Join
us for a history walking tour around McMillan Park on Sunday, September 23rd at 9:30am (rain date: Sun. Sept.
30th)!
Dear Friend of McMillan Park,
About a month from now on Sunday, September 23rd, we are planning another history walking tour
through Bloomingdale and around the perimeter of McMillan Park. Once
again, we are fortunate to have our neighbor and friend Paul Cerruti
leading the tour. Paul has compiled a tremendous amount of detail
about the park and its role in our neighborhood through the years since it
was first opened to the public. This will cover a lot of the information
presented in history walks we did in 2017, and in our March and May 2018
tours, that were very well attended and enjoyed! The weather likely will be
ideal for such a walking tour.
The tour will
showcase McMillan Park, its vistas, unique history, and connection to historic
landmarks in the Bloomingdale neighborhood.
The first part of the walk will include information and bonus highlights
about the history and development of Bloomingdale, much of it in
anticipation of the opening of McMillan Park.
The tour will
last about two hours and will start at the triangular park opposite the
Big Bear Café (located at the corner of 1st St. and R St. NW) on
Sunday, September 23rd at 9:30am (rain date Sun., Sept. 30th at
9:30am). Light refreshments will be served and a selection of some
of our favorite mounted art photos of McMillan Park offered for sale at the end
of the tour, as well as some lovely greeting cards of those same photos!
Please register
by sending an email to restoremcmillan@gmail.com or
calling Kirby at 202 213-2690. We are limiting the tour
to 30 people to ensure all who join it can hear easily and participate
fully. So please register early to guarantee that you'll be able to be part of
this special day.
Kindly note, a suggested donation of $20 in advance, $25 on
the day of the event to benefit the Friends of McMillan Park's efforts to save
this registered national historic
landmark is greatly appreciated. Even if you are unable to join our tour, please consider a
donation to help support these efforts. You can
donate via PayPal or Crowdrise links on the web page, www.friendsofmcmillan.org/merchandise,
or in person with cash or credit card with FOMP's Square account on the day of
the event.
*****News*****
- The D.C. Court of Appeals overruled the District's plan to
demolish most of the McMillan site and put up a huge
development in a decision dated December 8, 2016 (one
day after the Mayor's official groundbreaking event for the
project). The court also remanded a series of questions
for the Zoning Commission and the Mayor's Agent for
Historic Preservation to consider, and hearings were
held on those questions late last year. Earlier this year
those two offices issued their final decisions on the
remand -- siding with the city once again and affirming
the development project. So Friends of McMillan Park is
working right now to bring these decisions -- that we
obviously disagree with -- back to the D.C. Court of
Appeals for reconsideration. No dates for oral arguments
have been set, and the matter will be presented in two
parts this time: one court case for the preservation
aspect, one for the zoning aspect.
- DMPED/DGS/Gilbane Construction
Company has
commenced historic preservation and rehabilitation/
stabilization work on the regulator houses and the
sand silos in the north and south service courts. We
are supportive of this work because it's long overdue
(the site has been a D.C. Historic District since
1991) and the District is arguably guilty of demolition
by neglect if it does NOT do this work. No other parts
of the site are affected by this work. If you see building
activity on McMillan, that's what it is, and that's
ALL that it is -- no demolition or construction going on.
- Effective September 9, 2018, Bloomingdale
is a new historic district, adjacent to but separate from
McMillan Park Reservoir Historic District,
see more on that here.
commenced historic preservation and rehabilitation/
stabilization work on the regulator houses and the
sand silos in the north and south service courts. We
are supportive of this work because it's long overdue
(the site has been a D.C. Historic District since
1991) and the District is arguably guilty of demolition
by neglect if it does NOT do this work. No other parts
of the site are affected by this work. If you see building
activity on McMillan, that's what it is, and that's
ALL that it is -- no demolition or construction going on.
- Effective September 9, 2018, Bloomingdale
is a new historic district, adjacent to but separate from
McMillan Park Reservoir Historic District,
see more on that here.
Thank you for your continued interest and support,
John Salatti, Kirby Vining, and Hugh Youngblood
Board of Directors, Friends of McMillan Park, Inc.
If you have any questions, please contact restoremcmillan@gmail.com or call 202 then 213.2690.
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