Park Morton & Georgia Ave Great Streets

For those who live in ANC1A, and especially those who live in 1A08, 1A09, and 1A10, the next 1A meeting will be of particular interest.

Next Wednesday, starting 7:00 pm at the Harriet Tubman Elementary School, 3101 13th Street NW, the ANC1A meeting will have two item on note.

1. Park Morton: The three Developers who are seeking to redevelop Park Morton will present their proposals.
2. Georgia Avenue Great Streets Project: David Jannoroni, deputy mayor of economic development, will come to address questions on the stalled Georgia Avenue Great Streets Project

The Developers presentations should be a close copy of the presentations held May 12 at Howard University. You can read my earlier post to get an idea of what they are about.

The Georgia Avenue Great Streets project has been on the books for a while, and was planned prior to other projects that now in progress or have received the green light to proceed. Mr. Jannoroni will explain the current status of the project. Some information is available from DDOT here>>

The Half Street Hole

One nice thing about going to Artomatic was that I got a really good view of the now well known “Half Street Hole.”

According to DCMUD, Monument Realty began digging the nearly 2-acre hole across from the ballpark entrance, at the corner of N and Half Street, SE, back in January of 2007. The cavity is the future home to the residential portion of Monument’s Half Street project – a 340-unit residential development. According to the developer, financing for the project is still, well, in a hole, but will soon get built.

While it was reported as recently as last November that the hole was more or less beginning to be filled in, it certainly looks far from filled in to me. It looks like they just put in enough dirt to support create a gentle slop to the bottom.

The Park View

Ironically, I walked down to Irving Street the other day for a couple of reasons, one being The Park View building. Living in Park View on the northern border, I’ve had many, many conversations with neighbors on just what, exactly, the borders of Park View are.

I know that historically, the southern border is considered Gresham Street, but I’m comfortable with the southern border being Harvard Street. Either way, Irving Street is within the Park View neighborhood, and near Pleasant Plains.

What I wasn’t expecting, or should I say, completely missed the restoration of The Park View,  a classic building built in 1906. It is now on the market offering 24 one- and two-bedroom condos by Thoron Development. If you are interested in this building from a real estate perspective, you can view some interior shots a the Wydler Brothers Web site here>>

Entrance of Park View Elementary Progressing Nicely

I noticed that the work that began earlier this year on Park View Elementary, the historic school on Warder Street that is currently being used by Bruce Monroe, is progressing well.

The blue tarp that has been hiding/protecting the work site is now gone and it looks like the only thing remaining is to reinstall the stone stairs, terrace, and balustrade.

I’m including a few shots here to let folks know the current state of work.

I’ve yet to get an answer from Chancellor Rhee on what will become of the school. Repeated queries have not been answered.

Progress on New Hampshire Ave. Medians

More photos from Wayan Vota on the installation of the New Hampshire Ave. medians from the Georgia Ave/Petworth Metro to Grant Circle.

It looks like the medians will have grass and trees … if 4 inches of dirt is all that’s needed to support the grass. For a moment I’d thought that perhaps some areas would be bricked, but the bricks I saw must have been for the curb areas.

On a side note, Wayan also noticed that the trees that were planted on January 8th of this year were outfitted with water bags yesterday.

Then and Now: The Dunbar Hotel

Then: The Dunbar Hotel, pictured here ca. 1950, was originally completed in 1902 as the Portner Flats. The Portner family sold the apartment building in 1945, and it reopened as the Dunbar Hotel — Washington’s leading elite black hotel. The Dunbar declined after the City’s other hotels integrated, and the building was razed in 1974. (Image courtesy Smithsonian Institution)

Now: The Campbell Heights apartment complex for senior citizens was built on the site in 1978. The complex is comprised of a seven-story high-rise and low-rise garden apartments.

Howard Theatre: A History

According to the Cinema Treasures site, the Howard Theater opened on August 22, 1910, in a primarily African-American area of Washington, near Howard University which lead to the theater’s name. It sat around 1,200 and was designed by architect J. Edward Storck and built for the National Amusement Company. During the mid-1920’s, it was sold to Abe Lichtman, a white theater owner of theaters that catered to African-Americans. As you can see from the vintage photograph above, it was billed as the “largest colored theater in the World.”

Its facade was a blend of several theater styles popular in the era, including Beaux-Arts, Neo Classical, and Italian Renaissance. At the top of the facade, overlooking T Street, was an over life-size statue of Apollo playing his lyre. The interior was even more extravagant, with a large balcony, eight boxes, a number of dressing rooms, and three entrances.

National Park Service Announces Trail Reconstruction on Rock Creek Parkway Near Kennedy Center

According to a NPS announcement: The National Park Service (NPS) has begun a trail improvement project on Rock Creek Parkway between the Kennedy Center and Virginia Ave N.W. The multi-use trail will be closed for approximately 4 weeks for reconstruction which began on Monday, May 18, 2009.

The work to be done includes removing the existing asphalt on the multipurpose trail and replacing it with new asphalt, constructing a new promenade with bench seating, installing new lighting and a bike rack, installing new trash receptacles and new trees will be planted. The project also includes resurfacing the bridge deck and replacing the handrails on the Thompson’s Boat Center Bridge. The planned final completion date for all work is July 1, 2009.

Detour signs directing Trail users will be in place prior to work beginning. No impacts to motor vehicle traffic are anticipated.

Inclement weather may require adjustments to the schedule. The NPS will continue to inform the public and the media of any adjustments in the work schedule. Every effort is being made to minimize traffic delays and accomplish the work in a timely manner.