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Sunday, September 02, 2018

three weeks from today: History walking tour around McMillan Park via a stroll through Bloomingdale

See this event announcement from the Ward 5 list:

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.  


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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