Hill Rag Magazine – September 2021 by Capital Community News

hillrag.com . September 2021

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IN THIS ISSUE SEPTEMBER 2021

Buzzard Point special 24

Buzzard Point: Development’s Focal Point Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Vision by John Falcicchio

Buzzard Point Rises by Michael Stevens

The Peculiar History of Buzzard Point by William Zeisel

Gregory Casten Is Making The Point: Banking on Consistency –and Change– with Buzzard Point Mega-Restaurant by Elizabeth O’Gorek

Our River: The Anacostia – The New Frederick Douglass Bridge: What It is Bringing Us by Bill Matuszeski

Our River: The Anacostia – The New Frederick Douglass Bridge: What It is Bringing Us

CHRS Guided Outdoor Walking Tours

by Bill Matuszeski

by Elizabeth Nelson

107

& 42 H O M E garden 44

CHRS Guided Outdoor Walking Tours by Elizabeth Nelson

Fall Home Improvement: Tips from the Pros by Rindy O’Brien

Mirrors Do Lie: Reflections on Reflections by Stephanie Cavanaugh

Up On The Roof: Five Things We Tell Our Customers About Roof Maintenance by Tom Daniel

The Damp Realities of Doglegs by Dr. Christina K. Wilson

The Hill Gardener: In Praise of Crape Myrtles by Rindy O’Brien

The Capitol Hill Garden Club presents: Dear Garden Problem Lady by Wendy Blair

Changing Hands by Don Denton

WHAT’S ON WASHINGTON

capitol streets Capitol Cuisine by Celeste McCall

BodyWise Dance: Movement to Enhance Everyday Living by Pattie Cinelli

Happy 200th, St. Peter’s! Capitol Hill’s Birthday Church Celebrates a Milestone by William Zeisel

Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church Welcomes New Pastor: Rev. Rachel Vaagenes by Sarah Cymrot

Opinion / ZERO VISION DDOT? by Mark R. Grace

Another Opinion / It’s Time to Stop Fighting Safer Streets by Amber Gove

Bulletin Board by Kathleen Donner

arts and dining 95

Capitol Cuisine by Celeste McCall

At the Movies by Mike Canning

100

Art and The City by Jim Magner

102

Literary Hill by Karen Lyon

103

Poetic Hill by Karen Lyon

105

The Jazz Project by Jean-Keith Fagon

family life 107

BodyWise Dance: Movement to Enhance Everyday Living by Pattie Cinelli

110

NCB Grants $30,000 to Eastern’s IB Program by Elizabeth O’Gorek

112

Kids and Family Notebook by Kathleen Donner

122 CLASSIFIEDS 126 CROSSWORD

on the cover: “Gingko 1 Forest Pond” Taina Litwak acrylic and collage on canvas 24 x 30, $1200 From: Artists’ Choice 2021 – Regional Juried Group Show August 6 - 29, 2021 at Foundry Gallery 2118 8th Street NW, Washington DC 20001 hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 1-7pm 202-232-0203 info@foundrygallery.org www.foundrygallery.org See more of her work: www.litwakillustration.com

Next Issue: October 2

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COME FROM AWAY: CONCERT AT THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL

WHAT’S ON W A S H I N G T O N

Ford’s Theatre Society presents a one-night concert version of the Tony-nominated musical Come From Away on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Sept. 10, at 6 p.m. (rain or shine). Members of the Come From Away company will star in this free, 100-minute concert in honor of the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Come From Away tells the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded airplane passengers on September 11, 2001, and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. The concert at the Lincoln Memorial marks the return of live performance for Ford’s Theatre and the first time since March 2020 that music from the musical will be performed publicly for a live audience in the United States. Tickets are not required. Cast of Come From Away, 2017. Photo: Matthew Murphy

HIRSHHORN’S “DRAW THE CURTAIN” WRAP BY NICHOLAS PARTY The first new artwork coming to the reopened Hirshhorn is one that greets you at the door...and from a block away. On Sept. 18, the building’s exterior will be completely wrapped in Swiss-born artist Nicolas Party’s largest artwork yet. Painted in the tradition of “trompe l’oeil,” a term that translates to “deceive the eye,” Draw the Curtain addresses themes of dupery and illusion and will ask you to consider what lies behind the façades of the buildings on the National Mall. The Hirshhorn Museum, at Independence Ave. and Seventh St. SW, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. hirshhorn.si.edu. Initial artist design for the installation “Draw the Curtain” (2021) by Nicolas Party, commissioned by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Courtesy of the artist.

GEORGE WASHINGTON PATRIOT RUN On Sunday, Sept. 26, all day, join Mount Vernon and patriotic participants around the country for a 10-miler and a 5K. These races are live and in-person, with a virtual option. The racecourse has been extended to include both lanes of a five-mile stretch of the GW Parkway from GW Parkway Circle to W. Boulevard Drive. They are currently planning to produce an event that looks as much as possible as it did before the pandemic. However, there is a possibility that some restrictions on the format of the race may be necessary to allow social distancing. Registration is $50 to $60, depending on when you register. No kids race this year. gwpatriotrun.enmotive.com.

AMYTHYST KIAH ON STRATHMORE’S PATIO STAGE With an unforgettable voice that’s both unfettered and exquisitely controlled, singer-songwriter Amythyst Kiah expands on the uncompromising artistry she most recently revealed as part of Our Native Daughters, an all-women-of-color supergroup whose Kiah-penned standout “Black Myself” earned a Grammy nomination for Best American Roots Song and won Song of the Year at the 2019 Folk Alliance International Awards. She appears, outdoors, on Thursday, Sept. 30 at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. on The Patio Stage at Strathmore. Tickets are purchased by the table at $152 to $192 for up to four people. strathmore.org. Amythyst Kiah appears on Thursday, Sept. 30 at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. on The Patio Stage at Strathmore.

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ACM PRESENTS EXHIBITION ON DC REGION’S FOOD JUSTICE ISSUES WHAT’S ON WASHINGTON

DC’S FRIDAY JAZZ & MONDAY BLUES Jazz Night in DC is every Friday and Blue Monday Blues is every Monday, 6 to 9 p.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 I St. SW. Here’s the September jazz lineup: Sept. 3, A Brad Collins Experience; Sept. 10, John Lamkin Quintet; Sept. 17, Homecoming Celebration; Sept. 24; Alison Crockett & Friends. Here’s the September blues lineup: Sept. 6, Bobby Felder’s Blues Brothers; Sept. 13, 15th Blue Monday Blues Anniversary Jam Session; Sept. 20, Shirleta Settles & Friends; Sept. 27, Swampdog Blues. $10 cover, cash or credit. Children are welcome and free under 16. Reasonably priced meals offered. westminsterdc. org. Westminster also invites you to their annual Jazz Preservation Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, all day, featuring a different set of musicians every hour, art exhibits, vendor sales, health screenings and information. Food served all day. Free admission. No rain date; inclement weather takes all activities indoors.

A popular wellness maxim is “you are what you eat.” Yet across the nation and region, a staggering number of people struggle to find their next meal despite an overabundance of food—a reality that has only worsened with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Anacostia Community Museum’s powerful outdoor exhibition “Food for the People: Eating and Activism in Greater Washington” on view through Sept. 17, 2022, asks people to confront this reality by meaningfully considering where their food comes from: who produces, processes and prepares it; who has access to it; and what impact it has on the public’s collective health. Presented on the museum plaza at 1901 Fort Pl. SE, the exhibition has recently been joined by a companion indoor exhibition. anacostia.si.edu. Mitch Snyder (center) and members of the Community for Creative Non-Violence (CCNV) ran free health clinics, soup kitchens, and shelter housing in DC during the 70s and ‘80s, After dramatic protests, CCNV and Snyder became nationally known as advocates for ending homelessness and reducing food waste in the nation’s capital. Groups like CCNV were precursors to organizations such as DC Central Kitchen and DC Greens that are addressing food insecurity now worsened by the pandemic. Photo courtesy of the Special Collections Research Center, The George Washington University Library

ABOVE: Lyle Link of Homecoming Celebration performs on Sept. 17.

FALL FESTIVALS RETURN The H Street Festival, between Third and 14th Streets NE, returns on Sept. 18, noon to 7 p.m. The festival, which features 15 stages of international, national and local music, is one of the most anticipated and highly attended street festivals in town. hstreetfestival.org. ... DC’s Original Live Over-Night Arts Festival returns to Shaw on Saturday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Three-story video projections, a parade led by female drum troupe Batala Washington, DC, step dance performances by Step Afrika, do-it-yourself acrylic and watercolor painting, a fashion show, dance parties, cabaret performances, new mural unveilings, live painting by noted dc artists, and much more will fill the festival's eight hours. Art All Night DC in Shaw events are free and open to the public, and no reservations or tickets are required. The Art All Night DC Shaw welcome center, at Seventh and R Streets NW, includes an outdoor art market and live performance stage. Photo: Alexander M. Padro, courtesy Shaw Main Street.

DR. FAUCI AND THE NEW NORMAL From day one of the Covid pandemic, Anthony Fauci has been front and center in the fight to destroy the virus. After a brief respite, the virus, in a mutated form, has created a new crisis. Join the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases as he helps us understand—from a scientific viewpoint—where we have been and what we need to know going forward. For more than a year, we dealt with shutdowns, stay-at-home orders, and bans on public gatherings. Pandemic weariness set in just about the time several vaccines were introduced. But we are not the same as we were in early 2020. On Wednesday, Oct. 13, 6 to 6:45 p.m., in a wide-ranging conversation, he reminds us that it’s time we try and figure out what comes next. This is part of the Smithsonian Associates Streaming Series. $25. Tickets are at smithsonianassociates.org. Dr. Anthony Fauci. Photo: Courtesy of Smithsonian Associates

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DOÑA ROSITA LA SOLTERA (DOÑA ROSITA THE SPINSTER) AT GALA When is an unwed woman considered a spinster and by whom? At first glance, Doña Rosita la soltera is a romantic drama, pitting romantic idealizations against possibilities, both celebrating and mourning the depth, breadth, and evolution of love. But it is also a frank and ruthless study of the treatment of Spanish women in three different parts of Spain’s history, each echoed in the snapshots of Doña Rosita’s life as she waits for her fiancé’s return. Now considered a classic piece of Spanish literature, Lorca’s scathing social commentary on the hypocrisy of gender inequality was revolutionary for his time, and GALA strives to capture the spirit of early Spanish feminism in this production exploring love, societal expectations, and betrayal. $48; $35 for military and seniors. On stage at GALA Hispanic Theatre, 333 14th St. NW, from Sept. 9 to Oct. 3, in Spanish with English surtitles. Full vaccination (or recent negative test) and mask required. galatheatre.org.

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WHAT’S ON WASHINGTON

FLOGGING MOLLY AND VIOLENT FEMMES AT THE ANTHEM Flogging Molly is an Irish-American seven-piece band blending traditional Irish music and fast paced punk rock. Hailing from Los Angeles in 1997, the band is led by Irish vocalist Dave King, formerly of the hard rock band Fastway. Their live shows are explosive, passionate and filled with rowdy folkrock punk revival sound. Folk-rock American cult band of the 1980’s, the Violent Femmes have released ten studio albums and 15 singles through the course of their career. The trio’s tunes are filled with darkly humorous lyrics and capture the essence of teen angst of the 80’s. Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW, on Sept. 26, 6:30 (doors a 5 p.m.). Tickets are $45 to $149. theanthemdc.com. Flogging Molly

MARYLAND SEAFOOD FESTIVAL The 53rd annual Maryland Seafood Festival at Sandy Spring State Park on Sept. 25 and 26, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (both days), is a tasty and entertaining tradition, with music, great food, chef demonstrations, exhibits, arts and crafts, and the 30th annual Crab Soup Cook-off. The festival also features an interactive kids’ zone. This family-fun and feasting event draws visitors from across the mid-Atlantic region. A portion of the proceeds goes toward local non-profit organizations. General admission is $10 to $15 (kids free); parking, $10. Tickets are available online and at the gate. mdseafoodfestival.com.

MY LORD, WHAT A NIGHT AT FORD’S

TEENAGE DICK (REIMAGINED RICHARD III) AT WOOLLY Welcome to a modern, darkly comic re-telling of Shakespeare’s Richard III set in the most treacherous of places—high school. Bullied because of his cerebral palsy, Richard is willing to crush his enemies in order to become senior class president. But all the scheming, manipulation, and revenge plots force him to ask the age-old question: is it better to be loved or feared? Teenage Dick is at Woolly Mammoth, 641 D St. NW, from Sept. 20 to Oct. 17. Full vaccination (or recent negative test) and mask required. woollymammoth. net. New this season – Woolly’s Pay What You Will program extends to every performance. Twenty-eight seats will be reserved for each performance for audiences to select a price that aligns with their budget. These tickets will be available to purchase over the phone or online without any timing restrictions. Shannon DeVido and Gregg Mozgala. Photo: Carol Rosegg

After performing in Princeton, New Jersey, acclaimed contralto Marian Anderson is denied lodging at the Nassau Inn because she is Black. Physicist Albert Einstein invites her to stay at his home, and the two form a profound friendship based on their love for music and their commitment to human rights. Based on true events, My Lord, What a Night takes us into Einstein’s home and imagines the conversations and circumstances that led to Anderson’s historic concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Don’t miss this remarkable new play about courage, justice and our shared humanity. My Lord, What a Night is on stage at Ford’s Theater, 511 10th St. NW, from Oct. 1 to 24. $22 to $37. An on-demand, streaming version will be available for sale to the public during the run. Mask, full vaccination (or negative test) required. fords.org. Photo: Mario Sessions, District Department of Transportation

OPEN STREETS RETURNS TO GEORGIA AVENUE Open Streets returns to Georgia Avenue NW on Saturday, Oct. 2. During the event, the District will close three miles of Georgia Avenue, between Barry Place NW and Missouri Avenue, to vehicles. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the corridor will be open to residents and visitors to use for walking, biking, running, and scootering; to participate in a range of fun activities; and to support local businesses. Open Streets supports the reimagining of streets for temporary uses on a recurring basis and it is expected to attract 30,000 people to Georgia Avenue. openstreets.dc.gov. Photo: Mario Sessions, District Department of Transportation

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WORKHOUSE ARTS CENTER SECOND SATURDAY ART WALK

WHAT’S ON WASHINGTON

The second Saturday of each month (restarting on Sept. 11, 6 to 9 p.m.) is the perfect time to meet nearly 100 resident and associate artists, creating art in the studios or exhibiting in their 12 campus galleries. Indulge in classes in the art of mixology or cuisines from around the globe. Experience art exhibitions of some of the region’s finest sculpture, painting, glass, ceramics, and fiber art works. This onetime prison (Lorton) is now a 55-acre cultural center offering a range of events and classes. The Workhouse Arts Center is at 9518 Workhouse Way, Lorton, VA, about 20 miles south on Interstate 95 at exit 163. workhousearts.org.

BECOMING DR. RUTH AT THEATER J (AMERICA’S FAVORITE SEX THERAPIST RETURNS) Don’t miss this triumphant and life-affirming story of a woman who found her own unique place in the world. Before she became America’s favorite sex therapist, Dr. Ruth Westheimer had to flee Germany in the Kindertransport, become a sniper in Jerusalem, and survive as a single mother in America. Naomi Jacobson, who earned a Helen Hayes Award nomination for the role in 2018, returns to Theater J for an unforgettable, heart-warming evening of theater. At Theater J, 1529 16th St. NW, from Sept. 30 to Oct. 24. Mask and full vaccination required. theaterj.org.

Members of the cast of the Playhouse rollicking hit, “A Nite at the Dew Drop Inn,” will perform in preparation for this year’s “Christmas at the Dew Drop Inn,” running Dec. 11 to Jan. 9. Photo: Jabari Jefferson.

ANACOSTIA PLAYHOUSE COMMUNITY DAYS: TAKIN’ IT TO THE STREETS! From Friday, Sept. 24 to Sunday, Sept. 26, the Anacostia Playhouse, 2020 Shannon Pl. SE, will celebrate its reopening with indoor and outdoor theater, concerts, kids’ activities, games, caricature artists, DJs, Karaoke and more. There is a Friday night 7 p.m. Love Letters performance; Saturday (inside), Theater Alliance at noon, Playback Theater at 3 p.m. and Love Letters at 7 p.m.; Saturday (outside), activities from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday (inside), Kendall King concert at 6 p.m.; Sunday (outside), activities from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Check their website as the event draws nearer. anacostiaplayhouse.org.

SUNDAY YAPPY HOUR AT WUNDER GARTEN

Sunday is a special day for pups and their humans at Wunder Garten where Yappy Hour takes place from noon to 3 p.m. Dog owners who bring their dogs will enjoy $5 select beers, Brewery Bones Treat Flights ($15) and complimentary Pupucinnos. The year-round Wunder Garten, inspired by the beer gardens of Germany, opened in 2015 as a pop-up beer garden that quickly became a cornerstone of the NoMa neighborhood. Wunder Garten, at 1101 First St. NE, has a carefully curated selection of German and craft beers and a well-regarded wine and liquor selection. wundergartendc.com. Photo: Courtesy of Koda The Lab (IG @ koda_thelab1014)

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JAZZ PRESERVATION FESTIVAL Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 I St. SW, invites you to their annual Jazz Preservation Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, all day, featuring a different set of musicians every hour, art exhibits, vendor sales, health screenings and information. Food served all day. Free admission. No rain date; inclement weather takes all activities indoors. westminsterdc.org.

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EVERYONE GETS THE POINT!

Where the Anacostia Meets the Potomac CHEF BENJAMIN LAMBERT, formerly of Restaurant Nora, 701 and District Winery, brings a creative, seafood centric menu to the new Buzzard Point neighborhood.

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Fish & Fire Food Group’s newest venture, The Point DC, located at the confluence of the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers on historic Buzzard Point, brings the thrill and robust flavors of open flame cooking with the freshest seafood in a contemporary, comfortable ambiance.

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Buzzard Point

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Buzzard Point: Development’s Focal Point Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Vision by John Falcicchio

ight at the convergence of the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers sits Buzzard Point. Mayor Bowser’s vision for Buzzard Point is a community filled with housing opportunities, dynamic parks, restaurants, retail options, small businesses, an improved multi-modal transportation system and more. As Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, my office is charged with making this vision a reality with District residents top of mind. We’ve already made progress. In 2018, we cut the ribbon on Audi Field, the home of DC United, bringing jobs for DC residents and delivering on our commitment to building pathways to the middle class in neighborhoods across all eight wards. We’re also proud to support entrepreneurs that step up to help us build a more inclusive and diverse economy. That’s why we awarded $340,000 to DC Central Kitchen through our Neighborhood Prosperity Fund. This will help them complete and open a retail café, production kitchen and office space so they can provide the healthy food and job training opportunities that our community needs right in Buzzard Point. There’s plenty more work to do. The opening of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, a month ahead of schedule, is a huge step forward for our city. The $440 million project, which represents the largest construction project in the history of DC, will help us build an even more connected city where residents on both shores of the Anacostia are sharing in the economic prosperity the bridge will bring. The Office of Planning is currently developing a flood resilience strategy that would protect Buzzard Point and surrounding areas from flooding due to extreme rain events. We’re looking forward to making much needed infrastructure investments in flood resilience work to benefit the entire neighborhood. There’s also Mayor Bowser’s bold goal of creating 36,000 new housing units across the District by 2025, 12,000 of them affordable. This year, the May-

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or also invested $400 million in the Housing Production Trust Fund. With this investment and hard work by our housing partners, our ambitious goal to equitably distribute affordable housing across the city is getting closer to fruition than ever before. Without a doubt, Buzzard Point will help us get there, changing the trajectory for residents for years to come. With the homes of the Nationals and D.C. United, businesses of all types and an active shoreline that offers unparalleled attractions and amenities, this is where Washingtonians will continue to live, work and play. It’s where you’ll see me at my favorite restaurants: the Point and the Perch. We’ll continue working side-by-side with existing neighbors and stakeholders to ensure that the vision for the future of Buzzard Point doesn’t leave them behind, but adds to their ability to thrive right in their neighborhood. As we continue to implement policies and programs that create strong neighborhoods, expand and diversify the economy and provide residents with pathways to the middle class, Buzzard Point will always be a focal point. John Falcicchio serves as the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. He has also served as the Mayor’s Chief of Staff since the start of her Administration after volunteering as a campaign advisor and director of Mayor-elect Bowser’s transition. Falcicchio previously served as a Senior Vice President of DKC, a New York based public relations firm; as a Regional Political Director for the Democratic National Committee during the re-election of President Obama; and as a long-time aide to former Mayor Adrian Fenty. As Deputy Mayor, Falcicchio oversees the District’s portfolio of real estate development projects that drive economic development in communities and deliver affordable housing, jobs and amenities to residents. Those projects include the transformative developments at the St. Elizabeth’s East Campus, the Parks at Walter Reed and Hill East as well as dozens of other projects across all eight Wards. u

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Buzzard Point Rises by Michael Stevens

ike much of the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood, Buzzard Point is undergoing a substantial transformation from a former industrial backyard of DC to a growing mixed-use subarea of this riverfront community. Buzzard Point is yet another chapter in the “proof of concept” that residents want to live on or be proximate to the water if given the opportunity. Imagine 10 years from now driving across the Frederick Douglas Memorial Bridge towards Capitol Riverfront and seeing a new neighborhood to your left on the banks of the Anacostia. The bridge is actually bracketed by new buildings as the old Florida Rock concrete plant site to the right has been completed with an office building and either a new hotel or residential building. You will see the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail along the river’s edge pass under the bridge and

connect the SE portion of Capitol Riverfront to its SW companion – Buzzard Point. You will also be greeted by the Memorial Oval, a 4+ acre open space that offers active lawn space suitable for concerts, movies, and other activations, and will one day be home to a new national memorial or monument. The oval offers much needed “green relief ” and stunning views of the US Capitol for residents on both sides of South Capitol Street, and a premier business address for new ofWatermark apartments which delivered in 2020. Photo: Courtesy of Capitol Riverfront BID fices that can front on the oval. Potomac Avenue, SW oflined with residential and hotel buildings that offer ground level neighborhood fers the best access into the Buzzard support retail. Point neighborhood and your view is South of Potomac Avenue has become a high density, mixed use neighborhood immediately captured by Audi Field, as was envisioned in the Capitol Overlay Zoning District and the Anacostia Waterhome to the DC United soccer team. front Initiative (AWI) Framework Plan. The DC Office of Planning also developed The stadium has also become the hub the Buzzard Point Urban Design Framework Plan that envisioned and planned for for a variety of programming and coma new riverfront neighborhood. While residential is the dominant land use with apmunity activities for the surrounding proximately 6,000 units having been built, there are also hotels and office uses, with neighborhood. Potomac Avenue is more restaurants, retail and a grocery store planned to serve Buzzard Point residents A panoramic view of Buzzard Point at complete build-out. Rendering courtesy of Capitol Riverfront BID

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The Stacks was designed to be a more pedestrian scale with tight urban spaces and an inviting 1st Street and pedestrian alleys. It also includes two levels of underground parking. As a peninsula, Buzzard Point overlooks the confluence of the Anacostia River, the Potomac River, and the Washington Channel. The National Park Service lands at the southern tip have been reimagined and will be constructed as a public park that allows residents and visitors unparalleled views of the water and access to it through a pier with canoe and kayak Construction of The Verge, a 344-unit apartment launches. The riverwalk trail building at S and Half Sts. SW. will pass through the park and encourages its users to stop and the neighborhoods immediately to and admire the park’s setting and views. the north. It is a compact and walkable It is hoped that at some point the riverneighborhood that ties into the walking/ walk trail can be extended over the river biking paths of the Anacostia Riverwalk adjacent to Ft. McNair for a more direct Trail network. connection to the Wharf and beyond. What is the reality of all the develThe Stacks opments described above? Very real and Buzzard Point is currently anchored by a trip to today’s Buzzard Point will reAudi Field, the old Pepco generating veal a neighborhood that has already plant and its three smokestacks, and three achieved a visible presence and footnew residential buildings. But an excitprint with more to come. Today Buzzard ing new mixed-use project appropriatePoint is home to three new residential ly named “The Stacks” will soon break buildings that contain over 1,000 resiground and become an identifiable desdential units: tination in its own right. The Stacks will • Watermark (1900 Half Street, be constructed in two phases, with Phase SW) – an apartment building by I starting in the 1st quarter of 2022. The Douglas Development has 453 project will contain over 2.2 million SF units and the Eagle Academy pubof new construction – similar to the 1st lic charter school. phase of the Wharf, with each phase hav• Peninsula 88 (88 V Street, SW) – ing approximately 1.1 million SF. a 110-unit condominium building Phase I Mix: This phase contains by Capital City Real Estate. 1,100 residential units, a 184-room ho• RiverPoint (2121 1st Street, SW) – tel, 40,000 SF of retail, 12,000SF of coa 480-unit apartment building by working space, and a new park space on Western Development and Akridge V Street (9,000 SF). that is also home to The Point resPhase II Mix: This phase contains taurant and the future headquarters additional multi-family, a larger office location for the DC Central Kitchcomponent, and a hotel. en facilities. 28 H HILLRAG.COM

MRP is currently constructing the Verge, a 344-unit apartment building located at 1800 Half and S Street, SW. This side of Buzzard Point will see construction over several years after the concrete and rock crushing facilities are moved. Florida Rock, MRP and Steuart Investments have a combined 2+ million square feet of development rights for their sites with frontage on the river and the memorial oval. They envision a mix of uses – residential, retail and office – with an active engagement of the riverfront and S Street, SW serving as a major pedestrian entry from the riverwalk trail into those projects. The first phase of this large project

will be SQ662 that will include residential and substantial ground floor retail. This development partnership realizes the importance of creating a vibrant engagement of the river frontage, creating a new public square that becomes a focus for community gathering, and enhancing the neighborhood support retail for the community. The new Cambria Hotel has opened at 69 Q Street, SW with 154 rooms, a full-service restaurant and a rooftop bar. The site directly south of the Cambria that is bounded by Potomac Avenue, 1st Street, Q Street, and Half Street is owned by Toll Brothers and preliminary plans have the site be-

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ing developed with a 400+ apartment units, a 150+ room hotel, and approximately 20,000 square feet of retail. PN Hoffman is developing the large parcel directly east of Audi Field (Parcel B) and it is now going through review with the city. They are proposing a two-building complex that will contain 110 affordable seniors units, another 352 apartment units of which 8% will be affordable, ground floor retail, and the new headquarters office for Volunteers of America, a nonprofit that will move to DC from Alexandria. The development of any new high density neighborhood like Buzzard Point always raises questions and opportunities. Some items that are still being discussed by the DC Office of Planning, ANC6D, the Capitol Riverfront BID, and DPMPED include the following: Transportation Infrastructure – being .8 miles from both the Waterfront and Navy Yard/Ballpark Metro stations, accessibility remains a concern. The BID is looking at shuttle strategies with DDOT and emphasizing micro-mobility tactics for the neighborhood. Several partners are working to keep the Metro

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Bus Line #74 service in place. Community/Civic Facilities – Capitol Riverfront BID is working with DCOP to see what civic/community facilities are needed to serve the neighborhoods and how they can be achieved through public/private partnerships. Park Space – work is ongoing between NPS, the BID, Buzzard Point owners, and the city to achieve funding for the design and construction of the NPS Buzzard Point park. The BID is encouraging DPR and DDOT to properly maintain and program the new oval space, and the Steuart/FRP/MRP projects offer opportunities for new access to the river, a continuation of the riverwalk trail, and the creation of a new public square. River Accessibility – access to the river is important through the riverwalk trail, new pier/dock facilities for the public, and the NPS park. Neighborhoods like Buzzard Point do not emerge overnight; they involve years of planning, public investment, and a private sector response. We are now beginning to see the initial projects and the opportunities for more living options and riverfront access. It involves public/ private partnerships to achieve the many elements that make a “complete” neighborhood. But once again, a stadium anchored neighborhood with waterfront access is showing signs of being discovered and previous industrial lands are being put to productive use. Michael Stevens, AICP is President of the Capitol Riverfront BID. The Capitol Riverfront BID is a 501©(6) nonprofit that provides a range of place management services including a Clean Team presence, strategic planning and economic development activities, community building events, and marketing/PR services on behalf of a 500-acre new growth neighborhood located 5 blocks south of the US Capitol and with approximately 2 miles of riverfront. ◆

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The Peculiar History of Buzzard Point by William Zeisel

Buzzard Point and surroundings, 1901. This detail from a panorama published by John L. Trout shows Buzzard Point divided by the James Creek Canal into a western side, with the Arsenal (Fort McNair) and Southwest waterfront, and an eastern side, green and thinly populated south of P Street. Image: Library of Congress

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uzzard Point’s current status as Washington’s newest hot property belies its peculiar history. For nearly two centuries its main attraction was the US Arsenal, now Fort Lesley J. McNair, which manufactured arms and was the venue for the hanging of the Lincoln assassination conspirators. Next door was a factory that boiled animal carcasses for fertilizer. How Buzzard Point went from making weapons and cooking horses to kicking goals at Audi Field requires a walk along one of history’s less-traveled paths.

A Foreign Land A newspaper story from the Washington Evening Star in 1906 offers a good starting point. “Way down at the foot of 1st Street Southwest, in that part of the city known as Buzzards Point, lies a hideous desert of ashes and tin cans—the dump.” With that vivid prose, an intrepid Star reporter began his description of one of the city’s largest and least known public facilities. He assumed that his readers knew nothing about the Point, a large expanse bounded on the west by the broad Po-

tomac River, on the east by the narrower Anacostia, and on the north by the area around P Street. A sluggish, marshy stream, James Creek, divided the terrain into a western side, dominated by the Arsenal, and an eastern side that was home to a scattered, racially mixed population. Like an explorer, he detailed astonishing sights to his readers, who were perhaps a prosperous white couple perusing their Evening Star after a dinner prepared by their African American cook. “A fringe of ramshackle huts guards the northern approach,” he continues, “and at the foot of this barren, tomato-can cemetery the river ripples and smiles in the sunlight.” The denizens of this burned over land were poor African Americans, who scratched livings from the bits of metal, leather, and fabrics they gleaned from the piles of municipal trash dumped each morning. “Hovering around each vehicle as it is unloaded -- in all verity like winged scavengers for which the point is named—may be seen a score or more negroes, old and young, armed with hoes, rakes, sharp sticks, bags, boxes and push carts, ready to swoop down

upon each load of debris.” Several hundred words later, the reporter closed his notebook and led his readers from this strange, outlandish place. While readers may have found the Evening Star’s article enlightening, the city’s police knew Buzzard Point all too well as one of the most dangerous parts of town. “Bloodfield,” which stretched from Virginia Avenue to the river and Buzzard Point, was notorious during the 1870s and 80s as “the scene of the fiercest fights, the foulest murders and the darkest crimes in the city’s history,” according to a later newspaper account. By the mid-1890s it had become peaceable and law-abiding, but in the rest of Buzzard Point the officers of the Fourth Precinct who patrolled at night feared for their safety.

A Path to Nowhere Buzzard Point offered a more promising prospect decades earlier, however, when Washington formally opened as the nation’s capital in 1800. The fertile land and extensive shorefront, with beautiful views from high bluffs, begged for development as a town and harbor. In 1770, years before the national capital opened for business, Charles Carroll Jr. sold lots for his town of Carrollsburg, on the Anacostia shore of the point. Though the town never materialized, Washingtonians began to settle there. Ferry-boat operator Capt. Joseph Johnson bought one of the lots and ca. 1800 built a fine brick house on T Street, just to the east of Half Street, that survived until the 1940s. Not far from Johnson’s house Capt. James Barry constructed one of the city’s earliest Catholic churches, in 1806, at the northwest corner of Half and P streets. Buzzard Point’s sure-thing September 2021 H 33

future did not pan out, however. As the century unfolded, the demographics favored other areas of the city, and with the population flow went wealth and economic development. To the north, Connecticut Avenue and nearby streets began pulling residents and businesses north of the Mall. To the east of Buzzard Point, another center of wealth and populaBuzzard Point’s semi-pro baseball team, 1926. The Oriental Tigers were champions of the city’s “colored” league in 1927-30. During the chamtion arose around the pionship years their home field was on the Point, at South Capitol and Navy Yard, soon to beP streets, literally a long home run away from today’s Nationals Park. Photo: DC Public Library, Special Collections, Joseph Owen Curtis Photocome the city’s larggraph Collection est single industrial enterprise and employer. lucrative waterfront trade developed mainly on The railroad, when it the Potomac side, today’s Southwest Waterreached the lands south of the Mall in 1872, front, where roads like 13th Street, 12th Street, passed close to the Navy Yard but skirted north and 6th Street led to the growing, and affluent, of Buzzard Point and headed up Virginia Avneighborhoods south and north of the Mall. enue toward the Mall. It would not enter BuzBuzzard Point became a Nowheresville. zard Point until many decades later. Lacking compelling assets except the cheapThe unkindest cut of all came with the rise ness of its land, it drew low-rent enterprises of the Southwest waterfront as the city’s main like brickyards, orchards, celery farms, the anharbor. Buzzard Point’s shorefront on the Anaimal recycling plant, and the dump. costia experienced constant silting-up, and the

The Canal

Women culling peanuts at the Vegetarian Food and Nut Co. on Buzzard Point, 1921. At its plant on South Capitol Street, the company made Dr. Schindler’s peanut butter, sold as a health food in grocery stores throughout the city. Photo: Library of Congress

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The poster child of the point’s fate was the James Creek Canal, dug in the bed of marshy James Creek to provide better water transport for local businesses. Construction began in the 1860s and by the 1870s had created a shallow, narrow, bulkheaded channel that reached north to G Street SW. It attracted businesses dealing in lumber, sand, and fertilizer, served by

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small sloops and barges moved by steam tugs. Bridges carried city thoroughfares across waters fouled with sewage and dead animals. The large girders framing the bridge at M Street SW made it a favorite ambush place for muggers. The canal soon gained fame as a danger to the unwary, who fell or stumbled into it with remarkable frequency. A newspaper story in 1902 estimated that in its brief history the canal’s waters had consumed some 300 human lives. Complaints by residents to clean up the ill-smelling canal and fence off its steep shores led to a gradual paving over, completed around 1930. Today the canal and the original creek are out of sight and mind.

Destiny Fulfilled? Buzzard Point’s odd historical path — almost-boom and then mostly bust— came full circle during the 21st century as intense real estate development at the Navy Yard and Southwest Waterfront raised land values and diminished the acreage available for more development. The Point’s underdeveloped spaces drew increasing attention, enhanced by the buzz of a baseball park and a soccer stadium. It also did not hurt that Washingtonians had rediscovered the joys of shorefront living. Today’s Buzzard Point has it all: shorefront, views, and proximity to the corridors of power. Once properly groomed and manicured, it may even gain cachet. It’s a sure thing ‒ again. Southwest resident William Zeisel is a partner in QED Associates LLC, a consulting firm that has conducted extensive research on the history of the DC area. He is co-author of the official history of the University of the District of Columbia. ◆

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Gregory Casten Is Making The Point by Elizabeth O’Gorek

Banking on Consistency – and Change – with Buzzard Point Mega-Restaurant

ith The Point, Gregory Casten is banking on both consistency and change. From the outdoor patio of The Point (2100 Second St. SW), diners have a gorgeous view of boats sailing down the Anacostia River at James Creek Marina, near where the Anacostia meets the Potomac. Casten says he expects that view to remain pristine, framed as it is by Fort McNair to the east and the Anacostia Park across the river. “You’ve got this beautiful view at the confluence of the two rivers –there’s really nothing else like it in the District,” Casten mused, looking out from the bar. But behind the converted former headquarters of the U.S. Coast Guard, where The Point now occupies the main floor, Casten expects everything to change. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that if there’s 25 acres of untouched property in the District, it is not going to stay that way for long,” Casten observed. Right now, it might look like The Point is a giant white elephant dropped in the middle of nowhere. The $7 million, 400seat seafood restaurant from the co-founder Gregory Casten in the dining room on the riverside patio at The Point (2100 Second St. SW), his 400-seat seafood restauof eateries such as Tony and Joe’s Seafood rant set at the tip of Buzzard Point. Photo: E. O’Gorek/CCN Place (3000 K St. NW) and Ivy City Smokechusetts, a tiny fishing town also on a peninsula–this one at the northern end house (1356 Okie St. NE) is set at the furof Boston Harbor. thest possible end of the Buzzard Point peninsula. Sitting on the main floor of With money tight at home, Casten started working in his early teens at Parthe Riverpoint Apartments, the brand-new restaurant is framed by empty lots agon Park, an amusement park in Hull. When he was 19, Casten came to the and Audi Field looming directly to the north. District to help his uncle Tony Cibel out at his restaurant, the legendary DancIt might look like a huge risk to the untrained observer. But to Casten, who ing Crab. “He had me planning these boat parties for Marion Barry,” Casten rechas signed a 30-year lease, The Point is a harbinger–a destination in a neighollected. “I couldn’t go to them–but they were fun.” borhood that he says will shortly become the District’s playground of choice. With his uncle and partner and friend Ron Goodman, the latter of whom Casten would join to form the Fish and Fire Food Group in 2019, Casten went Back to the Water on to open Tony and Joe’s in 1987. That restaurant is also along a river–this In conversation, Casten keeps coming back to themes of the water. In doing one the Potomac, in Georgetown. He founded the company Profish shortly afso, he is returning home. He was born into modest beginnings in Hull, Massa-

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terward to ensure a steady supply of fresh seafood. Ivy City Smokehouse opened in 2015 in Ivy City, where it was also one of the first major businesses in a neighborhood on the cusp of change.

Change Is Coming Similar change is coming, and coming fast, to the area around The Point. When Western Development Corporation founder Herb Miller acquired the building that housed the US Coast Guard headquarters in 2016, he had a vision for the future of the area. “He always saw this being the next, new neighborhood and us being one of the first new developers down there,” said WDC Vice President Paige Grzelak. “It is really quite remarkable to see what’s going on down there; it really is basically what Herb kind of envisioned.” Miller and WDC are also the developers behind Gallery Place and Georgetown’s Washington Harbor, where Tony and Joe’s is located. So, when he was looking for retail, he went to Casten, who was the first to sign a lease, inking the contract while Riverpoint was still in the demolition stage. For him to come in, and so early, was one of the best things that happened for the project, Grzelak said. “He’s big in the city,” she said. “It gets people saying, “Hey, if he sees something down there, I don’t want to miss out on that opportunity.” Michael Stevens agrees. Stevens is the President of the Capitol Riverfront BID, the organization that supports the development of the neighborhood, consisting of 500 acres between the I-395 and the Anacostia River. Stevens said that, as the first restaurant in Buzzard Point, The Point offers proof of concept, showing that people

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want to dine in the area. “It reinforces that this is a real neighborhood with new housing and residents, Audi Field, and the charter school at Watermark – he is the first in as a restaurant and more will follow,” Steven said. Simultaneous with WDC work on Riverpoint, Douglas Jemal’s Capitol City Development built nearby luxury condominium Peninsula 88 (88 V St. SW) and the Watermark apartments (1900 Half St. SW) at about the same time. To the east of Audi field, developer PN Hoffman is planning to build two connected towers housing retail, office space and senior and market-rate housing. These projects and Riverpoint will be dwarfed by the huge project planned south of the soccer stadium. More than 2 million square feet of property on the 100 block of V Street SW is slated for development by Akridge Investment. Construction of the first phase is slated to start in 2022, and the finished project will include more than 2,000 residential units as well as retail, hotels, office space and a 15,000 square-foot park connected to the Anacostia Riverwalk. So, there soon will be more than enough people in the area to fill The Point’s 400 seats.

A Place to Get Away The sense of isolation is something that Casten loves about The Point, however, and loves that the view is expected to remain relatively unchanged. “This is a place to come, relax, get a good meal and have a good time,” Casten said. “People are always telling us, “it doesn’t even feel like I’m in the city.” The Point’s General Manager, Matthew Stickney, said that the staff wants to provide a relaxing experience. The Point balances a casual atmosphere with fine dining, he said. “In a time when everyone is going small and going remote, The Point is big and feels inclusive. It feels like it fits for everyone,” he said. “It’s not

like an experience you would have at a normal city restaurant.” Casten values simple, fresh ingredients. The menu created by Executive Chef Benjamin Lambert places simple fare next to the dynamic, with hush puppies on the list with mahi mahi tostadas and wood roasted Chesapeake oysters. You can grab a designer cocktail such as the Blackberry Bourbon Basil Smash or The Point Punch. Or you can keep it simple with a White Claw or Miller Lite. Casten wants it to be easy. He wants The Point to be an experience. And he isn’t done yet with his vision for the restaurant; he has plans in the works to build a pier out into the river, where he wants to have an 80-seat summer garden for dining right over the water. Ten years from now, he said, he thinks Buzzard Point will be the place where the people who really live in DC come to be near the river, leaving The Wharf for the visitors. By then, he visualizes boats pulling up to public piers, tying up in front of storefronts and restaurants dotted along the river. He visualizes Buzzard Point as a bustling neighborhood as much like a little fishing village as it is a part of the nation’s capital. For Casten, everything comes back to the water. ◆

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bp / Our River: The Anacostia /

The New Frederick Douglass Bridge What It is Bringing Us by Bill Matuszeski

e have all for the past year or so watched as those impressive arches were built and extended to carry South Capitol Street over the Anacostia on a new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge. Each time we have taken the old bridge and looked over something more has appeared – cables, struts, what-have-you. But now the effort is reaching a new point where the deck will be opening to the public this fall. What remains to be done? The basic deck elements – girders, floor beams, deck panels, etc. – have been delivered, installed and checked. The final phase involves lighting, painting and signage for navigation along six lanes of roadways, three in

each direction; active information systems for wireless communication and notification of emergencies; and markers and safety railings and overlooks for the two eighteen-foot-wide separated hiking and biking paths (eight and ten feet widths respectively on each side of the bridge). Also to be completed are the drainage and standpipe systems to handle precipitation, coatings and other repair to visual scars, final cable adjustments, concrete overlays, pavement markings, and bike and pedestrian lane lines. There is also considerable work relatFinal Beam #2 Going into Place. Photo: newfrederickdouged to access to the bridge, some of which lassbridge.com will probably take until winter to complete. This includes the ments by the DC Department of Transportation traffic ovals at each end of along the lower Anacostia. The near-term plan has the bridge, pedestrian actwo phases with a total of five segments. cess through connections Phase 1 is comprised of Segment 1, the Bridge to river walks and trails replacement and the construction of connecting and the riverfront esplaroads and the two traffic ovals, one at each end; nade, and access lane laySegment 2 is a new Suitland Parkway interchange out approaching the ovals with I-295. Total estimated cost is $600 million. at each end of the bridge. Phase 2 is made up of Segment 3, a new Suitland Finally, there will need to Parkway interchange with MLK Avenue; Segment be a plan and schedule for 4, a rebuild of South Capitol Street from Indepenthe removal of the existing dence Avenue to the Bridge; and Segment 5, a new bridge once the new one streetscape for New Jersey Avenue. Total Phase 2 is in operation. estimated cost is $300 million. For helping to restore the Anacostia River, the new Bridge is the key Improvements effort among all this. Along the Lower So where we need to put our attention now is Anacostia on the emergence of this remarkable and stunningPerhaps most surprising ly beautiful new Douglass Bridge over Our River, is how this project is esand how to maximize its contribution to the Anasentially the kick-off of a costia restoration and beyond. This has been part nearly billion-dollar inof the thinking behind the new bridge and associatvestment in improve-

Old and New Frederick Douglas Bridges. Photo: Bill Matuszeski

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ed projects from the very beginning. As noted by Everett Lott, Interim Director of the District Department of Transportation in this spring’s issue of the quarterly Progress Report on the bridge project, “We recognize stories of success, partnership and persistence that brings to life our District’s commitment to building the bridge between cultures, communities and people – through it all, in every season.” A key part of this is the accommodation of the range of hikers and bikers who will want to use the new bridge to facilitate their routes to and from and along the riverfront. It will also provide impetus for the extension of trials along the River as redevelopment continues on Buzzard Point in Southwest. The bridge itself will provide the first split-use pathway for hikers and bikers in DC, both safely protected from motor vehicles and each other. And there will be four scenic overlooks for shared use. Start making plans now for some trips along the River that take advantage of all this! One of the most interesting and challenging elements of the plan is construction and public access to large ovals at each end of the bridge that will slow and split the traffic going on and off. A key part is access to the two areas by hikers and bik-

ers, who will reach the ovals by signal crossings that will stop traffic subject to a 20 miles per hour speed limit. The oval at the east end is designed with paths and benches and an amphitheater for performances. It will have bike racks and three access crosswalks. The one on the west side near the baseball stadium will have an open center plaza for events and gatherings, with up to five access crossings and a path to the Riverwalk and a three-tiered boardwalk by the River. How much of all this will survive the challenges of design and location will be interesting to see. We should all be proud of DDOT and the teams of contractors and volunteer groups they have put together to make the new Frederick Douglass Bridge a remarkable addition to our Riverscape. It is beautiful, highly functional for hikers and bikers enjoying the Anacostia, and provides many improvements for motorists. It brings many benefits for all – especially those along the River who want to make it a part of their lives. Bill Matuszeski is a member of the Mayor’s Leadership Council for a Cleaner Anacostia River, and the retired Director of the Chesapeake Bay Program. He also serves on the board of Friends of the National Arboretum and on Citizen Advisory Committees for the Chesapeake and the Anacostia. u

Overview of the New Frederick Douglas Memorial Bridge. Photo: newfrederickdouglassbridge.com

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CHRS Guided Outdoor Walking Tours

T Queen Anne style – Beth Purcell

by Elizabeth Nelson

he Capitol Hill Restoration Society will present two fan-favorites from the Mother’s Day Tour of Tours – plus two new tours, requested by attendees – on September 11 and 12. If you missed it this spring, you can enjoy a reprise of Hollywood on the Hill (filming locations on Capitol Hill) and Notable People (sites associated with many of the historically significant people who have made Capitol Hill their home). Or sign up for the debuts of Capitol Hill Alleys and Architecture on Capitol Hill. Can’t get enough of turrets and hanging bays? Mad about masonry? And what’s a “horse walk” anyway? Architecture on the Hill will explore the intersection of taste and function that led to the development of the many architectural and building styles evident on Capitol Hill. Learn about the changing fashions and practical considerations that informed the builders’ choices. This tour was developed by Beth Purcell, CHRS President and an architectural historian who holds an MA in Historic Preservation from George Washington University. Ever wondered about the smaller houses and unusual structures tucked behind the grander homes? Who lived there and how did they make their living? Take a trip through this workaday world - and back in time – to learn about the rich history of the residential

and commercial uses of our Capitol Hill Alleys. once home to many of the city’s Black residents. Witness the unique communities flourishing in our hidden alleys and charming one-block streets. Love the flicks? Make a reservation for Hollywood on the Hill with author and film critic Mike Canning and enjoy historical lore and cinematic anecdotes as you stroll along East Capitol Street. Autographed copies of Mike’s book, “Hollywood on the Potomac“ will be available for sale during the tour. Curious to know where that famous Washington power couple, James Carville and Mary Matalin, made their nest? Or where Buffalo Bill Cody hung his hat”? Your guide will show you on the Notable People tour. Visit locations important to many of the other fascinating politicians, activists, artists, writers, and others who, from the early 19th-century to contemporary times, have made Capitol Hill their home. Vi s i t c h r s . o r g / g u i d e d - wa l k i n g - t o u r s september-2021/ for details and a link to the Eventbrite reservation system. Tickets are limited and the May tours sold out. So, if you’d like to attend (and the organizers hope you do!) make your plans early. Elizabeth is the Chair of the Capitol Hill Restoration Society’s House Tour Committee. She can be reached at HouseTourCHRS@gmail.com. ◆

Modern alley dwellings – Beth Purcell

Horse Walk on A Street – Elizabeth Nelson Historic alley dwellings on Gessford Ct. SE – Elizabeth Nelson

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“Boss” Shepherd’s home – Elizabeth Nelson Craftsman “daylighter” – Beth Purcell

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Fall Home Improvement Tips from the Pros

all is the perfect time to refresh your home by tackling your home maintenance to-do list. To help you get started, we have consulted with some of our favorite home service companies asking them to share their expert tips.

Article and Photos by Rindy O’Brien moved, when the winter rains and snow come, the weight can crack the gutters. Then you could have leaks into the roof area or spills down the side of your home, causing damage to the house.

to make sure they are properly sealed before the winter sets in.

Change Your Filters

When the temperatures start dipping, heating systems begin to fire up. Most Capitol Hill homes and apartment buildings use a combined air conditionClean or Replace Your Gutters Many homes, condos, and apartment buildings on ing and heating unit (HVAC). The lucky thing is the The violent summer storms have left a lot of debris Capitol Hill have flat roofs. heating unit is usually easier to maintain and there in our gutters. Broken branches, sticks, and leaves A fall inspection of the condition of the roof is is far less that can go wrong than with the AC side may have clogged up narrower downspouts. Add of things. There are the falling leaves of autumn and it is imperative security features that that you get gutters cleaned out. Kevin MacKshould be checked ay of MacKay Roofing (202-210-2179) suggests before heating syswaiting until later in the fall to schedule a gutter tems start up. Zoe of cleanout, since in our area the leaves tend to keep Polar Bear Air Confalling for quite a while. If the leaves are not redition and Heating (www.polarbearairconditioning.com) says her company Fragers’ basement has a full array of HVAC ﬁlters from large to small. and many others offer a one-time maintenance pre-winter checkup or homeowners can important to spot cracks or holes. sign up for a year-round maintenance schedule. Flat roofs are coated with liquid Sila (https://sila.com), a 30-year HVAC and waterproofing, single-ply membrane plumbing company in our area, encourages homeor reenforced bitumen membrane. owners to regularly change the filter in their HVAC The heat and UV rays can cause the unit. “It ensures you get the best indoor air qualcoating to blister and peel. Shingle roofs can lose shingles over time, ity throughout the year.” A tip they suggest is to causing a gap in the roof. Experts say buy two or three filters at a time, so you always have a flat roof coating should last two to one handy the next time you need one. Also, if you four years. have a furry pet, changing the filter monthly is highFlat roofs are also problematic ly recommended. during winter if we have a lot of snow and ice. The snow accumulates and Smoke Detectors can add weight to the roof. Of course, The National Fire Protection Association suggests one solution is going up and shovelthat smoke detectors be tested and, if necessary, bating excess snow off the roof, which can teries changed every six months. Steve Wilcox of be dangerous. Another option is to use Wilcox Electric( https://www.wilcox-electric.com) what Kevin MacKay suggests – heat reminds homeowners that if their smoke detector tape. It is applied in the fall and helps and carbon monoxide alarms are not the wired type the snow melt off by running an elecwith backup batteries, your system is out of date trical cable (tape) that melts the snow. and out of code. As we begin to shut windows and If you have had snow accumulation isturn inward this fall, it is a matter of life and death to make sure your house is safe from carbon monsues in the past, it may be worth inoxide known as the silent killer because it is odorvesting in. Fall is the perfect time to prep your home and garden for the less, tasteless and invisible. And have your skylights checked upcoming winter.

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Check and Repair Your Roof and Skylights

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choose the right paint base, sanding equipment, and paint. Feeling a little less ambitious? Then buying a fall wreath or pumpkins for the front of the house can also help make your home brighter. Tech Painting company has deep ties to the Capitol Hill community, and 90 percent of their customers are either from repeat or word-of-mouth recommendations. If you are thinking of sprucing up your interior, the professional painters have experience dealing with many different wall situations found in older CapCapitol Hill has many vendors that know Capitol Hill, its historic rules, and can itol Hill homes. It’s wise even cope with ﬁnding parking near your home. When in doubt call a pro, many to get on the schedule are listed in the annual Fagon Guide. early this fall. That can ensure you will be able to Outdoors Lighting and Security get the job done in time to enjoy your new look over As days grow shorter, think about lighting outthe holidays. The company is compliant with CDC doors and other ways to make the home more seCovid regulations and all employees are masked and cure. Judging by the number of social media posts gloved when inside your home. (https://www.techcapturing images of thieves stealing packages from painting.com/) front doors and other security issues, installing Sometimes we are ready to refresh the interior ‘Ring” and other home security systems is becomof our homes, and want to make sure the new colors ing very popular on the Hill. Wilcox Electrical can are going to be modern and not more of the same old help you wire the devices properly, and yes, most look. Sam Lewis of Certa Pro Painters (https://cerrequire an electrical connection to work. Repairing tapro.com/washington-dc) says checking out colors or installing outdoor lighting is also a great way to that have won the Color of the Year award is a good help keep your home safe. place to start. This fall, Urbane Bronze, is that color. “It can be used in almost any room, or would be Paint Inside and Out excellent for statement wall,” says Sam. A fresh coat of paint can really lift your spirits, and after the year we all have had, painting is an inexShut Off the Outside Water pensive way to give your home and yourself a quick Before the first hard frost when the temperature drops boost. Image Painting Company (www.imagebelow 28 degrees for a period of time, it is important painting.com) cautions that “If you paint when to shut off your outside water. If there is water in the the weather is too warm, the paint dries too quickpipe, it can freeze and cause the pipe to burst. Also, ly, leading to possible problems.” That is why fall is remember your flowerpots including ceramic birda great time of year to give your exterior a new look. baths should be brought inside or placed near your Maybe a complete makeover is too much right warm house. Otherwise, extreme cold may crack the now. Just repainting your front door can be an easy pots. Freezing weather can also damage terra cotta way to achieve a new look. If you are doing it yourpots, causing the clay to fall off in sheets or chunks. self, make sure you know the kind of wood and what While you’re at it, check to make sure there is not paint or finish is already on the door. Experts in the standing water around your foundation or walkways. paint department at Fragers Hardware can help you 48 ★ HILLRAG.COM

Fertilize Your Yard and Plants Fall can almost be as busy a time for gardeners as spring. As the last annual flowers bloom, it is time to tidy up the garden. “It is a great time to prepare the soil for the next growing season, letting the organic matter and nutrients slowly release over the fall and winter months,” says April Thompson, a representative for Bloom Soil. (bloomsoil.com) The local company is an offshoot of DC Water and Bloom Soil is a soil supplement that can restore urban soils and help bring a healthy balance to your gardens, big and small. The product is now available for purchase at Frager’s and WS Jenks as well as other garden outlets in the area. These fall months are also the time to plant your spring bulbs. The trick is deciding exactly when the time is right to plant the daffodils, tulips, hyacinth, and lilies. It needs to happen before the first frost, when digging through soil becomes impossible. But too early and a warmer than usual Indian summer and your bulbs can pop up prematurely. The Friends of the National Arboretum (www. fona.org) will be holding a fall bulb sale on Saturday, October 2 providing a great opportunity to obtain both bulbs and information

Cleaning Your Chimney and Vents Santa is going to want you to get ahead on this one. The beginning of fall is a great time to get the chimney cleaned and inspected. Over time, there can be a soot and creosote buildup in the lining of your fireplace chimney that can cause carbon monoxide buildup or fires. Many chimneys also engage with your heating system, so making sure the chimney is ready for the cold season is essential. Most services start around $100 and are well worth the peace of mind. Also remember to make sure your fireplace draft is closed so your heat isn’t going up in smoke. You don’t have to tackle all of this in one weekend. In fact, many of the chores we’ve outlined naturally spread out across the season. The key is making a plan, so you aren’t caught in the dark or without heat. Preparing for fall and winter can really be a pleasing fresh start and who isn’t ready for a chilly autumn day, a pumpkin latte, and a roaring fire. Rindy O’Brien is a longtime resident and homeowner and can be reached at rindyobrien@gmail.com ◆

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September 2021 ★ 49

Mirrors Do Lie Reﬂections on Reﬂections

by Stephanie Cavanaugh

Architect Judith Capen is no fan of mirrors, some playfulness. though she says she likes mine. “They’re outside “Mirrors? They’re magical!” says Phyllis the design vocabulary of modernists.” Quoting arJane Young. chitect Mies van der Rohe, she says, “Less is more.” The realtor spends a lot of time coddling housYou won’t find mirrors anywhere but the bathes before they go on the market, tossing everything rooms in the brilliantly sculpted, utterly original Capitol Hill home she shares with her architect husband and partner in architrave architects, Robert Weinstein. Even in the baths the mirror is a simple sheet, an unbroken reflective surface with no bevels or frame. Frames are “froufrou,” she says, wrinkling her tidy nose. Consider the East Wing of the National Gallery, she more or less says, over a bit too much merlot at The Eastern wine bar. Remove the art and you have – Art. The space Realtor Phyllis Jane Young illustrates the power of mirrors to enhance a home. needs no embellishment, no visual tricks. too personal, tatty, or dated. When her properties If you live in an archihit the market they dazzle, and mirrors play a big tectural marvel, you might role—big, bold, and clean lined, definitely “not like agree. If you don’t, and I they belonged to your grandmother.” don’t, the words of anAn exception, though, would be a fabulously other architectural giant, framed vintage mirror in a sophisticated contemRobert Venturi, might porary room, which can look phenomenal, if you’re better reflect your point into Italian movie sets. of view. “Less,” he said, “is “I’m a light freak,” she says. “Mirrors make a bore.” Here, our minds light and space explode in the most inviting way. meet. They enhance a sense of openness, a generosity of Particularly “in open space. If you have light in a room, mirrors can enplan renovations,” Juhance it. If you need light, you can have it by placdith says, “when develing a mirror near a window or light source.” opers blast out all the inThe bigger the mirror the more space it apterior walls to create a big pears to create. space and the garden variThey can also transform the unlikely into ety buyer isn’t going to do something splendid. “I remember once seeing a gaanything but move in furrage that was filled with – stuff,” says Phyllis. “But There are seventeen mirrors on the main level of the Cavanaugh’s home. Seven niture – well…it allows for the owners hung a huge mirror and you open the are visible in this shot.

here are eleven mirrors in my dining room, I didn’t realize this until a few minutes ago, when I counted. My dining room is typical for a Capitol Hill row house, about twelve by twenty feet (though having a formal dining room at all has become something of a rarity). I suppose eleven mirrors in such a space is a lot by most standards. The largest hovers above a sideboard bar, covering about a third of the wall above. There’s a somewhat smaller one above the china cabinet on the opposite wall. The rest are set in the four panels of a folding screen in one corner, the last is in the back of an ancient vitrine that sits, fragilely, in another corner. Six more mirrors are on the ground level of the house. Two in the foyer, two in the kitchen, and two in the living room. All are boldly framed, most are large. At Christmas time you can catch a glimpse of the Hanukah bush from every room. It should come as no surprise that one of my favorite childhood books was Through the Looking Glass. Clearly, I love mirrors. They play with light, space, and energy, transforming a non-descript box into a space of curiosity and mystery that seems a good bit larger than its actual size.

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ing room? At night, with guests around the table, Alexa playing Piaf, candle lamps flickering, it’s like a supper club – the company is visually doubled. Just make sure that when you’re dealing with huge mirrors they’re properly hung. A hook and picture wire is asking for calamity – get a pro to do the hanging. Or just lean it against a wall, which also has the welcome effect of making you look long and lean. If you’d rather look short and dumpy, well... Forget the noA mirror enlarges the feel of the Cavanugh kitchen. tion that mirrors never lie, they absolutely door and say Wow! It looked huge do. They can make you and wonderful not, ‘Oh My God, you look older, younger, fatter, thinner, guys are junk dealers.’” and taller. They can transform you, Though I’m sure the junk was as quickly as they can change your livgone before the property was listed. ing space. I, for example, always look Mirrors can play some brilliant my best in the bathroom at the 14th tricks. Flank the fireplace with tall Street, SE, Harris Teeter. I always pier glass mirrors and it’s as if you head there for a little ego boost before have open doors to more rooms befeeling up the broccoli. I could live yond. Place a huge one above the firethere, I think, though there’s a little place to reflect a dazzling chandelier. something lacking, design wise. Not Get one of those TVs with the mirsure about entertaining, either. rored screen if you can’t live without a “Pay attention to the way the TV over the mantle. Samsung makes mirror reflects you,” says Phyllis. some beauties. “When I’m adding a mirror I always Put a mirror adjacent to or opcheck for the one in which I look posite a window to reflect more light best, figuring so will the client. This in a dark room. In the kitchen, a miris particularly important in the foyer, ror can blow out a wall, and a mirwhere you want to look terrific comrored backsplash can be stunning – ing and going.” and easy to clean. A mirror can also It’s like the smell of baking cookwork wonders in a garden, particularies during an open house– if you look ly in the pocket-sized plots so many great, you’ll want to buy the place. of us have. Stephanie Cavanaugh writes a weekly Always consider what the mircolumn for the newsy website mylittleror reflects. If it’s something you love bird.com u you’ll have two of them. Or more. All of those mirrors in my din-

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Up On The Roof Five Things We Tell Our Customers About Roof Maintenance by Tom Daniel

S Damaged and disconnected gutter

Damaged roof ducts

Damaged chimney mortar

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omeone once asked me “If you could tell your customers five things they should do to maintain their roofs, what would they be?” And I thought, that’s a good question! As roofing contractors we can have a tendency to over-complicate how and what we communicate to customers. In reality there ARE a few primary items to focus on regarding your roof so that’s what we’ll highlight in this article. And, coming off a rough summer of stormy weather this might be a particularly important time to prepare your roofs for this fall and winter. Generally speaking, your roof is such a fundamental part of your life that you may not even notice it unless something is seriously wrong. It’s easy to forget about in good times. Because of this, many homeowners forget to give their roof the maintenance care that it needs. Many forms of roof damage are not immediately apparent, instead wearing away at your roofing system over time and dramatically shortening its intended lifespan. So, your focus should be to take steps to prolong the life of your roof through a pro-active approach. After all, under your roof is your most valuable asset…

Damaged skylights, wall cap and roof

Old, cracked skylight

Broken seal on vent pipe

Full-Service Landscape Design & Maintenance your home! Before we get into the five things you should do to maintain your roof, let’s review warning signs that could mean higher future costs if not corrected immediately: • Roof is over 10 years old; • Interior water stains or dampness are visible; • Loose attic insulation; • Open joints and seams on roof; • Drains/gutters filled with leaves and other debris; • Loose chimney mortar; • Flashing separating from vent pipes, wall caps parapets, skylights, hatch tops and chimneys; • Skylight cracks; Any one of these warning signs can create havoc and expensive repairs. Often, multiple roofing problems exist simultaneously creating very serious potential problems and higher costs if not corrected quickly. So, what are the five things you can do to maintain your roof and help prevent serious roof damage? We recommend an annual roofing inspection that will help extend the life of your roof with an emphasis on: 1. Gutters and downspouts. Clean out gutters and downspouts at least twice each year, especially if you have trees nearby. In addition, they should be properly set and secured to the fascia/house frame to avoid overflow into windows and doors below. 2. Chimneys, skylights and hatch tops. Seal or re-point loose mortar between joints and chimney caps and secure chimney flashing. Seal cracks in skylight and gaps in flashing at skylight and hatch top.

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3. All roof penetrations. Vent stacks and pipes, air conditioning wiring, and ducts should all be flashed properly and sealed. 4. Roof surface. Repair cracks or leaks in roof surface. Rain, snow and ice will cause the roof surface to deteriorate over time and create vulnerable areas that should be promptly repaired. 5. Trim trees. What?! Yes, if you have foliage growing over your roof, moisture won’t evaporate as quickly as it needs to which can decay your roof and cause leaks. And tree leaves can clog your gutters and downspouts. Branches should be cut at least six feet away from your roof. Focusing on these five items will go a long way toward protecting and preserving your roofing system over the long term. Some of these maintenance measures are fit for the DIY approach and some aren’t. We perform dozens of roof inspections every month in Capitol Hill and often there is no expense for the inspection, so it’s worth it for you to have all these things checked out. Checking these five items once per year is the recommended, pro-active approach to a long- lasting roofing system!

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Tom Daniel is owner of R. Thomas Daniel Roofing, LLC and is the third generation of the Daniel family to provide roofing services to Capitol Hill homeowners for nearly 100 years. Tom was born in Capitol Hill and has supported numerous community organizations. For help with all your roofing needs he can be reached at 202-569-1080, 202-544-4430 or tom@rthomasdanielroofing.com. ◆

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The Damp Realities of Doglegs

Before

Article and Photos by Dr. Christina K. Wilson

n the DC area, homeowners likely know all about “doglegs” built into many historic two to three-story rowhouse homes, which share at least one wall side with their neighbor’s house. Doglegs were originally designed and built by 19th and early 20th-century rowhouse-builders to bring some natural light into the middle of these homes. Without the doglegs, neighbors would have no windows on shared wall space. Homes not on the end of the row of houses would have no wall lighting on either side of their homes without them.

Before

Dogleg Downsides Instead of a dogleg, some homes have extremely narrow footpaths between them, also designed to allow for sidelighting. While each of these architectural styles gets points for effort, there are downsides, too. The unfortunate consequence of having these narrow dogleg courtyards or walkways between homes is that their exterior walls often receive little to no direct sunlight. That means that the brick or masonry making up that section of the outside exterior requires per-

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After

fectly designed and maintained drainage systems to stay dry. Unlike the shared walls, these small sections are exposed to weather elements, which, even with some sunlight, can deteriorate due to regular erosion events caused by: • Frost or trapped water • Shifting and settling from the building • Extreme temperatures • Groundwater absorption

Consequences of Damp Dogleg Walls Suppose the drainage cavities built into these little dogleg courtyard spaces’ exterior walls become clogged with leaves or other detritus or older unchecked damage to the wall. In that case, water accumulates and further damages mortar and wall materials. This damage can include: • Missing or loose brick and mortar • Water penetration into the foundation • Cracked brick and mortar • Stair-stepping and diagonal cracks in corners • Flaking or crumbling of outer wall layers (spalling)s • External wall buckling, bowing or bulging

Other Symptoms of Dogleg Wall Damage It’s essential to regularly inspect these inner courtyard wall spaces to identify potential issues in need of repair before the problems worsen. Damaged mortar further encourages more water penetration and more damage over time if not repaired. Early signs may not be as apparent as visible brick and mortar dam-

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age, partly because the area is not well-lit or viewed as often as the front or back of your house. It also might be a few stories up and hard to see. Signs to watch for if you suspect more severe damage to the exterior wall surfaces in a dogleg: • Staining & Efflorescence – Dark staining of the brick or a salty powdery deposit on the face of the brick or stone surfaces can be signs of more severe water damage. • Mildew and Fungus - Mildew and Fungus point to a significant and longer-lasting water damage problem, which is also unhealthy. Mildew can indicate that mold is growing somewhere within the walls, which may manifest on the interior. • Plant growth – Moss and other plant growth can develop in the mortar joints and worsen material damage. It’s a good idea to schedule regular inspections and maintenance for your exterior dogleg exterior walls. Renaissance Development has professionals who know well how to identify, maintain and repair exterior masonry for your historic homes. Experience Matters When it

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the Hill Gardener In Praise of Crape Myrtles

ust like spring with the lovely cherry blossoms, Capitol Hill has exploded in dramatic colors throughout the Hill. Bright pinks, fuchsia, lavender, and white blossoms start blooming in August on crape myrtle shrubs and trees. It is often called the lilac of the south and is certainly a summer showstopper. Not only are the blooms stunning, but the bark and even the fo-

Article and Photographs by Rindy O’Brien

liage are eye-catching. With 440 cultivars to choose from, there is a crape myrtle tree for everyone. They have long been symbols of innocence and purity and are often used as a wedding flower. In fact, Meghan Markle had a sprig of myrtle in her bride’s bouquet, as did Duchess Camilla Parker Bowles. There are many references to myrtles in mythology and the Bible. The plant is associated with Aphrodite and Venus and the scent has been considered an aphrodisiac. In Judaism, it is one of the four sacred plants, spreading fragrance and good works.

not produce great results. It was brought to Charleston, South Carolina in 1787 and was an instant success. The tree was introduced at Mt. Vernon and graces the grounds there to this day. The plants propagate quickly, so crape myrtles became one of the favorite trees almost overnight in the south. But these Asian species were susceptible to powdery mildew. In the 1950s, Dr. John Creech of the US National Arboretum went to Japan and brought back seeds from five different species. It was a great turning point for the crape myrtle, as Dr. Creech and Dr. Donald Egolf began to cross breed the original trees with the Japanese seeds. The result was a new crape myrtle that grew taller with a beautiful shape and more importantly was resistant to the powdery mildew. Dr. Egolf used Native American names like Muskogee, Natchez, Zuni, Tonto and Arapaho for his new species. He is remembered for introducing over 23 new species during his career with the Arboretum. The Arboretum continues its breeding program, and the experimental plot at the Arboretum is a delightful field to explore. Dr. Margaret Pooler heads this work today. Others have contributed as well. Dr. Carl Whitcomb in Oklahoma grew over 65,000 seedlings and has introduced some of the currently popular cultivars including Raspberry Sundae, Dynamite, and Red Rocket. Another well-known breeder is Dr. Michael Dirr, a former professor at the University of Georgia. Dr. Dirr’s crape myrtle breeds are reblooming with a wide range of color. He continues his research with new plants coming to market each year.

History of Crape Myrtles

Growing Your Own Crape Myrtle

Crape myrtles, Lagerstroemia, are native to China, Japan, and Korea in the warmer climates. The trees were presented by a Swedish director of the East Indian Company to Carl Linnaeus, the father of taxonomy. The beautiful plant eventually ended up in England in 1789, but the cooler climate did

First, it is important to know that there are crape myrtle shrubs that are smaller and fuller than the crape myrtle tree which can grow as tall as 40 feet. One of the best known shrub versions is “Chickasaw,” an Arboretum breed by Dr. Egoff, that grows to 20 inches high and 26 inches wide. It can easily

The US National Arboretum has been a leader in the research and breeding of crape myrtles for years. The research ﬁeld is full of rows of trees and is a beautiful vision of pink and whites in the summer.

66 ★ HILLRAG.COM

The crape myrtle sheds its bark once it reaches maturity at about ﬁve years. The new smooth bark often has lovely soft colors adding a new dimension to the tree.

be grown in a container as can “Pocomoke” that is 19 inches tall and 35 inches wide. Crape myrtles have a life expectancy of fifty plus years. Urban Forester, Cece McCrary, of Casey Trees reports that crape myrtles are a very popular urban tree and one they use often in their tree planting in this area. The crape myrtles need full sun in welldrained, moist soil. Many of the crape myrtles on Capitol Hill are shrubs that have been pruned into a tree. The plant grows well in acidic and alkaline soils and can be heat tolerant. McCrary says the “crape myrtles are very beautiful, and the blooms last for many weeks, with an added benefit that pollinators (think bees and other insects) are drawn to the myrtles as well.”

To Prune or Not to Prune Growers all agree that gardeners should avoid excessive watering, pruning or fertilizing of the plants in the fall. Pruning is a sensitive issue. There

turity. Shedding usually starts around five years of age. The bark is now multiple colors often with a pink tone and very smooth. Just remember, the tree is perfectly healthy if shedding. Time to add crape myrtles to your favorite flowering tree list. With the warming climate, they will grow quite well on the Hill. Let’s give Southern writer Gin Phillips writes about crape Gin Phillips, a southern myrtle blossoms falling like hot pink confetti. writer, the last word as she describes this wonhas been a trend to prune the tops drous plant. “The blossom is scatterof crape myrtle’s thinking it would ing off the crape myrtles every time keep the plant from growing too tall. the fall wind blows, falling like hot This mistaken approach has become pink confetti.” so prevalent that nursery staff call it “Crape Murder.” Pruning the top ruRindy Obrien was nearly named Myrtle ins the tree for life. They will never after her great-grandmother. She has regrow and they lose their shape. If always cherished the crape myrtle for adding such beautiful color in August. you need to prune, it should be done Contact her at rindyobrien@gmail.com late in the season and always after u the tree has bloomed. Pruning done too early will cause the tree not to bloom. It is also fine not to prune at all. Late fall to early spring is the best time of year to plant a crape myrtle. The shrub or tree does not have invasive roots, so they can be planted near a building. But beware when the tree grows full size, it will take up a wide space. Finally, crape myrtles show off year-round. After the beautiful summer blooms, the tree leaves produce fall colors of orange, red, and yellow. Then, in the winter going into spring, the At the corner of 11th Street and North Carolina SE, tree will shed its bark a crape myrtle tree bends over the sidewalk to add once it has reached masummer color to the busy intersection. September 2021 H 67

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Dear Garden Problem Lady, by Wendy Blair The top leaves and lower stems of my New England Asters, usually the star of my September garden, are brown and shriveled. I have watered often. Ideas? Not really. They could have been burned by our many weeks of searing sun, or even drowned from recent torrential rains. Asters are so strong, however, they should survive. Make sure they get bone meal and compost in the spring. For winter, should we cut our Autumn Joy Sedum back to the ground, or leave them alone? If left intact in winter should we cut them back in spring? Sedum is very hardy and needs little care. Birds enjoy their seed heads, so why not attend to any cutting back for size until spring? If your sedum is getting too large, it’s easy to dig up and divide them then, to make more plants. Is it a good idea to put spent coffee grounds onto one’s garden? Spent coffee grounds certainly look good – a rich dark brown, the color of good rich earth – and they’re free. Now and then one hears of using them this way – it’s old-fashioned -- and possibly harmless. There have been chemical analyses of coffee grounds – they are vegetable, after all. They contain tiny traces of many metals and chemicals, including small amounts of nitrogen. The reasons horticul-

turists tend not to use them are that they are acidic, (good for azaleas and blueberries but not everything) and also that their caffeine can curtail the growth of some plants, even kill some. Our chartreuse-colored Hostas have invaded into the flowerbed of our superb chartreuse-colored Heucheras. How and when can we best move Hostas? You do not need me to warn you how tricky this will be. April is the best time to do it, but your problem sounds like an emergency. If so, do it in late afternoon. Since both plants are happy (protected from intense sun, with a good deal of shade), best begin by finding a new spot for the Hosta(s). Prepare a planting hole, making it slightly bigger and deeper than the plant(s), and fill it with compost and humusfilled soil. Then among the overrun plants, first gently probe with a fork, to explore the entwined roots. You must go deep to separate each perennial’s roots, shaking them free, one from the other. Leave as many good leaves as you can on rescued plants. Wrap the freed Hosta(s) in wet paper towels. Next, separate and replant the Heucheras, thinning or throwing out overcrowded ones. Then attend to the Hostas. Divide, root prune or discard what you can’t use, and plant into your prepared spot. Keep all transplants watered well. Capitol Hill Garden Club meetings are currently happening – virtually. Meetings are free and open to all at capitolhillgardenclub.org. Feeling beset by gardening problems? Your problem might prove instructive to others, and help them feel superior to you. Send them to the Problem Lady c/o dearproblemlady@gmail. com. Complete anonymity is assured. ◆

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Changing Hands Changing Hands is a list of residential sales in Capitol Hill and contiguous neighborhoods 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

EDGEWOOD

PRICE BR

2818 6th St NE

FORT DUPONT PARK

FEE SIMPLE ANACOSTIA 1906 Q St SE 1428 W St SE 1613 Fairlawn Ave SE 2215 Chester St SE 1482 Bangor St SE 1522 U St SE 3415 Baker St NE

BLOOMINGDALE 73 W St NW 36 S St NW

BRENTWOOD 1369 Adams St NE

CAPITOL HILL 712 E Capitol St NE 907 E Capitol St SE 629 E St SE 158 12th St SE 121 15th St NE 306 7th St NE 636 Lexington Pl NE 1118 E St SE 1005 E St NE 730 5th St NE 24 7th St SE 1337 Massachusetts Ave SE 326 4th St SE 1335 Independence Ct SE 616 NE Maryland Ave NE 1005 E Capitol St SE 1341 Independence Ct SE 903 Massachusetts Ave NE 521 4th St SE 324 9th St SE 140 Duddington Pl SE 251 12th St SE 1629 E St SE 632 Elliott St NE 211 14th St NE 121 13th St SE 414 Kentucky Ave SE 1425 C St NE 1221 D St NE 614 15th St NE 1741 Independence Ave SE 1318 Maryland Ave NE 1344 Emerald St NE 1843 Independence Ave SE 109 8th St NE 109 17th St SE 1614 A St SE 7 Gessford Ct SE

$790,000 $690,000 $550,000 $425,000 $350,000 $305,000 $200,000

5 4 3 2 3 2 2

$1,391,000 $1,265,000

5 4

$500,000

$3,650,000 $1,925,000 $1,400,000 $1,398,000 $1,395,000 $1,375,000 $1,375,000 $1,357,900 $1,345,000 $1,325,000 $1,307,000 $1,250,000 $1,179,000 $1,165,000 $1,160,000 $1,145,000 $1,125,000 $1,111,750 $1,080,000 $1,049,000 $1,025,000 $975,000 $955,000 $955,000 $942,000 $940,005 $940,000 $895,000 $890,000 $885,000 $880,000 $840,000 $820,000 $789,500 $779,000 $725,000 $680,000 $605,000

7 5 3 4 3 4 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 4 5 3 3 3 2 2 2 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 4 2 3 3 3 4 1 2 4 2

70 ★ HILLRAG.COM

829 Hilltop Ter SE 4413 A St SE 1309 46th St SE 3924 R St SE 3917 Burns Ct SE 609 Burns St SE 1704 40th St SE

$1,200,000 $1,105,100 $1,102,000 $1,085,000 $1,050,000 $990,000 $985,000

1107 6th St NE 831 Florida Ave NE 811 L St NE 1419 G St NE

1337 Perry Pl NW 621 Keefer Pl NW 1113 Fairmont St NW 1052 Quebec Pl NW 724 Hobart Pl NW 3513 Center St NW

$943,900 $850,500 $815,000 $741,000 $736,000 $710,000

CONGRESS HEIGHTS 3934 2nd St SW 721 Congress St SE 1301 Barnaby Ter SE 420 Orange St SE 530 Oakwood St SE

DEANWOOD

4434 Hunt Pl NE 5007 Ames St NE 3944 Benning Rd NE 144 57th St SE 212 NE 62nd St NE 404 49th St NE 220 56th Pl NE 836 50th Pl NE 845 52nd St NE 42 55th St SE 5016 E Capitol St NE 228 63rd St NE 4404 Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave NE 5201 Banks Pl NE 4240 Eads St NE 4627 Gault Pl NE 5245 Banks Pl NE 612 44th St NE

DUPONT 4 6 3 4 4 3 4

$587,500 $515,000 $505,000 $429,000 $398,500 $361,000 $360,000

H STREET CORRIDOR

HILL CREST

COLUMBIA HEIGHTS 1126 Girard St NW 1236 Harvard St NW 2721 11th St NW 2719 11th St NW 3103 11th St NW 1011 Irving St NW 1481 Monroe St NW

$826,000

1536 T St NW 1417 17th St NW

ECKINGTON 156 Uhland Ter NE 203 V St NE 227 S St NW

4 4 4 3 3 4

$550,000 $475,000 $440,000 $370,000 $310,000

1 3 3 3 4

$657,000 $540,000 $525,000 $520,000 $459,000 $456,000 $445,000 $440,000 $400,000 $399,000 $380,000 $380,000 $380,000 $365,000 $355,000 $340,000 $328,000 $275,000

5 4 4 3 3 4 3 2 2 2 3 3 3 5 4 3 2 2

$1,800,000 $1,789,000

5 4

$830,500 $822,000 $779,000

4 4 3

3201 O St SE 3167 Westover Dr SE 3441 Massachusetts Ave SE 3370 Highwood Dr SE 737 32nd St SE 3004 Alabama Ave SE 2422 33rd St SE 3114 G St SE

HILL EAST 113 19th St SE

KINGMAN PARK 1654 Gales St NE 2032 E St NE 1650 Kramer St NE

LEDROIT PARK 1858 3rd St NW 2019 5th St NW 1904 3rd St NW 1934 4th St NW 116 Bryant St NW 2015 4th St NW 414 Elm St NW

LILY PONDS 3318 Blaine St NE

LOGAN 940 N St NW

NAVY YARD 319 L St SE

NOMA

615 K St NE 1037 5th St NE

OLD CITY #1 1017 Maryland Ave NE 913 11th St NE 234 10th St NE 645 14th Pl NE 1214 G St NE 1338 D St NE 741 18th St NE

4 5 4 3 3 3 3

$900,000 $887,000 $875,000 $750,000

3 4 2 3

$1,125,000 $745,000 $720,000 $620,000 $500,000 $499,990 $480,000 $380,000

6 3 4 4 3 3 3 3

$757,000

$800,000 $585,000 $499,000

2 2 2

$1,500,000 $1,150,000 $1,022,900 $905,000 $827,500 $720,000 $450,000

4 4 4 3 4 3 4

$510,000

$990,000

MARSHALL HEIGHTS 5231 D St SE 116 SE 53 Rd St SE

$560,000 $452,500

4 4

$1,000,000

$1,262,368 $881,000

3 4

$1,205,000 $1,200,000 $1,200,000 $816,000 $742,000 $740,000 $700,000

3 4 4 3 3 3 5

1335 Emerald St St NE 417 19th St NE 1642 Kramer St NE

OLD CITY #2 1825 9th St NW 1511 4th St NW 2212 12th St NW

RANDLE HEIGHTS 2200 T Pl SE 1913 Savannah Pl SE 2012 Trenton Pl SE

SHAW

914 T St NW 1617 Marion St NW 625 Q St NW 1838 Vermont Ave NW 1848 8th St NW 1804 8th St NW 1812 6th St NW 1542 8th St NW 509 S St NW 433 Ridge St NW 405 Warner St NW

SW WATERFRONT 717 G St SW 1234 Carrollsburg Pl SW

TRINIDAD

1228 Owen Pl NE 1321 Queen St NE 1308 Staples St NE 1210 Staples St NE 1148 Morse St NE 1411 W Virginia Ave NE 1325 Staples St NE

TRUXTON CIRCLE 1413 1st St NW

$690,000 $660,000 $520,000

3 3 2

$1,300,000 $1,175,000 $980,000

3 4 2

$615,000 $450,000 $416,000

3 3 2

$1,710,000 $1,555,000 $1,370,000 $1,273,000 $981,000 $972,000 $925,000 $920,000 $859,000 $725,000 $720,000

5 4 3 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2

$1,165,000 $849,000

4 2

$895,000 $880,000 $825,000 $825,000 $750,000 $649,900 $573,100

4 4 3 4 3 3 3

$922,000

U STREET CORRIDOR 1824 11th St NW 1223 W St NW 1228 W St NW 2004 15th St NW 1319 V St NW 333 U St NW 2223 12th Pl NW 2229 10th St NW

WEST END 2105 N St NW

$1,250,000 $1,233,082 $1,066,500 $1,495,000 $949,000 $875,000 $840,000 $600,000

3 3 3 4 2 4 2 2

$1,737,500

CONDO 14TH STREET CORRIDOR 1413 T St NW #103 3927 14th St NW #2

ADAMS MORGAN 2446 Ontario Rd NW #2 2328 Champlain St NW #102 2630 Adams Mill Rd NW #209 1726 Lanier Pl NW #5 1842 California St NW #6B

$605,000 $588,000

2 2

$835,000 $750,000 $711,000 $689,000 $589,000

2 3 2 2 2

BACK TO SCHOOL

1842 California St NW #4B 2426 Ontario Rd NW #201 2244 Ontario Rd NW #1 2301 Ontario Rd NW #101

BLOOMINGDALE 75 R St NW #1 1741 1st St NW #1

CAPITOL HILL

12 3rd St SE #4 418 7th St SE #301 317 3rd St SE #13 504 G St NE #1 1315 Independence Ave SE #3 317 3rd St SE #11 1000 Constitution Ave NE #1 1222 Maryland Ave NE #2 440 12th St NE #2 101 North Carolina Ave SE #A 317 3rd St SE #35 317 3rd St SE #36 301 G St NE #15 350 9th St SE #7 317 3rd St SE #24 317 3rd St SE #23 401 13th St NE #109 909 E St SE #7 1209 G St SE #1 18 9th St NE #206 101 N Carolina Ave SE #304 201 Massachusetts Ave NE #315

$579,999 $477,000 $325,000 $320,000

2 1 1 1

$620,000 $360,000

2 1

$1,310,000 $925,000 $865,000 $760,000 $689,000 $625,000 $621,000 $600,000 $590,000 $515,000 $510,000 $505,000 $503,250 $470,000 $442,500 $430,000 $395,000 $362,000 $345,000 $315,000 $267,000 $260,000

3 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0

CAPITOL HILL EAST 22 15th St NE #22 1391 Pennsylvania Ave SE #223 420 16th St SE #202 1211 G St SE #8 1520 Independence Ave SE #203 1391 Pennsylvania Ave SE #454

$749,000 $533,000 $450,000 $413,000 $351,000 $280,000

CAPITOL RIVERFRONT 1211 Van St SE #1311 1211 Van St SE #708 1211 Van St SE #518

CENTRAL

1010 Massachusetts Ave NW #707 1010 Massachusetts Ave NW #1209 1133 14th St NW #704 915 E St NW #403 616 E St NW #406 1260 21st St NW #908 1454 Belmont St NW #6 746 Morton St NW #2 -PH 3624 10th St NW #2 3325 11th St NW #7 3624 10th St NW #5 3453 Holmead Pl NW #4 1217 Park Rd NW #3 1423 Clifton St NW #3 1307 Clifton St NW #31 1380 Quincy St NW #5-B 919 Florida Ave NW #405 1380 Quincy St NW #3B 1358 Girard St NW #2 1390 Kenyon St NW #722 1335 Fairmont St NW #1 1422 Euclid St NW #3 3727 9th St NW #2 1101 Fairmont St NW #1 2703 11th St NW #1 1401 Columbia Rd NW #317 610 Irving St NW #T02 1333 Euclid St NW #103 1510 Park Rd NW #1

2 2 2

$730,000 $650,000 $599,000 $380,000 $336,000 $320,000

2 2 2 1 0 1

$1,125,000 $900,000 $840,000 $820,000 $800,000 $800,000 $720,000 $680,000 $675,000 $650,000 $639,950 $627,500 $619,900 $595,000 $595,000 $591,000 $570,000 $561,000 $538,000 $510,000 $430,000 $409,999 $390,000

! EW G N IN T S LI

2 2 3 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1

G IN ! M N O O C O S

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CT A TR

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CT A

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capitol s ree s t

HAPPY 200TH,

ST. PETER’S!

Capitol Hill’s Birthday Church Celebrates a Milestone by William Zeisel

ow do you celebrate a church’s twohundredth birthday? Father Gary Studniewski and his parishioners at St. Peter’s on Capitol Hill decided on a yearlong calendar of events drawing from the church’s mission of being “a tangible manifestation of Christ living in the community.” Beginning with a rally in Providence Park on Sept. 25 and extending into 2022 with retreats and sacred services, planned events include a St. Peter’ Day at Nats Park and a special closing Mass in the fall. It’s quite a swirl of activity, as should be expected from a church nearly as old as the District itself. Only two decades after Washington opened for business as the nation’s capital in 1800, a group of Catholics, residents of the fledgling Hill, decided they needed a place of worship closer than St. Patrick’s, downtown. By 1821, they had achieved their dream. Today’s celebrants are acknowledging a debt

Original interior

to the founders while also looking to the future of a church that serves not only the Hill but the US Capitol, just around the corner. St. Peter’s is known as the House church, to distinguish it from the Senate church, St. Joseph’s. The pastor of St. Peter’s on Capitol Hill in Washington arguably has as noteworthy a pulpit as the pastor of St. Peter’s on the Vatican Hill in Rome.

Exterior of the church. Photo: Lynn Freeman

Early Years In 1820, leading District residents, including Daniel Carroll of Duddington and James Hoban, architect of the White House, got permission from the bishop of Baltimore to raise money for constructing a church on the Hill. Their efforts produced a plain, red brick structure at the corner of Second and C streets SE. Laid out on the basilica plan, it had a long central nave, where most of the parishioners sat, flanked by side aisles that supported arcaded galleries reserved for African American parishioners. The parish boundaries extended from Capitol Hill and the Navy Yard clear across Southwest. The first pastor was French-born James F.M. Lucas, who arrived at his post on Sept. 3, 1821, celebrated the first Mass in the new church on Oct. 14 and would guide the parish until 1829. During the next half-century, the congregation grew with influxes of Irish and German residents, among others, and African Americans. One of the parishioners, Mary Surratt, became infamous for being convicted of helping the conspirators who assassinated President Lincoln. The pastor of St. Peter’s visited her in prison and attended her hanging at the Arsenal (now Fort McNair) in 1865. In 1889 the parish began construction of a larg-

er church, on the same site as the original building. The cornerstone ceremony began with a parade marching to the beat of John Philip Sousa’s Marine Corps Band. This more elaborate church, seating nearly a thousand, was rebuilt after a devastating fire in 1940.

The School By then the church had company in the shape of the St. Peter’s School, established in 1867 at the corner of Third and E streets SE and staffed by the Sisters of the Holy Cross. The school became noted for academic rigor and boasts many alumni on the Hill and throughout the DC metro area. It has twice been recognized by the US Department of Education as a National Blue Ribbon School, one of 50 non-public schools in the country to be identified as “Exemplary High Performing.” One of the most notable events in the school’s history came when Washington’s archbishop, Cardinal O’Boyle, mandated that the diocesan schools should not consider race when admitting students. Washington’s Catholics, black and white, gained integrated education three years before Brown vs Board of Education in 1954 did the same thing for the public schools. The original school building received severSeptember 2021 ★ 77

Church and Community A million thanks to the “DC Modern Luxury” magazine audience who named me a 2020 Top Agent!

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While the parish was resolving internal and infrastructure issues, it was also trying to create a closer relationship with the residents of the Hill. Father O’Sullivan recalled that when he arrived in his new post, he found the church doors locked and bearing a note directing visitors to request access at the rectory. “Somebody had been, apparently, attacked in the church and so the church was locked.” He saw no reason for that. “I took that down, that sign, and threw Parishioners gather ins the interior of the church. Photo: Fr. it in the nearest trash can and opened Gary Studniewski the church door. And we never lost anything of value.” In fact, he continal renovations (including indoor plumbing ued, the church became a haven for in 1923) and was expanded to accommodate homeless residents, especially during the cold a growing staff and student body. But heavy months, “and they recognized the sanctity of use took a toll on the physical infrastructure, the church and were very, very protective of the and in 1971 high winds literally blew the roof church because it was kind of their territory.” off the building. Irish-born Father Michael Efforts at better community connection J. O’Sullivan, who became pastor of St. Pegained momentum after Vatican II, a major ter’s Church in 1970 and served until 2005, church conference convened by the papacy in recalled, in an Overbeck Capitol Hill Histo1962-65 to bring the Catholic Church into betry Project interview, that “the school actually ter alignment with the times. Father O’Sullivan had reached the stage where it was, you know, took full advantage of the new spirit. He made clean up or bust.” Under O’Sullivan’s leadermembership in the lay Parish Council an elected ship, the parish was able to finance restoration, position, rather than appointed, and used it as a in part through the sale of vacant land adjoinclearinghouse for parish affairs, even the selecing the school. tion of an architect when the church needed resAn even greater challenge emerged in the toration. The school principal also participated, 1980s, when the Sisters of the Holy Cross, so that “everybody on the Parish Council knew like many religious orders throughout the nawhat was going on in the parish.” tion, began suffering a declining membership St. Peter’s promoted community outand could not continue to supply teachers s to reach, both directly through affiliation with Catholic schools and colleges. St. Peter’s would have to rely on lay teachers. That had implications, both social and financial. Most of the parents with children in the school had themselves been products of Catholic schooling, recalled Father O’Sullivan, “and they had to adjust to the idea that there’s going to be no nuns in the school right now.” But the lay teachers and administrators needed higher pay, and “that took some getting used to,” he remarked. St. Peter’s survived the transition to a lay administration and faculty, while retaining both its Catholic identity and its acaFr. Gary Studniewski and a young parishioner. demic rigor.

the Capitol Hill Group Ministry (an association of pastors of the churches on Capitol Hill) and financial support for a soup kitchen. In 1996 Father O’Sullivan accepted a Capitol Hill Community Achievement Award in recognition of the church’s contribution to Capitol Hill. Community engagement remains important at the church. To cite one example, the parishioners of the Social Justice Initiative sponsor programs on pressing issues like immigrants and refugees, climate change, homelessness and racism. They have affiliated with Good Neighbors, a Capitol Hill refugee resettlement group, and DC127, a District-wide church movement that helps children in or at risk of entering foster care. Another social engagement program is the St. Peter’s Haiti ministry, which sells coffees, teas and other fair-trade items to benefit a sister parish, Notre Dame D’Altagrace in Cap Haitian. The St. Peter’s website provides information on products and how to order: https://saintpetersdc-haiti. square.site. What is past is prologue, the historians claim, so the completion of two hundred years should simply be the beginning of the next two hundred. But for St. Peter’s Church on Capitol Hill, each year seems to bring new challenges, opportunities and, if the past is indeed prologue, new responses. For more information on St. Peter’s Church and St. Peter’s School, visit https://saintpetersdc. org and www.stpeterschooldc.org. Southwest DC resident William Zeisel is a partner in QED Associates LLC, a consulting firm that has conducted extensive research on the history of the DC area. He is co-author of the official history of the University of the District of Columbia. u

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CAPITOL HILL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH WELCOMES NEW PASTOR Rev. Rachel Vaagenes Marks New Beginning for the Church

by Sarah Cymrot

children about their own ingation, it was instead strengthened through discusterests all while connecting sions about their values and priorities in searching it to meaningful biblical lesfor a pastor. They were looking for a candidate that sons. “I like to build bridges could lead them to build their internal church comand I like to synthesize, and munity, reach out to the local community and find I like to bring people togeththeir place in the current environment of the couner,” she said. try and world. After an extensive search, the comVaagenes finds humittee decided Reverend Vaagenes was the perfect mor in all the ways that fit for their community. she breaks free of the ste“I would never have chosen to have our pasreotypes of Presbyterian tor quit in the middle of COVID,” said Deziekan. church leadership. She is a “But I feel like the outcome is that we found someyoung woman, married with one who is just going to be great for our commuRev. Rachel Vaagenes preached her first sermon at Capitol Hill two children, who identifies nity and already feels like one of us and already is Presbyterian Church (201 Fourth Articulating Her Faith as part of the LGBTQ comexcited about all of the things that we are excited St. SE) August 1. Courtesy: CHPC Vaagenes brings a tradition of love munity. She draws on her about doing.” to Capitol Hill that she first found at background in home, in California. As a young person growing improv comedy to make people feel conRev.Vaagenes with her up in Los Angeles, she struggled to articulate the fident and loved in church. husband and children love and meaning she found in church compared You are likely to meet Reverend in Arches National Park, 2021. Photo: with the judgement and rejection that many of her Vaagenes riding her bike around the Rachel Vaagenes friends felt. Capitol Hill neighborhood or sitting out “I could see that there was a way to be rigorfront of CHPC with a “free prayer” sign. ous and faithful and true to Christ’s call while not “When I first thought I was going to having to choose that judgment,” she said. Despite be a pastor, it took me a while to realize that personal clarity, she searched for the words to that I could be a pastor in my own way,” express what she knew church should be. Reverend Vaagenes reflected. She began the process of finding this expression while in graduate school at Princeton where CHPC: New Beginning she received her Master of Divinity. Seemingly a deCOVID-19 has posed a particular chalparture from her undergraduate degree in math and lenge to church communities as they philosophy, Vaagenes says her graduate work was a have struggled to maintain conneccontinuation of her fascination with connection and tions and navigate virtual platforms as a understanding how the world fits together. replacement for in-person worship. “You could think about math as the buildThe Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church ing blocks of life,” the pastor said. “Once you start faced what Ami Dziekan, co-chair of talking about how reality fits together, it’s a beauthe Pastor Nominating Committee, detiful thing.” scribed as “a double whammy” when Reverend Vaagenes spent the last ten years as their former pastor, Reverend Keys, anan Associate Pastor at the Georgetown Presbyterian nounced her departure just months into Church (3115 P St. NW) where she was particularly the pandemic. focused on the youth program. She re-envisioned While this had the potential to imSunday school, engaging church elders in teaching pair the closeness of the CHPC congreitting in the pews at Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church (CHPC, 201 Fourth St. SE) on August 1st, the congregation felt an indisputable sense of a new beginning. They were gathered in person for one of the first times since the COVID-19 pandemic began. But the day marked another exciting next step for the church—the first sermon of their new pastor, Reverend Rachel Landers Vaagenes.

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Looking Forward Rev. Vaagenes is thrilled to be joining Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church and hopes to lead the church to be a “helpful presence in the community and in the world.” But before she starts to do that, Vaagenes is excited to spend time getting to know her congregation, as well as the broader Capitol Hill community. “Getting to know this congregation is the first step,” she said. “I like to remember that I am called here. God has put me here with these people, so this is my starting point.” She recognizes the strength that emerged from the struggles of the past year. “The folks who have stayed [through the struggles] are hard core. I think that’s really exciting to be able to engage with folks who stick it out and figure out who are you and what motivates you and what is your relationship like with God and this neighborhood.” Rev. Vaagenes’s first sermon was a hybrid service. “I think it struck a note that we were hoping for,” said congregant Brian Testa. “She talked about being at the beginning and focusing on starting together. And that we can all focus on God’s love for one another, both within the congregation and for us to be able to spread that within the wider community.” Looking forward, both the community and Rev. Vaagenes are excited for what the coming year will bring. “This is going to be a building year for this church. Building back after covid. Building back after the disruption of a pastor leaving,” said Rev. Vaagenes. “And I love starting new things.” Learn more about Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church by visiting www. capitolhillpreschurch.org u

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/ Opinion /

ZERO VISION DDOT? by Mark R. Grace

he District’s Department of Transportation (DDOT) is showing itself to be short-sighted, arrogant, and inequitable in the well-being of the whole of the community in its redesign of the 1300 block of North Carolina Ave. NE. What is happening is an 11th hour, post-game revision of the C Street NE Implementation Project (www.cstne.com). Originally and rightfully envisioned as a project “to improve safety, comfort for all right-of-way users while ensuring improved connectivity and mobility for all modes within and through the area,” now, late in the process, DDOT is attempting to change the plans and story of the C Street NE Implementation Project, with limited transparency and without adequate analysis, meaningful public input, or consideration of the needs of all members of the community. At its inception, the project had been scoped, mapped, surveyed, and designed with project limits that extended along C Street NE from 22nd Street NE to 14th Street NE. Extensive community input was solicited through a series of well-publicized public meetings. The final design, released in 2014, did not include the 1300 block of North Carolina Ave NE. Documentation of DDOT’s decision-making process is not publicly available, but neighbors who participated in the initial process remember that it was considered redundant (given other bike infrastructure a block away) and not advantageous to cyclists (as the terminus would be the multi-modal traffic mixing bowl that surrounds Lincoln Park). The block experiences a steady flow and morning rushhour cluster of cars, bikes, trucks, buses, pedestrians, children coming and going to Maury Elementary, and is bookended by two active churches with near daily events (before Covid). Focused solely on cyclists, they are now strongarming hundreds of residents, church congregants, and others to choose one of two plans to accommodate the addition of two bike lanes on this block. In brief, the options are to have a single, westbound travel lane and retain parking on both sides of the block, or to keep two-way traffic and lose all the parking from the street’s south side (approx. 35 spaces) — an exceptionally frustrating, insensitive option because: • It pushes competition for parking onto neighboring blocks (removing 35 parking spaces does not mean 35 cars are magically off the road and no one wants to fight for a parking space with a neighbor). • It greatly inconveniences those with mobility issues e.g., a family with a disabled child.

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•

It inhibits residents – particularly the elderly – from going out to enjoy the city because they fear coming home at night. Having to walk on darkened streets searching for parking blocks... yes, blocks away, in an area experiencing a crime surge that the city has not been able to stop, • It encourages further gentrification and less equity. Capitol Hill should not become more of a “boutique bourgeois” neighborhood. There are still residents who do not have the economic luxury of choosing alternative modes of transportation, those who need their car for work or rely on it to live their life. • It is simply not needed. DDOT’s alternative one-way plan (removing the right hand, east-bound turn lane from 13th street) has not been subjected to serious analysis to evaluate the inevitable “domino effect” of rerouting traffic onto neighboring streets. With so many streets already one-way, drivers would have to navigate circuitous routes with multiple additional traffic lights and congestion. Also extremely troubling is the prospect of speeding. Respected studies show that one-way streets encourage this unsafe behavior, already a problem on this block because it is a heavily trafficked morning commuter route with drivers racing from light to light. Finding both alternatives unacceptable, over 200 residents of this and other nearby blocks responded with proposed compromise solutions that serve all interests, but which are not being given serious consideration. They’ve asked that no action be taken until the C Street project has been completed so that proper traffic studies can be undertaken – to no avail. They have been mischaracterized by the bicycle lobby as anti-bike. Nothing could be farther from the truth; many residents are avid cyclists, and the proffered compromises include bike lanes. This block is not alone in the city but just the latest target of an agency and city administration that is tone deaf to the residents to whom they report. Hill residents, no matter their needed or preferred mode of transportation, are adversely impacted by DDOT’s herky-jerky leadership. We are students, businesses, bike riders, drivers, exercise walkers, families, the young, the old and all of us rely on efficient and safe transport. We are happy to share and do not appreciate being bullied. We are not being listened to. DDOT, it is time that you hear us! Mark Grace is an avid cyclist and a resident of the 1300 block of North Carolina Ave. NE. u

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Next meeting Thursday, September 9, 2021. Information will be posted on the ANC 6C website.

ANC 6C COMMISSIONERS ANC 6C01 Christine Healey 6C01@anc.dc.gov

ANC 6C04 Mark Eckenwiler 6C04@anc.dc.gov

ANC 6C02 Karen Wirt 6C02@anc.dc.gov

ANC 6C05 Joel Kelty 6C05@anc.dc.gov

ANC 6C03 Jay Adelstein 6C03@anc.dc.gov

ANC 6C06 Drew Courtney drewcourtney.anc @gmail.com

ANC usually meets the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 pm, 214 Massachusetts Ave, N.E. Please check the ANC 6C website for dates.

ANC 6C COMMITTEES Alcoholic Beverage Licensing First Monday, 7 pm Contact: anc6c.abl.committee@gmail.com Grants Last Thursday, 7 pm Contact: torylord@gmail.com Twitter: @ANC_6C_Grants Environment, Parks, and Events First Tuesday, 7 pm Contact: 6C06@anc.dc.gov

Transportation and Public Space First Thursday, 7 pm Contact: anc6c.tps@gmail.com Planning, Zoning, and Economic Development First Wednesday, 6:30 pm Contact: 6C04@anc.dc.gov Twitter: @6C_PZE

ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 6A AMBER GOVE, CHAIR, AMBERANC6A@GMAIL.COM Serving the Near Northeast, North Lincoln Park, Rosedale, and H Street communities ANC 6A generally meets the second Thursday of the month, at Miner Elementary School, 601 15th Street, NE.

www.anc6a.org

ALL ARE WELCOME The Next meeting is 2nd Thursday, September 9, 7:00 p.m. Economic Development and Zoning Committee meeting 3rd Wednesday, September 15, 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via WebEx Transportation & Public Space Committee meeting 3rd Monday, September 20, 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via WebEx Ad Hoc By Laws Committee meeting Wednesday, September 22, 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via WebEx Community Outreach Committee meeting 4th Monday, September 27, 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via WebEx Alcohol Beverage Licensing Committee meeting 4th Tuesday, September 28, 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via WebEx Instructions for accessing the meeting via WebEx have been posted under Hot Topics at anc6a.org. Call in information will be posted under Community Calendar at anc6a.org 24 hours prior to the meeting. You will be able to enter the meeting no earlier than 15 minutes prior to its scheduled start time.

September 2021 ★ 83

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/ Another Opinion /

IT’S TIME TO STOP FIGHTING SAFER STREETS by Amber Gove

n the wake of yet another dire warning on climate change from global scientists, it is jarring to be caught up in debates about the merits of a bike lane project at the block-by-block level. And in a year in which traffic fatalities are on track to exceed last year’s deadly tally, which surpassed that of the year before, I didn’t have “neighbor screams ‘No bike lanes on my block!’ while my kids and I hand out meeting notices” on my ANC bingo card. Yet, here we are. The city finally broke ground last month on the C Street Project, which aims to transform Capitol Hill’s eastern gateway from near-highway conditions to a safer, slower street -- there have been several deadly or near-deadly crashes along the stretch in the past year alone. The $16M effort will remove a vehicle travel lane in each direction, add raised crosswalks and greenspace, and install an all ages and abilities protected bike path to connect the Anacostia River Trail to Lincoln Park. Or nearly so. At some point in the decade between initial concept and final designs, the 1300 block of North Carolina Avenue NE was dropped from DDOT’s plans. No one at DDOT has been able to explain to me how this happened. What is clear is that this block was highlighted in the 2014 MoveDC plan as part of the city’s planned bicycle network, and that elimination from the final C Street designs, whether intentional or otherwise, was not for lack of need. Neighbors have long complained of speeding on this double long block, leading to crashes into parked cars and near misses for people walking, biking, or unloading groceries. Children and grown-ups regularly ride and scoot on the sidewalk rather than the street, eliciting complaints from people walking. With 80% of vehicles headed westbound, the lower volume eastbound lane allows drivers to speed, especially while making less-than-90-degree turns from 13th Street. In January our Commission unanimously endorsed resident requests for speed humps and raised crosswalks for this block. Around the same time, DDOT asked to speak at our Transportation and Public Space Committee to discuss traffic calming and bike connectivity for this segment. At two public meetings, DDOT presented several initial concepts, seeking input on a preferred

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design. One set of designs (A1 and A2) would remove about 25 parking spaces on the south side of the block. The other four proposals (B through E) would retain nearly all parking but convert this block to one-way westbound, rerouting eastbound drivers to East Capitol or Constitution. All proposals aim to slow drivers by narrowing vehicle travel lanes and adding a midblock raised crosswalk. All designs would also add protected bicycle facilities to allow hesitant riders a seamless connection between Lincoln Park and the Anacostia River Trail. In working with our community to inform the plans, I’ve heard three primary concerns. The first is the urgent need to slow drivers and improve pedestrian safety. A second set of concerns is around accessible parking, particularly for many senior residents and caregivers of young children. Neighbors are also worried about the consequences of a one-way conversion, including increased travel time for residents who drive and the impact of diverted traffic on surrounding blocks, including near Maury Elementary. Based on the information shared to date, I believe the one-way options (designs B through E) best respond to these concerns. First, narrowing the travel lane has been shown to reduce speeding; a 10 foot lane bounded by physical barriers, not just a painted bike lane, will slow drivers even more. Second, the one-way designs retain nearly all parking, including handicapped parking, removing roughly three spots for the mid-block raised crosswalk. An independent analysis of the effect of the one-way options indicated that an additional 600 vehicles would be rerouted either north on 13th to Constitution or east on East Capitol Street each day, adding two to three minutes travel time for drivers. Using pre-pandemic traffic volumes, this represents a 5% increase in daily vehicle trips along each route. I’ve asked for more information on these and other details, including the basis for DDOT engineers’ rejection of alternate designs such as sharrows and Advisory Bike Lanes as not being safe enough given the conditions of this block. Once DDOT finalizes a design and opens the official public comment period, our Commission will weigh in with our recommendations. Some residents are petitioning our Commission to reject DDOT’s

plans. But doing so could risk losing our chance to inform DDOT’s designs. In a recent similar project ANC6D voted against the options given to them, resulting in DDOT advancing the work over the ANC’s objections and a loss of 27+ parking spaces. I’ve also heard from many residents who support of the project, in addition to more than 300 petitioners seeking protected bike facilities. Direct input from residents will help to ensure the best design possible. Please review the proposals and email me (6A04@anc.dc.gov) and project manager Will Handsfield (will.handsfield@ dc.gov) your thoughts and suggestions. I am grateful to the neighbors who have emailed, chatted with me on the sidewalk, and asked questions at our meetings. Many have indicated their reluctance to speak publicly about their support, lamenting how toxic the dialogue has become. We must do better. As a Commissioner I am charged with advising DC agencies on the needs of my community while ensuring my recommendations consider the impact on the District as a whole, even if it means making individual neighbors unhappy. Our streets must be designed to be safely used by everyone, no matter how they move through our city. And while the voices of residents who live on this particular block are important, our public spaces belong to and should benefit all of us. One block might not seem to make a difference in what is truly a global fight for our lives. But every block matters in our efforts to reduce car dependency and increase short non-auto trips. If just one part of the bike route isn’t safe we know hesitant riders won’t use it, or will ride on the sidewalk, increasing risks to pedestrians, especially seniors. And as AARP has advocated, providing users with their own designated space makes our streets safer for everyone. It is time to stop fighting safer streets. This is a once-in-a-decade opportunity to implement our city’s vision for equity, accessibility and climate action and redesign this block to be safer for everyone who lives, walks, drives, rolls and rides on it. Amber Gove, PhD is a volunteer Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for 6A04 and Chair of ANC6A. She lives near Lincoln Park, on a block that will be affected by this project. Learn more at www.anc6a.org. The viewpoints expressed in this article are her own in her capacity as a Commissioner representing her Single Member District. u

Good Neighbors of Capitol Hill Be A Good Neighbor -

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BULLETIN BOARD Create a Yard Scene for the Literary Pumpkin Walk The week before Halloween, display a pumpkin, scarecrow, yard scene, or whatever, based on your choice of book or literary character, and register it on the Capitol Hill Community Foundation map at literarypumpkinwalk. org. Hill neighbors will be invited to enjoy the pumpkin walk, held this year in lieu of their usual local school fundraiser: A Literary Feast. Participation in the pumpkin walk is free, but if you’d like to make a school-supporting donation, visit donatecapitolhill.org. Pumpkin Walk participants will vote for their favorite literary-inspired display. The winning household gets to donate $1000 to its Capitol Hill public school of choice.

Special Olympics 5K at Congressional Cemetery

Live Simulcast of Arena’s Toni Stone at Nat’s Park There is a free, live simulcast of Arena Stage’s Toni Stage at Nat’s Park on Sunday, Sept. 26 at 7:30 p.m. History is filled with trailblazers and Toni Stone was one of them. Considered a pioneer, Toni Stone is the first woman to play baseball in the Negro Leagues, also making her the first woman to play professionally in a men’s league in the 1950s. Against all odds, Stone shattered expectations and created her own set of rules in the male-dominated sports world. Based on Martha Ackmann’s book Curveball: The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone, award-winning playwright Lydia R. Diamond tells the dynamic story of Stone’s journey of perseverance and resilience just to do what she loved the most—play baseball. arenastage.org.

The Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run is on Friday, Sept. 24, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Congressional Cemetery, 1801 E St. SE. Register your team and raise funds to provide year-round sports, health and inclusion programs for over 2,500 DC residents with intellectual disabilities. With your help, Special Olympics can get more athletes in the game. $25 registration includes commemorative 2021 Torch Run t-shirt, music, and snacks at the finish line. For more information, contact 202-704-2704 or fundraising@ specialolympicsdc.org. Register at dctouchrun.org.

Frederick Douglass Bridge Opening Sept 6. A “Celebration of Progress”: New Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge Deck Opening Celebration will be held on Monday, Sept. 6, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on the New Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge. Attendees will have an opportunity to explore the new bridge before it opens to car traffic. This family-friendly event will feature children’s activities, food, live music, and a multimodal parade, showcasing multiple forms of transportation that will use the bridge for generations to come.

Southwest Community Grant Opportunity The Southwest Community Foundation announces a special grant opportunity that opens Oct. 1. The foundation

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expects to award up to seven grants of between $5,000 and $10,000 for innovative projects that enhance the lives of people living in Near Southwest DC. The grant funds have been made possible by a community-benefits agreement negotiated by ANC6D. The foundation will publish application guidelines on its website by Oct. 1. The deadline for submission is Dec. 1. Awards will be announced and distributed in early 2022. sw-community-foundation.org.

Oktoberfest at The Wharf Come to The Wharf, 760 Maine Ave. SW, to celebrate Oktoberfest on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2 to 5 p.m. for an afternoon of German-inspired food and specials at their restaurants and shops. Read more at wharfdc.com/upcoming-events.

SE Library Book Sales Resume The full-scale Friends of Southeast Library (FOSEL) book sales are back on the second Saturday of every month on the lower level of the library on Saturday, Sept. 11, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., to shop a range of titles with prices starting at $1. Proceeds supplement library programs. Donations of hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction books for any age are accepted from Tuesday, Sept. 7 through Friday, Sept. 10. Please limit donations. to what can fit in the blue bin which will be at the D Street entrance to the library during the donation period. dclibrary.org/southeast.

Nationals Announce 2022 Schedule The Washington Nationals--in conjunction with Major League Baseball—have announced their 2022 schedule. The 18th season of Nationals baseball will commence with an Opening Day matchup against the New York Mets at Citi Field on March 31. Washington’s initial road trip will feature three games against the Mets before the home opener at Nationals Park against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 4. Washington’s first homestand will include a two-game series against the Phillies from April 4 to 6 and a four-game series against the New York Mets, April 7 to 10. mlb.com/nationals.com.

CHRS Guided Walking Tours On September 11 and 12, your guide leads the way to adventure in this unique historic neighborhood. The Capitol Hill Restoration Society is offering two fan-favorites from

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the Mother’s Day Tour of Tours--plus two new tours, requested by attendees. Here’s the tour menu: Architecture of Capitol Hill (learn about the rich variety and interplay of style and function in this historic neighborhood); Capitol Hill Alleys (a trip back in time to explore the workaday world of both residential and commercial uses); Hollywood on the Hill (filming locations on Capitol Hill with Author Mike Canning); Notable People of Capitol Hill (sites associated with many of the historically significant people who have made Capitol Hill their home). Tours will follow CDC guidelines, and District of Columbia regulations, in effect at the time of the tours regarding outdoor mask requirements. Tour size will be limited to 15-20 people. Additional tours will be offered in November. Reservations are available at chrs.org.

Hill Center’s Annual Family Day Oct 3 This Family Day, celebrate Hill Center’s 10th

birthday! Come mark the occasion with a full day of fun: horse-drawn wagon rides, interactive games and crafts, Turley the Magician, face-painting, and balloon animals from Balloons by Brenda. The event will be entirely outdoors this year. At 2:30 pm, Turley the Magician, one of DC’s most renowned family performers, will entertain and dazzle people of ages with his incredible show. At 4 pm, King Bullfrog will hit the stage with highenergy original, folk and blues songs carefully tailored to get children dancing and delight grownups. Sunday, October 3 @ 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm. Tickets are free, but everyone must reserve a ticket in advance for entry. WWW.hillcenterdc.org

CHRS Preservation Cafe – Window Replacement Paul DonVito of Architectural Window Corporation will be the featured speaker at a virtual presentation, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 6:30 p.m. Preservation Cafes are free to CHRS members and non-members. A WebEx link will be posted and

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NoMa Outdoor Movies Return The NoMa Business Improvement District is bringing back its free outdoor movie series (renamed CiNoMatic) at a new location, every Wednesday night at sunset through Oct. 27. The popular event, formerly known as NoMa Summer Screen, premiered in 2008, making this one of DC’s longest-running summer movie series. Here’s the remaining lineup: Sept. 8, Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of The Desert (R); Sept. 15, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (PG); Sept. 22, Fast Five (PG-13); Sept. 29, Monsoon Wedding (R); Oct. 6, The Farewell (PG); Oct. 13, Moana (PG); Oct. 20, How Stella Got Her Groove Back (R); Oct. 27, Coco (PG). Movies begin at sunset, with seating on the lawn one hour prior to showtime. Movie-goers can bring their own blankets, chairs, and picnic dinners. Food and drinks will also be available for purchase from local food trucks. This year’s movie screenings have a new home at Alethia Tanner Park, 227 Harry Thomas Way NE. For more information and weather-related schedule updates, visit cinomatic.org.

To My Dear Splash Clientele: I would first like to tell you how Splash came into being. Having been a BMW motorcycle rider for 19 years, and having gone to Alaska and across most of Canada on same, I was unprepared for a blue-haired lady, talking to her husband, running a stop sign intersecting on Route 17 before Tappahannock, Virginia, on which I was traveling with a young lady who was, shall we say, a little on the “healthy” side. In the ensuing collision, and with the considerable help of my companion’s avoirdupois, I broke two arms and a leg(compound femur- a big ouch) and was in traction for 60 days. There was a substantial settlement with the lady’s insurance company… and that is how I financed the 1978 purchase of the land from the bankruptcy of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company; be advised that this is not a recommended manner and source of funding for like-investments. Now why put a car wash on that Oklahoma-shaped lot on the worst dirt in the Southeast? While sitting in bed with my pre-ex-wife (think “pre-owned” cars), I asked her “What do we drive off the Hill for?” Her answer was “A car wash.” It was that simple, that sincere. After visiting 85 car washes, really, I made the layout and had an architect design the building for Splash, handing him a book of Luis Barragan’s work, my favorite Mexican architect, and told him “that is the flavor, that is the inspiration”, which produced the textures, colors, and angles of the car wash. Now some twenty-five years later, I have yielded to local needs and personal necessity and have sold the land under Splash, owned by an entity known as the Capitol Hill Racquet Club, a prior venture which was undermined by an architect’s inattention to the financial parameters set out for him, as the lowest bid came in 86% over his budget. Architects are a barrel of fun. But to you my interesting and dear clients, I owe you years of gratitude and tears of emotional separation – this closing and losing contact with you is most difficult. You have supported this locally funded and developed small business for a quarter of a century. After you thank yourselves, I would like to thank you for a great experience, a great ride. — Adios….Ronan (the omnipresent Irish Setter) and Tim Temple

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activated shortly before the meeting. Visit chrs.org/window-replacementpc for more information.

Night Market SW Remaining Dates

Market SW, the night market at Southwest Waterfront once again provides a splash of culture, shopping, entertainment, food and beverage, and some outdoor community engaged fun to the corner of Fourth and M Streets SW. Remaining dates are Sept. 3 and 17; Oct. 1 and 15; 4 to 10 p.m. The night market is directly across the street from Waterfront Station Metro and near Arena Stage. marketswdc.com.

Annual NSO Labor Day Concert Returns National Symphony Orchestra’s free annual Labor Day weekend concert returns on Sunday, Sept. 5, at 8 p.m. and is relocated this year from the West Lawn of the US Capitol to the Kennedy Center South Plaza. Featuring music from Duke Ellington, new Kennedy Center Composer-in-Residence Carlos Simon, Jessie Montgomery, and Michael Abels, amidst patriotic music like the Star-Spangled Banner, the program spans a wide spectrum of American composers. Free; no tickets required. First come, first served for seating. kennedy-center.org.

National Arboretum Fall 5K

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On Saturday, Oct. 9, there will be a 5K run through the grounds of the National Arboretum. Tickets are $30 and includes a complimentary neck gaiter designed for this event. There’s also a virtual 5K option so you can participate from wherever you are in the country. Sign up at fona.org.

DC Shorts Film Festival The DC Shorts Film Festival, Sept. 9 to 19, is an annual film festival held in DC. It was designed to showcase the best short films from around the globe

EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF CAPITOL HILL & BEYOND You Don’t Belong Here! On Tuesday Sept. 14, 7 to 8 p.m. via Zoom, Elizabeth Becker will talk about her new book, You Don’t Belong Here, the story of three extraordinary female journalists who covered the Vietnam war—Kate Webb, an Australian iconoclast; Catherine Leroy, a French dare-devil photographer; and Frances FitzGerald, a blueblood American intellectual. Sponsored by Capitol Hill Village. Village Voices programs are free and open to the public. To register go to capitolhill.helpfulvillage. com/events/7615-village-voices-withelizabeth-becker.

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NEW MILLENNIUM and honor all visual storytellers. This year the festival showcases 95 outstanding short films from 26 countries online in 18 Showcases. An all-access pass is $75. festival.dcshorts.com.

National Book Festival: Ten Days in Multiple Formats The 2021 Library of Congress National Book Festival invites audiences to create their own festival experiences from programs in a range of formats and an expanded schedule from Sept. 17 to 26. The lineup includes authors, poets and illustrators from America and around the world. Festival content will be available online through videos on demand, author conversa-

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Diverse Markets Joins Eastern Market Flea Market Now entering its 38th year of operations, The Flea Market at Eastern Market (7th and C Streets, SE) operates on the 300 block of 7th St SE and the C Street Plaza each weekend year-round. Starting on September 4, 2021, Diverse Markets has contracted with 700 Penn/Eastbanc to expand the Flea Market to Saturdays on the 700 block of C Street SE, according to Michael Berman, President of Diverse Markets stated. “With this additional market activity complementing the existing Saturday arts market and farmers market at Eastern Market and on the 300 block of 7th Street, the Flea Market will fill in a vacant area bordered by active restaurants, retail, and residential apartments and condos,” he said. While emphasizing antiques, arts, collectibles, crafts, and imports, the Saturday version of the Flea will be a high-quality market featuring a mix of unique products. Further information about the Flea Market at Eastern Market and vending there can be found at Easternmarket.net.

tions in real time and live question-and-answer sessions, as well as a new podcast series, a national television special and some in-person, ticketed events at the Library. Local libraries, community centers and attendees are also encouraged to host watch parties and other community events in their local areas. loc.gov/ events/2021-national-book-festival.

10 Free Rides on Capitol Bikeshare DDOT and its six partner jurisdictions have announced a new partnership between Capital Bikeshare, operated by Lyft, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to incentivize riders to use clean transportation options. Metrobus and Metrorail riders who purchase a virtual SmarTrip card or transfer their physical, plastic SmarTrip card to mobile pay on Android, iPhone or Apple Watch will receive ten 30-minute classic rides on Capital Bikeshare, valid for 30 days. The promotion is also good for riders with an existing virtual SmarTrip card. The vir-

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tual SmarTrip card provides Metrorail and Metrobus riders a “touch-free” experience and a safer, more convenient way to pay. Riders can quickly and seamlessly pass through fare gates with their mobile device. ddot.dc.gov.

Outdoor, Popup Book Sales On Thursdays, Sept. 16, and Oct. 21; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., downtown DC’s outdoor, pop-up bookstore reappears on Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Shop thousands of gently used books, CDs and DVDs, for $6 or less. Books are provided by Carpe Librum, a local used bookstore benefitting nonprofit Turning the Page (turningthepage.org). Book sales are cancelled in the case of inclement weather. downtowndc.org.

Weed Wrangle Day at Langston Golf Course On Saturday, Sept. 25, 9 a.m. to noon, volunteers will help the Anacostia Watershed Society control invasive plants in the Anacostia River as part of the Weed Wrangle Day, an event organized by the National Capital Region’s Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management. The event will involve removing invasive plant material from a riverside area of Kingman Island at Langston Golf Course. Volunteers meet at the driving range parking lot on Benning Road. This effort is sponsored by National Links Trust. Registration is required at anacostiaws.org/event/337-new-event.

Frederick Douglass Historic Grounds Reopen The Grounds of the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site are now open to the public, Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Visitor Center

and historic home remain closed. The Park presently offers a short orientation talk by park staff from the porch of the Douglass Home; a new cell phone tour; Junior Ranger program for kids and youth, panoramic views of DC from the historic grounds and an ADA accessible restroom. nps.gov/frdo.

Apply for #STAYDC Rent or Utilities Help Through STAY DC, renters and housing providers can apply for funding to cover past and future rental payments in addition to utilities like water, gas, and electricity. For more information and to apply, visit stay.dc.gov or call 1-833-478-2932. You can also visit stay.dc.gov/events to find in-person STAY DC workshops near you.

Computer/Technology Classes at MLK Library MLK Library, 901 G St. NW, has a wide array of virtual and in-person classes in computers, technology, web basics, email basics, Word 1 basics, PC basics, Excel basics, Microsoft Office Specialist exams, typing, GED practice tests, Google Docs and more. For the listing, visit dclibrary.org/mlk.

Outstanding Tickets Amnesty Ends this Month Through Sept. 30, 2021, there is an amnesty program to give DC and non-DC drivers the opportunity to pay outstanding tickets. During this time, the penalties drivers incurred on tickets will be waived. Eligible tickets are parking, photo enforcement (including speed, red-light and stop-sign cameras) and minor moving violations issued by law enforcement. At the end of the amnesty period, all penalties will be added back on all tickets. ticketamnesty.dc.gov.

Help Afghan Refugees Coming to the DMV More than 2500 SIV Afghans and their family members are expected in our region during the weeks ahead. Good Neighbors Capitol Hill (a coalition of faith communities and others helping to assist refugees) has been welcoming Afghan allies as refugees for the past 5 years. Here are some ways you can assist: 1. Donate furnishings in good condition 2. Help prepare apartments for new arrivals 3. Tutor men, women or children and teens 4. Mentor new arrivals and enlarge your family. 6. Donate cash to purchase groceries and essential

household items Go to our website www.goodneighborscapitolhill.org. Contact us to volunteer or to make a donation. Learn what our partner agencies are doing. Discover opportunities and get involved!

teachers and staff. This not only protects the health and wellness of our school communities but supports schools to remain open for in-person instruction safely.

Douglass Bridge Opening Sept. 6-7, 9a.m.

John Luther Adams’s Sila: The Breath of the World

On Monday, September 6 at 9 a.m. and Tuesday, September 7, 11 a.m., Mayor Muriel Bowser and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will celebrate the opening of the new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge. The two-day celebration will kick off on Labor Day with a 5K and community celebration with food, live entertainment, and fun for residents of all ages. On Tuesday, Mayor Bowser will join federal partners, members of the Douglass family, and other invited guests and dignitaries for a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Residents are encouraged to register early for the Fun Run and can do so at bit.ly/FDMBCelebration.

Help for Late Water Bills DC Water customers who are behind on their bills are urged to contact DC Water at 202-354-3600 or customer.service@dcwater.com to find out what customer assistance programs are available. There are several financial assistance plans—some for emergency relief and others that provide ongoing discounts. Information is also available at dcwater.com/cap, including how to apply for financial assistance or establish a payment plan. Late fees on past due balances resumed September 1. Customers can avoid late fees by signing up for, and staying current with, a payment plan.

DC’s School-Based COVID-19 Testing is Now Opt-Out All DC Public Schools and students at public charter schools participating in the District’s testing program will be automatically eligible for symptomatic and random asymptomatic testing as part of the centralized, school-based COVID-19 testing program with Shield T3. The test will be a non-invasive, saliva-based PCR test. Instead of a nasal swab, students will hold a small vial with a funnel attached and produce a saliva sample. Consent for student COVID-19 testing will take place via an “opt-out” process. Parents, guardians, and students 18 and older can revoke consent through an opt-out form at osse.dc.gov. When schools implement testing combined with other prevention strategies, they can detect new cases to of COVID-19 to prevent potential outbreaks and further protect students,

On Sunday, Sept. 26, 5 p.m., cocommissioned by Washington Performing, John Luther Adams’s “choose-your-own-adventure” outdoor work returns to DC. Wander among the musicians as they disperse across the Kennedy Center’s REACH campus and discover how the atmospheric piece challenges you to experience the connection among music, nature, and the world around you. No tickets or advance registration are required for this free event. washingtonperformingarts.org.

Jazz Preservation Festival Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 I St. SW, invites you to their annual Jazz Preservation Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, all day, featuring a different set of musicians every hour, art exhibits, vendor sales, health screenings and information. Food served all day. Free admission. No rain date; inclement weather takes all activities indoors. westminsterdc.org.

Meet Daniel Mulhall, Ireland’s Ambassador to the US On Tuesday, Sept. 21, 6 to 7 p.m., meet Daniel Mulhall, Ireland’s Ambassador to the US at Hill Center, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. “Meet the Ambassador” is a public affairs program hosted by Hill Center with former Michigan Governor and Ambassador Jim Blanchard that showcases the diplomatic community in Washington. Governor Blanchard engages in a lively, one hour conversation with the Honorable Daniel Mulhall, Ireland’s ambassador to the United States, about current international issues and the day-to-day life of a diplomat. $10 admission to support Hill Center. hillcenterdc.org.

National Maternal and Infant Health Summit On Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 2 p.m., Mayor Bowser will kick off the Fourth Annual National Maternal & Infant Health Summit. This year’s summit, which will have both in-person and virtual options for attendees, will include an in-person kickoff event on Wednesday, Sept. 15 at the Washington Convention Center. This year, the summit will discuss what respectful maternal care means in the District, highlight various birthing options and pathways to parenting, and demonstrate District investments in proven supports for birthing

people, babies, and their families. To learn more and to RSVP, visit dcmaternalhealth.com

Ward 6 COVID Test Yourself Sites Test Yourself DC is a COVID-19 At Home Testing Kit that allows you to take a COVID-19 test at home without having to wait in line at a testing site. The COVID-19 At Home Testing Kit should be used by individuals 18 years of age and older or by children ages 3 and older with assistance from a parent or legal guardian. Ward 6 test yourself sites are: Arthur Capper Community Center, 1000 Fifth St. SE; Rosedale Recreation Center, 1701 Gales St. NE; Southwest Library, 900 Wesley Pl. SW; DC Health, 899 North Capitol St. NE; Shaw Library, 1630 Seventh St. NW. coronavirus.dc.gov/testyourse

Find a Vaccination Enter your zip code and get vaccination sites within one mile, five miles, ten miles and farther from your home— anywhere in the country. Also get information on incentives, childcare and free rides. You can also call 1-800232-0233. vaccines.gov.

DC’s COVID-19 Hotline District residents who are homebound due to COVID-19 can request support from the District for food and other essential items. Call 1-888-349-8323 or visit coronavirus.dc.gov/gethelp. u September 2021 H 93

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CAPITOL CUISINE by Celeste McCall

In the Atlas District, Daru creates exotic Indian cuisine with international ﬂourishes, including this generous, ﬂavorful lamb shank. Photo: C. McCall

New Indian Daru, an exceptional Indian restaurant with international flair, has arrived in the Atlas District. You’ll find it at 1451 Maryland Ave., NE (the former Star Grocery), just off H Street. “We’re so excited to be a part of the neighborhood,” co-owner Dante Datta explained as we surveyed the busy kitchen where chicken tikka was roasting on vertical skewers. “We found this property thanks to a real estate broker friend.” Created by Dante and chef/co-owner Suresh Sundas, the kitchen turns out the familiar Indian dishes with creative touches: Daal (spicy lentils) are perched on burrata; paneer cheese arrives in pesto tikka; naan is dusted with Middle Eastern za’atar blend; achiote-red jackfruit is tucked into flatbread tacos.(The co-owners met at the West End Rasika in 2012.) Asked about the new restaurant’s name, Dante explained “Daru” means “hooch” or “moonshine.” We had to check this out. On a Thursday evening, we settled by the window in the restaurant’s cozy corner space. The place was humming. Our excellent servers–Athena and Helen—recommended the lamb shanks (instead of lamb chops), describing the shanks as richer, more flavorful than chops. She had that right. The lamb had marinated overnight in garam masala and mace, before roasting in Kashmiri chili paste, coconut milk and saffron. The enormous portion could feed two; we took half of it home. Peter chose chicken tikka, where chef Sundas had marinated the white meal cubes in onion, tomato masala and fenugreek before roasting them on vertical skewers. We also sampled palate-blasting dhungar bhartha (smoked eggplant with onions, ginger and cilantro and lots of hot peppers). A dollop of yogurt would have soothed my singed palate. Daru’s wonderful Indian breads include garlic naan, whole wheat roti and an assorted basket; we chose za’atar olive naan.

Besides innovative cocktails concocted by Columbia Room alum Tom Martinez, there’s a selection of beers—including Taj Mahal lager from India and American-style India pale ale (from Kalamazoo, Michigan). From the brief wine list, I quaffed a Tempranillo/Granache blend from France. Dinner for two with a drink apiece came to $79 before tip. Daru seats 40 diners inside plus another 16 on the patio. For now, Daru is open Tuesday-Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m. with brunch planned for the future. Call 202-388-1848.

An old favorite, Eastern Market’s Market Lunch, welcomes customers with blueberry pancakes, fried ﬁsh, crab cakes and more. A popular Market Lunch entrée is the fried ﬂounder, served with fries, coleslaw and tartar sauce. Photo by Pete McCall

Revisiting an old Favorite As many new restaurants are opening around Capitol Hill, husband Peter decided to revisit an old favorite. Here’s Peter: Market Lunch beckoned as I led a fellow DC tour guide on a stroll around America’s best urban neighborhood. We found Eastern Market’s venerable eatery—dating from 1978—as good as September 2021 ★ 95

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ever, although pricier than in pre-pandemic times. However, you can now use your credit card to purchase those fish sandwiches, burgers, crab cakes, blueberry pancakes, omelets, French toast and other favorites. Market Lunch is no longer “cash only.” On a recent Wednesday, there was no line for food so we were served promptly. My crispy rockfish sandwich, served with coleslaw and tartar sauce, was well worth the $12.95 price tag. “Delicious,” agreed

rive until next summer. The 7,000-square-foot space at 1299 First Street SE, replicates the Shaw layout with a second-floor space and third-story rooftop. BHG executive chef Julio Estrada’s tater tots, burgers, wings, and sliders will arrive at the future location. A 24-line draft system will dispense cocktails and beers. By year’s end, BHG also hopes to bring a spinoff of its Penn Quarter Boardwalk bar to the Wharf.

ma,” popular breakfast fare similar to China’s congee. Thamee’s full bar remains. Call 202-750-6529 or visit www.thamee.com.

Snazzy Gin Joint The Wells, a snazzy gin bar, has opened at 727 C St. SE, wedged between The Duck and the Peach and La Collina. Designed by HapstakDemetriou+, the décor is stunning with Bocci light fixtures, forest green sofas, and leather cushions lining brown banquettes, lounge seats and barstools. Besides all kinds of gin and other inventive cocktails, mixologist Philip Keath pours champagne (including a $400 bottle of Krug), upscale wines and beers. Imbibers may munch on potato chips—naked ($5) or with crème fraiche and Ossetra caviar ($115). The Wells requires reservations, available through Tock. Visit www.exploretock.com/ thewellsdc.com.

Wine About it

Across from Eastern Market, The Wells gin bar sports a stunning décor. Guests may also quaff Krug Champagne while noshing on chips and caviar. Photo courtesy of Sarah Matista Photography

colleague John, as he chowed down on the flounder sandwich with fries ($11.95). I considered ordering the meaty crab cake sandwich, tagged at $18. Next time! While seated at the long communal table, we chatted with an interesting customer who shared his life story. We agreed our down-home lunch was a wonderful, nostalgic vignette of Capitol Hill. Market Lunch is open Tuesday-Sunday for breakfast and lunch, starting at 7:30 a.m. For more information call 833-200-6878 or visit www.marketlunchdc.com.

Beer Here Five years after arriving in Shaw, Better Hospitality Group will unveil another Takoda Restaurant & Beer Garden. This one is coming to Navy Yard. Don’t rush over right away! The sibling restaurant won’t ar96 H HILLRAG.COM

Welcome Back In the Atlas District, Burmese restaurant Thamee has reopened for on-site dining. However, customers no longer find servers to pour drinks, debone fish tableside, or answer questions. Due to the pandemic and labor shortages, Thamee (Burmese for “daughter”) has switched from fine dining to fast casual. “I would rather have fast, friendly, casual service than service that doesn’t hit the mark,” co-owner Simone Jacobson told Eater DC. Now, customers order at a counter and carry their trays (lined with banana leaves) to the renovated upstairs dining room with an outdoor patio. QR codes on the tables allow diners to order additional food and drinks. The kitchen still concocts curries with coconut, chicken, pork, eggplant, mangos and more. You can also order mohinga, the “national dish of Bur-

We had a divine midday repast at Eastern, the dressy wine bar at 360 Seventh St. SE. (Sister restaurant is Barrel, 613 Pennsylvania Ave. SE.) While focusing on fruit-of-the-vine, Eastern also showcases innovative, Southern-accented food, prepared by executive chef Walter Herandez. Seated on the patio, we shared a house dip: house-made pimento cheese with home-baked charcuterie rolls. The bread was flecked with tiny bits of meat and cheese. While the kitchen specializes in charcuteries, I ordered the BLT: sourdough bread enveloping Nueske’s bacon (as good as Benton’s), Bibb lettuce and thickly sliced heirloom tomatoes, all slathered with Duke’s mayo. Healthier–but equally tasty—options are tuna tartare with avocado and orange ginger glaze, and red snapper ceviche dotted with circlets of baby cukes, radishes and nuoc cham (an Asian lime, fish sauce and garlic mixture). The spritely dish was escorted by house-fried won tons. Complementing our meal was a glass of Spanish Albarino and a refreshing mimosa. Lunch for two came to $60 before tip. Service was excellent, provided by Ryan.

Newland Moves In At last, someone is moving into the space vacated by Montmartre, 327 Seventh St. SE. Look for Newland, a “new American” restaurant, in the near future. Heading the kitchen will be Maryland-native Andrew Markert. Watch for details.. u

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AT THE MOVIES

Second Look: An Annual Survey of Overlooked Films

by Mike Canning

and fully in period. Locations, costuming and hair, high-toned dialogue, and period music (a mix of Mozart, church tunes, and traditional airs)—all combine to present a world that Austen would recognize. As a “comic” Austen novel, the picture opens as flighty and twee, but then develops a more poignant mood as the miscues of Emma (Anya TaylorJoy) come to actually affect people’s lives. Young Taylor-Joy shows she can handle period rom-com quite capably. Her look—porcelain skin and marble eyes—gibes with the character, and Pierfrancesco Favino as Tommaso Buscetta (on the lamb) in “The Traitor.” © Fabio Lovino. Courtesy Sony Pictures Classics she expresses moods both shallow and spirited with poise. For now, she contemporary Romania is a wonder: a meticulously will do nicely as the latest EMMA. crafted landmark of investigative journalism. The The Personal History of David Copperfield title comes from the name of a Bucharest nightclub, – This is a triumph of a movie adapting a literary scene of a fatal fire in October 2015. After the fire masterpiece, achieving, in boisterous style, the feel deaths, multiple burn victims died of infections in of the original. The diverse cast, led by a lively Dev the aftermath, causing a national scandal. By early Patel as David, offers a parade of fine comic actors 2016, director Alexander Nauau and his crew began performing as if oblivious to their own comic world. covering the scandal, following crusading journalist Peter Capaldi (Micawber), Ben Wishaw (Heep), Catalin Tolotan, who leads a team to discover the Hugh Laurie, and Tilda Swinton, among many truth through persistent inquiry and shoe leather. others, are standouts in their clueless unawareness That inquiry is told in a pokerfaced style reminiscent of their circumstances. Director Armando Iannucci of documentarian Frederick Wiseman: no interviews, choregraphs his charges in a headlong series of quick no voice overs, no suggestive music track: just the cuts and lively vignettes steady presence of the all-seeing camera. that keeps the pace hectic The Traitor – The story of the man who broke yet the plot clear. The the Mafia in the 1980’s told in gripping detail. production lovingly creates Tomasso Buscetta (Pierfrancesco Favino) makes a the world and wardrobe of fateful decision in prison to tell all to another Sicilian rural Victorian England to as tough as he is: Judge Giovanni Falcone (Fausto a tee, and the jaunty music Russo Alesi). The result of his vast testimony is the and smart cinematography famous maxi-trial in Palermo, with Buscetta the star enhance the fun. witness before more than 300 Mafiosi defendants. As usual, each film Favino carries the film with a mix of toughness and season presents great grace, portraying a once violent man seeking a way to foreign-language films a better life. While there is action and suspense, the worth a look. Here are two best scenes are quiet, thoughtful ones where Tommaso of last year’s best: pours out his revelations to the solemn but sympathetic Collective – This Falcone. The film, directed by legendary Italian Marco documentary about Anya Taylor-Joy (left) as Emma Woodhouse and Bill Nighy as her officious father Bellocchio, swept the 2019 Italian film awards. ingrained corruption in in EMMA., a Focus Features release ith this annual column, I again nominate several “Movies That Got Away,” feature films (from 2020) less noticed or hyped upon release. This selection avoids blockbuster fare for movies which offered something distinctive, discriminating, or novel. Most of the films mentioned below had short runs and modest US box office but glowed with quality. As in all movie seasons, there are standout individual and ensemble performances that too few people saw and which were mostly ignored during awards season. I cite one lead performance and two 19th C. period pieces with standout ensembles. Sound of Metal – A triumph of a lead performance from Riz Ahmed as Ruben, a rock drummer who gradually loses his hearing, laments his fate, then struggles to come to terms with that loss with grudging acceptance and a careful, thoughtful reconstruction of his life. That redemption comes through working and learning within a small deaf community where he is mentored by Joe, a Vietnam War veteran, who helps him find his own way by learning signing. The film exhibits stunning sound design, with clots of sound whirling in and out of the sound track, mimicking Ruben’s auditory experience (The film won an Academy Award for sound design). EMMA – Debut director Autumn De Wilde’s take on the Jane Austen classic is strikingly traditional

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A contingent of attendees at “Boys’ State.” At center, front row, is Rene Otero, one of the convention’s leaders. Photo courtesy of A24 and Apple

Splendid documentaries, too, surface every film year. Below, note three intricate and heartening American exemplars: Crip Camp – In the early 1970s, teenagers with disabilities faced a future shaped by isolation and institutionalization. Camp Jened, a camp “for the handicapped” in the Catskills, exploded these limitations. And it became their breakout Utopia, a place with summertime sports, smoking, make out sessions, and campers who finally felt fulfilled as human beings. Those bonds endured as some migrated to Berkeley, California, where friendships forged at the camp morphed into movements that realized that disruption plus unity could secure life-changing accessibility for millions. Co-directed by Nicole Newnham and former camper Jim LeBrecht, this exuberant documentary depends crucially on found footage from the 1970’s camp that introduces us to irrepressible characters who will later lead to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Boys’ State – “Boys’ State” is a week-long program in which rising Texas high school seniors gather at the University of Texas for an elaborate mock exercise: building their own state government. Filmmakers Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine tracked the 2018 edition of the program, where

some 1,000 17-year-olds participated in a riveting gubernatorial race. The filmmakers, showing an eagle eye, focus on a quartet of committed, distinctive kids to carry the drama. It is a kind of miracle that the directors pulled off the film from out of this ten-ring circus. One reason is that they assigned seven different sound-and-film crews to troll the campus, collecting hundreds of offhand conversations, speechifying moments, and personal interviews with the boys themselves. The Fight – Though hardly a reclusive organization, the ACLU has never granted access to its offices, where it battles rights issues like immigration, abortion, LGBTQ issues and voting—subjects that remain more significant than ever. The filmmakers of “The Fight” were granted that access and followed four inspiring attorneys, all handling landmark cases. Each lawyer is given equal time in this smartly edited film, making complex cases clear while keeping up the tension. Though the four are nerdish workaholics, their humanity also comes through. To get that rounded view of brilliant individuals, the filmmakers show their vulnerable sides, too, as when one panics trying to charge his cell phone, and another dutifully practices his Supreme Court speech at his bathroom mirror. ◆

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September 2021 ★ 99

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ARTandtheCITY by Jim Magner

ARTIST PROFILE: NANCY FRANKEL

rganic Sculpture. Organic Geometry. Organic Thoughts. Organic ideas that “get past the surface aspects of reality to find deeper meaning.” With Nancy Frankel, nature and structure come together in space. She wanted all of her works, in-

Yellow and White. Wood, plexiglass, acrylic. 60"x48"x30”

door and outdoor to be “precarious, yet balanced.” It was always a search for joy and wonder in so many forms and materials. Her work gave substance to space, but it wasn’t just a space filler. Each sculpture is a visual life form that casts a shadow and grows in size as you watch it. It will also grow in dignity and intellectual stature. Her own shadow fills the spaces among those who she has touched and welcomed into her vision of nature…and the meaning of it all. Nancy was born in DC and was based here as an 100 H HILLRAG.COM

gant paradox of apparent tranquility and biological savagery and then draw your own visions and interpretations. Nancy Frankel looked past the “surface aspects of reality to find a deeper meaning.” The intellectual meaning is human—us. To find a higher interpretation you have to look beyond the ordinary, beyond the self. The highest significance is goodness: art at its purest intent. That was the art of Nancy Frankel. Like the best in art, music or literature, she aimed to transcend nature, not just copy it or reflect it. Art at its most noble should rise above base human instincts and lift us into the realm of wonder. You have to search with both your head and your heart— mine aren’t always on speaking terms—but you have to employ one or both to take off…fly with the spirits. To do that you may have to follow your other brain—the one that disobeys—not the mind you keep under control by the need to be safe. Release your heart—let it sit on the mountaintop. See beauty despite uncaring nature. See beautifully. Accept the realities of death and Red Tower. Wood and acrylic. 27"x7"x 6” destruction and dance

artist. She majored in art and began sculpting at Temple University. She received her MFA at Columbia University. While living in New York she studied with Hans Hoffman and was introduced to abstract expressionism. She also studied at the Art Academy in Munich, Germany. Her first major recognition came in 1972 with the Conference of Women in Visional Arts held at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in DC. She was an adjunct professor of sculpture at Montgomery College in Rockville, MD, and a member of the Studio Gallery Artist Cooperative. In 2019, the Katzen Arts Center at the American University presented: “Nancy at 90. A Retrospective of Form and Color.” Nancy Frankel recently died in her home in Kensington, MD. She was 92. Her life’s work is shown at the Zenith Art Gallery (See below.)

Jim Magner’s Thoughts on Art Nature never rests—it is moving in millions of places all at once and it doesn’t give a damn what you see or think. If you see opulent color, fine. If you see lavish beauty, fine. If you are horrified by death and destruction, too bad. Don’t blame or credit nature for what you see or think…it doesn’t care. You have to care. You have to decide what you want to look for and accept from the extrava-

with the supernatural in the wild dance of art.

At the Galleries

Zenith Gallery also manages the sales of works by Nancy Frankel. (See: Artist Profile) zenithgallery.com

“Let’s Dance” Zenith Gallery Presents All Member Show 1111 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Foundry Gallery –November 21, 2021 2008 8th St., N.W. Jackie Braitman captures the Sept. 3-26 tension of motion: fluidity in The September show is a static sculpture. Her latwith all gallery members. est series is titled “MomenThere will be the usual vatum.” She captures the grace riety of styles and topics— and athleticism of the female with both smaller and largdancer to combine abstract er pieces. It will be the first and realistic elements, and show of two new members, finds that magical moment expressionist painters, Briwhen the dancer feels susan Truesdale and Zhaojuan pended in mid-air. Sun. foundrygallery.org Joanathan Ribaillier’s Totem. Painted steel. 84"x 40"x21” people also dance and gy“Our Washington, D.C.” rate. He uses figures cut from American Painting Fine Art antique maps because they “symbolize the roads 5125 MacArthur Blvd., NW, Suite 17 people travel and their journeys and struggles for –Sept 30 a better life.” He knows of that first hand as an “Our Washington, D.C.” is exactly that: ten very immigrant from France. He spent his childhood popular Washington area landscape artists give around Lyon’s largest flea market where his famiyou the expected monuments and a lot more. ly dealt with maps and similar artifacts. The gallery is open from Wed through Sat., 11 AM – 7 PM. (And by appointment.) And, Nancy at the Katsen Center of course all of the paintings can be found on the website. classicamericanpainting.com On a personal note: You can watch the very short video (85 sec.) for my historical fiction novel, The Dead Man on the Corner. https:// youtu.be/bQad2_Ck78Q You can buy the book on both Amazon and Barnes and Nobel, along with my other new historical fiction novel, John Dillinger and Geronimo. See: www.JamesJohnMagner.com A Capitol Hill artist and writer, Jim can be reached at Artandthecity05@aol.com u

September 2021 H 101

. arts and dining .

the LITERARY HILL A Compendium of Readers, Writers, Books, & Events by Karen Lyon

Eastern Market chef Jonathan Bardzik’s second edition of “Simple Summer” is packed with delicious new recipes and stories.

A Celebration of Food – and Life In his second edition of “Simple Summer,” Jonathan Bardzik presents a slew of innovative recipes— including scrumptious new offerings for breakfast (poppy seed ricotta waffles) and shared dishes (nectarine glazed wings)—as well as loads of delightfully discursive stories and helpful tips. Bardzik’s focus has shifted slightly from his 2014 edition of the book, which was subtitled “entertaining with ease.” This time around, it’s all about “joy and connection.” No need for a “perfectly executed and timed menu,” he maintains. For Bardzik’s version of “scruffy entertaining,” “the only effort you need to make is a warm welcome—and maybe something cold to drink.” Of course, it helps to have some farm-fresh ingredients on hand and a recipe or two in your back pocket. This is where “Simple Summer” comes in. From his mom’s zucchini pancakes to watermelon gazpacho and raw corn salad, every recipe bursts with flavorful goodness. And if some of Bardzik’s creative combinations may seem a tad unusual (blueberry and portabella mushroom tacos?), just trust him. The Eastern Market chef won’t steer you wrong. “Simple Summer” is a big bear hug of a book, with Bardzik’s warm and generous spirit providing the best seasoning of all. “Every meal should be a moment of joy and a celebration,” he writes, “best shared with those we love.” Jonathan Bardzik is the author of two other 102 H HILLRAG.COM

cookbooks, “Seasons to Taste” and “Fresh and Magical Vinaigrettes,” and has a new TV series on Revry, “Jonathan’s Kitchen: Seasons to Taste.” www.jonathanbardzik.com

Island Intrigue Jimmy Walsh is a former Boston cop trying to drink away his troubled past on a Caribbean island, “where every day is a fresh start.” He takes tourists out on diving excursions, enjoys a side hustle supplying them with drugs, and always has an ample supply of beer on hand. But even paradise has its demons. Across the sound from Jimmy’s dock is a private island owned by a rich and powerful man named Jon-

athan Alderman. Helicopters ferry presidents and politicians back and forth, but the island’s shadowy doings remain a mystery to the locals—until one night when a woman claiming to be a Senator’s daughter asks Jimmy to take her there on his boat. In J.D. Krueger’s new thriller, “A Very Private Island,” there’s something fishy going on at Alderman’s island. What Walsh glimpses after dropping his passenger off—including a young female employee who is clearly frightened—troubles him. “Something seemed off,” he thinks. “Something was wrong.” His unease only deepens when the Senator turns up dead and the alleged “daughter” disappears. Then a pair of goons starts threatening Jimmy. Will the washed-up police detective survive long enough to get to the bottom of things? And if he succeeds, will it be enough to redeem his past mistakes? With a nod to recent scandals, “A Very Private Island” exposes the inequities inherent in the pursuit of justice, pitting a politically connected man who is, in every sense, the king of his castle, against one lone crusader trying to breach the drawbridge. “We were all good once,” Jimmy says. “I’m trying real hard to be good again.” JD Krueger is originally from Massachusetts and now lives on Capitol Hill. This is his third thriller novel, and he has also written the dystopian science fiction novel, “Flora 5,” under the name Ben Larracey.

PoopGate

J.D. Krueger explores the seedier side of life in a tropical paradise in “A Very Private Island.”

An otherwise routine State of the Union address makes news when it’s interrupted by a bird who lets one fly right onto the president’s “perfectly sprayed, fluffy hair.” The president is furious, “PoopOnPOTUS” quickly becomes a Twitter hashtag, and the Capitol is all aflutter searching for the elusive bird. For Fina Mendoza, locating the feathered miscreant becomes something of a mission. She does, after all, have her reputation as a detective to uphold. In “State of the Union,” Kitty Felde’s second Fina Mendoza mystery for young readers (712 years), the fourth grader is feeling a little more comfortable on Capitol Hill than she was in “Welcome to Washington, Fina Mendoza,” when she

THE POETIC HILL by Karen Lyon

are carefully assigned and everyone’s date of departure is printed on her wrist at birth, all “neat and tidy.” But what happens when things don’t go as planned? Evalee Henders has always been scheduled to depart at age 17, but for some reason, the morning after her “death,” she wakes up, groggy but still very much alive. In Kitty Felde’s “State Whisked out of her home in a body bag, she of the Union,” young is rescued from the crematorium by a group detective Fina Menof rebels who spirit her to their camp outside doza goes in search of a bird who pooped on the domes, which she discovers is nothing the president’s head like the toxic, ruined wasteland she’d been in the Capitol. led to expect. What else, she wonders, has the Directorate been lying about? had just moved here with her sister and her faMeanwhile, her younger sister Gracelyn is ther, a newly-elected representative from Caliconvinced she heard movement in Evie’s room fornia. She has settled into a routine, going to the morning after her supposed departure. A school (where she struggles with fractions) and model citizen, even Gracelyn begins to queswalking Senator Something, a shaggy pooch tion her orderly existence, “the tight schedwho belongs to a Congresswoman. ules, the carefully-monitored food…the comThings get a little unsettled in the Mendoza household when Fina’s grandmother comes to live with them. Her fragrant cooking reminds them of home, but she becomes something of an embarrassment to Fina and her teenage sister—and especially to their father, whose work on a special immigration committee is undermined after Abuelita is interviewed on TV at a protest. Will they all be able to resolve their differences and live amicably together? Will Fina find and rescue the displaced bird? E.J. Wenstrom’s “Departures” follows Packed with lots of inside-DC poop two sisters struggling (sorry), “State of the Union” is a frisky and for autonomy in a controlled, post-apocentertaining read that’s also full of heart, alyptic world. compassion, and valuable lessons in tolerance and understanding. plying and optimizing… I can’t believe I ever Kitty Felde is a journalist who covered bought into all this,” she thinks. But can she Congress for public radio and is currently host break free? And how much will she be willing of the award-winning “Book Club for Kids” to give up in order to find her sister? podcast and creator of the “Fina Mendoza Mys“Departures” is an absorbing, thoughtteries” podcast. www.kittyfelde.com provoking book that questions the choices people make, the choices that are sometimes Dearly Departed made for them, and whether “a life dedicatIf you could live your life without experienced to just avoiding the bad” is really much of ing pain of any sort, would you? That’s one of a life at all. the conundrums posed in E.J. Wenstrom’s new E.J. Wenstrom is a sci-fi writer whose science fiction novel, “Departures,” where, unbook, “Mud,” the first in her Chronicles of the der the domed Quads of the Directorate, everyThird Real War series, won the Royal Palm one’s life is “optimized and perfect.” As one citLiterary Awards’ Book of the Year. www.EJWizen notes, “No one hardly even gets a paper enstrom.com u cut in the Directorate.” Careers and marriages

L.B. Sedlacek is a poet, editor, publisher, author, and poetry reviewer whose poetry, fiction and non-fiction have appeared in numerous journals, zines and newspapers. Her books of verse include “The Blue Eyed Side” (Cyberwit), “Happy Little Clouds” (Guerilla Genesis Press), “The Poet Next Door” (Cyberwit), “The Architect of French Fries” (Presa Press), “Words and Bones” (Finishing Line Press) and, most recently, “Swim” (Alien Buddha Press). She is also the author of a short story collection, “Four Thieves of Vinegar & Other Short Stories,” available from Alien Buddha Press, and she founded and publishes the free resource for poets, “The Poetry Market Ezine.” www.lbsedlacek.com We get up early everyone is still asleep we are on the 3rd floor so We run down the stairs and outside to the tiny postage stamp front And then it’s time to chase squirrels and birds and run by the Shakespeare library again this time we walk behind it And come out by the LOC (library of congress) and run over to the See the US Capitol building we stand right in the street because It’s blocked off with metal barricades and green steel post Barricades we run up the stairs of the Jefferson Building then back Down and stop at the fountain, the Court of Neptune and let the Water splash on us and we move a half block over and jump up The steps to the Supreme Court and we go over to one of the Round baby blue fountains and wish we had a coin to throw in But we went out of the house without any money it’s a walk only A walk with Mom and dog and we just needed a leash, doggie Bags, a cell phone to take pictures and off we went we walk Beside the Supreme Court building and stop to look at all the Flowers and look at the fountain behind the building no one ever Goes behind the building but there’s a relief there too We jog by Florida house and then take the alley behind the house To see someone tried to get in the back gate so we go on Through the alley by the Lutheran church (across from the Shakespeare Library) and we stand back and wait for all the big Dogs to run by before we dart up and head back down the street And back in the house where we head into the kitchen and into The Patio to fix the back gate and then it’s back inside up to 3rd Floor to wake everyone up for the day to get going.

If you would like to have your poem considered for publication, please send it to klyon@literaryhillbookfest.org. (There is no remuneration.) u

September 2021 H 103

In Loving Memory of

Nekoe Lightman 2006 to 2021

THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOUSING AUTHORITY

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) SOLICITATION NO.: 0015-2021 FIRE ALARM AND SECURITY SYSTEMS & ACCESS CONTROL PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR SERVICES

DISTRICT of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) requires Preventive Maintenance and Repair Services of Fire Alarm and Security Systems & Access Control at various DCHA public housing properties. SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS will be available beginning Monday, August 9, 2021 on DCHA’s website at www.dchousing.org under “Business” and “Solicitations”. SEALED PROPOSAL RESPONSES ARE DUE ON OR BEFORE Tuesday, September 30, 2021 at 12:00 AM. Email LaShawn Mizzell McLeod, Contract Specialist at LMMCLEOD@dchousing.org with copy to business@dchousing.org for additional information.

Dogs teach us about love, life & loss. Nekoe will live in our hearts forever.

Read his story at CapitolHillHistory.org

Photo by Lis Wackman

As Capitol Hill’s St. Peter’s Church celebrates its 200th anniversary, learn more about Irish-born Father Michael J. O’Sullivan who served as pastor from 1970 to 2005. Over those 35 years, he guided the renovations of the church, school and rectory, making St. Peter’s an important gathering place for the Hill community as well as the parish’s spiritual home. Read Father Michael’s oral history at CapitolHillHistory.org. Help preserve Capitol Hill history by becoming a volunteer.

AN INITIATIVE OF THE CAPITOL HILL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION.

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ist Cornel Harrell. The opening track, “Gotta Get Up,” is a real charmer with a powerhouse horn arrangement by Michael Stever, a danceable number that recalls the mighty Earth, Wind & Fire horn section. Other featured soloists on the album include bassist Julian Vaughn, who appeared on Mr. Hawley’s second album, Double Vision, and Kat Hawley, his wife who sings on all of his projects. Ms. Hawley’s vocals command the spotlight on “Tell Me You Love Me,” a reimagined Demi Lovato tune that closes the collection. Risin’ Up contains the following songs: “Gotta Get Up,” “Keep It There” featuring Steve Cole, “Right On, Right On” featuring Julian Vaughn, “Let’s Get Down Tonight” featuring Vincent Ingala, “On The One,” “Keep On Dancin’” featuring Riley Richard, “Risin’ Up,” “Come On And Dance,” “Undeniable,” “Tell Me You Love Me” featuring Kat Hawley. ◆

Check out all of our happenings at

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Wed through Sat evenings. Tickets at

Instantseats.com Every Wednesday Capitol Hill Jazz Jam 9/2 - Pablo Regis

9/16 - Taisha Estrada

9/3 - Herb Scott

9/17 - Kevin Cordt Quartet

9/4 - Batida Diferente

9/18 - TBA

9/9 - Joao

9/23 - Dominique Bianco

9/10 - Christopher Prince

9/24 - Aaron Myers

9/25 - Steve Washington 9/11 - Sharon Clark and Chris Grasso 9/30 - Paul Carr

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W Y IS D

Movement to Enhance Everyday Living

E C N

e began by tapping our bodies from head to toe with our hands and moving easily to the beat of the music. The instructor, Margot Greenlee, called it body percussion: warming up our skin, muscles and bones. Think about how you can dance to fit “you” best, she said. For a half hour I swiveled my hips, twisted my torso, strengthened my legs and gently shook my arms and shoulders to music with 12 other students, while Greelee watched us on video. The goal? Have fun and be able to move more comfortably through my day. I was in a zoom dance class called Morning Moves 2.0. Greenlee calls it “Inclusive Dance.” “It’s an umbrella term for dance that is inviting to people of all ages and abilities,” she explained. “Unlike a more traditional dance class where the idea is to master whatever the teacher is doing, inclusive dance asks people

Margot Greenlee. Photo: Evelyn Hockstein

by Pattie Cinelli

to dance to their own best ability and edit or augment as they choose.” Every weekday at 10 a.m. people from the DC metro area, other parts of the U.S. and from around the world get together on zoom with Greenlee or one of her artistic asBodyWise Dance artist educators Jeremy Hunter (at right) and JJ Johnson dance sistants. One student in with intellectually and developmentally/disabled adults in northern VA. Photo: Evelyn Hockstein my class was on vacation, zooming from his hotel with other people elevates mood, creates social conroom. Another participant nection and develops creativity and confidence. Part was a classroom in Virginia of special needs’ teens. of the power of the class is that we ask everyone to reThe dance class is part of her company, Bodyflect, ‘How is my body today?’ ‘How can I dance that Wise Dance, a business she created almost 10 years will help me feel good all throughout the day?’” ago. “Morning Moves 2.0 was a way to keep our Each week Greenlee films one of the weekly group together during COVID. Students classes for YouTube so people can watch any time. hone skills needed for everyday life and alleviate some of the isolation we are all experiencGreenlee’s Inspiration ing. It helps students have a smooth transiGreenlee’s approach to dance is based on 20 years of tion back into the world.” After the half-hour experience in community arts engagement as a solo class students spend 15 minutes talking with artist and as a company member with the Liz Lerman her and each other. Dance Exchange which took her all around the world. Morning Moves 2.0 is an outcome of She has taught classes at the Hill Center, at the CapiGreenlee realizing her passion for creating tol Hill Village and a class for people with Parkinson’s participatory dance-making, civic dialogue disease in northwest DC. and creativity which is the foundation of her A few years ago, Greenlee began travelling to choreographic vision. Greenlee’s passion came Russia in a peer-to-peer exchange program to share from her research into the emotional, social her work on inclusive dance. She said the Russians and practical benefits of group dance in addiwere interested in how people with disabilities cope tion to physical benefits. with daily life in the United States. But COVID “A high percentage of us have some form changed all that. “The exchange program has turned of physical, emotional, or intellectual disabiliinto a video project. Each artist creates a video leading ty such as arthritis, depression, cerebral palan inclusive dance class. It’s in its infancy.” sy or downs syndrome. Studies show dancing September 2021 ★ 107

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Greenlee wants BodyWise Dance programs featuring inclusive dance to help support special education teachers all over the United States and the world. “I’d like our curriculum to Margot Greenlee, ﬂanked by BodyWise artistic educators help older students JJ Johnson (left) and Ryan Sellers (right) uses dance to gain as much indehelp adults with intellectual and developmental disabilipendence as possible ties learn life skills. Photo: Evelyn Hockstein before they leave the high school setting.” ed the videos on her website: danceevShe said when you combine dance erydayproject.com. She would like with classroom curriculum students ofreaders to visit the website, watch the ten learn better and ideas stick longer. short videos and answer the survey Greenlee experienced this melding of that will provide much-appreciated dance and learning first hand. She has feedback. “It will help us fine-tune or been working for years alongside classchange course if needed.” room teachers. “For example, when Greenlee is also looking for volunstudents learn about electrons, we will teers who have a passion for inclusive do it with a dance. I’d collaborate with dance and want to help share globally teachers to discover what they want and locally become a part of her team. students to learn. Then I ask, ‘What is The last dance of my Morning hard for students to learn?’ I then turn Moves 2.0 class included four concepts the concepts into movement. I lead stuput into dance moves by Greenlee that I dents through a process of improvisabelieve encapsulate the heart of her protion and choreography. We make dancgram. It included: I am strong (muscle es together.” man), my feelings are important (flowGreenlee’s dream includes Bodying with hands in heart shape), I deWise Dance providing special educaserve to feel safe (hug yourself) and I tion teachers all over the world with a deserve respect (shaking hands with library of videos they could use as needarms outreached to include everyone). ed to help teach and would be of low What better way to start your day? cost to teachers. “If teachers are leadFor more information contact ing a unit on how to take public transGreenlee at: margot@bodywisedance. portation they would have short-format com. You can log onto: danceveryvides about how to take a bus around dayproject.com for more information town. Not only special education teachabout the videos. ers could use them but they would also Pattie Cinelli is a health and fitness profesbe useful for fellow dancers and filmsional and journalist who has been writing makers as well.”

Ways to Help BodyWise Dance Greenlee said her video project, which is designed to support independence in daily life, is in its infancy. She has post108 ★ HILLRAG.COM

her column for more than 20 years. She focuses on holistic and leading-edge ways to stay healthy, get well, live from your heart and not your brain and connect with your authentic self. Please email her at: fitmiss44@aol.com. ◆

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. family life .

NCB GRANTS $30,000 TO EASTERN’S IB PROGRAM by Elizabeth O’Gorek program to help achieve its goals of increasing the number of candidates and program passing rate, as well as to provide additional learning experiences,” said NCB President and CEO Richard B. (Randy) Anderson, Jr.

Rigorous for Students – and Schools

IB TOK teacher Matt James, Senior Temitayo Adeola and IB Program Coordinator Elizabeth Braganza. E.O’Gorek/CCN]

emitayo Adeola hadn’t even considered Eastern High School until he received a package from the school near the end of his middle school run. “When they sent me that pamphlet and I saw their budget club and IB [international baccalaureate] programs and AP [advanced placement] and everything they had to offer-- I was like wow: they offer a lot that I don’t know about,” Temitayo said. In August, the 16-year-old will enter his senior year at Eastern, where he is in the second year of the IB program. “Now, I wouldn’t trade Eastern for any other high school,” he said. Eastern High School (1700 East Capitol St. NE) has about 1100 students in grades 9-12. Founded in 1890, many well-

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known people have been students there including Dave Chappelle, Congresswoman Gladys Spelman (D-MD), and Isaac Fulwood, former Chief of MPDC. But until recently, its academic rigor was a well-kept secret. Ten years after a modernization and reorganization, Eastern is celebrating the community’s support for their enriched academic programs. One example of that success is the school’s international baccalaureate (IB) program, which initially attracted Temitayo to Eastern. In June, National Capital Bank (NCB) demonstrated ongoing community support by announcing a $30,000 grant for the program. “Through The National Capital Bank Foundation, our multi-year partnership will provide financial support for Eastern’s IB

Eastern has offered the IB program since 2013. It is a rigorous international program of study that teaches the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary skills that students need to be successful in college. A study completed of DP programs in Chicago Public Schools also showed that students taking DP courses, regardless of their examination scores, had a higher chance of attending a more selective college and persisting in college. The IB program is rigorous for students, but also for schools, said Eastern’s IB Program Coordinator, Elizabeth Braganza. Teachers must be trained in their subject matter, retraining whenever curriculum changes or once every seven years. Each course includes three to four opportunities for assessments, including at least two projects and end of year tests. While Eastern staff grade the projects, all teacher grading is then shared with international IB program assessors who double-check grading to make sure it complies with program standards. The gift from NCB will help grow, support and improve the program, Braganza said. Funds will be used to purchase additional supplies, such as software, scientific calculators and lab equipment and to facilitate travel, both in terms of field trips and college visits. It will also be Eastern IB Program Coordinator used to train staff beyond the Elizabeth Braganza. E.O’Gorek/CCN two spaces funded by DCPS, ensuring that Eastern remains in compliance with IB standards and allowing them to offer a wider array of courses.

Theory of Knowledge A cornerstone of the IB program is the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course, a study of epistemology that looks in particular at how knowledge and theories of knowledge are formed. Course teacher Lee James leads the course, a two-year requirement that culminates in a research paper

ern’s increasing strength as a rigorous academic institution and the various opportunities to build on individual talents available at the school. In addition to IB, Eastern offers AP courses; a NAF Academy of Health Sciences where students can be certified as EMTs; debate and chess clubs; dual college enrollment and a Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) program, in addition to the football, basketball and volleyMatt James teaches IB cornerstone course ball teams. That’s all on top of Theory of Knowledge (TOK). E.O’Gorek/CCN Eastern’s well-known marching band and dance corps. in which students apply class discusEastern students have been sion to a specific issue. The paper rerecognized for their academic talquires college-level research and synents, winning multiple Stephen Joel thesis and undergoes multiple revisions Trachtenberg Scholarships at George before it is presented to peers. Washington University, a scholarship “They’re all great students that which covers tuition, books, room and have excelled academically with all the board for all four years. In 2016, thenchallenges they have met so far, and sophomore Akilah Johnson won the now they are presented with the next national Google Doodle Competition, level,” James said. “It’s fun to see them scoring a college scholarship for hertake on these challenges, get frustratself and a $50,000 technology grant ed and come back to it. They learn a for the school. new skillset.” Temitayo said that he has spoken James said that some students to people who think Eastern doesn’t have chosen to examine the role of lanhave strong academics, but he wants guage in knowledge acquisition in the people to know the depth of the offerarts using the crossover hits of K-Pop ings at Eastern. If your kid wants to go sensation BTS. Another student examinto health, Eastern has that, Temitayo ined the role of memory and psycholonoted; if your kid wants to go into the gy in the Michael Brown case. military, music, visual arts, theatre, they James invites parents and stuhave that, too. dents who are curious about the proAnd if they want to develop the gram and the school to sit in on an IB skills necessary to engage globally class. “Come and see all of the amazand succeed at college, there’s the ing things that we’re doing,” he said. IB program. “Come see for yourself.” “The list can go on and on,” Temitayo said, “but what I want parents to Academic Legacy know is: Eastern definitely would proEastern is one of only two DC Pubvide whatever your child needs. It can lic Schools offering the IB program. be personal, it can be emotional, it can It is also the only comprehensive high be academic. Eastern would definitely school to do so; the other program is suit your child’s needs, no matter what located at application-only Banneker they want.” High School (921 Rhode Island Ave. Learn more about Eastern by visitNW). The diverse programming of◆ ing easternhighschooldcps.org. fered in addition to IB reflects East-

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We HillHill community to We welcome welcomethe theCapitol Capitol community

free virtual Rosh Hashanah tojoin joinus usfor forour free High Holiday Services — Sept. 6/7Kippur for Rosh Hashanah, Sept. 15/16 & Yom Services. For information, for Yom Kippur in-person and livestreamed. . please visit—www.HillHavurah.org For those in-person, capacity restrictions will be in place and registration required. Please visit www.HillHavurah.org for more details, registration, and updates.

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KING BULLFROG CONCERT AND FAMILY HAPPY HOUR AT HILL CENTER

y l i m a f & kids

On Friday, Sept. 10 at 5 p.m., join fellow parents on the Hill Center West Plaza for a casual outdoor happy hour for grownups and tots. King Bullfrog will hit the stage with high-energy original, folk and blues songs carefully tailored to get children dancing and delight parents. $10 per child; $5 per adult; under two, free. The Hill Center is at 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. hillcenterdc.org.

A WIND IN THE DOOR AT THE KC One of literature’s favorite heroines, Meg Murry, is back to join forces with her brother Charles Wallace and friend Calvin O’Keefe for a fantastical adventure. Playwright Jacqueline Goldfinger and director Nicole A. Watson bring the sequel to Madeleine L’Engle’s beloved book A Wrinkle in Time to the stage. When an extraterrestrial being recruits the trio to fight an evil force, they’ll travel across a galaxy—and through the cells of a human body—to stop it. This thrilling sci-fi story reveals that love and kindness are the best antidotes to evil. On stage at the Kennedy Center from Sept. 2 to 11, it is most appropriate for ages nine, up. $20. Proof of full vaccination required. Children under 12 must provide recent negative COVID test. All must be masked. kennedy-center.org.

Photo: Courtesy of Mount Vernon

ARCHAEOLOGY FAMILY DAY AT MOUNT VERNON On Saturday, Oct. 2, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., visit Mount Vernon’s 12-Acre Field to learn about what role archaeology plays at Mount Vernon. Enjoy activities such as take-home crafts and a field guide to explore the estate. Between 9 and 11 a.m., Mount Vernon will welcome guests who desire a quieter visit, including individuals on the autism spectrum and those with other sensory processing disorders. To create a more sensory-friendly experience during this time, lights and audio in exhibit spaces will be turned down and select interactives will be turned offw. Fully vaccinated individuals are not required to wear a face covering. Archaeology Family Day activities are included in the admission price; $28 for ages twelve, up; $15 for six to eleven; five and under, free. mountvernon.org.

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FOLLOWING STRICT COVID-19 STATE REGULATIONS Our schools have been successfully operating during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Please refer to the website for the COVID-19 policies.

ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS 2021–2022 SCHOOL YEAR NOW ENROLLING FOR FALL 2021 MONTESSORI AND MORE FOR EVERY CHILD

• Certified Licensed Teaching Staff • Potty Training • Superior Academics and Care • Spanish and Yoga Enrichments • AM Meals Provided • Kindergarten Readiness

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Pre-K 3 through 5th grade Building a strong foundation for learning

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September 2021 ★ 113

. family life .

Large Selection of Children’s Books at SE Library Monthly Book Sales The Friends of Southeast Library, 403 Seventh St. SE, book sales are back on the second Saturday of every month on the lower level of the library. This month the sale is on Saturday, Sept. 11, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Most books are $1. Proceeds supplement library programs. Donations are accepted from Tuesday, Sept. 7 through Friday, Sept. 10. Please limit donations to what can fit in the blue donation bin which is at the D Street entrance to the library during the donation period. dclibrary. org/southeast.

Shaw Teen Book Club PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY FAIR FAMILY FUN The 2021 Prince Georges County Fair is Sept. 9 to 12, at the Show Place Arena, 14900 Pennsylvania Ave., Upper Marlboro, MD. Kids will enjoy the petting zoo (with a camel); carnival rides, games and food; pony rides; and miniature stock car racing. The fair is open 5 to 10 p.m. on Thursday and Friday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Fair admission is $5 for kids up to 13 and 55 and over; $6 for age 13, up. Thursday night is free for ages 55, up and Sunday is free for military personnel and immediate family. Shows and rides are ticketed. countyfair.org.

National Children’s Museum Reopens Following an 18-month closure due to the pandemic and continued space development, the National Children’s Museum, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, celebrates its grand opening and reveals its new Entry Hall on Sept. 2. The Museum opens with limited capacity and operating policies that help to ensure a safe and fun experience for all visitors. The Museum has two timed sessions from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Thursdays through Sundays. Reservations are required for all visitors and are available via online, advanced purchase only. Masks are required for all guests ages two and up, regardless of vaccination status. All National Children’s Museum staff members are vacci114 H HILLRAG.COM

nated. Tickets are $15.95 for all guests ages one and older. nationalchildrensmuseum.org.

Atlas Arts for Young Audiences Arts for Young Audiences is an important part of family programming at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Each season, Atlas features programming for young people including theater, music, puppetry, and dance. Generally, performances are designed for children ages two to ten and are specified for each show. All patrons age one and older require a ticket. Family Fun Days are special programs offered during their annual Intersections Festival. Sign up for show announcements at atlasarts.org/family.

Shaw Library invites teens ages 13 to 19 to join the Shaw Teen Book Club. Teens will be able to meet and discuss the latest in YA Fiction and Non-Fiction. Book club meets at noon on the second Saturday of the month at 4:15 p.m. Meetings are held virtually. Registration is required. For more information and to register, email wathashawlibrary@dc.gov.

Kids Ride Free SmarTrip Cards for the 2021-2022 School Year Kids Ride Free SmarTrip cards for the 20212022 School Year will be available for pickup by students by the first week of school. New students will be given first priority at their schools to pick up new cards. School year 2020-2021 Kids Ride Free SmarTrip cards (blue cards) will remain valid through Sept. 30, 2021. Students who have lost or misplaced the 2020-2021 card can request a replacement card from their School ID Administrator. New cards will be sent directly to all DC Public Schools and DC public charter schools for distribution. To be eligible for participation in

this program, each student must be: a DC resident; age five through 21; and enrolled in an elementary or secondary public, public char-

Giant Panda Xiao Qi Ji Celebrates First Birthday On Saturday, Aug. 21, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute celebrated gianat panda cub Xiao Qi Ji’s (SHIAU-chi-ji) first birthday with a specially tailored fruitsicle cake. Mother Mei Xiang (may-SHONG) and father Tian Tian (tYENtYEN) also enjoyed fruitsicle cakes in honor of their son’s birthday. The public watched the pandas enjoy their cakes live on the Zoo’s Giant Panda Cam at nationalzoo.si.edu/ webcams/panda-cam. When Mei Xiang and Xiao Qi Ji entered their outdoor habitat at 7:30 a.m., they approached Mei Xiang’s cake first. The base of the cake and heart topper were made of frozen diluted apple juice. It was decorated with sweet potato, apple, carrot, pear, sugar cane, banana and bamboo. Around 8:15 a.m., they walked over to Xiao Qi Ji’s cake, which was adorned with a giant number one on top.

TAE KWON DO SPOTS AVAILABLE

Giant pandas Mei Xiang (left) and Xiao Qi Ji (right) enjoy a fruitsicle cake in honor of Xiao Qi Ji’s first birthday. Photo: Skip Brown, Smithsonian’s National Zoo

ALWAYS SAFE! 10’ SOCIAL DISTANCING. FULLY MASKED. 6TH & EYE ST., NE. - PARKING • MASTERGUTMAN@GMAIL.COM September 2021 H 115

JIM HENSON’S “LABYRINTH” RETURNS TO CINEMAS FOR ITS 35TH ANNIVERSARY Jim Henson’s magical Labyrinth (PG) returns to movie theaters nationwide this fall as the 1986 fantasy-adventure celebrates its 35th anniversary with three days of screenings from Fathom Events. Starring David Bowie as Jareth, the Goblin King, and Jennifer Connelly as Sarah, who must rescue her baby brother by finding her way through the massive maze of the title, Labyrinth will play in select movie theaters Sun., Sept. 12 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., Mon., Sept. 13 at 7 p.m., and Wed., Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. Preceding the screening, audiences will be treated to a featurette including behind-the-scenes footage, the Henson Family, and others reflecting on the creative process behind Labyrinth. Tickets can be purchased at fathomevents.com.

ter, private, or parochial school located within the District, or youth in the care of the District. kidsridefree. dc.gov.

Incentives for DC Youth Who Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19 Through Sept. 30, on-site prizes will be available to teens and their parents at three DC Public Schools: Brookland Middle School, Sousa Middle School, and Johnson Middle School. All DC youth can claim their free COVID-19 vaccine at these sites regardless of which school they attend. At these three schools, youth who receive their first dose can receive a $51 VISA gift card. Additionally, the first 116 H HILLRAG.COM

400 to get vaccinated at each site will have the option to forgo their gift card and instead receive a pair of AirPods. Currently, approximately 25% of all eligible DC youth, or about 8,100 young people, are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. vaccinate.dc.gov.

Kids Run the Bases at Nat’s Park Kids ages four to twelve can run the bases after every Sunday day game. Remaining dates are Sept. 5 and 19; and Oct. 3. An adult must accompany runners to 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 baseball game has ended, kids and parents/guardians can lineup at the end of the seventh inning, however fans who would like to stay and watch the entire game will 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. The PenFed Kids Zone, the playground located just inside the Right Field Gate, is now open for every game, weather permitting.

Black Student Fund & Latino Student Fund Annual School Fair The Black Student Fund & Latino Student Fund Annual School Fair is on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2 to 5 p.m., at the Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt Vernon Pl. NW. Tickets are free. The Fair continues to be one of the largest school fairs of its kind in the region. The BSF/LSF School Fair provides a networking opportunity for thousands of families in the metropolitan area to meet with representatives from more than sixty independent schools. Parents and prospective students get first-hand

LA LLAMADA DE SYLVIA MENDEZ: SEPARATE IS NEVER EQUAL AT GALA La llamada de Sylvia Méndez: Separate Is Never Equal is a joyful, bilingual play that embraces diversity and tolerance through the story of elementary school teacher Sylvia Mendez who fought to end segregation in education in California, paving the way for the national ban on segregated schools. For her legacy and courage, in 2011 she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama for her advocacy for educational opportunity for children of all backgrounds and all walks of life. La llamada de Sylvia Méndez: Separate Is Never Equal is at GALA Hispanic Theatre, 3333 14th St. NW, on Oct. 16, 17, 23 and 24 at 3 p.m. It returns in spring on Saturdays at 3 p.m., March 12 to 26. $12 for adults; $10 for kids, two to twelve. galatheatre.org.

September 2021 H 117

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FORT DUPONT PUBLIC ICE SKATING IN SEPTEMBER Fort Dupont Ice Arena, 3779 Ely Pl. SE, has reopened for public skating. September hours are Sunday, 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Saturday, 1 p.m., 4 p.m., and 6:30 p.m. (except no 4 p.m. on Sept. 18 and 25); Monday through Thursday, 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.; and Friday, noon, 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Adult admission is $5; kids, $4. Skate rental is $3. fdia.org.

knowledge about each school’s programs, community, admission requirements and financial aid process. In addition, the fair features interactive seminars focused on the admissions process, the financial aid process and personal/family financial management. Read more and register at blackstudentfund.org.

Donate Your Old Golf Clubs Have an old set of golf clubs packed in the corner of your garage? Donating equipment is another way to help support the DC awrea’s The First Tee. With the 2nd Swing Club Donation Program you can put your old equipment to great use and make a huge impact. The value of your used clubs and equipment is sent to The First Tee DC as a cash donation. The First Tee’s mission is to impact the lives of young

people by providing educational programs that build character and instill life-enhancing values through the game of golf. Read more at firstteedc. org/ways-to-give/donate-equipment.

Rocco Travels with the Presidents! One of the White House Historical Association’s favorite authors, Rocco Smirne, is back. In reading Rocco Travels with the Presidents!, you’ll join six-year-old Rocco as he experiences travel with the presidents, past and present, in his new children’s book. Every president of the United States has to travel to attend important events and to meet people around the world. For more than two hundred years, the presidents have taken journeys on horses, trains, ships, cars, airplanes, and helicopters. Sometimes, just for fun, they

September 2021 H 119

Blue Ridge Mountain Maze, off Rt. 29 between Charlottesville and Lynchburg, has a selection of pumpkins and local farm products; a courtyard of fun activities for kids including farm animals, pumpkin sling shots, giant slides, mini-mazes, rope mazes, tire swings, giant hay bale obstacle course, fidget ladders and more. Blue Ridge Mountain Maze, Lovingston, VA. blueridgemountainmaze.com.

Find a Corn Maze, Pumpkin Patch or Hayride Find pumpkin patches, pick-your-own pumpkin farms, hayrides and corn mazes in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia at pumpkinpatchesandmore. org. The site claims to have the world’s best pumpkin pie and pie crust recipes as well. It also has home canning, preserving, drying and freezing directions. Most pumpkin patches and corn mazes open by midSeptember; some earlier. In winter, you’ll find cut-your-own Christmas tree farms at pickyourownchristmastree.org.

have also used bicycles, golf carts, and even parachutes. Rocco is just six years old, but he already knows a great deal about the White House, the presidents and the places he would like to go too, so he created this book to share some of the adventures he would have if he could travel with the presidents! Rocco Travels with the Presidents! Is available on Sept. 21 at shop.whitehousehistory.org/collections/for-children-books.

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (tickets on sale now) Discover the magic of Dr. Seuss’ classic holiday tale as it comes to life on the National Theatre stage, Nov. 23 to Dec. 5. Featuring the hit songs “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” and “Welcome Christmas,” The Grinch discovers there is more to Christmas than he bargained for in this heart-warming holiday classic. Max the Dog narrates as the mean and scheming Grinch, whose heart is “two sizes too small,” decides to steal Christmas away from the Whos, an endlessly cheerful bunch bursting with holiday spirit. Tickets are on sale now; $50 and $75. The National Theatre is at 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. thenationaldc.org.

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September 2021 H 121

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XWORD “Trees”

by Myles Mellor Across: 1. Al ___ (firm, as pasta) 6. Bigwig 12. Golf tour 15. Beethoven symphony 17. Less conspicuous 20. Surprise at blunder 22. It enabled an understanding of good and evil 24. Furniture wood 26. Harry Potter pal 27. Give up 28. Candidate’s goal 29. Milk source 30. Respected one 33. Italian food 36. Lead role in “The Piano” 37. Spin 38. Palace protectors 40. Mixture components 43. Ordinary 46. Bridle 47. Tiny insect 48. Two trees 55. Dummy 56. Rates of return 57. Willy who wrote “The Conquest of Space” 58. Pianist’s challenge 61. Sonorous 62. Got a good look at 64. Have a ___ of humor 65. Retired professionals 70. “Gladiator” start first name 72. Nobleman 73. Of the flock 77. Issue 80. Train’s sleeping space 81. Baseball bat wood 82. Mellifluous 84. Law and Order ___ 87. Two firs 92. Emirates, for short

93. Café additive 94. Furniture wood 95. Flaw in a communications system? 100. Often-pulled muscle 102. Spear 103. Freelancer’s enclosure 104. Divvy up 106. Massenet opera 110. Norway’s capital 111. Blackhearted 113. End of a Caesar quote 115. “Walking on Thin Ice” singer 116. Takes to the sea 118. Two trees 123. Prefix with European 124. Hill gliding 125. Pump grade 126. N.Y.C. zone 127. Must 128. Collectible flop

Look for this months answers at labyrinthgameshop.com

Down: 1. Raison ___ 2. “The Thin Blue Line” director Morris 3. “... with ___ in sight” 4. Place for a clasp 5. “The Name of the Rose” writer 6. Civics, e.g. 7. Double reeded instruments 8. Sydney is its cap. 9. Half of D 10. Rose and burgundy, e.g. 11. Test of character 12. Little dog, for short 13. Beard type 14. Materialize 16. Patriots’ grp. 18. “My stars!” 19. Commissions 21. Eastern Europeans 23. Immaculate

25. Berlioz’s “Les nuits d’___” 31. Watson who plays Hermione in the Harry Potter films 32. Ample 34. Wee 35. Throughout 37. Prosecution’s need 39. Designate 41. Verbal white flag 42. Qualified 43. Jefferson Davis’ domain, abbr. 44. Sounds of woe 45. Game show V.I.P.’s 46. X-ray units 49. Lubricate once more... 50. The NY Manning 51. “Yo!” 52. “Red ___” thriller, starring Rachel McAdams

53. Salt Lake City collegians 54. Melody 59. High-speed Internet inits. 60. Conger is one 63. Sci-fi extra 65. Subside 66. Financier’s Fannie ___ 67. Makes a blunder 68. Weekend warrior’s org. 69. Done by company staff, not external personnel 71. Org. that designates World Heritage Sites 74. Response during a medical checkup 75. It makes surfing possible 76. Subject of cooking competitions 77. Mid-east chief 78. Jacket

FALL in love with a new game or puzzle! USED GAME SALE Live, Secret and Silent Auctions

Tuesday, Thursday & Friday – 11am to 10pm Wednesday – 11am to 8pm Saturday & Sunday – 10am to 7pm

202-544-1059 labyrinthdc.com 645 Pennsylvania Ave SE (Steps from Eastern Market Metro)

126 ★ HILLRAG.COM

Auction: Saturday, Sept. 4, 10 am to 6 pm Rummage: Sunday, Sept. 5, 10 am to 5pm

https://events.labyrinthdc.com/events • Educational, board and party games • LEGO and other building toys • Chess & other strategy game • Jigsaw puzzles

• Brainteasers • Marble mazes • Corporate gifts • Much, much more

79. B & B 83. Oxford doctorate, briefly 84. It’s big in California 85. DVD forerunner 86. 180° turn, slangily 88. Martial art word 89. Incense burners 90. Indian breads 91. Belgian 20th century painter, Margritte 95. Kenyan tribe 96. Behind the next person 97. Tells off 98. Judges mallet 99. Netherlands city 100. American in Mexico 101. Invoice abbr. 102. Gatos or Angeles 105. Opposite of après 107. Diet-Rites e.g. 108. “___ ear and out ...” 109. Wooden pin 112. Vein 114. ‘’Sands of ___ Jima’’ 117. Souse 119. Drink served at a stand 120. Billy the ___ 121. Cooler contents 122. Company in the UK

TO HILL WITH SUBURBS!

R E A L E STAT E T I P S FOR OWNERS - Check your exterior drains, front and back. Clean drains, make sure that they are draining rapidly. If not, have exterior drains cleaned to avoid flooding! Make sure gutter downspouts enter drains!

Licensed in DC & MD

jsmithteam@gmail.com John Smith

202.262.6037

Aaron Smith

202.498.6794

Peter Davis

301.332.1634

Office

202.608.1880

Direct

202.608.1887

FOR BUYERS - Hot Summers are a GOOD time for Deals! Homes Linger, Vacations eat up free time, Sellers start new Jobs! This is a good time to check out ‘lingering’ properties! Check for Values! Talk to your agent or us! FOR SELLERS - Work on your Curb Appeal! The DMV can be like a Tropical Rain Forest! What was trimmed yesterday, will be overgrown tomorrow! Trim trees and bushes, Check for Moss and Ivy! Pressure wash your Deck & Patio! FOR EQUITY OWNERS - The Perfect House can seem a bit less perfect as we age. Stairs start to be challenging, not charming. Lush Yards seem like Less Fun and More Work. Suddenly, access to an elevator, a pool, maybe a gym, and NO maintenance is devoutly to be wished! Capital Gains lets you keep up to $500K profit tax-free per couple! Makes a nice down payment on a Condo!

ACTIVE & COMING SOON!

WHEN YOU ARE READY TO BUILD YOUR FUTURE

731 18th ST, NE | Upper / Lower

Twin Condo’s on 2 levels, ~ 1200 sq.ft. each, Matte Finished Hwd Floors, White Stone & Stainless Island Kitchen, Designed Baths, Recessed Lighting, Open Living, Dining & Kitchen, leading to Rear Deck, 2 bedrooms with Custom closets, one MBR, with w’pool bath, or Large Shower, Laundry, Storage, low fees! Brand NEW!

$675K / $650K

623 Pickford Pl, NE

Two Level Brick Home on 1-way street, 3BR/2ba, Big Private Patio Yard, Renovated Stone & Stainless kitchen, Dining Area, Central Staircase, Living Room, Unique Exterior Deck Staircase, CAC, Laundry, etc. Lovely Home, nr. H St, and Trolley! Great Location, Great Home!

12830 Wicomico Beach Rd, MD

4 Parcels, for sale Separately or Together, #ONE - 52+ wooded acres, some tillable, #TWO - 13+ acres Farmed & Fenced, with Historic 5BR Victorian Farm home and MUCH more, #THREE ~ 5 acres plus large Storage Barn w/ Power and Water, #FOUR ~0.25 ac Waterfront Boat Launch into Wicomico River to Potomac and the Chesapeake Bay.

REAL ESTATE OBSERVATION:

$800’s #1 - $500K #2 + #4 - $650K ALL - $1.283M

An Old Real Estate saying is that “A Landlord is someone who is smart enough to get someone else to pay their mortgage!” While renting shortterm is often required, long-term is seldom wise. The benefits of buying are numerous; Health, Happiness, Financial. How smart are you?

Call the Smith Brothers. We’re on the Level.

To HILL with the Suburbs! THE SMITH TEAM

We’re LIST-LESS! We’ve SOLD almost All our LISTINGS! Put US to Work 4 U! (We may not know everything, but, we know a lot!)

LICENSED IN DC, MD & VA

KEEP IN TOUCH ABOUT HILL REAL ESTATE AT/ON: www.facebook.com/TheSmithTeam.DC | twitter.com/OneHillofaAgent | www.instagram.com/the_smith_team

705 North Carolina Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20003

Hill Rag Magazine – September 2021

Articles inside

NCB Grants $30,000 to Eastern’s IB Program

BodyWise Dance: Movement to Enhance Everyday Living

Poetic Hill by Karen Lyon

Bulletin Board by Kathleen Donner

Literary Hill by Karen Lyon

Art and The City by Jim Magner

At the Movies by Mike Canning

Capitol Cuisine by Celeste McCall

Another Opinion / It’s Time to Stop Fighting Safer Streets by Amber Gove

Opinion / ZERO VISION DDOT?

CHRS Guided Outdoor Walking Tours

The Peculiar History of Buzzard Point by William Zeisel

The Hill Gardener: In Praise of Crape Myrtles

Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church Welcomes New Pastor: Rev. Rachel Vaagenes

The Capitol Hill Garden Club presents: Dear Garden

Buzzard Point Rises by Michael Stevens

The Damp Realities of Doglegs by Dr. Christina K. Wilson

Fall Home Improvement: Tips from the Pros