inc. 202-288-6660 www.windowscraft.com
National Capital Kitchens 202-544-3316 www.nationalcapitalkitchens.com National Roofing 202-271-4377 www.nationalroofingdc.com Newman’s Gallery & Custom Frames 202-544-7577 www.newmangallery.com Polar Bear A/C, Plumbing & Heating, Inc. 202-333-1310 www.polarbearairconditioning.com R. Thomas Daniel Roofing 202-569-1080 www.rthomasdanielroofing.com Rugknots 877-768-8490 www.rugknots.com
Garden Services Branches Tree Experts 301-589-6181 www.branchestreeexperts.com Capitol Tree Care 202-234-0577 www.capitol-tree-care.com Garden Wise 202-543-3422 www.gardenwise.com Ginkgo Gardens 202-543-5172 www.ginkgogardens.com Thomas Landscapes 301 -642-5182 www.thomaslandscapes.com u
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Bald Eagles Return to the National Arboretum For the first time in over six decades, the bald eagle is nesting at the National Arboretum. The bald eagle’s last known nest site in the city was on the top of the Arboretum’s Mount Hamilton. Remarkably, the current pair selected a site similar to the one volunteer John W. Taylor, Jr. described in his 1947 Arboretum bird list as “on a hill near Bladensburg Road” with “a magnificent view of the city of Washington.” usna.usda.gov Photo: Dan Rauch, District Department of the Environment
Two CHRS Historic Rowhouse Walking Tours Many of the rowhouses in North Lincoln Park are over 100 years old, and were built by well-known architects and developers. The CHRS and the North Lincoln Park Neighborhood Assn. are hosting a series of free walking tours through this neighborhood. Participants will learn about the architectural styles and building materials of the homes, who built them, and when. The first tour begins in front of Maury ES, 13th Street and Constitution Avenue NE on Sun., Sept. 13, 10 a.m. (rain or shine). This tour will include the 200 and 300 blocks of 14th St.; 200 and 300 blocks of Tennessee Avenue; 1300 blocks of C and D Streets, and Constitution Avenue, Corbin Place, and Warren Street in NE. The second tour begins in the triangle between the 1400 blocks of North Carolina Avenue. and Constitution Avenue NE on Sun., Sept. 27, 10 a.m., and will focus on homes within a block or two of that location, including the 200 blocks of 14th Street and 14th Place, the 1400 blocks of C Street and Ames Place, and the 100 block of 15th Street NE. The tours
are free. No reservations required. For more information, call 202-543-3512 or email elizabeth_knits@ yahoo.com with “CHRS Tour” as the subject. Visit chrs.org for more details.
The 2015 Literary Feast The Literary Feast is a series of dinner parties held at homes across Capitol Hill--all on one evening. Each dinner features food and fun related to a specific book. Proceeds support the Capitol Hill Community Foundation’s Grants to Neighborhood Schools. In 2014, grants totaling more than $100,000 were given to fund special projects and programs. This year’s “feast” is on Sat., Oct. 17. Purchase tickets at aliteraryfeast.org.
Overbeck Lectures Move to Hill Center On Monday, Sept. 21, at 7:30 p.m., the Overbeck History Project kicks off its September 2015 H 69
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Washington Saxophone Quartet performs Sun., Sept. 27 in Sculpture Garden during Sunday Brunch.
September Sunday Concerts in the NGA Sculpture Garden
new lecture season in a new venue – Hill Center’s Lincoln room – with an exploration of Duke Ellington’s Washington. John Edward Hasse, curator of American music at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, will present an illustrated tour of the saloons, soda fountains and other performance venues where the young Duke Ellington’s ears were tuned to a new kind of music. Widely regarded as the nation’s leading Ellington authority, Hasse is the award-winning author of Beyond Category: The Life and Genius of Duke Ellington and editor of the illustrated history Jazz: The First Century. He led the Smithsonian’s acquisition of the 200,000-page Duke Ellington archive, including virtually all of the composer’s un-
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The National Gallery of Art has added three noontime concerts in its Sculpture Garden in September to complement the Pavilion Café’s Sunday brunch, which is served 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. year-round. The concerts which will feature a mixture of New Orleans jazz and blues, bluegrass, folk, and Latin American styles, take place at noon and 1 p.m. in front of the Pavilion Café. nga.gov
published music, along with countless other papers, recordings and artifacts from the early days of jazz. This lecture will be the first event for the Overbeck series at Hill Center after thirteen years at the Naval Lodge a few blocks up Pennsylvania Avenue. The new relationship will streamline reservations and other event logistics and also provide lecture goers easier access from the Eastern Market Metro station.
The Overbeck History Lectures are an initiative of the Capitol Hill Community Foundation. Admission is free but a reservation is required due to limited seating. Go to HillCenterDC.org or call 202-549-4172.
Hine Alley Temporarily Closed Due to utility work that will be performed on the east/west alley between Seventh and Eighth Streets, Clark Construction will temporarily close the entrance to the north/south alley, which services the businesses and residents of the 200 blocks of Sev-
Experience. Integrity. Enthusiasm. Shouldn’t You Work With Someone You’d Come Back to Again and Again? “You can’t find any better than the Pettie-Tubbs-Edwards team. From start to finish, they were knowledgeable about the market and real estate process, available and responsive to phone calls and emails — whether to patiently answer our questions or provide updates, and altogether pleasant and willing to go the extra mile to get the deal done promptly and efficiently. They surpassed my expectations, and I would recommend their services to anyone. Having now interacted with Linda, Michael, and Mark as both property buyer AND seller, I can attest that they truly are the dream team!”
Caia McInerney
Michael @ 202-487-7206 Linda @ 202-276-3172 Mark @ 202-390-8083 www.pettietubbs.com Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage 605 Pennsylvania Ave. SE 202-547-3525
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enth and Eighth Streets. The alley entrance to the North/South alley will be temporarily closed from Aug. 31 until Sept. 18, 2015 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, with a possible one hour delay to 4 p.m. Clark will be trenching down to install the new sewer pipes. If electrical conduit is located that feeds the existing streetlights, electrical work will also be performed. After work is completed each day, Clark will put steel plates on top of the hole so that cars and truck will be able to access the alley until the next day when work begins. Delivery trucks, trash trucks and general trucks with larger berths will not be able to enter the north/south alley from the east/west alley until after 4 p.m.
Alcoholics Anonymous at the Hill Center “ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.” There is an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting at the Hill Center, Benjamin Henry Latrobe Board Room, every Sunday, 11 a.m. to noon, through Dec. 27. The Hill Center is located at 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE.
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Adult Art Workshop: Encaustic Collage with Katie Kaufman at CHAW On Sept. 25 to 26, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., join CHAW teaching artist Katie Kaufman for a two-day creative excursion into the world of encaustic collage. In this workshop, attendees will be introduced to the encaustic collage technique, using beeswax as an adhesive and allowing for layering of papers and lightweight found materials as a base for over-painting with oil and encaustic paint. $240 covers registration. A $40 materials fee will be due on the first day of the workshop, to be paid directly to the instructor. Register online at chaw. org, or call CHAW at 202-547-5839.
Great Streets Grant Applications Sought The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development invites the submission of applications for the FY2016 Great Streets Retail Small Business Reimbursement Grants. Grants of up to $50,000 each will be awarded on a competitive basis to owners of small retail and service-oriented businesses in 13 Great Streets corridors. Prospective applicants can verify their location eligibility by using the interactive mapping tool at greatstreets.dc.gov. The grant application is now live and available at dmped.dc.gov and greatstreets.dc.gov. Applicants must submit a completed online application via the ZoomGrants system by Mon., Sept. 14, at 6 p.m.
Southwest Nights at Arena Stage People who reside or work in Southwest DC can buy discounted tickets for specially designated Southwest Nights performances of each Arena Stage production. Tickets are $35 for musicals and $25 for non-musi-
cals, plus fees, and patrons may purchase tickets by phone or in person. Proof of Southwest DC residency or employment for each member of the party must be presented at the time of pick-up. Tickets are based on availability. This season’s Southwest Nights are Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m., Destiny of Desire; Nov. 27, 2 p.m., Akeelah and the Bee; Dec. 24, 8 p.m., Oliver!; Dec. 27, 7:30 p.m., Sweat; Feb. 10, 7:30 p.m., The City of Conversation; Mar. 27, 6 p.m., The Lion; May 4, 7:30 p.m., All the Way; and May 29, 7:30 p.m., Disgraced. arenastage.org
Preservation Cafe “To Paint or not to Paint” On Wed., Sept. 16, 7 to 8 p.m., Jusine Poluszny Bello will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of painting exterior brickwork at Kaiser Permanente, 700 Second St. NE. Visit Calendar at chrs.org for details. This event is free and handicapped accessible.
Talk of the Hill with Bill Press at Hill Center Talk of the Hill with Bill Press, Wed. Sept. 16, 7 p.m., is a screening of the documentary “Uniquely Nasty: The US Government’s War on Gays” and a conversation with producer Michael Isikoff, of Yahoo! News, and Charles Francis, who led the project to expose J. Edgar Hoover’s antigay crusade. Free. Hill Center is at 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. 202-5433893. hillcenterdc.org
Current Hine Construction Schedule Vertical construction is scheduled to begin in November 2015. The approximate delivery date is June 2017. A community calendar is posted at hineschool.com/community-calendar. The construction 24-hour hotline is 240-630-6750.
Fringe Extends to Year-Round The Fringe is now a year-round operation--to engage more and different types of artists and keep the conversation going with their audiences, engaging even more into the independent art scene in DC. Are you interested in presenting your work or have an idea for a fun collaboration for Fringe? In late September, they will engage those interested in producing at the Logan Fringe Arts Space in 2016. Read more at capitalfringe.org.
The Return of the Eco-Goats Thirty goats spent two weeks, Aug 6 to 20, at Congressional Cemetery helping to control invasive species that threaten this National Historic Landmark. The non-profit Association for the Preservation of Historic Congressional Cemetery brought goats from Prosperity Acres in Sunderland, MD, to graze along the perimeter of the cemetery. This innovative environmental project cleared the exterior fenced area of invasive species. The goats grazed 24 hours a day, eliminating vines, poison ivy, ground cover and even fallen debris, while also depositing slowrelease nitrogen fertilizer. The use of goats eliminated the need for harmful herbicides and prevented invasive species from killing large mature trees in the cemetery’s wooded area.
2015 Tenant Summit The Office of the Tenant Advocate will hold the eighth annual Tenant and Tenant Association Summit on Sat., Sept. 26, 9 a.m., at the Kellogg Conference Center on the campus of Gallaudet University, 800 Florida Ave. NE. This year’s theme is “Tenant Rights Matter.” The summit serves as a forum to bring together tenants, tenant associations, housing
Heather Schoell Capitol Hill Real Estate
attorneys and advocates, policy experts, community leaders, and District officials to discuss matters of concern to the District’s tenant community. The day’s events will include a plenary session as well as workshops covering the status of federal funding for subsidized housing, renters’ rights, rent control, developing a public safety strategy and subsidized housing issues. A legal clinic will provide attendees with an opportunity to meet one-on-one with an attorney to discuss their housing issues. Elderly and persons with disabilities will be able to register their status to qualify for lower rent increases under rent control. Numerous exhibitors will be present to share information. Lunch is provided and parking is free. There will be a shuttle bus to and from the NOMA-Gallaudet U Metro Station on the Red Line. Advanced registration required at ota.dc.gov or call 202-719-6560. There is no on-site registration. For more information, contact the Office of the Tenant Advocate at 202-719-6560.
Friends of the Southeast Library Book Sales The Friends of the Southeast Library will hold their monthly book sale on Saturday, Sept. 12, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Southeast Library, 403 Seventh St. SE. (Sale is always on the Second Saturday.) They have new and used books of all types, including children’s books, fiction, best sellers, non-fiction, mysteries, science, science fiction, romance, religion, history, biography, self-help, classics and travel. Most hardbacks and paperbacks are $1. Coffee table books are $2, up. Special items and some larger books have higher prices. All proceeds benefit local libraries, including the Southeast Library and the DC Library. Donations are accepted (no more than one box) at the sale. Donate books without limit at other times by leaving them inside the D Street door of the library during regular business hours or at other times via the designated donation bin by the D Street library door. Please, no text books, no casebooks, no magazines, no foreign language books, no outdated computer books, no encyclopedias. CDs and DVDs are fine, but no VHS tapes or cassettes.
Akridge & Brandywine Realty Trust to Develop 25 M St. SE Akridge and Brandywine Realty Trust has announced an agreement to develop a 275,000 square foot office building at 25 M St. SE, on the corner of Half and M Streets SE in the Capitol Riverfront. The property is directly across from the Navy Yard Metro Station and one block from Nationals Park.
202-321-0874 heathersdc@gmail.com
Happy Hour at the Hirshhorn The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is offering Happy Hour at the Hirshhorn, in collaboration with “SMITHSONIAN at 8,” Mondays, through Sept. 14, 5 to 8:30 p.m. Galleries will be open late, so visitors can view exhibitions such as “Shirin Neshat: Facing History” and “At the Hub of Things: New Views of the Collection.” Admission is free, and there is a cash bar, operated by Tortoise and Hare Bar and Grille. Last call to enter the galleries and to order drinks is 8 p.m. hirshhorn.si.edu
Booze and the Bard at the Folger On Friday, Sept. 25, 6 p.m., at a free event at the Folger, Authors Caroline Bicks and Michelle Ephraim will be on hand to discuss their new book (out next month) Shakespeare, Not Stirred: Cocktails for Your Everyday Dramas. Reception and book-signing will follow. Shakespeare, Not Stirred explores the works of the world’s greatest playwright through equal parts booze and Bard, turning a literary icon into your favorite drinking partner. Bicks and Ephraim serve up cocktails and munchies with shots of Shakespearean wisdom on everything from romance to workplace politics. It also has great illustrations with classic images from the Folger Shakespeare Library. Each chapter includes original recipes for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres that connect Shakespeare’s characters and plotlines to life’s daily predicaments. Individual tickets for Shakespeare, Not Stirred are free. Reservations are requested at folger. edu/talks-screenings-more and will be available in early September.Folger Shakespeare Theater, 201 E. Capitol St. SE. 202-544-7077. www.folger.ed
I donate $500 of every sale to the Capitol Hill Community Foundation (capitolhillcommunityfoundation.org), to strengthen the fabric of our neighborhood.
When you work with me, you make a difference! Heather was not only efficient, easy to work with and responsive - but she got the job done - moving from our first conversation to a signed contract within a week. Everyone on the Hill should know and work with Heather! ~ Kristin & Chad Thompson Heather’s cool, laid back and doesn’t hesitate to point out potential issues with properties. She’s also creative, offering up some possibilities that we may not have considered, while always keeping our budget and desires in mind…I really feel like Heather is in our corner. ~ Andrea K.
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I appreciate your referrals! 216 7th Street, SE Eastern Market Office (C) 202-321-0874 (O) 202-608-1882 x175 heathersdc@gmail.com heatherschoell.penfedrealty.com @HeatherSchoell Heather Schoell Real Estate
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Mandarin Sponsors Benefit for Jan’s Tutoring House Jan’s Tutoring House invites you to join us on Saturday, Sept. 12th at 9 a.m. for the FANtastic March V 5K, a fun run/walk sponsored by the Mandarin Oriental on behalf of Jan’s Tutoring House. The FANtastic March starts from the hotel’s front drive at 1330 Maryland Ave, SW, and winds around the National Mall before returning to the hotel for a celebratory BBQ in the hotel’s garden at approximately 11 a.m. A $45 donation per person includes an entry into the FANtastic March, a continental breakfast, morning pre-walk stretching session, event t-shirt, and admission to the BBQ which will also feature a silent auction. Children under 10 are free. Non-racers who want to show support may make a $20 donation to receive a t-shirt.
Public Comment Sought on Banneker Park Pedestrian Access
INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING WITH US? Call Laura Vucci 202-400-3510
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The National Park Service is accepting comments for a project to improve pedestrian access at Banneker Park, located at the south end of L’Enfant Plaza SW. The purpose of the proposed project is to provide a safe, functional, and aesthetically pleasing pedestrian connection between the overlook at Banneker Park (Banneker Overlook) and the Southwest Waterfront. The project is needed to provide greater accessibility between the waterfront, Banneker Park, the National Mall, and surrounding areas as identified in the Monumental Core Framework Plan, and consistent with the National Mall Plan and SW Eco District Plan. The proposed project includes the construction of a stairway and
ramp between the Banneker Overlook and the Fish Market. The project also includes landscaping, improvements to pedestrian crosswalks, lighting installation, ADA accessibility, and storm water management. Read more at parkplanning. nps.gov/BannekerConnection.
Audition for Jewish Chorale Zemer Chai Sing with one of the nation’s leading Jewish choirs in their banner 40th year. They are auditioning all voices, particularly tenors and basses. Under the direction of Eleanor Epstein, Zemer Chai has performed at The White House, The Library of Congress, Strathmore and concerts throughout the Washington area, as well as New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Jerusalem. They rehearse weekly in Rockville. Schedule an audition at audition@ZemerChai. org and include your voice part and choral experience. ZemerChai.org
Theater Alliance Announces Season 13 Theater Alliance at Anacostia Playhouse announces its 13th Season with a lineup of two world premieres by award-winning playwrights, the return of its holiday classic Black Nativity, the fourth annual Hothouse reading series that will develop new pieces from DC based playwrights, and a fresh production of two evocative classic works. The season launches in September with the World Premiere of Night Falls on the Blue Planet by DC-based playwright Kathleen Akerley. Throughout October, the Hothouse New Play Development Series will develop several new plays by DC-area playwrights and present them to the public. In the holiday season, the company will reprise its production of Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity, winner of the 2015
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Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Musical Direction, Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical, and Outstanding Musical. In the spring, the season continues with productions of two classic works presented in repertory: Word Becomes Flesh by Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange. The main stage season concludes with the World Premiere of Good Dancer by Emily Chadick Weiss. All productions will be at the Anacostia Playhouse. Subscriptions and individual tickets can be purchased at theateralliance.com.
National Postal Museum Shares Secrets from Around the World The “PostSecret: The Power of a Postcard” exhibition offers a contemporary narrative of mail and the postal service, highlighting the aesthetics of postcards and the juxtaposition between anonymity and shared experiences. It will also reveal the unique relationship between mail, digital technology and social media. More than 500 artfully decorated postcards mailed anonymously from around the world reveal regret, fear, betrayal, desire, confession, childhood humiliation and other compelling confessions. From taboos to confessions of hidden acts of kindness and shocking habits and fears, the display shares deep secrets by individuals seeking a safe and anonymous space to share untold stories. A pyramid of more than one-quarter million stacked cards is also on display,
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Arlington N. $1,200,000
Spacious 5 bedroom, 3 bath Colonial influenced Split on a gorgeous 10,022 sqft. lot in popular Country Club Estates. Enjoy 6,096 base square feet, 3 FP’S, remodeled chef’s kitchen, separate DR, living room plus family room addition, master w/ensuite bath, finished attic bonus room. and a 2 car garage. All conveniently located just minutes from Chain Bridge for easier commuting in and out of the City.
Arlington S. $859,900
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City of Alexandria $439,900
This jewel box in the sky offers 2BR’S, 2 baths, a fabulous circular floor plan, sweeping city views, updated baths, garage parking, and amazing resort like amenities including desk service, fitness center, indoor/ outdoor pools, tennis and putting greens. All just steps from shops, restaurants, Metro and Old Town.
Washington DC / Cleveland Park $255,000
Fabulous top floor one bedroom in the mid-century modern Wilshire Park condominiums. Enjoy breathtaking views over historic Cleveland Park, Connecticut Avenue’s grand architecture & the Washington monument from the walls of glass in the living room, dining room and bedroom. Stellar on the Avenue locale just steps from Metro, shops, restaurants and the Zoo.
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representing the magnitude and popularity of sharing secrets via postcards. The exhibition is open through September 2016. The National Postal Museum is at 2 Massachusetts Ave. NE., across from Union Station. For more information, visit postalmuseum.si.edu.
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New Hands-On Video at the Newseum Brings Civil Rights History to Life The Newseum, in partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal, has unveiled “Voices of the Civil Rights Movement,” a new interactive kiosk that features stories and interviews with leaders of the struggle for equal rights. The videos in the kiosk are part of Comcast NBCUniversal’s “His Dream, Our Stories” project, a collection of historical narratives and firsthand accounts of the civil rights movement from activists, participants, community leaders, elected officials and others. Included in the new hands-on kiosk are interviews with key figures of the civil rights movement, including US Rep. John Lewis, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young, the Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, the Rev. Samuel “Billy” Kyles and many more. newseum.org. Have information for the Bulletin Board, email bulletinboard@hillrag. com. ◆
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Crossing The River The District Beat
by Jonetta Rose Barras
D
istrict politicians famously promise, primarily through sloganeering, to connect communities. Their delivery often falls short; neighborhoods remain mostly a string of silos. Former Mayor Vincent C. Gray, for example, repeated with passion his “One City” mantra. Instead of being the sealant people wished for, he proved to be more divisive than his predecessor, albeit for different reasons. Muriel Bowser marketed “All Eight Wards” during last A young man adds his thoughts to a dream board of suggestions for the development of East of the River at the 2013 Lumen8 Festival in Historic Anacostia. How many of these ideas have been realized in the interim? Photo: Andrew Lightman
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host your next dinner party in
Perfect for Bridal Parties and Showers year’s mayoral campaign. Once in office, she quickly jettisoned that catchphrase for “We Are DC.” That motto has jockeyed with her “Pathways to the Middle-Class.” It’s as if an ad agency is appended to the Bowser administration churning, at a moment’s notice, glib dicta. What does any of it mean? Is there any significant and measurable effort to connect all District residents, marshaling collective talents, expertise and resources to tackle seemingly intractable problems? Does anyone believe the whole is only as strong as its parts? Sections of the DC are suffering— none more than communities east of the Anacostia River. Unemployment in Wards 7 and 8 is in double digits. There is a heavy concentration of returning citizens, deteriorating public housing, poor transportation, low levels of home-ownership, under-performing public schools, and inadequate municipal services. Yet there is no mayoral Marshal plan and no citywide rescue squad of ordinary citizens. “Look at the homicides in Ward 8— the lives lost,” says Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen (D). “As the city is trying to grow, to be successful, we can’t be that when there is a neighborhood in that much trouble. As a city we want to look to areas of need and try to figure out how we can help.” “We’re interconnected whether we like it or not. We’re all in on it,” says Ward 3 DC Councilmember Mary Cheh (D). “Everyone on the east side thinks everyone on the west side has all the advantages,” says Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander (D). West of the river residents should “come over the bridge and see what’s over here,” she continues while noting that “Many people who now live in Ward 4 grew up in Wards 7 and 8.” Ward 8 DC Councilmember LaRuby May blasts the media’s and others’ sudden interest in Ward 8 neighborhoods. “We’ve been dying consistently. We’ve lacked resources consistently,” she says. “The only reason people are paying attention now is because people west of the river are dying.”
Truthfully, in a city that is a mere 68.3 square miles, with a population of less than 700,000 residents, a dividing line is mostly illusion. “Sometimes the differences we have in the city are not as great as we think they are,” says Ron Lester, a political consultant who has conducted surveys and polls of District residents for more than 30 years. “We want the same thing people west of the river want: We want safe neighborhoods; we want jobs. We want a quality education for our children,” says May. DC Deputy Mayor for Economic Opportunity Courtney Snowden says she often tells people that “When you go to the CVS on Connecticut Ave., the young people working there [likely] live east of the river. There is much more interaction than people have historically acknowledged.”
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A First Step Despite her revolving anthems, Mayor Bowser’s administration seems to recognize the challenge posed by Washington’s inequities and citizens’ misperceptions of each other. She created Snowden’s position, assigning it a portfolio that includes the Department of Employment Services, the Department of Small and Local Business Development, the Office of African American Affairs, and the Commission on Fathers, Men and Boys. Is a new deputy mayor sufficient to affect a deliverance from enlightened and organized citizens? It may be too soon to tell. Snowden identifies with the problems however. She knows something about the river’s divide, residents’ indifference and government ineffectiveness. A sixth generation Washingtonian, she grew up in Shepherd Park, but moved 10 years ago to Ward 7. “I was blown away at how inadequate the city services were,” she says, admitting that until four months ago she was one of those frustrated Ward 7 and Ward 8 residents sitting in community meetings and wondering “what can’t we just” have programs and services like other wards. Now, she says she’s in a position to help bring real change—except
September 2015 H 81
{capitol streets / district beat}
her target clients are residents in under-served communities. “The mayor actually gave me the whole city,” she says correcting the District Beat. “The work of this office is really focused on all eight wards.” But Snowden hasn’t made any overt effort to organize residents outside of underserved communities who could act as an army of surrogates. She admits that she has “a unique role in helping to facilitate that” and “at least rhetorically, people in other wards care deeply about what happens east of the river.” Talk is cheap, says May, pointing the finger at council members. “When their actions match their words, then maybe we can believe their words.”
East of the River Matters There is reason to care about east of the river. “So goes Ward 8, so goes the District of Columbia,” says May. She’s right. Key issues, like education, health care, affordable housing and crime are without boundaries. High unemployment, which in Ward 8 was over 14 percent in June of this year, or lowwage salaries, resulting in mothers and their children being evicted, has translated into family housing crisis. It doesn’t help that the government has allowed public housing to disintegrate or to be downsized; a family with more than two children can have a hard time finding a decent home at a reasonable rent. Substance abusers also land on the streets. Those two groups comprise parts of the city’s homeless populations, many of whom are housed in the old DC General Hospital or in expensive hotels and motels, draining the government coffers. When schools in Wards 7 and 8 underperform, parents race west of the river creating overcrowding in facilities like those in Wards 2, 3 and 6. That dynamic only exacerbates education inequities, as schools in those west-ofthe-river-communities are put at the head of the line for modernization. The high volume of students also means more money for specialized quality academic courses and fancy extracurricular activities. And, says Cheh, “People who need money and think crime is the answer, aren’t going to come to the boundary and think ‘Whoa.’” Once quiet northwest neighborhoods are witnessing
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huge spikes in homicides and robberies: a family murdered in Woodley Park; a person stabbed 40 times on the Metro; an American University student on his way to a party is killed. ”It’s all porous,” adds Cheh. It would be a mistake to conclude, however, that east of the river is a wholly poverty-stricken basket case. It has sturdy pockets of decent and middle class residents. It also has huge, under-exploited amenities, including three Metro stations, quick access via car to downtown DC, national parks, an ice-skating rink, and a youth baseball academy. Those gems aren’t properly marketed. The areas’ socio-economic ills dominate its public façade. “The media highlight all the negatives,” says May. “We are working on a strength-building model, instead of a deficit model.” An organize west-river citizenry, working collaboratively with east of the river residents, could help turn that around, creating a win-win for everyone: less government spending on social services, a safer community, and an overall more vibrant city. “Economic development is more than bricks and sticks,” says Stan Jackson, head of the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation. There is no question that residents in Ward 7 and 8 must become more engaged, he continued, but east of the river needs an assist from a citywide coalition “organizing, pushing, and cajoling.”
We Were Together Once Building citizen bridges across the river and ward boundaries isn’t a foreign concept—although admittedly it isn’t easy. More than a decade ago parents from Ward 3’s Janey Elementary collaborated with those from Anne Beers Elementary in Ward 7 to raise money for their respective institutions. Eugene and Tonya Kinlow, Ward 8 residents, who had their children in Janey, helped facilitate the partnership. “We had to overcome a set of challenges and barriers,” says Eugene Kinlow, adding that some Janey parents questioned the need for the collaboration and wanted to focus more on their individual school. Eventually, parent leaders cut through those divisions. “We developed a group that saw beyond their needs, beyond their community [and] beyond their ca-
pacity and limitations.” Alexander thinks that kind of collaboration should be replicated. “That would be phenomenal.” Further, those-west-of-the-river young people who flock to the ice skating rink could develop mentorships with youth who live in the surrounding Ward 7 neighborhoods. But, she adds, that everything starts at home. “Right here in Ward 7, some people don’t venture into our neighborhoods.” Strong communities like that around Anne Beers Elementary School could form partnerships with say the one around Aiton, adds Alexander. Already civic association members in Ward 3 and Ward 7 host annual programs in each other’s community. And, as Cheh made her rounds last month assessing the readiness of schools in her area, she learned that “Principals of different schools in Ward 3 are getting together with those in Wards 7 and 8 to share information. “That’s at a smaller level, but it is happening,” continued Cheh. “Maybe the government could foster more of these collaborations.” There is ground work to do. Allen relays a conversation he had with Snowden about the barrage of calls he received from constituents irate that their trash wasn’t collected during the recent winter storm. “She told me they received zero calls from Ward 8,” continued Allen. That means “the skepticism to overcome is palpable.” Further, there are conspiracy theorists, who believe the arrival of even one white face means the immediate and mass removal of black and brown people. “They see it all as the white man’s fault and in their minds black folks on the west side are just as bad,” says Kinlow. That mindset and other social conditions could change, argues Lester, if people were employed. “Once they get in the workforce, pay taxes, they are less likely to be involved in crimes; they have money to spend with local vendors. People want to participate, but they can’t.”
Eastern Wards Can’t Wait Snowden says her office “has been focused on jump-starting employment in a meaningful way—including in parts of ward 1, 4, 5, and 6— not just east of the river.” Naturally, she praised her boss for extending the summer jobs program to include residents between the ages of 22 and 24. Snowden anticipates the mayor will meet
the council’s success barometer of employing at least onethird of those participants. During her “Vision Tour”, which was a series of community meetings, she may have discovered an important hurdle to an east of the river renaissance. “The harder thing was for [residents] to talk about what they want to see in their communities.” That vision thing could be greatly improved by relations with residents in other wards who, because of government myopia, weren’t sure of what to expect or demand. Now, those neighborhoods have been revitalized. Still, Allen cautions that in collaborating with “east of the river residents, care has to be taken. A lot of loaded things come with it. It almost has to be organic.” East of the river can’t wait, neither can the rest of the city. Snowden says, “In the coming months there will be creative initiatives to engage people across the city.” Hopefully it won’t be yet another slogan, full of rhetorical passion but yielding few measurable outcomes. As Jackson correctly asserts, “We can’t keep doing it the same way and expect results to be miraculously different.” Jonetta Rose Barras is a freelance writer, whose works have appeared in numerous publications including The Washington Post and the Washington Examiner. She frequently blogs at www.jonettarosebarras.com u
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{capitol streets / the numbers}
What We Know About Charter School Finances The Numbers
P
ublic charter schools serve almost half of all public school students in the District. They receive over $600 million in local resources from the DC government each year. So, understanding how charter schools spend these resources is important for both parents choosing a school and policymakers responsible for their financial oversight. We are learning more and more about the health of charter school finances, thanks to an annual report from the Public Charter School Board. Which charter schools ran a deficit? How much did each charter school raise from fundraising? How much do charter schools spend per pupil? It’s all there in the Financial Audit Review report (FAR). At the same, the FAR could do a lot more to help DC parents and policymakers understand how the city’s charter schools spend money and how financially strong they are. For example, the report tells us how many schools are financially at risk – seven this year – but doesn’t tell us which ones. The DC Fiscal Policy Institute (DCFPI) examined recent financial information for DC charter schools from the 2014 FAR report. We highlighted some key revenue and spending trends, and made recommendations for how information on charter school finances could be even more clear and accessible.
Key Financial Trends The FAR report for the 2013-2014 school year shows wide variation in the financial health of DC’s 60 charter schools known as Local Education Agencies (LEAs): • Seven LEAs were identified as financially low-performing. As noted, the FAR does not identify which schools fall into this category. • 21 LEAs were categorized as financially high performing. • 18 charter LEAs had operating deficits, an
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by Soumya Bhat 80 percent increase from the previous two fiscal years. DCFPI’s analysis of the Financial Audit Review (FAR) also reveals wide variation in spending perpupil and in the philanthropic revenue raised by each charter school LEA. • Per-Pupil Spending Varies from School to School. Charter LEAs spent an average of $14,639 per pupil for school year 201314. This spending ranged from less than $10,000 per pupil at four schools to more than $19,000 per pupil at five schools. In most cases, the variation reflects the characteristics of the students – charter schools serving adults receive less per-pupil funding than others, while schools with a substantial number of special education students or English language learners receive more per pupil. • Philanthropic Revenue is a Relatively Small Share of Charter School Finances. DC’s charter school sector brought in an approximate $44 million in philanthropic revenue, including parent fund-raising and foundation grants. However, most DC charter schools still rely primarily on local resources – philanthropic revenue only accounted for 6 percent of the sector’s collective revenue, while funding from the District accounted for 82 percent. • Philanthropic Revenue Varies from School to School. While most schools raised less than $500 per pupil from philanthropic sources, five schools received none at all, and 12 charter school LEAs raised $1,000 or more per pupil. Maya Angelou public charter school raised over $15,000 in additional resources per pupil.
Improving Financial Transparency While the FAR is a helpful document, more could be done to make it easier for the public to learn about the finances of each charter school including successful schools and those considered
17 Y ears financially at-risk. DCFPI makes the following recommendations: • Detailed Breakout of Personnel and Staffing – The report should include information on the number of executive staff, school leadership positions, certified teaching staff, administrative (certified) staff, and non-certified administrative staff. This would provide a better picture of how money is allocated for personnel expenses. • Restricted Funds – Many charters report having restricted funds, but restricted for what? Facilities, bond financing, or other purposes? As a matter of transparency, the public should know, but currently there is no uniform reporting on the nature of restricted funds. • Capital Expenses – The FAR reports on each school’s “occupancy expenses,” but that includes a mix of both capital costs – dollars spent to build, own, and maintain long-term assets – and operating expenses like utilities and maintenance. Because charters get one pot of money for operating expenses and another pot for facilities, DCFPI recommends a more careful separation of occupancy into operating costs and capital costs for each charter LEA. • Philanthropic Revenue – The current information on philanthropic revenue is broad, requiring anyone interested in learning more to contact each individual LEA. DCFPI suggests that the FAR report include additional breakdown of these funds – such as the share from private foundation grants versus parent fees or PTA fund-raising, and the
share of philanthropic revenue that is for multi-year vs. singleyear grants. • DC funding Per Student in Special Categories – Each charter school gets an allotment for its at-risk, special education, or English language learners. But the FAR report doesn’t say how those resources are spent on the same students. This could change with the Council requiring each charter LEA to report on how at-risk funds are being spent. • A Financial “Grade” for Each LEA – The FAR lacks a cumulative list of which charter school LEAs are considered high performing or at-risk. While it includes financial report cards for individual LEAs, they present several metrics – some of which are hard for non-accountants to understand -- but not a summative “grade” of the school’s overall financial health. A singular letter grade to represent the overall financial health of a charter would be a smart addition to the financial report cards. • List of Charters and their Financial Status – The FAR does not list which schools are financial high-performing or financial low-performing. It simply states the number that fall into each category. Parents and policymakers deserve to know. To read the full DCFPI report, see here or go to www.dcfpi.org/areas-of-research/education.
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September 2015 H 85
{capitol streets / EMCAC}
The Eastern Market Report
The Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee’s July 2015 Meeting by Peter Waldron Financial Report The Eastern Market’s June revenues were $66,000, according to the Manager’s Report read during the July meeting of the Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee (EMCAC). South Hall rents were $19, 676. North Hall revenue of $5737 was substantially lower than the annually forecasted $300,000. Exhibitor and Farmer’s Line revenue averaged $3489 for each weekend business day. The North Hall as required by legislation had a “community use of 250-270 hours per month.”
Crumbling Facade The brownstones at the South Hall’s southern entrance to the Pottery Shop are rapidly deteriorating. Pieces of the one hundred year old brown stones that form the Market’s facade are falling off at random intervals. “There is a safety problem,” stated Monte Edwards, Chair of the Capital Improvements Committee. The repair of brown stones was not made part of the contractual obligations of those who renovated the Market after its devastating fire in 2007-08, Edwards stated. Pointing out the considerable history of discussion on the matter with District representatives, Edwards pushed for a resolution. There is no money in the regular budget to make this repair, Market Manager Barry Margeson replied. The stairs had already been repaired at a cost of $80,000, he added. The price of the new repairs might be “four to five hundred thousand.” Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Diane Hoskins (6B02) suggested that the Market pay for this expense as an “emergency repair.” The larger question of how repairs for future wear and tear on the Market’s physical infrastructure would be addressed absent a capital improvement fund was raised by both Edwards and EMCAC Chair Donna Scheeder. “I think that it is unfair to say the brownstone repair is waiting on money. This is the problem with not having a capital spending plan. The Market cash flow cannot take care of these issues,” Scheeder stated.
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The Market, managed by the District’s Department of General Services (DGS), is entering the ninth year since its 2007-8 renovation.
Merchants Leases Bill Glasgow, owner of Union Meats operating in the Market since 1946, once again raised the issue of South Hall merchant leases. When the Market re-opened in 2008, the merchants were required to sign now expired one year leases as a condition of regaining their renovated stalls. “They put a gun to our heads,” said Glasgow. The South Hall merchants have operated without leases since 1999, he stated. In their absence, “We cannot borrow money from a bank,” he pointed out. Absent viable leases, the merchants’ South Hall businesses are essentially worthless. After a Nov. 1, 2013, meeting with the city, the merchants were ready to sign leases, stated Glasgow, with most issues settled. Now, all discussion had peremptorily come to a halt, he added. “If it was a situation where I ran a private company for the Market I would set a rate and do it. The fact of the matter is that I work for the District of Columbia where we listen well to a community that has a lot of good ideas about how to do things. We are at five and half years and we are still where we are. There a lot of people with a lot of ideas of what we should do and what we should not do,” stated Margeson in response. Why it has taken five and a half years to make any determination about lease terms, Scheeder asked rhetorically. The Market legislation requires a lease be issued to these tenants, she reminded the audience. “Among the major finding of both (recent Eastern Market) audits is that the leases be concluded,” she stated. Scheeder asked Margeson if there was any value in a meeting with the Acting Director of General Services, Jonathan Kane. CHAMPS representative Chuck Berger praised the work of Margeson as Market Manager. “Leadership gets things done. This is a poor use of a public trust,” he added as a caveat.
Public Space Parking Restrictions The parking of vendor vehicles on public green space and how it affects the configuration of stalls on the closed 300 block of Seventh Street SE was proved a contentious issue. Under a mayoral decree, the street closure is designed to accommodate the two privately-owned weekend flea markets. The two, previously operating on the Hine school grounds for more than a decade, have now been displaced by the Hine redevelopment. The two owners of the weekend flea markets sublet Seventh Street SE from the District. Their current lease expires on July 31. They have a letter of understanding with Stanton-Eastbanc promising to negotiate an agreement for their operations to continue on C Street SE once the Hine development has been completed. Conveying the concerns of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6B, Hoskins raised concerns about parking of vendor vehicles on Seventh Street on Saturdays. Carol Wright, owner of the Saturday flea market, reminded EMCAC that she has worked with Eastern Market management to tweak the setup. A number of the vehicles were parked by vendors with serious health problems, she stated. It had been very difficult to make the adjustment from the previous 55,000 sf to the current 6,800 square foot, Wright complained. All vendors have similar unloading and loading strategies. Many were able to solve them without parking on public space, retorted Scheeder. There are limited commercial parking spaces for vendor vehicles nearby. In addition the Sunday flea market in tackling this problem had resolved this issue with no reported parked vehicles among its stalls, she pointed out. After this discussion EMCAC voted 5 to 2 to prohibit any vendor parking on lower Seventh Street. EMCAC meetings are generally held on the last Wednesday of each month in the North Hall at Eastern Market at Seventh Street and North Carolina Avenue SE. For more information, visit www.easternmarket-dc.org. u
SAVE THE DATE!
ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 6A PHIL TOOMAJIAN, CHAIR, PHILANC6A@GMAIL.COM Serving the Near Northeast, North Lincoln Park, Rosedale, and Stanton Park communities ANC 6A generally meets the second Thursday of the month, at Miner Elementary School, 601 15th Street, NE.
www.anc6a.org Next ANC 6A meeting is 2nd Thursday, September 10th 7 p.m, Miner E.S., 601 15th St. NE Alcohol Beverage Licensing Committee - Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015 7pm at Sherwood Recreation Center • 640 10th St., NE Jay Williams - Co-Chair (906-0657) / Christopher Seagle - Co-Chair
Transportation & Public Space Committee - Monday, Sept. 21, 2015
HILL-O-WEEN E astErn M arkEt • O ctObEr 30, 2015 • 5:30-7:30 pM 7th Street, SE Between Pennsylvania & North Carolina Ave., SE
7pm at Capitol Hill Towers Community Room • 900 G St., NE J. Omar Mahmud - Co-Chair (594-9848) / Todd Sloves - Co-Chair
Economic Development & Zoning Committee - Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2015 7pm at Sherwood Recreation Center • 640 10th St., NE Dan Golden - Co-Chair (641-5734) / Andrew Hysell - Co-Chair
Community Outreach Committee - Monday, Sept. 28, 2015 NOW HELD EVERY 4TH MONDAY OF THE MONTH
7pm at Maury Elementary School • 1250 Constitution Ave., NE Multi-purpose Room (enter from 200 Block of 13 Street) Dana Wyckoff - Co-Chair (571-213-1630) / Raphael Marshall - Co-Chair
Please check the Community Calendar on the website for cancellations and changes of venue.
Produced by Capitol Hill’s own Good Witch, Heather Schoell!
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6C P.O. Box 77876 • Washington, D.C. 20013-7787 • www.anc6c.org • (202) 547-7168 ANC 6C generally meets the second Wednesday of each month. 214 Massachusetts Ave NE
ANC 6C COMMISSIONERS ANC 6C01 Daniele Schiffman Daniele.Schiffman@gmail.com
ANC 6C04 Mark Eckenwiler 6C04@anc.dc.gov
ANC 6C02 Karen Wirt (202) 547-7168 6C02@anc.dc.gov
ANC 6C05 Christopher Miller 6C05@anc.dc.gov
ANC 6C03 Scott Price (202) 577-6261 6C03@anc.dc.gov scott.price@anc.dc.gov
ANC 6C06 Tony Goodman (202) 271-8707 tonytgood@gmail.com
ANC 6C COMMITTEES Alcohol Beverage Licensing Committee First Monday, 7 pm Contact: (870) 821-0531 anc6c.abl.committee@gmail.com
Transportation and Public Space Committee First Thursday, 7 pm Contact: mark.kaz.anc@gmail.com
Grants Committee Last Thursday, 7 pm Contact: ducotesb1@gmail.com
Planning, Zoning, and Economic Development First Wednesday, 7 pm Contact: zoning@eckenwiler.org Twitter: @6C_PZE
Parks and Events Committee First Tuesday, 7 pm Contact: christinehealey100@gmail.com
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or kira@hillrag.com for more information on advertising.
September 2015 H 87
Crossword Author: Myles Mellor • www.themecrosswords.com • www.mylesmellorconcepts.com
“Signs of the Zodiac” by Myles Mellor and Sally York Across: 1. 7. 13. 19. 21. 22. 23. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 36. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 50. 53. 54. 56. 59. 60. 61. 63. 64. 67. 69. 73. 75. 76. 80. 82. 86. 87. 89. 90. 92. 93. 95. 96. 101. 102. 103. 104.
Not of the cloth Newly hatched insects Knitted blanket It stands for something Iroquoian language Comfort Henry Miller offering Demonstrates Coop group Needle holder Mother Teresa, for one Rafters Milldam Night of poetry City on the Brazos Corn dish American car Food in Exodus 16 Piano piece Safety device “A little more than kin, and less than kind,” e.g. Republic in the Eastern Pyrenees Light yellow Shopaholic’s delight Astrological era Came of age? “Beetle Bailey” creator Walker Sticker Stain Informer Betrothed Canine’s coat Mix up Attack, with “into” Pastoral setting Eurasia’s ___ Mountains Put up in a different residence NASA’s second human space flight program Western blue flag, e.g. Plot device in “Citizen Kane” Geometric figure Flax plant ___-Wan Kenobi Filmmaker Spike Author Zola He drew the “Vitruvian Man” Depend (on) Butter Jane or John Bewildered
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106. 110. 111. 112. 116. 117. 120. 121. 122. 123. 124. 125.
Nathan and Pearl L-1011, e.g. Crown Defraud Measure Well-known cruise ship Pants measure Emcees’ lines Evening receptions Line of clothing Baby Most judicious
Down: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 20. 24. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 48. 49. 51. 52. 55.
Plaster base Big plot It’s pumped in a gym Police Black cuckoo Secondary school in France Places “___ Ng” (They Might Be Giants song) Milk curdler Llama relative Yemeni city Musical ability Jellies Taiwan, once Clump Keep Super server Famed loch Theme Commotion Less slack Slip First name in mystery Warbler Chutney fruit Hypnotized High-hat Indian royal Accord Big Bertha’s birthplace 1957 #1 song Freud contemporary Hard up Hat-tipper’s word Hydrophobia Blue shade Kinsman Stubborn beast Coffee holders
Look for this months answers at labyrinthgameshop.com 57. 58. 62. 64. 65. 66. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 74. 76. 77.
Cooling-off period? Lassie portrayer Soft mineral Bird ___ Variety of leaf bug Hibernia ___ lab Give the third degree Eagle’s nest Zoo heavyweight Petty officer on a merchant ship Court ploy Japanese taste type Inflexible
78. 79. 81. 83. 84. 85. 88. 91. 94. 97. 98. 99. 100. 105. 106.
New World lizard Field of work Wears down Andrews or Powell First place? Wield, as influence Communication “O” Purplish red Pizzazz Beat Experts Electorate Specks Goat antelope Indonesian island
107. Last word? 108. They have their pluses and minuses 109. Olympic sled 110. Daughter of Saturn 111. “Over here!” 112. Lancelot and Mix-a-Lot, for two 113. Algonquian Indian 114. Many moons 115. Lion’s share 117. Not a mistake! 118. Fish eggs 119. Seven, in ancient Rome u
{community life}
Who Let the Dogs Out?
T
by E. Ethelbert Miller
he poet Ahmos Zu-Bolton once called Washington the Demon City. Ahmos, who died here in 2005, was from DeRidder, La. Together we edited the anthology “Synergy,” the first collection of DC black poetry, birthed back in 1975. Ahmos put a dent in the literary world in much the same way Jim Rice knocked balls off the Green Monster in Fenway Park. Ahmos was heavily influenced by science fiction and he drove a white van around town as if looking to pick up Sun Ra’s Arkestra. Back in the 1970s one could often hear talk about survival and rumors about how we wouldn’t live beyond 1984. Remember when that year was supposed to be the end of everything? Funny how, in 2015, it looks like Big Brother and his entire Big Family are watching all of us. At times I wonder if we are not quickly moving into being known as Disaster City. Even in the midst of tremendous construction around town there are things that seem to be falling apart. I could begin with the Metro, but why go underground? One Sunday back in July I was at a friend’s house listening to City Councilmember Elissa Silverman give an overview of DC wins and losses. One young man at the meeting raised the issue of the city moving away from the use of fossil fuels. He supported what is now a growing divestment movement against companies that continue to shake hands with the devil. He also mentioned how flooding was going to be a major problem in the future for the DC area. For some reason I continued to eat the chips without the dip. I’m more aware of climate change issues these days. I admire the Pope and Naomi Klein (in that order). Still, I’m lazy and have no survival kit in the basement. I have maybe two flashlights and no extra batteries. Even though I grew up in the 1950s, the “duck and cover” era, I probably be-
came arrogant because no atomic bomb ever fell on the Bronx. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a homework assignment that my teacher didn’t check for spelling. I suspect however there are demons on the march. Yes, planes did fall out of the sky and one hit the Pentagon. The Towers in New York collapsed as if struck by the wings of Rodan. That was yesterday, and tomorrow is going to be a dangerous place to live. Years ago I fell in love with Seattle, the way I now go steady with the Nationals. Yes, I love the Seahawks, and Ichiro crushed my heart when his number was 51. However the July 20 issue of The New Yorker knocked me down like a Bob Gibson fastball. Terror is not something you want to experience or read about. I slowly read “The Really Big One” by Kathryn Schulz. It’s a very scary article about the earthquake that will one day hit our Northwest states. After reading Schulz one will always be sleepless in Seattle. The early warning signals might begin with the barking of dogs. I walk around DC and stare at the many dogs that now reside here. I’m a cat person, but dogs can be cool. Maybe their barking in unison might one day save us. If not we will simply be punished for the way we have lived, and believe our destruction is a result of the sins of our government. When all the animals flee there is always a scapegoat left behind. Our failure to prepare properly for the future will one day introduce us to science fiction. Ahmos was a prophet among poets. E. Ethelbert Miller is a literary activist. He was inducted into the Washington Hall of Fame in April 2015. Miller’s “Collected Poems,” edited by Kirsten Porter, will be published next spring by Willow Books. u
September 2015 H 89
{community life}
Washington Area Community Investment Fund Invests in DC by Phil Hutinet
W
here do small businesses and budding entrepreneurs go when commercial banks find their proposals too risky? They go to the Washington Area Community Investment Fund, referred to more commonly by its acronym, WACIF. For over 25 years WACIF, a nonprofit 501(c) (3), has provided business counselling and capital to hundreds of small local businesses, which in turn have created hundreds of jobs and reinvested millions of dollars in local communities.
What Is WACIF? WACIF works closely with the US Treasury Department as a CDFI, or community development financial institution, and also maintains a partnership with the US Small Business Administration (SBA). In DC, WACIF works closely with the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and the Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD). “The Washington Area Community Investment Fund has been a steadfast partner of the Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD),” says Ana Harvey, director of DSLBD. “WACIF has been instrumental in our efforts to make capital more accessible to DC small businesses and improve their financial literacy.” The organization applies for and receives grants from federal and state agencies to sustain operations, provide programming, and lend money. In addition it receives funding and support from banks and private investors. Tim Flanagan, WACIF’s executive director, and his staff prepare a roadmap to help small businesses that do not fit traditional bank loan underwriting models. Flanagan explains that “at the end of the day we are part of the spectrum. We are filling a niche, and most banks in DC have an active relationship with WACIF and are very generous with their time and resources.” These banks include large national corporations like Capital One and PNC Bank as well as smaller local institutions such as Industrial Bank and City One Bank. “The local community banks in particular,” adds Flanagan, “are committed to seeing community development thrive.” However, long before qualifying for a traditional bank loan WACIF gives its clients a track record. Unlike a mortgage, which uses property as collateral, most business loans have little or no
90 H Hillrag.com
Tim Flanagan, WACIF’s executive director. Photo: WACIF
collateral for a lender to recoup in the event of default. Smaller businesses therefore often borrow using credit cards or “hard money,” a term describing high-interest private loans. CDFIs like WACIF provide a much needed alternative. Flanagan recalls a client who was paying 28 percent on their line of credit. “Our 10 percent line of credit was a huge savings for their business. It allowed them to protect margins, give them breathing room, and pay down other debt. When a small business’s financial health improves they are more likely to hire and to reinvest into the community.” WACIF may lend up to $300,000, but the average loan is about $80,000. Every year it closes 20-30 loans, and historically fewer than 4 percent of them have defaulted, beating industry-proven standards. In the past five years WACIF has increased the size of its loan portfolio from $1.3 million to $3.2 million, doubling the size in the last three years alone. “This shows demand for these types of loans,” concludes Flanagan. In addition the interest derived from the augmented loan portfolio will help sustain WACIF’s operations. Dawn Leary, a WACIF board member since 2007, explains that “under Tim Flanagan’s leadership, WACIF has expanded its loan portfolio which has made WACIF less dependent on grant funding sources, allowing the organization to grow even if certain grants get slashed from government budgets.”
Going the Extra Yard Loans are only part of WACIF’s mission. The organization also provides technical expertise, advice, and education. Jeremy Cullimore, director of communications and outreach at WACIF, provides startups and existing businesses with “Small Business Technical Assistance Program” workshops. On average WACIF runs two workshops per month. Classes are held in Wards 5, 6, 7, and 8 at public libraries and community centers. Topics include basic coursework such as “How to Write to a Business Plan” or “Taxes & Insurance.” Another important workshop is “SWOT” (Strength Weaknesses, Opportunity, Training), presenting a methodology that forces business owners to take time out once a year to understand threats to their business, examine their business environment, and analyze where they are financially. In another workshop, “Legal Formation,” hosted by the DC Bar, a business owner might ponder whether to become an LLC, for example. Once a month WACIF hosts “Small Business Loan Days,” a counseling and technical as-
sistance hybrid where prospects can ask bankers about small business financing. WACIF also offers one-on-one business counseling
People Are Talking about WACIF’s Success At-Large Councilmember Elissa Silverman, who recently attended a crowded WACIF workshop on access to credit, remarks: “Some of those in the room had great ideas but little business experience, or student loans and other debt that weighed down their credit score. WACIF makes these aspiring entrepreneurs into growing businesses that generate revenue and jobs for our city by making credit and technical assistance available to those considered too ‘risky’ for traditional lenders but who deserve an opportunity to succeed. And the return on investment has a multiplier effect. Just look at the new energy in commercial corridors such as Rhode Island Avenue NE!” One such entrepreneur is Kendra Blackett-Dibinga, a Ward 7 resident, who has been with WACIF for two years. She first approached WACIF with a dream to open up her own Bikram Yoga studio. “Initially I didn’t have my finances in order,” admits Blackett-Dibinga, “and they told me what I had to get done. They helped me ‘right-size’ my expectations advised me about my financials and prepared me for bank financing.” WACIF lent Blackett-Dibinga $70,000 to open her first studio in Riverdale Park, Md. Her enterprise has been so successful that Blackett-Dibinga is getting ready to open her second Bikram studio in Ivy City, in Northeast DC, just a year later. Hanif Aljami, owner of New World Development Group, a commercial general contractor located in Ward 7, approached WACIF for assistance at the onset of the recession. As the economy improved, Aljami’s company was awarded a $1.3 million drywall contract by American University. In construction, contractor payments are generally done in draws which come at the end of stated deliverable periods. Draws create cashflow problems for small outfits like New World Development. A loan from WACIF allowed Aljami to meet payroll and keep the project on track. WACIF also assisted Aljami during a rough patch during which a large contract did not pay on time. “[WACIF] allowed us to pay just the loan interest until we were repaid. It’s amazing how much they help small businesses in the District,” recalls Aljami. Community Forklift, which will celebrate
its 10th anniversary this November, illustrates all the facets of WACIF’s capabilities and the impact that community reinvestment can have not only on the local economy but on the environment. It was founded by the Sustainable Community Initiative (SCI), established as a 501(c)(3). Based in Capitol Hill, SCI seeks to recycle waste and create jobs to provide concrete examples to support environmental advocacy. “When we talk about zero waste, Maryland’s climate action plan, green jobs, or sustainability, SCI can now talk about Community Forklift as an example. When groups talk about job losses due to a closure of an incinerator or a coal mine, SCI can provide proof about creating green jobs to replace them,” says Ruthie Mundell, director of outreach and education at Community Forklift. With WACIF’s help, SCI formed Community Forklift as a for-profit LLC, and provided business advice and debt consolidation to offset crippling credit card rates. Community Forklift now employs 45 people and keeps thousands of metric tons out of area landfills annually by diverting construction waste to a retail warehouse for resale to the public. “WACIF has gone above and beyond the financial contribution,” explains Mundell. “They have been an emotional support for us. They have held our hand every step of the way.” Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen has seen the work of WACIF in the community. “WACIF is an important resource for small businesses and nonprofit organizations in the District that are looking to grow,” he remarks. It is “helping them access much-needed capital and providing technical financial assistance. Our small businesses are crucial to building strong neighborhoods. WACIF’s support for District entrepreneurs and organizations helps them grow, create jobs, and invest in our communities.” Tim Flanagan will be leaving the organization sometime in early 2016 as soon as he helps transition a yet-to-be named successor. Board member Dawn Leary explains that “we’re building on a legacy that was started under Tim’s Leadership. We are looking for someone to continue Tim’s work.” For more information about WACIF or to attend a workshop visit www.wacif.org. Phil Hutinet is the publisher of East City Art, dedicated to DC’s visual arts. For more information visit www.eastcityart.com. u
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{community life / our river}
Our River: The Anacostia A Timetable for Restoration by Bill Matuszeski
P
romises! Promises! Promises! For how long has the public been told the Anacostia River would return as a healthy and accessible urban river? What is it really reasonable to expect and when? It is easy to get frustrated at the pace of recovery of old Mother Nature. However, these are complex systems of land and water that have been abused for centuries. So, it is not so easy to turn them around. The pieces are starting to fall into place. It is now possible to construct a timetable of major actions that should lead to steady and increasing improvements. This is important for at least two reasons. Firstly, it provides the public with some clear markers. Secondly, gives citizens a basis for pressuring the politicians and public agencies to stay on track and deliver on time. What can we expect in the coming years in the way of visible improvements?
Next Year 2016 is the year that the basic system of hiking and biking trails along the will be completed with the
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Anacostia Sunrise Traveler Courtesy Wordpress.com
opening of the link between Benning Road NE and the Bladensburg Marina in Maryland. It will be possible to ride from the South Capitol Street Bridge upstream along a number of tributaries to Greenbelt, College Park, and even Brookside Gardens well beyond the Beltway. Plans are being laid to celebrate with thousands taking part in a bike rides all over the watershed. The effect will be to make us feel for the first time that we are all connected by the River and the streams that feed it.
Two Years Hence 2016 and 2017 will bring more progress on cleaning up some of the remaining streams that serve as storm sewers in the part of DC where the storm and sanitary sewage are separate. Two that are getting a lot of attention are Springhouse Run and Hickey Run. Both surface in the Arboretum. Both have serious issues of sewage and other pollutants that need to be cleaned up as part of their restoration. The older parts of DC are served by the combined sewer system. This antiquated approach used
the storm water to regularly flush out the sewers. Over time this caused more and more overloads and releases of the combined storm water and sewage into the rivers. In the case of the Anacostia, this happens about once a week, hardly a way to expect the river to stay healthy. The answer is the DCWater Long-Term Control Program (LTCP), a court-mandated multi-billion dollar effort to build tunnels to store the combined flow until the storm passes and the treatment plants can handle the volume. For the Anacostia, this means a 13.1-mile tunnel that captures all the storm water and sewage and reduces any discharge to the River by 98 percent. Recent changes to the LTCP in other parts of the City will replace tunnels and storage with so-called “green infrastructure� – rain gardens and swales. These practices are designed to hold the storm water in place and not overload the sanitary sewers. This will add more years to LTCP in those areas. For the Anacostia, where the tunnels will be built to full capacity, the LTCP is on time and on
A Holistic Approach to Fitness Partner with Pattie Cinelli to: budget. The first results will be seen in fewer overflows beginning in 2018.
Longer Term Two other things to look for in 2018 are approval by the City of the Final Plan to clean up the toxics at sites along the Anacostia and in the sediments in the river bottom. Also, the DC United soccer stadium on Buzzard Point will open. While the games will start immediately, the toxic clean-up will take at least six years to complete. In 2019, the completed 11th Street Bridge Park will open. There will be performance spaces, urban demonstration gardens, cafes, river
to prevent pollutants from entering the system. The toxics in the soils and sediments at old industrial sites along the Anacostia must be monitored and cleaned up as they leach into the water. Even the air must be managed lest it will continue to deposit toxic chemicals from traffic and industry. So, the big jobs will be done, but the clean-up of smaller and more hidden sources will continue. What’s the best guess on when we might have a fishable and swimmable Anacostia River? The District has set 2032 as the year when we can all go down to the River and jump in. I would say it is
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SEPTEMBER PRESERVATION CAFE Jusine Poluszny Bello will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of painting exterior brickwork, Wednesday, September 16, 7-8 p.m., at Kaiser Permanente, 700 2nd St. NE. Handicapped accessible.
A New Riverside Trail in Anacostia. Courtesy Wikipedia for “Greenway” neighborhood of SE
access with boat rentals and an environmental study center. So that is the next four years along the River. What comes after that?
Creating a Swimmable River In 2022, the tunnels will have been completed reducing the combined sewer overflows to the River to two percent of current levels. In 2024, the toxic clean-up should be finished. Still, there will be more work to do. The streams feeding into the Anacostia in both DC and Maryland will require continued efforts
worth waiting for. Expecting it happen any sooner is wishful thinking. In meanwhile, enjoy the trails, the beautiful sights like sunset from the 11th Street Bridge, the eagles and hawks, the canoe rides, kayaks and sculls. All this makes the Anacostia River the wonderful place it already is. Bill Matuszeski writes monthly about the Anacostia River. He is the retired Director of the Chesapeake Bay Program, past Chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee on the Anacostia River and a member of the Mayor’s Leadership Council for a Cleaner Anacostia River. u
TWO HISTORIC ROWHOUSE WALKING TOURS IN LINCOLN PARK NEIGHBORHOOD: September 13, 10 a.m. Meet at Maury ES, corner of 13th St. and Constitution Ave. NE. Rain or shine September 27, 10 a.m. Meet in triangle park on the corner of 14th St. and Constitution Ave. NE. Rain or shine All three events are free and the public is encouraged to attend. Check website calendar for details.
Capitol Hill is a special place. We promote, preserve, and enhance the character of our historic neighborhoods.
Join Us Today at 202-543-0425 info@chrs.org; www.chrs.org; @CHRSDC September 2015 H 93
{community life / south by west}
South by West by William Rich Hyatt Place Hard Hat Tour In about three months, the newest Hyatt Place in DC will be opening at 400 E St. SW, a mixeduse project developed by E Street Development Group and designed by WDG. I was able to get a hard hat tour of the project from Stacy Smith and Carl Barnett from Hyatt Place in early August. Hyatt Place Washington DC/National Mall is a 214-key select-service hotel. Service is key at Hyatt Place, which offers “casual hospitality in a smartly designed, high-tech and modern environment.” All Hyatt Place hotels have free Wi-Fi and breakfast is included, as well as 24/7 access to freshly-prepared food at the Gallery Market (for a fee). The same person who checks in a guest is also capable of preparing a meal, making an espresso or a cocktail. The main entrance to the Hyatt Place Washington DC/National Mall is located on E Street SW, where elevators take guests to the lobby lounge on the third floor. At the lobby lounge, guests can check-in; use free computers and printers at the e-Room; pick up a sandwich from the Grab n’ Go case; eat at the Gallery Market (nonhotel guests can also order and pick-up food any time of day or night); get a drink at the Bakery
Café, which serves Starbucks by day and wine, draft beer and spirits in the evening; work out at the 24-hour StayFit Gym which faces an outdoor pool; and socialize outdoors on the Gallery Terrace. There are also five meeting rooms with over 3,000 square feet of flexible event space on the second floor. The fourth floor contains backof-house operations for the hotel and administrative offices for KidPower, a local non-profit organization. Rooms begin on the fifth floor (with the exception of a few on the third floor) and are a mix of king-bedded rooms, queen-bedded rooms, 16 king suites, and eight studio suites. All rooms contain a 42” flat screen HDTV, mini-fridge, separate workspace, Cozy Corner sectional sleeper sofa, in-room safe, and luxury skin and hair care products in the bathroom. King-bedded rooms have stand-up showers and queen-bedded rooms have a tub. A rooftop bar will be open to the public and will have a menu distinct from the Gallery Market. The rooftop bar will be open seasonally from 8 a.m. until 2 a.m. during the week and 3 a.m. on the weekends. Stacy and Carl say that the yetto-be-named rooftop bar will be a unique destina-
One of the king suites at the new Hyatt Place in Southwest. Photo: William Rich
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tion in the District that will be unlike the POV at the W Hotel or Donovan House. They have been looking at rooftop bar concepts from across the country for inspiration and expect to have great food and cocktails. Reservations are already being accepted for stays at Hyatt Place Washington DC/National Mall beginning in February 2016, but once an exact opening date is announced for the hotel, reservations will open up for dates closer to opening. Rates start at $159, but Southwest residents will receive a 20 percent discount on the best available rate and holiday specials will be available. In addition, job postings will soon go up for the hotel.
Unique Mix of Uses 400 E Street is a true mixed-use building, which in addition to Hyatt Place will also include 1,400 square feet of ground floor retail at the corner of Fourth and E Streets SW and a firehouse along Fourth Street SW. The retail space is envisioned as a market or deli and the firehouse is the first newly built facility for the DC Fire Department in nearly 30 years. When a call comes in and a fire truck leaves its bay, the traffic signals will synchronize, allowing the fire truck to leave the
The District-owned parcel at Waterfront Station was transformed last fall into ‘Nonuments Park’ during a citywide arts program. Photo: William Rich
station without the need to blare its horn, which hotel guests will surely appreciate! In addition, the windows are triple-paned to keep out any noise from the Southwest freeway next door. Prior to becoming a hotel/ firehouse, 400 E Street SW was a District-owned lot used as parking and at one time was a gas station. E Street Development Group was awarded the rights to develop 400 E Street SW and a second parcel at the existing Engine 13 site at 555 E Street SW back in 2009 by the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) through a 99-year ground lease. Back then, 400 E Street SW was planned as an office building with a firehouse below, but due to unfavorable office market conditions, the use changed to a hotel. Construction began on phase one in December 2013. A second phase is planned for 555 E Street SW. An office building with ground floor retail was originally planned, but according to DMPED’s new Project Pipeline Database, the current plan for the site calls for a 193,000 square feet multifamily building, an 89,000 square feet hotel, and 15,000 square feet of retail space. Construction on the second phase is expected to start in 2017.
Waterfront Station Update Two tower cranes have arrived at Forest City’s 1001 Fourth Street SW construction site at Waterfront Station, a little more than six months after the groundbreaking. 1001 Fourth Street SW is designed by Perkins Eastman and is planned as an 11-story, 365-unit rental apartment building with 5,000 square feet of ground floor retail along with multistory residential units facing the private drive at the north end of the site
and Makemie Place SW. Substantial completion is scheduled for November 2016. Meanwhile, across the street from 1001 Fourth Street SW, the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development received six responses to the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the District-owned parcel. This is the last residential parcel to be developed at Waterfront Station. The respondents include: • Donohoe Development with Spectrum Management • Jair Lynch Development • MRP Realty with Taylor Adams Associates and Absolute Hospitality • PN Hoffman • Potomac Investment with Argos Group • Republic Properties with the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) According to the RFP, the site uses should include mixed-income housing and ground floor community-serving retail or municipal services. A municipal use that will not be included is a new Southwest Branch library, which will remain at its current location on Wesley Place after residents. A developer will be selected later this year after the ANC and the community has a chance to see the proposals. Sky House East was sold to Bernstein Management for $91 million and has changed names to Leo at Waterfront Station. Its sister building was sold several months ago to the same owner and was renamed Lex at Waterfront Station. More than two-thirds of the units at Lex have been leased since marketing began in December. William Rich blogs at “Southwest… The Little Quadrant that Could,” www. swtlqtc.com. u
September 2015 H 95
{community life / h street life}
H Street Life
I
by Elise Bernard
t’s officially festival season in the District, and the H Street Corridor is home to DC’s most popular neighborhood-based festival. In the past, the H Street Festival has drawn crowds in excess of 100,000 people. It’s a great place to people watch and enjoy local food, music, and art. The H Street Festival is completely free and fun for all ages.
Artist JoJo Fekwa painting at the 2013 H Street Festival
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H Street Festival Set for Sept. 19 The H Street Festival returns to the H Street NE Corridor Sept. 19. It’s that one special day of the year when all the businesses put on their best faces and welcome visitors from around the region for a day of discovery and revelry. The H Street Festival has repeatedly taken home the Best Neighborhood Festival nod in the Washington City Paper reader poll. This year the Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary; coincidentally, the Festival will boast ten performance stages spread throughout the Festival’s ten blocks. The main stage will be set up at Eighth and H Streets NE. As in the past, the Festival will feature different themed zones, including a Fitness Zone and a Kids Zone. Young festivalgoers who visit the Kids Zone will discover a variety of arts and crafts activities, as well as fun games to play. The musical offerings are headlined by Grammy Nominee Cheick Hamala Diabate (http://cheickhamala.com), who recently played a free concert at the Starburst Plaza. As in years past, the shows will be diverse, ensuring there’s a little something for everyone to enjoy. Among the other performers are: • The JoGo Project (jogoproject.com), a group that blends elements of jazz, R&B, funk, rock, and the District’s homegrown musical genre Go-Go; • Black Masala (www.blackmasala.com), which calls itself a “Gypsy Music inspired Brass Band;” • Little Red & the Renegades (www.littleredrenegades.com), who will be throwing out some good time zydeco rhythms. Overall there will be more than 100 different performers entertaining audiences at the Festival.
Performers in between sets at the Starburst Plaza during Art All Night 2014
Neighbors relax during a fundraiser for Trinidad neighborhood youth at Jimmy Valentine’s
One of the biggest H Street Festival attractions is the food. Aside from the food trucks and outside vendors who come in to hawk their wares, the Festival has traditionally been the occasion when recently opened, and soon to open, businesses give attenders a first taste. Most H Street NE businesses stay open during the Festival, with many opting to set up patios or beer gardens out front. I know that IMM Thai, Touché Supper Club, Nomad Hookah Lounge, Ben’s Chili Bowl, Kitty’s Saloon, H Street Bar & Grill, and many others will be on that list. Presumably the ever-popular eating contests will also return.
Jimmy Valentine’s Raises Funds for Trinidad Neighborhood Youth Programs. The Eighth Annual Jimmy Valentine’s Lonely Hearts Club (1103 Bladensburg Rd. NE, www.jimmyvalentineslhc.com) Fundraiser for Youth Programs is fast approaching. This annual event raises money for youth programs in the District’s Trinidad neighborhood. This year’s event will be held Thursday, Oct. 1 from 7 to 10 p.m. In prior years this event has raised funds to support programs related to youth sports and education, as well as after-school programs, and the purchase of classroom materials. It’s also a great opportunity to spend time with neighbors and friends of the Trinidad neighborhood in a relaxed a friendly setting. Mother Rucker’s Subs (1101 Bladensburg Road NE, http://www.motherruckerssubs.com) donated
food for last year’s event. The Trinidad Neighborhood Association serves as the fiscal sponsor for this event, and is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, and therefore is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions. Your donation to this event may be tax deductible to the extent that your donation exceeds the value of any food or drink you might receive. The suggested donation is $20 (although many choose to give more), and you’ll receive drink tickets and a warm fuzzy feeling as a token of appreciation. All proceeds from this event will go directly towards supporting programs for Trinidad youth.
Art All Night Invites You to See the District in a New Way The District’s Art All Night celebrations started in 2011, but this is only the second year there have been locations along the H Street NE Corridor. In addition to H Street NE, Art All Night will also take place in the Dupont Circle, Congress Heights, North Capitol, and Shaw neighborhoods. Organizers aim to transform both public and private spaces and expose people to a wide variety of art forms, both performing and visual. There will be a number of yet to be announced locations along the Corridor, but the Starburst Plaza will most certainly be on that list.
Crafty Bastards Descends on Union Market in Late September The Washington City Paper’s Crafty Bastards celebrates its 12th year with yet another great line up of artists and creators of quirky items that make fun
gifts for yourself and others. Last year’s event featured over 175 different vendors. Vendors apply to participate and are selected by a jury based on their skills and the high quality of their creations. Visitors will find offerings such as: handmade jewelry, screen prints and original art ideal for framing and hanging, unique t-shirts for adults and kids, house and kitchenwares, toys to delight children and playful adults, locally produced foods, and more. A visit to Crafty Bastards is a fun way to spend a morning or afternoon with friends, and a chance to score that perfect gift for your friend who has everything except that cool set of Frankenstein rocks glasses and that vintage album cover with a monster added into the scene.
Art in the Alley Returns to Trinidad Oct. 3 Art in the Alley (artinthealleydc.com) is back after a season off. It is all about highlighting the work of local artists and musicians and having fun with neighbors. It’s a casual setting in which artists take over a Trinidad Alley for one night from 6 to 10 p.m. and locals turn out for a low-key party. The event is free, but donations to support future events are accepted. Bathrooms, food, and refreshments will be available. This event is all-ages and you need not live in the Trinidad neighborhood to attend. For more on what’s abuzz on, and around, H Street NE, you can visit my blog, frozentropics.blogspot.com. You can send me tips or questions at elise.bernard@ gmail.com. u
September 2015 H 97
{community life / capitol riverfront}
The Capitol Riverfront
Residential Growth, Great Events and New Retail by Michael Stevens, AICP – President
A
s we begin to ease into the cooler months of fall, the Capitol Riverfront is alive with activities, festivals, ongoing construction, and new retail and restaurant openings and announcements. Here are the highlights.
September Events The summer Friday night concert series winds down after experiencing the largest attendance to date. September offers two more concerts on Sept. 4 and 11 Come out and enjoy Friday evenings by the Anacostia River with live music in Yards Park. Two community festivals return to the neighborhood in Sept. and Oct. Snallygaster by Neighborhood Restaurant Group takes place on Satur-
day, Sep. 12 in the parking lots located at First and N Streets SE. Celebrate locally brewed beers, and enjoy food and live music in the Capitol Riverfront. VegFest returns on Saturday, Oct. 3 at the same parking lot locations and offer a variety of Vegan foods and lifestyle options as well as live music.
Residential Growth The Capitol Riverfront is experiencing an unprecedented residential construction cycle with nine new residential buildings under construction containing 2,868 apartment units. This level
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of new construction has made it the fastest growing neighborhood in the District. Leasing continues at a rapid pace and our population now exceeds 5,000 residents. When these new buildings open and become fully leased, the Capitol population will approach 9,000 residents. At that point, the neighborhood will be over 60 percent built-out in terms of residential product. This growth, as well as an increasing number of visitors, is attracting new retail and restaurants to the neighborhood.
New Retail and New Residents Due South, a new restaurant by Georgetown Events at the Lumber Shed Building in the Yards is now open and offers Southern cuisine overlooking the water features at Yards Park. The restaurant faces
Water Street SE and features approximately 76 outdoor seats. Scarlet Oak, another new restaurant offering modern American fare from Chef Leo Garcia of Proof and Red Hen, has also opened in the neighborhood at 909 New Jersey Ave. SE. Owned and operated by the same owners of Southern Hospitality in Adams Morgan, the 3,400 square foot restaurant offers indoor dining and a 1,000 square foot patio for outdoor dining. Forest City Washington has announced two new retailers as part of The Yards project. Pacers Running store will open in October of this year in
the last available retail space of the Boilermaker Shops located at 300 Tingey St. SE. Pacers carries top-of-the-line footwear as well as running and exercise clothing and gear. Known for its personalized expert advice and fitting, Pacers is a major organizer and promoter of events aimed at runners. Their stores serve as community centers organizing various social and themed fun runs. They maintain community outreach programs aimed at developing cross country programs for thousands of area high school students. Philz Coffee, a California-based company, is on a mission to reinvent the coffee drinking experience. Priding itself on its extraordinary customer service and culture, each Philz cup of drip coffee is personalized by their baristas. Pioneered over the past 25 years by founder Phil Jaber, the menu includes a wide variety of fresh, single-origin coffees and customized blends using from two to as many as seven bean varieties from around the world. With over 20 California locations, Philz Coffee at The Yards is a part of the company’s plan to establish a major presence in the DC metro area, which is their first expansion outside of California. Beginning in spring of 2016, Philz Coffee will occupy 2,400 square feet of the Arris apartment building, now under construction, located 1331 Fourth St. SE. The 35,000 square foot Whole Foods grocery store continues on pace with a scheduled opening in early 2017. As part of “Agora,” the WC Smith mixed-use project at 800 New Jersey Ave. SE that also contains 336 residential units, it speaks to the expected size of the Capitol Riverfront and Capitol Hill markets. Grosvenor’s project “F1RST,” located on First Street SE, will bring additional retail and restaurants such as Taylor Gourmet and Chop’t. It also includes a new Marriott Residence Inn hotel and 325 apartment units. Banfield Pet Hospital is also now open in the neighborhood at Twelve12 located at 1212 Fourth St. SE. Banfield offers a wide variety of health services including comprehensive preventive care, veterinary surgery and dentistry. With the opening
of Banfield, there is now a full service hospital for Capitol Riverfront pets.
A New Neighborhood Needs A New School House On Aug. 31, Van Ness Elementary School opened its doors to the Capitol Riverfront’s pre-K tots, kindergarteners, three and four-year-olds. The existing building and adjoining playground were completely renovated. Additional classrooms will be added next summer. The new principal at Van Ness, Cynthia Robinson-Rivers, is “extremely excited about working with her team of award-winning teachers to develop a school that encourages its students to be creative, compassionate toward others, and critical, global-minded thinkers.” Parents interested in enrolling their child at Van Ness can learn more by reaching out directly to business manager Tara Cheston at tara.cheston@dc.gov or (202) 727-9135.
New Office and Hotel Growth While the office market has been very slow in DC for the past two years, the Capitol Riverfront is adding four new office buildings to its submarket over the next two to three years. Several of these projects could break ground in the next six months: • At 99 M St. SE, Skanska has recently announced that they will break ground on a new 225,000 square foot office building located at the corner of First and M Streets; • DC Water announced the construction of a new 167,000 square foot headquarters office building to be located in front of the O Street pump house overlooking the Anacostia River; • At 1 M St. SE, Monument Realty will be constructing a new 116,000 square foot headquarters office
building for the National Association of Broadcasters. • At 25 M St. SE, Brandywine Trust and Akridge have announced the construction of a 275,000 square foot office building. These office buildings will join the three new hotels that are already under construction in the Capitol Riverfront: • The 168-room Hampton Inn and Suites located on First St. SE near the ballpark will be opening in October; • The 170-room Residence Inn by Marriott, part of “F1RST,”now under construction, is slated to open in 2017; • The 195-room Homewood Suites under construction at 50 M St. SE will deliver in 2016. This an unprecedented construction cycle in the Capitol Riverfront will take the neighborhood to over 60 percent built-out. And there is more to come with future development projects by Jair Lynch and the JBG Companies along Half Street. This Half Street “Ballpark District” will be largely complete or approaching completion by the time the MLB All-Star game takes place in July of 2018. All of these new residents, employees and visitors will only increase the retail demand in the Capitol Riverfront. It has been interesting to watch a neighborhood, often criticized for its lack of neighborhood supporting retail, experiencing such rapid growth. These new grocery stores and restaurants will define the future Capitol Riverfront as a mixeduse community. So, before all the newbies arrive, visit the Capitol Riverfront. Experience its two new restaurants. Enjoy the remaining Friday concerts. Celebrate the arrival of fall with two fun festivals. Have an ice cream cone and a take a stroll by the beautiful Anacostia River. u
Allen A. Flood, M.D. DERMATOLOGY • • • • •
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650 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE. Suite 420 Washington, DC 20003 (202) 547-9090 (O) • (202) 547-9092 (F)
September 2015 H 99
{community life}
Used Book Donations Support Programs at Southeast Library by Neal Gregory
F
riends of Southeast Library is approaching a milestone – a decade of staging used book sales instead of limiting sales to a couple of times a year. In the process its members have raised more than $200,000 for programs and improvements at the library. Capitol Hill has a great literary tradition. Its residents love books. They are avid readers with eclectic tastes, and they donate their “gently read” used books in huge numbers to the library. In terms of space, Southeast Library is among the smallest of DC Public Library’s 26 branches, but it is the third busiest based on patronage and circulation. Like Friends’ groups at most other branches in the DC library system, the Southeast Friends used to hold two or three book sales a year, in the process spending hours in sorting and pricing the books. Things changed in 2006 when Southeast Library was briefly closed for a “This Old House” makeover. The work included renovation of the basement community meeting room and the removal of shelves of donated books that lined the walls. Larger, handicapped-accessible bathrooms were also installed, taking away half of the storage room that contained book stacks which the Friends used for its book sales. The spruced-up building and the new garden, completed at the same time, attracted a growing clientele, resulting in more readers and more book donations. This led to a revamped approach to dealing with the book donations, along with a rebranding of the organization. Friends of Southeast Library adopted a new logo emphasizing its initials, FoSEL. With no space to shelve books by author or subject, books are sorted by size and placed in flat fruit and veggie boxes from Costco. Boxes then are stacked up to six or seven feet high in the small storage room that remains. On the second Saturday of each month FoSEL’s volunteers set up tables around the community meeting room. Books are hauled from the
100 H Hillrag.com
storage room and placed on the tables and, weather permitting, along the top of the walls along the handicapped ramps outside the library’s 7th Street entrance. The inventory frequently includes brand new books and videodiscs, collectible titles, and books that have been signed. With no time or room to search for potentially valuable items, and with no space to sort, FoSEL just puts the merchandise out, with each book, CD, or videodisc priced at a dollar. (There are a few exceptions: oversized coffee-table books and other items may be priced at $2 or more.) Those attending the sales nevVolunteers raise money with a bake sale. Photo: Neal Gregory er know what great book they will find. The popular “Books for a kins to creating Valentine’s Day cards. FoSEL also Buck” marketing has also been a financial sucprovides funds to other libraries in Southeast DC cess, with FoSEL taking in more money each that do not have Friends’ groups and has set up a month than it used to receive at each of its semigrant program for school libraries on Capitol Hill annual sales. and in other areas of Southeast. FoSEL uses its sales proceeds to support DCFoSEL has given away hundreds of books PL’s citywide Summer Reading Program and the to daycare centers, women’s shelters, and other STAR program (Sing, Talk, And Read) which progroups. Teachers from low-income schools have motes parents’ reading to their children at the earfrequently taken children’s books. Boxes of paperliest ages. Proceeds have funded the creation and back books have been taken to the USO lounge maintenance of the large garden that surrounds at BWI-Marshall Airport, the departure point for the library, outfitted a staff lounge with microtroops embarking on a 14-hour flight to the Midwave and fridge, and purchased a flat-screen TV dle East. and a Blu-Ray DVD player for the community The latest destination for books from FoSEL room, plus a machine for cleaning the library’s is the Men’s Correctional Facility at Jessup, Md., DVD collection. where a program called Reading Unites Families A key mission for the Friends is ongoing suphas been introduced. Prisoners are encouraged to port for the children’s programs at the library. The read with their children when they come to visit, purchase of puppets and storyboards and other and children may take the books home as a link supplies supports story-hour presentations that to bonding with their father. draw overflow crowds five mornings a week. ReDonation of older technology is generalfreshments are provided for special holiday events ly discouraged, but a recent gift of a set of vidduring the year, from carving Halloween pumpeocassette tapes on the history of World War
It’s EASY to Find II was gratefully received by the Armed Forces Retirement Home. Its library still has a VCR player, and the tapes are being used in a 12-part movie series marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the fighting in Europe and the Pacific. Customers have signed up for e-mail notices of the sales and library activities. The list totals over 800, and most of the people on the list show up every month. Frequently they donate books back for sale to others. A great way to recycle! FoSEL sells books mostly to your Capitol Hill friends and neighbors, more than a thousand of whom show up on the second Saturday of each month. They want what you want – decent, quality fiction and nonfiction. They don’t want, and FoSEL doesn’t sell, books that are mildewed, ancient computer books, textbooks or magazines, and encyclopedias. We welcome kids’ books, cookbooks, dictionaries, biographies, history, classics, travel books, and all kinds of fiction. Donate books, CDs, and videodiscs that you think will sell by leaving them in the big blue bin outside the backdoor of the library (at the top of handicapped ramp). If you have a large bag or box or several boxes of books, ring the bell and leave them inside the door during regular library hours. The next book sale is Saturday, Sept. 12, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the library, 7th and D streets SE, across the street from the Eastern Market Metro. Want to do more? FoSEL welcomes volunteers.
the HillRag!
You can find The HillRag at these Fine Establishments: 909 7-Eleven Arena Stage Atlas Theater Atlas Vet Banana Cafe Bank of America Bliss Cafe Bullfrog Bagels Buzz Bakery – Blue Jacket CACO BISTRO Caper Carrolsburg Apartments Capital One Bank Capitol Hill Arts Workshop Capitol Hill Bikes Capitol Hill Hotel - Front Desk Capitol Park Plaza – 101 Capitol Park Plaza – 103 Capitol Park Plaza – 201 Capitol South Metro – Box 1 Capitol Tower – 301 Capitol Yards Carrollsburg Condominiums CCN Office - Hill Rag Office Coldwell Banker Capitol Hill Congressional Cemetery Congressional Cleaners Corner Market Cornercopia Cupboard Curbside Cup Cake CVS – H ST CVS CVS – 12th ST CVS – Benning RD CVS – Navy Yard Eastern Market take inside Ebenezers Coffee Eliot-Hine Middle School First District MPD Flats 130 Apartments Frager’s Garden Center Fragers Hardware Fragers Paint Game Stop Giant H Street Coffee House/Café H Street Organic Market Harbor Square Harris Teeter Harris Teeter Harris Teeter Harry’s Liquor Howl to the Chief Jacob’s Coffee JO Wilson Elementary School Kenny’s BBQ Lincoln Park Cleaners Lustre Cleaners Meridian at Gallery Place Meridian at Mt. Vernon Metro Cleaners MLK Library Morton’s Pharmacy Mr. Henry’s National Capital Bank Neighbors Cleaners New York Avenue Metro New York Pizza Next to Mail Box & Liquor Store NOMA CVS Northeast Neighborhood Library NW1 Library P&C Market Park (NAM) Market Peace Baptist Church PenFed Realty Petco Unleashed Port City Java
909 New Jersey AVE SE 1101 S. Capitol ST SW 1101 6th St SW 1333 H ST NE 1326 H St. NE 500 8th st SE 961 H ST NE 201 Massachusetts AVE NE 1341 H Street, NE 300 Tingey Street, SE 320 Mass Ave, NE 900 5th ST SE 336 Pennsylvania AVE SE 545 7th ST SE 719 8th Street, SE 200 C Street, SE 101 G Street, SW 103 G Street, SW 201 Eye ST SW 355 1st ST SE 301 G ST SW 70 I ST SE 1250 M ST SW 224 7th ST SE 605 Pennsylvania AVE SE 1801 E ST SE 1000 New Jersey AVE SE 401 E. Capitol ST SE 1003 3rd ST SE 1504 E Capitol St NE 257 15th St SE 645 H St. NE 1100 4th St. SW 500 12th ST SE 1518 Benning RD NE 1100 New Jersey AVE SE 225 7th ST SE 201 F ST NE 1830 Constitution Avenue 101 M ST SW 130 M Street, NE 1230 Pennsylvania Ave. SE 1323 E Street, SE 1129 Pennsylvania Avenue 1391 Pennsylvania AVE SE 300 H ST 1359 H ST NE 806 H Street, NE 500 N ST SW 1201 First St. NE 1350 Pennsylvania AVE SE 401 M St. SE New Jersey & I Street, SE 733 8th Street, SE 401 8th ST NE 600 K ST NE 732 Maryland AVE NE 1305 E. Capitol ST NE 311 Pennsylvania AVE SE 450 Massachusetts Ave NW 901 4 Street, NW 307 5th ST NE 901 G ST NW 724 E Capitol st NE 601 Pennsylvania AVE SE 316 Pennsylvania AVE SE 1023 E ST SE New York Avenue, NE 1401 Pennsylvania AVE SE 15th & D Streets, NE 12th Street Northeast 330 7th Street, NE 135 New York Ave NW 1023 E. Capitol ST SE 1804 D ST NE 718 18th ST NE 216 7th Street, SE 1200 First St. NE 701 N. Carolina
Pound coffee Prego Cafe Providence Hospital Results Gym – Capitol Hill River Park I River Park II Riverside Condominiums Roland’s Rosedale Library Rosedale Recreation Center Safeway Safeway – Benning Road Safeway – Capitol Hill Safeway – CityVista Schneider’s Liquor Senate Square Sherwood Recreation Center Sidamo Coffee Sizzling Express – Penn AVE St. Mark’s Church St. Peter’s Church SunTrust Bank Super Care Pharmacy SW Library SW Library The Axiom The Hill Center The Townhomes of Capitol Hill The View The View 2 The Wilson Building Tiber Island Town Square Towers Trilogy NoMa Tynan Coffee Velocity Vida Fitness Wag Time Too Washington Fine Properties Washington Sports Club Waterfront Tower Waterside Fitness Weisfeld’s Market Westminster Presbyterian Wisdom
621 Pennsylvania ave SE 210 7th ST SE 1150 Varnum St NE 315 G ST SE 1301 Delaware AVE SW 1311 Delaware AVE SW 1425 4th Street, SW 333 Pennsylvania AVE SE 1701 Gales Street, NE 1701 Gales Street, NE 1100 4th st SW 1601 Maryland AVE NE 415 14th ST SE 1045 5th ST NW 300 Massachusetts AVE NE 201 Eye ST NE 640 10th Street, NE 417 H ST NE 600 Pennsylvania AVE SE 118 3rd ST SE 313 2nd ST SE 965 L’Enfant Plaza SW 1019 H ST NE 403 7th ST SE 900 Wesley PL SW 100 I ST SE 921 Pennsylvania Ave SE 750 6th Street, S.E. 1100 6th ST SW 1000 6th St. SW 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW 429 N ST SW 700 7th Ave. SW 151 Q Street, NE 1275 First St. SE First & L St. SE 1212 4th Street, SE 900 M Street, SE 2624 P Street, NW 214 D ST SE 1101 3rd ST SW 901 6th St SW 501 4th ST SE 400 I ST SW 1432 Pennsylvania AVE SE
The HillRag is Also Available in Boxes at These Locations: 595 3rd ST NE 300 I ST NE 301 4th St NE 500 6th ST NE 239 Massachusetts AVE NE 1300 Constitution Ave, NE 516 A ST NE 530 H ST NE 1359 H St NE 538 3rd St NE. 331 Constitution AVE NE 400 E. Capitol NE 724 E Capitol st NE 1504 E Capitol St NE 1450 Maryland Ave 1800 D ST NE 220 I Street, NE 300 I Street, NE 4th & E. Capitol 301 E. Capitol ST SE 421 E.Capitol, SE 501 East Capitol ST SE 8th & East Capitol ST, SE 1332 D ST NE 3rd & H Street, NE 4th & H Street, NE 5th & H Street, NE
303 7th ST SE 660 7th St SE 1027 Independence AVE SE 701 N. Carolina 201 Pennsylvania ave SE 237 Pennsylvania AVE SE 600 Pennsylvania AVE SE 661 Pennsylvania Ave SE 801 Pennsylvania AVE SE 1391 Pennsylvania AVE SE 1400 Pennsylvania AVE SE 11th & C Street, SE 400 1st ST SE 501 4th ST SE 413 7th St SE 11th & North Carolina SE 254 11th St SE 192 19th ST SE 193 19th ST SE 219 D St SE 300 M ST SE 1200 New Jersey ave SE 600 4th street SW 600 6th st SW 3rd ST & G ST SW 4th & I Street, SW 4th & M Street, SW
Questions about Distribution? Email distribution@hillrag.com or call 202-400-3512
Neal Gregory is president of Friends of Southeast Library. u
September 2015 H 101
Looking to Buy or Sell on the Hill? I want to be Your Agent!
Let s get together to review the market and design a winning strategy!
Dee Dee Branand At
home on the Hill
605 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20003 Office: 202 547-3525 Cell: 202 369-7902 Email: dbranand@cbmove.com Web: www.deedeebranand.com
102 H Hillrag.com
{real estate}
R E N T A L S ORC O N D O S ? Developers (and Millennials) Favor Apartments
D The District Source
Photo: Andrew Lightman
by Shaun Courtney
evelopers building the nearly 6,000 residential units in the greater Capitol Hill pipeline are betting big on rentals. Why? Greater Capitol Hill is poised to add nearly 6,000 new residential units: more than 600 units near the Potomac Avenue and Eastern Market metros and more than 5,000 in the Capitol Riverfront are either planned or will be under construction in the next few years. The vast majority of those units will be apartments. Financing, market forces and unique qualities about each development lot are driving the skew towards rental units both on the Hill and across the District. Mary Mottershead, executive vice president at EastBanc, says developers look at several critical factors when deciding whether to hold onto a project as an apartment or to sell it and move on: • Financing markets • Tax issues
• •
Market demand for units Marketing risk
Apartments for the Hine School EastBanc, Inc. the developers behind the Hine School project in Eastern Market recently secured construction loans for an apartment development across from the Eastern Market metro on Pennsylvania Avenue. Surely a condo project literally steps from the metro could sell quickly--why go the rental route? For starters, the move to rentals is not set in stone for the Hine project. Mottershead says the project is financed as apartments, but is being built with high-end finishes and larger unit sizes the leave a window open for condo sales at a later date. “We have the continued flexibility at any point in time to decide whether the units will be marketed as rental apartments of sold as condominiums or any combination thereof,” said Mottershead.
September 2015 H 103
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Millennials Rule the Roost at the Capitol Riverfront At the Capitol Riverfront nearly 4,700 new rental units are either under construction or will be within a year (as of the second quarter of 2015), compared to about 650 for-sale units. Following the recession financiers have favored rental units, in no small part due to the demand for rentals and delay in first-time home buying among Millennials, according to Michael Stevens, the president of the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District. The Capitol Riverfront is second to only Dupont in the District for its share of Millennials. 41 percent of the neighborhood’s residents fall within the demographic and the average age in the Capitol Riverfront is 31.4, according to data from the 2013 American Community Survey. “Due to large student debt and other factors, [Millennials] have decided to delay purchasing homes or condos and have opted to rent for several years,” said Stevens.
Return on Investment
R E T T O L B E TH Daily Crime Reports at www.hillrag.com Stay Safe. Stay Informed. 104 H Hillrag.com
In addition to a strong rental market and the corresponding preference for financing rentals, Mottershead said another factor driving the construction of apartments is the demand for purchasing completed apartment buildings. Mottershead said institutional buyers have been paying “incredibly high” prices for completed buildings, as high as $800 per square foot. Condo in the same neighborhood were also selling for $750 to $800 per square foot, but the return is less due to expenses for marketing and closing costs, etc. The tax rate is higher on condos because you are paying tax on each unit’s sale. Selling an entire apartment building falls under capital gains taxes, Mottershead explained. “Why would you take the risk to market anything if somebody is buying the vacant buildings for basically the same price?” remarked Mottershead. That return on investment is a big factor for developers when they are weighing sale versus condo, according to Phil Guire, a Capitol Hill real estate agent with Compass. Guire said developers start by looking at what their breakeven point is and then compare that with what is happening in the market to help them deter-
mine a price for condos or if they should ultimately go rental.
Insight on the Hill Insight Development recently did that calculation for two properties just a stone’s throw from one another on the Hill and came to two different conclusions. The group recently received approval to developer for-sale condo and townhouse units on the site of the former Buchanan School between D and E Streets on 13th Street SE. Around the corner Insight is putting together a zoning application for propose to build 160 rental units on the Bowie’s trash (1337 E St. SE) and Signature Collision (1355 E St. SE) lots. The Buchanan School site has significant street frontage a historic building that needs to be incorporated into the new development. Townhouse units would work well with the street frontage available and will meet the demand for family housing on the Hill. Larger, townhouse units like that do not typically rent well said Trent Smith a partner at Insight during a recent community development meeting. In addition to the lot size and layout, the historic building was another factor that pushed them to a for-sale project. “It’s difficult to make the math work on the historic building as a rental,” said Smith. Meanwhile the lot on E Street is unusually deep with very little street frontage. “The site really lends itself to a more efficient apartment complex,” said Smith.
In the Same Boat The decision to sell or rent can also come down to the developer’s business model: do they want to deal with the hassle of owning and managing an apartment building? Is it worth the tax savings? “We like to hold things long-term. If you sell off condominiums you’re not holding them forever,” said Mottershead. Developers, really, are making the same determination Millennials are when it comes to housing. Rent or own? It really just depends. Shaun Courtney is the co-founder and editorin-chief of District Source, a DC real estate and neighborhood news blog, supported by Compass real estate. Shaun has been a local reporter in DC since 2009 and has called the city home since 2002. She lives in Kingman Park with her husband and son. ◆
Up-To-Date
Local Real Estate Listings Another great reason to visit www.hillrag.com September 2015 H 105
{real estate / changing hands}
Changing Hands Changing hands is a list of most residential sales in the District of Columbia from the previous month. A feature of every issue, this list, based on the MRIS, is provided courtesy of Don Denton, manager of the Coldwell Banker office on Capitol Hill. The list includes address, sales price and number of bedrooms.
NEIGHBORHOOD
CLOSE PRICE BR
FEE SIMPLE 16TH STREET HEIGHTS 5612 14TH ST NW 1408 EMERSON ST NW 1127 BUCHANAN ST NW 1214 DELAFIELD PL NW 1516 EMERSON ST NW 1431 DECATUR ST NW 1415 WEBSTER ST NW 1205 EMERSON ST NW 1332 MONTAGUE ST NW
ADAMS MORGAN 2327 17TH ST NW
$920,000 $910,000 $856,000 $768,500 $735,000 $680,000 $676,000 $670,000 $501,000
4 4 4 3 5 4 5 3 3
$616,000
2
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY PARK 4256 NEBRASKA AVE NW 4500 CHESAPEAKE ST NW 4540 WARREN ST NW 4719 CHESAPEAKE ST NW 4625 ALBEMARLE ST NW 4217 RIVER RD NW 4225 BRANDYWINE ST NW 4540 46TH ST NW
ANACOSTIA
1524 HOWARD RD SE 1421 S ST SE 2238 CHESTER ST SE 1818 MINNESOTA AVE SE 2102 16TH ST SE 1321 DEXTER TER SE
BARRY FARMS 1435 MORRIS RD SE 1516 HOWARD RD SE
BERKLEY
1717 FOXHALL RD NW
BRIGHTWOOD
1356 UNDERWOOD ST NW 527 OGLETHORPE ST NW 1312 UNDERWOOD ST NW 1341 SHERIDAN ST NW 1321 SHERIDAN ST NW 6412 7TH ST NW 6617 GEORGIA AVE NW 7525 8TH ST NW 821 TEWKESBURY PL NW 610 ROXBORO PL NW 617 ONEIDA PL NW 710 SHERIDAN ST NW
BROOKLAND
1303 QUINCY ST NE 17 V ST NE 1031 NEWTON ST NE 584 REGENT PL NE 4013 8TH ST NE 4118 14TH ST NE
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$1,830,000 $1,400,000 $1,275,000 $1,249,000 $1,210,000 $827,500 $809,000 $800,000
6 4 5 5 4 2 3 3
$295,000 $290,000 $260,000 $190,000 $160,000 $95,000
3 3 3 2 3 3
$330,000 $230,000
8 2
$2,775,000
5
$729,000 $669,900 $660,000 $640,000 $500,000 $474,000 $400,000 $390,000 $385,000 $370,000 $335,000 $288,500
3 4 4 3 4 3 4 4 3 3 4 3
$828,000 $809,900 $780,000 $778,000 $680,000 $675,000
5 4 5 3 6 3
35 FRANKLIN ST NE 4321 12TH PL NE 4704 10TH ST NE 1433 MONROE ST NE 2519 NORTH CAPITOL NE 600 ALLISON ST NE 4710 10TH ST NE 300 CHANNING ST NE
BURLEITH
3628 S ST NW 1932 35TH ST NW
CAPITOL HILL
311 3RD ST SE 811 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NE 215 5TH ST NE 801 C ST SE 211 6TH ST SE 421 6TH ST SE 1801 MASSACHUSETTS AVE SE 200 12TH ST SE 1311 INDEPENDENCE AVE SE 1342 SOUTH CAROLINA AVE SE 714 5TH ST SE 1510 D ST NE 1107 INDEPENDENCE AVE SE 660 12TH ST NE 1848 POTOMAC AVE SE 526 4TH ST SE 1245 E ST NE 731 6TH ST SE 1207 WALTER ST SE 421 9TH ST SE 210 16TH ST SE 525 6TH ST SE 29 7TH ST NE 432 15TH ST SE 219 12TH ST SE 314 C ST SE 1203 C ST SE 307 17TH ST SE 818 K ST NE 1431 DUNCAN ST NE 1237 WYLIE ST NE 1357 C ST NE 635 CONSTITUTION AVE NE 449451 20TH ST NE
CHEVY CHASE
3805 INGOMAR ST NW 5309 CONNECTICUT AVE NW 3128 OLIVER ST NW 5313 38TH ST NW 5909 32ND ST NW 3830 GARRISON ST NW 6407 32ND ST NW 6432 BARNABY ST NW 3726 JOCELYN ST NW 3305 RUNNYMEDE PL NW 2946 MCKINLEY ST NW 3244 MCKINLEY ST NW 6342 31ST ST NW 3108 WORTHINGTON ST NW 3323 UPLAND TER NW
$645,700 $615,000 $525,000 $511,000 $505,000 $429,900 $400,000 $385,000
4 3 3 3 4 4 3 2
$1,675,000 $800,000
5 5
$1,389,900 $1,350,000 $1,301,500 $1,100,000 $972,500 $961,000 $953,000 $950,000 $940,000 $885,000 $877,575 $866,000 $850,000 $835,000 $800,000 $800,000 $795,000 $789,000 $755,000 $750,000 $735,000 $679,000 $669,000 $665,000 $655,000 $635,000 $613,000 $580,000 $579,000 $565,000 $536,000 $507,500 $430,000 $390,000
4 6 4 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 3 4 2 3 3 2 3 3 2 6 3 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 2 2
$1,495,000 $1,450,000 $1,375,000 $1,295,000 $1,261,000 $1,100,000 $1,075,000 $975,000 $965,000 $930,000 $899,000 $875,000 $799,000 $795,000 $751,000
6 4 5 6 5 4 5 4 4 4 5 3 3 3 5
2632 MORELAND PL NW
CHILLUM
6439 2ND PL NW 15 JEFFERSON ST NE 200 RITTENHOUSE ST NW 6317 2ND ST NW 8 NICHOLSON ST NW
CLEVELAND PARK 3512 LOWELL ST NW 3420 36TH ST NW 3101 HIGHLAND PL NW 2942 MACOMB ST NW 2941 MACOMB ST NW
COLONIAL VILLAGE 1702 KALMIA RD NW 1770 VERBENA ST NW 8153 BEACH DR NW 1622 JUNIPER ST NW
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS 1366 TAYLOR ST NW 1034 KENYON ST NW 1016 PARK RD NW 1452 EUCLID ST NW 1317 SPRING RD NW 3666 PARK PL NW 1326 OTIS PL NW 1134 COLUMBIA RD NW 1029 EUCLID ST NW 650 LAMONT ST NW
$660,000
3
$627,500 $520,000 $420,000 $350,000 $290,000
4 4 4 4 2
$6,300,000 $5,450,000 $5,330,000 $2,990,000 $1,400,000
7 5 6 6 3
$1,183,000 $842,500 $815,000 $699,995
5 4 4 5
$978,000 $960,000 $951,100 $920,000 $875,000 $850,000 $822,000 $800,000 $786,000 $761,250
5 4 3 4 3 4 4 5 3 2
BACK TO SCHOOL SALES G RE AT VA L U E S FO R S AVVY ST U D E N T S!
727 QUEBEC PL NW 1447 PARKWOOD PL NW 2708 SHERMAN AVE NW 3223 GEORGIA AVE NW 763 HOBART PL NW
$690,000 $575,000 $550,000 $530,000 $465,000
CONGRESS HEIGHTS 415 WOODCREST DR SE 321 RALEIGH ST SE 4121 SOUTH CAPITOL TER SW 453 OAKWOOD ST SE 4009 1ST ST SW 4021 1ST ST SW 4614 6TH ST SE 826 XENIA ST SE 4609 6TH ST SE 528 OAKWOOD ST SE 612 ELMIRA ST SE 920 SOUTHERN AVE SE 89 DARRINGTON ST SW 4033 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR AVE SW
$385,900 $300,000 $265,000 $258,000 $209,000 $206,000 $191,000 $170,000 $170,000 $160,000 $148,000 $130,000 $125,000 $123,500
CRESTWOOD 4222 MATHEWSON DR NW 1615 VARNUM ST NW 4405 17TH ST NW
$1,335,000 $930,100 $831,000
DEANWOOD 125 36TH ST NE 4704 BROOKS ST NE 300 DIVISION AVE NE 4306 NANNIE HELEN BURR. AVE NE 4510 JAY NE 3918 CAPITOL ST NE 920 47TH PL NE 4035 GRANT ST NE 84 57TH PL SE 308 44TH ST NE 4428 HUNT PL NE
$323,999 $317,000 $295,000 $279,500 $275,000 $261,500 $240,000 $225,000 $190,900 $189,000 $150,000
DUPONT CIRCLE 1616 CORCORAN ST NW
$1,600,555
ECKINGTON 32 R ST NE 1805 2ND ST NW 115 RHODE ISLAND AVE NE 171 UHLAND TER NE 1925 SUMMIT PL NE 156 UHLAND TER NE 130 RHODE ISLAND AVE NE
$830,000 $750,000 $745,000 $650,000 $625,000 $464,100 $585,000
FOREST HILLS 2814 UPTON ST NW 4850 LINNEAN AVE NW
$2,485,000 $972,000
FORT DUPONT PARK 3925 ALABAMA AVE SE 4636 EASY PL SE 4212 NASH ST SE 4212 BARKER LN SE 3210 ELY PL SE
$315,000 $266,000 $245,000 $230,000 $90,000
FORT LINCOLN 3833 COMM. JOSHUA BARNEY DR NE 2512 RALPH ELLISON WAY NE 3101 35TH ST NE
$465,000 $435,000 $369,900
GEORGETOWN 1611 31ST ST NW 1631 33RD ST NW 1626 29TH ST NW 3218 VOLTA PL NW
$4,200,000 $2,750,000 $2,700,000 $2,650,000
5 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 3 3 3 2
G
IN
M
CO
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LD
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5 5
G
IN
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1512 Mass Ave SE 2BR/1.5BA
241 9th St NE 4BR/3.5BA LISTED $1,230,000 SOLD $1,305,000
Renovated row home set back on a DEEP lot for endless gardening and patio options - a perfect condo alternative PLUS private off-street parking in rear. Don’t miss this one!
Y! FT! RR LE U H Y1 L N O
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6522 7th St NW 4BR/3.5BA $729,000 Completely TRANSFORMED with over 2,800 sf of living space across 3 levels, including a knock-out open kitchen with adjacent dining and living spaces. 4 spacious bedrooms with three and a half baths plus deck, patio, yard AND two off-street parking spaces. Dont miss this opportunity for the best of city living, with plenty of room to breathe!
1818 C St SE – APT #1 2BR/2.5BA $599,000 Proud historic colonial REBORN as 4 TALL, SLEEK, and IMMACULATE individual homes, each with BROAD dimensions, open plan, and smart systems -- PLUS spacious decks and private patios make them LIVE LIKE A HOUSE for the cost of a condo. Come visit TODAY!
All the historic details intact across 3 levels at the heart of the hill with BONUS in-law suite at lower level. Skylit upper level with EXPANSIVE Master bedroom and bath with balcony overlooking rear deck, patio and gardens with 2 car garage beyond!
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621 Keefer PL NW 4BR/2.5BA
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Nestled on a quiet street just a stroll from Columbia Heights or Petworth this renovated row home offers 3 levels of well-designed space, 3 bedrooms and 1 bath up, large living and dining space, central kitchen with breakfast area adjacent to rear patio! On the lower level, bonus family room and bed/bath for guests or extended stays!
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1625 Gales St NE 3BR/2.5BA $567,000 WELCOME HOME to this updated Federal, situated just a short stroll from the thriving H Street corridor. Wide-open layout creates smooth flow from spacious front living room to dining room to BRIGHT kitchen. TALL and FULL WIDTH front master bedroom, central dual entry bathroom, and 3rd rear bedroom overlooking rear patio and garden!
4 4 2 4 4 2 2 8 4 3 4 4
September 2015 H 107
3406 N ST NW 3034 DENT PL NW 3282 N ST NW 4056 CHANCERY CT NW 1216 28TH ST NW 3537 T ST NW 7 POMANDER WALK NW
GLOVER PARK 3850 CALVERT ST NW 2132 37TH ST NW 3817 W ST NW
HAWTHORNE 3263 BEECH ST NW
HILL CREST
2005 BRANCH AVE SE 3801 MASSACHUSETTS AVE SE 711 32ND ST SE 2700 R ST SE
KALORAMA
2131 BANCROFT PL NW 1831 WYOMING AVE NW
KENT
5025 GLENBROOK TER NW 5260 PARTRIDGE LN NW 5032 GLENBROOK TER NW 4900 PALISADE LN NW 5193 WATSON ST NW 2946 UNIVERSITY TER NW 2948 UNIVERSITY TER NW 52201/2 KLINGLE ST NW 5015 HAWTHORNE PL NW 5186 FULTON ST NW 5102 FULTON ST NW
LANIER HEIGHTS 1810 ONTARIO PL NW
LEDROIT PARK 239 ELM ST NW 2304 CAPITOL ST NW
LILY PONDS
303 34TH PL NE 3442 BAKER ST NE 108 KENILWORTH AVE NE
LOGAN CIRCLE
Classic Colonial La Plata, MD $524,900
Reminiscent of Colonial Williamsburg, this nearly 4000 sqft beautifully updated 3 level 5BR home will delight the pickiest of buyers! Stately custom moldings & interior shutters, 4 fantastic fireplaces, hardwood floors, granite kitchen counters... the list goes on. Entertain friends on the large screened porch or composite deck overlooking the lush, fenced back yard. Located just 45 minutes south of Capitol Hill in Charles County, MD.
Bonnie Baldus Grier, Broker bonniegrier@gmail.com
108 H Hillrag.com
301.807.1400
1715 11TH ST NW
MARSHALL HEIGHTS 5034 DRAKE PL SE
MICHIGAN PARK
4729 QUEENS CHAPEL TER NE 4508 20TH ST NE 4805 QUEENS CHAPEL TER NE
MOUNT PLEASANT 1706 KENYON ST NW 3113 ADAMS MILL RD NW 3224 18TH ST NW
NORTH CLEVELAND PARK 3724 VEAZEY ST NW 3712 WARREN ST NW 3605 VAN NESS ST NW 4515 38TH ST NW
$1,847,500 $1,540,000 $1,495,000 $1,300,000 $1,200,000 $890,000 $607,000
3 2 3 3 3 3 1
$931,367 $900,000 $872,000
4 4 3
$889,321
4
$541,000 $425,000 $395,000 $339,500
3 3 4 4
$2,125,000 $1,982,000
6 7
$2,250,000 $1,675,000 $1,674,105 $1,525,000 $1,435,000 $1,250,000 $1,250,000 $1,210,000 $1,199,000 $769,000 $745,000
5 6 6 4 4 4 3 4 5 2 3
$1,180,000
3
$707,500 $520,000
3 3
$267,000 $179,000 $135,500
3 2 2
$1,539,000
3
$419,990
4
$471,620 $400,000 $350,000
3 3 3
$1,207,700 $1,200,000 $737,000
4 6 2
$1,175,000 $1,127,300 $950,000 $920,000
3 3 5 3
OLD CITY #1
1309 NORTH CAROLINA AVE NE 123 15TH ST NE 820 CONSTITUTION AVE NE 1363 INDEPENDENCE CT SE 631 F ST NE 1213 WALTER ST SE 1017 E ST NE 1242 D ST NE 1416 A ST NE 1627 E ST SE 223 PARKER ST NE 1610 C ST NE 1618 C ST NE 2006 E ST NE 340 14TH ST SE 528 OKLAHOMA AVE NE 1503 GALES ST NE 1634 G ST SE 1615 GALES ST NE 61 Q ST SW 551 24TH ST NE
OLD CITY #2
1724 21ST ST NW 908 O ST NW 1833 9TH ST NW 1300 V ST NW 1703 VERMONT AVE NW
PALISADES
4892 MACARTHUR BLVD NW 4920 W ST NW 5309 SHERIER PL NW
PETWORTH
5508 4TH ST NW 4705 9TH NW 5423 4TH ST NW 4122 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW 445 DELAFIELD PL NW 834 MADISON ST NW 5319 1ST ST NW 5302 2ND ST NW 24 GALLATIN ST NW 5410 3RD ST NW 313 VARNUM ST NW 412 DELAFIELD PL NW 805 ALLISON ST NW 820 KENNEDY ST NW 826 DELAFIELD PL NW 4501 5TH ST NW 635 FARRAGUT ST NW 309 WEBSTER ST NW 312 UPSHUR ST NW 610 FARRAGUT ST NW 808 DECATUR ST NW
RANDLE HEIGHTS 1900 T PL SE 2409 HILLSDALE PL SE 2002 MISSISSIPPI AVE SE 1729 S ST SE 2436 SKYLAND PL SE 1812 S ST SE 2203 T PL SE 1908 SAVANNAH PL SE
RIGGS PARK
1501 GALLATIN PL NE 4808 SARGENT RD NE 6028 EASTERN AVE NE 120 WEBSTER ST NE
$1,290,000 $1,150,000 $1,025,000 $970,000 $850,000 $770,001 $770,000 $752,000 $750,000 $673,500 $585,000 $499,000 $479,900 $470,000 $470,000 $465,000 $465,000 $460,000 $430,000 $426,000 $408,000
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 3 5 2 3 3 3 3 2 2 2
$1,500,000 $1,225,000 $899,900 $750,000 $499,900
6 3 3 2 1
$1,402,500 $1,050,000 $900,000
4 4 3
$679,000 $650,000 $625,000 $617,500 $585,000 $569,900 $560,000 $553,700 $550,000 $545,000 $535,000 $532,500 $525,000 $505,000 $490,000 $475,000 $465,000 $440,000 $435,000 $399,999 $350,000
4 3 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 4 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 3 2 3 4
$310,000 $305,000 $285,000 $280,000 $265,000 $250,000 $215,000 $141,000
3 2 3 3 3 2 2 2
$479,900 $347,000 $320,000 $436,000
4 3 2 3
COMING SOON SHAW
1537 5TH ST NW 718 RHODE ISLAND AVE NW
SHEPHERD PARK 1319 FLORAL ST NW 8116 EASTERN AVE NW 7715 ALASKA AVE NW
SPRING VALLEY 4840 VAN NESS ST NW
SW WATERFRONT 411 G ST SW
TAKOMA PARK
7112 CHESTNUT ST NW 6522 7TH ST NW 6303 N. CAPITOL ST NE 12 TUCKERMAN ST NW
TRINIDAD
1213 STAPLES ST NE 1213 QUEEN ST NE 1776 LYMAN PL NE 1227 STAPLES ST NE 1736 L ST NE 1843 L ST NE 822 21ST ST NE
WESLEY HEIGHTS 3010 FOXHALL RD NW 4540 DEXTER ST NW 4332 WESTOVER PL NW
WOODRIDGE
2608 MYRTLE AVE NE 2027 NEWTON ST NE 2407 IRVING ST NE 2706 BRENTWOOD RD NE 2805 CHANNING ST NE 1815 HAMLIN ST NE 2008 BRYANT ST NE 3111 WALNUT ST NE 1800 EVARTS ST NE 3050 MONROE ST NE
$850,000 $550,000
3 1
$822,500 $779,000 $610,000
5 3 4
$1,347,500
4
$985,000
4
$920,500 $724,000 $463,400 $206,000
6 4 3 3
$725,000 $550,000 $490,000 $390,000 $350,000 $325,000 $315,000
5 8 4 3 2 2 2
$3,400,000 $2,200,000 $889,500
7 5 3
$695,000 $690,000 $665,000 $665,000 $630,000 $595,000 $429,900 $423,950 $340,000 $280,000
4 3 4 4 5 6 3 3 4 3
$285,000
2
$555,000 $550,000 $479,900
2 1 2
Worried about the stock market? Invest your money here! New on the market, 1BR Kalorama condo. Solid building in great location with high walk scores. Currently rented through June 2016. 2138 California St NW.
For showings, call Hub at 202-550-2111.
Hub Krack 202.550.2111
Pam Kristof 202.253.2550
Licensed in DC, MD & VA
CONDO 16TH STREET HEIGHTS 1322 MISSOURI AVE NW #304
ADAMS MORGAN
2380 CHAMPLAIN ST NW #101 2428 17TH ST NW #GNW 2412 17TH ST NW #102
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY PARK 4101 ALBEMARLE ST NW #302
ANACOSTIA
1810 MINNESOTA AVE SE #201
BERKLEY
4629 MACARTHUR BLVD NW #B
BLOOMINGDALE 1924 1ST ST NW #2 1924 1ST ST NW #1
BRENTWOOD
1317 ADAMS ST NE #2
$800,000
2
$195,000
2
$605,000
2
$735,000 $678,175
3 3
$285,500
2
September 2015 H 109
{real estate / changing hands}
BRIGHTWOOD 343 CEDAR ST NW #108 422 BUTTERNUT ST NW #T-7 422 BUTTERNUT ST NW #T-1
$390,000 $272,900 $272,000
BROOKLAND 4005 7TH ST NE #3 4005 7TH ST NE #4 4005 7TH ST NE #2 4005 7TH ST NE #1 432 EVARTS ST NE #3 4036 8TH ST NE #1 432 EVARTS ST NE #1 4032 8TH ST NE #2 4408 1ST PL NE #13
$385,000 $375,000 $350,000 $345,000 $345,000 $340,000 $338,000 $325,000 $130,000
CAPITOL HILL 918 14TH ST SE #1 1801 A ST SE #2 504 G ST NE #1 1801 A ST SE #1 1343 PENNSYLVANIA AVE SE #5 311 6TH ST SE #1 626 INDEPENDENCE AVE SE #101 644 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NE #304 1621 CAPITOL ST SE #5 420 16TH ST SE #309
$795,000 $699,900 $653,000 $615,000 $566,900 $467,000 $389,100 $368,500 $350,000 $330,000
CAPITOL HILL EAST 1712 INDEPENDENCE AVE SE #3 1712 INDEPENDENCE AVE SE #1
$675,000 $605,000
2 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 2 3 2 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 3 3
CENTRAL 1010 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #408 2425 L ST NW #217 400 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #613 1133 14TH ST NW #1010 915 E ST NW #408 631 D ST NW #529 1121 24TH ST NW #304
$657,500 $521,000 $512,450 $477,000 $460,000 $444,000 $342,500
CLEVELAND PARK 4301 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #A204 3896I PORTER ST NW #E341 3816 PORTER ST NW #B398 3610 39TH ST NW #F546 3815 RODMAN ST NW #D16 3921 LANGLEY CT NW #E569 3026 WISCONSIN AVE NW #201 3807 RODMAN ST NW #B8 2902 PORTER ST NW #53 3616 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #200 3823 RODMAN ST NW #21 3010 WISCONSIN AVE NW #111 3701 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #418 4301 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #7011
$615,000 $520,000 $510,000 $473,000 $422,500 $407,000 $397,000 $392,000 $355,000 $337,000 $335,000 $300,000 $265,000 $240,000
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS 1207 LAMONT ST NW #2 929 FLORIDA AVE NW #PH 8005 1323 GIRARD ST NW #3 2750 14TH ST NW #603 3420 13TH ST NW #2 1469 HARVARD ST NW #5 1354 EUCLID ST NW #303A 1126 COLUMBIA RD NW #3 3205 GEORGIA AVE NW #407 1422 EUCLID ST NW #3 703 NEWTON PL NW #7 1419 GIRARD ST NW #1 1422 EUCLID ST NW #1 2910 GEORGIA AVE NW #401 3619 14TH ST NW #1
110 H Hillrag.com
$785,000 $739,900 $668,000 $654,900 $649,200 $560,000 $525,000 $501,500 $500,000 $499,995 $499,900 $479,000 $475,000 $466,100 $465,000
2 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
1390 KENYON ST NW #102 1307 CLIFTON ST NW #24 1465 COLUMBIA RD NW #101 3205 GEORGIA AVE NW #205 3500 13TH ST NW #407 4120 14TH ST NW #22 3534 10TH ST NW #120 1106 COLUMBIA RD NW #303 1372 RANDOLPH ST NW #2
$435,000 $425,000 $412,000 $319,900 $315,000 $300,000 $292,500 $274,500 $244,500
CONGRESS HEIGHTS 3201 8TH ST SE #5 3425 5TH ST SE #33
$74,550 $34,500
DUPONT CIRCLE 2001 16TH ST NW #703 1280 21ST ST NW #801 1811 19TH ST NW #1 2114 N ST NW #15 1 SCOTT CIR NW #804 1806 RIGGS PL NW #1 1625 S ST NW #5 1809 RIGGS PL NW #4 1330 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW #407 1926 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW #36 1615 Q ST NW #306
$534,000 $388,000 $378,500 $350,000 $270,000 $668,000 $460,000 $450,000 $430,000 $401,500 $227,000
ECKINGTON 127 QUINCY PL NE #2 39 U ST NE #2 39 U ST NE #1 241 R ST NE #A 12 RHODE ISLAND AVE NE #2
$780,000 $750,100 $620,000 $620,000 $779,900
FOGGY BOTTOM 2401 H ST NW #904 922 24TH ST NW #411 522 21ST ST NW #504 522 21ST ST NW #203
$427,000 $249,900 $234,000 $170,000
FOREST HILLS 2939 VAN NESS ST NW #532 2939 VAN NESS ST NW #320
$309,900 $292,000
1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 0 3 3 3 3 3 2 0 0 0 1 1
GARFIELD 3100 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #415 2501 CALVERT ST NW #511
$399,500 $278,000
GEORGETOWN 3303 WATER ST NW #4M 3251 PROSPECT ST NW #312 1026 PAPER MILL CT NW #1026 1014 PAPER MILL CT NW #1014 3042 R ST NW #1/2 2603 O ST NW #4 2500 Q ST NW #307 3225 GRACE ST NW #P19
$1,595,000 $825,000 $670,000 $665,000 $645,000 $385,000 $328,000 $65,000
GLOVER PARK 4004 EDMUNDS ST NW #1 4009 DAVIS PL NW #202 4000 TUNLAW RD NW #814 4000 TUNLAW RD NW #529
$570,000 $515,000 $278,000 $169,900
HILL CREST 3829 W ST SE #A 2011 37TH ST SE #302 2004 38TH ST SE #201
$95,000 $75,000 $65,000
KALORAMA 2205 CALIFORNIA ST NW #202 2301 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #3C
$1,000,000 $906,000
1 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 0 2 1 1 0 2 2 2 3 2
2014 KALORAMA RD NW #7 1812 CALVERT ST NW #1 1811 WYOMING AVE NW #22 2012 KALORAMA RD NW #6 2012 KALORAMA RD NW #4 1824 CALIFORNIA ST NW #3 2227 20TH ST NW #205 1801 WYOMING AVE NW #5 1808 BELMONT RD NW #1 1840 VERNON ST NW #305 1840 CALIFORNIA ST NW #13A 2456 20TH ST NW #305 1807 CALIFORNIA ST NW #T4 1844 COLUMBIA RD NW #203 2032 BELMONT RD NW #132
$900,000 $780,000 $735,000 $707,000 $655,900 $599,000 $594,000 $450,000 $415,000 $399,900 $380,000 $375,000 $315,000 $299,900 $195,000
LEDROIT PARK 122 BRYANT ST NW #1 2020 FLAGLER PL NW #FL03 1929 1ST ST NW #102 117 T ST NW #2
$682,500 $385,000 $297,990 $825,000
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 2 1 1 2
LOGAN 1445 CHURCH ST NW #36 1515 15TH ST NW #601 1320 13TH ST NW #22 1201 N ST NW #H 1441 RHODE ISLAND AVE NW #517 1125 12TH ST NW #82 1913 12TH ST NW #B 2125 14TH ST NW #614 1400 CHURCH ST NW #203 1209 13TH ST NW #806 1441 RHODE ISLAND AVE NW #911 1245 13TH ST NW #710 1245 13TH ST NW #210 1440 N ST NW #214 1830 11TH ST NW #1
$935,000 $599,999 $585,000 $466,000 $351,100 $280,000 $960,000 $800,000 $715,000 $685,000 $519,000 $379,900 $373,500 $234,000 $670,000
MOUNT PLEASANT 1613 HARVARD ST NW #301 2301 CHAMPLAIN ST NW #T07 2630 ADAMS MILL RD NW #03 2630 ADAMS MILL RD NW #T04
$608,500 $490,000 $352,500 $334,900
2 1 2 1 0 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 0 2 2 2 1 1
MOUNT VERNON TRIANGLE 437 NEW YORK AVE NW #905 460 NEW YORK AVE NW #904 460 NEW YORK AVE NW #205 460 NEW YORK AVE NW #402 400 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #1111
$492,000 $509,000 $467,000 $437,400 $705,000
NORTH CLEVELAND PARK 4740 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #308
$443,000
OBSERVATORY CIRCLE 2501 WISCONSIN AVE NW #309 2111 WISCONSIN AVE NW #407 3051 IDAHO AVE NW #125 3901 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #98/515 2111 WISCONSIN AVE NW #718 2111 WISCONSIN AVE NW #121 3051 IDAHO AVE NW #121 2800 WISCONSIN AVE NW #902
$875,000 $555,000 $422,500 $420,000 $355,000 $290,000 $280,000 $195,000
OLD CITY #1 1391 PENNSYLVANIA AVE SE #501 801 9TH ST NE #2 524 15TH ST SE #A 1025 1ST ST SE #1110 801 9TH ST NE #1 1391 PENNSYLVANIA AVE SE #361 440 12TH ST NE #114
$815,000 $652,000 $623,500 $600,000 $545,000 $525,000 $470,000
1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 0 3 2 2 1 2 2 1
Property Management At Its Best:
229 14TH ST SE #1 2016 D ST NE #1 1391 PENNSYLVANIA AVE SE #M08 2012 D ST NE #1 1409 G ST NE #4 1628 C ST SE #B4
$445,000 $412,120 $390,000 $357,000 $307,500 $265,000
OLD CITY #2 437 NEW YORK AVE NW #702 440 L ST NW #811 500 M ST NW #2 1115 12TH ST NW #302 437 NEW YORK AVE NW #1109 301 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #101 910 M ST NW #806 1502 10TH ST NW #1 475 K ST NW #620 440 L ST NW #708 2120 VERMONT AVE NW #421 1741 T ST NW #404 1815 19TH ST NW #2 555 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #408 1700 17TH ST NW #204 1413 T ST NW #405 1801 16TH ST NW #707 1816 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW #209 1601 18TH ST NW #417 1 SCOTT CIR NW #407 1727 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #511 1727 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #212
$725,000 $680,000 $597,000 $585,000 $500,000 $490,000 $485,000 $470,000 $450,000 $440,000 $438,000 $435,000 $429,100 $425,500 $420,000 $310,000 $299,500 $275,000 $270,000 $269,000 $235,000 $215,000
PARK VIEW 703 NEWTON PL NW #2 703 NEWTON PL NW #9 703 NEWTON PL NW #6 703 NEWTON PL NW #4
$669,000 $630,000 $427,500 $420,000
PENN QUARTER 631 D ST NW #633 916 G ST NW #802
$600,000 $525,000
PETWORTH 700 JEFFERSON ST NW #401 804 TAYLOR ST NW #104 5611 5TH ST NW #3
$300,000 $295,000 $245,000
RLA (SW) 350 G ST SW #N408 355 I ST SW #521 1425 4TH ST SW #A315 355 I ST SW #S426 300 M ST SW #N710
$548,500 $411,000 $275,000 $259,000 $251,000
2 2 1 1 1 1
1330 BELMONT ST NW #102 2214 11TH ST NW #2 929 FLORIDA AVE NW #2008 2025 13TH ST NW #1 2020 12TH ST NW #304 2030 8TH ST NW #504 2117 10TH ST NW #102
2 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
WAKEFIELD
2 2 1 1
$360,000
SW WATERFRONT 240 M ST SW #E514 700 7TH ST SW #530
$335,000 $305,000 $345,000 $515,000 $249,900 $248,999 $244,000 $243,000 $239,900
U STREET CORRIDOR 1100 W ST NW #2
$824,000
800 4TH ST SW #N222
$245,000
WESLEY HEIGHTS 4200 MASS. AVE NW #805/806 3101 NEW MEXICO AVE NW #1109 4200 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #1013 3283 SUTTON PL NW #D 3237 SUTTON PL NW #B 3101 NEW MEXICO AVE NW #519 4201 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #115E 4201 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #1201 4201 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #524E 3101 NEW MEXICO AVE NW #517
$1,390,296 $985,000 $718,620 $645,000 $635,000 $630,000 $585,000 $556,000 $500,000 $465,000
WEST END 1177 22ND ST NW #3M 1111 23RD ST NW #8G 2501 M ST NW #610 1275 25TH ST NW #707 2201 L ST NW #720
$1,700,000 $900,000 $625,000 $580,000 $285,000
WOODLEY PARK 2801 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #8 2737 DEVONSHIRE PL NW #312 2725 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #605
$890,000 $507,500 $399,999
www.joeltruitt.com 0 3 3 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 1 2 2 1 1 0 3 1 1
2 1 1
CoOp
2504 22ND ST NE #101 $125,000 2 1820 BRYANT NE #1820 1/2 $115,000 1
ADAMS MORGAN 2 1 1 0 1 1 2 1 2
TRINIDAD 1143 SUMMIT ST NE #2 1668 TRINIDAD AVE NE #3 1643 MONTELLO AVE NE #3 1643 MONTELLO AVE NE #2 1643 MONTELLO AVE NE #4 1668 TRINIDAD AVE NE #1
WATERFRONT
2 2 1 1 1 2
1669 COLUMBIA RD NW #406 2707 ADAMS MILL RD NW #310 1820 CLYDESDALE PL NW #209 1669 COLUMBIA RD NW #104
$360,000 $192,000 $190,000 $244,900
CAPITOL HILL 435 2ND ST SE #UNIT 1
$360,000 $760,000 $159,000
CLEVELAND PARK 3018 PORTER ST NW #302 3026 PORTER ST NW #303 3407 29TH ST NW #3 3114 WISCONSIN AVE NW #401
$385,750 $287,555 $273,000 $260,000
DUPONT CIRCLE 1701 16TH ST NW #509 1514 17TH ST NW #404 2039 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW #205 1725 17TH ST NW #114
$324,900 $256,500 $595,000 $269,000
FOGGY BOTTOM 2
1 0 0 1 1
CENTRAL 1026 16TH ST NW #401 1300 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #505
730 24TH ST NW #900 2500 VIRGINIA AVE NW #1015-S
$299,000 $270,000
JOEL TRUITT MANAGEMENT, INC. 734 SEVENTH STREET, SE (202) 547-2707 FAX: (202) 547-1977
1
WOODRIDGE
TAKOMA 408 CEDAR ST NW #F
$305,000
2 2 1 2 1 1 2
2 1
SHAW 449 R ST NW #10
4600 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #202
$817,700 $621,000 $529,000 $495,000 $467,000 $454,900 $515,000
Over 80% of our condominium and coop associations have been with us for over 9 years. Compare our services and fees high quality at a very fair cost. We will be happy to provide a quote and references. Switch to us now and we will wave first month’s fee.
2 0 2 1 1 1
Quality Since 1972
Steve Hagedorn Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Search listings at cbmove.com/steve.hagedorn Licensed in DC & MD
Direct: Cell: Office: Fax: Email:
202-741-1707 202-841-1380 202-547-3525 202-547-8462 shagedorn@cbmove.com
Specializing in all aspects of Real Estate Settlements
We Guarantee Attention to Detail & Personalized Service 650 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE Suite 170 Washington, DC 20003-4318 202-544-0800
“We are part of Capitol Hill, We don’t just work here... We live here, too. Let our neighborhood experience work for you...”
1 0 3 1 1 0
202.546.3100 210 7th Street, SE. #100. WDC 20003 www.monarchtitle.net
September 2015 H 111
2475 VIRGINIA AVE NW #516
FOREST HILLS
3001 VEAZEY NW #501 3001 VEAZEY TER NW #606
GLOVER PARK
3900 TUNLAW RD NW #503 3900 TUNLAW RD NW #303
HILLCREST
2716 TERRACE RD SE #618 2719 TERRACE RD SE #310
KALORAMA
2101 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #56 2122 CALIFORNIA ST NW #451
MOUNT PLEASANT
1661 CRESCENT PL NW #501 1736 COLUMBIA RD NW #310 1801 CLYDESDALE PL NW #324 1801 CLYDESDALE PL NW #505
NORTH CLEVELAND PARK 3020 TILDEN ST NW #204 3000 TILDEN ST NW #105 I
OBSERVATORY CIRCLE 4000 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #104B 3900 WATSON PL NW #4A-B 4101 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #803 3900 WATSON PL NW #B-G3C 4000 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #214B 4101 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #914 4101 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #508 4000 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #530B
OLD CITY #1
1000 NEW JERSEY AVE SE #219
OLD CITY #2
1915 16TH ST NW #204 1701 16TH ST NW #340
RIVER PARK
360 N ST SW #T-360 1311 DELAWARE AVE SW #S-440 1301 DELAWARE AVE SW #N-121
RLA (SW)
560 N ST SW #504 352 N ST SW 1301 DELAWARE AVE SW #N707
$269,000
1
$575,000 $282,000
2 1
$284,000 $255,000
2 2
$68,000 $55,000
2 1
$1,650,000 $562,300
4 2
$1,450,000 $469,650 $239,000 $165,000
3 2 1 0
$580,000 $342,000
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{arts & dining}
NoMA Authenticity Manolo Ortega started with the bakery in 1970 and still makes daily deliveries. He shares a moment with Nicole Tramonte’s niece, Carolyn Craig who is responsible for baking the beautiful pastries offered at Catania Bakery.
article & photos by Annette Nielsen
R
ise and shine on a Saturday morning if you want authentic, freshly baked Italian bread and sweet pastries from Catania Bakery. This established District institution has been turning out excellent loaves of Italian bread since August of 1932. Started by the Caruso family (and named after the Catania province in Sicily, their original home), the Caruso’s moved the family business from Massachusetts to DC. Louis Caruso sold the business in 1978 when Nicole Tramonte and her husband, Anthony took over the space. Anthony’s day job was that of a dentist, and during the same time they purchased Catania Bakery, he and Nicole also owned the Bayou, a Georgetown nightclub and weren’t yet experienced with baking Italian bread. “The Caruso’s offered to stay on to teach us the business and share their recipes while they lived upstairs,” says Nicole. Former owner, Louis Caruso, now 101, can still be seen at the bakery some Saturdays when one of his nurses brings him by to chat with customers and check in on this North Capitol mainstay. On days when he doesn’t get a ride in, Nicole makes sure to visit him on her way home. The bakery provides Italian breads and rolls for numerous restaurants and Italian delis like well-known Litteri’s, Trattoria Alberto, Mangialardo’s, The Italian Store, Vace and ManoliCanoli. “Many of our customers started with the Caruso family and have stayed on with us for the last 37 years that we’ve run the bakery,” says Nicole. Here on North Capitol Street, you find it’s authentic and old world – from the pressed tin ceiling to the large dough LEFT TO RIGHT: Santos Reyes and Oscar Canales sprinkle the wooden baking peels with corn meal before the unbaked loaves are placed. Jose Reyes moves the bread out of the 14-tiered, 1948-era oven. The bread baking operation takes place every day to supply many restaurants and Italian delis in the region.
September 2015 H 115
Al’s Meatballs Meatballs 2 lbs. ground beef 3/4 cup ketchup 2 tbsp yellow mustard 1/4 cup worcestershire sauce 1-2 tbsp garlic powder pepper 1 tbsp basil 1 tbsp oregano hot sauce (Trinidad Scorpian - Naga Jolokia aka Ghost Pepper - Carolina Reaper sirarcha) bread crumbs 2 eggs
Sauce 28 oz can tomato sauce 1/4 - 12 cup worcestershire sauce 1/4 red balsamic vinegar 2 tbsp garlic powder 2 tbsp onion powder
a grilled burger). Brown the meatballs in a frying pan over medium heat and then cover the pan and cook on low heat and check every 5 minutes or so; drain all visible fat. When fat is no longer present, they’re done. Add them to the sauce and let them simmer for 15 minutes or so and then turn off the heat. Pour over pasta or rice and add some cheese, or take a loaf or sub-roll of Catania Italian bread, flay it, spread it open, remove the innards (toss them into a frying pan with garlic and olive oil or melted butter). Spoon some sauce onto both sides, add the meatballs, mash a bit, cover with cheese - provolone, mozzarella, asiago, fontinella (no cheddar) - sliced or shredded – and cover with more sauce.
Rebecca Bardet and her daughter Olivia keep a Saturday tradition of visits to Catania Bakery to enjoy their favorite bread.
1 tbsp paprika 2 tbsp crushed red pepper
Nicole’s Rigatoni
1/4 cup curry powder
Note: Nicole offers this recipe that is perfect served up with Catania Bakery’s bread – a recipe that is given more in the tradition of how a recipe might be handed down from generation to generation. This dish is one that she serves to her family alongside the Turkey at Thanksgiving, in addition to having a place of importance on the table at Christmas, to remember her husband and his Italian roots.
1/4 cup cumin powder 1/4 cup cinnamon 1 tbsp fennel seed 1 tbsp anise seed pepper hot sauce (same as above) (Al says that the recipe is a guide, so add or subtract depending on taste)
Sauce prep Mix all the sauce ingredients in a sauce pan - be sure to be careful with the Scorpion, Ghost Pepper, and Reaper sauces as 4 or 5 drops is usually enough. Of course, the hot sauce is option. Add more of whatever you can’t taste, but don’t overdue it. Cover and heat at low to medium temperature, tasting occasionally. When it starts to bubble, reduce the heat to low.
Meatballs Mix all the ingredients (except the bread crumbs & eggs) thoroughly in a bowl until you have a good uniform mix. Taste and add whatever it needs and, again, be careful with hot sauce, if you decide to use it. (Remember to taste as you go!) Add the meat and mix well until the color is consistent - add the eggs and the bread crumbs and resume mixing. (Al likes halfpound meatballs or burgers and suggests that they’re formed and packed firmly, not tight, except for
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Rigatoni (cooked al dente) Ground meat sauce, bolognese style (meat-heavy, thick sauce) Béchamel sauce Pecorino (grated) cheese Butter
In a square or rectangular buttered glass dish, lay a bed of the tomato sauce, then a layer of rigatoni and sprinkle lightly with Pecorino cheese. Add a light layer of the tomato sauce then cover with another layer of rigatoni; repeat with the Pecorino and the tomato sauce and add a layer of béchamel. Cover with another layer of rigatoni, repeat another layer or more, then cover the whole dish with béchamel. As all the ingredients are already cooked, just keep it under the broiler for a couple of minutes to give it a little color. Serve with Catania Bakery’s Italian bread. u
Center: The happy Saturday morning crew includes Santos Reyes, owner Nicole Tramonte, Al Penberg, Jose Reyes and Oscar Canales. ABOVE: Saturday morning at Catania Bakery is filled with long-time customers who are like family, sharing great stories from around the neighborhood.
mixer with only three buttons for fast, slow and stop (and a brass plaque that states, “Built for Catania Bakery, sold by I.J. White Corp in NY”) to the large castiron trough that hold the dough during it’s proofing stage. The team that arrives a little after midnight includes Santos Reyes and his son, Jose, as well as Oscar Canales. To-
gether, they’re responsible for coordinating the mixing, proofing, baking and packaging the bread that goes out each day for delivery. Reyes notes that the mixer they use has a 250-pound capacity and says, “We need to refrigerate the water we add to the flour and yeast to make the dough during the summer months – tap water isn’t
1025 FIRST ST SE 202.652.1009 IN THE VELOCITY CONDO BUILDING
“OFFICIAL NATIONALS BAR OF 106.7” cold enough and would make the dough proof prematurely.” The oven has 14 tiers that hold up to 30 loaves per level (each peel is set with six loaves, five peels per level) and running on gas, the current oven replaced the original wood-burning oven in 1948. “It’s also a challenge if something happens to the oven, as there aren’t as many people with the skill to repair this type of equipment any longer,” says Reyes. The bread baking is finished on weekdays by 7 a.m. and on the weekends, when they’re baking in larger quantities, by 8 or 8:30 a.m. It’s placed in large paper sacks that are pre-labeled by hand and set out for delivery. On Friday and Saturday mornings, Catania Bakery is open for retail business and people know to arrive early to get the best selection of breads and sweet treats, as the pastries are baked in small batches. “Nothing is absolutely uniform – the bread may not be shaped the exact same way each time – and we don’t use any additives or preservatives – it’s only the combination of flour, yeast, salt and water,” says Nicole. Originally from France (near Fountainbleu), Nicole came to the US fifty years ago and met her husband in DC. She and her niece, Carolyn Craig, are responsible for adding the baguettes and sweet treats to the weekend retail lineup. She says that her niece would most likely take the reins of the bakery when she decides to retire. Carolyn joined the family, marrying Nicole’s nephew. She had been working in a hair salon for over a decade and asked
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for a leave of absence, when a trip was planned to travel to France in the early 1980s. Carolyn was told she would have to quit her job if she wanted to take an extended holiday, but she took the trip anyway. “When we returned to DC, I started working in the bakery and we kept getting calls for biscotti or different Italian cookies and pastries, based on holiday favorites and Italian traditions. I would do the research, test recipes, and now we’ve built up our offerings. I really think someone has strength as a cook or as a baker – and while I like to cook, I really enjoy the process of creating the pastries.” Joining the Saturday morning crew is long-time friend Al Penberg, originally from Scranton and a former DC policeman who loves to cook (see his recipe below for meatballs that are great paired with Catania Bakery’s bread or sub rolls). He first started coming into the bakery after he would attend a nearby mass each morning and would pick up some bread. Now, every Saturday he shows up to help out at the counter, share stories and typically brings in a treat for Nicole. “That’s my breakfast,” Nicole says, as Al unpacks pork roast with sliced tomatoes and horseradish he places on a freshly-baked sub roll. As she greets everyone with a hug or a kiss she says, “Al knows everyone who walks in the door – the kids, parents, even the dogs – all by name.” As customers stop in and chat while they pick out their favorite breads and pastries, Al shows a customer photos of his grandson, and a man arrives to
pick up day-old bread to give to animals on a nearby farm. Nicole says, “While you can keep the bread in plastic for a day or two or freeze it to keep it longer, it can get stale easily because we don’t use preservatives.” Manolo Ortega arrives to greet everyone before he makes some bread deliveries, something he’s been doing for the bakery since 1970. Nicole mentions that Manolo is from Canary Island in Spain and that Al’s family is from Lithuania. Customers that stop by are from Germany, Buffalo, France and more. Al says, “People come here representing all parts of the world.” The conversation then shifts to the Pope’s visit in September. “Last time the Pope visited, he had our bread,” says Nicole. People stream in on a Saturday morning, and there are always familiar faces behind the counter. Nicole states, “The best part about this place is that most customers that come here, keep coming back.” Catania Bakery, www.cataniabakery.com. 1Open Friday from 7:30 am to 10:30 am; Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 pm; call 202.332.5135 for special orders. Annette Nielsen is the food editor of the Hill Rag and she can be reached at annette@hillrag.com; follow her @The_Kitchen_Cab. u
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{arts and dining / dining notes}
Dining Notes by Celeste McCall
A
s summer gives way to fall, things are hopping along Barracks Row. First a quick facelift. Wow, that was fast! The Chesapeake Room, 501 Eighth St. SE, has reopened after just five weeks with a new look plus a new, shortened menu. A huge Phantom-of-the-Opera chandelier sparkles overhead. White tablecloths add a dressier air. The bar looks wider because lamps have been removed. We could have comfortably dined there, but evening breezes beckoned us to outdoor seating. There we sampled chef Scott Robison’s Southern-influenced fare. His watermelon, smoked feta, and arugula salad provided a tasty beginning, but we wound up having that for dessert since our other dishes arrived promptly. Virginia blue catfish (an invasive species) was encrusted with a tempura-light cornmeal batter resting on a thatch of cabbage and corn. Gulf shrimp and yellow grits were interspersed with circles of okra. Self-taught, 30-year-old Robison declares we are helping our rivers by ordering blue catfish, which gobble up other fish. Beverage consultant Chris Nelson makes a mean margarita, rimmed (with Hawaiian black sea salt) and minty, and tangy mojitos. Chesapeake Room is open Wednesday-Sunday for dinner only plus weekend brunch. There’s a late night menu (until 1 a.m.), and still to come are Sunday Southern Rock Suppers with whiskey, beer, and fried chicken. Call 202-543-1445. At Garrison, hake (a mild whitefish) arrives on a poached egg. Photo: Celeste McCall
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And... It’s here: Rob Weland’s eagerly awaited Barracks Row restaurant, Garrison. You’ll find it in the former Tash space (downstairs from Nooshi) at 524 Eighth St. SE. Like so many chefs these days, Weland, who lives a few blocks away, uses local, sustainably grown ingredients. Along with two friends, Peter and I decided to find out what the buzz was about. Since it was a beautiful late summer evening we sat outside, forgoing the stylish yet welcoming interior. The decor, for which Weland tapped Erin Mara of Mara Home, features wood accents, subway tiles, and iron light fixtures with Edison bulbs. Preserved fruits and vegetables adorn tabletops and open shelves around the exposed kitchen. Our outdoor table candle sat in a partially filled jar of peppercorns. We began with a trio of nibbles: fennel-studded breadsticks, mini cheese-stuffed gougeres, and bright green castelvetrano olives. Peter, ever curious, ordered the tomato gazpacho with mustard (!?) ice cream, but alas it never arrived. Weland’s vegetable creations have been touted. His produce comes from Mike Protas of One Acre Farm in Boyd, Md. With that in mind our friends went for the little roasted eggplants with yogurt and dill ($13) and jalapeno-spiked grilled mushrooms ($14). But I found my fire-roasted Long Island duck breast – a generous portion perfumed with lavender, fennel, and peach slices – a far better value for $28. Peter’s bland, pan-roasted hake with champ (similar to mashed) potatoes ($27) was oddly perched atop a poached egg. After such a repast none of us found room for dessert. Garrison’s drink list is intriguing, thanks to local mixologist Gina Chersevani, whose many garden-inspired selections include sparkling wine, bitters, melon, and pickled peaches. General manager Sam Vause and Weland’s wife Amy Garrett have built a wine list focusing on American and European varietals, all under $100 a bottle, with sever-
Steak tartare at DBGB Kitchen and Bar is a delicious appetizer, ideal for sharing. Photo: Celeste McCall
al selections by the glass. My pleasant Sicilian red was a mere $8. Garrison is open Tuesday-Thursday from 5:00 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday. Coming soon is weekend brunch. For more information visit www. garrisondc.com.
Late Summer Fun Here’s something fun to stretch summer, and your wallet. Mr. Henry’s, 601 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, has resumed its Tuesday Patio. From 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. (weather permitting) the promotion dispenses $5 burgers and half-smokes. Grill plates with the above items plus sides like potato, pasta, or cucumber salad are $7. Flying Dog Numero Uno beer is just $4. Call 202-546-8412 or visit www.mrhenrysDC.com.
Market Watch Last month Union Market bid adieu to Ris, the carryout/catering spinoff of Ris Lacoste’s dressy West End restaurant. Moving into that market spot is Arepa Zone. Operated by Gabriela Febres and Ali Arellano, the new stall dispenses arepas, those savory Venezuelan corncakes stuffed with meat, cheese, avocado, and vegetables. Arepa Zone was voted best new food truck of the year and breakthrough dish, sifrina arepa (chicken salad with avocado, mayo, and cheese) at the 2014 Curbside Cookoff Food Truck Awards. Arepa Zone is keeping its food truck while planning a commercial kitchen to serve the truck and its Union Market stand. In the future are a second vehicle and a bricks-and-mortar enterprise. Closed Mon-
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The FinesT salvadorian & Mexican cuisine
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Open 7 days a week – 11:30am-10:30pm. Carry Out & Catering Available
Expansion As you might know by now, Seventh Hill Pizza and Montmartre, 327 Seventh St. SE, have temporarily closed for renovations and expansion. Seventh Hill will be shuttered for about a month as workers knock out a wall to add 20 feet of space and a bigger patio, while Montmartre’s upgrades might be finished sooner. The latter will reopen with former Tallula chef Brian Wilson as executive chef. For updates visit www.montmartredc. com/seventhhill.
Out of Africa
Sidamo Coffee and Tea
Single Origin Coffee Freshly Roasted on Site! Organic & Specialty Coffees from Around the World 25 Types of Loose Teas Bagels, Salads, Sandwiches & Desserts • Catering Ethiopian Coffee Ritual Sundays @ 2pm
Down the street at 621 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, the four-year-old Pound is now Bourbon Coffee, an international coffee company and reportedly the first retail brand to import directly from Africa. The Bourbon group also operates stores in Foggy Bottom (DC) and Cambridge, Mass., and five in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. The newest Bourbon offshoot is open daily; call 202-836-4799.
New Home and Future Neighbors Good news for Las Placitas fans, including husband Peter, unhappy because the Barracks Row Latino mainstay is giving way to Matchbox expansion. Don’t get me wrong, I love Matchbox pizza and sliders. Sometime this fall, Las Placitas is sliding into the old Quiznos slot at 8th and M streets SE. Also in the future, a block away at Eighth and I, look for the 210-seat Brig Beer Garden.
Miles of Cheese 202-548-0081 Mon.-Fri. 7-7 Sat. 8-6, Sun. 8-5 sidamocoffeeandtea.com FREE 417 H Street, NE 122 H Hillrag.com
Sona Creamery, 660 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, did a lot of figuring this summer. In the past 20 months or so the restaurant has served more than
MR.HENRY’S HENRY’S COMBO MENU W E E K D AY L U N C H D E A L
six miles (10 kilometers) of cheese boards, enough to stretch from the US Capitol steps around the Lincoln Memorial with a stop at the Jefferson Memorial and back to the Capitol. Anyone who walks or runs this “Monger 10K” while photographing both national landmarks gets 10 percent off their next Sona cheese board. Call 202-758-3556 or visit emailcheese@sonacreamery.com.
Lunch on the Ritz We do stray from Capitol Hill occasionally. The other day, after dropping off my photos for the annual show at the National Press Club, I met Peter for lunch at DBGB Kitchen and Bar. Part of celeb chef Daniel Boulud’s culinary empire, the bistro/brasserie is situated along ritzy CityCenter DC, which I call Rodeo Drive on the Potomac. However, DBGB is not elitist. We noticed ketchup on a neighboring table to accompany hefty burgers and ziggurats of fries. But we decided on a quartet of appetizers: cucumber gazpacho enhanced with salmon and dill. The tangy, refreshing portage was perhaps the best cold soup I’ve ever tasted. From the international lineup of sausages Peter chose merguez, Tunisian lamb sausage presented with spinach and fresh-tasting chick peas. Spicy, Asian-accented calamari was enveloped with a light, tempura-like batter. The taste of the Orient came from lemon grass and cilantro. Meltin-your-mouth steak tartare, crowned with tasted like egg, arrived with crusty bread, perfect for scooping up the ultra-fresh beef. DBGB is a special-occasion place. We noticed office groups celebrating. Our lunch came to about $80 including tip. Open daily, DBGB is located at 931 H St. NW. Call 202-695-7660 or visit www.dbgb.com. u
Henry’s Burger Tuna Salad Wrap Buffalo Chicken Tenders Pulled BBQ Pork Sliders Grilled Ham & Swiss Eastern Market Quesadilla Combo Menu with Beverage $8 Combo Menu with Beer or Wine $10 Available Monday-Friday 11:30-3pm at our Bar & in our Dining Room (not available on our patio)
• • • • • • •
A diverse product line of quality beverages from all over the world One of the largest and most unique wine selections on Capitol Hill A friendly and knowledgeable staff Located just minutes form Downtown, DC and Alexandria, VA 1 block south of Eastern Market Metro on the vibrant Barracks Row Owned by the Williams Family since 1978; established before 1919
The best weekly wine tastings on “The Hill”- Sat (3-6pm)
MRHENRYSDC.COM 202.546.8412 601 PENNSYLVANIA AVE SE
September 2015 H 123
{arts and dining / wine girl}
Cognac
The Excellence of Eaux de Vie
T
by Lilia Coffin
he grape-growing region of Cognac has been reaping the benefits of its ideal setting for hundreds of years. The production and sale of eaux de vie made from the local grapes has been ongoing since roughly the 13th century. Mastery of oak aging and blending over the years has made cognac a world renowned French export. And there is so much more to it than Hennessy and Courvoisier. The Ugni Blanc (aka Trebbiano in Italy), Colombard, and Folle Blanche grapes that grow just 120 kilometers north of Bordeaux benefit from being close to the Atlantic and its moderating sea breeze. The tiny region is crisscrossed by the Charente, Gironde, and Dordogne riv-
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ers. The sub-regions of Cognac circle outwards like ripples in water. The best cognacs come from the center regions, Grand Champagne in the epicenter and Petit Champagne surrounding it. The clay and chalk in the soil there, with its high limestone content, make for the best grapes, high acidity, and low alcohol. If 100 percent of the cognac grapes in a bottle are from either Champagne, the region’s name goes on the label. If the cognac is a blend of Petit and Grand Champagne grapes it is called a “fine cognac.� Outside of the Champagnes lie the Borderies, Fins Bois, Bons Bois, and Bois Ordinaires et Bois Communs. While you may see cognacs with Borderies on the label, the other regions are less celebrated, and usually grapes are used
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to blend in VS cognacs. Grapes from these regions have slightly different soil compositions than the Champagnes, with more fl int in Borderies and sand in the Bons Bois and Bois Ordinaires regions as they get closer to the sea. Grapes from these regions will take on the notes of sea salt from the air. Vines are usually planted three meters apart and harvested as soon as they are ripe in October. Fermentation is usually quick, taking only four to eight days after harvest. The wine reaches about 9 percent alcohol, ideal for distilling. No chapitalization (adding sugar) or machine presses are allowed in the process, only traditional or bladder presses. Specialized “Charentais” copper pot stills, often the same in use for centuries, are used in the distilling process. Distilling cognac is a twostage process. After the first process the distillate is called “broullis” and the alcohol reaches 28-32 percent. The broullis is then returned to the header for a second heating called “la bonne chauffe” to perfect the eau de vie. What finally defines this liqueur as a cognac, though, is the oak-aging process. The light vanilla notes of French oak barrels impart gentle tannins and notes ranging from apricot and mango to truffle, earth, and maple onto the finished cognac. Each cask holds 270 to 450 liters of spirit. Aging is generally a three-step process: 1) extraction, where the spirit takes on bouquet, color, and flavor; 2) hydrolysis, where the spirit starts to break down at the cask for more flavor; and 3) oxidation, where color darkens, harsh elements soften, and cognac takes on the ideal “rancio” flavor.
The master distiller and the master blender are there throughout the entire process. The distiller, with a deadline of March 31 placed over his head, keeps distillate cooking all winter. The blender, however, is in it for the long haul. All cognacs are blends and they are labeled based on average age. VS cognacs are blended from eaux de vie no less than two years old; VSOPs are no less than four years old; and XO, Napoleon, or Hors D’Age cognacs are no less than six years old. Vintage cognacs are rare, can be 50 years old or more, and are blended from cognacs only of that harvest. The master blender is with the cognac from the moment it is put into casks, and follows its aging, switching it into a smaller cask or changing its position in the “chai” (warehouse for aging casks), and finally cutting it with distilled water to achieve the required alcohol level. All of the master blender’s little changes have subtle effects on the finished product. Each master blender imparts a little bit of him or herself into the finished cognac, so it would be a crime to just stick to the bottle you know out of safety. You’re missing out on the hard work of some very dedicated cognac lovers! Stop in at your local wine or liquor shop (maybe come see us at Schneider’s, perhaps?) and check out the wall of small-farm cognac producers just waiting for you to discover them.
T H I S M O N T H!
Our Mixed Case of the Month features hand selected wines from across the world that change according to the seasons and are priced up to 50% off the regular retail price. Purchase as many assorted cases as you like and get additional wines as the listed sale prices. This month’s case features six reds for summer, five delicious whites and a Bordeaux Rose all at 46% OFF!
Regular Price: $316.88 | At Sale Prices: $196.88 | Mixed Case Club Price: $139.99
“One of the Best Wine Stores in the Country is Right Here on Capitol Hill”
Purchase as many mixed cases as you like. Additional wines are available at the listed SALE prices.
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SELECTION The country’s most complete range of spirits, beer & wine. Our old and rare wine list is the most extensive anywhere, and it’s in your neighborhood.
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PRICING We will not be undersold. Come see for yourself. SERVICE Second to none, with seven full time wine specialists to assist you. Come in and be treated like family!
View descriptions of the wines at www.cellar.com
300 Massachusetts Ave., NE • www.cellar.com 1-800-377-1461 • 202-543-9300 • fax: 202-546-6289
INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING WITH US? Call Laura Vucci 202-400-3510
or laura@hillrag.com for more information on advertising.
Wine and liquor consultant Lilia Coffin is available for all your adult beverage needs at Schneider’s of Capitol Hill, 300 Massachusetts Ave. NE. u
September 2015 H 125
{arts and dining / theater}
Chimerica. Studio Theatre
Pericles. Shakespeare Theatre
Don’t Wait to Dive In
Signature Theater will present The Flick, winner of a 2014 Pulitzer Prize and a 2013 Obie Award for Playwriting. Just as she did in Circle Mirror Transformation, produced at Studio in 2010, playwright Annie Baker draws extraordinary insights by connecting ordinary people. In this play, they’re three minimumwage employees working at a crumbling Massachusetts movie theater, chatting about film and their lives as they clean up post-show debris.
Scoping Out a New Theater Season by Barbara Wells
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his fall, DC’s flourishing theater community rolls out plans for a staggering array of productions. From the Shakespeare canon to American musical standards to world premieres, the Washington area has it all — in fact, too much for anyone who can’t make theater-going a full-time job. So beyond holding out to see which shows get rave reviews from critics and friends, how can a theater fan flag a few promising plays to see? I start with the companies that have rarely let me down — the ones led by producers and directors who choose great material and execute it with confidence, creativity and intellectual rigor. Starting with the companies that fit that bill for me, I used a few other rules of thumb to pick some of next season’s standouts.
And The Award Goes To … Even a great director can struggle with a flawed script or work in progress. So earning a highly respected award is a good sign that a play’s well worth your time. Studio Theatre seems to agree, opening the season with Lucy Kirkwood’s Chimerica, winner of the 2014 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. With the guidance of David Muse, Studio’s often brilliant artistic director, this exploration of politics and personal responsibility is sure to shed light on US-China relations in a moving way. Studio is also producing Between Riverside and Crazy, a dark comedy by Stephen Adly Guirgis that won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. If it’s anywhere near as good as Guirgis’ universally acclaimed Motherf**ker With a Hat, produced by Studio in 2013, we’re in for laugh-out-loud dialog and a story that makes you think.
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Please, Sir, I Want Some More Except on Broadway and in the touring productions it spawns, there’s no such thing as a three-year run for terrific shows. So it’s always a joy when a fantastic play you missed — or want to see again — comes to Washington’s stages for an encore. Folger Theatre leads the season with a triedand-true version of Shakespeare’s Pericles, originally produced at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Director Joseph Haj, acclaimed for his 2010 Helen Hayes Award-winning production of Hamlet at the Folger, has earned stellar reviews for this magical production, featuring live music by Tony Award-winner Jack Herrick. The Shakespeare Theater Company reaches even further afield, importing George Orwell’s 1984 from England, where it was produced by Headlong, Nottingham Playhouse, and Almeida Theatre. Earning five stars from The Guardian in 2013, this new adaptation puts a timely spotlight on government surveillance and security. Signature Theatre plucks a play from the Chicago Shakespeare Theater: Road Show, a musical travelogue about two brothers’ 40-year quest for the American dream. Although some reviews of director Gary Griffin’s effort fell short of raves, I’m banking on Signature to pick a winner for its 26th Stephen Sondheim production. Studio’s “special remount” comes from its own stage: Bad Jews, aptly dubbed “the funniest play of
Destiny of Desire. Arena Stage
the year” by The Washington Post. With the deft direction of Serge Seiden, the production broke all Studio box office records last year, but even with an extended run, theatergoers couldn’t get enough of this utterly hilarious but deeply affecting take on religious and cultural identity. Seiden also will direct Studio’s return of Richard Nelson’s fabulous Apple Family Cycle, only now featuring the final two plays in the quartet: Sorry and Regular Singing. So we can keep watching a changing America unfold through a family’s discussions at the dining-room table.
I Loved Your Work In … Even the risk-averse theater maven can take a chance on the unknown with a favorite director or actor. Ethan McSweeny is one of my mine, so I’m intrigued to see him branch out from his Shakespeare Theatre Company roots with Deirdre Kinahan’s Moment for his Studio Theatre debut. Set in Dublin, this story of clashing siblings was deemed “one of most quietly shattering evenings in the theatre that I have experienced” by The Independent’s reviewer. I’m in. Meanwhile, STC associate artistic director Alan Paul will follow his astonishing production of Man of La Mancha with Kiss Me‚ Kate — a show he’s reportedly waited a lifetime to direct. It might be hard for any director to miss with this show’s music and lyrics by Cole Porter, but Paul — who won a Helen Hayes award for his direction of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum — promises something super special. Paul’s mentor and RTC artistic director Michael Kahn will direct two comedies about theater life “behind the scenes.” Adapted by the unfailingly astute Jeffrey Hatcher from Richard Sheridan’s script, The Critic is a fresh take on an 18th century romp. Then Tom Stoppard’s The Real Inspector Hound fast forwards 300 years to the 1950s for an Agatha Christie-style whodunit, featuring the The Critic’s ensemble cast. With Kahn’s unmatched ability to capitalize on comic possibilities that lesser directors
fail to detect, these shows should be an absolute hoot. At the Folger, we can always count on Aaron Posner for masterful work — most recently, in directing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. This year he’ll take on A Midsummer Night’s Dream and give a cast of women a shot at its iconic roles. The ever-outstanding Holly Twyford will play Bottom, the egomaniacal buffoon who spends much of the play with the head of an ass. And Erin Weaver — mesmerizing in Posner’s productions of Arcadia and Romeo and Juliet — will invent her own Puck, whose sprightly antics and eloquent observations permeate the play.
New Kids on the Block The limits of relying on my experience are obvious: My picks reveal a stunning lack of cultural diversity and a bit too much social comfort. When I want to stretch, I’ll look to the two companies that bring fresh voices not only to the Washington community but also to neighborhoods that will benefit from greater access to theater steps from home. Theater Alliance artistic director Jeremy Skidmore and his successor, Colin Hovde, partnered with H Street Playhouse owner Adele Robey for more than 10 years to cultivate and showcase local talent — and bring theater to people who may never have seen it before — in an underserved corner of Capitol Hill. Now they’re doing the same across the river at the Anacostia Playhouse, founded by Robey in 2013. Theater Alliance is known for putting African-American performers and perspectives front and center, this year featuring Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf and Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s Word Becomes Flesh, as well as Langston Hughes’ holiday classic Black Nativity. And the company’s
Hothouse project provides an “an intellectual incubator” for local playwrights, including Kathleen Akerley, whose Night Falls on the Blue Planet will premiere at Anacostia Playhouse this month. Back on H Street, Mosaic Theater Company of DC is a welcome addition to the Atlas Performing Arts Center’s resident companies. Mosaic will elevate provocative — even cathartic — art that invites audiences to grapple with explosive social conflicts from Chicago’s south side to Rwanda. Ari Roth, former artistic director of Theater J, founded Mosaic to pursue his vision for producing transformational art. He’s joined by fellow DC theater veterans Serge Seiden, who was most recently Studio’s producing director, and Jennifer Nelson, an actor and playwright who has held leadership positions with Ford’s Theatre, African Continuum Theatre Company, and Living Stage Theatre Company. (In fact, their powerful partnership spurred this writer to become a Mosaic volunteer.) The Voices From a Changing Middle East Festival, at the heart of Mosaic’s inaugural season, will present and fuel discussion of works by Israeli, Arab, and American authors exploring the personal and political effects of tensions and violence. A centerpiece will be Wrestling Jerusalem, a one-man play that Aaron Davidman has honed since 2007, using the voices of multiple characters to animate the struggle with identity, history, and social justice in the midst of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. Twenty or thirty years ago, few DC residents could have imagined this wealth of inspiring, enriching entertainment. I have only skimmed the surface of this immense pool. Now it’s up to you: Dive in! Barbara Wells is a writer and editor for Reingold, a social marketing communications firm. She and her husband live on Capitol Hill. u
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{arts and dining / movies}
Second Look
The Annual List of Films That Got Away
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s usual, this September column takes a look back at movies “That Got Away,” feature films little noticed or publicized when first released. This selection avoids mainstream Hollywood fare in favor of films that offered something distinctive, discriminating, or offbeat. Most of the films mentioned below had short runs and had very modest box office returns. Labeled “For the Fridge,” you can cut out and tape this review there to remind you of what to look for in your next movie rental or streaming video. If you read this column, you know that your friendly author has a catholic taste in films. As in most movie seasons, there are standout individual performances that too few people see and are forgotten about when awards season rolls around. I cite several here, beginning with one of the most intrepid acting jobs of the past few years. Locke – A unique movie, a one-man suspense drama where Tom Hardy, as Ivan Locke, holds the screen in almost real time, viewed almost entirely at the wheel of a BMW as he rolls from a construction site in up-country England down to London on a personal mission. The concatenation of voices he must endure builds up a gradual,
by Mike Canning but excruciating suspense during the film. Rather than call Hardy’s singular performance a “tour de force.” I would rather call it a “tour de face”: a film defined by one actor’s visage, an earnest, knit-browed face that reveals worlds. It’s a travesty that Hardy received no “best actor” nominations. Fort Bliss – A most worthy addition to the list of films on our recent wars, this one examines a warrior’s return home. Stationed at Fort Bliss after an extended tour in Afghanistan, a decorated US Army medic and single mother struggles to rebuild her relationship with her young son, who barely remembers her. Her difficult readjustment to stateside America is incarnated in a nuanced, pitch-perfect performance by Michelle Monaghan (usually relegated to roles as eye candy), who displays all the toughness, hurt, and resilience required for one returning home to an uncertain life. The Railway Man A former British Army officer, tormented as a prisoner of war in a Japanese labor camp during World War II, discovers that the man responsible for much of his treatment is still alive and sets out to find him. Based on a riveting re-telling of one man’s true story, the film
Colin Firth confronts his prisonerof-war past in “The Railway Man.” Photo courtesy of The Weinsten Company, all rights reserved.
Tom Hardy shines as the protagonist of “Locke.” Photo courtesy of A24 Films.
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unfolds both in a contemporary narrative and in flashbacks of the vile prison camp where he was held. Within both narrative strains, “The Railway Man” exudes an authenticity that convinces. Colin Firth shines in the lead role as a sincere but haunted man trying to expunge his tortured past and finally confronting the man who conducted his actual torture. A Most Wanted Man -- Based on a John Le Carré book, this movie unfolds very much in the spirit of the writer’s spy novels, showing the painstaking work of intelligence, full of detours and compromises and occasionally justified by a half-hearted appeal to a higher purpose. Much of the grubbiness of this work is mirrored in Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s characterization of a German intelligence officer, an unkempt man with an ever-wary look. Hoffman pulls off this type with ease, showing his fierce dedication to his tight-knit intelligence team, played by a roster of international actors. It is a fine swan song for the actor. Love is Strange -- This New York story of two gay men in their sixties, pressed to a crisis point after they marry, resonates with its depiction of a mature love split asunder. Director Ira Sachs
CIA employees help Vietnamese evacuees onto an Air America helicopter on April 29, 1975. Photo credit: Bettmann/Corbis
MIDCITY
FA G O N C O M M U N I T Y G U I D E
L OO K FO R TH E ANNUAL
infuses the film with believable, rich dialogue and achieves superb results with his two leads. John Lithgow—in his best role in years—glows as the arty Ben who is the spirited member of the couple within which Alfred Molina is the practical bedrock. Molina as the thoughtful George is just as memorable, playing a sweet Englishman who has adopted a thoroughly New York persona. Nothing wrong with highlighting individual performances, of course, but I wanted to mention at least one superior film that thrived not because of a star turn, but because of the strength of its ensemble playing. Pride – In the summer of 1984, British gay activists worked to help miners in a small town during the lengthy strike of the National Union of Mineworkers. This film’s re-creation of that heartening story is told with passion, sympathy, and humor, showing that solidarity (without pathos) can thrive across age and lifestyle barriers in the best British carry-on spirit. In a rich and varied ensemble cast, veteran actors like Bill Nighy and Imelda Staunton represent the valiant townspeople while young stars like Ben Schnetzer and Andrew Scott lead the gay activist’s corps. I also note in this column two outstanding foreign-language films that offered insights and visions outside our domestic purview. Force Majeure -- The benign setting of a Swedish family of four on an upscale ski vacation in Switzerland blooms into a meditation on personal guilt and a test of family values when one member, the father, appears to abandon his charges during an avalanche outside their lodge, an act which launches the film’s careful speculation on cowardice and culpability, as well as on the strength of a marriage. The film’s couple dances around both blame and shame after the incident while their young children sometimes seem more grounded than their parents. A film ripe for discussion afterwards. The Lunchbox – An lovingly understated, measured Indian creation whose emotional depth emanates from simple, natural human gestures. The plot revolves around a mistaken delivery by Mumbai’s sophisticated lunch-
box service, which leads to an epistolary relationship between a widower counting the minutes to retirement and a lonely housewife and mother. The filmmaker is blessed with his leads. Irrfan Khan shows dignified restraint, a man who buries a great heart under a placid exterior and heavy-lidded eyes. Nimrat Kaur is his match, balancing his stoicism with a wholly believable yearning and his poise with a hunger to connect. Here is a film as bright and polished as the nesting cans that make up the lunchbox itself. Finally, we remain in a period of great documentaries, and the past year was no exception. I highlight two very different exemplars of the genre.
F A L L &A R T S DINING PREVIEW 2015 Top 5 Fall Must See’s:
Restaurants Bars Performing Arts Museums Special Events
Particle Fever – This striking documentary about the limits of our science is much less about the abstract principles concerning particle physics at a massive European nuclear facility than it is about the personal and human factors behind them. It focuses on seven earnest and committed scientists working on finding the basic building block of matter using a supercollider, and presents it in the form of a cliffhanger. To simulate what the supercollider does, the director uses imaginative animation to give a sense of what actual proton break-up may look like. Last Days in Vietnam -- It’s exciting when a documentary makes a compelling narrative from historical material we think we know so well; “Last Days” achieves this by telling the story of the 1975 US withdrawal with great momentum, telling details, and the use of fresh material and voices. The interviews with a striking cross section of players—both Americans and Vietnamese—provide a most human dimension to the story. The real surprise coming from director Rory Kennedy is the discovery of some amazing lost footage taken from one of the ships taking on those fleeing the takeover. Hill resident Mike Canning has written on movies for the Hill Rag since 1993 and is a member of the Washington Area Film Critics Association. He is the author of “Hollywood on the Potomac: How the Movies View Washington, DC.” His reviews and writings on film can be found online at www.mikesflix.com. u
If you’re a business interested in advertising please contact sales at sales@hillrag.com or 202-543-8300 x 19 September 2015 H 129
{arts and dining / art}
by Jim Magner
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t’s the idea of an idea. The sense of a sense. Is it a flag? A sail? Yeah, sort of. Or Not. It could be about how the wind and sail are interacting. The only thing that matters is that it’s a place where Champneys Taylor wants to be. Peacefully. The true subject is optical space. Seeing the spaces among the spaces. Seeing the pieces of thought settle themselves and then move to a new balance, assembling a fresh idea. Champneys guarded the paintings at the Philips Collection for 14 years while he worked on his own. It was there that the visualization of his current series began to take shape. The Philips has the largest collection of Arthur Dove, the first American abstract painter. Dove described his works as not purely abstract, but “extractions from nature.” Champneys Taylor doesn’t try to replicate Dove, but “conveys the idea of Dove.” His subtle references to the natural world are similar providing the core imagining of each dreamscape. Champneys, originally from Jacksonville, majored in art at North Florida University. It was his color sense that ultimately drew him to Washington in 1998, the home of the “color school.” Continuing his studies at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Education, he received his MA in 2004. He is a co-founder of Decatur Blue, an artists’ collective, studio and gallery space in the Shaw neighborhood. To Champneys Taylor, it’s a matter of associative thinking. No angst, no anxiety, just peacefully setting up the rules and playing them out— consolidating the ideas as they come. It’s simply the ethereal somewhere where he wants to be. www.champneystaylor.com. G.D. BEACH BREAK (flag 2).2015
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artandthecity
Artist Portrait: Champneys Taylor
FOR A.D. (sail).2015
Jim Magner’s Thoughts on Art
Some years ago I tried to come up with a system of classifying art so I could better understand the painters I was profiling. As I was talking to Champneys Taylor, my mind was trying to place him in my rough and ready schematic. Rather than a science, this is just a way of hanging curtain walls in art’s Big Tent. I group all the myriad academically identified “styles” into seven types of art— think Magnificent Seven. (Yeah, there is some overlap, but deal with it.) 1. Decorative — Visually pleasing stuff…florals, patterns, still -life, scenes of antiquity…etc. Some abstracts. No moral or emotional challenges. 2. Expected — Here, things look like they are supposed to. Portraits, landscapes and such. Realism, Photo-realism and Illustrative are the usual styles, but there are many ways to paint the expected. 3. Unexpected — Ordinary things are altered with the juxtaposition of objects, places, colors, forms, and ideas. Think Fauves, Surrealism, Cubism, Pop. The artist is guide to another meaning of reality. 4. Imaginative — Art that sails deep into your imagination to find a home. It asks more questions than it answers. Abstract Expressionism and Futurism are exam-
PAINTED BUNTING LANE.2011
EBB.2009
ples, but many artists like to make you think. 5. Emotional — This stuff really grabs. It can be pleasant and lifting, but also jarring: a wakeup or a scream. The artist usually jumps out as an individual. Think Romanticism on one end and Expressionism and Art Brut on the other. Religious art can span the whole continuum. 6. Conceptual — The message is the medium. It’s often for-or-against something—like war & peace. “Installations” are usually concept pieces, but most “Contemporary Art” dances on the head of a message. 7. Great Art — This can include most of the other categories, but something allows it to soar into that majestic realm that hovers above the reach of merely skilled and gifted. The “old masters” played in this corner of the Big Tent and most artists would like an invitation.
At the Museums Gustave Caillebotte National Gallery of Art, West Bld. Seventh and Constitution NW — Oct 4 Gustave Caillebotte (1848–1894) is the unknown French Impressionist. If you haven’t seen his extensive and enthralling paintings, or viewed Paris in 1870s and 80s through his paintings, now’s your chance. Invited into the impressionist conclaves by Edgar Degas in 1774, and by Auguste Renoir in 76, Caillebotte never reached their level of renown for
a number of reasons. This exhibition explains it all, but your reward will be the 50 works that the NGA identifies as “…the most important and beloved paintings of Paris.” But it is not all high hats and steel girders. Paintings like “Nude on a Couch” are downright erotic. This is the first major US exhibit of his work in 20 years, and it may be 20 before you get another chance. Don’t miss it. www.nga.gov. Pleasure and Piety: The Art of Joachim Wtewael (1566–1638) National Gallery of Art, West Bld. Seventh and Constitution NW — Oct 4 You can’t help but be astonished by Dutch painter Joachim Wtewael. His wildly expressive visual storytelling of both biblical and mythological subjects, and color treatments—many on copper plates—will knock your frown off. There are erotic naked damsels in distress and Technicolor dragons. There are also terrific portraits and genre scenes. Wtewael could do it all…wonderfully.
Galleries Regional Juried Exhibit Hill Center Galleries, Old Naval Hospital 921 Penn. Ave. SE — Sept. 29 This is a big show. More than 90 artists from the DC, Virginia, and Maryland area have been selected, featuring a wide array of mediums and subjects.
Mark Leithauser, Senior Curator and Chief of Design, National Gallery of Art, juried the exhibition. www.hillcenterdc.org. “Photonegative” Capitol Hill Arts Workshop 545 Seventh St. SE Sept 8 to 29. Opening: Sat., Sept. 12, 5 to 7 p.m. “Photonegative” presents the hand printed selenium toned, gelatin silver darkroom photographs of public sculpture by Joe Yablonsky. Joe is a CHAW teaching artist and photographer. This is not a documentation of mostly familiar sculptures and architectural features; this is photography as pure art. Don’t miss it. www.chaw.org. “Wonderful Washington, DC” American Painting Fine Art 5118 MacArthur Blvd. NW — Sept 26 If you want true excellence in landscape and local landmark painting, the Washington Society of Landscape Painters provides it. Their summer show features over 20 of their members and a wide variety of styles and media with interpretations of the city and the surrounding area. www.classicamericanpainting.com. A Capitol Hill artist and writer, Jim can be reached at Artandthecity05@aol.com. Jim’s award-winning book, “A Haunting Beauty” can be acquired through www. ahauntingbeauty.com u
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LITERARY HILL
A Compendium of Readers, Writers, Books, & Events
by Karen Lyon Only Connect
vast implications of—the technology swirling around us. Does the Internet simply extend exIrene Wu is a senior analyst at isting politics or can it transform the US Federal Communications them? This is the provocative quesCommission, the author of “From tion posed by Irene S. Wu in her new Iron Fist to Invisible Hand: The book, “Forging Trust Communities.” Uneven Path of TelecommunicaShe hints at the answer in her subtitle: tions Reform in China,” and teach“How Technology Changes Politics.” es in the Communications, Culture The Internet has become our & Technology Programs at Georgenew public square, Wu contends, town University. where people come together not so much through mutual ethnicity, religion, or nationality, as by forming September Book groups that share a common cause Festivals or identity. She calls these collecSeptember is a great month to visit a tives, which are physically connectlocal book festival. Both of these are ed by a communications infrastrucfree and offer something for readers ture and rely on trust as a major of all ages: asset, “trust communities.” And, she The Library of Congress’s 15th says, they can be powerful players in annual National Book Festival will world politics. be held at the Walter E. Washing“Technology-based trust comton Convention Center on Saturmunities often trade in information day, Sept. 5, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and ideas, the way businesses use For more, visit www.loc.gov/bookfest. Alaska’s Fiddling Poet comes to the Hill for a “From currency and militaries use ammuA local scholar shows how The East of the River Book FesDC to Denali” concert and writing workshop. Internet communiti es can nition,” she writes. And why should tival will be held on Saturday, Sept. pack as much political punch this matter? Because, she explains, 12, at the Anacostia Arts Center, 1231 as militaries and economies. mended.” For more about him, visit www.kenwaldPhoto by C. Needy. information is emerging in the 21st Good Hope Rd. SE. Learn more at man.com. For tickets and information about his century as a force as significant as www.eastoftheriverbookfestival.com. Hill Center gig, go to hillcenterdc.org. military and economic power were in the past. “Information is…another basis of power that divides soFiddling With Words All About Jane ciety among those who have it, control it, and underAlaska’s Fiddling Poet, Ken Waldman, brings DeWhether you’re a Janeite or an Austenite, you’ll stand it, and those who are at its mercy.” nali to DC at the Hill Center in September. On revel in the Smithsonian Associates’ four-session In scholarly but accessible prose, Wu draws Friday, Sept. 25, at 8 p.m., he’ll be joined by West program, “A Jane Austen Quartet: A Daytime on examples from the history of communications Virginia songwriter and guitarist Book Discussion Series.” English technology, showing how telegrams helped protect John Lilly for an evening of poetry, professors Susan Willens and Virthe Chinese Emperor from being deposed in 1900. music, and storytelling. And on Satginia Newmyer explore the wit, She explains how the TsunamiHelp blog was used urday, Sept. 27, at 2 p.m., he will romance, and astute observations to coordinate relief efforts following the 2004 dilead a writing workshop. on society and human nature that saster. And she illustrates how governments try to Waldman is a former college make reading Austen such a timeshape the flow of information, as with Qatar and professor whose writing has appeared less pleasure. its Al-Jazeera news network. in such journals as Poet Lore, Beloit The series meets at 10 a.m. on Wu suggests how technology might be used toPoetry Journal, Yankee, and QuarterSept. 8 (“Sense and Sensibility”), day as a tool for social change as well as for business ly West. His work includes six poetOct. 6 (“Pride and Prejudice”), and government purposes. “The power of the trust ry collections, nine CDs, a book for Nov. 10 (”Emma”), and Dec. 8 community is in its shared information and ideas— children, and a 2008 memoir, “Are (“Persuasion”). www.smithsoniwhether it is preventing flu epidemics, understandYou Famous?” anassociates.org. ing the news, or improving traffic safety.” Wu has Reviewers have called his style given us an important book of ideas, presented with “Renegade Americana” and have What did she see in Mr. More on the Hill clarity and originality, that could go a long way toDarcy anyway? Find out at compared his performances to “a The Hill Center and PEN/Faulkner a Smithsonian Associates ward helping us keep up with—and understand the Ken Burns movie… always recomseries starting this month. present short-story writer Padgett 132 H Hillrag.com
Powell in conversation with novelist Katherine Heiny, Sept. 11, 7:00 p.m. Free, but register at www.hillcenterdc.org or 202-549-4172. The O.B. Hardison Poetry Series at the Folger Shakespeare Library begins its 201516 season with “The Night’s Music,” a reading by W.S. Di Piero and Rowan Ricardo Phillips, Sept. 28, 7:30 p.m. www.folger.edu or 202-544-7077 The Library of Congress presents poet Srikanth Reddy, Sept. 10, noon; the inaugural reading by Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry Juan Felipe Herrera, Sept. 15, 7 p.m.; Wayne Wiegand, author of “Part of Our Lives: A People’s History of the American Public Library,” Sept. 15, noon; James H. Johnston, author of “From Slave Ship to Harvard; Yarrow Mamout
The Lyon’s Share
Dear Readers, can you spare some time? Docents are the lifeblood of nonprofits and there is no better cause than the literary institutions right here on Capitol Hill. The neighborhood branches of the DC Public Library (Northeast, Southeast, and Rosedale) offer both regular and periodic volunteer opportunities. You could be a Library Helper, assisting with shelving, computer coaching, programs and more, for two to three hours a week, or a Special Events Volunteer, helping to usher at library events such as author talks, open houses, and youth programs. Call the volunteer program at 202741-5803 or e-mail libraryvolunteers@dc.gov. The Library of Congress trains docents to lead tours of the magnificent Jefferson building and its treasures. The 14-week indepth curriculum, presented by library staff and outside experts, covers the past, present, and future of the library, including its art and architecture, collections care and use, curatorial divisions, organization and infrastructure, and public programs. Docents average one fourhour shift per week, providMake a literary difference! Volunteer at one of our Hill libraries ing two tours, and are eligible this fall. for certain discounts and benefits. For more, contact Susan and the History of an African American FamMordan-White at 202-707-9203 or smordan@ ily,” Sept. 23, 11:30 a.m.; Molly Gubtill Manloc.gov, or go to www.loc.gov/visit/volunteer/. ning, author of “When Books Went to War: The Folger Shakespeare Library employs The Stories That Helped Us Win World War docents not only to greet and offer tours to visII,” Sept. 25, noon; and the 2015 American itors from around the world, but also to interAward for Children’s and Young Adult Literpret exhibitions, work with students at perature ceremony, with winning authors Dunformance festivals, conduct Shakespeare in can Tonatiuh and Margarita Engle, Sept. 18, Action workshops at schools and communi3 p.m. www.loc.gov ty centers, and help staff the Shakespeare’s The Smithsonian Associates presents a Birthday celebration. The library provides four-session evening course on National Book both training and mentors, and offers docents Award-winning novelists Julia Glass, Shirley the opportunity to participate in Folger proHazzard, Louise Erdrich, and Phil Klay, startgrams and professional development coursing Sept. 14, 6:45 p.m.; and “Grammatical es. Get in touch with Carol Lloyd-Stanger at Gaffes: A Linguist Looks at Some Pet Peeves,” 202-675-0316 or cstanger@folger.edu, or go Sept. 26, 10:30 a.m. www.smithsonianassocito www.folger.edu/docents. u ates.org.
The Poetic Hill
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long-time Capitol Hill resident, David Foster Hall is lover of bourbon and good cigars who says he’s been away from the South for far too long. A former woodcutter, fisherman, hunter, and worm-farm caretaker, he practices law and writes poetry “because it comes to be written.” He notes that the inspiration for his poems “usually creeps between sleep and wake in the early morning, then haunts my day. It comes from something beyond me…” wandering congressional cemetery bones sleep like locusts, lean into dark like a blink – marrow-dry, brittle-hard book spines, laid out like starched shirts forgotten by caring, and hate, and love and one-night stands. homeless-old-throw-a-ways, boxed cold as bus station floors, proper as death does with them. bleach-white tattoos, inked in stone – family missives, of who they were, who they thought they were…. names scream periods, rigor mortis ivy limps passed the end of endless. i cannot know what others knew. alley-dark shadows persist… poke sunset like a junkie’s arm – ragged –bruised – buried skin-deep, needle long, lazy like opiates… dangerous, delicious, cold. i shoot-up black, float oddly by epithets somehow comforted by unknowing… vacantly welcomed by a stranger’s smile… invited to disappear –
If you would like to have your poem considered for publication, please send it to klyon@literaryhillbookfest.org. (There is no remuneration.) u
September 2015 H 133
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405 Studio Owner
{health & fitness}
NE W i d
os
YO GA Stu
On or Very Near the Hill by Pattie Cinelli
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re you interested in channeling the Grateful Dead, who practiced rocket yoga taught by founder Larry Schultz in San Francisco in the 1980s? Have you ever thought about taking a yoga class outside on a rooftop? Would you like a nourishing and grounding practice that gives your muscles a break and stimulates the deeper tissues in your body through restorative yoga? Maybe you prefer practicing asanas with your child? Capitol Hill has five new yoga studios that offer all these classes and many more. There’s no excuse now for not trying a kind of yoga that appeals to your unique taste, physical ability, and interest. If you are practicing yoga you are part of a growing trend across America. About 21 million adults (nearly double the number from 2002) and 1.7 million children practice yoga in the United States according to the results of a 2012 National Center for Health Statistics survey. The increase has occurred across all ages and racial and ethnic groups.
Be Here Now Yoga Be Here Now Yoga is one of the few new small businesses open on Barracks Row that is not a restaurant. When I climbed the stairs to the second floor the energy changed from the hustle and bustle of frenetic Eighth Street to one of calm and tranquility. “We want Be Here Now to be accessible to everyone,” said general manager Maddy Bortes. “We offer a variety of class styles and prices for that reason.” Several classes are donation-based including a daily lunchtime medita-
tion, yoga nidra (yogic sleep), yoga flow, and yoga in Lincoln Park on Saturday mornings at 9:30. Owner Sherri Ta, who opened Be Here Now last March, was inspired by her spiritual teacher to return from India where she had been studying yoga, to open the studio. Her focus is “yoga beyond asana,” explained Bortes. “We operate as a community space so student input is very important to us.” Most classes include some kind of mantra, chanting, or meditation. Be Here Now also offers health and wellness services that include Reiki, acupuncture, Thai massage, yoga therapy and life coaching, and shamanic healing and workshops. New students can receive a $45 pass for 30 days of unlimited classes.
Breathing Space – Yoga for the Whole Family
East Side Yoga Group Dancer Poses on Roof. The studio’s rooftop deck opened for regular classes on Monday, Aug. 24, making it DC’s first rooftop yoga studio.
Jen Mueller has been teaching children and family yoga classes for years. “I got into teaching yoga by becoming a parent,” she said. “I had been practicing yoga for years. When I became a parent I took teaching training because I wanted to do yoga with my daughter.” Mueller, who is proud that she owns the only childproof yoga studio in the area, opened Breathing Space this past January. “I want to be able to create the space for other parents that I enjoyed from doing yoga.” Breathing Space yoga and Pilates classes are alignment-based progressive instruction in a welcoming communi-
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ty environment. “We have classes for beginners and experienced students (without kids) as well as pre- and postnatal yoga,” said Mueller. This fall Mueller will be offering an afterschool program on Mondays for first, second, and third graders and on Wednesdays for preschool through kindergarten children. Breathing Space is also available to rent for children’s birthday parties.
East Side Yoga
Breathing Space - The group in the studio A toddler yoga class BHNY offers a variety of asana classes ranging from Beginner’s Yoga to Advanced Dharma Yoga. All of the classes are accessible to every student regardless of experience or condition.
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Alia Khan, who likes to describe herself as a recovering attorney, has created a space above 10th Street Auto that reflects her respect for the environment, her talent for design, and her thoughtfulness for the community. “I wanted to create a space where the community could escape from the stresses of their daily life.” When renovating the space some of the salvaged wood was taken from Frager’s Hardware Store. Bordering the rooftop are beds where Khan plants vegetables and herbs that
she offers students. Khan was a practicing attorney for five years, and now as a recovering attorney she has created East Side Yoga to appeal to those living the lifestyle she used to lead. “I teach the spiritual aspect of yoga without the religious.” She believes yoga ought to be a fully sensory experience. Khan offers infused water to students and always has chocolate and fruits or vegetables to snack on. “They add to the total sensory experience here.” East Side Yoga focuses exclusively on flow to offer consistency across classes. However, Khan said it is very important to make everyone feel welcome on the mat: “Classes range from beginner to challenging as well as relaxed. Every other Friday we have class. We have DC’s first rooftop yoga class where we hold our happy hours.” In addition two on-staff doulas teach pre- and postnatal yoga classes. East Side Yoga offer $25/week of unlimited yoga for new students.
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Yoga on or Very Near the Hill
Be Here Now Yoga, 411 Eighth St. SE; www.beherenowyogadc.com Breathing Space Yoga, 1123 Pennsylvania Ave. SE; www.breathingspacedc.com Capitol Hill Yoga, 641 Pennsylvania Ave. SE; www.capitolhillyoga.com East Side Yoga, 518 10th St. NE; www.eastsideyogadc.com 405 Yoga, 1000 Florida Ave. NE; www.405yoga.com Hot Yoga Capitol Hill, 410 H St. NE, www.hotyogacapitol.hill.com M Street Yoga, 300 M St. SW; www.mstreetyoga.com Results Gym, 315 G St. SE; www.resultsgym.com St. Marks Yoga, 118 Third St. SE, www.stmarks.net Washington Sports Club, 214 D St. SE; mysportsclubs.com Yoga District, 526 H St. NE, www.yogadistrict.com
M Street Yoga – Southwest’s only Yoga Studio Pamela Fierst-Walsh, the owner of M Street Yoga, Southwest DC’s first yoga studio, is celebrating her one-year anniversary this month. “We’re comfortable, contemporary, and community-driven,” said Fierst-Walsh. She opened M Street out of a desire to share her inspiration with others. A graduate of the National War College, Fierst-Walsh works for the State Department in foreign policy. “While I’m passionate about my work I had to find a way to balance my life. I found it through yoga. My colleagues and I used to joke about running away to open a farm that made goat cheese and had a yoga studio. Well, I didn’t quite get to the farm, but I was able to make the yoga studio happen. It’s so important to do all the things that make you happy.” Her ground-level studio has huge windows looking out onto a large grassy area with sidewalks and trees, unusual for a studio in the heart of the city. M Street offers a variety of classes including gentle yoga, restorative, vinyasa flow, yoga plus, and Pilates. Both she and her husband (retired from the Army) are ardent supporters of military personnel and veterans. M Street offers a 10 percent discount to veterans and their families. Fierst-Walsh is excited about her fall workshops. A beginners’ yoga series starts on Sept. 20. Yoga for runners will be offered on Sept. 23, and yoga for healthier, happier, calm children on Sept. 11. M Street has a new student discount of $30 for 30 days of unlimited classes.
405 Yoga – DC’s only Power Yoga Studio Merideth Van Sant wants to create a hometown feel in her power yoga studio. She’s been living in DC for three years, but she is from Oklahoma whose area code is 405. Hence the name, 405 Yoga. She is in the process of turning a run-
down liquor store on the corner of West Virginia and Florida avenues NE into a neighborhood power yoga studio that will have classes accommodating deaf yogis who are studying across the street at Gallaudet University. “I’m excited to be partnering with Gallaudet to have ASL teachers for noon and evening classes,” said Merideth, who lives in the neighborhood. “I want to bring master teachers from all over the city to 405.” 405’s opening weekend is Oct. 3. Van Sant said she was looking forward to supporting local businesses such as Vigilante Coffee that will be part of the opening festivities. Even though 405’s primary focus is athletic, endorphin-releasing yoga such as power, vinyasa, and rocket – a San Francisco-based yoga that is based on the Ashtanga primary series with a lot more variation and playfulness – she also will offer restorative classes. “Later in the month we’ll have themed classes such as black-light yoga. It’s loud and rowdy with Top 40s music. We want to bring fun and laughter back into yoga.” 405 Yoga is offering a $69 unlimited month of yoga in October. As a yoga student for 40 years and a teacher for 11 years I have always turned to yoga to center myself. I continue to learn how to combine physical exertion, breathing with awareness, patience, and inner calmness with energy – tools I use in everything I do. We are fortunate on Capitol Hill to have such a variety of quality studios from which to learn.
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Pattie Cinelli is a health and fitness consultant and writer. Her columns, which she has been writing for more than 20 years, contain information about leading-edge health and fitness topics. Pattie works with individuals who want to change their lives in a holistic and gentle manner. Email her with fitness questions or column ideas to fitness@pattiecinelli.com. ◆
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N O T E B O O K
{kids & family} Librarian of Congress James H. Billington greets young people at the last year’s National Book Festival. Photo: Shealah Craighead
by Kathleen Donner “Stay Awake” at the Atlas (ages 2 to 4) Imagine an upside down lullaby! Rather than lulling you to sleep, this enchanting world premiere sends you to a Dreamland of another sort. Discover the fantastical journey that awaits a child and her dog when their familiar bedtime ritual is thrown delightfully offbalance. Combining live music, movement, and visual art, Stay Awake invites young children and their grown-up friends into a theatrical world where anything is possible. This highly interactive, sensory-filled theatre experience, at the Atlas, Oct 2 to 11, welcomes the very youngest audiences, ages 2 to 4, into the magic of performing arts. “Stay Awake” will open the Atlas Performing Arts Center’s fourth season of Theatre for the Very Young, a series of performances for children ages infant to 5 inspired by the belief that every age has the right to experience powerful, pleasure-giving, and challenging art. $9. The Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. 202-399-7993. atlasarts.org
School for Players! at the Folger School for Players! is a free program for families focusing on how to become an actor during Shakespeare’s time. On Sat., Sept. 5, 10 to 11 a.m. (ages 5 to 9) and 11 a.m. to noon (ages 10 to 14), have fun with acting lessons and lines straight from Shakespeare’s plays. Advance online registration is highly encouraged or call 202-675-0395. Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 E. Capitol St. SE. folger.edu
“Flowers Stink” Musical at the US Botanic Garden When you live in a big city, a.k.a. “the concrete jungle,” sometimes it’s hard to appreciate the great outdoors. That’s definitely the case with one middle school girl, who’s struggling with writing a nature-themed poem for school. Giving up, she tweets: “#poetryisstupid #na-
National Book Festival Features Children’s Authors The 15th annual Library of Congress National Book Festival is at the Washington Convention Center on Sat., Sept. 5, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (doors open at 9 a.m.). From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., approximately 150 authors, illustrators and poets will make presentations in pavilions dedicated to Children; Teens; Picture Books; Biography & Memoir; Contemporary Life; Culinary Arts; Fiction; History; International Programs; Mysteries, Thrillers & Science Fiction; Poetry & Prose; Science; and Special Programs. Special evening activities begin at 6 p.m. with a Poetry Slam, a Graphic Novels Super Session, a Great Books to Great Movies panel and a first-time-ever pavilion dedicated to Romance fiction. Read more at loc.gov/bookfest. Children’s authors in attendance are Kate DiCamillo, 10 to 11:10 a.m., presentation; 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., signing. William Joyce, 11:20 to 11:50, presentation; 12:30 to 1:30, signing. Naomi Shihab Nye, noon to 12:30 p.m., presentation; 1 to 2 p.m., signing. Mac Barnett, 12:40 to 1:10 p.m., presentation; 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., signing. Buzz Aldrin, 1:20 to 1:50 p.m., presentation; 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., signing. Rachel Renee Russell, 2 to 3 p.m., presentation; 3 to 4 p.m., signing. Jon Scieszka, 2:40 to 3:10 p.m., presentation; 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., signing. Gennifer Choldenko, 3:20 to 3:50 p.m., presentation; 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., signing. Cece Bell, 4 to 4:30 p.m., presentation; 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., signing. Lynne Rae Perkins, 4:40 to 5:10 p.m., presentation; 6 to 7 p.m. signing. Juan Felipe Herrera, 4:40 to 5:10 p.m. presentation; 6 to 7 p.m., signing. Jennifer L. Holm, 6 to 6:30 p.m., presentation; 7 to 8 p.m., signing. Trevor Pryce, 6:40 to 7:10 p.m., presentation; 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., signing. Lin Oliver, 7:20 to 7:50 p.m., presentation; 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., signing.
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The Big Build: A Hands-on Family Festival of Tools, Trucks, and Construction On Sat., Sept. 19, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., be a builder for the day at The Big Build festival at the National Building Museum. Amateur builders young and old can discover what it’s like to build a brick wall, carve stone, hammer nails, and much more as they work side-by-side with designers, builders, and artisans demonstrating their skills. Meet plumbers, electricians, ironworkers, landscape architects, woodworkers, and experts in many other fields to learn about their professions and hobbies. The National Building Museum is at 401 F St. NW. 202-272-2448. nbm.org tureisboring #flowersstink.” Suddenly, two zany and loveable plants magically come to life in her room, encouraging her to open her eyes, ears, and mind to the beauty all around her. Pointing to her own family history, the girl’s newfound friends transport her imagination to the flora of a desert, a volcano, and a rain forest to help unleash her creativity. Mixing plenty of singing and dancing with folk, bluegrass, blues, and gospel, this colorful world premiere musical—by the Helen Hayes Award–winning creators of Dizzy Miss Lizzie’s Roadside Revue—shows that if you look closely enough, you can find the best of nature in the most unlikely places. (Approx. 45 minutes). For ages 7 and up. “Flowers Stink”, a world premiere Kennedy Center musical co-commissioned with the US Botanic Garden, is free and performed outdoors on Saturdays, Sept. 26 to Oct. 24 at 11 a.m. (Sept.
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26, there is also a 1 p.m. performance) at the US Botanic Garden, 100 Maryland Ave. SW. In case of inclement weather, check usbg.gov for performance updates.
Shakespeare Theatre’s “Free For All” Information for Families This year’s “Free For All,” Sept 1 to 13, is a production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F St.NW. The Shakespeare Theatre’s intention is for the “Free For All” to be family-friendly. Guardians should bring children out into the lobby if they are restless. Babes in arms are not allowed in the theatre. They request that children be five years of age or older. Every person entering the theatre must have a ticket. If a child will be sitting on someone’s lap, they still must have a ticket. Read more about how to get tickets at shakespearetheatre.org.
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Kids Fun Run at Congressional Cemetery The annual Dead Man’s Run 5k and Kids Fun Run at Congressional Cemetery is on Sat., Oct. 3, 6 p.m. The untimed kids run, around 2k, is $10 to register. Contact Congressional Cemetery staff with questions at 202-5430539. congressionalcemetery.org
Women in Aviation and Space Family Day Throughout the history of aviation and space exploration, women have fought to be on equal terms with their male counterparts. At this family day, Sat., Sept. 12, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the National Air and Space Museum, enjoy learning about the significant contributions women have made despite the many challenges they faced. The day will feature presentations by women in the field, hands-on activities, and stories. airandspace.si.edu
Synetic Theater’s Auditions for Teen Romeo and Juliet Synetic Teen Productions are a physically intensive and artistically challenging training program that results in high quality, professional level productions at Synetic Theater’s Crystal City Theater. Teens cast work closely with professional directors, fight and movement choreographers, and as part of their mentorship receive special coaching on character and technique from senior Synetic company members. At the end of eight rigorous weeks, the teen ensemble has a fully staged, full-length production, to go along with an experience of a lifetime. Synetic Teens will perform on the same set and stage as the adult company. Many Synetic Teen production alumni go on to star in Synetic main stage productions. Auditions will be held by ap-
pointment only from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 5 and 12. Auditions can be scheduled by emailing education@synetictheater.org.
Finding A Line: Skateboarding, Music and Media at the Kennedy Center This is a multi-disciplinary, familyfriendly festival that celebrates an influential American subculture by highlighting local artists, as well as the creative ties and improvisational elements shared between skateboarding and live music. Enjoy free access to a skate park and a series of free open skate sessions. Open skate sessions are Sept. 4, 10 and 13 at 6 p.m. Performances by young local bands (ranging from rock and punk to indie and jazz) showcasing their music are Sept. 11 and 12 at 8 p.m. $22. A waiver is required to skateboard alongside performances. Skateboarding and music takes place on the front plaza. kennedy-center.org
Maury Yard Sale/Bake Sale Maury will hold its annual yard sale on Sat., Sept. 19, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the school, 1250 Constitution Ave. NE. They accept gently used toys, books, games, clothes, baby gear, furniture, household items and small appliances in good working order. You can drop off donations at the school during the week prior to the event. This is a great opportunity to clear your closets and score bargains while supporting a neighborhood school.
Music on the Hill September is $25 guitar month. With a 3 month lesson commitment, their entry level guitars are $25. This includes 1/2 size guitars up through full size. Ibanez electric
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{kids and family / notebook}
guitar packs (normally $250) will be $100. There is a Rock Band Class meeting on Mondays, ages 7 to 10, and Thursdays, ages 11 to 15. Music on the Hill will have at least one of their kids rock band camps playing on the big stage at the Barracks Row Fall Festival. Music on the Hill is at 1453 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Second Floor. 202733-3158. musiconthehilldc.com
Capitol MISS Foundation Support Group Meetings for Bereaved Parents The Washington, DC chapter of the MISS Foundation offers monthly support group meetings to mothers and fathers experiencing the loss of a child to miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant/child death. Participants are invited to share, but are also welcome to listen until they are comfortable sharing their stories. Meetings are informal and typically occur the second Tuesday of each month, 7 to 8:30 p.m., at the Northeast Library in the mezzanine conference room. Northeast Library is at Seventh Street and Maryland Avenue NE. capitolmissfoundation.org
Free Community Mobile Workshops at the Atlas Help design, paint, and balance pieces for mobiles with kinetic artist and performer Kevin Reese of SchoolSculptures. Join you neighbors in creating an installation of over 50 mobiles to be unveiled at the H Street Festival on Sept. 19. During these workshops, hundreds of participants of all ages will come together to create a grand work of art, a powerful, visual symbol for community, balance, and connection in our H Street neighborhood and beyond. Workshops are Sept. 7 and 12, 1 to 4 p.m., and open to the public and best for ages 8 and up. Register at atlasarts.org/news/mobilizing-ourcommunity.
“The Three Billy Goats Gruff” Bilingual Play and Story Time On Wed., Sept. 23, 10:30 a.m., enjoy a bilingual English/Spanish story time and play put on by DC Public Library staff in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. They will be reading stories and acting out a bilingual version of The Three Billy Goats Gruff. For ages birth to 5 and their caregivers. Northeast Neighborhood Library, 330 Seventh St. NE.
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202-698-0058. dclibrary.org/northeast “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” repeats at Southeast Library, 403 Seventh St. SE., on Fri., Oct. 2, 11 a.m. and at Southwest Library, 900 Wesley Pl. SW. on Wed., Oct. 7, 10:30 a.m.
Colonial Market & Fair at Mount Vernon On Sept. 19 to 20, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 50 colonial-attired artisans demonstrate 18th-century crafts and sell traditional wares such as baskets, woodcarvings, tin and ironwork, leather-workings, weavings and furniture. “General Washington” will be on hand overseeing the lively Revolutionary War military drills and 18th-century entertainment including music, fire-eating, sword-swallowing, puppet and magic shows, plus hearty specialty food for sale on site. mountvernon.org
The Navy Mile on Pennsylvania Avenue This race, on Sun., Oct. 4, 8 a.m., is for everyone 13 years old, up. There are categories for every age and after the race, everyone can partake in the post-race expo on the grounds of the Navy Memorial Plaza. $10 to $30. Run beings and ends at Navy Memorial. navymile.com
“Arts for Families” at The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum On Saturdays, 1 to 4 p.m., this drop-in program is part of the museum’s weekly Arts for Families series, which invites families to explore art, history, and culture through a hands-on activity. Free; no reservations required. The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, 701 21st St. NW. 202-994-5200. museum.gwu.edu
Remaining Dates for “Kids Run the Bases” at Nat’s Park Kids ages 4 to 12 can run the bases after select Nationals games. Kids Run the Bases begins immediately following the game, weather permitting. Remaining dates are Aug. 30 and Sept. 6, 20 and 27. An adult must accompany runners to the field. One adult per child on the field. Starting at first base, kids will be directed to run around the bases as the adults
continue along the warning track and meet the runners near home plate. Once the game has ended, it takes the grounds crew approximately 20 minutes to prepare the field. Kids and parents/guardians can begin lining up at the end of the Seventh inning, however fans that would like to stay and watch the entire game will still be able to line up once the game has ended. Participants must exit the ballpark through the Right Field Gate. The line forms outside of the park on the sidewalk along First St. washington.nationals.mlb.com
$1 Hot Dogs and Giveaways at Nat’s Park On Sept. 9 at the 7:05 p.m. game vs. the New York Mets, $1 hot dogs will be available for purchase at all Nats Dogs stands and additional select locations until the start of the sixth inning, while supplies last. On Sept 3, at the 7:05 p.m. game vs the Altanta Braves, 20,000 nesting dolls will be given to first 20,000 fans. On Sept. 5, at the 7:05 game vs the Atlanta Braves, 20,000 Earbuds will be given to first 20,000 fans. On Sept 8, 7:05 p.m. game vs. the New York Mets, 10,000 10-Year Tuesday: 2005 Mini Lineup Card will be given to first 10,000 fans. On Sept. 21, at the 7:05 p.m. game vs. the Baltimore Orioles, 25,000 Calvin Coolidge Bobbleheads will be given to first 25,000 fans. On Sept. 25, at the 7:05 p.m. game vs, the Philadelphia Phillies, 25,000 Zimmermann Bobbleheads will be given to first 25,000 fans. On Sept. 27, at the 1:35 p.m. game vs the Philadelphia Phillies, 25,000 red gloves will be given to the first 25,000 fans. washington.nationals.mlb.com
ZooFiesta ZooFiesta is on Sun., Sept. 20, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the National Zoo. Family activities include animal feedings, arts and crafts, musical entertainment, educational activities highlighting conservation research in Central and South America, and authentic gourmet cuisine at a Latin American inspired food bazaar. ZooFiesta is free, so bring the whole familia! nationalzoo.si.edu
Race for Every Child Kids’ Dash The Race for Every Child supports children and families throughout the Washington area by raising funds for specialized medical care, research into childhood diseases, and important wellness
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and preventive services at Children’s National Health System. The 100-yard Kids’ Dash is a great way to encourage your child to be active and healthy. Just one block long, the Kids’ Dash route is on Pennsylvania Ave. NW, starting at 12th St. and finishing at 13th St. The race is on Sat., Oct. 3. Prerace activities begin at 7 a.m.; kids dash at 10:15 a.m. Read more at childrensnational.donordrive.com
Constitution Day Family Activities at the National Archives 228 years ago the founding fathers signed the US Constitution creating the United States government that exists today. On Thurs., Sept. 17, 1 to 4 p.m., celebrate with them in the home of this important document by participating in exciting, hands-on activities taking place at the National Archives. Constitution Ave. and Seventh St. NW. 202-357-5400. archives.gov
New Children’s Book Delivers Message of Gratitude Sharron Allen marks her debut in the world of children’s literature with the release of “Happy Birthday EVERYONE!” (published by Xlibris). This new storybook features an easy-to-follow narrative accompanied by full colored illustrations. “Happy Birthday EVERYONE!” follows the experiences of a young boy named Stevie who is celebrating his fifth birthday. The story reveals his imaginary journey through the world as he wonders who else might have birthdays and parties. “We are all becoming increasingly aware of our interconnectedness with all forms of life on our planet and of our current efforts to protect and preserve them,”
the author says. “This book helps children experience themselves as part of nature with all creatures and these efforts then become more relevant to them.” Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Hispanic Heritage Month: Innovators in Aviation and Space Family Day On Sat., Oct. 3, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. join them as they celebrate the contributions of Latinos to aviation and space exploration. Hear about Latin Americans’ contributions to aviation and space exploration, meet Hispanic scientists and engineers—including a NASA astronaut—and participate in bilingual activities. airandspace.si.edu
9:00 a.m. sharp - 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, October 6 Saturday, November 7 Thursday, November 19 Friday, December 4 Saturday, January 9 Thursday, January 14 Application Deadlines: Dec. 1 (Early); Jan. 15 (Reg) 5901 Westchester Park Drive, College Park, MD 20740 Tel: 301.441.2100 www.friendscommunityschool.org Only 15-20 minutes up the Baltimore-Washington Parkway!
President Lincoln’s Cottage Family Day On Sat., Sept. 12, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., you’re invited to the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home for the fourth annual President Lincoln’s Cottage’s Family Day event. Family members of all ages will enjoy the live entertainment and creative activities inspired by the Lincoln family and their life at the Soldiers’ Home. There will be a Civil War encampment, at petting zoo with pony rides, arts and crafts, picnics on the grounds, live music and cottage tours. The entrance to President Lincoln’s Cottage is through the Eagle Gate, located at the intersection of Rock Creek Church Rd. NW and Upshur St. NW. The street address is approximately 140 Rock Creek Church Rd. NW. Note that 3700 No. Capitol St. is not an entrance. lincolncottage.org Have an item for the Kids & Family Notebook, email it to bulletinboard@ hillrag.com. u
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Pre-K to 3rd grade Building a strong foundation for learning Spaces available for students in K thru 3rd grade. enroll today. Bridges PCS is an expanding elementary school, growing to serve grades Pre-K–5th by 2017-2018. • Before & After Care • Small classroom size and well trained staff • Individual planning for each student • Hands-on and project-based curriculum Free and open to all DC residents. Tuition paid by non-residents.
www.bridgespcs.org 1250 Taylor Street, NW, Washington, DC 20011 p: 202.545.0515 Accredited by Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Voted one of the Best Preschools in DC, City Paper Readers Poll 2013 -2015! For the 2016-2017 school year Bridges PCS will be in our new location:
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{kids and family}
Making the Education Choice Three Stories
by María Helena Carey
F
rom the time parents bring their baby home to the moment when the no-longer baby leaves the nest, endless educational choices arise and invite judgment. Choosing a school for your children involves multiple factors: educational philosophy, location, and family size. As the children mature, extracurricular activities and personal preference, far more than parental input, often determine the choice of a high school. In the recent past District parents often moved to Northwest or the suburbs when children turned school age. They bought a home in-bounds for Murch, Janney, or maybe Oyster-Adams elementary schools if their incomes allowed it, or perhaps they bankrolled a private school education. Many turned to the suburbs instead. With the recent improvements in DC’s public education they are flocking back to both public and public charter schools. There are many choices, and each is as personal as every child is unique. But what factors do parents use in determining where their children will go to school? Narrowing down all the possible choices is a very personal journey.
Private Education Southwest residents Cristina and Guy Sherr looked for a school to give their son William, now 14, a character education combined with the traditional “three Rs.” They briefly considered their in-bounds school, Amidon-Bowen Elementary. At the time, the school’s test scores were not very high. After visiting other schools, both public and private, the Sherrs felt that William would be better served by a private education. They wanted a single, well-defined educational system that would take William through elementary, middle, and high school. The Sherrs chose St. Peter’s, a Catholic parochial school located in the south end of the Capitol Hill neighborhood that goes to eighth grade. Guy and Christina appreciated the warmth and
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attentiveness of the school’s staff. “They went out of their way to make us feel at home, in the same way we were always welcomed when Guy and I attended Catholic schools,” Cristina said. When it came to high school, the family wanted to continue William’s Catholic education. Preferring a coed environment, they chose Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, Va. The Sherrs might have made a different decision for William had they begun their journey today. In the past decade and half the educational landscape has radically changed. Public charter schools established across the District give parents new alternatives.
The Public Charter Alternative Carolina Lopez and Jeffrey Frank, parents to 13-year-old Nicholas and six-year-old Luciana, live along the H Street corridor. When it came time to choose a school for their son, Two Rivers Public Charter School’s “expeditionary learning model” seemed a good fit for their outgoing, inquisitive child. Nicholas flourished at Two Rivers. However, as he entered middle school many of his friends left for other institutions. Moreover, his parents believed that he needed more rigorous academic challenges to keep him engaged. They decided to move Nicholas to BASIS in Penn Quarter, where coincidentally many of his cohort had gone. The intense academics at BASIS made it a good fit for Nicholas. However, the school lacked extracurricular sports. Thanks in large part to Sports on the Hill, Nicholas had become a talented athlete. For high school, therefore, his parents chose to explore options that would combine his love for athletics and academics. Nicholas applied for School Without Walls (SWS), an application-only DC public school. His parents believe that SWS’s Early College Program at George Washington University will provide challenging academics. SWS also boasts a full range of extracurricular activities including athletics. When Luciana came of school-age, her parents could not count on sibling preference to ensure acceptance at Two Rivers, which currently has the longest wait list in the city. After visiting several public and public charter schools they chose to place her at Apple Tree Early Education Center, conveniently located near Lincoln Park. However, Apple Tree only provides early education to threeand four-year-olds. Seeking a Spanish immersion program that would extend through elementary
school, they moved her next to Elsie Whitlow Stokes PCS located in Brookland. Carolina and Jeff were pleased with Elsie Whitlow but found the commute from Capitol Hill very draining on themselves and their daughter. Fortunately Luciana landed a spot at Two Rivers Annex where she will begin this fall. While Carolina and Jeff chose the public charter alternative, other DC parents have embraced traditional public schools.
Public School Early Supporters Gina and George Arlotto are strong supports of public education. A former high school teacher, George is now superintendent of schools in Anne Arundel County. The socialization found in a traditional neighborhood school, in addition to academic challenges, provides an important balance for children. Public schools, in addition to their curricula, also teach resilience and skills in standing up and becoming an advocate for oneself, the Arlottos believe. Children, in their opinion, need to learn social skills and navigating different teaching styles. The Arlottos have three children: 19-year-old Andrew, 17-year-old Mary Grace, and 16-year-old Maisie. All have attended the schools in the Capitol Hill Cluster program. A graduate of Wilson High School in Northwest, Andrew is now in college. He chose Wilson because of its lacrosse program. Taking advantage of sibling preference, Mary Grace followed him. Maisie, an eighth grader, is at the newly modernized Stuart-Hobson Middle School, which is a part of the Capitol Hill Cluster. Eastern High School has been recently renovated and is now an alternative for Capitol Hill parents. The Arlottos are leaving the choice of Wilson or Eastern to their youngest daughter. The experiences of these three families illustrate that no one size fits all for the walk from kindergarten to 12th grade. María Helena Carey is a Capitol Hill parent who is glad to have spoken to such kind, generous parents about their experiences and who is dreading the impending search for a middle school. You can follow her on Twitter @TheMadameMeow. I found my mittens! May I have pie? http://www.thehillishome.com http://twitter.com/TheMadameMeow http://instagram.com/ TheMadameMeow u
New Sounds for a New School Year at Capitol Hill Arts Workshop
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by Hannah Jacobson, with Chris Bulbulia
id you hear that sound, Capitol Hill-ians? A scale here, a few notes of an American folk song there. A jazzy piano chord resounding, young voices rising. It’s floating over from 7th and G streets SE. You know it has to be Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW) with the colorful columns and countless arts opportunities happening day and night. This sound is just a little bit new, though, and it’s because what you’re hearing is a melodious collection of voices from a new resident of CHAW – American Youth Chorus.
Arts Program (YAP) that will be rolling out this fall alongside the partnership with AYC. This partnership feeds directly into the YAP core framework of creativity, confidence, and community, providing all of CHAW’s students with expanded opportunities to engage in AYC students show off their musical chops and spirit of fun in concert. both beginPhoto: American Youth Chorus ner and advanced classArts, while the arts are beneficial to all, they have es that challenge them in diverse art a disproportionately positive impact on low-informs such as ceramics, photography, come students where high arts involvement drawing, painting, humanities, instruamong disadvantaged students is related to betmental music, and dance. AYC’s resiter professionalism, degree-earning, and a highdency at CHAW provides a welcome er incidence of volunteerism. In other words, the opportunity to expand affordable artiswider community benefits from programs like tic opportunities in a safe and supportCHAW and AYC reinforce our belief that a risive environment that promotes personing tide lifts all boats. Just as importantly another al, creative, and academic development. Americans for the Arts study measured the availSince CHAW’s inception in 1972 ability of arts opportunities across the country and CHAW students hold up their finished masterpieces at the and AYC’s founding in 2008, these comfound that underserved populations were getting end of photography class. Photo: Leslie Mansour/Capitol munity-focused organizations have nevHill Arts Workshop less than half as much access as their more ader turned a child away for inability to pay vantaged peers. CHAW is especially excited that this new arfor an arts class. CHAW believes that 21st-centuWe are all responsible for creating the kind tistic opportunity is coming in the form of a youth ry learning objectives are deeply connected to the of world in which we want to live. That world is choir, something we haven’t had on this side of techniques of art. With accessibility at their core, full of creativity and limitless possibility for every the Hill in quite a while. Established in 2008, AYC and CHAW hope to level the educational child. What does your world look like? Share it American Youth Chorus (AYC) is the Congressioplaying field through dynamic programming and with us @CHAWinDC and @YouthChorusDC nal Chorus’ after-school music program for stucompassionate encouragement. with the hashtag #CreateYourCommunityDC. dents ages 8 to 14 from all over the Washington According to data from Americans for the We can’t wait to hear your creative thoughts on metropolitan area. Founded on the premise that how our community can take shape, and how we all children, regardless of socioeconomic backcan be a part of helping to bring it to life through ground, deserve a high-quality music education, the arts, the most powerful connector we know. AYC offers a performance-based choral program Capitol Hill Arts Workshop offers classes, that encourages young people to develop their events, and arts opportunities for all ages. Find voices, creativity, and self-esteem in a fun and out more by visiting www.chaw.org. supportive environment. The curriculum focuses American Youth Chorus primarily holds on healthy vocal production and technique, basic auditions on a rolling basis by request. Rehearsmusic theory, music sight-reading skills, singing als will be held at the Capitol Hill Arts Workin two- and three-part harmony, stage presence, shop on Tuesdays and Thursdays, depending cooperation within an ensemble, and artistic disupon age: Junior Division (ages 8 to 10), Tuescipline. days from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m.; Senior Division Incorporating AYC into CHAW’s robust (ages 11 to 14), Thursdays from 4:30 to 6:00 youth offerings was an easy choice. Over the p.m. To learn more please visit http://www.conTeaching artist Laura Vucci and her young ballet stupast few months CHAW has been evaluating, gressionalchorus.org/AYCCHAW. u dents jump for joy in the CHAW dance studio. Photo: reconstructing, and developing a new Youth Leslie Mansour/Capitol Hill Arts Workshop
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School Notes
by Susan Braun Johnson
Miner Elementary Welcome to Ms. Torrence A group of approximately 75 community members came together on Aug. 10 to welcome Miner’s newest administrator, Ms. Tiffany Torrence. An educator with more than 16 years of experience in K-12, hailing from Jacksonville, Florida, Ms. Torrence and Miner’s principal, Dr. Anne Evans, stayed well past the event end time to answer many questions about Miner’s future and their plans. Touting an open-door policy, they encouraged people to get involved with the school.
Uniform Drive To address the need for school uniforms for students who may not be able to acquire them, the Miner PTO is hosting a uniform drive in September and October. If you can contribute either gently used, new uniforms or make a donation, please either drop off them off at the school or contact the PTO at hollygion@gmail.com. Miner Bears wear navy blue bottoms and white tops.
Fire at the Playground In late July, a fire destroyed part of the Miner Elementary playground equipment. The principal
Brent Principal Peter Young inspects renovations to the student bathrooms.
Save the Date! Back to School Night will be held September 9 at 6p.m. It’s an event not to be missed! Come meet staff, mingle with other Miner families, learn about the PTO, get questions answered, and enjoy some student performances. -Holly Harper. Miner, 601 15th St NE, www.minerelementary.org.
This summer, Brent successfully partnered with Steve and Kate, a national summer camp organization, to welcome kids from across the Hill for fun filled activities. Over a hundred participated each week. Brent looks forward to welcoming the camp back next summer. With the support of the PTA, Brent hired three full-time teacher partners. The PTA also has provided support for a full-time behavioral tech that will provide one-on-one support for students. Brent’s first Open House will be on Oct. 5 from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Children are most welcome to participate.
Brent Elementary
Denise Diggs. Brent ES, 301 North Carolina Ave, brentelementary.org.
worked quickly with DCPS to repair the equipment for the fall and the return of students. However, the PTO will meet in September to discuss further improvements to Miner’s playground.
Back to School Night Sept 9
Brent Elementary had a very busy and amazing summer. The school underwent extensive renovations to create more functional, beautiful and cleaner spaces for its growing student population. The $950,000 project included renovated student restrooms, four new student-pull-out spaces, a spacious new kindergarten classroom, a new music classroom and an enhanced science lab. It also created several additional office spaces.
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Waterfront Academy Celebrating Summer Keeping busy with camp fun, Waterfront Academy did not slow down this summer.
July Fourth Children and parents from Waterfront Academy marched in the Capitol Hill Community
and more. Most camp sessions ended with a visit to a water park. The CHDS After School Program offers an array of enrichment and music options. Students may choose Soccer, Tae kwon do, Yoga, Mad Science, Chess Wizards, or Good Moves Game Design. CHDS also offers individual instrument and voice lessons, plus four ensembles: String Chamber, Jazz, Vocal, and Rock/Pop. During the days leading up to the new school year, teachers worked together to implement initiatives developed by various professional development groups during the 2014/15 school year, including: Incorporating the Investigations program to support our math curriculum and pedagogy, integrating iPads into the curriculum, continuing to address issues of diversity, particularly issues of privilege and discrimination, through the lens of universal right to basic needs (food, shelter, water, etc.), and more intentionally integrating social justice education into their teaching. Curious about progressive learning? Contact Admissions at 202-386-9920 for a small group tour (Tuesday and Thursday mornings) or an open house (Oct. 13 and Dec. 8 for pre-K to fourth grade, Nov. 10 for grades 5 to 7).
CHDS Dr. Seuss Adventure Campers hunt for green eggs and ham. Photo Veronica Chapman.
Jane Angarola. CHDS, 210 South Carolina Ave, SE, jangarola@chds.org.
Maury Elementary Yard Sale Sept 19
Fourth of July Parade on Barracks Row. Braving the rain, marchers greeted parade watchers with smiles and wishes for a “Happy Independence Day.” With students in their Waterfront Academy t-shirts and parents in their most patriotic attire, participants were able to share their school pride and celebrate Independence Day with the Capitol Hill community.
from celebrating DC and its monuments to beating the summer heat by learning about water. Waterfront Academy had over 200 campers through its doors during their ten-week summer camp.
Summer Camp
Summer Ends with a Splash!
Students from private, public and charter students across Washington DC, came together at Waterfront Academy’s unique Spanish Immersion Summer Camp. The campers had the opportunity to participate in exciting field trips, innovative and hands-on activities and good old fun that allowed them to engage in and learn about the community. Each week focused on a different exciting theme—
Jillian Frost and Carmina Spencer. Waterfront Academy, 60 I Street SW; Waterfrontacademy.org.
Capitol Hill Day School Capitol Hill Day School’s Summer Camp 2015 had a great season. Almost 300 campers enjoyed 48 camps, led by 15 counselors – including three CHDS alumni and nine current faculty and staff. Like the school’s academic program, summer camps are enriched by field trips. This year’s campers enjoyed 140 trips to museums, parks, art and yoga studios, the Nature Conservancy, the Baltimore Aquarium, theaters, mini-golf, restaurants
This annual event will take place at the school from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 19. Donations can be dropped off at Maury the week before the event. This is a great opportunity to clear your closets and score bargains while supporting a neighborhood school.
Prints on view at Hill Center Ms. Lauren Bomba’s art students have put the school’s printing press to good use. A display of their work is on view at Hill Center, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, in the Young Artists Gallery on the ground floor. The technique used is known as “intaglio.” Using a sharp tool called a burin, a design is etched into a surface, traditionally a copper plate. In this case, students used piece of Plexiglas. The plate is then covered in ink most of which is subsequently removed leaving only what has settled into the gouges. Heavy paper is soaked in water then placed in the printing press with the plate.
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Maury students stocking the shelves at their new Little Free Library
al, emotional and social skills needed to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world. Any school interested in becoming IB-accredited must meet global academic standards. More than 4,000 schools now teach IB programs with their unique academic rigor and their emphasis on students’ personal development. Those schools employ over 70,000 educators, teaching more than one million students worldwide. Ski club, lunchtime book club, robotics, soccer, Aunt Lizzie’s knitting club – they’re all back and ready for students to have a well-rounded and fun year!
Puerto Rico - Vamos!
The press forces the paper into the lines of the artist’s design, grasping the ink, and transferring the image.
Little Free Library What is a Little Free Library? It’s a weather-proof box/display case where anyone may stop by and pick up books or drop off books to share. There are several on Capitol Hill, most in front yards, but one of the newest is on the 13th Street NE side of Maury. The new library is a gift from a school family with a love of literacy. It maintains a larger-than-usual inventory of children’s books. Stop by to check it out - drop off books your family has outgrown and choose new ones.
Eliot-Hine’s eighth-grade is hitting the ground running! They’ve already identified their class trip destination as Puerto Rico. There, they can speak the Spanish they have studied, and experience life science in the El Yunque Rain Forest and the bioluminescent Reserva Natural de las Cabezas de San Juan. They can learn about Spanish colonization at La Fortaleza, Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Castillo San Cristóbal where the cannons still stand and the lichen-covered cooking stations to feed the armies still exist from the early 1500s.
There is so much to learn in Puerto Rico, and the students are going to need to work hard to get there. If you would like to support these efforts, please email PTO Treasurer Heather Schoell at heysassy@yahoo.com with Puerto Rico in the subject line. Thank you!
Thank You for Broadcast Camp! Thank you to the Capitol Hill Community Foundation (capitolhillcommunityfoundation.org) for funding Eliot-Hine’s Radio/ TV Broadcast teacher Mr. Birks’ Broadcast Camp this summer! Students have interviewed musicians, authors, CEOs, and political figures. Eliot-Hine is the only DCPS School with this program, and the financial support is most appreciated! Eliot-Hine Parent Heather Schoell. Eliot-Hine Middle School, 1830 Constitution Ave. NE, @ EliotHine FB Eliot-Hine.
School Within School SWS Expands School-Within-School is continuing its expansion as planned, adding a grade each year. This academic year, SWS will be teaching students from pre-K3 through fourth-grade, as well as two medically frag-
Elizabeth Nelson. Maury Elementary, 1250 Constitution Ave., NE. mauryelementary.com.
Eliot-Hine School Welcome Back! This new school year begins with a great energy at Eliot-Hine! Due to Mayor Bowser’s intervention, the school has fresh bathrooms, brighter classrooms, all new furniture, and best of all, new science labs! Eliot-Hine has scheduled an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (ibo.org/myp) walk through in October. There’s a lot to show the IB representatives. Not only is there a refreshed environment and new science labs, but the school now boasts a full-time librarian and a staff of IB-trained teachers who are ready to implement the standards of the international program. IB is a non-profit educational foundation offering highly respected programs of international education that develop the intellectual, person-
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Eliot-Hine broadcast camp students interviewed Angie Gates, DC Director of Motion Picture & TV Development at Broadcast Camp this summer.
ile classrooms. SWS will finish its expansion during the 2016-17 year when it will also serve fifth-grade students. As SWS grows, the school has been making exciting new hires, including two fourth-grade teachers and a French instructor. Here are the highlights. First grade teacher Mary Beth Celestino began her career in Houston, and has more than eight years of classroom teaching experience. French teacher Emily Greif has taught languages across the globe, including most recently teaching French and ESL in the Seattle area. Second grade English Language Arts teacher Jonathan Leavitt has 10 years of elementary school teaching experience in Virginia and Connecticut. Fourth-grade English Language Arts teacher Jordan Loftis has taught for four years in DCPS, including most recently at Watkins Elementary. Fourth-grade math teacher Caitie Meehan has taught elementary grades in Virginia public schools. Meehan also has been a presenter of the Responsive Classroom approach around the country. Specialized Instruction teacher Ashley van Norden, who has been in education for 10 years, now works as part of The Ivymount School in SWS’s Autism Program. Allison Klein. School Within School, 920 F St NE. schoolwithinschool.org.
Amidon-Bowen What a Busy Summer Summer is usually a time for vacations and barbeques as schools are in recess. Amidon-Bowen did not get that memo. In addition to gearing up for 2015, Amidon has been busy installing a new roof, flooring in the cafeteria and other projects designed to enhance the building even further. Amidon PTA has installed a new state-of-the-art flat screen
monitor system in the cafeteria. Also, for the third straight year, has held soccer practice every Tuesday evening with a focus on fundamentals and exercise. On Aug. 15, Amidon, once again, partnered with Jefferson Academy for their annual “Jamidon” barbeque on the grounds at Jefferson. Amidon partnered with the Washington Nationals on Aug. 23 for “Grand Slam for Teachers” at the ballpark. Five dollars from every ticket purchase through nationals.com/schools will benefit Amidon-Bowen. Only two DC Schools are part of this great event. In addition, Amidon’s sports teams continue to thrive. The Kickball team won the city championship with Coach Briscoe at the helm. Amidon competed in the citywide “Geoplunge” tournament with a record of 7-4 coached by fourth-grade teacher Mr. Griffiths. Geoplunge is like a geography bee where three student teams answer questions like “What is the rank of Missouri’s population?” It has been a busy summer and Amidon looks forward to a great school year. Bruce DarConte, Near Southeast Community Partners, Amidon PTA/LSAT. Amidon Bowen, 401 Eye Street SW. http://profiles.dcps.dc.gov/amidon.
Friendship Public Charter School Woodbridge Campus Earns IB Accreditation Friendship Public Charter School’s Woodbridge campus in Northeast DC has been accredited by International Baccalaureate as an IB World School, making it one of only 16 IB schools in the District of Columbia. “This decision demonstrates the strengths of Friendship’s Woodridge campus and offers the students in this Northeast Washington
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Blyth-Templeton Academy Opens at the Hill Center
T by Paul Rivas
ter classrooms during school hours, here’s a new high as well as two office spaces on a fullschool in town, time basis. Given that the Hill Center and it’s not like has served as the incubator of a varithe others. ety of small businesses and nonprofits Opening since it opened in 2011, Executive Dion Sept. 8 at rector Diana Ingraham explained that the Hill Cenhaving a high school operating withter, the Blyth-Templeton Academy ofin Hill Center walls isn’t all that unexfers a unique curriculum focused on Lee Palmer, pected. “We are pleased that we are in immersive, student-centered experienHead of School a position to provide space as the school tial learning. “Immersive” means kids launches,” Ingraham said. “This relationship is just get lost in it, “student-centered” means teachers another example of Hill Center’s interest in exteach what the students want to learn, and “expeperimenting with a range of uses for the building. riential” means they’re actually doing something, not just copying things down obligatorily. It’s exLocation, Location, Location actly what cutting-edge teacher education proIn two hours and 20 minutes on Capitol Hill stugrams teach nowadays, and it’s every great teachdents can talk about what they want to learn, go er’s dream: classes so small you don’t need to take out in the city and learn it, and come back and roll, students who want to be there, and freedom write it up. In a free period they could walk to to take full advantage of everything Washington check out books from the Southeast Library, swim has to offer. in the Rumsey pool on their way back to school, Students have three periods per day of two and still have an hour to work on their favorite projhours and 20 minutes of instruction. They take ect. Gone are the drudgery and prison-like aspects two academic subjects and one semi-programmed of high school, with teachers requiring students to free period per day, per nine-week academic quartake notes on slideshow lectures and trudge from ter, taking different classes each term. The school room to room. In their place are instructors excited day runs from 9:00 a.m. to 4:40 p.m., and a year to develop their students’ academic interests and at the brand-new school in the great old building provide them with new experiences. only costs $14,950. Modeled after the network of similar BlythBlyth-Templeton will occupy four Hill Cen-
Lee Palmer sits in a classroom in the Hill Center.
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Templeton Academy high schools in Canada, Blyth-Templeton expects 15 to 20 students to enroll this fall, and hopes to reach its target of 100 students total within a year or two. This is certainly feasible, given how many Hill parents are less than enamored with the neighborhood’s limited options for high schools. The Blyth-Templeton philosophy also appeals to more types of students than one might think. In addition to the unique opportunity to spend the school day embedded in the community, Blyth-Templeton students have the opportunity to take advanced placement (AP) courses through Blyth-Templeton Academy Online, study overseas with the Blyth-Templeton Academy Global High School, or even do an academic quarter at a BlythTempleton Academy High School in Canada. The nearby Capitol Hill Day School (K-8) also espouses experiential education but has a standard daily class schedule, albeit with weekly field trips. Head of School Jason Gray has two kids there now and one who just finished. “My kids love going to school every day,” he said. “They love to learn, they’re engaged, and they’re excited about it. They’re familiar with the community of Capitol Hill plus the broader DC region, and all of that deepens the learning that they do in the classroom in a way that would not be possible without field education.”
Experienced Leadership Lee Palmer, the head of school at Blyth-Templeton and formerly the upper school principal at Sidwell Friends, has worked at resource-rich, high-performing schools throughout her career. “Throughout my career as a science teacher and an administrator I came to believe very strongly, based on experience, training, everything I’d learned myself from teaching, and everything that I learned from others, that the best way that students learn is by doing,” Palmer said, “by actually being actively engaged in the learning process themselves; being seekers rather than receivers.” “We are a mainstream, academically rigorous, high expectations school,” explained Palmer. “We have kids coming for all different kinds of reasons. We have kids who were not thriving in a traditional setting, but those are not the majority of the kids. The majority of the kids are in a school setting where they’re either excelling or they’re doing fine, but either their parents or they feel that
B
A Little History
lyth-Templeton was founded in 1977 to provide Canadians with travel and education opportunities. In 1978 the organization launched the first high-school-accredited program at Oxford University while running courses in European countries. By 1980 it was Canada’s leading provider of international summer programs for students. Blyth-Templeton opened its first school, Blyth Academy, in 2002 with 12 students on the third floor of a walk-up building in Yorkville. Today the organization owns and operates 15 schools including 12 in Canada, as well as Blyth Global High School and Blyth Academy Online. Blyth Academy is now Canada’s leading private school by enrollment with more than 5,000 students. International education programs operate in more than 30 countries around the globe. The organization employs more than 800 faculty and staff and is led by its founder and CEO, Sam Blyth, and Blyth Academy’s president, Pat Shaw. Blyth Templeton Academy in Washington, DC, is the organization’s first US school.
there’s got to be something better. They use that kind of language. ‘We’re fine where we are; we think this will be better.’” Fifteen grand is far from free, but it’s less expensive than Catholic high schools, less than half the price of a fancy private school like Sidwell Friends, and a third the price of a highly specialized fancy private school like The Lab School. The British School of Washington, BASIS in McLean, and The Siena School in Silver Spring are all more expensive. Instead of splashing out by spending big money on new facilities, the school aims to keep costs low by using existing community resources. There are no built-in social activities like dances or sports teams, because it’s just not that kind of school. Blyth-Templeton also claims there are no hidden costs involved in attendance such as those generated by fundraising events. The school expects that 20 percent of its students will receive financial support in the form of financial aid or merit scholarships. The school has a small but full staff of teachers for the first term, and it will add teachers as more students join the school at the beginning of each of the four terms. Jennifer Rivers, the founding humanities teacher, was the first full-time instructor hired. “Blyth-Templeton Academy drew me in because it offers the chance to practice teaching as an art,” said Rivers. “This teaching position differs from my previous ones because it offers the chance to design an educational experience that allows students to maintain curiosity about the world by asking big questions and struggling to find answers together, incorporating the things that interest and excite students into the learning process without sacrificing rigor.” Palmer said the new school will measure its success by the degree to which, at the end of the year, “Students come away feeling that they’ve learned a lot, they’ve learned what they had hoped to learn, they’ve learned a lot of things that they didn’t expect to learn, and they enjoyed the experience: they couldn’t wait to get to school and school was a joy rather than something they had to do.” For more information or to sign up to attend an open house or meet with Head of School Lee Palmer go to http://blythtempleton.org/. u
DC school an opportunity to access a public education, which rivals the best that is in offer around the rest of the world,” said Friendship’s Chairman and Founder Donald Hense. Friendship Public Charter School’s Woodbridge campus, serving elementary and middle school students, has received numerous awards and recognition for its work in advancing student achievement. These include a Blue Ribbon Schools nomination and a Tier One ranking by the DC Public Charter School Board. Woodridge offers students an opportunity to explore world cultures while building foundational skills for lifelong learning. The Woodridge core academic program is supplemented by a foreign language program offering exposure to a second language in preschool to full course offerings as students’ progress to higher grades. Friendship’s Woodridge campus, 2959 Carlton Ave NE. www.friendshipschools.org.
DC Public Charter School News The DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB) is creating a network of outstanding public charter schools in Washington, DC, offering families quality and diverse educational choices. Some of the PCSB schools’ accomplishments include: More than 4,600 students attending a high performing or Tier One school; ten schools rated high performing or Tier One on the academic accountability system (PMF) for four consecutive years; four schools rated Tier One for the first time in 2014; eight of the top ten schools serve between 75 percent and 100 percent low-income student populations. Of the 23 schools rated Tier three since 2011, six have improved and 13 have closed. In the next year they will continue to push schools to find ways to continue to strengthen school qual-
ity, educational equity, and innovation. The DC Public Charter School Board is setting a national model for creating quality public school options through its rigorous review of new charter applications and effective oversight of charter school performance that is leading the transformation of public education in Washington DC. PCSB overseas 62 public charter schools on 115 campuses serving more than 39000 students living in every ward of the city. To learn more: www.dcpcdb.org.
DC Bilingual Public Charter School New Home The DC Bilingual PCS held its grand opening on Aug. 21 in their new home at 33 Riggs Rd. NE! The school is a learning community that ensures high academic achievement for all students in both Spanish and English, develops leadership, and values all cultures. Founded in 2004, DC Bilingual serves more than 350 students in grades PreK3 to fifth. DC Bilingual seeks to implement an academically demanding dual-language program to foster bilingualism and bi-literacy for all children. DC Bilingual’s mission is guided by the following principles: Every child has a right to a quality education; parents have an important role to play as partners with us in their children’s education; effective schools value children’s language and culture; continuity of care can help children build trusting relationships and a positive self-image. And every member of a learning community can contribute to its strength and excellence by committing to lifelong learning. DC Bilingual 33 Riggs Road, NE. www. dcbilingual.org. u
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Our website just got a whole lot better! capitalcommunitynews.com
• Doors, Windows & Siding • Basements, Garages & All Type of Additions • Kitchens, Bathrooms & Family Rooms
Call Gerold Washington
202.352.1839 oldtby@gmail.com
Over 10 years of Experience on Capitol Hill
DooRS & WinDoWS
E D D I E
Windows Craft, Inc.
CONSTRUCTION
· · · · · ·
Kitchen & Bath Remodel Interior & Exterior Painting Carpentry · Molding Floors · Hardwood Plumbing · Doors & Windows Brick Pointing · Patios
Licensed & Insured Free Estimates 202-247-0104 15% off all jobs over $1000
www.oldetobetteryet.com
om
202.288.6660 info@windowscraft.com
Licensed, Insured and Bonded License # 69006200
LICENSED, BONDED & INSURED F R E E E S T I M AT E S | O V E R 3 0 Y E A R S E X P E R I E N C E
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te
Specializing in HistoricWindows & Doors
ELECtRiCian
S TANDARD C LEANING S ERVICE I NC . Commercial & Residential
STRUCTURE SPECIALISTS
Ana Julia Viera
Restoration & Historical Preservation
703.719.9850 • 703.447.9254 Days Free Estimates • Bonded & Insured References Upon Request
Carpentry Windows & Doors
15% Discount New Customers
Roofing & Guttering Brick & Stone Re-pointing Plumbing & Electric Service
Cabinets & Moulding
Plaster & Drywall
Wood & Engineered Floors
Painting & Decorative Finishes
202.965.1600
www.jfmeyer.com
Free Estimates • Insured
• • • • • • • • • • •
Home Improvement Kitchens & Baths Flooring & Tile Plumbing Electrical Carpentry Renovations Landscaping Painting Windows & Doors And Much More
• References
facebook.com/pages/ JF-Meyer-Construction-Co-Inc/127977000616632
SUPPORT YOUR NEIGHBORS AND LOCAL BUSINESSES! September 2015 H 153
ELECTRICWORKSHanDyman ELECTRICWORKS Rapid Response & Expertise Rapid Response & Expertise
New Work • Rewiring New Work • Rewiring Lighting Design •Lighting Repairs Design • Repairs
LECTRICWORKS
Thomas Landscapes
Residential & Commercial
Residential & Commercial Licensed & Insured Rapid Response & Expertise Licensed & Insured
DEREK THOMAS / PRINCIPAL
301-254-0153
electricworks1@aol.com 301-254-0153 New Work • Rewiring electricworks1@aol.com Lighting Design • Repairs
Residential & Commercial Licensed & Insured
301-254-0153 301-254-0153
electricworks1@aol.com electricworks1@aol.com
A
WWW.FCIMPROVEMENTS.COM ADDITIONS, KITCHENS, BATH AND INTERIOR & EXTERIOR PAINTING EXPERT
KitCHEn
NO JOB TOO SMALL! • 12 YEARS EXPERIENCE
Craftsmanship and Expertise
Over 20 Years of Experience
Renovations and Remodeling including Plumbing & Electrical
Our website just got a whole lot better!
Full-Service Landscape Design & Maintenance
HANDYMAN EXPRESS
capitalcommunitynews.com jkhuynh@cox.net
fLooRS
REDEFINING BEAUTY ONE CLIENT AT A TIME!
• • • • • • • • •
• Installation, arbors, retaining walls, walkways, lighting, water features • Patios, roof top gardens, townhomes, single family homes • Trees & shrubs, formal & informal gardens • Custom Masonry, Fencing and Iron work • Restoration and Enhancement
Painting Plumbing Drain Service Kitchen Disposal Carpentry Ceiling Fan Electrical Caulking General Repairs
301.642.5182
WWW.THOMASLANDSCAPES.COM
No job is too small!
Reasonable Rates • Free Estimates
REginaLD’S LanDSCaping
Call Ty • 703.615.7122
Specializing in perennial gardens, landscape design, yard maintenance, seasonal contracts-free estimates for major cleanups, spring/fall cleanups, mulching, pruning, trimming, weeding, debris removal, leaf removal, light hauling, planting and more. Pressure washing, decks patios. Emergency Service Available. Call today! 240-604-5390.
Jim's Handyman Service, LLC Too busy to do it yourself?
Residential Floors Dedicated to Perfection • Sanding and Refinishing • Installation • Repairs • Cleaning & Waxing
7 days a week - Free Estimates Reasonable Rates Residential & Commercial
Installation of Electrical Fixtures and Appliances • Window Treatments & Furniture Assembling • Fix Plumbing & Change Locks • Hang Pictures & Repair Cabinets • Painting
202-370-7902 www.jimzinn.com MIDCITY MID
• Free estimates • No job is too small Affordable rates • Licensed, insured and bonded
(301) 990-7775
LanDSCaping
iRon WoRK
Family owned and operated 3 Generations of Experience
Suburban Welding Company
®
Welding & Ornamental Iron Work
Heritage Wood Floors, Inc. Installation • Sanding • Refinishing • Hardwood Mouldings
• • • • •
Repairs of Original Cast Iron Staircases Window bars and door security gates Handrailings & Stair Railings Fences, Sidewalk Gates, Tree Box Fences DC code approved bedroom window security bars • Excavating, back hoe services and tree stump grinding • Certified welding
Free Estimates • MHIC #120190
24-hours, 7-day service Free estimates
301-855-3006 888-227-2882
www.suburbanweldingcompany.com
154 H Hillrag.com
FA G O N C O M M U N I T Y G U I D E
703-765-9344
contact CAROLINA at 202.400.3503 carolina@hillrag.com
LoCKSmitH
15% OFF
Parts and Labor any Job for HILL RAG Readers. Customer has to present this ad before payment to receive discount
LOCKSMITH ACCESS CONTROL SECURITY CAMERAS ENTRY & STORM DOORS WINDOW BARS GARAGE DOORS
888.247.4656
www.keyedinllc.com service@keyedinllc.com
P
masonry
painting
Serving Maryland, DC & Virginia since 1974
Just Say I Need A Plumber®
Dial A Plumber, LLC®
• Licensed Gas Fitter • Water Heater • Boiler Work • Serving DC • References John • Drain Service • Furness Repair & Replacement
Interior & Exterior Custom Painting Restoration & Historical Preservation Residential & Commercial
es
L
Historic Renovation & Artisan Stonework
Award-Winning Mason with over 30 years of experience
SPECIALIZING IN: Custom Masonry • Stone • Brick Work Point Up • Restoration • Patio & Water Gardens
202.965.1600 www.jfmeyer.com
Call Tom for a Free Estimate
202-544-4484
www.michaligamasonry.com
Free Estimates Insured • References
FORMER HEAD MASON OF THE ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL FROM 1989 - 1996.
Reasonable Prices : Hill Resident Licensed • Bonded • Insured !
moving
ens rk
More than just killing bugs, we take care of your home • Babies, children, pets, no worries, customized treatments • Latest environmentally sound methods and products • One time, monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, yearly
, yard major mming, plantgency
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com
F L K Termite, Pest &
Rodent Control
M
m
pest control
LICENSED & INSURED
Free Estimates
Licensed Bonded Insured
Kenny
202-251-1479 DC P
L U M M E R
’
S
L
I C E N S E
#707
PLUMBING
SERVICES SERVICE • REPAIR • REPLACEMENT REMODELING
SPECIALIZING IN WATER HEATERS Plumbing-Heating Toilets, Disposals, Faucets Tub/Shower Valves Drain Snake Sump Pumps Sewers & Drains Water Lines/Pipe Work
301.273.5740 301.576.3286 WWW.FLKPESTCONTROL.COM
Peach Moving Services
plumbing
LICENSED, BONDED & INSURED
REAL
PLUMBERS® Little Peach in Training
Short Term Notice Moves Local & Up to 300 mile Radius Expert Packing & Unpacking Temporary Storage by the Day Hourly Rates
Michael Pietsch (aka Peach) Capitol Hill Resident
202.368.7492
www.peachmoving.com
P L E A S E R E C Y C L E TH I S PA P E R
318-4270
helmets.plumbing@gmail.com
When Trust Matters Most Residential, Office & Commercial
(301)
Plumbing Air Conditioning Heating Service Repair Replacement
301.567.2001 www.realplumbers.net
roofing / GUTTERS
WOOD & WHITACRE
ROOFING CONTRACTORS 30 years on the Hill Slate – Tile – Copper Specializing in all Flat Roof Systems and Leaks FREE ESTIMATES • Work Guaranteed
JEFFREY WOOD cell
301.674.1991
www.wood-whitacre.com
September 2015 H 155
R.W. Roofing
We offer the most competitive price in town. All Roofing & Rubber Roofs. We do everything: replacements, repairs, maintenance and coatings. 202-674-0300 or 301-929-0664.
FLAT ROOF SPECIALIST T
EN • Roof Repairs N M • Tiles R E V • Roof Coatings • Chimneys GO R • Rubber S E N I O • Gutters & TS • Metal • Waterproofing OUN • SlateD I S C • Roof Certifications We Do Everything!
BOYD CONSTRUCTION INC.
75 years in service
LIC. BONDED. INS
BBB
Member
202-223-ROOF (7663)
G G ROOFING
AWARDED BEST WASHINGTON, DC CONTRACTOR OF 2012 BY ANGIE’S LIST FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED • “50 YEARS EXPERIENCE”
Flat Roof Specialists Modified Bitumen • Skylights • Shingles • Slate • •
Chimney Repairs Roof Coatings • Gutters & Downspouts • Preventive Maintenance • Metal Roofs • •
10% OFF WITH THIS AD
202.425.1614 WWW.GANDGHOMEIMPROVEMENTS.NET
Licensed & Insured | All Work Managed & Inspected by Owners
Flat RooF SpecialiStS 40 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE REASONABLE RATES
WE STOP LEAKS!
MacKay Roofing • For All Your Roofing & Gutter Needs • Chimney Repair
• Inside Ceiling Repair & Painting
• Patching - Coating - Waterproofing • Roof Certifications
• All Other Home Improvement Needs
• 24 Hours Emergency Service • Insulation
• Critter Trapping & Damage Repair
(202) 210-2179 www.LMACKAYROOFINGDC.com
Star Roofing Company RELIABLE
Specializing in Residential & Commercial Flat Roof Systems
202-543-6383
Keith Roofing Residential/Commercial Over 40 years in Business
• New or Re-Roofing • Tear-Off & Replacement • Flat Roof Specialist • Copper, Tin, Sheet Metal & Rolled • Seamless & Flat Roofs • Re-Sealing • Tar, Asphalt, Gravel, Hot Coats • Modified Bitumen • Ask about our gutter specials
Suburban Welding Company
®
Welding & Ornamental Iron Work • • • • •
Repairs of Original Cast Iron Staircases Window bars and door security gates Handrailings & Stair Railings Fences, Sidewalk Gates, Tree Box Fences DC code approved bedroom window security bars • Excavating, back hoe services and tree stump grinding • Certified welding
24-hours, 7-day service Free estimates
703-765-9344
www.suburbanweldingcompany.com
Insurance Claims • Free Estimates • 24Hr. Service
Fully Insured • Licensed • Bonded “No Job Too Large or Small” Senior & Military Discounts Available!
All Work Inspected by Owner...Deals Directly with Customers! All Work Fully Guaranteed
StoRagE
• New tin, copper & membrane roof systems • Inspections & repairs • Roof painting • Gutters, spouts & skylights
WELDing
EXPERT WORKMANSHIP AT REASONABLE PRICES!
202-486-7359
We are a family-owned business with three generations of expertise in Capitol Hill.
C
All work done by owner • Free Estimates Insured • Licensed • Bonded
Chimney Repairs Storm & Wind Damage Repair LICENSED, BONDED & INSURED
WatERpRoofing
ALL TYPES OF ROOFING REPAIRS
SUPPORT YOUR NEIGHBORS AND LOCAL BUSINESSES! otHER SERviCES CHiRopRaCtiC Living on & serving the Hill since 1986
Dr. David Walls-Kaufman Recommended roofer of Capitol Hill Village and Dupont Circle Village Licensed-Insured-Bonded
Call now for a FREE ROOF INSPECTION
202-569-1080
tom@rthomasdanielroofing.com www.rthomasdanielroofing.com
156 H Hillrag.com
Chiropractor 411 East Capitol St., SE All are welcome to Dr. Walls-Kaufman's free Saturday morning Tai Chi class at 8 am in Lincoln Park
202-544-6035 Because Optimal Health is Impossible Without Optimal Posture!
S
pEt SERviCES
Adoption Event at Howl to the Chief Sundays Noon to 3 PM 733 8th Street, S.E.
a five-minute walk from Eastern Market Metro.
Planning to start with couples, perhaps a single female or two.
Visit our Web site to view pictures and their engaging personalities at www.capitalcats.petfinder.com or www.homealone.petfinder.com
Contact mtndreamer54@yahoo.com
RaDio/mEDia
Capital Cats is a non-profit cat rescue organization on the Hill that has many wonderful, personable cats and kittens available for adoption to good homes.
miSCELLanEouS HELp offERED
k
m
pEt aDoption
CAPITAL CATS
Formin gi ircle n eC
DC SW
Mas sa g
maSSagE
aDmin aSSiStant- tECH SuppoRt
Home-based part-time freelancer with over twelve years experience as an Administrative Assistant/Customer Service Rep and Tech Support seeking a PT job. Strong interpersonal skills and problem solving abilities resulting in quick and effective solutions/crisis management. Excellent written and oral skills which include answering phones, resolving customer’s issues either by phone, emails and/or correspondence. Expertise in managing the daily operations of a business and tech support. Strong organization skills and attention to detail. Competent in Mathematics, computer applications and analyzing data to extrapolate a practical useful solutions. Flexible, team oriented. You can contact me by email at jgould311@ yahoo.com or by phone at 202-547-0556.
yoga
SoftWaRE/ComputERS
!
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man's ss at
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MIDCITY MID
FA G O N C O M M U N I T Y G U I D E
zoolatry (zoo-ahl’-uh-tree)
LOOK AND FEEL BETTER WITH HOT YOGA!
New Students Only $22 For 7 Days Of Unlimited Yoga!
the worship of animals – especially a pet
Mid-Day Dog Walking Service
WE HAVE: • 37+ classes per week • 90-minute Bikram method classes as well as 60 minute express classes • Children’s non-heated Hatha Yoga on Sundays • Fitness assessments including body composition (with RJL Quantum IV) • Discounted classes at 9:30am (M,W,F) and (M,T,W,Th,F) for all. Military, senior, and fulltime academic student discounts with valid ID for all of our classes ALL LEVELS WELCOME! No reservations required!
www.hotyogacapitolhill.com 410 H ST. NE | 202-547-1208 info@bikramyogacapitolhill.com
Pet sitting – Medications Administered Crate Training Insured – Bonded Member of National Association of Professional Petsitters
(202) 547-WALK (9255) Meet Our Walkers Online at
www.zoolatry.com
contact CAROLINA at 202.400.3503 carolina@hillrag.com September 2015 H 157
{last word}
Pat and Sandy marching in the Capitol Hill Community 4th of July Parade.
Sandy enjoys some Cracker Jack during a Nationals “Pups in the Park” game.
Goodbye to Sandy: The Hill’s Beagle in Chief A friendly face known to many will sadly no longer be seen on Capitol Hill. Sandy, a little old lady beagle who came to Washington just over two years ago, passed away on Monday, July 27, 2015, at Union Veterinary Clinic. It is believed she was about 14 years old. She is survived by Pat Leitner, who gave her a home, nursed her back to health, and shared her with the entire community. Sandy came from North Carolina, where it is believed she was orphaned by Hurricane Sandy (hence her name). Struggling to survive among the rubble for weeks, she was eventually taken in by a small, overcrowded shelter — dehydrated, underweight, anemic, and suffering from a hernia. Homeward Trails Animal Rescue brought Sandy to the Washington area, giving her a much better chance of being adopted. There she met Pat, and a bond was formed instantly. With Pat’s help and dedication, Sandy went from being a frail little animal, barely moving, to a robust, lively dog who loved to run and play. Once she was healthy enough, Sandy began her training to be a certified therapy dog with People Animals Love. Completing her training in just under a year after she was adopted, she celebrated with a party joined by many of her canine and human friends. In the months that followed, those friends became more numerous, extending throughout the Hill. Sandy could be found helping patients at Specialty Hospital of Washington, visiting with children in Stanton Park, enjoying a treat at Eastern Market, or shopping along Barracks Row. (She especially loved going to Howl to The Chief and Metro Mutts!) She befriended the Marines guarding the barracks, the restaurateurs and shopkeepers, and everyone she met along the street. Sandy was also a Washington Nationals fan, attending as many “Pups in the Park” games as she could. From her seat in right field, she would watch the action, enjoy a box of Cracker Jack, and socialize with other fans. Not having Sandy on the Hill will be a loss noticed by many. But no lives are emptier because she is no longer with us. Rather, they are fuller because she shared with us a short bit of her time on Earth.
158 H Hillrag.com
A youngster visits with Sandy at Eastern Market.
Memorial donations can be made in Sandy’s honor to the Homeward Trails Animal Rescue Medical Fund (www.homewardtrails.org/help-out/donate-to-themedical-fund), to People Animals Love (www.peopleanimalslove.org/support. php), or to the animal charity of the donor’s choice. Or better yet, adopt a senior pet yourself and give it the same kind of wonderful life that Sandy had. – Pat Leitner of Capitol Hill & Michael Rudolf of Tunkhannock, PA
Not So Zen about a the City’s Plans for a Triangle Park I am not feeling very Zen about the DC Department of General Services’ (DGS) plans for a Zen Garden in the triangle at North Carolina Avenue, 15th Street, and Constitution Avenue NE. Plans call to replace grass with impermeable surfaces that will increase storm water run-off! DGS wants to build up turf around the trees and dig down between them. They claim this won’t kill the trees (wrong). They want to add free WiFi (okay…), and add plants. I have walked that triangle for 15 years. So, I know how sizzling hot it gets in summer due to the heat reflected from the surrounding streets. The trees that neighbors and I planted there 10 years ago still require watering because it is so hot. More reflective with impermeable surfaces will fry the trees! Adding plants is great, but who will care for them? As it is, maintenance crews come through and mow everything down, including the daffodils and the bark on the trees. They have a lot to mow for allergy and rat abatement throughout the city. We can’t put weeding, pruning, and clipping around stepping stones on them, too. (Not that it would actually happen.) Our triangle park is clean. It adds to the District’s canopy with its many trees, Why is DGS so intent on spending over a million bucks to landscape it? This frivolous, wasteful spending riles me! We have other more urgent needs: housing homeless families; schools buildings in disrepair and short-staffed, insufficient public library books; not to mention crumbling infrastructure. DGS’s plan is an anti-environmental, irresponsible, and infuriating waster of money. – Heather Schoell, 14th Place and North Carolina Avenue NE. heysassy@yahoo.com u