This Month
3 May is Capitol Hill
Month
6 Spring at the Market
10 Catering to Close
Quarters
14 Quick Fixes
18 Om on the Hill
Departments
Ask Judith....................16
Neighbors ....................17
VoiceMail... ..................21
DownLoad....................22
Capital Kids .................27
From the Marines.........26
Community Calendar ....30
Sports Update .............32
School Calendar...........34
Classifieds...................34
VOICE
Spring on the Hill
Shopping, eating and
more…see page 3
Vol. 1 No. 1 April 15 1999
of
The
Hill
Prudential
1628 A St., NE $119,000
REAL WORK HAS BEEN
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house w/fplc, cac, osp, wd flrs,
upgraded everything.
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202 546-9640
646 11th St., NE
$179,646
QUALITY PLUS RENOVATION!
3br, 1.5ba, fplc, new oak flrs,
extremely fine work, needs
nothing inside, very tasteful!.
ROB BERGMAN
202 546-1553
334 Constitution Ave NE
$389,000
LIGHT FILLED BARET LINDE!
Great property! 3br, 3.5ba, 3
fplc’s, 3 levels, tsp kit, sep dr, cac.
JOHN SMITH
202 546-9640
712 11th St., SE $199K
2421 SQUARE FEET! Owner
will hold financing w/12% or
more down! 3br, 1.5ba, upstairs
was 1br apt, main flr office
space and bsmt Realtor space!
ROB BERGMAN
202 546-1553
337 Maryland Ave NE $139K
SUPREME LOCATION! Bright
corner 2br terrace level unit,
exposed brick, working fplc,
walk metro.
FRANK R*A*Y
393-1111
315 Constitution Ave
NE $324,500
PRIME LOCATION! Garage
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sep dr opens onto private
patio, bright white kit
w/newer appliances, in the
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JUDI SEIDEN
202 547-4419
3800 V St., SE #201 $45K
SUNNY SOUTH FACING 1br
high on the second flr (no noise),
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5025 Wisconsin Ave., NW 202-362-3400 pcrnwst@erols.com
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
3
May is Capitol
Hill Month?
Yes, Virginia (and Maryland), it is.
And what a month!
B Y K R I S T E N H A R T K E
MOST PEOPLE, when confronted with the
news that “May is Capitol Hill Month”, just
stare blankly, saying “It is?” Yet, upon hearing
the abundance of things to do and see in
our fair neighborhood during the month of
May, the response quickly becomes “By Jove
(or something along those lines), May really is
Capitol Hill month!”
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
4
howcasing the Hill in
the merriest month
began in 1985 when
the Capitol Hill
Association of
Merchants and
Professionals
(CHAMPS), in an
effort to promote
some of the Hill’s
long-standing events,
began the “May Is
Capitol Hill Month”
campaign. The neighborhood
was papered
with calendars of the
many existing activities,
and numerous local organizations
were so galvanized that they
added several more.
While, admittedly, many people
still aren’t aware of the concept of
May is Capitol Hill Month, there
is no denying that some of the
Washington area’s best events
happen right here in the late
spring, when the cherry blossoms
have long since withered but our
own gardens are in full bloom.
From the Capitol Hill Classic 10K
to Market Day to the Capitol Hill
House and Garden Tour, May is
packed full of events which draw
visitors from all over the area, and
there are also a variety of off-thebeaten-
track happenings which
may spur you to get out and revel
in springtime on the Hill.
Perhaps the best way to celebrate
May is Capitol Hill Month is
by inviting your suburban or
Georgetown friends over for a
visit. Take them on a stroll
through the lovely side streets of
the historic district to admire the
flowers; former Hill resident and
gardening book author Jacqueline
Heriteau once said that there was
at least one beautiful garden on
every block on Capitol Hill.
Should a sudden rain shower pop
up, duck in for a latte at one of
our many hip coffee shops, like
the politically-correct Roasters on
the Hill or the ultra-trendy
Xando. Check out the work of
local artists at the Capitol Hill Art
League Gallery or stop by Taylor
and Son’s Fine Art, where painter
Michele Taylor showcases artists
from around the country. Should
your friends start feeling peckish,
stand in line at the Market Lunch
for one of the best crab cake sandwiches
in town — and be sure to
get the cole slaw on top for a real
authentic treat.
But don’t stop there. Wander
through the stalls at the Flea
Market at Eastern Market. Poke
through the cardboard boxes at
the Classic is almost surely a signal
of spring for locals; it is also a
big draw for Washington area runners,
who enjoy running on the
wide tree-shaded streets of the
historic district, all the way out
East Capitol Street to RFK
Stadium, then back down to the
Capitol building. Proceeds from
the Classic also support one of
our neighborhood’s most important
institutions: The Capitol Hill
Cluster Schools, a coalition of
three public schools on Capitol
Hill which serves local children
from pre-kindergarten through
8th grade. Race day begins at
Stanton Park with the 10K, followed
by a 3K and three Fun Runs
for kids, and, making its debut
this year, a Senior Run for senior
citizens. Pre-registration is $18 for
the 10K; race-day registration is
$20. The 3K is $15 per child, and
$10 for Cluster School students;
the Fun Runs and Senior Run are
$10. All participants will receive
the 1999 edition of the Capitol
Hill Classic T-Shirt. And even if
you don’t run, the Classic is fun
for all, especially on a beautiful
spring morning, with plenty of
music and people-watching to get
you primed for Market Day later
the same morning. Call 724-4683
for more information.
May 2nd: Market Day, 11
AM - 6 PM, Eastern Market
Now in its 36th year, Market Day
will take place again outside historic
Eastern Market on 7th St.,
SE, between North Carolina and
Pennsylvania Avenues and on C
St., SE, between 6th and 7th
Streets. The festivities, which draw
some 10,000 visitors annually,
will include children’s rides and
games, arts and crafts demonstrations,
and live music. This year
there will also be transportation
service provided by Olde Towne
Trolley between the Washington
Navy Yard and the Capitol
Children’s Museum.
In addition, there will be more
than 100 artisans selling arts and
crafts, as well as a wide variety of
food vendors. The Curiosity Shop
& Silent Auction will be featured
again, stocked with a variety of
fine items donated by Capitol Hill
area businesses.
Antiques on the Hill. Marvel at
the Library of Congress’ Jefferson
Building (and check out their
activities in our Arts &
Entertainment calendar. Bet you
don’t know half of what the
Library offers). Buy a flag at
Union Station. Relax in any one
of a dozen parks, large or small,
and soak in the warm breeze.
Drop by one of the real estate
offices to pick up the local sales
listings for your friends. Wind it
all up with a margarita and a
combination platter at one of the
Hill’s many excellent Mexican
restaurants (there seems to be one
on every corner). Then tuck your
friends into their cars and wave
goodbye, secure in the knowledge
that you’ll only have to walk a
few steps to your own house and
then you can get up tomorrow
and do it all over again. It’s May!
It’s Capitol Hill! What a life.
If you’re looking for something to do
during May, here’s just a sampling of
some of the events that make
Capitol Hill a truly special place:
May 1st: Kiwanis Club TNT
(Trash And Treasure) Flea
Market, 8 AM - 4 PM
This all-day flea market on the
corner of 7th and North Carolina
Ave., SE, directly across the street
from Eastern Market, will be
donating its proceeds to
Children’s Hospital. If you wish to
donate items to the flea market,
you can bring drop them off that
day, and families are especially
invited to come by to pick up
Infant Car Seat Safety Stickers,
which will be available for free.
All area Kiwanis Clubs are participating
in the car seat sticker campaign;
the sticker is attached to
the back of the car seat, and, in
the event of an accident, provides
important information about your
child for police or ambulance
technicians in case of an emergency.
For more information
about the TNT Flea Market or
about the Kiwanis Club, call Ruth
Ann Overbeck at 546-3395.
May 2nd: Capitol Hill
Classic 10K, 8:30 AM,
Peabody School, 5th and C
Sts., NE
Still going strong after 20 years,
S
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
5
All proceeds will benefit
Friendship House, one of
Washington’s oldest and largest
social service agencies. For more
information, please call 675-9050.
May 5th: Cinco de Mayo
On Capitol Hill, where we have
nearly as many Mexican restaurants
as we have dogs, Cinco de
Mayo is definitely an event. It’s
not unusual to find people standing
in line sipping margaritas on
the sidewalk outside Las Placitas
on the Fifth of May as they wait
for tables.
Many of our area restaurants,
including La Lomita (Uno and
Dos), Las Placitas, the Banana
Cafe, and others, will have some
kind of dinner specials and festivities
celebrating this Mexican holiday.
Check your favorite restaurant
for details, or just slam on a
sombrero and fiesta the night
away.
May 7, 14, 21, 28: Marine
Band Parades. Marine
Barracks, 8th & I Sts., SE
For those of us who live on the
Hill, the Friday evening summer
concerts at the Marine Barracks
are often an annoyance, as the
suburban cars block traffic on 8th
Street. However, these
parades/concerts are really quite
thrilling, filled with a lot of pomp
and circumstance. You’ll see performances
by The President’s Own
U.S. Marine Band; The
Commandant’s Own U.S. Marine
Drum Bugle Corps; The U.S.
Marine Silent Drill Platoon; the
U.S. Marine Corps Color Guard;
and the Marine Barracks’ two ceremonial
marching companies.
The 42nd season begins May 7th
and continues every Friday
evening through August 27th, so
plan a summer sojourn to 8th
Street, where dinner and a show
are right at your fingertips.
Admission to the Parades is free
and open to the public, but reservations
are strongly recommended.
To reserve, send a postcard to:
Parade Tickets, Marine Barracks,
8th & I Sts., SE, Washington, DC
20390. For recorded Parade information,
call 433-6060.
May 8th: Capitol Hill Art
League Gallery Talk, 1 - 3
PM, 545 Seventh St., S.E.
Tucked away at the Capitol Hill
Arts Workshop, the Art League
will be exhibiting “Backyards and
Balconies”, a group show of work
by local artists who are members
of the Art League. The Gallery
Talk, which will be open to the
public, will be presented by juror
Rebecca Abbott, a photographer
who will discuss the works she
selected for the exhibit as well as
her own work and experiences in
the Washington art scene. The
exhibit will run through May
28th; call 547-6839 for more
information.
May 8th/9th: Capitol Hill
House and Garden Tour
Mother’s Day weekend simply
would not be complete in our
neighborhood without the
Capitol Hill Restoration Society’s
House and Garden Tour, now in
its 42nd year. Thousands of people
will line the sidewalks as they
wait to get a peek into seven
Capitol Hill homes, including a
new 5,000-square foot East
Capitol Street mansion with a fabulous
view of the Capitol dome; a
former saloon (if only its walls
could talk!) featuring a presidential
powder room filled with
signed presidential portraits; a
double-lot home whose gracious
garden boasts one of the Hill’s
secret swimming pools; and the
lovely house where portions of
the movie “Broadcast News” was
filmed.
This year, the Washington Navy
Yard, which is celebrating its
200th anniversary, will also be on
the tour; for those of you who
have never visited the Navy Yard,
it really is a treat and houses some
of Washington’s oldest buildings,
including the Second Officer’s
House, which was originally built
in the 18th century and is one of
the few buildings not burned during
the War of 1812.
A Candlelight Tour of homes
will be held on Saturday, May 8th
from 6-9 PM, with a reception for
ticket holders at Taylor & Sons
Fine Art, 666 Penn. Ave. SE until
10 PM. On Sunday, the tour will
be held from 12 - 5 PM, with tea
and refreshments served from 3 -
6 PM at the Washington Navy
Yard. Tickets are $15 in advance
and $20 on tour days and are
good for both days. They can be
purchased at Trover Shop; Grubbs
Pharmacy; Row House Interiors;
Taylor & Sons Fine Arts; Through
the Grapevine; Pardoe Real Estate
ERA; Prudential Real Estate;
ReMax Capital Properties;
Coldwell Banker Realty; and from
the Restoration Society’s ticket
booth at Eastern Market on weekends
from now until the tour.
Tickets can also be ordered by
mail from the Capitol Hill
Restoration Society, P. O. Box
15264, Washington, D.C. 20003.
May 12th: Capitol Hill
Community Achievement
Awards Dinner, Folger
Shakespeare Library, 201
East Capitol St., SE
This annual fundraising event for
the CHAMPS Foundation honors
people in our community who
have dedicated themselves to
improving the lives of those
around them. This year’s honorees
include Sharon Ambrose,
Margot Kelly, and Jim Parker.
Ambrose is, of course, our Ward 6
councilmember and a long-time
Hill neighbor who has fought
hard for other residents on a variety
of issues; Kelly is the unofficial
“Mayor of 8th Street”, a
property owner since the 60s of a
number of buildings across the
street from the Marine Barracks
who has worked tirelessly on the
improvement of this once-glorious
street; and Parker is a former
Capitol Hill contractor who
formed a local chapter of the
Young Marines out of concern for
the young at-risk members of our
community and then went on to
become National Executive
Director of the Young Marines.
In addition, each year the
Keller Award of $7,500 is awarded
to a community organization;
this year’s recipient is the Friends
of Garfield Park, a group which is
working to renovate this park
near the SE-SW Freeway on South
Carolina Avenue.
The CHAMPS Foundation is
the charitable arm of the Capitol
Hill Association of Merchants
and Professionals; it annually
gives out over $75,000 in support
of non-profit organizations and
schools within our community.
Tickets for the black-tie affair are
$125 each; for more information
about the dinner and sponsorship
opportunities, contact
Phyllis Jane Young
at 543-7000, ext.
232. Underwriters
for the event are
Pardoe Real Estate
ERA, Charles C.
and Susan H.
Parsons, and the Folger
Shakespeare Library.
May 15th: PEN/Faulkner
Awards, Folger
Shakespeare Library, 201
East Capitol St., SE
Under-utilized by locals, the
Folger Shakespeare Library really
is a veritable treasure-trove of
things to do that exercise the
mind. The PEN/Faulkner Award
for Fiction, is named for author
William Faulkner (who used his
Nobel Prize funds to create an
award for young writers) and affiliated
with PEN (Poets,
Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and
Novelists), the international writers’
organization. The award is the
largest annual juried prize for fiction
in the United States. The
1999 nominees are Russell Banks,
Michael Cunningham, Barbara
Kingsolver, Brian Morton, and
Richard Selzer, whose works of fiction
were published in 1998; the
award winner receives $15,000
and each of the other four nominees
receives $5,000. Tickets for
the event are $75; for more information,
call 675-0345.
May 30th: National
Memorial Day Concert,
West Lawn, U.S. Capitol
building, 8 PM
This is really one of the times
when living on the Hill is
absolutely grand! Where else can
you live where you can just walk
down the street with your picnic
basket to listen to the National
Symphony Orchestra under the
stars—and then walk home afterwards
without fighting 250,000
other concert-goers in traffic? The
Memorial Day Concert is certainly
The 1999 Capitol Hill Commuinity Achievement Award Winners: Sharon
Ambrose, Jim Parker and Margot Kelly
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
6
Spring AT THE MARKET
B Y B O N N Y W O L F
Maria Calomiris grew up in Sparta,
Greece, and says, “When we had tomatoes,
we had tomatoes.”
Like most people growing up before refrigerated trucks and easy air transport,
she ate what was in season.
Today, of course, tomatoes are available year round – as are most foods.
But there is still a primal urge to eat seasonally. You can force bulbs
indoors, but it’s not really spring until the first crocus blooms in the yard
and the first tiny asparagus spears turn up at the Eastern Market.
The market is as old-fashioned as seasonal produce. Built in 1873, it is
the city’s last public fresh-food and farmers market, recalling a time
when food shopping was done daily rather than monthly. But as the
trend continues away from packaged foods and back to fresh ingredients,
the Eastern Market looks avant garde.
So when the season turns to what poet ee cummings described as
“mud luscious” and “puddle wonderful,” when it’s time to stow the soup
pot and stoke the grill, the Eastern Market is a good place to start.
Like spring weather, spring food is unpredictable. Fiddlehead ferns are
only available for a couple of weeks, and it’s hard to know exactly when.
Depending on the weather, the soft shell crabs may be in early … or late.
If there’s a cold snap, the shad go too deep to catch.
Left, Maria Calomiris.
Right, Richard (L) and Chad (R) Glasgow
Taste of the Hill
farmers on the Delmarva
(Delaware-Maryland-Virginia)
Peninsula developed a broiler
chicken that replaced the spring
chicken. Chicken consumption
went up, and prices went down.
While it’s no longer just a spring
dish, Melvin Inman of Market
Poultry says people eat a lot of
chicken this time of year.
Capon, Rock Cornish hens and
rabbit are also popular on spring
menus. And Chris Nicholas of
Capitol Hill Poultry says he’s getting
a lot of fresh game birds now
– pheasants, guinea, quail.
“Grilling game birds is the best,”
says Nicholas. He also recommends
capon on the grill.
If you want red meat in spring,
you want lamb. Adam Glasgow at
Union Meat Co. says people buy
fewer roasts and more cuts of
lamb as the weather gets warmer.
And while Union Meat gets lamb
year round from their Baltimore
supplier, Glasgow says they sell
more in the spring. A simply
roasted leg of lamb—full of
garlic, rosemary and
lemon—is the quintessential
spring dinner.
There are also
loin and rib
chops, spring
lamb stew
and a
crown lamb
roast which
the meat
counters will
make up with
a little advance
notice.
Europeans
think the per-
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
7
But you can walk through the
Eastern Market this time of year
and put together a meal that
tastes like spring.
Menus should be uncomplicated
and focus on the fresh, clear
flavors of spring foods. Desserts
are lighter and it’s a good time to
enjoy the last of the really good
citrus fruit.
To start, Jorge Canales of
Eastern Market Grocery has a
number of filled pastas for
spring—asparagus and ricotta,
tomato basil pasta filled with
smoked mozzarella, basil linguini.
All his pastas come from Silver
Spring, MD. Both he and Bowers
Fancy Cheeses say as soon as the
first decent tomatoes are available,
customers start looking for
fresh mozzarella to eat with them
(and a sprig of basil). Both vendors
start carrying fresh mozzarella
– domestic and Italian – this
time of year.
On to the main course.
Spring is a bountiful season at
Southern Maryland Seafood Co.
Inc.
All along the East Coast, people
wait for the short season to eat
shad and its plump roe. Shad is
the boniest of all eating fish, but
Southern Maryland Seafood sells
boned shad filets as well as whole
shad and shad planks.
Chad Glasgow of Southern
Maryland Seafood says wild rockfish
should be in around now and
possibly fresh Georgia white
shrimp. He says the earliest softshells
may be available next
month.
A plump roast chicken with
tender spring greens is another
perfect meal. Chicken used to be a
seasonal food – as in “You’re no
spring chicken.” But in the 1930s,
fect accompaniment to roast lamb
is fava beans. Americans have
been slow to warm to fava beans,
maybe because cleaning them is
time consuming and Americans
are people in a hurry. The beans
have to be removed from their
sleeping-bag-like pods before they
can be cooked. What you find
inside are pale green beans that
look like baby limas with a slightly
bitter, fresh taste. They aren’t as
starchy as some beans.
Spring is also the season for
asparagus, dandelion greens, sorrel,
sugar snap peas, artichokes,
young garlic and spring Vidalia
onions. Both Mrs. Calomiris and
Chang Paik at the market’s Fancy
Fruit say if they don’t have what
you want, they will special order
it in a reasonable quantity.
On Saturdays, produce is available
outdoors as well as
inside. Debbie Jacomet, who
brings her Jaco Jardin to the outdoor
market on Saturdays, offers
many uncommonly seen seasonal
vegetables. She has fiddlehead
ferns for their fleeting season, wild
mushrooms such as hen of the
woods, black trumpet and hedgehog,
and what she calls “infant
vegetables” – tiny zucchini and
pattypan squash.
OK. What’s for dessert?
Simple—strawberries. In the 16th
century, author William Butler
wrote about the strawberry:
“Doubtless God could have made
a better berry, but doubtless God
never did.” Granted, the berries
around now are not the sweet,
local fruit that will come in the
early summer. But strawberries are
a hearty fruit that ship pretty
well. It’s just right that a spring
meal end with strawberries—simply
macerated in
liqueur or tumbled
with
whipped
From left: Melvin Inman, Jorge Canales, Jack Cully
of Bowers Fancy Cheeses, Debbie Jacomet and
assistant of Jaco Jardin
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
8
Signs of Spring
Following are some of the foods available in spring at the Eastern Market.
Capon is a rooster that is castrated when quite young, fed a fattening diet and brought to market when
it’s less than a year old. Capons are full breasted,
tender and juicy—perfect for roasting.
Dandelion greens are an old-fashioned vegetable
with new sophistication. New American cuisine
has caught up with the old Southern tradition of
stewing these greens in the spring when they are
most tender, before they flower. They’re supposed
to be a good decongestant—an added attraction
in Washington in the spring.
Fiddlehead ferns is an early growth stage of any
fern. They are the tightly coiled, unfurled fern
frond. They get their name from their appearance
— like the head of a violin. Don’t pick your
own. They’re not all edible. Choose bright green,
firm and compact ferns. They need to be cooked
pretty soon after you buy them.
Mozzarella is a mild, fresh whole-milk cheese usually packaged in water. It has a soft texture and delicate
taste—very different from the factory produced mozzarella found in supermarkets. Buffalo mozzarella is
the top-of-the-line fresh mozzarella. Most of the buffalo mozzarella available in the United States is a
combination of water buffalo milk and cow’s milk.
Rock Cornish hens look like miniature chickens. They are hybrids of Cornish and White Rock chickens.
Shad is the boniest of all eating fish, but Southern Maryland Seafood sells boned shad filets as well as
whole shad and shad planks. Some people bake the whole shad in a slow oven all day to soften the bones.
Shad roe is the eggs of the shad. When buying shad roe, look for a bright color, clear vein pattern and
no splits in the sac holding the eggs. Roe is generally fried or baked. When properly cooked, it should feel
firm and be pink in the center.
Sorrel is a green that looks like spinach and is often served with shad roe because its slight bitterness and
acidity cuts through the richness of the roe. It’s also common in spring salads. There are many different
kinds of sorrel which differ in flavor. The youngest and mildest are available in spring. Look for bright
Recipes
Rockfish Stuffed with Crab Meat
From The New York Times
Cookbook by Craig Claiborne
1 4-pound rockfish
Salt
1 pound crab meat, picked over
well
14 cup chopped chives or green
onion
14 cup chopped parsley
14 cup butter, melted
3 tablespoons chopped celery
12 cup fresh bread crumbs
14 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper to
taste
Olive or vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Grease a baking dish and cover
with a double thickness of aluminum
foil, allowing foil to overlap
at both ends. Grease the foil.
(This procedure will prevent the
cooked fish from breaking when it
is transferred from the pan to a
serving platter.)
Sprinkle the fish inside and out
with salt. Combine the remaining
ingredients, except the oil, and
mix. Stuff the fish with the mixture
and close with skewers and
string. Sprinkle the fish with oil
and place in the foil-covered baking
dish.
Bake uncovered until fish flakes
easily when tested with a fork,
about 30-40 minutes.
Minted Sugar Snap Peas
From Gourmet Magazine,
September 1993
(Serves 4 to 6)
1 12 pounds sugar snap peas,
trimmed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons finely shredded
fresh mint leaves
In a kettle of salted boiled
water, cook the snap peas for 1 to
3 minutes or until they are crisptender.
Drain them and plunge
them into a bowl of ice and cold
water to stop the cooking. Drain
the peas well. In a large skillet,
melt the butter, add 1` tablespoon
of the mint, the peas, and salt and
pepper to taste. Heat over moderately
low heat, stirring,
until the peas are heated
through. Sprinkle the
peas with the remaining
1 tablespoon mint.
Strawberries in Liqueur
From “The Seasonal
Kitchen” by Perla Meyers
(Vintage Books, 1975)
From top: Chang Paik, Pierre
Boone of Union Meat, Blue Iris
(Serves 4 to 6)
2 or 3 pints hulled strawberries
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 tablespoons cherry brandy
Juice of 2 oranges
Pinch of grated orange rind
1 cup heavy cream whipped
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
12 cup sour cream
Finely chopped unsalted pistachios
Rinse strawberries under cold
running water before hulling.
Place berries in glass serving
dish. Sprinkle with
granulated sugar.
Mix cherry brandy with
orange juice and grated
rind. Pour mixture over
berries. Chill for 1 to 2
hours.
Combine whipped
cream with confectioners
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
9
J E A N N E M . E C K
There are numerous fine
restaurants on Capitol Hill
where, each time you come
to dine, the owner will
greet you by name. If you prefer
to do gourmet at home, Eastern
Market vendors have the fixings
to create your own version of a
Bon Appetit centerfold. But for
those who are without culinary
skill or the benefit of an expense
account, there are also hometown,
funky places that serve
good, cheap food. But don’t
expect to be coddled. The staff
won’t give a rat’s tail who you are.
As a matter of fact, if you’re powerful
(or just think you are), be
prepared to have your ego scrambled
along with your eggs. Power
dining this ain’t and extra grease
comes at no additional charge.
Three such Capitol Hill establishments
immediately come to
mind: Jimmy T’s, Sherrill’s and the
Tune Inn. You should note, the
low-fat, high fiber health police
wouldn’t be caught dead in any of
these places, unless they’re out of
uniform and looking for inexpensive
comfort food.
The Tune Inn is located a few
doors up from the Capitol Hill
Exxon at 33112 Pennsylvania
Avenue, SE It doesn’t look like
much on the outside. In fact, it
doesn’t look like much on the
inside either. It resembles a small
VFW hall, in drag. Directly inside
the entrance is a long bar. Bar
stools are usually filled by regulars.
Farther back, near the men’s room
(whose door doesn’t always close
completely) there are rows of
booths and a few tables, all in various
stages of disrepair. If you’re a
woman, be prepared to run the
“testosterone gauntlet.” The
good news is, no one will bother
you once you get past the bar and
try to snuggle into a sagging,
lumpy leatherette booth. The
Tune Inn has been around in one
place or another since 1933. As a
matter of fact, owner Joseph
Nardelli was one of the first to
receive a liquor license from the
District Government in 1933. The
Tune Inn is open Sunday through
Thursday from 8:00 A.M. until
2:00 A.M. and on Friday and
Saturday from 8:00 A.M. until 3:00
A.M. They serve breakfast, lunch
and dinner. Sausage & eggs, available
all day, comes with home
fries and toast and costs $4.50. A
bacon cheeseburger with fries is
$4.75. There are also daily lunch
and dinner specials in the $5.00
range. Their meatloaf is a decent
representation of the real thing, as
is the beef stew. They also sell
beer by the pitcher, but since this
is about food, I’ll skip the details.
The evening crowd is a mixed bag
of locals, hill staffers and tradespeople.
If you’re a night owl, you
might want to hang around to see
what develops. There are legendary
stories about notable
Washingtonians literally letting
their whole body down on to the
bar while downing shooters to the
cheers and cat calls of other
patrons.
Sherrill’s Restaurant and Bakery,
is also located on Pennsylvania
Avenue, but in the two-hundred
block at 233. They’re also open
seven-days-a-week: Monday
through Friday from 6:00 A.M.
until 6:30 PM and Saturday from
7:00 A.M. until 6:30 PM On
Sunday they open at 7:00 A.M.
and close at 4:30 PM A chalkboard
sign welcomes you and sets
the tone: “Wait to be seated. Do
not sit at dirty tables.” Sherrill’s is
renowned for having been the
subject of local artist, David
Peterson’s film “Sherrill’s
Restaurant” which was nominated
for an Academy Award.
Peterson chose Sherrill’s because,
“…It was as if an anthropologist
had come across a self-contained
culture that had been isolated
from modern years.” Sherrill’s is
also known by local residents as
the “Rude Bakery.” It has the oldest,
most acerbic wait staff in history.
As you enter Sherrill’s, a
tempting display case offers cookies,
doughnuts and assorted pastries.
You can also purchase a
cake for special occasions. Booths
for two or more dot the interior. If
you’re by yourself, you’d better
not sit in a booth for four or
you’ll get your butt kicked. A
bacon cheeseburger will set you
back $3.95. Fries cost an additional
$1.50. Two eggs, any style,
with sausage or bacon and toast,
is $3.75. They have daily lunch
specials that cost an average of
$5.50, dinner specials are in the
$5.75 price range. Egg dishes can
be ordered all day. Regulars meet
for breakfast, lunch or dinner
each day. Generally, this is not a
young crowd. Since they close at
6:30 PM, their dinner appeals to
baby boomers’ parents who begin
to arrive at 3:30 PM so they can
arrive home before dark.
Jimmy T’s Place, located at the
corner of 5th and East Capitol, SE
is also a family run business. It’s
been around for thirty years. It’s
smaller than Sherrill’s or the Tune
Inn. On weekends, young yuppies
form a neat queue outside
while waiting for a table or booth
to become available. Cindy
Foster, the daughter of the original
owner, and her husband John,
do a lot of the cooking. Cindy is
nice to everyone. John is more
selective. Two eggs (any style)
with sausage and toast is $3.85.
At lunchtime, their usual patrons
are neighbors and repair people
who service the Capitol Hill community.
A cheeseburger comes
with french fries and costs $4.95.
High Fat,
Low Fiber
Cheap and Funky Hill Hangouts
Tunnicliff’s
Circa1796
The Capitol Hill Tavern with a British name and a Cajun accent.
222 Seventh St., SE, Capitol Hill • 202-546-3663
515 8th Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003
1 Block South of Eastern Market Metro
(202) 546-5303 Fax: (202) 546-2224
Visit us at www.washingtonpost.com/yp/szechuanhouse
It is also known as the oldest and most authentic
Chinese restaurant on Capitol Hill since 1982.
CARRY OUT MENU
How
good are
we?
Just ask
your
neighbor!
$2.00 OFF ORDERS OVER $15
(Before Sales Tax. With coupon only. One coupon per party.
Expires 6/30/99. Carry out and delivery not included)
We use low
cholesterol oil
95%
MSG free
210 7th Street, SE • Washington, DC 20003
202-547-5858
“…It was as if an anthropologist had come
across
a self-contained culture that had been isolated
from modern years.”
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
10
So you just bought a beauty of an old
house on the Hill, and loped off to
Mattress Discounters for a new queen
size bed. Ha. Poor you. The salesperson
hadn’t a clue that the box spring would never
make it around the bend at the top of the stairs.
Or maybe your overstuffed furniture, just
shipped across country from your California
ranch, is collecting fallen cherry blossoms on
the sidewalk. You look like you’ve been evicted
before you’ve even arrived. Such are the miseries
of new Hill dwellers. To the rescue: Bill
Kramer and Jimmy Buchanan, owners of Row
House Interiors, the classy new furniture, gift
and design salon on Stanton Park. The guys,
and the shop, are full of solutions for our wee
house woes.
Like coat racks for the entry—you know the
spot where one might expect to have a closet.
Or a bookcase that’s just 6 1/2” deep that could
fit neatly at the top of the stairs. How about
sofas that can be ordered in increments of an
inch, and scaled down chairs that still manage
to be cushy. Bill and Jimmy buy—and design—
with an eye to the often quirky problems that
beset owners of antique homes: tight doorways
and staircases, cramped rooms, non-existent
closets, and odd angles. They’ll do it all for you,
of course, but are equally generous with free
advice.
Says Jimmy, who has lived on 5th St., NE for
the past two years, “We can’t make furniture
smaller, or rooms bigger, but we can tell people
what to buy. If you go to Marlo’s no one’s gonna
tell you, ‘hey, that won’t work.’ They just want
to sell furniture. We want people to come back.
So we help them cast off traditional ideas, like
you have to have a BIG chair to sit in. We help
them find furniture that works in smaller areas.
It’s very difficult when someone comes in and
looks at a triple dresser, and it’s $5,000 and
you’d love to sell it to them, but you have to
say, ‘you can’t have that.’ You can’t have that!
For us, that’s …it’s heart-breaking. Especially
when you’re balancing the checkbook.”
Ask nicely and they’ll do back-flips to help
you find what does work. Like the couple who
bought a three-story row house with the idea of
renting out the ground floor and living upstairs.
When they came into the shop, Bill says, the
lady was “this side of tears.” They’d just discovered
that they couldn’t get their sofa upstairs to
the living room. “So I explained that there really
was no rule that you have to have a sofa in
the living room. You can do the same things
with chairs.” So they made a seating arrangement
with four chairs and a glass coffee table,
and added some ottomans for extra company
seating. Said Bill, “We get locked into things,
like our parents homes with the matching end
tables, and the matching lamps, with the pictures
way up in the air. That’s the way you
always see it so that’s the way it is.”
There’s nothing “locked-in” about the gifts
and furnishings on this showroom floor. Run
over now and you might still see an Alice-in-
Wonderland of a bed, a queen-size Windsor 4-
poster in rare park-raised English Oak (at $5862,
about the most expensive item in the shop, and
just sold). Then there are Tiffany-style lamps,
mirrors, coat racks, rugs, framed paintings and
prints, and tables, priced from hey, that’s really
affordable, to Wow. Even the wow prices are
comparatively reasonable, since typically the
prices are marked up just 30%. Plus, if you don’t
see it on the floor, they can sit you down to sift
through catalogs and swatches, or use their connections
to send you to the Washington Design
Center.
The gift selections are all well priced, and
wonderfully witty. Pieces include beautiful
stoneware from France in a variety of mix and
match patterns, I Love Lucy book-ends, and an
amber glass shaded bronze turtle that does double-
duty as both a night-light and a charming
door-stop. Then there are prettily embossed
note cards, paper napkins and plates, picnic baskets,
and handmade – by Bill - rhinestone necklaces
for someone’s favorite kitty.
For very good reasons, Row House Interiors is
growing fast. So fast, that they might have to
move out of their cozy Stanton Park shop in the
next few months—thankfully, they’re just looking
for a bigger space right here on the Hill.
Row House Interiors is open from noon to 8 PM,
Monday through Friday, and 10 AM to 6 PM
Saturday and Sunday. 505 C Street, SE (on the
south side of Stanton Park). 543-7016.
Blue Stone Café & Ben and Jerry’s to
Open this May in Old Post Office
The licenses are in place, the build-out has
begun, and we wait with baited tongue for the
May 1 opening of the Blue Stone Café in the old
post office building on 7th Street, SE. It better be
open May 1. The owners’ mothers are coming to
dinner.
Bluestone is a new venture for Hill residents
and managing partners: Robin Rains, Jane
Dietze, Teresa Juliano, and Suzanne Michel. In
fact this is rather a Hill story. There are another
dozen or so neighbors investing in the restaurant,
much of the cabinetry, and the service bar,
is being done by local carpenter John Geiseke,
and the antique barn-board tables are being
made by David Lennard who shows his wares at
Eastern Market.
Robin Rains, the spokesperson for the group,
says the café will be open every day but Monday
for breakfast (brunch on weekends), lunch and
Business Bits
Catering to
Close Quarters
Easter window at Row House Interiors.
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
11
dinner. The concept behind it: New American
cuisine with a “seasonal market” menu – in a
setting that will resemble “a neighborhood
restaurant in San Francisco.” Design details will
take off on the Victorian motifs of butterflies
and dragonflies on the mosaic columns that will
grace the restaurant façade.
Happily, the owners believe in classic,
American-style breakfasts, the ones that come
with home fries and hash browns. Also happily,
there will be a full-time pastry chef creating
breads, scones, focaccia, and desserts. Those
weekday breakfasts and lunches will be served
with an eye to the time-clock. We can expect to
sit, eat, and scoot back to the office within 45
minutes.
Rains says that the lights will dim and the
pace slow to leisurely at dinner. Chef and coowner,
Teresa Juliano, who studied at
Maryland’s Academe de Cuisine, and most
recently worked at the Tabard Inn, is planning
8-10 entrees each evening. The selection will
include seafood (oh, is it about time!), freerange
chicken, beef, pasta and at least one vegetarian
dish. Since Chef Juliano insists on serving
food at its tasty peak, that menu will change
according to what’s best at the market.
Rains and her partner, Jane Dietz, will be supplying
much of the produce from their farm in
Edinburg, VA. They’ll be growing “heirloom”
tomatoes (the old fashioned, non-hybridized
sorts that are a distant memory for most of us)
along with baby vegetables, edible flowers, and
herbs. With other ingredients, like cow, the
emphasis will be—whenever possible—on the
fresh and organic.
The tab? Dinner entrees will be in the $15 to
$20 range. Breakfast, brunch and lunch will be
“moderately” priced.
As for the building, Scott Hammer, property
manager for Stanton Development Corporation,
which owns the space, promises that the design
is a knock-out. It is, after all, by award winning
architect Amy Weinstein. Weinstein is responsible
for quite a few Capitol Hill buildings including:
666 Pennsylvania Avenue, at the corner of
7th and Pennsylvania; the National Association
for Home Care, across the street from Eastern
Market; and the new Ellen Wilson Housing on
the North side of the freeway between 6th and
7th Streets, SE.
The new façade will include decorative
stonework, glass, German and Italian tiles, and
those whimsically Victorian mosaic columns.
The outdoor patio, which will serve both Blue
Stone and the adjacent Ben & Jerry’s (see next
story), will be surrounded by a brick retaining
wall and topped with decorative handrails.
Little Bites:
Make Mine Mel Gibson. Oops, I mean chocolate.
Surprise celebrity scoopers will be handing out
FREE ice cream cones at our almost-here-wecan’t-
wait Ben and Jerry’s from noon until 8 PM
on Tuesday April 27th!
Ben & Jerry’s started Free Cone Day when
they opened their first store in a renovated gas
station in Burlington, Vermont in 1978. Free
Cone Day, which features free scoops of ice
cream in cups or cones, began as a “fun way” to
appreciate customers, and remains an annual
event at all Ben & Jerry’s stores. While you’re
slurping, owner Lori Johnston hopes you’ll consider
a donation to the non-profit organization
KaBoom, which will be building a brand-new —
and safe — playground at 10th and Maryland
Ave., NE. The Ben and Jerry’s Scoop Shop is at
327 7th St., SE.
Hot News. Sizzling Express, the upscale buffet
mini-chain that has been doing bang-up business
downtown on K Street and also at the
McPherson Square Metro stop for the past year,
will be soon be opening their third location at
600 Pennsylvania Ave., SE. Restaurant owner,
Mr. Chon, says that they’ll be open from 6:30
AM and will remain open for dinner, something
not offered downtown. He’s also looking into
providing an outdoor café, and is considering
both the parking area at the rear of the building
and the front sidewalk for outdoor seating. This
will depend, he says, on how amenable the city
is to issuing the license. We asked him to please
persevere.
Freddy Lewis, rental agent for the property,
couldn’t rave enough about the quality, freshness,
and presentation of the food. The
extremely varied menu normally includes over
150 dishes each day, an array that includes
everything from sausage and eggs, to sushi, salads
and other vegetarian dishes, sandwiches
and freshly carved turkey and roast beef. All of
which is available for sit-down, carry out, and
delivery.
Watch this space for the grand opening
announcement!
Have a “Poster Pet”? Don’t our “best friends”
deserve those “15 minutes of fame” too? Be a
good human and enter Fluffy or Lance in
Doolittle’s Pet-of-the-Month contest. Starting in
April, Doolittle’s will select one pampered pet
each month to be “Pet of the Month”. The
lucky dog (or cat or hamster or….) will be
crowned “poster pet”—and his or her picture
will be featured at www.doolittle’s.com. In addi-
Banana Cafe
& Piano Bar
Serving the Best Cuban,
Puerto Rican, & Mexican
Food in the City!
Open for lunch, dinner
& Sunday Brunch
No Cover!
Piano Bar
Upstairs
Tues-Sat
Performances
by Deena Javor
and Chuck Smith Happy Hour
Tues-Fri 5-7:30 Upstairs only
Drink Specials with Free Hors
d’oeuvres
500 8th St, SE
1 block east of Blue/Orange Eastern Market Metro / 202-543-5906
311 & 315 7th Street, SE • 202.543.1705 • www.wovenhistory.com
Store Hours: 10-6, Tue-Sun. Eastern Market Metro
Woven History and Silk Road
??Distinctive Collars & Leads
??Expert All-Breed Grooming
??Premium Pet Foods & Treats
??Unique Gifts and Toys…
for Pets and Pet Lovers
224 Seventh Street, SE,Washington, DC
Directly across from Eastern Market!
(202) 544-8710
Doolittle’s, 224 th St., SE
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
12
tion to a full month of on line fame, the lucky
winner will receive a bag of delectable gourmet
treats. To enter, visit the Doolittle’s website
(we’ve provided a link at
www.voiceofthehill.com) and e-mail your favorite
photo. If you just want a can of cat food,
stop by Doolittle’s Pet Supplies, Gifts and
Grooming, 224 7th St., SE. 544-8710.
Facelift. Sizzling Express will be mounted in a
spiffy new setting, thanks to Andy Eshelman of
MGP Real Estate who recently bought 600
Pennsylvania Avenue. In just a few short
months the building, which is anchored by
Citibank on the corner, has gone from half
empty to 93% rented. New tenants include the
Democratic Leadership Conference, Amnesty
International, and the National Oceans
Campaign. To please them, and us, Eshelman is
putting nearly $3 million into sprucing up the
lobby, various common areas, and the facade.
What we’ll see from the street is a “more appropriate”
front door, new signage, and new landscaping
– including a pledge to do something
about that triangular eye-sore of a parklet at the
corner of 6th and Pennsylvania. Eshelman says
he wants this to be “the best building in the
neighborhood.”
GI Jane For some of us the trudge up three
flights of stairs to the Boot Camp of Capitol Hill
is enough of a work-out thank you. Then again,
landing sprawled and panting across the Boot
Camp front desk after such minimal exertion
shows us what very sorry shape we’re in. Wiry
50-something GI Jane offers a diet overhaul
(based on popular diet “The Zone”), along with
a combination of aerobic and anarobic exercises
that’s guaranteed to drop you a few sizes within
a MONTH (and don’t forget, bikini season’s
right around the corner). To prove she’s got the
right stuff, Jane’s offering a FREE 112 hour workout.
Just call: GI Jane’s, Boot Camp of Capitol
Hill. 645 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, 202-543-6899.
Flying Carpets. Memet Yalcin, owner of Woven
History, is heading off on another rug buying
trip. Heaven knows where he’ll put them. The
stacks of carpet already look like fanciful pillars
supporting the ceiling. Yalcin, a former teacher
and lecturer with a doctorate in Asian and Altaic
studies from Harvard, has packed thousands of
new, semi-antique and Oriental rugs into his
mini-bazaar on 7th Street. The shop also carries
wonderful oddments and artifacts, like Kilim
pillows, copper pots, and Tibetan Jewelry—great
wedding and graduation gifts! Woven History,
315 7th St., SE. 543-1705.
Say Zando! By now you’ve probably figured
that one out, but for months before they
opened we heard some pretty wild guesses
about how to pronounce the name of our
trendy new coffee bar-cum bar bar. Xando, on
Pennsylvania Ave. at 3rd St., has been deservedly
mobbed since they opened the doors. Now
that the air has turned balmy, the crowds are
taking their java with a splash of sun (or moon)
shine. Xando’s outdoor space is a most welcome
addition to our rapidly growing sidewalk café
scene. Xando, 301 PA., Ave. SE. 546-3345
Dock it Here. Little Port Café, just down past the
Freeway overpass on 8th Street, SE has finally
gotten a liquor license. Chef Allen Williams,
who comes to us from the dining room at the
National Press Club, has been serving up salads,
burgers and sandwiches and a lunch buffet to a
packed lunchtime crowd since the place opened
last Labor Day weekend. Unfortunately, the
restaurant’s dry state made luring customers
back for dinner a struggle. This is a pity, since
the evening menu includes creations like
“honey stung” fried chicken, filet of flounder
stuffed with spinach and scallops, Cajun crab
cakes, steaks and pasta. Given the location, it’s
also tough for them to be visible. This place
deserves support. The prices are reasonable, the
service is attentive, the food’s tasty —- and
there’s a dining coupon offered in the Port Café
ad. Oh, and Robin Rains, one of the owners of
the new Blue Stone Café, will vouch for Alan’s
“killer” Cadillac Margaritas. Give it a shot. Port
Café. 1102 8th St., SE. 543-8372.
A Dog Eat Dog World? Not at Dog-Ma, the Hill’s
one and only doggie day care center. Owner,
Rebecca Bisgyer says aggressive behavior just
won’t do. But for pets that love being around
people — and other dogs — day care can be a
blessing. With 7,000 sq. ft. of space to romp, no
wonder they “ flourish in this environment.”
Bisgyer says, “They’re tired and loving when
they get home, and you don’t have to watch
them if they’re chewers. They’ve been doing it
all day.” Dog-Ma’s located on Virginia Ave. SE,
PortCafé
2 Entrées for the price of 1!
(Dinner only)
Lunch 11:30 am-3pm
Dinner 5-10pm
Tuesday-Saturday
Easy Parking
1102 8th Street, SE
202.543.8371
Download this coupon at
www.voiceofthehill.com and
visit us again!
Coupon good through 5/15/99
_ Ribs _ Steaks _ Seafood
_ Pasta _ Vegetarian
THE ORIGINAL HEALTH, DIET AND FITNESS
BOOT CAMP
of Capitol Hill for Full and Small Figures
Men and Women lose 3-5 sizes in 30 days
Call G.I. Jane for a FREE workout
202-547-7906
Walk-ins welcome
Mon-Fri 6:30am-9:30pm • Sat 9:30am-3pm • Closed Sun
645 Pennsylvania Ave, SE
Eastern Market Metro
www.washington.digitalcity.com/bootcamp
BIG SPRING SPECIAL
1/2 OFF 16 Workouts with Trainer
Expires July 15. With this ad.
Not valid with any other offer.
Congratulations
to the Voice
218 Seventh Street, SE
Port Café, 1102 8th St., SE
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
13
on the other side of the Freeway. Close enough
to be convenient, far enough from residential
neighbors to let pets yap their little hearts out.
Dog-Ma, 821 Virginia Ave., SE, Washington, DC
20003. 543-7805.
Shop with Suede. The Banana Café will be hosting
a benefit for the Lesbian & Gay Chorus of
Washington on Sunday, April 18th at 4:30 PM.
The fund-raiser features the sultry jazz of Suede,
and a live auction. Tickets are $25, and can be
purchased through 800-494-TIXS. Banana Café,
500 8th St., SE. 543-5906.
Quilt Talk. Now showing in the upstairs art
gallery at The Village is an example of Sujuni
quilting made by women in Bihar, a state in
northeast India. Sujani quilts are handcrafted
from start to finish, and take three to four
months to complete. Each quilt tells a story. The
one on display tells how bamboo and mango
trees provide baskets and food for a village. The
Village, 705 North Carolina Ave., SE. 546-3040.
Star Wears. If you’re a Clothes Encounters consignor,
keep your eye peeled on the new Kristen
Scott-Thomas/Harrison Ford flick due out this
summer. You might see something of your previously-
own tossed about. Seems a tres
Hollywood type swept through the shop during
last year’s filming – an event that tied up traffic
around Eastern Market for a solid week – grabbing
up bits and pieces to stock a closet that
would be emptied by Scott-Thomas. By the way,
our consignment shop to the stars celebrates its
20th anniversary this year. Congratulations
Linda McMullen and Company! Clothes
Encounters, 202 7th St., SE, 546-4004.
Capitol Cowpokes. Red River Western Wear is
also show-busy. It’s where costumers for the galloped-
off-to-Broadway Annie Get Your Gun
picked the perfect white cowboy boots for
Bernadette Peters – along with piles of belts and
accessories for other cast members. The shop’s
also a hot source for souvenirs for foreign
tourists. “Sure is,” says owner Sandy
Thompson, “after all, is there anything more
American than Cowboys and Indians?” She’s
served visitors from all over the world, most
recently an Italian gent who trotted out of the
shop with turquoise and silver earrings for his
wife, and a ten gallon hat for himself. Red River’s
at 641 Pennsylvania Ave., SE. 546-6930.
“Crummy But Good” Tiny Bistro Italiano, at 320
D St., NE has found a moment of fame in the
Food pages of the March 17th Washington Post.
The paper’s Crummy But Good column features
restaurants that “…look so bad from the outside
that you would hesitate to take your mother
inside, especially if she were wearing her good
dress…[but] once inside, you find a combination
of a good menu, good food, relaxing
atmosphere, friendly people and reasonable
prices.” Bistro, they say, qualifies on all counts.
Neil Scott, who nominated the restaurant for
inclusion said, “from the outside you could mistake
Bistro Italiano for one of the dry-cleaning
establishments on Capitol Hill.” But once
inside, writer Donovan Kelly found spaghetti
sauce with a “nice subtle bite,” and “sinful
fresh-made cannoli.” Bistro Italiano, 320 D St,
NE. 546-4522.
Warming Mom’s Soul. Mother’s Day is almost
here, and so is the mad dash to grab something
for her that’s wonderful, beautiful and unique
enough to suit. Thankfully, Art & Soul has clothing,
jewelry and tsotchkas that are eclectic
enough to suit just about anyone’s mommy.
Just arrived is a set of prettily etched, frosted
glass bud vases, a collection of serving ceramic
bowls, mugs and cups from a Seattle artist,
The National
Capital Bank
welcomes the
Voice of the Hill
Xando, 3rd and Penn, SE
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
14
B Y L I N D A N O R T O N
Did those interminable winter weeks of
being stuck inside the house with the
flu give you plenty of time to dwell on
your eyesores? Did you figure that (if
you ever got well again) there were some projects
that definitely needed attention? Well,
spring has sprung and if you’re reading this
you’re probably still alive. The only problem is,
spring brings with it many demands on our
time, guests to our doorsteps, and a pressing
desire to go outside and play. What we all need
are a few “quick fixes” to update and freshen
things up without a lot of labor intensive activity.
A Room of a Different Color
Paint is the ultimate, easy, inexpensive redecorating
tool. More can be done to give a room a
new lease on life with a quick coat of paint than
anything else you can do. Selecting a new paint
color is a cinch if you choose one that coordinates
with a rug or fabric that you already have
in the room. Let’s say your walls are yellow, and
your sofa is upholstered in a blue, green and yellow
print. Simply shifting to green walls will
give you the fresh look you’re after, and often
the subtle background shading in your fabric
will guide you to the perfect hue. Once you’ve
selected the color, take a cushion or a swatch of
fabric along when you go to buy your paint.
Most paint stores can now match any color you
take in to them.
If your walls are white, and you’re a little nervous
about adding color, try a wash of color on
an accent wall, or the ceiling. An accent wall
behind a bed or sofa will give you the punch
that you’re looking for, and will subtly reflect
color onto the walls or ceiling.
To make a dramatic change in a room with a
high ceiling, paint the ceiling and carry it down
the wall to the picture rail. Your walls will seem
less tall and the room will appear larger. No picture
rail? Measure down the wall to the point
where the trim would be and snap a chalk line
around the room at that level. Keep your edge
straight by putting up paint “masking” tape
along the line. Now paint the ceiling color
down to the line and finish off with trim, a simple
stencil, or wallpaper border.
Walls in rotten condition? A good, fast treatment,
especially for a small room, such as a
powder room, is to find a fabric that you love
(sheets are good for this) to cover the cracks. Use
a staple gun to attach the fabric to the top of the
wall, pull it tight, and then staple the bottom.
Cover the seams with ribbon or trim attached
with a glue gun. Another way of covering walls
with fabric is to install curtain rods around the
perimeter at the ceiling angle and at the baseboard.
Then all you have to do is to shirr (or
gather) the fabric onto the rods at top and bottom.
Take Your Blinders Off!
First, and most rewarding, strip off all the drapery
and give your windows a good washing both
inside and out. You’ll be amazed at what a lift
this will give the room, and your spirits. Send
the draperies out to be cleaned and stored for
Home on the Hill
Quick Fixes
Spring’s the Time for Fresh Beginnings...
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
15
next winter and consider some lighter options.
You may decide to keep your windows
unadorned for a while. This can be a fresh, cool,
summer choice. But if the view is lacking, or privacy
is a consideration, there are breezy, easy
alternatives to heavy drapes. Try hanging sheer
or semi-sheer panels from simple tension rods.
These curtains are available at very reasonable
prices, and they let light in while providing privacy
from the street.
For a “topper” or valence, try draping a scarf
or tablecloth over the rod at the top of the
sheer. A valance can also give polish to a window
left curtainless. Be creative! You can top
windows with antique linens, lace, tea towels,
old handkerchiefs, sheets and random lengths
of fabric. These can usually just be folded over
the rod. If they require draping, they can easily
be held in place by driving two small finishing
nails into the top of the window trim and
bunching the fabric with a rubber band. Slip the
rubber band over the nail to hold everything in
place. If the rubber band shows, simply cover it
with a strip of the same or contrasting fabric or
a length of ribbon or trim.
Shake it Up
That old adage, “hang pictures at eye level”
sticks in everyone’s head, but unless you’re living
in a gallery, where everyone stands up all of
the time, most residential art is viewed from a
seated level. So move those pictures down for a
whole new view. A height of 8”-10” above a
piece of furniture is a good place to start.
Now, strip your rooms of accessories and
redistribute them as if you were putting them
out for the first time. You may want to put
some pieces away for a while, or move them to
a different room. You’ll enjoy those things that
you love even more in a fresh setting.
While you’re at it, take a good look at your
lighting. Rearranging or changing your lighting
can make a huge difference in the ambiance of
any room. If you only have a ceiling fixture,
consider adding table and floor lamps. Accent
lights add interest, particularly when you use
them to illuminate favorite objects.
Consider adding mirrors too. They always add
sparkle, and are particularly useful in a row
house that lacks side windows. Placed on windowless
walls, they reflect the light from the
existing windows and from lamps. Placed
behind or across from a favorite object or view,
mirrors magnify and enhance the effect.
Art poor? Calendars and coffee table books
provide great quality prints on good paper.
After you get past the idea of cutting them up,
you’ll have wonderful prints of a uniform size.
Some matting and framing wizardry will give
you a great picture display for above a bed or
along a hallway.
For a really quick fix, set out bowls or other
containers of flowers, fruit or even vegetables.
This is an easy way to bring color and visual
interest to a table or dresser.
Longing to give your kitchen a lift?
Try replacing the knobs and drawer pulls on
your cabinets. There are so many wonderful
new knobs available now at very reasonable
prices from catalogues and stores like Ikea,
Target, and Home Depot. For a more one-of-akind
feel, try rummaging through the drawers
at Antiques on the Hill. When you head out to
shop, take along an existing knob and handle to
be sure that the screw holes in your cabinets will
line up with the new hardware. Hanging plates
can provide instant design interest to the
room—and is a great way to enjoy dinnerware
that is too pretty to hide, or has too high a lead
content to be used for food. Plates, and platters,
can be easily mounted on walls with spring
backed plate holders.
Linda Norton is owner of Linda Norton Interiors
on Capitol Hill. She can be reached at 202-544-
2924
ANTIQUES
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SELL
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701 N. CAROLINA AVE, SE
WASHINGTON, DC
202-543-1819
Patricia Elmes Farley, Linen, silkscreened
Window toppers, a favorite-things display and
new knobs all are part of quick fixes for spring.
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
16
Dear Judith: I read the Capitol Hill Restoration
Society Guidelines about paint colors and they
said to leave brick houses brick color.
Wouldn’t it be boring if all of the houses on
the Hill were brick color? Isn’t it better to
have variety and lighter colors to brighten
things up?
Turning purple on 10th Street.
Dear Turning Purple: A lot of people think that
color is absolute. That avocado green is and
always has been revolting. That rose is too seventies
for words. What you should infer from
this is that color is highly subjective, especially
if you are old enough ever to have bought any
avocado kitchen things. The idea of “light and
bright” is actually rather a recent one. It reflects
our time. In thirty years people may say “light
and bright? Ugh. It’s so late 20th century” just
like people today dismiss things as so “70’s” or
so “50’s.”
You may see where this is leading. Here we
are, living in old houses in what is the largest
historic district in the whole country. Capitol
Hill was designated a historic district to
acknowledge its extraordinary intactness. On
many of our streets, if you took away the cars, it
could be a hundred and twenty years ago. Our
neighborhood is extremely unusual in having
such consistent streetscapes of buildings that
were nearly all built in the last three or four
decades of the nineteenth century. So, here we
are in our open-air museum. We live in a Kodak
moment.
Now, what would you think if during the
1970’s some of the people who live in Venice,
Italy, decided to paint all of the gorgeous
Venetian Gothic stonework on their glorious
houses in the magnificent day-glo colors of that
decade? Or, what if a lot of people on the Hill
decided to paint their houses in those lovely
Williamsburg colors we now associate with the
Colonial era? Wouldn’t you think it incongruous
to see our Victorian-era buildings gussied up
in Colonial togs?
Light and bright may be what is popular
today, but day-glo, avocado, forest green, and
mauve were once “popular” too. The simpler
preservation philosophy presented in the
Guidelines is just to accept the buildings as representatives
of their time, separate from personal
preference, and let them be the color they
would have been when they were new.
Dear Judith: My front door is old and my carpenter
said it would be cheaper to get a new
one than try to fix this one. What should I do?
Coming unhinged
Dear Unhinged: Get a new carpenter! You need a
carpenter who will say, “You can’t get a door
made from old-growth wood like this today,
and you can’t afford to get one like this custom
made. It’s just some rot at the base, a lot of accumulated
paint, and a loose joint or two. I’ll
make you a temporary door while I take this
one to my shop. I’ll use epoxy consolidant on
this wood at the bottom, and maybe add a little
wood if it is gone altogether. I’ll get a lot of this
paint off and use epoxy fillers in the holes and
gaps. If necessary, I’ll reglue any joints that are
loose. Then you can pick a new paint color, and
I’ll paint the door in my shop to make sure I get
good coverage on the top, the bottom and the
edges. I’ll rehang the door and it will be better
in every way than a new one.”
When you ask him how much it will cost,
expect his price to be less than installing a new
door of appropriate design, and of similar quality
—but not a lot less. But, you should be willing
to pay that to get a door “better in every way
than a new one,” and you can rest assured that
you won’t have to make any more repairs to
your fine old door in your lifetime. Just be sure
to keep a good coat of paint on the top, bottom,
and edges.
Have an old house question? Send it to Ask
Judith, c/o Voice of the Hill, 120 11th St., SE, or
use the comment section on www.voiceofthehill.
com
Ask Judith
We have been located on
Capitol Hill for more than 20
years serving the District of
Columbia and Maryland
Let us make your refinance,
purchase or sale hassle free
with no stress
Call us
202-544-0800
650 Pennsylvania Ave., SE
Suite 170
Washington, DC 20003
Curious about these guidelines? They are
available through the Capitol Hill Restoration
Society office. Call 543-0425. They’ll soon be
posted to www.voiceofthehill.com, too.
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
17
By Jeanne M. Eck
Newly published author, former member
of congress from New York and Capitol
Hill resident, Bob Mrazak says with a
derisive laugh, “I’m an overnight success.”
From all indications, his first published
novel, Stonewall’s Gold, which focuses on the
Civil War, is destined to be propelled into both
the literary and commercial stratosphere.
Stonewall’s Gold isn’t his first novel. He’s written
two others, both unpublished. His first, a
contemporary story about the losses two young
members of congress experience as they battle it
out to become the next Speaker of the House,
brought agent and publisher rejections. His second,
the story of a family at war during the
Vietnam era, failed to produce a publisher, but
secured him an agent who was enthusiastic
about his work, but not the subject matter. “My
agent said that the Vietnam war was too tumultuous.
She said, ‘Why don’t you write something
more commercial?’ So I ended up writing
about the most divisive and tumultuous war in
our history!” he recounts with amusement.
Mrazak turned to his extensive library and
reread “my favorite reminiscences about the
Civil War to refresh my memory. I’ve just been
fascinated by the types of people who lived
then, the heroes and the rogues, what made
them the way they were . . . You develop a kinship
with those who are long forgotten . . . The
hard part was developing a plot. I was really
struggling.”
In March of 1997, while traveling with his
daughter Susannah to visit colleges, the plot for
Stonewall’s Gold awakened him. “All these ideas
for a story were bubbling out of me . . . I woke
up at two o’clock in the morning. I always keep
a tape recorder next to my bed. I dictated for
about two hours. After the tape was transcribed,
I had about forty pages of notes. The notes
weren’t in chronological order, but it was pretty
much the layout of the first half of the story,
characters, everything.”
His novel is set near a farm in Virginia that
Bob and his wife, Cathie, owned for ten years
while he was in congress. “I’d traipsed and
hiked all over the different parts of the valley. I
had a sense of the landscape . . . Basically, it’s
the product of a lifetime of research and personal
experience.” For example, “it turns out
that the boy [the main character] would have
this old horse and the horse would take the boy
through some really terrible things. This was
based on the most traumatic and agonizing
event my daughter lived through, when she had
to put her twenty-eight-year-old horse down.”
Unlike his unpublished novels, which took two
years each to write, Mrazak penned Stonewall’s
Gold in four quick months.
Mrazak’s “sudden” literary success isn’t the
only irony in a life filled with challenges met.
As a result of the house banking scandal, he lost
both his congressional seat and bid for the senate.
Ironically, if he’d won election to the senate,
he wouldn’t be alive today. He would have
been too busy to see his doctor. “I would have
been dead because I never would have gone to
the doctor about a sinus problem and learned
that I had a tumor at the base of my brain that
was pressing up against, and had already dis-
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tended my carotid artery. I remember asking
the doctor if he’d ever performed this operation
before and he said, ‘Yes, on cadavers, but I know
what to do.’” The surgical team spent seventeen
hours performing the surgery. “They told
me it was a highly dangerous operation and I
may not be the same person when they were
finished.” Then the already Lincolnesque
Mrazak went through “the joys of radiation
therapy and lost forty-five to fifty pounds.”
His surgery was a life-changing experience.
He says of his exit from elective office, “In some
ways it was the best thing that could have happened
to me. It’s one of those things. You go
through it. You pick yourself up and go on. You
know, life works out in ways that sometimes
seem—at first—not to be a blessing. There are
things that happen to you that are really blessings
you hadn’t even considered.” He says
thoughtfully, “In the process of recuperating, I
came to the conclusion that life is very tenuous
sometimes and that I wanted to take on as
many interesting challenges as I could. So while
I was doing the writing, I was pursuing many
other high-risk things like trying to start a rival
league to major league baseball. I was trying to
do anything but lobby.” Nothing worked out.
“I’m blessed with a sense of optimism inherited
from my mother that seems to have a very deep
reservoir,” he adds with gratitude.
Writing is something Mrazak’s always done.
“This past summer, when we were up in Maine,
I started going through a lot of boxes from my
childhood that I had shipped up there, along
with some my parent’s had boxed up when they
moved. For the first time in twenty-five years, I
started to go through these boxes of junk and I
found all these stories I’d started writing when I
was a small boy . . . I realized I’ve had an interest,
maybe even a need to write since I was nine
or ten-years-old . . . I had enough material there
to publish another two or three books of the
most God awful stuff you can imagine!. . .It was
stuff I was churning out for the pleasure of it.”
What’s his life like today? In addition to just
being there for Cathie and their children,
Suzanna and James, this Capitol Hill resident of
16 years is at work on his second historical
novel. He’s also juggling a book tour with what
has become a fulltime job, running interference
for Howard Milstein. “It’s an embarrassment of
riches,” he says in his understated, gentle way.
Mrazak’s Gold
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VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
18
BY PAUL AND MOLLY SINGER CAPITOL HILL IS OFTEN VIEWED DARKLY through
the lens of politics: a mecca for cold-hearted politicians,
lobbyists and consultants with no moral center.
The Capitol is painted as the symbol of a soulless
city where spiritual discussions, if they exist, are colored
by their political overtones.
Despite the dozens of churches that blanket the landscape
east of the Capitol dome, the Hill is not a place one associates
with spirituality and introspection. The neighborhood’s image
is forged of political steel, not the softer fabric of soul and light.
The dress code is sensible black pumps and power ties, not saffron
robes and sandals. The work schedule is frantic and long
— with little time for personal reflection about belief, or our
connection to the world around us.
But looking closer, with a softer lens, in a few quiet places
around the Hill, some people are forging a different path for
Capitolists, a path that focuses on mind and spirit, on breath
and body, and on the transcendent values that reside deeper
Omon
theHill
Molly Singer is a folklorist working on urban redevelopment projects at the local level. Paul Singer is a reporter covering state and federal environmental policy.
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
19
than party lines.
No Alfafa Sprouts
A handful of people within walking
distance of Eastern Market
have begun helping to guide Hilldwellers
to a more introspective
space, one that emphasizes the
alignment of work life, home life,
and spiritual life in an effort to
find greater peace, and deeper
understanding of the world. The
point of focus is generally not on
grand theology, or abstract deities,
but on small human tasks like
breathing, stretching and being
attentive to the world we inhabit.
These Capitol Hill residents are
pursuing a more meaningful balanced
path, but they are not living
on alfalfa sprouts. They are
wrapped up in the everyday tasks
of work and friends and family.
These people, with many intellectual
and social interests, work to
maintain a center of balance
through relaxation, physical
health, quiet contemplation, and
connection to a broader humanity.
This, even they admit, is difficult
to maintain in a hectic city
where outside pressures make
demands.
Each of these “spiritual teachers”
reinforced the idea that the
search for spiritual meaning does
not require the rejection of the
work-a-day world. One need not
shave one’s head and climb the
Himalayas in search of enlightenment.
Rather, they suggest, try to
spend 10 minutes a day in meditation
and reflection. They see
spirituality as a tool to understand
ourselves, relate to people better
and to make society more civil.
This is Not Takoma Park
While some of the philosophy of
these alternative approaches
seems somewhat outside of the
mainstream, it is striking how
“normal” both the practice and
the practitioners are. One Hill
spiritual advisor was trained in
traditional therapies and found
that it lead naturally to a consideration
of deeper spritiual issues.
Another continues to work at the
World Bank on international
development projects, studying
spritual issues in her spare time.
Likewise, the clients and students
for these spiritual guides are
regular Hill folks as well —
lawyers, lobbyisits, congressional
staff and local business people. A
brief tour of the Capitol Hill
“alternative spititual community”
unveils a familiar truth: This is
not Takoma Park. Seeking spiritual
insight does not require a Masters
Degree in Asian Philosophy or a
fondness for soy-based products.
It requires only a willingness to
ask serious questions about our
relationship to the world around
us.
So Take a Deep Breath
A conversation with spiritual
mentor Corrin Bennett begins
with breathing. Bennett works
with clients one-on-one, as well as
meeting occasionally with groups,
to help people recognize the
“higher truth” that resides within
them. That higher truth is the
thing that binds us together as
humans, an energy that transcends
individuals but courses
through all of us.
The first step, Bennett maintains,
is being able to focus on
being present—being conscious of
where we are and what we are
doing. “Most of us, most of the
time are engaged in this kind of
thought: ‘What time is it? Where
do I have to be? What do I have
to do . . .’ In that level of awareness
we are jumping ahead into
the future— ‘I have to do this or
that, I have to catch the metro’ —
or we are thinking about the past:
‘Yesterday, I forgot to pick up the
drycleaning.’”
Bennett sees breathing as a simple
and essential act. “Being present
is about taking a deep breath
in, to allow yourself to bring all
of your conscious awareness into
this moment, now. When we are
really present, we can focus on
hearing our ‘higher truth.’ —
another word for it is the divine
— which is within us, and surrounds
us.” When we concentrate
on breathing, we slow body and
mind to focus on an essential element.
This care and focus allows
the body and mind momentary
rest from the tensions and concerns
that occupy our thoughts.
The respite allows the mind and
spirit to gain clarity and peace in
interacting with the world.
Mind Your M&M’s
Jindra Cekan, who this winter
organized a weekly meditation
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
20
Bennett advocate is that quiet
reflection on thoughts and feelings
can serve as great releases of
pressure and tension, as well as
holding the promise for a deeper
spiritual recognition. Cekan says
that when she is angered by a colleague
at work, stopping to reflect
on her own fallibility, and the
humanity of the other person,
allows her to defuse her anger and
resolve the conflict without hostility.
We are All Beacons
In a another approach, Gabrielle
Hill describes herself as a spiritual
coach who helps clients find their
inner wisdom by helping them
recognize patterns in their life by
recalling past experiences and
through energy healing. She
explains that an individual’s perspective
on the world is based on
experiences. Sometimes these
experiences conflict with a belief
system, and this leads to what
modern society calls crisis.
“People are seeking the spiritual
connection, they have a physical
problem or an emotional problem
when they come to me and they
are trying to bridge that mindbody
connection. . . . my focus is
on the mental body - that is the
world of our belief systems. What
are the beliefs that we hold about
the nature of reality, and who we
are, and how we fit into this
world? We interact and create our
lives according to these belief systems.
That leads to the whole
issue of responsibility in our lives.
Into responsibility and out of victim-
hood.”
group on the Hill, also finds
breathing to be the focal path to
centered thinking and living.
Cekan is a student of the teaching
of Buddhist master Thich Nhat
Hahn, who emphasizes mindfulness
— being conscious of the
divine connection between all
people and things at each
moment . She says, it is a very
practical philosophy, based on
everyday activities. Though, she
admits, literally being mindful at
each moment in our society is
impossible. Rather, she suggests,
“take one thing you do at home
regularly, and make that a path to
mindfulness.”
In her case, it is walking up or
down stairs. At those moments,
she tries to slow down a bit, and
concentrate only on walking the
stairs, taking a respite from the
pressures that may otherwise
occupy her mind — work, relationships,
bills, her dog. Likewise,
Cekan takes a moment before eating,
even something as insignificant
as an M&M, to contemplate
the series of interactions and the
connection between nature and
people and technology and society
that brings us something as
refreshing and simple as a candy.
For Cekan, it is these few extra
seconds that allow her to reflect
on her connection to the world,
and remind her to contribute to
the good of the world rather than
detracting from it. Because in the
interconnectedness of the world,
when one harms it or one of its
creatures, one is ultimately harming
himself.
The idea both Cekan and
Heart Center for Yoga and the Art
of Living, says that people may
come to Yoga for health or fitness
reasons, without any overt quest
for a more spiritual experience.
But the physical activity and concentration
involved in Yoga is
inherently spiritual, she says.
“What I see in people when they
come in . .. in 90 minutes there is
a change. They start doing warmups
and they breathe a little
more. There is such a miracle in
just being in our bodies, the way
children are, in a very natural
way. We are kinder. We lighten
up. That’s where this [spiritual]
stuff springs from.”
But it also frequently comes
from recognition that life without
reflection is lacking something.
Bennett says that she has worked
with people of all ages who have
had a crisis or a recognition that
there is something missing in
their lives. Hill says people are
drawn to her, because they need
the kind of coaching and assistance
that she can provide as they
try to address the struggles they
face.
These Capitol Hill neighbors all
approach spirituality from a
humanistic perspective, and
emphasize that the goal of their
practices is to develop a living
spirituality that changes how we
interact with the world. As
Kamakshi Hart says, “If spirituality
isn’t grounded in your daily
life, then it isn’t much use.”
RESOURCES:
Gabrielle Hill and Corrin Bennett
both see clients on an individual
Hill explains that “We are all
beacons,” broadcasting tremendous
amounts of energy into the
world at all times. We broadcast
many aspects of ourselves —
including our fears — through our
actions and energies. “There is a
fundamental law of physics that
like attracts like. Our broadcast
draws to us people who are like us,
and who respond to our frequencies.
. . [and] this is how we create
our reality . . . [For example], people
who are deathly afraid of muggers
are more likely to get
mugged. What I do is work with
folks to make them more aware of
the reality they are creating.”
A Little “Wooo Wooo”
Like Bennett, Hill believes that we
are more than our physical bodies,
and that life here on earth
isn’t the final chapter. Hill says
that each of us is “an expression
of the divine in human form,”
and that the challenge for people
is to recognize that fact, and to
focus on the divine within them.
“Living split off from who we
truly are has given us dis-ease,
physical, emotional and mental
problems, as well as creating myriad
problems with our home,
earth. As we strengthen these
internal connections, we literally
heal ourselves, and the healing of
the earth follows.”
Hill smiles, and acknowledges
“It all sounds a little wooo- wooo.”
But these Capitol Hill mentors
all agree that large theological
journeys can begin with steps as
simple as sitting still. Kamakshi
Hart, Director of the Dancing
…quiet reflection on thoughts and feelings can serve as great releases of
pressure and tension, as well as holding the promise for a deeper spiritual
ersonal growth and
spiritual mentoring
ALIGN YOUR BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT
CORRIN BENNETT, M.S., ADTR
Experienced Personal Growth
Coach and Spiritual Mentor
since 1976
202/543-5825
BY APPOINTMENT
P Congratulations
VOICE of Capitol Hill!
???To Find Your Voice ??
GABRIELLE HILL
Spiritual Coach
202/544-4386
get into
the spirit
Logon!
www.
voiceofthehill.com
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
21
The Voice of Capitol Hill was
developed through a series
of focus group discussions
with residents and business-
people of Capitol Hill. Over
and over we heard that you wanted:
Feature stories about all of the
wonderful—and curious— people
and places on Capitol Hill.
Comprehensive calendars of
neighborhood events; everything
from school schedules and ANC
meetings, to concerts and festivals.
“Old-fashioned” community
news: sports scores, local theater
reviews, honor roll lists, births,
weddings, and neighborhood
events.
That’s exactly what we hope to
provide. Each month, the print
edition of The Voice will bring you
feature stories and news about
people and places right here on
Capitol Hill. This premier issue is
just the beginning. The future is
up to you.
The Voice is not just a monthly
magazine, it is a meeting place for
neighbors that’s open 24 hours a
day. If you get on the Internet
right now, and click to www.voiceofthehill.
com, you’ll find a fully
downloadable version of this print
edition of The Voice (very handy
when you’re vacationing in Nice
these summer and are desperate
for news from home). You’ll also
find areas for comments, a discussion
room, the Lost & Found,
classified ads, a three-month calendar
of events, maps and links,
and newsletters from a variety of
community organizations, including
the Capitol Hill Restoration
Society, CHAMPS, and the
Barracks Row Business Alliance
(BBA).
And there’s news. The Voice
website is updated daily — at
least. Since the site was developed,
just a little over a month
ago, we’ve covered issues like
parking congestion on 8th Street
and questionable housing assessments.
We’ve broadcast reminders
of important meetings. We’ve
raced after rumors, (our favorite?
That the old post office building
on 7th St, SE was going to be a
topless bar) and brought you the
low-down. And we’ve started a
campaign to bring Fresh Fields to
Capitol Hill.
What were we guided by? Most
often, the questions, comments
and requests of readers. Your email
not only spawns topics of
• Drymount & Lamination
• Conservation Framing
• Pre-framed gifts
• Commercial Discounts
• Calligraphy
Major Credit Cards Accepted
Congratulations
Voice of the Hill
Just mention that you saw us here
and take 20% off!
Your Voice is here.
discussion, but also provides us
with a sense of direction. When
we were sent an opinion piece
about the Mayor’s plan to move
UDC to Anacostia, we used it to
create an opinion section, that is
now available to all of you. When
a neighbor told us he’d found a
set of keys (and then Bruce Robey
lost his own at Eastern Market),
we created the Lost and Found.
And then Don Denton forwarded
a photo of his beautiful new baby,
and the new baby section was
born.
Download, the section of the
print edition of The Voice that you
see on the next page, is just a
taste of the news that has been
posted to www.voiceofthehill.com
over the last few weeks. Each
month, the print edition of The
Voice will carry similar glean-
Voicemail
Your website is very attractive and interesting. Good thing that you live
in a vibrant community. I can’t image such a endeavor working in the
heart of suburbia.
Mike Fleming, Fairfax, VA
This site is great! Thank you so much for making it happen and for sending
the post card I got yesterday letting me know about its existence. It
is wonderful to know that there are other “busybodies” out there. I’m
really interested in quality-of-life issues in the neighborhood and am
eager to do my bit to help the Hill live fully up to its enormous potential.
Thanks again. I’m looking forward to being a frequent visitor to
your site.
Anne Folan,Capitol Hill
Great addition to the Hill! I also look forward to keeping up with things
while I’m in far away places. Best of luck.
Ann Richards, Capitol Hill
Just signed on the “Voice of the Hill” website. What a wonderful format
and so informative and concise. The PSA’s should take note and tighten
the data they report. Again, great job and I look foward to checking the
site daily.
Bill Tlucek, Capitol Hill
Great job on the web site, etc!
Sara Barnett
It is great to find a site that tells me about happenings on the Hill. I will
recommend this site to other Hill people. I found a card for the site at
Antiques on the Hill and went to it right away to find out what it was all
about. Good job! Keep up the good work.
Lori Shepard
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
22
Fresh Fields for the Hill?
A neighbor recently saw a note on the bulletin
board at the Arlington Fresh Fields, “How about
putting a Fresh Fields on Capitol Hill. We need
you!” Under the note was a follow-up from the
management. Something to the effect of, “we’re
looking at the Hill right now.” Well. If this didn’t
get The Voice going! We followed up immediately
with Sarah Kenney, the marketing coordinator
in Fresh Field’s regional office in
Rockville. Sadly, she said, whichever manager
posted the note was incorrect. As of now, there
are no plans for a Hill location.
But Kenney offered a wee beam of hope. She
said that the company is in “expansion mode”
and they’re actively seeking out new locations.
Further, encouragement from residents carries a
lot of weight with the grocers. In fact, she told
us, the store now being built on P Street, NW
came about because of intense residential lobbying.
A few year’s back, when CHAMPS surveyed
residents about the kinds of shops and restaurants
they’d like to see on the Hill, Fresh Fields
topped the list. We’d bet it still does. Now that
we have an easy vehicle for collecting your
votes, maybe we can lobby our way to the grocery
of choice. Fill out the ballot we’ve provided
on the website. The Voice will keep the tally,
and forward the results to Kenny. Be assured
that the information you give us will not be
used for any other purposes.
Original “Tidal Basin” Cherry Trees to
be Offered for Sale
Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity to Own
Historic Cherry Tree Cuttings Highlights East
Coast’s Largest Fair & Sale!
Several rare cuttings grown from one of the
few remaining original cherry trees given to the
United States by Japan in 1912 will be offered
for sale during the 1999 Celebrate Spring:
Garden Fair and Plant Sale. The annual
fundraiser is sponsored by Friends of the
National Arboretum (FONA), a private, nonprofit
organization dedicated to enhancing support
for the National Arboretum, located at
3501 New York Avenue, NE.
The young plants, which are direct descendants
of the famed Yoshino cherry trees—
Japan’s original gift of the famed “Tidal Basin”
cherry trees - will go to the highest bidders during
the two-day event. On Friday, April 23 from
2 to 8 PM, two trees will be auctioned at FONA’s
members-only Party and Plant Preview Sale. On
Saturday, April 24, three additional trees will be
offered during the Silent Auction of rare plants
and specialty items that highlights what has
become the largest garden fair and plant sale on
the East Coast. Admission and parking are free
for all Saturday activities, scheduled for 9 AM to
3 PM.
Because they have a typical life span of only
45 years, only 125 of the original 3,000 white
Yoshino trees had survived by 1997. It was then
that the National Arboretum offered to grow
new saplings and, under the supervision of
Arboretum Researcher/Geneticist Margaret
Pooler, carefully nurtured 500 cuttings into the
healthy plants presented to the National Park
Service at a special ceremony earlier this week.
The trees will need to grow for another two
seasons before being large enough to replace
older trees at the famed Tidal Basin. “The
Yoshino saplings developed here at the
Arboretum are a thrilling addition to the
Garden Fair,” notes Sally Boasberg, Chairman of
the 1999 Garden Fair. “A few lucky people will
be able to enjoy in private what millions of people
from all over the world travel here to
Washington to enjoy.”
Other highlights of the Fair include a return
engagement of the resplendent Encore Azaleas,
a unique Spring-and-Fall-blooming version of
the universal favorite and an acclaimed star of
last year’s show. Thousands of exotic and familiar
plants especially suited for growth in the
Washington area will be on hand - including
perennials, annuals, shrubs, vines, trees, summer-
flowering bulbs, fashionable “tropical” and
water plants, topiaries, hanging baskets and
herbs. Also featured will be more than 20 vendors
with a cornucopia of garden and flowerrelated
merchandise including tools, furniture,
planters, troughs and fountains.
A Silent Auction of 200 rare plants and specialty
items is scheduled from 9 AM to 12 noon.
Other highlights include gardening education
programs; the Washington Youth Garden
Exhibit; and food/beverage concessions offering
barbecue, sandwiches, salads, snacks, and confections.
Parking for the Fair is free. Proceeds from sales
and sponsorship donations support the horticultural
National Arboretum student internship
program. For information on the 1999 Celebrate
Spring: Garden Fair & Plant Sale, call 202/544-
8733.
Wanted: Street Corner Performances
from Jim Myers
Neighbors on eastern Capitol Hill are looking
for church choirs, dance groups, poets, youth
groups and other performers — or anyone with
a good idea — to participate in a series of streetcorner
performances at 15th and D, 15th and C
and 16th and D Streets SE. Our aim is to supplant
the negative activities that once haunted
these corners with positive events. Join neighbors,
D.C. police and government agencies in
the new spirit of renewal. Some media coverage
is likely. Contact organizers at 544-4730 or at
Hill East@aol.com
Beware the New Union Station
Parking Rates!
Union Station has new parking garage management
that is bringing both improvements and
downLoad
Las Placitas
is now serving
The Best
frozen margaritas
on the Hill
at their new location
Cancun Cantina
Try It!
and get 2 for 1 entrées
through May 15
for Savadorian and Mexican for Spanish & Mexican
LAS PLACITAS CANCUN CANTINA
518 8th St., SE 723 8th St., SE
543-3700 546-9340
1 coupon per table. Cancun Cantina only. Not valid Fridays or on Cinco de Mayo
Clothes Encounters
( … o f a s e c o n d k i n d )
Welcomes the Voice
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Washington DC 20003
Metro: Eastern market
202-546-4004 Call Hillary
(202) 393-2388
Waiting to get
hired on the Hill?
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by working full time with
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VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
23
stiff new rates to our neighborhood shopping
mall. The rate for 0-1 hour is now $5, for 1-2
hours it’s $8, for 2-16 it’s $10, and for 16-24
hours it’s $12. Might as well make a day and
night of it. More or less thankfully, movie parking
is still free for the first three hours, as long
as you have your ticket validated at the theatres.
Stratford Upon 8th Street
It will all be over by the time the Voice hits the
street, but it still deserves notice that The
Shakespeare Theatre brought live performaces
to 8th Street on April 5th, and again on April
12th. “Two Gents”, an abridged version of “Two
Gentlemen of Verona”, was presented at the
Shakespeare Theatre Rehearsal Studio at 507 8th
Street, SE, as a benefit for the Stephen Welch
Memorial Fund. The performance announcement,
and ticket information, was posted to
www.voiceofthehill.com the last week in
March.
Help Clean, Scrub, Paint and Polish
Capitol Hill Arts Workshop
On Saturday, April 24th, hundreds of volunteers
will gather to clean, scrub, paint, polish and
beautify the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop.
Located at 545 7th ST., SE, the century old
building is in need of care. Volunteers will be
doing everything from cleaning shelves, painting
walls, pruning hedges and hosing down the
pottery studio.
Workers will be rewarded with a foot-stomping
Louisiana party at the end with fabulous
prizes, Louisiana jambalaya and Dixie Beer. Earn
a chance at the raffle! For each hour worked,
volunteers’ names will be entered into a drawing
and will receive prizes ranging from dinners
out to movie passes to opera tickets to gift certificates
at area retailers. Sponsors include
Gold’s Gym, The Washington Opera, The
Washington Ballet, The National Theatre, The
Coca-Cola Company and Fresh Fields. Please
call Sumitra at 202-547-6839 to sign up now.
Assistant Chief McManus Visits PSA
108 Meeting
Information provided by PSA 108
Assistant Chief William McManus, former 1D1
Captain and 1st District Commander, returned
to PSA 108, Tuesday night, March 23rd to talk
about developments in the Police Department.
McManus noted that Officers are currently
leaving the Department faster than replacements
can be recruited and trained. One remedy
is a request by Chief Ramsey to the City
Council to make it easy for trained officers in
other departments like the Secret Service and
the Park Police to transfer into the MPD.
Commander Kim Dine said that he knows of
many officers who are anxious to join the force
now that its reputation is on the rise.
Meanwhile, detectives are moving out of headquarters
and into District stations, intensive retraining
is underway throughout the Department,
and state-of-the-art equipment is being
installed.
McManus also noted that preparations are
being made for the summer, a time when crime
usually increases. All training will pause during
these months, to increase the number of officers
available on the street, and a special Summer
Mobile Force of 100 officers will be available to
move into crime hot spots.
Capitol Hill Group Ministry Sponsors
Free Low-Income Tax Clinic
The Capitol Hill Group Ministries (CHGM) is
sponsoring a free low-income tax clinic every
Thursday evening from 7 PM - 9 PM at the
Lincoln Park United Methodist Church, 1301 N.
Carolina Ave., NE.
The clinic is available at no charge to those
earning $30,000 or less. If you’d like to use the
clinic, bring your tax returns from last year, W-
2 forms, the tax 1998 booklets you received in
the mail, and all other papers needed to have
your taxes properly prepared. Tax forms are
available at the clinic. No business tax returns,
please.
For additional information, contact CHGM at
202/544-0631.
Presbyterian Church Celebrates 135th
Anniversary
By Gene Miller
Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church will celebrate
its 135th anniversary on April 9 - 11, 1999. The
festivities begin with a banquet on Friday
Camels are a great choice of cheap
transportation on some parts of the planet,
but around Washington, you need four
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VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
24
evening, April 9, followed by an invitation-only
tea and fellowship on Saturday. On Sunday,
April 11, after worship, there will be a special
program and reception in the Fellowship Hall.
Scrapbooks, photos and other memorabilia will
be on display.
The congregation, founded in 1864, first met
in a public school room at 3rd and A Streets, the
present site of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. The
cornerstone for the present structure was laid in
1869, and the finished building was dedicated
in 1872, with President U.S. Grant in attendance.
That church, called the Metropolitan
Presbyterian Church, persevered until 1955,
when declining enrollment and attendance led
to the merger of the Metropolitan and Eastern
Presbyterian Churches to form the Capitol Hill
Presbyterian Church. After another merger in
1977, this time with Westminster Presbyterian
(from SW), Capitol Hill Presbyterian began to
grow again.
On April 13, 1984, the building was struck by
lightning, which severely damaged the attic and
sanctuary. During the year-long repairs, the
congregation met in the Fellowship Hall and all
activities continued.
The current pastor is Rev. Kimberly Rodrigue,
a New Orleans native who graduated from
Union Theological Seminary in Richmond (VA)
and has been at Capitol Hill Presbyterian since
February, 1997. Rev. Rodrigue hopes that in the
coming years, Capitol Hill Presbyterian can, in
her words, “...continue to have the kind of care
for one another that we now have. We want to
be a congregation in which people share a commitment
to struggle with issues of faith and to
be more of a presence in the community.”
New On-Line Materials at the Library
of Congress
The National Digital Library (NDL) Program has
recently added new multimedia materials from
the incomparable collections of the Library of
Congress to its American Memory Web site
(http://memory.loc.gov). Items Range from
Papers of Alexander Graham Bell, to Hispano
Music and Culture, to photographs from the
South Texas Border.
Also newly acquired by the Library of
Congress: facsimiles of manuscripts of all the
English works of pioneering Arab-American
author, Ameen F. Rihani. The writer is recognized
as the founder of Arab-American literature,
and was a mentor to the young Kalil
Gibran.
Housing Authority and the Marines
Agree to Pursue Transfer of Public
Housing Site to Erect Housing for
Enlisted Marines.
Two boarded up buildings on the Arthur Capper
public housing site near the Navy Yard will be
torn down and replaced by new housing for
approximately 300 enlisted Marines, according
to a “memorandum of understanding” signed
March 24th by Gen. Terrence R. Dake, Assistant
Commandant of the Marine Corps, and DC
Housing Authority Receiver David Gilmore. A
formal purchase agreement is expected this
summer.
Col. Dennis Hejlik, commanding officer of
the Marine Barracks, explained the plan at an
April 6th meeting of the Barracks Row Businesss
Alliance (BBA), the business organization that
represents the 8th Street commercial corridor.
Hejlik said that there are over 700 Marines in
the area that need housing. Half of them are
already accomodated at the barracks at 8th and
I St., SE. The others are currently scattered in
“affordable” housing outside the city, and will
be moved into the new builidings. Hejlik said
that the Marines will also be taking over the
athletic field at the project, though it will be
made available for community use.
The new barracks, we’re told, will not be a
“fortress.” Though the fence must remain for
security reasons, we won’t be seeing a “brick
box” behind it. Hejlik says the Marines are
aware that they are building in an historic area,
and will get approval from the Department of
Historic Preservation for the plan. He also said
that he would work with the community on
design review. Construction should be completed
by early 20001.
PSA 109 Officers Nab ‘Stephanie,’
But Watch Out for Christina!
Anonymous (but not to us)
A woman suspected of being the infamous
Capitol Hill con artist “Stephanie” was arrested
Saturday, March 20th after citizens called police
to complain that she was knocking on doors
near 10th St. and Constitution Ave., NE, and
bilking residents with claims of being pregnant
or needing to visit a dying grandmother or
child.
Now police and U.S. Attorneys need to hear
from past victims of the scam in order to prepare
new charges against her. If you’ve been a
victim of Stephanie, or one of her clones, please
call Assistant U.S. Attorney Ana Matheson at
202-305-1382; Detective Mike Bilek at 202-727-
4483; or Capt. Alan Dreher at 202-727-4609.
The Stephanie suspect, identified as Angela
Moore, was arrested around 3:30 PM at 14th
and East Capitol St. by PSA 109 Officers
Kenneth Carter and John Holder, who are likely
to be acclaimed heroes in the Capitol Hill
neighborhoods “Stephanie” haunted. The officers
took up the hunt after phone reports
“Stephanie” was in the area. The officers actually
crossed into District 5 for the arrest on orders
from 1D1 Capt. Alan Dreher. “My orders were,
‘Find her, arrest her and lock her up,’” Dreher
said.
Moore, who gave a Northeast address, was
being held over the weekend on an outstanding
warrant for a parole violation in another jurisdiction.
Police hoped past victims would come
forward quickly enough for further charges to
be filed. Ironically, at the time of her arrest,
Moore was accompanied by a woman whose
real name is Stephanie. When stopped, the pair
claimed to be passing out flyers for a pizza parlor.
“I told her, “the game’s up,’” said Dreher,
“and she just hung her head.”
Citizen demands for a “Stephanie” arrest had
reached a crescendo in recent days as reported
Stephanie sightings filled Capitol Hill e-mail
networks. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said on
3/18 that her activities could be prosecuted
under a little known D.C. law against theft by
“trick” or “deception.”
While Stephanie might be off our stoops for
the moment, her arrest has not halted similar
scams. Within hours, another woman who calls
herself “Christina” was knocking on doors on
Capitol Hill, pleading for help with the same
Stephanie-like tales of woe. At one home, she
said she wanted to repay earlier generosity, but
once inside the house, she could not find the
$20 she said she had. She then asked for more
money claiming her clothes were at the laundromat,
which residents knew was closed at the
time.
Residents in the Capitol Hill area are advised
to be wary. Christina has uncanny success at
talking her way into residents’ homes by claiming
she needs to use the bathroom—she says
she is bleeding—or needs to use the phone.
Christina is described as a lighter-skinned,
heavy-set black woman with a pockmarked face
and her hair in braids or plats, and is a suspected
drug user. Some residents suspect her visits
could be linked to subsequent burglary
attempts. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says it
hopes to prosecute perpetrators of such schemes
as theft by “trick, false pretense, false token,
tampering, or deception” under the D.C. Code.
Annual First District Awards Banquet
Each year the Metropolitan Police Department’s
First District and its Citizen Advisory Council
hold an awards dinner to recognize beyond the
call of duty acts by 1D police officers, and special
efforts by citizens. This year’s dinner will be
held at 7 PM, Friday, April 30th, at the Velocity
Grill at the MCI Center, 601 F St NW. Tickets are
$30, and can be purchased through Sgt. Parker
at 727-4660 (or via e-mail to: pp423@aol.com).
Please consider buying and donating an extra
ticket or two for use by police officers and their
families.
Time to Get Rid of Hazardous Waste
in Your Home
Spring cleaning? The DC Department of
Sanitation sent The Voice the following bulletin
regarding disposal of hazardous waste products:
You may not realize it... but you have hazards
in your home! You’ll find them everywhere —
in your garage, your basement, your laundry
Seen this creature? Check out 5th St., NE, north
of Stanton Park
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
25
room and underneath the kitchen sink.
When these materials are used according to
directions, they pose little threat to the environment.
It’s when you try to dispose of the half
empty bottles that you may be contributing to
pollution by pouring the materials down the
drain, or endangering your trash collector by
throwing them in the trash.
Instead of taking this risk, just bring them to
the District’s conveniently located special waste
collection sites. Our next collection event for
hazards in your home is scheduled for Sunday,
April 18, 1999 at the RFK Stadium Parking Lot
#6 (at the corner of Benning Road and
Oklahoma Avenue, NE). The site will be open
between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM.
This service is free to all District residents, so
mark your calendar now! Call our Sanitation
Information Center on 727-4600 to learn about
future events.
Materials to Bring: Ink, Stains, Varnish,
Acids/Bases, Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Furniture
Stripper, Drain Openers, Swimming Pool Chemicals,
Petroleum Products, Chemistry Kits, Roofing
Tar, Aerosols, Pesticides, Solvents/ Thinners,
Oil and Solvent Based Paints, Transmission and
Brake Fluid, Vehicle Batteries, Household
Appliance Batteries, Nickel Cadmium Batteries,
Chemical Household Cleaners and Polishes,
Wood Preservatives, Lawn and Garden
Chemicals
get the listing into the computer. What’s so
refreshing, and totally positive—and phenomenal
—is the number of calls we’re getting from
agents in Northwest to see if we have new listings.
It’s as if they’ve discovered this new town,
the “in” place. Just the other day a Georgetown
1115 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE,Washington, DC
Phone: 202-543-6157 • Fax: 202-543-9048
Mon.-Fri. 7am-7pm, Sat. 7am-5:55pm, Sun. 8am-5pm
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Rental Source
We don’t have to be taught that Capitol Hill is an exciting
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neighbors, trees, a farmer’s market, schools nearby.
To educate yourself about rentals on the Hill, call us. Every day
we provide a list of apartments and houses for rent by e-mail, fax,
or in person.
And if you have property that you would like to rent out, call
us. Our professional management services can ease your homework
and simplify your math.
Come visit us next to Eastern Market, give us a call, or send us
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Your rental source on Capitol Hill since 1981
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202/547-3511
Fax: 202/547-9361
E-mail: Rent@YarmouthM.com
Home Sales Stagnant in the
Suburbs—Blooming on the Hill
A March report in the Washington Post said
“assessed home values in the District and
Arlington last year posted the largest gains in
nearly a decade, reflecting what real estate analysts
and local officials say is a rebirth in
demand for close-in housing after years of rapid
growth in more distant communities.” While
home sales in the District have experienced the
“sharpest rise since the late 1980s... the
Washington suburbs have remained anemic.”
So sharp is the rise on Capitol Hill that Harriet
Pressler, a real estate broker with Prudential
Carruthers and wife of former US Senator Larry
Pressler, told the Post “We don’t have enough
homes to sell. People are selling at what they
listed or even more.”
One of our new neighbors, Sen. Larry E. Craig
(R. Idaho), was helped into a Hill house when
he was finally able to sell his Mt. Vernon house
at the price he paid for it in 1989. Craig, who
sold his sprawling rambler last November, told
the Post that “his commute has been cut from
about an hour in the car to a 13-minute walk”.
Now he can “...get up in the morning and my
wife and I can be together for breakfast. It truly
added an hour of quality time to our day.”
Realtor Jackie von Schlegel, of ReMax Real
Estate, agreed with the Post’s take on the market.
“The Hill is so hot,” she said, “that we have
contracts on properties before we’re even able to
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
26
agent sold one of my listings before it went into
the computer. I got another listing on a Tuesday
night, which was sold first thing the next morning
by another Northwest agent. People are
finding that this is just a great place to be”.
Have a Pot Hole Problem?
We hear the Mayor has set a goal to have 95%
of reported pot holes fixed within 48 hours. The
operative word here is reported. The “Pot Hole
Repair Hot Line” number is 645-7055. A live
employee will take your call (after a brief recorded
message) between the hours of 7 AM and
3:30 PM, Monday through Friday. You can leave
a message at the Hot Line number after hours.
The Mayor has also stated that a city worker will
call you when the work is complete. The Voice
would like to hear about your successes—or
glitches—with the procedure. Contact (the
other) Stephanie@ VoiceoftheHill.com, or use
the comment form on the web site.
House Got A “Deficiency Notice?”
Call Councilmember Ambrose!
A neighbor recently posted the following horror
story to the PSA 112w e-mail chain: “I got home
from work yesterday to find a note from the city
warning me if I didn’t paint my “woodwork”
(my house has aluminum siding, so I assume
they mean my windowsills, which definitely
need a scrape and paint session) I would be
fined. I plan on doing it but I have several other,
more pressing home improvement projects
underway (the removal of the siding and
installing of insulation on the back of my
house, for instance). Does anyone have any suggestions
for dealing with this? What might be
the likely fine? The whole thing is insulting —
it implies I don’t know how to take care of my
own house. I do, I am, but 20 years of neglect
takes a while to undo, especially on a budget.
The city might think about pouring its energy
into filling those pot holes and solving a few of
those unsolved murders instead of jumping all
over me.”
This was just the opening volley in a fast
exchange of woeful tales from other neighbors
who’d been slapped with similar “Deficiency
Notices” from the Department of Consumer
and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). Amy Mauro, of
Councilmember Sharon Ambrose’s office,
jumped into the fray pretty quickly with the following
statement:
“This is to clarify what is happening with
DCRA’s “Courtesy Housing Deficiency Notices”
that residents have been receiving. First of all,
Councilmember Ambrose DID NOT request that
these inspections take place all over Ward 6.
However, as many of you may know, Councilmember
Ambrose has been quite vocal with her
concerns over the past several months that
District agencies, specifically the Department of
Consumer and Regulatory Affairs and the
Department of Public Works, have not, historically,
been aggressive enough in regulating and
enforcing “quality of life nuisances” in the
District’s neighborhoods. Of particular concern
to her were repeated and failed efforts of PSA
officers to get sufficient cooperation on abating
public safety problems such as nuisance properties
and illegal dumping in alleys and on private
property.
One of the concepts behind community
policing, after all, is that the police and the
community must not be only re-active with
their crime fighting strategies, but pro-active,
which includes the strategy of eliminating environmental
problems which help to breed
crimes.
Apparently, a couple of the inspectors working
in Ward 6 have confused the issues here.
Coinciding with Councilmember Ambrose
vocalizing her concerns has been the implementation
of DCRA’s new “Neighborhood
Stabilization Plan”, which was started by
DCRA’s new director, Mr. Lloyd Jordan, who
came to DCRA in the fall. According to Mr.
Jordan, this Plan is a pilot project being implemented
in Wards 1, 5 and 6 and its purpose is to
get an accurate SURVEY of housing conditions
across the city so DCRA can be pro-active in its
enforcement of housing code regulations. You
will note that the notices you have received say
that an inspector “may” return to your house in
60 days to issue a ticket. According to Mr.
Jordan, the inspectors will actually return only
to those properties with the most egregious of
housing code violations, properties that constitute
a real nuisance to the neighborhood, as
stated to Carol Miller when she called DCRA.
However, as some of you have experienced,
the notices being issued do not make clear the
intentions of this program. Upon learning of
the program about a month ago,
Councilmember Ambrose spoke to Mr. Jordan
about the confusion that these notices are causing
residents, some of whom cannot afford to
make the necessary improvements to their
properties right away, some of whom resent the
notices because there are far worse nuisance
properties in their area which the city has
allowed to fester for years and years. She made
very clear her opinion that such a ‘punitive’
program would not be a wise use of city
resources and that it was causing concern in the
community.
Mr. Jordan responded to Councilmember
Ambrose’s concerns in two ways. First, he
assured her that he would correct DCRA
Sneak Preview! The
Marine’s Community
Parade is April 22nd
BY J.W. ARNOLD
It’s that time of year again. The sounds of
Sousa marches and bugle calls are again
being heard across the Hill, as Marines at
historic Marine Barracks, 8th and I Streets,
SE, prepare for their 42nd parade season.
One of the most popular summertime events
in Washington, the Evening Parade features
“The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band, “The
Commandant’s Own” U.S. Marine Drum and
Bugle Corps, the Silent Drill Platoon, Marine
Color Guard, and two companies of marching
Marines in a spectacular ceremony of music,
pageantry and precision.
The Barracks will kick-off the season on
Thursday, April 22 with a special parade honoring
family, friends and neighbors. The Capitol
Hill community is encouraged to attend the
sneak preview. Guests are encouraged to arrive
at the Barracks by 8 PM No reservations are
required.
Regular weekly parades will be presented on
Friday evenings, May 7 through August 27.
Admission is free, but reservations are highly
recommended. For reservations, send a postcard
to Parade Tickets, Marine Barracks, 8th and I
Streets, SE., Washington, DC 20390. For more
information, contact the Marine Barracks Public
Affairs Office at (202) 433-4173.
“The President’s Own” United States Marine
Band, one of the foremost musical organizations
in the world, will be presenting several
free concerts on Capitol Hill over the next
month.
On Wednesday, April 28 at 8 PM, the Marine
Chamber Orchestra, the White House orchestra,
will be in a concert at the newly renovated
Coolidge Auditorium, Jefferson Building,
Library of Congress. For this free performance,
Director Lt. Col. Timothy Foley has selected J.S.
Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 and Franz
Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 67. No tickets
are required and doors open at 7:30 PM
The Chamber Orchestra will also be performing
in the John Philip Sousa Band Hall, Marine
Barracks, on Sunday, May 9 at 2 PM This program,
conducted by Assistant Director Major
Dennis Burian, will feature orchestral works by
Mozart, Torelli, Debussy, and Copland. No tickets
are required and doors open at 1:30 PM
For more information, contact the Marine
Band Concert Information Line at (202) 433-
4011 or visit the band’s web page:
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20% off any
new service
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VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
27
Forty two kids singing boogity boogity
shoo. A flying, blind “pig of justice” dazzles
with a set of twinkle lights that
sometimes twinkle, and
sometimes…don’t. An 8-year-old properties
manager doubles as assistant technical director,
and a twelve-year-old runs the lights. It must be
the annual children’s show produced by the
Theater Alliance of the Capitol Hill Arts
Workshop.
The Trial of the Big Bad Wolf happened on the
Christ Church stage over three weekends in
March (and many weekends prior to that in
rehearsal). The story line was simple: the Three
Little Pigs bring suit against the Big Bad Wolf for
blowing their house down. Set in a DC Court of
Appeals courtroom, the trial was presided over
by a Judge Judy spin-off named Judge Malady
(played by Erin Cotten-Rowland), who hacked
and wheezed her way through the proceedings,
pulling out various pill bottles and rocking her
way through a doo-wop number entitled “I’m
Sick.”
At the defense table, replete with black leather
and shades, was The Big Bad Wolf (Theo
Rutherford), and counselors Weasel and Weasel
Too. The two shiny-suited lawyers (Maggie
Byrne and Sarah Isaacson) brought new meaning
to the term sleazy with their signature number,
“The Weasel Side Step.” According to the
Weasels, the Wolf did not “huff and puff,” he
merely sneezed— being allergic to the goldenrod
that the pigs had so thoughtlessly planted
around their house.
Meanwhile, prosecutor Hogney Dangerfield
(Lynn Cartwright, a vision in a loud mismatched
suit, and the biggest briefcase ever to
grace a courtroom), spent most of her time
whining “no respect, pigs get no respect,” and
her pig-pink sweatsuited clients (Hannah
Cherry, Abby Byrne, Raquel Ramirez Kaplan),
boogied and twisted through “He Huffed and
Puffed,” as they tried to convince the jury of the
Wolf’s guilt.
Ah, the jury. This jury set back women’s rights
at least 50 years. All female by design (to be
sympathetic to the Three Pigs), the plan backfired
when they spent most of the trial swooning
over that Wolf (who was, indeed, quite a
teen heartthrob). Amid much fanning and sighing,
they sang about “The Truth, the Whole
Truth, and Nothing But the Truth,” but one
could tell they were never going to vote to convict.
As a foil to the jury, the Wolf had his own
Wolfpack, located on platforms in front of the
stage. This gang of toughs booed and hissed and
gave plenty of moral and vocal support for their
hero.
Trying to bring order to the chaos, the bailiff
(Genevieve James) flailed away with her gavel
calling for quiet. However, since she was less
than 4 feet tall, no one paid much attention.
The vision of the Wolf (approaching 6 feet tall)
talking to the bailiff was, to say the least, hilarious.
Of course, no trial is complete without witnesses
and there were three: Red Riding Hood
(Janie Abernethy), Peter and the Wolf (Aubrey
Adams) and The Boy Who Cried Wolf (Billy
Gallagher). The trio testified in song “It Was the
Wolf,” with The Boy working the stage and the
crowds imploring them to believe him.
And no play is complete without a surprise,
and this one ended with Red Riding Hood’s
Grandma (Tabie Gaston), dressed in flannel
capitalKids
Hey Kids! Let’s Put on a Show!
The counsels and clients: Maggie Byrne,, Theo Rutherford, Sarah Isaacson, Abigail Byrne, Hannah Cherry, Raquel Ramirez Kaplan, Lynn Cartwright
nightgown and hiking boots, making her grand
entrance. Not only had she NOT been eaten,
she declared that the Wolf had promised to take
her dancing. At this point the Wolf begged for
jail time, the judge gave up, and the cast took to
the house to sing a high energy reprise of the
opening number, “It’s A Trial.”
[
Does all of this sound a little like “Hey kids!
Let’s get a curtain and put on a show?” Well yes
and no (although that’s ultimately what theater
is all about even if the big guys don’t want to
admit it. They just spend more for the curtain).
Next question. Why would anyone in his or
her right mind volunteer to spend 8 weeks with
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
28
42 kids between the ages of 8 and 14? Because
it’s fun. Because there are no politics with kids
and, at the risk of sounding sappy, the look on
their faces when they first get on their costumes
or get their first standing ovation represents the
most innocent kind of joy and excitement. It’s
worth the price of admission—really.
Children’s theatre is more than just a heartwarming
experience for the adults who help, it’s
a lesson in cooperation and inter-reliance for
the kids. Theater is kind of like the army—if the
troops don’t support each other, the whole
thing falls apart and the battle is lost. The kids
get this—they don’t come with baggage or petty
jealousy and prejudice, and they form up into a
company almost instinctively. This doesn’t
mean that they don’t bicker and argue or even
at times punch one another (although this is
usually limited to siblings). But they are able to
shed all of that easily in support of each other
and in support of the show.
Of course, it’s important that they have a
director who helps instill and nurture these
attributes. Joanna Lewton has an incredible
combination of creativity, patience, the ability
to give criticism equally weighted with praise,
and a true love and respect for children. By the
time a performance is ready to go up, Joanna
could march the kids off a cliff. They’d go and
never look back. (Of course there are other
times, on particularly hairy days, that we want
them to go off the cliff, but it passes).
The Theater Alliance’s Trial of the Big Bad Wolf
follows last year’s success with You’re A Good
Man Charlie Brown, and cast members are
already asking about next year. In fact there’s so
much interest that we may close our eyes, hold
our breath and add a second show sometime in
the fall. That’ll get us into the deep end in a
hurry. And Joanna will be back, as will our
untiring team of volunteers for whom it’s all
work and no glory. But like we tell the kids “hey,
that’s the theater.”
—ADELE ROBEY
The Cast and Crew CHARACTERS Janie Abernethy,
Aubrey Adams, Abigail Byrne, Maggie Byrne, Lynn
Cartwright, Hannah Cherry, Erin Cotten-Rowland,
William (Billy) Gallagher, Tabia Gaston, Sarah
Isaacson, Genevieve James, Raquel Ramirez Kaplan,
Theo Rutherford JURY Libby Bicknell, Katie Boyles,
Tashiba Cunningham, Ellen Donnelly, Marka
Fenske, Shana Fullerton, Alexi-Noelle O’Brien-
Hosein, Joelle Milton, Sierra C. Morris, Hannah
Russell, Yasmein Sabur, Samantha Shinberg WOLF
PACK Sarah Alspach, Dana Bell, Megan Coyne,
Lauren DeAnna, Marcus Green, Will Hirzy, Michael
Kaufman, Alani Kravitz, Luke O’Donnell, Kevin
The “Joan McLaughlin Group” Sierra Morris, Jasmein Sabur, Katie Boyles, Michael Kaufman
Left to Right: Jennie Reeverts, Pamela Wye, Lisa Mueller, Julie Serfass, students in the
Wilson Senior High School International Studies Program, shared photos and memories of
their January trip to France at a reunion held at the Ragland Mansion Inn in Petersburg
Virginia.
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
29
Capitol Hill Public School Students
Take First and Runner-Up at DC
Spelling Bee.
Ashley White, a Hine Junior High student, won
the District of Columbia city-wide Spelling Bee
that was held the last week in March. Justin
Wheeler of Stuart-Hobson Middle School was
runner-up. Ashley will represent the District of
Columbia at the Scripps-Howard National
Spelling Bee, which will be held in Washington
between May 30 and June 4. The two students
excelled in a field of 23 private and public
school students. Ashley won by correctly
spelling the word “plague.”
Five Stuart-Hobson Students Take 1st
Place in Science Fair
Five 8th graders from the Stuart-Hobson
Museum Magnet School placed first in the
recent city-wide Science Fair. Sabrina Snell was
honored for her earth/space project and given a
special award, a “Noble Star” grant of $2000.
Lynn Cartwright-Punnett also had a double victory.
She was given a $500 “Noble Star” in addition
to her first place in mathematics. A third
“Noble Star” for $1000 was given to teacher,
Mrs. Sandra Jenkins, for her work with the students.
The three other first place winners were
Andrew Serfass, for his engineering project,
Jessica Pryde for her zoology project, and Mark
Parker for mathematics. Two sixth graders also
put on a brilliant show. Polly Pfieffer, took second
place in mathematics, and Okosua Dosu
was the second place winner in chemistry.
Honorable mentions were given to Pierre Cook
for his Behavioral Science project, and Keith
Holliday for his work in the Medicine and
Health category.
In addition to awards, summer internships
were given to five students by the Walter Reed
Army Medical Institute of Research. These one
week programs, which come with a stipend,
were awarded to: Mark Parker, Sabrina Snell,
Lynn Cartwright-Punnett, Keith Holiday and
Isaiah Reddie.
Straight As at Stuart-Hobson
The Stuart-Hobson Museum Magnet Middle
School has just forwarded their list of “perfect
4.0” students for the second advisory.
Congratulations to all!
8th Grade: Lynn Cartwright-Punnet, Malcom
Biles, Jessica Pryde, Mark D. Parker, Sabrina
Snell, Nicole Thornton. 7th Grade: Tiara
Anderson. 6th Grade: Redentor Abcede, Megan
Arias, Stefanie Cytron, Jersel Johnson, Mary C.
Pfeifer, Helen Rush, Noah Conard Ward. 5th
Grade: Samuel L. Cartwright-Punnet, Joanna E.
Edwards, Anna Riehle, Micah David Ward
Ribbon Cut at Eastern High’s New
Music Lab
Eastern High School unveiled its new Choir
Music Laboratory at a March 18th ceremony.
The lab, equipped with state-of-the-art music
composition software, and editing and playback
capabilities, will help students learn modern
music composition techniques and skills. The
new facility was made possible through the
school’s ongoing educational and technological
partnership with AT&T.
Whales at Watkins.
Thanks to the efforts of Watkins Art teacher
Laurie Siegel, the internationally famous artist
“Wyland” selected the Watkins Elementary
multi-purpose room as the DC location for a
mural of whales and ocean life. The mural was
part of a nationwide project to paint at least one
School News COMPILED BY RANDY NORTON
mural in each state. The Wyland Clean
Challenge of America celebrates the
International Year of the Ocean.
Speaker Hastert Reads at Peabody
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert spent
March 2 at Peabody School as part of a celebration
of Dr. Suess’s birthday. Dressed appropriately
in a Cat-in-the-Hat hat, he read Green
Eggs and Ham to the Students after which the
students and faculty were served Green Eggs
and Ham (really) by the Speaker.
Churches Help School Maintenance.
Watkins School has been the beneficiary of the
volunteer efforts of two local churches. In late
1998, volunteers from the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints of Washington, DC
provided a full day of cleaning both indoors and
out. On Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, members
of Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church painted
the whole multi-purpose room. The students
and staff at Watkins are most grateful.
Help With Special Needs Now
Available at Watkins.
Around the first of the year Watkins School welcomed
St. John’s Community Services into its
building. St. Johns has its own office and staff
to assist children with special learning needs.
Wyland’s whales at Watkins
VOICE of the Hill / April 15, 1999
30
When children are identified with special l