old eckington

here is a page concerning old eckington and the walking tour that happened on April 27, 2008.

there are some fantastic historic pictures.

Four things to do tomorrow

1. Eckington - 100 Years of Capital Traction- a walking tour

Saturday, April 26, 2008

1 pm - 2:30 pm

Meet outside Florida Avenue exit of New York Avenue Metro Station (Red Line), in front of the Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) HQ at the corner of N and 2nd Streets, NE. Tour Ends at the Rhode Island Metro Station (Red Line)

Once a tranquil country estate north of Boundary Road, this neighborhood tells the story of Washington's first electric streetcar and maps the expansion of the city along the famous and well worn tracks along the Metropolitan Branch of the B&O Railroad. Visit the former estate of Joseph Gales, Jr., mayor of Washington and publisher of the National Intelligencer and discover neighborhood architectural styles from late Victorian row houses to industrial warehouses.

Led by Brian Kraft and presented by the DC Preservation League (www.dcpreservation.org) and the Eckington Civic Association.

2. 52 O Street NW open Studios
April 26 and 27, 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Free Admission

Events Description:

TWENTY-FOUR ARTISTS, in one building, working in a wide range of media and styles open their studios for a rare glimpse into the process behind their art. This free event provides the visitor the opportunity to purchase artwork and meet the artists in a relaxed, inviting atmosphere. Occupying 28,000 square feet, over four floors, 52 O Street Studios is one of the largest and oldest buildings dedicated to the practice of Fine Arts in Washington, DC.

52 O Street Studios is located a short walk from Metro's New York Avenue Red Line stop, amidst the burgeoning North Capitol Street corridor. The artists working here are proud of this historic building, its idiosyncrasies, and the myriad of artists who have created here in the past.



3. Health Information Fair & Fun Day -- Tomorrow



You are invited to a Ward 5 Community Event

Please join us for a health information fair and fund day!

Ebenezer Baptist Church
46 Q Street NW
Saturday, April 26, 2008
10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Participating organizations include:

Metro Teen Aids
Unity Health Mobile
Howard University Dental School
Mayor Adrian Fenty's Office of Community Relations and Services
American Kidney Fund

Please join us as we promote good health awareness in our community. Free health screenings will be offered.

For additional information, contact Alice Thompson at 202 - 340 - 7038 or Clinton LeSueur at 202 - 340 - 314.

4. LeDroit Park Entrance Gate Planning Meeting for Mini-Greening Grant

The LeDroit Park Civic Association is pleased to announce that we have been awarded a "Mini-Greening Grant" from Washington Parks & People to install landscaping at the new LeDroit Park Iron Gate at the corners of Florida Avenue and 6th & T Streets NW!!

Please join us for our first planning session at the site on Saturday, April 26, 2008 at 10:00 AM. We hope to see you there!

Questions? Contact Andrea Feniak at Feniak-Buchanan @ att.net or 202.986.7680.

Oh Bloomingdale!

My first blog. Ever.

I am an open-house-slut...meaning if it is open, I will enter. My husband and I happened to be in Bloomingdale for just such an opportunity and fell upon four people (the ‘keeper’ of this blog, his fabulous artist wife, the brain and brawn behind the Bloomingdale list serve, and a sophisticated sassy Brit). How lucky for us.

We moved to Bloomingdale in 2004. We have lived in DC for 21 years and this is our first home. We claim to have moved here in order to walk to work...but the reality is that we stumbled into Bloomingdale. In those frenzied days, we had two minutes to act on an as-is fixer-upper. And so we did. We have counted our lucky stars since.

We wondered what it would be like to live in this neighborhood...so clearly, a neighborhood. Our neighbors are young and old, black and white, straight and gay, economically advantaged and economically challenged, artistic and not. We invited them over for dessert. At the end of the evening we sat back and sighed contentedness. Phew.

It has been almost 4 years. And now I want to let everyone know what a good neighborhood this is...and at the same time, I want to guard against being too discovered. But really, I would like to see the abandoned and boarded up buildings on North Capital rediscovered. Imagine, just a mile from the Capital of the United States of America! And yet it feels like a thousand miles.


So, my thought in writing here is to generate discussion. What might it take to bring the abandoned buildings on North Capital to life? I wish to keep my focus on the abandoned, boarded buildings. My ideal would be to purchase a small building (say the ‘Bobby Fisher Memorial Building’ 1644 N. Capital Street.)

Here are a few ideas. And I would love to hear your feedback.

1. Form a neighborhood LLC to purchase a building. As neighbors we have a vested interest in seeing these buildings restored and reopened. The building could be cleaned up, restored, a business opened and proceeds used to purhaps buy the next abandoned building. The goal would not be so much to make money (though certainly, we do not want to loose money) but rather to see the neighborhood improve.

2. Court deep-pocket investors. On a whim, I emailed some of the better-known developers in DC...people with deep pockets. I invited them over for coffee and to walk with me around the neighborhood to see all the possibilities. I do not wish to see our neighborhood developed into a tourist spot, but what if one of these individuals was the lead in purchasing and renovating one building...would that encourage others? No one responded. Yet.

3. Set-up a partnership between the architecture school at Catholic (or any area school...maybe even highschool) to work with existing business owners to energize their facades so that they actually look like the thriving businesses they could be. It would help the owners, it would help the students, it would help the neighbors and it might encourage others to invest.

Think about it.

And so. Here lies my first blog. Ever.