V.w.verweij

It happened Tuesday around 11:44 p.m. [ more › ]

13 Randolph St NW. #dc #nw #bassguitar #bass #guitar #bloomingdaledc #bloomingdope #randolphst (at Bloomingdale)

Simple but striking, this small treehouse retreat was built by hand and furnished with repurposed flea market finds.

TILT Studio figures out a clever way to combine storage with seating, with a little bit of soundproofing thrown in.

It really, really seems that way. [ more › ]

D.C. is ranked right behind L.A., as the city with the most Energy Star-certified green buildings, according to a new EPA report. [ more › ]

See this 8:49 pm message from a resident on the unit block of R Street NW:

Animal control just scanned her and she does have a chip so hopefully it's up to date and they can find her owner. 

More info:

Turns out the dog does have a micro-chip but the home-again company that monitors the numbers told the animal control woman that the owner did not keep up to date so the company did not have the owner info. But the micro chip number is 456D01370F.   She is a German spitz? type dog.   She's like 35 lbs.   We are hosting her until the owner is found.   We found her on R St. Between Florida and 3rd st. NW. 

Photo courtesy of Ask Roulette

From an email:

“Politics and Prose
5015 Connecticut Ave, NW
April 12th 6 p.m.

This Saturday at Politics and Prose, Ask Roulette — the NYC-based “conversation series in which strangers ask each other questions live on stage” — is back for a second DC show. The premise is simple: show up with a question you want to ask a stranger, and hope that you get called up on stage. The one catch is that you can’t ask your question until you’ve answered a question from a stranger first.

Host Jody Avirgan says that his favorite part of the evening is the variety. “Some questions are silly — ‘Would you rather ride a lion to work or go to the moon with your best friend?’ — and some questions are a little deeper — ‘Are you the person you thought you’d be growing up?’ What makes it all come together is that you never know who’s going to get paired up, and whether their interaction is going to be funny, serious, weird, or some magical combination of all three.” He adds: “There’s also beer.”

This Saturday’s show also features special guests Clinton Yates of the Washington Post, John Dickerson of Slate, and Tamara Keith of NPR, who will all be answering and asking questions of their own. Ask Roulette’s “house band” Eli Bolin, of Sesame Street, is also making the trip from New York. The last show at Politics and Prose was packed, so show up by 6pm to get a seat and get your question in. And don’t worry, you can also just sit and watch (and drink beer).

To get a better sense of how Ask Roulette works, visit the website, where you can also listen to the podcast.”

(Updated at 11:35 p.m.) For the first time in 15 years, a non-Democrat will sit on the Arlington County Board.

John Vihstadt, a Republican who ran as an independent with the endorsement of the local Republican and Green parties, has won the special election to replace Chris Zimmerman (D) on the Arlington County Board.

Vihstadt captured 57 percent of the vote to Democrat Alan Howze’s 41 percent. Independent Green candidate Janet Murphy and independent Stephen Holbrook each captured about 1 percent of the vote.

“We won the race by a higher margin than my most aggressive expectations,” Vihstadt told supporters at his victory party tonight. “The most exciting and gratifying measure of our victory was that it was north to south and east to west. There really is one Arlington, not two Arlingtons.”

Given that the race hinged largely on the hot-button issues of the planned Columbia Pike streetcar and Long Bridge Park aquatics center, the result is likely to be viewed by many as a voter rebuke of the County Board’s major capital spending projects.

“People want cost-effective, results-oriented solutions on the local level,” Vihstadt said.

Vihstadt touted his “true rainbow coalition” of supporters. Those supporters included all three candidates for County Board in 2012: current Democratic County Board member and fellow streetcar critic Libby Garvey, Republican ARLnow.com columnist Mark Kelly, and frequent Green Party candidate Audrey Clement. Also supporting Vihstadt was Commonwealth’s Attorney Theo Stamos, a close friend of Vihstadt and his wife, Mary.

“It was an easy call for me,” said Stamos, a lifelong Democrat. “He’s a good man and we need to sometimes think outside the box.”

“This is a victory for good government,” Garvey said. “I’m going to get choked up, this is Democracy at its best. This is the way it’s supposed to be.”

“The people have spoken and the County Board needs to listen,” Garvey added.

Vihstadt, whose yard signs were purple to represent a blend of red and blue politics, said he plans to “work in a collaborative fashion to get things done for the county.”

“This was a victory not for one person or one party, but for Republicans, Democrats, Greens, Libertarians and people with no party,” Vihstadt said. “I’m not going to be a captive of any political party, any person, any ideology — I’m going to call issues as I see them.”

Voter turnout today was relatively light, which benefited Vihstadt. With no state or national-level races energizing the Democratic base, its appears that many party-line Democrats stayed home. Total unofficial turnout was 22,209, or about 16 percent of registered voters.

Vihstadt will be the first non-Democrat on the Board since Republican Mike Lane served briefly after winning a special election in 1999. Lane lost in the general election several months later. Similarly, Vihstadt is expected to face Howze again in the November general election, when a U.S Senate and a House of Representatives race will be on the local ballot.

Howze told dozens of his supporters at the Democrats’ election party at Whitlow’s in Clarendon that he continues to believe infrastructure and education investments are the core values of Arlington voters.

“The special election is behind us now, and I look forward to continuing this conversation into November and moving Arlington forward,” he said. “There’s a lot at stake.”

After his remarks, Howze sat down with ARLnow.com to discuss the results. During the conversation, County Board Chair Jay Fisette walked by to offer words of encouragement, telling Howze, “remember, I lost my first election, a special election, in 1993.” Fisette is the longest-serving member of the Board.

“We knew from past special elections that this was likely to be a close race,” Howze told ARLnow.com. “I think voters sent a message with the results of today’s election. Over the next several days and weeks, we’ll look at that… There was an accumulation of frustration with the cost overrun on projects like the Super Stop and Artisphere that led people to express their frustration at the ballot box.”

Arlington County Democractic Committee President Kip Malinosky told the crowd “we have a terrific candidate for November in Alan Howze, but we have a lot of work to do.” Malinosky, looking noticeably exhausted after the special election that began at 6:00 a.m., remained confident in Howze’s chances in the general election.

“Some voters have spoken,” he said. “But many more will speak in November. We are going to continue to listen, to reach out, to engage the community. We will work hard to win in November, because when Democrats vote, we win. We didn’t get enough Democrats to vote.”

Vihstadt told ARLnow.com that some of his top priorities in office will be to establish an internal auditor or inspector general position in county government; to expand participation in county boards and commission; to find ways to save money in the county government; and to collaborate with the School Board on the public school system’s overcapacity problem.

In a show of bipartisanship, Vihstadt’s victory party was visited by the three Democratic County Board members who supported Howze — Jay Fisette, Mary Hynes and Walter Tejada — and by two School Board members — Sally Baird and James Lander.

“We may have different perspectives,” said Vihstadt, “but at the end of the day we’re all working for the common good of Arlington.”

Vihstadt is scheduled to be sworn into office Wednesday afternoon.

If you have any animal/pet photos you’d like to share please send an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail(dot)com with ‘Animal Fix’ in the title and say the name of your pet and your neighborhood. Your photos will go into the queue (usually 3-4 weeks wait) and will be posted in the order I receive them. If you’ve already entered your pet and would like to do so again – that’s no problem – just space the entries out a bit. Please try to send horizontal photos 640×480 (medium size on your iphone) if possible.

“Lucy in Navy Yard very concerned about preparations for Nats home opener.”

“Thelma from Capital Hill, caught in play.”

“Jet in the snow”

An innovative conservation technique is paying farms to flood their fields and create temporary habitat for birds traveling along the Pacific Flyway.

From a press release:

“Today, Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser introduced legislation to make it punishable for the intentional distribution of sexually explicit images or video without consent, more commonly known as “revenge porn.”

“Revenge porn is the kind of abhorrent behavior on the internet that we must do all we can to stop,” said Councilmember Bowser. “Protecting our residents from serious harm and maintaining their privacy on the web is an important priority of mine. This bill provides significant penalties that we hope that will deter this offensive practice. I look forward to working with my colleagues for its swift passage.”

The Relationship Privacy Protection Act would create a new misdemeanor crime punishable by up to 1 year in prison and a fine of up to $2,500 for distributing revenge porn with the intent to cause serious emotional distress. The bill would also create a new felony crime punishable up to 5 years in prison and a fine up to $12,500 for third parties that knowingly distribute.”

It's a cross between a hobbit house and a concrete block igloo.

Fourteenth Street NW between Irving Street and Park Road, the commercial hub of Columbia Heights, bustles with activity today. Though it took decades for the block to bounce back from the devastation of the 1968 riots, its new vitality is not really new. One hundred years ago, this block had the same central role in the life of upper Northwest, and the Arcade, a massive multi-purpose entertainment and commercial complex located where the DC USA mall now stands, was its heart.

(Author's collection).

The Arcade began as a Capitol Traction Company streetcar garage, a spacious structure built in 1892, when streetcar lines were first being mechanized and extended past the old city limits (at Florida Avenue) into the hilly countryside of upper Northwest. The building's fanciful Romanesque Revival style, complete with arched windows and turreted corners, was in vogue at the time and was similar to that of the Metropolitan Railway car barn, completed in 1896, which still stands today as a condominium complex at 1400 East Capital Street NE.

The Park Road garage served as the terminus of the 14th Street trolley line for only about a decade. In 1906, 14th Street was extended north to Decatur Street, and streetcar tracks were quickly laid on the newly graded and paved thoroughfare. A large and attractive new car barn was built at the Decatur Street terminus (it also still stands today), rendering the old Park Road structure obsolete.

The Arcade in 1913 (Source: Library of Congress).

A group of investors including local inventor Emil Berliner (1851-1929) formed the Arcade Amusement Company to take over the old building, expanding and converting it into a lively new amusement hall. The old garage was a rectangular structure fronting on 14th Street. The amusement company extended it north, from the rear, to Park Road, where another entrance was added. The result was an L-Shaped building that wrapped around the backs of three small storefronts perched on the corner of 14th and Park Road.

The new complex featured a wide assortment of entertainment venues. The ground floor was largely given over to commercial retail space as well as a parking garage for 80 cars. On the second floor was a 2,600-seat auditorium, a 300-seat movie theater, and a large ballroom for nightly dancing as well as a "dainty Dutch restaurant," a poolroom, and a bowling alley. The rooftop featured more dancing, in an enclosed pavilion. An article in The Washington Post in January 1910 claimed that "The main amusement hall alone is practically as large as Madison Square Garden, New York," and promised that when it finally opened, "There will be thousands of laughs, laughs at every turn. The Cave of the Winds, Helter Skelter, the Vanishing Lady, the Japanese Maze, the House of Trouble, the Lion and the Mouse, the Haunted Swing, the Soup Bowl, the Human Roulette Wheel, and Down and Out, will be among the many amusements."

The Arcade circa 1925 (Source: Library of Congress).

The Arcade opened in phases in February and March 1910. First the movie theater, then the rooftop dancing pavilion, followed by the pool room and the 14 bowling alleys. In March the second-floor ballroom had its grand opening, and "the big Arcade building was crowded from end to end with one of the happiest throngs imaginable," according to the Post. In April, the Washington Kennel Club held a dog show in the auditorium, a grand four-day event featuring 400 of the best-bred dogs from around the country. It would be the first of many such events.

The last part of the complex to open was the big Arcade Market on the ground floor, and it wasn't without controversy. In May, the DC board of commissioners held a hearing on the proposed market attended by vocal opponents who complained that it would be a nuisance and cause traffic jams on 14th Street. "Never in the history of the new District building has there been a hearing at which spectators showed so much bitterness, and at which feeling ran so high. Every speaker who argued in favor of the market was hissed, jeered, and in other ways interrupted...," the Post reported. One suspects that these vociferous opponents were perhaps connected in some way to local businesses that were afraid of the new competition.

The market finally opened in December, and it seems most people were very happy with it. It stayed open from 5 in the morning to 10:30 at night and featured about 100 individual vending stands finished in tile and glass for a clean and sanitary look. In the rear were modern refrigerating rooms, a large cork-lined room for storing furs in the summer, and an enclosed plaza where farmers' wagons could make their deliveries. An estimated 10,000 customers visited on opening day—far more than expected—leaving merchants scrambling to accommodate them all. Some sold out of their stock as early as noon.

Betty Jane Colbert, at work in an Arcade Market butcher shop in June 1943 (Source: Library of Congress).

The market filled a crucial need for the many families settling into the burgeoning suburbs of Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights, but it was based on an old-fashioned business model, the classic centralized urban marketplace of the 19th century. George Washington had designated the spot for the city's first such commercial hub, the old Center Market on Pennsylvania Avenue (previously profiled here). When the city was young, everyone could easily get to Center Market on a daily basis to buy fresh meats, produce, and other groceries. Other markets had been added through the late 19th century to serve the growing town's more far-flung neighborhoods, with the Arcade being probably the last in a long line. By the 1920s, large central marketplaces were considered unnecessary due to the proliferation of chain grocery stores (and eventually supermarkets). The Arcade Market thus was a throwback almost as soon as it opened.

Advertisement from The Washington Herald, Oct. 18, 1910.

The auditorium on the second floor saw many uses, including a variety of sporting events. In October 1910, before the market downstairs had opened, the auditorium offered roller skating in the evenings. According to an advertisement, it featured "20,000 square feet of perfectly smooth maple flooring to glide over," and "1,000 pairs of the best Winslow ball-bearing skates" were available to rent. Though one imagines the skates must have produced a steady racket, nevertheless a "splendid band" provided accompaniment. Within two years, public skating was augmented by professional "roller polo" games, played by two five-member teams, which The Washington Times said were a big hit. The sport, now known as roller hockey and still popular in Latin America, can be rather treacherous. A December 1912 match between Washington and Baltimore had to be suspended after two Baltimore players were injured.

Cartoon from The Washington Times, Dec. 13, 1912.

The Arcade's Roller Hockey team in 1926 (Source: Library of Congress).

In 1926, a group of investors headed by local sports promoter John S. Blick (1886-1955) purchased the aging Arcade and the following year undertook a major expansion of the complex. Both the downstairs market and the upstairs sports and amusement complex were due for expansion, and Blick's vision was for the upstairs auditorium to be the region's premier indoor sporting venue. By expanding the rear of the complex, Blick was able to construct a much larger indoor arena, with almost 20,000 square feet of open space and seating for 10,000 spectators. The new layout also included a rooftop garage, said to be the first rooftop customer parking facility in the city. Local theater magnate Harry M. Crandall (1879-1937), who owned the elegant three-year-old Tivoli Theater across the street, was one of the investors contributing to the $1.4 million renovation.

The building's name was changed to the Arcadia, and it was advertised as "Washington's Madison Square Garden." Boxing, wrestling, tennis, and basketball were all played in the newly expanded auditorium, and national tournaments were held in the billiards and bowling halls, which were also much bigger with 55 pool tables and 38 new bowling alleys. Among the many events held in the new auditorium were a building exposition, a fashion review, numerous wrestling matches (Wladek Zbyszko vs. Charles Leppanen was one), the city's first indoor professional tennis tournament ("Big Bill" Tilden vs. Manuel Alonzo of Spain), and several inspirational rallies, including Dr. B. G. Wilkinson holding forth on the topic of "The Deadly Cigarette" and how it was "seriously affecting health, efficiency, education, and character."

A place liked the spiffy new Arcadia needed to draw people in, so Blick came up with a powerful attention-getter. He mounted a statue of the Greek god Atlas atop the pinnacle of the roof overlooking 14th Street. Above Atlas's shoulders a large discotheque-style mirrored globe slowly rotated. Illuminated by four Kleig spotlights, the globe sparkled like a jewel, "producing a very spectacular effect," according to the Post.

Advertisement from The Book of Washington (1927).

Surprisingly, after only a year or so, Blick decided to reconfigure the expanded auditorium, moving the adjacent bowling alleys into this larger space and adding more alleys. With 52 alleys, the Arcadia was the second largest bowling center in the city, after the previously profiled Convention Hall on K Street. Bowling was to become a dominant sport in the city through World War II, with many businesses, government agencies, and other organizations forming teams that competed in places like the Arcadia or the Chevy Chase Sports Center and Ice Palace, which opened in 1938 on Connecticut Avenue and which was torn down only very recently.

The Arcadia continued to be popular for two more decades, but ownership changed hands several times. The 1927 expansion had left debts that became burdensome in the Depression years, leading to bankruptcy and management reorganization in 1935. Finally Kass Realty (owners of the Chevy Chase Ice Palace) bought the place in 1947 and promptly tore it down the following year. The lively commercial strip along 14th Street prompted Kass to build a "modern" two-story retail structure that could house a department store or other large retailer. Eventually Peoples Drug, which had been on the corner of 14th and Park Road since the 1920s, took larger space in the complex, and a Safeway supermarket moved in where the Arcade Market had once stood.

The DC USA Building, seen from 14th and Irving Streets NW (photo by the author).

In April 1968, the rioting that took place after the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., hit the former Arcade block hard. The stores that had been built 20 years earlier were severely damaged, and the commercial prospects of 14th Street were devastated for decades to come. However, the neighborhood was destined to eventually regain its former self. Forty years after the riots, the DC USA retail complex opened its doors in 2008 on the former site of the Arcade complex. Today DC USA touts itself as the largest retail development in the District of Columbia.


Sources for this article included Cultural Tourism DC, Inc., Cultural Convergence: Columbia Heights Heritage Trail (2009); LeRoy O. King Jr., 100 Years of Capital Traction (1972); Helen Tangires, "Adolf Cluss and Public Market Reform" in Adolf Cluss Architect: From Germany to America (2005); Washington Board of Trade, The Book of Washington (1927); and numerous newspaper articles.


To receive Streets of Washington by email: click on this link and choose "Get Streets of Washington delivered by email" from the Subscribe Now! box on the upper right hand side of the page.

Photo by PoPville flickr user vpickering

It’s a dreary Monday morning so here are a few great photos from the weekend’s Cherry Blossom festival fireworks:

Photo by PoPville flickr user philliefan99

Photo by PoPville flickr user angela n.

The DMV has proposed regulations. [ more › ]

The High Cost of Acting Happy:

arboresqu:

starbucksfaster:

http://anniemurphypaul.com/2014/02/the-high-cost-of-acting-happy/

"Surface acting is when front line service employees, the ones who interact directly with customers, have to appear cheerful and happy even when they’re not feeling it. This kind of…

18th and California St, NW

From the Adams Morgan BID:

“Grab a blanket and some popcorn: the Adams Morgan Partnership BID and the Marie Reed Parent Teacher Association present Adams Morgan Movie Nights! PoPville readers have been asked to weigh in on the opening night film choice – so which one would you like to see under the stars on May 20th?

Because you need one. [ more › ]

This week’s Arlington Pet of the Week is Cali, a “bouncing ball of fluff” who needs a few minutes before she’s ready to play, unless a laser pointer is involved.

Here’s what Cali’s owner had to say about her:

Cali is a 3-year-old brightly colored Calico cat. I adopted her when she was 8 weeks old from Home Alone Feline Rescue, based right here in Arlington. I had always been very allergic to cats, especially those with short hair, but had discovered that my allergies somehow went into remission after many years. At that point, I visited a family in Alexandria that was offering seven cats for adoption and told myself that if I could tolerate spending time with that many cats without having an allergic reaction, I was ready to adopt. Success!

Cali was one of those cats, and when I visited, she was wrestling with another 8-week-old kitten named Conner, who turned out to be her brother. Not wanting to break up the pair, I adopted them both. To this day, Cali and Conner still wrestle playfully and though her brother is a little larger, she can easily more than defend herself. Cali is a longer-haired cat, something that I requested as long-haired cats never caused me to have as much of an allergic reaction because they shed less.

Cali is a bouncing ball of fluff. She is very friendly and not shy, and often craves affection. She runs to the door to greet visitors and is always underfoot looking for the next great activity. Cali is a little unusual as she didn’t learn to play like many cats. Her brother Conner usually takes over playtime if he sees her having more fun than him. She’s almost like a wind up cat. It usually takes a few minutes of playing with her with fake mice, strings or feathers, to get her in playful mood mode.

Once she gets started, she’s a bundle of energy and scampers from room to room in the house expending her energy and leaping at anything that moves (except me). Cali loves chasing laser lights. Once she hears the click from a laser, she immediately stops whatever she’s doing and looks everywhere for the beam of light. Once she spots it, she will chase that elusive light everywhere. That’s when Conner usually enters the scene and playtime ends abruptly, though she may start chasing him depending on how much energy she has left.

Cali (and Conner) were the first cats I had owned since my allergies went into remission just 3 years ago. She is kept indoors for safety reasons and has been a picture of health, never requiring a visit to the vet other than routine checkups. She’s an extremely friendly and loving cat and has been a wonderful addition to my life.

Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email office@arlnow.com with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet.

Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $25 in Becky’s Bucks. Becky’s Pet Care provides professional dog walking and pet sitting services in Arlington and Northern Virginia — “Quality Service from a Trusted Friend.”

If you have any animal/pet photos you’d like to share please send an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail(dot)com with ‘Animal Fix’ in the title and say the name of your pet and your neighborhood. Your photos will go into the queue (usually 3-4 weeks wait) and will be posted in the order I receive them. If you’ve already entered your pet and would like to do so again – that’s no problem – just space the entries out a bit. Please try to send horizontal photos 640×480 (medium size on your iphone) if possible.

“Onyx of Columbia Heights suffering from a severe identity crisis. She thinks she’s a box of oreo cookies.”

“This is Sweet Pea from U st. She’s ready to put her winter boots away.”

“Yoshi and Daisy, enjoying a rare cuddle together in Bethesda”

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April 1st, 2014: GUYS I thought about it a real lot and instead of being the comic where the pictures never change, from now on Dinosaur Comics will be the comic where the pictures change constantly! ALSO: only hours remain on the Humble Bundle with To Be or Not To Be! One year ago today: this comic is based on that one time i ordered wings. yes. that... that ONE time. – Ryan

We expect maps to tell us the truth. That is their eternal promise. But maps can't help lying to us. That is their original sin. To be more precise: the map's lie (or sin) is one of omission. They show us just one version of the truth, carefully edited by the cartographer.  This map does one ...

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This biodegradable urn could transform cemeteries into forests.

That's what Sprinkles says. [ more › ]