This Month
4 Journey into the
Past: The Overbeck
Project
6 Reaching Out and
Touching Someone:
Volunteering for the
S o u l
8 Down, but
Definitely not Out
10 Bringing Up Baby:
Kids and the Hill
12 Beltway? What’s
That? Home-Sweet-
Office on the Hill
14 Beached! A Floridian
F a n t a s y
D e p a rt m e n t s
Vo i c e M a i l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Ask Judith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 7
O p i n i o n. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 9
Business Bits . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 2
Business Serv i c e s. . . . . . .2 7
D o w n L o a d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 9
Capital Kids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 8
Kids’ Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . .4 2
H o ro s c o p e. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 3
Community Calendar . . .4 3
C l a s s i f i e d s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 6
Vol. 3 No. 5 August 17 20 2001
o f
T h e
H i l l
Life on C a p i t o l
H i l l… i t’s all about
the j o u rn ey.
L i f e on C a p i t o l
H i l l… i t’s all about
the j o u rn ey.
Breaking News: Boys Town Sues the District
We are “liars,” we are “bullies,” we are “racists,” we are “power hungry,
mean and nasty” people. If you wanted to know what Father Val Peter, the
cuddly looking Executive Director of Boys and Girls Town, really thinks of
any resident of Capitol Hill that so much as questions the building of a residential
facility for neglected and abused children at 14th and Pennsylvania
Ave., SE—you got it.
Peter spoke at an August 14 news conference at the Lincoln Memorial
announcing a suit filed against DC earlier in the day. DC, the organization
claims, has violated the Federal Fair Housing Act by discriminating against
handicapped children.
The “suit is very straightforward,” said attorney, Paul Mirabile. The property
is properly zoned, and complies with all DC building regulations. The
construction permits, normally routine in such a situation, should be
immediately issued.
Those permits are now on hold thanks to the efforts of the Southeast
Citizens for Smart Development, an organization chaired by ANC 6B commissioner,
Will Hill…
Check in at www.voiceofthehill.com for more of this breaking story.
To the Editor:
While I have been a resident of Capitol
Hill for nearly 12 years, I am writing
today in my professional role of Senior
Director of Marketing and
Communications for the Downtown DC
Business Improvement District. First I
want to say thank you for researching
the activities of the Downtown DC BID
as part of a larger story on the Capitol
Hill BID [Capitol Hill BID Steps Out,
July 10, 2001]. I, and our entire staff,
appreciated the opportunity to read
such positive comments about our
work from those we serve. Thank you
for making that happen.
More importantly, I wanted to help
folks on Capitol Hill anticipate what to
expect, if and when a Business
Improvement District is created in the
neighborhood. It is quite simple actual -
ly, you can expect to get out of the
organization that which you put into
it. The remarkable changes you have
seen take place in the downtown over
the past three years are a direct result
of the commitment of
time and energy on
the part of hundreds
of people
who came
together to recreate
a sense of
community in the
heart of our nation’s capital. And as a
result of that renewed community spir -
it, we witnessed a change in people’s
attitude from “When are THEY going to
fix that?” into a statement of “WE
have to get together to discuss possible
solutions for this!” A sense of ownership
was created and those involved
felt a sense of responsibility to be a
part of the group that solved difficult
issues.
We like to say that the most effective
tool available to the Downtown DC
BID is our big, round conference table,
around which people gather to find
answers to the issues that affect our
neighborhood. While the issues that
face Capitol Hill may be different than
those we face in downtown, the solutions
are going to be found in the same
place — the community. Success
depends on the conference table being
accessible to all and a commitment to
letting each voice be heard, but once
that is done our experience shows that
there has yet to be a problem that
together we could not solve.
We look forward to having a Capitol
Hill BID join its sisters, Downtown DC,
the Golden Triangle and Georgetown, in
our efforts to make Washington into
the world-class city that we all know it
can be.
Sincerely,
SEAMUS HOUSTON
To the Editor:
My neighbors here near Eastern Market
shared my delight at seeing your article
about the rat remains unearthed
www.voiceofthehill.com 3
Vo i cem a i l The Voice of the Hill is published and
distributed monthly to Capitol Hill
residence and business locations.
The focus is on the community and
includes contiguous neighborhoods
from Gallaudet University to the
Navy Yard and from the Capitol to
the Stadium Armory Complex.
Publication and distribution is the
third Friday of each month.
Advertising deadline is the first of
the month preceding publication.
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adele@voiceofthehill.com
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WebMaster
Adele Robey
Graphic Design and Production
Mark Segraves, Advertising
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Contributing Writers
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H i l l
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To the Editor:
As one of the old denizens of
Tunnicliffs I was a bit disappointed by
the negative nature of the piece concerning
the former Tunnicliffs and its
indirect aspersion toward former owner
Lynne Breaux [Business Bits, July
2001]. In my rounds of other Hill pubs,
I have heard little said in her favor. I,
however, remember things differently.
Several years ago, during a major
snow storm, then Mayor Marion Barry
decreed that all Washington bars and
restaurants would have to close down
during the snow emergency. Everyone
thought it lunacy but only Lynne
Breaux had the courage to remain open
and offer hot meals and a friendly
meeting place for us denizens to
weather the storm.
Lynne was also criticized for many
things that were beyond her
control. For example, there are few
public toilets in the Eastern Market
vicinity. Even the Market, which should
have such a public facility, is without
one. Many of the tourists and
shoppers who visited the area during
the weekends used Lynne’s facility.
Lynne was generally gracious to most,
even if they were not customers.
The old Tunnies was not a perfect
place, but for more than ten years
Lynne took good care of her customers
and was most forgiving of their human
foibles. I for one wish the new owners
great success and I hope that all that
was good about the old Tunnies is not
lost. Oh, one last thought: Thanks
Lynn!
E D WARD MCMANUS
Changing Times
Beginning in September, the Voice of the Hill will be
published on the 4th Friday of the month. Bulk
drops to shops and restaurants around the neighborhood
will be made on that day, and deliveries to
homes within our historic district will begin that
weekend.
For the past 2+ years we have been publishing the
paper on the 3rd Friday, a date that was selected to
avoid a conflict with the Hill Rag . Since we are now
the Hill’s only home-delivered paper, we feel it better
serves our readers to deliver the news, and our calendar
of events, as the new month begins.
STEPHANIE, BRUCE AND ADELE
continued on page 20
4 www.voiceofthehill.com
L a u n ching a
J o u rn ey into th e
Pa st
BY JOHN FRANZÉN Have you ever wondered
about that elderly
woman over on
10th Street? She’s
been living in that
same bayfront
house, watching the neighborhood
slowly change around her, since she
arrived here with her parents during
the Wilson administration. Imagine
the tales she could tell.
Or what about that store on the
corner—or what used to be a store.
It’s a residence now, but up in Silver
Spring there’s a gray haired man
who remembers very clearly helping
out behind the counter there on
summer afternoons with one ear
tuned to the Senators game on the
radio.
And what about your own house?
Do you know who lived there fifty,
sixty years ago? Somewhere not far
away, quite possibly, is the grownup
child who practiced piano in your
living room and strolled with her
friends to the school down the street
during the waning days of Jim Crow.
Starting this fall, with the generous
help of the CHAMPS
Community Foundation, some of
your more inquisitive neighbors will
begin an adventure in time.
We’re going to track down and
talk to those residents of long-ago
Capitol Hill, to record their memo -
ries on tape and start building an
archive of our neighborhood’s everyday
history.
It’s for the benefit of future gener -
ations, of course, but our motives
also are selfish. We’re really curious
to know more about this excellent
place where we live and the people
who shaped it, and we’re convinced
this is going to be fun.
Perhaps you’d like to join us.
www.voiceofthehill.com 5
We’re calling it the Ruth Ann
Overbeck Capitol Hill History
Project—in honor of the beloved citizen-
activist and historian who
adventured for some thirty years
through this neighborhood’s past
with intentions of someday writing
its history, only to have her efforts
cut short by cancer last year. (A series
of interviews I conducted with Ruth
Ann in the final weeks of her life,
tracing some of the Hill’s history,
will be serialized in the Voice starting
with the September issue.)
Did I say adventured? Well, yes. In
our day, what opportunity for true
adventure remains except in the
dimension of time?
A few centuries ago, adventure was
all about geography. The vast majority
of humanity remained isolated in
their own little villages, quite
unaware of what lay beyond the
next mountain ridge or shoreline,
while the rare intrepid explorer ventured
out to test the theory of sea
monsters or look for a city of gold.
Less than two hundred years ago, as
sophisticated a man as Thomas
Jefferson believed that Lewis and
Clark, sent off to explore his new
land purchase, might find the lost
tribe of Israel wandering among the
Indians of the northern plains.
We smile today at such ignorance
as we travel the world on our Visa
cards. There’s now no place on earth
that’s truly foreign and unfamiliar.
No matter how remote, we’ve seen it
on television, and we can get there
within a day or so, generally to find
the natives already wearing our
clothes, listening to our music, and
busily erecting McDonald’s franchises.
But the dimension of time? That ’s
another matter entirely. Our geographically
ignorant ancestors at
least had the comfort of an easy
familiarity with the past and, by
extension, some confidence about
the future. They grew up wielding
the same tools, singing the same
songs and assuming the same
assumptions as their parents’ generation,
and could count on things
remaining much the same for their
children.
We, on the other hand, in the
process of conquering distance and
homogenizing the world to our convenience,
have obliterated most evidence
of the past and isolated our -
selves profoundly in the present.
More and more, the styles we wear,
the entertainments we enjoy, even
the beliefs we embrace, change not
from village to village or country to
country, but from year to year and
season to season. We’ve left the
world of our grandparents so far
behind we can hardly comprehend
it, and we gaze now even upon our
own photo from a couple of decades
ago as if beholding a stranger.
In this new world, with time having
replaced geography as a barrier
to knowledge and understanding,
the true explorer is the one who sifts
through the evidence and artifacts
of the past and tracks down the
remaining witnesses. That’s what
we’re doing with the Overbeck
Project.
Thanks to the efforts of ardent
preservationists like Ruth Ann, we’re
privileged to live in a rare neighbor -
hood where much of the evidence of
our collective past remains intact.
Our red brick houses and iron fences
entice our citizens to think more
carefully than most about the people
and events that shaped their community,
and a growing cadre of timetraveling
adventurers are stepping
forward for this journey.
Our steering committee includes
Steve and Nicky Cymrot, Adele
Alexander, Stephanie Deutsch, James
Didden, and Ruth Ann’s husband
Robert Hughes, along with your s
truly. And day-to-day managers of
the venture will be longtime community
volunteers Jim and
Bernadette McMahon.
But the backbone of the Overbeck
Project will be bright, curious
Capitol Hill residents such as yourself
who simply want to know more
about this wonderful place and are
willing to volunteer a little time to
help fill in the mosaic—to conduct
an interview or two, or at least offer
a lead on who ought to be interviewed.
Sometime around the end of
September, we’ll be holding our first
training and orientation session,
where volunteers will receive a little
rundown on handling a tape
recorder (provided by the project)
and guidance on conducting an
interview from some of the nation’s
best experts on the collection of oral
histories (yet another benefit of living
near the Library of Congress, the
Smithsonian and this city ’s fine universities).
The interview tapes, as we collect
them, will be transcribed and com -
puter archived, and our interview
subjects will also be asked to lend us
old family photos, letters and other
historically interesting documents
that we can scan and enter in our
data base.
We’re also planning a special
Explore Your Own Home project.
With help from a professional
researcher of house histories (which
was one of Ruth Ann’s specialties),
we hope to teach Capitol Hill resi -
dents how to reconstruct the history
of their own homes and help them
locate previous owners to be interviewed.
Wouldn’t you like to know
who opened up that parlor wall or
rearranged the layout of the
kitchen? How about a chat with the
fellow who passed his childhood
there in the 1940’s and gave up his
room to a “government girl” who
arrived to help run the war?
Like nearly every other enterprise
these days, the Overbeck Project will
have its own web site (to be
announced soon) and will keep track
of volunteers and assignments via
email. But we’re also going to hold at
least one real-world social event each
year, where participants can get better
acquainted, share food and drink,
and hear some good music.
If you’re interested in volunteering
or just learning more about this
adventure in time, please email Jim
and Bernadette McMahon at
McMahons@his.com – or phone
them at 543-4544. A new (old) world
awaits you.
Overbeck project chair John Franzén
produces media campaigns for progres -
sive candidates and causes. He’s lived
on the Hill for 28 years.
M I S S I O N S T A T E M E N T
The Ru th Ann Ove r b e ck
C a p i tol Hill Histo ry Pro j e c t
In keeping with our goal of building a
stronger, kinder, more thoughtful comm
u n i t y, the CHAMPS Community
Foundation has established the Ruth Ann
Overbeck Capitol Hill History Project in
order to give our neighborhood a better
knowledge of its past and a deeper understanding
of the everyday lives of its citizens.
The Project will collect oral histories
and other relevant materials and information
from long-time Capitol Hill residents,
fo rmer residents and re c e n t
arrivals, to create a permanent, accessible,
ongoing record of the people, places
and events that have shaped our commun
i t y. As a first pri o ri t y, the collection
effort will focus on elderly residents whose stories may soon be lost, but its
ultimate goal is a many-voiced narrative from across the generations, representing
all walks of life and all races and backgrounds, that will illustrate
the richly inter-connected life of our neighborhood over time.
The Project will form partnerships with academic and other organizations
to collect this material and to preserve it in a form that is readily accessible
to the public far into the future. The accumulating archive will be
actively promoted and publicized, the better to educate our community
about its own history and social fabric.
We underta ke this Project in the spirit of its namesake, Ru th Ann
Overbeck, who devoted much of her life to the exploration of our neighborhood’s
history and the preservation of its historic treasures. We share
her strongly held belief that a community must know its own past in order
to plan wisely for its future, and that the life of even the humblest citizen is
worthy of study, understanding and respect.
How You Can Help the Overbeck Project
• VOLUNTEER to record at least one oral history interview with a longtime
Capitol Hill resident.
• HELP OUT with interview transcription or other archival and managerial
needs.
• RECOMMEND a Capitol Hill resident or former resident who ought to be
interviewed for posterity.
• WRITE A CH E CK (it’s tax deductible) to the CHAMPS Community
Foundation, P.O. Box 15486, Washington, DC 20003, and earmark it for
the Overbeck Project.
• CONTACT project managers Jim and Bernadette McMahon at 543-4544
or email McMahons@his.com. (Overbeck web site coming soon.)
6 www.voiceofthehill.com
kitchen counter, both would have
been delighted.
Upon graduation, he spent a year
in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, through
the auspices of the Jesuit Volunteer
Corps, “the Jesuit equivalent of the
Peace Corps,” he explains. He
worked there for a housing development
agency that provided homes
for the poor. The arrangement did
not work out, he says, and he finished
up the year working for a
Protestant organization. When
Strichertz explains this, you sense a
trace of irony in his esoteric smile.
In 1995 he took his first reporting
job with the Jesuit magazine,
America. From there he went to the
University of Chicago and earned a
master’s degree in social science.
And then, in 1997, he moved to
Washington to take a reporting job
with the New Republic. Does he see
reporting as a kind of service? “Yes,
definitely,” he says, and then another
smile. “Some of the s tories are
doing a lot more service than others,”
he admits.
Upon moving to Washington, he
volunteered to tutor children with
the Saturday Achievement Academy
at the Ludlow-Taylor Elementary
School on the nor thern edge of
Capitol Hill, which he did for several
years. Perhaps because of this exper ience,
working with children, he lef t
the New Republic for a reporting job
with Education Week, where he works
today. He also makes visits to the
Church bells toll. The
ringing hangs beneath a
canopy of clouds. Mark
Stricherz hurries toward
Le Bon Café on Second Street near
Pennsylvania Avenue, conveniently
located a few blocks from his home
and from St. Peters, where he’s been
at worship. He wears a Navy blue
blazer and crisply creased khaki
trousers. His dark hair is neatly
groomed. He looks barely older than
his preppy attire might imply. He
apologizes for being minutes late.
He’s a reporter and he knows the
importance of punctuality, but more
to the point, he is a genuinely considerate
young man.
This day, as it turns out, he’s on
the flip side of the journalistic coin,
for besides being a reporter by voca -
tion, he is also by avocation a hardcore
volunteer, and that’s what we
want to learn about.
Mark was born in 1970 and raised
in suburban San Francisco. He is the
oldest child in his family–he has two
younger sisters–and displays a seriousness
of purpose that often results
from being the first born. The call to
service, for him, was heard early on.
While still in high school he made
regular visits to a nearby nursing
home to bring comfort and company
to the shut-in, elderly residents.
Then later, while in college (he
attended Santa Clara University, a
Jesuit institution in Santa Clara,
California, where he majored in
Political Science) he volunteered in a
soup kitchen where he provided sustenance
for the homeless, for the
down-and-out.
When asked who influenced him,
he mentions George Orwell, who is
probably most famous for the novels
1984 and Animal Farm, but who also
wrote the powerful and influential
semi-autobiographical tale of the
nether-life, Down and Out in London
and Paris. This seems appropriate,
somehow. If Orwell and Stricherz
had met on opposite sides of a soupbe
dying helping people than not
helping people,” he says, simply.
“Supererogation,” during the
Middle Ages, meant doing more
good deeds than necessary to
achieve salvation. It now means, in
secular terms, just going the extra
mile. Is Mark Stricherz a supererogator?
No, he doesn’t think so.
“I can’t say how well I’ve done or
not,” he says. “I know I’m not doing
that much compared to what a lot of
people do.” The modesty becomes
him, and perhaps, when he says
that, he is thinking of someone like
Dorothy Day, who’s at the top of his
list of heroes, along with Orwell,
Lyndon Johnson, Abraham Lincoln,
Martin Luther King, Jr., and Christ.
Day gave up a promising career as a
reporter to devote herself to charity.
She also wrote extensively and influentially
for the Catholic Worker,
which was her creation, hence not
totally abandoning her journalistic
pursuits.
“Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for justice,” says The
Gospel According to St. Matthew. Is
Stricherz thirsting for justice? He is.
He believes without a doubt that the
children he seeks to help have been
dealt an injustice by our society, and
while he states that many do more
than he does, he wonders why others
do not do more. Capitol Hill is
rife with talent and resources.
Capitol Hill is also close to neighbor -
hoods where people are bereft. How
many of us, he asks, are crossing the
Anacostia to visit with our neighbor s
there, to offer help, and hope?
Stricherz thinks that our priorities
are out of kilter. He bristles at the
story of Leo, the bichon frise that
was killed on a California freeway
due to a road-rage incident. The
killer, recently sentenced to three
years in prison, was apprehended in
part due to $120,000 collected from
the pet-loving public. It’s not that
Stricherz doesn’t care about dogs. It’s
just that he thinks it’s odd that
Capitol Hill nursing home, assuaging
the residents’ loneliness and
assisting in the giving of Holy
Communion which, since Vatican II,
has been the privilege of lay
Catholics who have received the
appropriate training.
Recently, he volunteered to mentor
youth who have gotten crosswise
with the criminal justice system
as part of JUMP, the Juvenile
Mentoring Program, which is funded
by the U. S. Department of
Justice.
It’s another tough assignment.
Why does he do it?
The reasons, says Stricherz, are
both secular and spiritual. It is a central
tenet of Christianity, he
explains, that you help those in
need, especially the poor. And put in
secular terms, “it is a mark of any
society—how it treats its poorest
members.”
Robert Coles, the Har vard
University psychologist, wrote a
whole book about why people volunteer.
In it, The Call of Service, he
wrote that he learned from Dorothy
Day, founder of the Catholic
Workers Movement, “that the call of
service for her was a call that is a
reminder: ‘Watchman, what of the
night?’ —the darkness that challenges
us to shine for one another
before, soon enough, we join it.”
Stricherz responds to this rather
heavy observation in his quiet,
straightforward manner. “I’d rather
MARK STRICHERZ
REACHES OU T
BY TOM HAMILT O N
www.voiceofthehill.com 7
when a child dies in the District of
Columbia, nobody notices; yet,
when a pet dies, a huge reward is
offered in the name of justice.
“Society’s perverse, in a way,” he
says, and he recalls a flyer he saw
that encourages people to become
pet photographers. “This is like the
extension of a culture that ’s gone
wrong,” he says.
His words, on paper, may sound
angry, but in person he never raises
his voice. His comments are invariably
measured and thoughtful.
Discussion returns to the question
of injustice, and to a consideration
of Jonathan Kozol’s observation in
his book, The Lives of Children, that
the advantaged in our society are
basically sticking it to the disadvantaged,
that the advantaged know
what they are doing and that they
do not care.
Kozol, winner of both the
National Book Award and the Robert
F. Kennedy book award, wrote,
“Many poor people think we understand
these things extremely well
but acquiesce in them without much
personal discomfort. In other words,
they don’t see innocence in our
behavior. They do not think that
what is being done to them is a mistake.”
Strickerz isn’t sure. “I don’t
think many people are consciously
evil,” he says, although he follows
with the obser vation that “evil is
lodged in everybody’s heart.”
The reason some Americans seem
disinterested in the poor, Stricherz
concludes after some reflection, is a
cultural phenomenon. America is
the country of the self-made man,
the country that believes people
should pull themselves up by their
own bootstraps—and Stricherz doesn’t
necessarily disagree with this
conventional wisdom. The conservatives
who preach that people must
take personal responsibility for their
lives are right, he says. But the liberals
are also right, he argues, in that
we, as a society, must take responsibility
for all our people, especially
those who have been subjected to
slavery, to segregation, to discrimination,
to all conditions that “miti -
gate their free will.”
Of course, no one individual can
make up for two hundred years of
American history. Stricherz knows
he can, at best, do a small part, and
he doubts his ability to accomplish
even that much. He decries the lack
of training available for people like
him, people interested in volunteering
but who have no specialized
background. He received four and a
half hours training for JUMP. He’d
like to see much more. Nonetheless,
he perseveres, because of the calling,
but also because he receives a personal
satisfaction from his efforts.
He tutored a boy named Thomas,
he recalls. The two would often read
from the sports pages. “It was fun,”
he says. One time Thomas told him
about Jerome Williams, a native
Washingtonian who played basketball
with the Detroit Pistons. No
way, said Stricherz, who knows his
sports, there’s no such guy. But
Thomas was right, and Stricherz is
delighted by the memory of being
one-upped by his young protégé.
But then there is the question that
haunts every volunteer. How does he
know if he’s doing any good?
Stricherz can’t be sure, but he
remembers running into Thomas’s
mother after Thomas had g raduated
and left Ludlow-Taylor for middle
school. Thomas was doing better in
school, she said, and she thanked
him for making that difference. “I
really felt good about that,” he says.
So do we all.
Tom Hamilton profiled sportswriter Bill
Nack in the July issue of the Voice of
the Hill
“everybody was already booked.”
Randolph Cree
hair etc.
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325 7th Street, SE • Eastern Market • 202-547-1014
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Makeup Art i s t
Beginning Tuesday, September 4, 2001
Randolph Cree
Getting your appointment at Randolph Cree is
about to get a little easier.
8 www.voiceofthehill.com
A year ago you probably wouldn’t
have given A.J. Giovanni the time of
day. The guy was homeless.Walking the
streets of Capitol Hill, a man down on his
luck.This was not always so.
Giovanni was a foster child, raised in Mar yland, who developed a fine talent
as a commercial artist during a twelve-year stint in the Army. When he
returned to DC, he began focusing on fine art, painting, and supported himself
with a job at the Blue Penguin. In 1994, the restaurant went belly up, and
he found himself down and out. With no money, and no family to turn to, he
lost his apartment and began spending nights sleeping next to the dumpster
behind the Blue Penguin.
What won out was the argument
that, as a public resource, the library
is responsible for helping all members
of the community regardless of
their residential status or unwelcoming
personal, um, presentation.
“They are our citizens,” says
Vollin, “it is up to us whether we
choose to make them feel welcome
or unwelcome in our libraries.”
But is it also the librar y’s role to
help them get on their feet?
While Vollin, Gantt and the rest of
the staff are employed as resources to
the community, their backgrounds
are in the library sciences, not
human services. Gantt genuinely
enjoys working as a reference specialist;
you can see that at a glance. But
helping someone locate a book or
check a date is entirely different
from helping a homeless person
locate a job or shelter.
Regardless of job titles or descriptions,
the Southeast branch staff felt
they had to at least try to make a difference.
The most significant change
Vollin believed they had to make
was in their general approach to the
visiting homeless. As troublesome as
they can be, the library belongs to
them too, so the staff set out to make
them feel they are “a part of the
library community.”
This required some attitude
adjustment. Vollin makes more of an
effort these days to get to know the
homeless on a more personal level.
Typically they have sad stories to tell
of loosing their jobs, or just losing
their way. By making a personal
connection, the Librarian feels she is
in a better position to help them. If
they are hungry, for example, they
might be given occasional odd jobs
around the library. In exchange, the
staff members will often pay them
from their own pockets.
Once the homeless feel they are
being treated with respect, they typically
have a much more positive attitude,
says Vollin. Putting them back
to work, even for only fifteen minutes,
does something remarkable for
the self-esteem.
To get appearances (and the odor
problem) up to snuff, Vollin and
Gantt enlist the aide of the regulars
—now well schooled in the
drill—who help direct dirty newcomers
to shower facilities and
resources for fresh clothes.
One of Vollin’s biggest objectives
was to teach computer skills and
encourage the homeless to access
the Internet from the librar y’s PCs—
and to get their own e-mail
accounts. Now, on any given day,
you can find them checking out the
online job listings. And with e-mail,
notes Vollin, “the homeless have an
address…It may not be a physical
address, but it is a permanent
address for potential employers to
contact applicants.”
“I am not proud of this,” he
reflects. A simple fact.
He spent the next six years
attempting to scrape his life together.
For a time he bartered maintenance
work for a place to sleep and
studio space in a warehouse in
Southeast. But this arrangement didn’t
last, and A.J. found himself, and
his art supplies, out on the street
once again.
It took a special g roup of people to
look beyond A.J.’s shabby appearance
and misfortunes to see him for
what he really is…a talented artist.
Sharon Vollin first met Giovanni
in January 2000, when she became
the manager of the Southeast
Branch of the DC Library on 7th
Street. She also met many more of
the Hill’s unfortunates, people of the
streets who make the library their
daytime home.
A lover of books, of the written
word, of information, Vollin hardly
expected that when she took the job
at the stately old branch with its fine
arched windows, she’d also become
a part-time social worker.
“Libraries all over are forced to
deal with the homeless problem”
she sighs. “This is not surprising in
an urban neighborhood like Capitol
Hill.”
Finding a way to peacefully coexist
with the area’s homeless population
needed to be a top priority.
Day after day, she watched these
men and women come in to get out
of the weather, seeking the comfort
and security of the library. Sleeping,
mumbling, cursing, the homeless
were a sharp contrast, and a distur -
bance, to the neighborhood kids and
adults who came looking for
books—not shelter.
She remembers her first weeks on
the job: “We were at war with the
homeless. They used to come in here
offensive in dress and odor… not
using the library as a resource, but as
a place to pass time.”
Vollin’s colleague, Adult Librarian
Dave Gantt, says the winter is an
especially difficult time at the
Southeast Branch. “Rain and
extreme cold typically drive homeless
people into the library…you get
10 to 12 homeless people occupying
a space that is designed for 15 people.”
And that, believes Gantt, overwhelms
the atmosphere of the
branch.
Roominess is not one of the fea -
tures of this library. While architecturally
rich, the children’s section,
the public-access computers, the reference
desk, the adult reading area
and the book stacks are all jammed
into a space so tight that you are
likely to bump into someone if you
turn around too quickly.
The Southeast Branch staff did a
lot of soul searching about what
their role should be in helping the
homeless.
D O W N , B u t
NOT OUT, o n
Capitol Hill
BY FRANK J . PIETRUCHA
A.J. and guest musicians at the Southeast Library in August.
www.voiceofthehill.com 9
Who is helping them learn the ins
and outs of online communication?
None other than A.J. Giovanni, who
also picked up his PC skills back in
the army. A.J. says there are
plumbers, electricians, painters and
writers among the local homeless
population who are finding work
from the computers at the Southeast
Branch.
A.J. agrees with Vollin that the PC
is a valuable resource to help the
homeless find work—and that
steady employment is the first step
to building self-esteem. “Many of
the homeless want to work…Jobs
make people feel better about themselves.”
And what better place than the
library to tap into the resources
available for turning your life
around? Giovanni would like to see
the branch libraries become even
greater information centers, offering
job fairs and letting people know
where to go and who to contact
about housing and treatment for
substance abuse. He would also
appreciate self-help meetings hosted
by social workers, Veterans
Administration advisors and
employment counselors.
Since working with Vollin and the
rest of the library staff, A.J.’s life has
done a tremendous turnaround. Still
very committed to his artwork, he
holds several part-time maintenance
positions to pay the rent on an
apartment he is sharing. This leaves
him time to develop his portfolio
and his technique.
He’s beginning to have some success
too. Since his portraits of Martin
Luther King Jr. and Tupac Shakur
were displayed at the library during
Black History Month, he has picked
up commissions for portraits and
begun painting murals for Capitol
Hill homes and businesses.
While much of A.J.’s success is
owed to his own hard work and perseverance,
he speaks very highly of
Vollin and her colleagues and thank s
them for their efforts in helping him
land on his feet. “Sharie treats everyone
with respect. She’s made the
library more comfortable…it’s a
great place to go to plan for the
future.”
Hill resident, Frank Pietrucha, develops
marketing programs for technology com -
panies.
417 East Capitol St., SE • 202-543-4342
Paul Cymrot riverby@erols.com Steve Cymrot
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only 5 months in business there are already cobwebs growing in the Engineering
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with sports, music, kids books, mysteries and paperbacks.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Catcher in the Rye,
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10 www.voiceofthehill.com
Who can argue with that?
But the most important aspect of
Hill life, we all agreed, was the sense
of community. We all feel lucky to
be living where there are lots of
babies and kids to play with and
where the people know us and our
daughters by name. “It’s the neighbors
who make it feel like home,”
Wendy said. “I like living in a place
where it can take an hour to walk the
three blocks to Eastern Market
because we’re stopping to talk with
friends.”
That struck a chord with my husband,
Mico, and me. We remember
fondly the first weekend we spent on
the Hill with long time residents
Alan and Susan Dranitzke. At that
time were trying to decide where in
the District to rent, and Susan and
Alan glowed when the talked about
their neighborhood. The clincher
was our walk to Eastern Market. It
took an hour from their 12th Street
home because we kept stopping for
friendly introductions. By the time
we got to Eastern Market, Mico and I
knew that we needed to live on
Capitol Hill.
When my husband and I moved
BY LAURA MITCHELL
My husband and I were recently
talking with our friends Wendy
Ripley and Richard Grant, and the
topic turned to how happy we are to
be living on the Hill with our infant
daughters.
I’m sure this isn’t news to most of
you: the Hill is a great place for kids
of all levels of ambulation. Right
now, our two families are at the
stroller stage and we’re grateful for
all that we can do with baby in tow.
The sidewalks are a bit bumpy in
places, but when we’re headed to a
great park or a g reat place to grab a
snack, the condition of the sidewalks
is superfluous.
Wendy and Richard moved here a
few years ago from DuPont Circle
and have never looked back. As
Richard puts it, “Who wouldn’t want
to live in a neighborhood where the
local libraries are the Southeast
Branch and the Library of Congress,
the nearest train depot is Union
Station and the closest museum is
the Smithsonian. And when the
National Mall is your backyard, you
can walk home from the July 4th
fireworks.”
but they still afford ample space for
beautiful trees, flowers, rock gardens
and herbs—one of my neighbors
even has a fruit-bearing peach tree.
And those grassy parks have slides
and jungle gyms; why invest in all
that play equipment when there’s
bigger and better stuff down the
street? Besides, everyone knows that
at home, kids are more interested in
the boxes the toys come in than the
toys themselves.
After 18 months as renters, we
were completely convinced that the
Hill was a great place to put down
roots and we bought our own row
house with a small yard. We were in
hog heaven: we had three bedrooms
(thinking ahead to potential children),
two bathrooms, and a parking
space, all less than a block from a
Metro stop. My husband’s commute
was 20 minutes on the subway—and
I could walk to work.
When we bought our house, I
couldn’t wait to tell my West Coast
family about our coup. In my mind,
I could see their jaws drop as I
described my stroll to the office. I
could see their eyes widen at my
descriptions of the shops and restauhere
in the summer of 1994, we saw
many young couples like ourselves:
thirty-ish, no kids, but mulling over
the possibility of a car seat and a
stroller. We saw a future filled with
young families in our neighborhood.
However, as these couples added
children to their households, one
thing became clear: they moved to
the suburbs (or to Northwest) for
“better schools and a bigger yard.”
The lure of more space and the perception
of better educational opportunities
appeared overpowering.
My husband and I were perplexed
at this siren song, as we knew many
couples who had raised or were raising
happy, well-adjusted children in
row houses with small yards. Most
did this with one car, too, which
appealed to my Swiss-born spouse
who has a European zeal for public
transportation. And it was a relief to
me, a born-and-bred Southern
Californian who had already spent
way too many hours in a car.
The yard question also mystified
us. When you can live near so many
parks, why move to a house where
you have to mow your own lawn?
Capitol Hill gardens might be small,
Bringing Up Baby
How Many Windows Does it Take to Make a Home?
www.voiceofthehill.com 11
rants a stone’s throw from my front
door. I could hear their rapt oohs
and aahs over our historic home.
But in my heart of hearts, I knew
better. I knew that in buying a home
on Capitol Hill, I was facing an
uphill battle with my own past. How
was I going to explain to my mother
(read: prospective grandmother) that
my husband and I were buying into
(literally) a town whose mayor was
(at that time) a convicted criminal?
How would I convince her that a
park was as good as a big backyard?
How would I explain that a house
did not need windows on four sides
to be a home?
As I spoke with friends, many who
are now parents or are nearing parenthood,
I found out that we all had
the same story. All of our parents
were looking us straight in the eyes
and asking, “When are you going to
grow up and move to the suburbs?”
We needed answers. Having traversed
this minefield for seven years
now, and most recently with a baby
in my arms, I’ve spent a lot of time
thinking through why I want to raise
my daughter on Capitol Hill.
Several years ago the Capitol Hill
Association of Merchants and
Professionals (CHAMPS) created a Tshirt
that boasted ten reasons why
Capitol Hill is a great neighborhood,
a list that rang wonderfully true
(“Shopping takes forever when you
keep bumping into friends,” was
number 6). Here’s my own top ten
list—it’s one that even a grandmother
can appreciate. Feel free to adopt
it as your own:
1. Wonderful neighbors. Have you
met these people? My neighbors ar e
some of the most interesting people
I’ve ever known, and I feel fortunate
that they’ll have an influence on my
daughter as she grows up. And
they’re reliable, too, in a Mayberry
sort of way. More of my neighbors
on the Hill have keys to my house
than any other place I’ve ever lived.
2. Copious kids. Unlike seven
years ago, families with young kids
are staying in the neighborhood, creating
a boom in such amenities as
lively soccer leagues. Within a block
of our home, there are five little girls
under the age of five. (If you’re
thinking about pre-school for your
little one, start looking now; waiting
lists are getting longer.)
3. The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop.
This gem offers a fabulous ar ray of
classes for kids and parents alike.
Pottery, dance, photography, theater,
writing, painting, music—you
name the art form, and they’ve got it
for all ages. Check it out at
www.chaw.org, and don’t miss the
pumpkin carving fête at Halloween.
4. Parks. Who cares about small
yards? We’ve got more parks than
you can shake a swing-set at. And
awesome swing-sets they are. Many
parks recently have received facelifts
with improved safety features and
creative, colorful equipment—
thanks to the aforesaid great neighbors.
5. Proximity to the Mall and its
museums. What parent doesn’t want
to be near so much educational fun?
Local museums provide structured
and unstructured learning opportunities
for families all year long; some
of it is free of charge. And at long
last, the Botanic Gardens should be
re-opening soon. I’m already planning
our first winter stroller ride
through the palms.
6. Community organizations and
houses of faith and worship. There’s
a lot of social glue on the Hill that
fosters an atmosphere of connectedness
and caring. The CHAMPS
Community Foundation supports
many of these endeavors; it’s just
one example of how Hill residents
help each other.
7. Short commutes. My husband
has time to play with our daughter
before he goes to work in the mor ning,
and she’s still awake when he
gets home in the evening. Our little
family will take that over a big yard
any day.
8. Proximity to what you need. On
the Hill you can walk to just about
eve ry thing: East e rn Market, cleaners ,
re sta u rants and yo u - n a m e - i t .
9. Diversity. While we’re no integrated
paradise, Capitol Hill still has
a greater mix of people than can be
found in most places. We don’t have
to go far to hear different languages
and to participate in different tradi -
tions.
10. Community spirit and activism.
Defying the stereotypical transience
of Washington, Hill residents
value and nurture a sense of place.
We care about our environment and
work hard to keep Capitol Hill a welcoming
and safe place to live.
L a u ra Mitch ell and her husband, Mico
L o retan, can be seen around the Hill
pushing their daughter Anna in a purp l e
jog st ro l l e r. The st roller is a hand-medown
from some ve ry nice Hill neigh -
b o rs .
private parties • celebrations • special events
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12 www.voiceofthehill.com
ant who runs a think-tank on the
emerging information economy
(when he’s not chairing ANC6B).
Journalist Jim Meyers can often be
seen trundling around Safeway in
the afternoon. And have you noticed
Duncan Spencer’s legs? They owe
their tone to chasing down hot stories
on his bike.
Corporate rats don’t know what
they’re missing.
Taking a breather in Our Nation’s
Neighborhood may mean witnessing
a demonstration in front of the
Dirksen Senate Office Building while
the Taft Carillon plays You’re a
Grand Old Flag and a Senator is
being prepped to appear before the
TV cameras stationed on the east
lawn. Our little town is teeming with
activity both outdoors and behind
the stately facades of the Victorian
row houses that grace the Hill.
For many, the 9-to-5-go-to-anoffice
construct is losing its rele -
vance—thanks in part to high tech.
Being a “company guy” is becoming
a thing of the past. Younger workers
in particular are redefining what
work means. They aren’t interested
in punching time clocks, billing
hours for another person’s profit or
sticking to job descriptions.
Deborah Bullwinkel-Erlenbaugh
runs a public relations and communications
company from her home
office and sums up a younger worker’s
perspective: “Even though I find
Attention harried Hill residents who
work away from home! As you
shave/put on make up, gulp your
coffee, choose your work clothes and
walk the dog with multi tasking
bravado, a hefty number of your
neighbors are grinning smugly.
While you’re racing to catch the bus,
they’re doing a last leisurely lap
around Lincoln Park, working on a
second cup of coffee and the crossword
puzzle or indulging in a few
extra minutes under the covers.
After all, there are no back-ups,
slowdowns or rubbernecking when
you have a 30-second commute from
bedroom to office.
For all the Hill residents streaming
toward the Metro in the morning,
there are a substantial number of
others who “arrive” for work in
sweats, without make up, pantyhose,
suits or ties.
Watch them come and go after
the morning madness: moms and
dads pushing strollers, often parenting
with one hand and doing business
on a cell phone with the other;
others taking advantage of slow time
at the gym—without a guilt-ridden
explanation to bosses and colleagues.
Coffee and schmoozing at
Stompin Grounds is part of the
morning routine for journalists like
Maggie Hall and Courtland Milloy.
The late day shift includes Ken
Jarboe, a political economy consultrelentless
rules for work that are still
prevalent today, like:
• Don’t expect work to be joyful.
It’s irrelevant how you feel about it.
• Do chores first. Then you can
play (except the work is never done).
• Company loyalty is the reciprocal
part of job security…keep the job
at all costs.
• Keep your head down and follow
the rules (even if they’re stupid).
• Show up on time. The boss
decides what time.
• There is always one more thing
to do before the lights go out.
Curiously, despite the freedom
and flexibility of working at home,
most people report being far more
productive than they were in an
office environment. There is no lost
time commuting, going to staff
meetings, catching up on office gos -
sip, or reliving the hor rors of someone’s
personal trauma—office politics
can be an unpleasant source of
stress, and waster of time.
There are also a few hazards, some
of them surprising.
If you are a salaried employee of
an organization that telecommutes
you have, in some ways, the best of
both worlds—predictable income in
your own defined space. For those
who work solo, adapting to erratic
income is an adjustment, a common
source of worry. Managing one’s
anxiety between the spikes and
plummets of work projects is an
essential survival skill.
Introverts please note: It is usually
necessary to get out in the “rat race”
to market one’s work. That task can
be even more painful when you
don’t have the support of colleagues.
And Type-As beware; it’s funny
how work grows when there’s no
office to leave.
Then there are the spouses and
roommates who construe working at
home as not really working and are
annoyed if household chores are not
done while they’re out—particularly
myself putting in full days, I also
know that if I need to run out for
something personal, such as a doc -
tor’s appointment, I can do it wit hout
asking a “boss” for permission.
The client doesn’t care when you do
the work, as long as you get it done
when they need it. I also like the
idea that I’m in control of my own
financial and career destiny. I’m not
working for anybody else’s agenda or
bottom line…just mine.”
Deborah had a couple of shocks
when she first started working for
herself. Setting aside income for
taxes and other expenses required
new mental muscle—and then there
was the subtle burden of becoming
her own collections department. She
recommends doing research on
starting and running a business—
including how to establish reasonable
fees—before taking the leap.
“For me, learning how to own
and operate a business has been such
a valuable experience,” says
Deborah. “It’s scary, but at the same
time, it’s so exciting and a constant
learning experience. As a woman,
it’s really liberating being able to do
this on my own.”
Working at home brings with it a
level of independence and flexibility
that was unheard of by those who
grew up in the early part of the
twentieth century. The horror of the
Great Depression produced a set of
unspoken, but well modeled and
Tr a ffic Jam on the
Beltway? What’s a
B e l t w a y ?
BY JUDY LEAV E R
www.voiceofthehill.com 13
when your home business is just
budding and there’s not much to
show for your efforts. Lacking a
hefty paycheck, try boring them to
death with a detailed summary of
the days’ events. If that doesn’t
work, try a swift kick.
Leslie Brooks, who sells Mary Kaye
Cosmetics, is conscious of needing
to be very self-motivated and disciplined.
For people who are unregimented
by nature, the challenge of
completing tasks without supervision
may be significant
Whatever the headaches, there are
plenty of conveniences, joys and
even some savings. Brooks has discovered
that by working at home she
avoids transportation costs and the
expense of eating lunch out. You
don’t need much in the way of
clothing, either. Others appreciate
being available for package deliveries,
sneaking in a nap after lunch or
throwing a load of laundry in the
washer between phone calls. Then
there’s the issue of co-dependent
pets.
There are also benefits to the
neighborhood. When a woman’s bag
was snatched in the middle of a
recent weekday, four Kentucky
Avenue work-at-homers responded
to her cries, calling the cops and
chasing the thief for several blocks
before tackling him and sitting on
him until the police ar rived.
Women in particular look at a
home/work environment as the best
solution to the issue of needing a job
but wanting to be actively involved
in raising their children. High quality
childcare is expensive and often
hard to come by. Working at home
can eliminate that particular concern.
Nancy Adelman started a homebased
software consultation service
seven years ago, when her three kids
were pre-teens. Freelancing permitted
her to be present (and provide
chauffeuring services) for after
school activities, soccer games and
all the other darting around required
of parenting. Her college-age daughter
now works summers for Nancy by
doing her billing. She recently asked
her mom, “Do these companies
know you’re working in your living
room in your robe?”
You can also maintain flexible
hours. Writer, Mary Quattlebaum,
has been able to vary her routine to
be with her two-year-old daughter,
working during naptimes and early
mornings. She is then freed up to
enjoy her little girl’s play dates with
other children.
For Daniel Kirsch—a graduate student
who also maintains a list ser ve
for an organization in Baltimore—
the “up” side of being at home is
observing the life of his neighborhood
just north of Stanton Park during
the day. He knows who is remodeling,
moving, and who those pesky
people are who come into the neighborhood
from the suburbs and take
up our treasured parking spaces. (He
also does a slow burn seeing the
recycling trash being picked up and
co-mingled with every other kind of
trash in the city dump truc ks without
regard to all our good efforts at
recycling). One interesting “plus” for
Daniel is being able to keep the windows
open for fresh air while he’s at
work. (How did air become a perk?)
On the “down” side, there’s lack
of camaraderie—one of the most frequent
complaints of those who work
at home. Daniel is another Stompin’
Grounds regular, others report using
the phone and email to stay connected
with friends and colleagues.
Then, the synergy of a g roup of
smart minds brainstorming isn’t as
readily available for independent
workers and may contribute to a feel -
ing of working in a vacuum. Mar y,
the writer, prevents isolation from
becoming an issue by arranging
lunch dates with friends or work colleagues
and participating in
extracurricular activities or organizations
as a balance to working alone.
Consultant Kathleen Milanich
joined CHAMPS, the Hill’s chamber
of commerce, for the networking but
found the camaraderie “a wonderful
end result. When you work at home
you’re pretty isolated, and joining
CHAMPS gave me the opportunity
to get to know people at greater
depth than as business contacts.”
One last pitfall: while working at
home makes it more feasible to volunteer,
think twice before you say
yes (again). When organizations
(and we’ve no end of them, do we?)
find out you work for yourself, you’ll
find yourself tapped over and over.
While volunteering can add welcome
variety to your day, and often
help you build contacts, these activities
can also eat up surprisingly huge
blocks of time. Remember that you
have to butter your bread.
Judy Leaver is a freelance writer working
at home. She moved to Capitol Hill in
1993 after living twenty years as a sub -
urbanite in Tulsa, OK. She’s eager to
hear from other work-at-homes, and cre -
ating a network. Contact her at
jleaver@mindspring.com.
T Y P E S O F U N I T S
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14 www.voiceofthehill.com
Channel has replaced C-SPAN as the
most-watched cable channel in
Capitol Hill homes. Voiceofthehill.
com begins featuring a surf report,
updated hourly. Steel drum bands
play regular weekend gigs on the
sidewalk outside Antiques on the
Hill.
Pretty soon, however, the everpresent
lure of the beach begins to
NEWSFLASH: NASA scientists detect
a giant meteor heading towards the
eastern seaboard. Luckily, there’s
plenty of time to evacuate residents
living between the Delmarva
Peninsula and P.G. County out of its
path. When the meteor does hit, it
takes the Chesapeake Bay with it,
allowing the Atlantic to fill the void.
And while Earth shuddered on its axis
as the meteor rushed through our
patchy atmosphere, a sudden surge in
global warming leaves a semi-tropical
climate in its wake. Business casual is
out—Bermuda shorts are in.
Oh, sure, it’s sad to think that
Maryland crab cakes are gone forever,
but think of what’s been left
behind. Suddenly, an ocean breeze is
drifting through Lincoln Park on a
hazy midsummer evening. Colicky
babies are lulled to sleep by the distant
sounds of pounding surf. The
intoxicating scent of salt permeates
the damp air.
Once we get used to the idea of
being a beach town, Capitol Hill residents
are quick to organize. Plans for
an old-fashioned boardwalk just past
H Street are drawn up for consideration
by the Capitol Hill Restoration
Society, something that would be
equally at home in a Gilbert and
Sullivan stage set—fun but not
flashy. The Capitol Hill Association
of Merchants and Professionals
moves quickly to hire a consultant
from Florida House to assist with
new business developments: surf
shops, skin cancer treatment facilities,
and Solarcaine franchises. The
Capitol Building is altered to double
as a lighthouse.
The changes are subtle, at fir st.
Xando introduces a decadent
liqueur-filled iced coffee drink called
“Sex on the Beach.” The Neilson
Ratings report that the Weather
Avenue’s median strip—which will
inevitably lead to an Annual Orange
Blossom Parade.
The Kennedy Center’s Millennium
Stage on the Capitol g rounds is
replaced by Coppertone Bikini
Contests. In honor of our sister city
of Cocoa Beach, Florida, a giant
rotating billboard for the ubiquitous
Ron Jon’s Surf Shop (“Straight ahead
- Only 853 miles”) is unveiled on the
roof of Union Station.
While life is now a beach, it still
ain’t no picnic. If Capitol Hill resi -
dents were up in arms over developers
before, wait until a couple of
miles of undeveloped beachfront
property opens up. Suddenly, Hilton
and Sheraton are fighting over who
gets to build the first 10-story pink
stucco luxury resort. Concrete condos
start sprouting like mushrooms
just yards from the golden sands,
and environmentalists organize
sandbag brigades against beach erosion.
Bartenders begin to outnumber
lawyers; well, maybe that’s a good
thing.
Still, it is a pretty dream to think
of being able to take a quick trip
down the street to catch a glimpse of
the sun dancing across the water. To
listen to the screech of seagulls
wheeling overhead. To smell the
seductive scent of cocoa butterdripping
in the humidity on a sultr y
August afternoon.
Alas, we may have no beach, but
Capitol Hill was born as a waterfront
community more than two centuries
ago. Although the ar rival of the SESW
Freeway in the late sixties altered
our vision of our neighborhood
almost irrevocably, the waterfront
still remains, and we do have seagulls
wheeling over the Eastern
Market Metro Plaza as a subtle
reminder of our past—and as a call
to the future.
Just a couple of blocks from the
Marine Barracks lies the Navy Yard,
invade the once-staid life of Capitol
Hill. House members from Hawaii
and California begin lobbying the
Speaker to recess Congress when the
waves are glassy. Discontented with
the total absence of local citrus
found at Eastern Market, a new
group called Oranges for Capitol Hill
starts working to plant lemon, lime
and orange trees on Pennsylvania
BEAC H E D !
BY KRISTEN HART K E
www.voiceofthehill.com 15
which is much celebrated in recent
years because of the flood of relocated
employees it is bringing to our
8th Street commercial corridor.
More than that, it should remind us
that the Anacostia River lies just at
the end of 8th Street itself, an estu -
ary that was once part of a thriving
waterfront community. You are welcome
any day to go into the Navy
Yard and revive yourself with the
sights and sounds of the river and
the view of the cool g reen stretch of
Anacostia Park on the opposite
shore.
Unfortunately, the view of our
shoreline from the park is not so hot.
While the Navy Yard is predictably
spruce, years of industrial development
along our side of the Anacostia
have spoiled most of the landscape.
The rusted forms of aboveground
tanks and grimy smokestacks litter
the banks, and the natural wildlife of
the river does continual battle with
the pollution that surrounds it. The
worst of it lies somewhere along the
junction of South Capitol Street with
M Street, Southeast—an area ominously
known as Buzzard’s Point.
Thankfully, with new commercial
development along M Street—and
environmentally aware watchdogs
keeping an eye on said development
—it is possible to foresee a
future for the Anacostia River
thatcelebrates Capitol Hill’s history
as a waterfront community.
The Earth Conservation Corps,
which is housed in an old pump
house extending some 300 feet over
the Anacostia, is an excellent place
to explore what is—and what could
be.Looking down into the water,
you will see an overabundance of
trash—soda cans, newspapers, plastic
potato chip bags. But you will
also see the undulating forms of silvery
carp, some three feet in length,
and tiny yellow ducklings getting
swimming lessons from their proud
mama.
While, it’s been promised, there’ll
soon be more carp, less crap, for now
we’ll need to be content with
slathering ourselves in cocoa butter
and lying in beach chairs in Stanton
Park, or watching the seagulls g reedily
spying out scraps of Popeye’s
chicken. But close your eyes and the
dream is there, floating on a breeze
with the faintest tang of salt.
Oh, forget the meteor. Imagine
instead, walking along a riverfront
promenade, with your best girl, or
guy, or dog. The sky is suffused in
the pale pink rays of a late summer
sunset.Laughing children are dripping
Sno-cones on their bare toes.
Those gulls are dive-bombing
schools of tiny fish. Old men play
chess at tables beneath shady trees.
Clean-shaven Navy recruits dressed
in their summer whites devour huge
paper buckets of chili-cheese fries.
Boats drift by on the breeze that ruffles
your hair.
I can hear the steel drums now.
Former Floridian, Kristen Hartke, was
brain-rattled by a tsunami while visit -
ing her folks in Cocoa Beach.
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A capital summer 2001 on Capitol Hill …
Capitol Hill Arts Workshop Arts in the Parks 2001
Photo Moira Connolly
16 www.voiceofthehill.com
www.voiceofthehill.com 17
Ask Judith
Dear Judith.
My husband is gung-ho about installing central
cooling, but I hate it. We have a bunch of window
air conditioners that I think are fine—actually, I
prefer opening windows and using natural ventilation
as much as possible. Can you give me some
ammunition to persuade him that we don’t need or
want a central system?
IN THE HOT SEAT
Dear Hot Seat:
I think you’re wise to question whether it is worth
the money, not to mention the aggravation, to
change from the devil you know to central cooling.
Window or through the wall units actually have
some adva n tages over central cooling. These
include room by room control since you can turn
‘em off in the rooms you’re not in; turn ‘em on
where you are. There’s no big cash outlay either;
you can buy or replace them incrementally.
Even though all those window units together are
less energy efficient than a single piece of new
equipment, your overall energy consumption can
be lower with window units if you turn them off
when you’re not home or in the room, and off completely
on those transitional days when you can do
without cooling. And, of course, the reason you’re
likely to turn them off is because of their obnoxious
noise and because the halls, bathrooms, and rooms
without units aren’t cooled anyway.
From the preservation perspective, window units
can also be the best cooling solution. They are the
ultimate in reversibility. Take them out and you
have unaltered original building fabric.
On the negative side of the balance sheet for window
shakers, there is the trip up from the basement
in the spring, taking them out in the fall, and the
chiropractor to argue against them. Also, if not
p ro p e rty installed and maintained, condensate*
from the unit can cause terrible damage, rotting out
the window sill, causing the plaster under the window
to bubble and fail, soaking the exterior brick
wall.
*condensate is the humidity removed from the air when
you cool it, reappearing as water that can end up dripping
onto your windowsill or the face of the wall
Dear Judith:
I’m tired of the view out my glass front door: a
dumpster across the street. Is it historically appropriate
to frost or sandblast a design on the glass to
obscure the view? It’s me,
J IL L ON THE HIL L—AGAIN.
Dear Jill:
Why do you keep asking me questions when you
never follow my advice? We should institute a policy
that my advice is free if you follow it and you
have to send $50 to the Voice if you don’t do what I
tell you!
I don’t know of a single original instance of frosted
glass in a front door, full or half glazed, or of original
glass with sandblasted designs. The instances
on the Hill I know of with fancy, decorated glass are
all of replacement doors that are a lot more froufrou
than our original doors, with oval glass panels
and decorative patterns.
What the Victorians who first lived in your house
would have done to obscure the view is hang a lace
curtain on the door, which is also what I recommend.
It is reversible, appropriate, and economical.
Go to any fabric store, pick out some lace (usually
polyester), hem it top and bottom and there
you are. Alternatively, you could look for an old
tablecloth.
Although not specific to your case, this reminds
me of a fun fact about life in Victorian-era summers:
supposedly, the billowing lace curtains at
windows allowed in breezes while excluding flies.
Those same lacy curtains would have been part of
the “summer dress” of the house.
As part of spring housecleaning, the wool rugs
would be taken to the back yard, beaten, then rolled
and sto red for the summer. The heavy dra p e s
would similarly be ta ken down, cleaned, and
stored. The upholstered furniture would be covered
in light colored cotton and muslin. Elaborate decorative
items would be draped with cheesecloth or
muslin to protect against flyspecks. Then, lace curtains
and sisal floor mats would come out, contributing
both to actual thermal comfort and, with
their light colors, to a cooler feeling in Wa s hington’s
hot humid summer.
While summer dress/winter dress was probably
o n ly fully practiced in we a l thier households, it
nonetheless must have appeared to a lesser degree
in the more mode
st Capitol Hill
houses most of us
live in.
For one th i n g ,
a fter a winter of
b u rning coal and
wood for heating
and coal oil fo r
lighting, all houses
needed a good
washing down of
walls and a general
s p ri n g - c l e a n i n g .
Since the 18 9 0
census was mostly
lost to fire, we don’t know for sure how many of our
houses had live-in domestic help or hired girls. But,
it’s likely that even working class matrons in our
houses hired some help for a couple of intense
weeks of cleaning in the spring and fall. Likely, that
help was found among neighbor girls who wanted
to make a little money and were willing to work for
a week or two.
Here’s the best part of all about the Victorian
summer coping strategies: an opportunity for the
dedicated homewares consumer! Instead of having
to commit to one set of drapes, one batch of rugs,
etc. etc. you can have two of everything! A higher
and better use of off site storage! And, to top it all
off you’re completely consistent with the social history
of the neighborhood. Of course, you’ve got to
forgo your central air conditioning…but, hey, that’s
a small price to pay for the excuse to buy duplicate
furnishings. Besides, you’ll be able to pay for the
duplicate furnishings with what you save in power
bills.
Next month we’ll talk about how to eat like the
Victorians…
H a n d y m a n
on the Hill
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Apology:
I have just realized that some of you may be taking
my sometimes tongue-in-cheek advice about excuses
to buy things (tools, duplicate home furnishings)
as serious advocacy for ra mpant consumeri s m .
Fundamentally, I am of the if-it’s-not-broke-don’tfix-
it school, believing that white is almost never
the answer because white anything, looks gungy
sooner than colored anything, which encourages
people to buy new. I live and work in buildings
more than a hundred years old, drive a sixteenyear-
old car, still own most of our first IBM monochrome
computer, and expect to keep my over-fifty
husband for as long as he’ll put up with me.
However inexplicable it is to me personally, I do
know that consumer spending drives our economy
and that many people do like to buy stuff. So, I
guess buying tools that you use is less bad in my
book than buying white gadgets to store in the
closet. And maybe, whimsical as it is, buying duplicate
home furnishings and renting off site storage
to live sort of like the Victorians did is better than
buying a second house you have to drive three
hours in your SUV to get to…
Judith Capen, AIA, practicing restoration architect, is
the author of many of the Capitol Hill Restoration
Society’s award-winning guidelines for work on Capitol
Hill homes.
18 www.voiceofthehill.com
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Odie Wa s h i n g ton, Dire c tor of th e
D e p a rtment of Corrections, re c e n t ly
talked to a Washington Post reporter about
his experience at a Capitol Hill community
meeting last March. Washington compared that
meeting—which was called to discuss a proposed
half-way house near DC Jail—to a scene from the
m ovie G l a d i a t o r, with he and colleagues being
thrown to the lions.
As one of the orga n i z e rs of that meet i n g —
Washington might say “a chief lion” —I came away
with a very different impression. To me, it was more
l i ke a scene from E rin Bro cko v i ch; a heart e n i n g
example of a community banding together—black
and white, young and old, neighborhood oldtimers
and newcomers—to speak truth to power.
What Washington didn’t choose to include in his
Gladiator comments was the real reason we were
riled.
That proposed facility was no halfway house, a
place where those who have done their time in jail
begin to transition back to the community. It was a
200 bed less-than-minimum security facility for
“pre-trial detainees.” A holding pen for people who
have been accused of crimes to await trial. During
the night, they would be locked in, but during the
day they would be able to come and go as they
pleased.
What the Department of Corrections proposed
was closing an existing facility on New Yo rk
Avenue—called Community Correctional Center
#4 (CCC#4)—and moving the detainees to Capitol
Hill. Their plan was a back-door expansion of the
jail facilities, with little or no regard for the security
and other concerns of our residents.
In fact, the DOC Chief kept referring to the part
of the neighborhood where the facility would be
located as an “isolated area.” Conveniently forgotten,
or ignored, were the homes located directly
across the street and in surrounding blocks.
T h a n k f u l ly, when Councilwoman Sharo n
Ambrose caught wind of the plan she turned into a
lioness, quickly arranging our community meeting
—and subsequently blocking funding for the
facility.
Now, the question of halfway houses is back. Last
m o n th, the House Gove rn m e n tal Re fo rm
Subcommittee on the District of Columbia held a
hearing on the benefits of halfway houses. But were
they talking about what you and I would consider a
halfway house…or something else? That is where
the discussion turns to whether we are comparing
apples to apples—or apples to some other variety of
fruit, maybe lemons or prunes.
The term halfway house (or “community correction
center”) is being used to describe any type of
institutional detention that is not a jail or prison. It
covers pre-trial detention, those sentenced to alternatives
to traditional jails or prisons and offenders
who are transitioning back to the community.
That last group, the ex-offe n d e rs soon to be
released, is about to become a major problem. Next
year, it was pointed out at the hearing, a large number
of offenders will have finished their sentances
and be released from prison to return to various DC
neighborhoods. DC and Federal corrections officials
want more halfway house beds to cope with
the greater demand.
Our Congresswoman, Eleanor Holmes Norton,
has described the lack of these transitional facilities
as a looming public safety problem. She is right.
Halfway houses provide rehabilitation and suppor t
services including substance abuse treatment, job
referrals and counseling. Without their services the
risk is high that the ex-offender will become the
repeat-offender.
Congresswoman Norton is to be commended for
drawing attention to recidivism and supporting
programs that keep people out of jail. She is also to
be commended for proposing the immediate establishment
of a citizen task force to address the issue
of the placement of these facilities so that no one
area of the city is overburdened. This is a good way
to boost Councilwoman Ambrose’s earlier proposal
for city-wide study on the siting of correctional
facilities.
Where we put those facilities, their size and how
they are operated should be of concern to all of us.
I am not an expert in the criminal justice system, or
the theory and practice of community cor rectional
programs, but I do know that putting what amount
to minimum security jails in the midst of residential
communities is a legitimate concern.
I nvo lving the community in the planning
process—and not confusing the types and uses of
the facilities—would be a good start. Over a decade
ago, the Department of Justice’s National Institute
of Corrections published a report by Margot C.
L i n d s ay entitled A Matter of Pa rt n e rship: Pu b l i c
I n vo l vement in Residential Community Corre c t i o n s .
The summary of that report deserves to be quoted
in full:
“Private citizens feel threatened by a residential
community corrections facility in th e i r
neighborhood. Beyond their fear for the wellbeing
of their families, they feel imposed upon,
devalued, and angry. These feelings are legitimate
and unlikely to be soothed by reassuring
When is an Apple Not an Apple?
When it’s a Half-Way House
BY KEN JARBOE, CHAIR, ANC 6B
I’ve learned this because I have been
working on the problem at my home for
a very long time. I’ve retained my own
pest control company at great expense
and effort (as have many of my neighbors),
and had engineers look at my
house from top to bottom to determine
how in the world the rats are getting
inside. Two nests have been discovered
in the last two years, and I recently
trapped and killed 7 rats within 14
days. I will not tell you what my neighbor
found swimming in her toilet the
other day.
I called our Councilmember Sharon
Ambrose, and her staff rallied. They
heard me...they went to the Mayor’s
office, and thanks to their efforts, we
were temporarily, blessedly, rat free.
and consistently proper ways of handling
food and trash. Rats want food—-
and they want good food, which we
have in abundance. And that delicacy
of delicacies, grease!
What few realize, and sadly our businesses
are included, is that we have an
antiquated sewer system that runs
through the streets and is the perfect
conduit for these guys. The system
handles not only rainwater but waste
products as well; heaven on earth (or
underground as the case may be) for
the furry creatures.
Fortunately, we live on a hill, saved
from the sludge that swamped many
basement floors in Northwest with raw
sewage during the recent rains. But
it’s all rolling along underneath our
homes...oh my, yes!
20 www.voiceofthehill.com
during the recent renovation of
Tunicliffs Tavern. (Business Bits, July
2001) Each of us has an ongoing problem
with rats in our own homes, gardens,
and garages. It is and has been
a horrible experience.
In the 700 block of North Carolina
Avenue, the 200 block of 8th Street
and along Independence Avenue—-
they’re dancing in the streets.
The Eastern Market area has an
intensely serious rat problem that
requires constant attention by ever ybody
in the neighborhood but especially
the commercial vendors that are dealing
with food products on a daily basis.
I cherish living in this neighborhood
and my proximity to the merchants, the
market, the delis and the restaurants—
but there have to be better and safer
platitudes. Fa i rness demands
that they be acknowledged; pragmatism
demands that th ey be
engaged and accommodated.
“The public needs a chance to
help figure out how to minimize
the nega t i ve impact of a program,
make it work to everyone’s
benefit, and—optimally—turn a
seeming liability into an asset .
Together with local officials and leg -
islators, local residents need to see
agency officials go the extra mile to
accommodate the rights of those
already in the town. They need a
role in monitoring the program and
some say in whether or how it will
continue. Public support is built
on precisely this kind of public
involvement and sense of ownership.
Public education programs
are useful for disseminating basic
facts, but they are not reliably
effective in addressing a commun
i t y’s deep-seated concern s ,
building collaborative strategies,
or altering a political climate.
“Public invo lvement, on th e
other hand, can produce cooperation
and constituencies. But the
kind of public involvement that
builds public support is interactive.
It demands a change in the
mindset of agency leaders and those
who plan community-based facili -
ties: The public must be seen as a
partner to consult rather than an
obstacle to overcome. However difficult
it may sometimes be to
believe, members of the public
are willing to listen to facts and
consider opt i o n s .” [emp h a s i s
added]
I don’t know what happened to
these suggestions over the past 10
years; they seem to be good ideas to
me. If Lindsay’s findings had been
considered, maybe we would not find
o u rs e lves in a situation where we
h ave to treat eve ry action—be it
h a l f way houses for ex-offe n d e rs or
facilities for abused ch i l d ren—as a
crisis that demands that citizens step
aside and let the experts and the officials
do what they think best regardless
of the impact (positive or negative)
on the community.
Trust building is what we need—
not disparaging comments. Yes, we
must face up to the issue of returning
e x - o f fe n d e rs, but confusing th e i r
needs with the facilities needs of the
Department of Corrections is not the
way to go. If we need to have a debate
about expansion of the DC Jail and
re-location of other Department of
C o rrections facilities (such as
CCC#4), let’s have that debate.
Let’s not have a sub rosa attempt to
once again shove something down
the throats of DC citizens. It will not
succeed–and it is likely to only result
in more “speaking truth to power”
sessions.
L etters to the Editor continued from page 3
www.voiceofthehill.com 21
Third and H St., NE beginning in late
1999 and early 2000. Despite public
statements that they had “no other
plans” than the ones presented to the
community over the past year and a
half, BP already held construction permits.
BP renewed those permits in
early 2001 and they remain active
today.
I immediately wrote to Mr. David
Clark, Director of DCRA and on
Tuesday, August 13, I met with Mr.
Denzell Noble and Lorraine Bennett to
review the documents that BP had submitted
to DCRA. Those plans show an
expansion rather similar to the plans
currently under review by the Board of
Zoning Adjustment.
Clearly these permits should not
have been issued: BP did not have
occupancy of the entirety of Lot 53,
and the plans submitted to DCRA constitute
an expansion that by DC law
must be approved by the BZA.
They have also failed to submit an
environmental impact screening form in
conjunction with those permits.
I believe BP failed to act on the permits
because they knew that the community
would question their validity. I
also believe that they misled DCRA
about the status of the occupancy of
620 G Street, S.E.
Washington, DC 20003
(202) 547-9300
on Capitol Hill near Eastern Market Metro Stop
www.washingtonparish.org
Come join us for great fellowship
and worship
Join us for Homecoming Sunday,
September 9 at 8:15AM or 11:00AM.
Worship: Sundays: Holy Eucharist,
8:15 AM, followed by breakfast.
Adult Forum, 9:45 AM;
Church School for ages 3-12, 11:00am;
Holy Eucharist with music
(traditional & contemporary),
11:00am, followed by coffee hour.
Childcare for all services
Informal dress encouraged
Holy Eucharist, Wednesdays at 7:30 AM,
followed by breakfast.
Handicapped accessible from back parking lot,
off Archibald Walk, between E and G Streets.
Our doors are open to all.
T H I S F A L L
Judith A. Davis, Rector
William J. Doggett,
Associate Rector
Anne Bathurst Gilson,
Associate for
Program
CHRIST CHURCH;WASHINGTON PARISH
“Washington’s Oldest Episcopal Parish”
But this is not a problem that will disappear
overnight. It requires the daily
vigilance of the city, and in equal measure,
the vigilance of our local businesses.
The residents of this area have
become so concerned that more than
50 of us recently petitioned the city to
do something about the situation. We
are all concerned by the criteria that
are used for regulating and managing
food and garbage and waste that allow
a problem of this magnitude to develop
and to continue for so long.
The lack of response has been overwhelming;
it is as if we’re imagining
the situation. This returns me to my
original point. I was—we were—thrilled
to see an article in the Voice confirming
that this is not our imagining and
proving that our concerns are real.
Thank you so very much.
PHYL LIS J ANE YOUNG
The following letter was sent to
Councilmember Ambrose and copied
to us:
A few weeks ago I learned that BP had
applied for and received building permits
for expansion of the gas station at
the non-BP portions of the site in order
to acquire these permits.
DCRA is currently reviewing the case
history of these permits and may
revoke them.
I ask that ANC 6A commissioners
immediately write to DCRA expressing
the community’s outrage that BP has
withheld this important information.
They have not been negotiating with
the community in good faith.
Commissioner Keith Jarrell recently
sent an email indicating that he would
not meet with BP on their H Street
project until the hazardous leak situation
in Southeast is resolved. I believe
that there are valid questions about
how BP handled that spill in terms of
catching the leak early, notifying
District agencies, and addressing the
concerns and losses of the residents
affected by that leak.
How BP has responded to that leak
should give all of us pause to
wonder about their actions on H Street
and how well they responded to and
communicated with the community.
Recall that they admitted in December
of 2000 that they have been monitoring
groundwater since 1991 at Third
and H as a result of contamination.
About two weeks ago BP set up a
small community meeting to negotiate
a possible solution to the design of any
new gas station at Third and H. That
meeting is scheduled for Monday,
August 20.
Jarrell has already indicated that he
will not attend, and I seek additional
community response as to whether we
should negotiate with BP at this time.
Since BP holds permits of questionable
validity, I am very concerned that
their “negotiation” will not be in good
faith—their failure to disclose to the
community all available information
places us in a weakened position. They
have also lied to us for well over a year
that they had no other plans than those
presented to the community. I am
doubtful that I can place any trust in
an honest approach by BP to work out
an acceptable solution.
On the other hand, it is not entirely
appropriate to refuse to meet with
them—it is only through dialog that we
have any hope of achieving a mutually
acceptable solution.
Your response to how the community
should handle this is appreciated.
D R U RY TA L L A N T
S TANTON PA R K
NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIAT I O N
22 www.voiceofthehill.com
Business Bits
Kristen Hartke dropped by last week and was
oohing over the persimmon lilies in my
garden. She should know better. Oriental
lilies have been like, so over, since mid-
July.
The blooms she was admiring are silk, or whatever
the fabric is that they use to make silk flowers
these days. An illusion within an illusion you might
say.
It could be she’s still addled from her summer
vacation in the tropics, but probably not. These
flowers fool everyone. Once they’re wired in place
on the six-foot lily stems—which otherwise would
sit nodding their boring green necks until fall—
they even fool me.
The feathery leaves of the astilbe are another
good trick. This year I spray-painted the dried heads
purple. Last year they were hot pink. One year I did
them white—that was nice in the moonlight.
Less than tasteful you snort? Consider garden
shows, those heralds of spring, those triumphs of
make-believe. Wander the paths and the daffodils
are waving their pretty heads amid stands of hollyh
o ck, th e re are showe rs of roses—and fall’s
chrysanthemums are at their peak. You think that
actually happens somewhere?
Hey, it’s August, and the shade has grown dense.
The impatiens are getting bedraggled—and garden
work is mainly battling black spot and mildew and
attempting to keep the wisteria under control. That
is if you’re lucky, and didn’t return from vacation to
find everything a little bit dead.
One could try appreciating various leaf textures
and subtle shades of green but, forgive me, how
dull. In a city where illusion is often all, I say so be
it in the garden as well. I’m not the only one.
Though Gingko Garden’s owner, Mark Holler,
says, “my customers would be appalled if I showed
up with a can of spray paint and went after the
astilbe,” he agreed that such effects can be remarkably
realistic, never mind fun. Mark once saw a guy
sneak out of an elegant house on East Capitol Street
and spray paint a pair of dead boxwood that flanked
the front door. If he hadn’t seen it happen with his
own eyes he wouldn’t have known the difference.
Oehme and van Sweden, headquartered over on
Barracks Row, is famous for their use of native
plants and massed grasses—and we hasten to add
that they don’t resort to tricks either. But landscape
architect, Eric Groft, told of one customer
who paints her grasses for the winter. Each clump’s
a diffe rent shade and spots ignite them in th e
evening.
Then he hinted that the National Park Service is
known to spray paint browned yews and dye the
water in many of our reflecting pools.
“ Un t rue!” said Pa rk Service spokesman Ro b
DeFeo about the yews, then quickly followed up the
flat-out denial with the following little tap dance: “I
can’t verify it, and it’s cer tainly not policy…but it
wo u l d n’t surp rise me.” For the re c o rd, DeFe o
admits that they do dye the weed killer that’s used
to clear areas for new plantings. Coloring the stuff
lets them see where they’ve sprayed and when the
grass dies it doesn’t look so bad.
Um, does that sound like they dye the grass, or
what?
DeFeo also confessed that the water in some of
the ponds is tinted blue-black. The dark color, he
said, “reflects the sunlight and makes the water
look deeper.” He added that it also hides the algae—
and trash tossed in by thoughtless pedestrians.
When it comes to his own private turf, however,
Defeo has no problem with playful—he is, by the
way, the man who got me thinking about garden
shows as fantasy. One of his favorite tricks is planting
pots of tulips in his late summer garden, then
watching guests do double takes. Can’t find tulips?
Anything absurdly out of season will do just as well.
Cut flowers make fast filler too. Those little plastic
water holders with the pointed ends that come
with a lot of bouquets do the trick. Just jab a few
stems in each of the holders and deck the yard.
Pauli’s Flowerland on Pennsylvania Avenue sells
them, as do most garden supply shops.
Hill gardener Angela Carlson—she also works at
the Jefferson Greenhouse stand at Eastern Market
on Saturday mornings—loves water in the garden,
but it ’s got to be in motion or the mosquitoes will
get more pleasure out of it than you will. If you
don’t have time to install a pond or fountain before
tonight’s dinner party, Angela suggests picking up
one of those cheap plastic wa t e ring rings th a t
Frager’s stocks and attaching it to a hose snaked
through the shrubbery. The spray can be adjusted
anywhere from burble to geyser (as an added benefit,
the yard gets watered).
For an instant focal point, root around the attic
or basement for something with sculptural interest
—she uses a rusty wrought iron cat—and cover it
with climbing vines. “Not something expensive,
like clematis, just something viney.”
There’s still plenty of inexpensive viney stuff to
be dug up at Gingko’s. They also have wire topiar y
forms that can go directly into the ground or be set
in a pot.
For a few extra bucks, and if you have the sun,
“Tropicals are awesome,” says staffer Robert Shamo.
Hot pink mandevilla vine is a favorite, as are hibiscus
—the center stocks shrubs and small trees. Both
will bloom madly into fall, winter over with a little
care, and go back in the yard in the spring.
A brilliantly colored pottery container can have
as much impact as a flowering plant. Make it a great
big one and stuff it with some vivid coleus or—if
you want to get fancy—a potted palm underplanted
with ivy and begonias and you have instant
STATEMENT in the deepest shade.
To jazz up terracotta or stone, Robert offered a
quick recipe for growing moss. Keep an eye out for a
clump along the sidewalk and grab a handful. Put it
in the blender with some buttermilk, which he says
feeds the spores. Then put it in a spray bottle and
coat the area where you want moss to grow. It will
begin showing in a week or two.
Going for Baroque in the Gard e n :
G reen Thumbs Tackle August Angst
BY STEPHANIE CAVA N A U G H
Lots of garden goodies at Ginkgo Gardens.
www.voiceofthehill.com 23
24 www.voiceofthehill.com
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Green spray paint is quicker.
If you’re lucky enough to have a dead tree, consider
saving the st u mp. CH AW dire c tor Jeffrey
Watson and his partner Craig Haas have a fine old
specimen in their back yard that makes for a dramatic
plant stand. If you’re a hand with a knife, you
might try carving it—or just chip out a decent sized
hole in the middle, fill it with soil and use it as a
planter.
If you insist on trying to rejuvenate the garden
this month, remember that the biggest problem
with adding new plantings in August—or dividing
clumps of old ones—is dryness and heat. Angela
Carlson suggests sticking with flowering plants that
appreciate desert conditions, like portulaca, zinnias
and marigolds. For the best chance of success, thoro
u g h ly soak the area befo re planting and th e n
water the plants morning and evening until they’re
well established.
New plants or old, fertilizing should be done
every two weeks during the growing season, she
adds. But make sure the garden has been watered
first, fertilizer can burn plants. Believe it or not, the
water that lies around baking in your hose can also
cause burns. Angela says to let the water run until
it’s coming out cool before spraying plants.
One last quick effect: lighting. Both Frager’s and
Gingko’s have torches and lanterns—and don’t forget
those little white Christmas lights. Smashing on
trees and shrubs, they can also be tucked into ivy
covered walls or g round cover—flip the switch and
it’s like hundreds of fireflies have come to join the
party.
Mid-Summer Night’s Switch. July 27. After two years
of battling the ANC and the ABC and racking up
the lawyers fees, the owners of the Bluestone Café
f i n a l ly ta sted tri u mph last month when th ey
gained permission to serve spiked drinks on their
delightful Market Row patio. But it’s a bittersweet
toast. A pair of new owners will be stepping up to
the hot plate come August.
Frank Reed of Stanton Development Corporation
(SDC), which owns the building, says Monmartre
will be the café’s new name and Christophe Raynal
and Stephane Lazla are the new proprietors.
Expect great things. Raynal is curre n t ly th e
Chef—and Lazla the Maitre d’—of Georgetown’s
B i st rot Lepic, a gem of a re sta u rant th a t’s on
Washingtonian Magazine’s current “100 Very Best”
list and recently earned a star from the Washington
Post’s new res taurant reviewer, Tom Sietsema. The
pair expect to close the deal on August 15 and open
in early September.
Being as seating in the Bluestone is tight, what
with that huge open plan kitchen, our latest restaurateurs
may avail themselves of the space next door,
also owned by SDC, for the occasional private bash.
The Randolph Cree Salon occupies the lofty second
level of 325 7th Street, SE, but the ground floor
has been in search of a tenant for numerous moons.
While there’ve been lots of nibbles from realtors,
dry cleaners and such, none of the candidates have
been to the building owners’ taste—the preference,
from the start, has been for a res taurant.
Meanwhile, instead of sitting there like a black
hole, the clean white space with it’s picture window
on Market Row has served as a canvas for local
a rt i sts—including wo rks by SDC part n e r, Kitty
Kaupp, and General Manager, Scott Hammer.
Kaupp, one of the cre a to rs of our Second
Saturday Gallery Walk, is beginning to rethink the
use of the storefront, which attracts hoards during
the monthly event. She’d like to use it as a gallery—
p e rm a n e n t ly. Wall space might be rented to
painters and photographers. Showcases, or at least
ledge spaces, might be provided for sculptors, jewelers
and other craftspeople.
The aim would be to change shows monthly and
give exposure to some of the many fine artists that
h ave difficulty locating exhibit space. The art
world, it seems, has one of those catch 22’s—most
galleries don’t want you if you haven’t exhibited in
other galleries.
To keep costs reasonable for notoriously shallow
pocketed artists, Kaupp’s figuring the space could
also be leased for private parties and meetings. Call
544-6666 for info.
…and They Don’t Take American Express. July 25.
Debbie Danielson, owner of the Forecast—that chic
little women’s haberdashery across from Eastern
Market—dropped so many bombs on us the other
day that we were flattened.
The precise reason for her call was exc i t i n g
enough. This fall the Forecast will be featured in
one of those commercials where you can buy this,
that and the other thing—but only if you’re carrying
a Visa card, ‘cause they don’t take American
Express. The spot features a Hoggette, one of those
Re d s k i n’s groupies that hop up and down in
women’s clothing. The action has him shopping
with a girlfriend, pawing through the racks for a
new frock and some peachy accessories—for him-
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self. Danielson says the voiceover goes, roughly,
“Redskin super fans can take care of all their clothing
needs on Capitol Hill…with Visa.”
Not surp ri s i n gly, the commercial debuts
September 8 during a Redskins game. The funny
thing is, you won’t catch any cameras on Market
Row. Though women in black from Visa’s New York
ad agency combed the city looking for the perfect
DC location—and whittled down the field to just
two, the Forecast and a shop in Georgetown—the
actual filming will be done on a Hollywood set. Yep.
The Forecast will be recreated in LA, down to the
sweater shelves.
That’s item one.
Item two is a trunk show at the shop featuring
the work of designer Yansi Fugel, and the actual
person of Yansi Fugel—a women who makes precious
few personal appearances. The show, which is
getting a mention in the September issue of the
fashion bible, Vo g u e m a gazine, will be held
September 7, 8 and 9.
Fugel, says Debbie, “makes extraordinarily beautiful
micro f i b re suits—perfect travel pieces th a t
make everybody look fabulous. We’re very flattered
to have this happening.” The moderately priced
line includes jackets that average $275, pants for
$175, skirts for $140, and coordinating knit tops
that run around $60.
That’s item two.
Then in totally off-handed fashion—“I’m not
really good at marketing myself,” she says—Debbie
mentions that she’s about to expand into the lower
level of the building. After an August-long summer
b reak, The Fo re c a st will reopen Saturd ay,
September 1, at 11AM, as a tiny jewel box of a
department store.
In all there’ll be 3500 sq. ft of style. Upstairs will
be “more formal” clothes and shoes, including a
special showcase for “the largest selection of Eileen
Fisher in the area.”
D ow n sta i rs will have loungier we a r, “PJ s ,
b a th robes and even bed linens from a darl i n g
woman in Santa Monica,” Debbie tells me. There’ll
also be “huge amounts of new jewelry,” a section
with fancy foods and gift items, a few things for
kids and men, and a spa for facials that will also
offer creams and various magic lotions.
The interior of the shop is being comp l et e ly
redone with caramel/copper carpeting, sassily colored
dressing rooms (one’s fuchsia), and comfortable
ch a i rs for sipping, yes, a cappuccino. And
Debbie promises that the salespeople will be every
bit as classy as the surroundings, “I’ve hire d
extraordinary people. I’ve gotten everyone I want.”
Shhhh. July 30. Mocha skinned Barbie doll, Sharla
Thomas, is the propriatrix of the Hill’s only lingerie
Canine Garden Sculptures
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b o u t i que, My Little Secret, upsta i rs at 615
Pennsylvania Avenue, SE. Maybe you’ve noticed
the signboard? The one with the chick in the gauzy
little marabou thing? Yeah, you did.
Well don’t take the kids.
The cream colored front room boasts the tame
stuff, a table of jelly bean-hued thongs, racks of bra
and panty sets and satiny gowns and boas for those
Jean Harlow moments—sizes range from minute to
big mama. Sharla slides a slender hand behind a
voluminous sheer white number embroidered with
pink and white roses and says, unbelievably, “I used
to wear a size 20. It’s hard for larger women to find
pretty things.”
Corsets, and other items appropriate “for the
housewife” are in the mauve room at the rear of the
shop. A black vinyl and silver studded bustier with
matching thong—and a black paddle—is displayed
on a hanging rack. The ensemble is $60.
“T h e re ’s something for eve ry b o d y,” Sharl a
enthuses. “We’ll be getting slippers and shoes soon.
And dancer outfits.”
Dancer outfits? What kind of dancer outfits?
“Maybe stripper stuff, things for entertaining,”
she tells me.
The former insurance broker says the most popular
items in the shop are the many colorful and
i n s p i rational toys—and games like “Fo re p l ay
Darts,” which I could describe but I think it’s much
more fun to imagine.
Sharla had wanted to open a mens wear shop, but
says s tocking it was too expensive. So she put her
skimpy savings into scanties.
She does have some things for men (although
you could say everything in the shop is for men):
camouflage PJ’s to stroke his inner-Chuck Norris,
silk boxers, that sort of thing.
And beginning August 23, there’ll be a fashion
s h ow and “sensual poet ry” reading eve ry 4th
Thursday of the month. The inaugural event features
poet Jackie Brown reading from his book,
“The Shape of a Woman.” Sharla says she’s also
lined up a sketch artist who’ll be doing portraits.
Go on up and see her some time.
Hill Eateries Get Raves From Wa s h i n g t o n i a n
Magazine July 30. When was the last time Washing -
tonian Magazine reviewed a restaurant on Capitol
Hill? Go on, think about it…. we’re waiting…. Well,
their August issue made up for it in spades, diamonds,
clubs and hearts.
The big feature had Thomas Head giving a lowdown
bow to Bistro Bis and La Colline, and awarding
mini-raves to 11 other restaurants including
Sheridan’s Steak House (should you still have it,
they had a 2-fer coupon good for all of August in
the July 20 Voice), 2 Quail, Café Berlin and the
Monocle.
Pages more are devoted to “Beer, Burgers and Hill
Hangouts,” a story by Christina Ianzito, that captures
the scene at Capitol City Brewing, Hawk ’n’
Dove, the Dubliner and a bunch more watering
holes.
Ianzito also provided a zippy overview of Eastern
Market, reserving a major drool for weekend breakfasts
at Market Lunch. Just about every food stall got
a mention because, she noted, “The permanent
occupants in the South Hall offer remarkable quality
and bargains every day but Monday.”
We did think, while reading, how lovely it would
be to be she, innocently skipping through an interview
with Tom Glasgow—whose brothers are currently
suing to retain control of the management of
the market. Said Tom, “People just love this market
… I t’s incredible, people don’t want it to
change.” Hoo boy.
Yet one more article ra n ked hot spots for “Pa rt i s a n
Pa rt y i n g .” While rev i ewer Joshua Green discove re d
a handful of places in neighborhoods like Cleve l a n d
Pa rk and Adams Morgan, eight of the sixteen pubs—
including Bullfe a th e rs, Red River Grill, and th e
H awk ‘n’ Dove (aga i n ) — a re Hill hangouts.
The Hawk gobbled up a final plug in the magazine’s
list of best and worsts “After Dark,” a citywide
poll, grabbing the “best” rating for “Late Night
Sandwich and Beer.” Midnight munchers should
note: they serve until 1AM weeknights, 2AM weekends.
Not a restaurant (though you could make a picnic
of chips, soda and a Hershey bar for dessert) but on
another of the Washingtonian’s Best/Worst lists in
the issue is Distad’s Amoco, which was one of just
three service stations in the entire city that was
selected for the quality of their auto repairs.
Sit! July 31. The Sit, Stay and Play Doggie Day Care
Center at 617 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE should be
open by the time you read this—they were waiting
for final inspections as we went to press. Says
owner, Sarah Pratt, she’ll have room for 30 to 40
pups in the narrow but deep storefront—there’s a
rest area with doggie beds for naptime and a deep
and a shady backyard with plenty of toys to pull
and squeak.
S a rah and her associate, Hill resident Kri st e n
Lingman, will take the pooches out once a day too,
over to the dog run on 8th Street behind Hine Jr.
High. The location is perfect she purred, the Hill
has lots of dogs and “we’re close to Metro, here on
the Avenue.”
F u n n i ly, Sarah has no dog of her own. She was in
the re sta u rant business for 17 ye a rs, the last 7 as th e
g e n e ral manager of the Occidental, and she’s neve r
had the time. This ve n t u re will give her ample opport
u n i t y, she says, “to play with other people’s pet s .”
Sit, Stay and Play will charge $3 per hour, with a
$25 maximum charge per day. Siblings get a discount.
For more info call 547-7991.
Business Bits is written by Voice of the Hill Editor in
Chief Stephanie Cavanaugh. Any articles that have
appeared at www.voiceofthehill.com, are preceded by
the date they were posted to the site.
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See our ad on page 18
Health & Fitness
Results the Gym
3rd & G Sts, SE, 234-5678
Finley’s Boxing Club
518 10th St., NE 202-544-9132
Women Members Welcome!
Home Furnishings
Woven Histor y
311 7th St., SE 543-1705
See our ad on page 46
Home Repair
Handyman on the Hill
Washington DC 206-7185
See our ad on page 17
Hotel
Capitol Hill Suites
200 C St., SE 543-6000
See our ad on page 19
Income Tax Services
Jackson Hewitt Tax Service
8th St., SE 554-8840
Internet Provider Services
DC Access
118 Kentucky Ave, SE 546-5898
www.dcaccess.net — a local ISP
Massage Therapy
Capitol Hill Massage Associates
Swedish, Deep Tissue, Seated Massage
544-6676, www.speedbumps.org/massage
Mason
Michaliga Masonr y
321 C Street, SE
544-4484
Mortgage Lenders
Apex Home Loans
301-474-7100
See our ad on page 15
Accounting
Marina Martin, MBA
Innovative and versatile range of services for
small business and non-profits 547-9536
Air Conditioning & Heating
John W. Fulcher
510 13th, SE, 544-8156
Service, replacements, installations
Antiques
Antiques on the Hill
701 North Carolina Ave., SE
See our ad on page 29
Attorneys
Rick Halberstein & Karen Byrne
705 D St., SE 543-1110
Arts Center
Capitol Hill Arts Workshop
545 7th St., SE 547-6839
See our ad on page 39
Association
CHAMPS
621 PA Ave., SE 547-7788
Bank
National Capital Bank
316 PA Ave.,SE 546-8000
See our ad on page 9
Bed and Breakfast
Bullmoose B&B
5th and S Sts.,NE 547-1050
See our ad on page 15
Doolittle Guest House
504 E. Capitol Street, SE 546-6622
See our ad on page 17
Maison Orleans
414 5th Street, SE, 544-3694
maisonorln@aol.com
Bicycles
Capitol Hill Bikes
709 8th St.,SE 544-4234
See our ad on page 35
Books
Capitol Hill Books
657 C Street, SE, 544-1621
Good Used Books Bought & Sold.
Riverby Books
419 E. Capitol St., SE 547-3228
See our ad on page 9
Contractor
Thoreson & Associates
Capitol Hill’s local Norwegian carpenter
Renovated homes in DC since 1986. We
Work where we live. 544-3700
Chimney Cleaning
Winston’s Chimney Service
Washington DC (301)571-8546
See our ad on page 28
Church
Christ Church Washington Parish
620 G St., SE 547-9300
See our ad on page 41
St. Peter’s Church
2nd & C Street, SE 547-1430
See our ad on page 21
Lutheran Church of the Reformation
212 E. Capitol St., SE, 543-4200
www.reformationdc.org
St. James’ Episcopal Church
222 8th St., SE, 546-1746
www.saintjameschurch,.org
Clothing & Gifts
Art & Soul
225 PA Ave., SE 548-0105
See our ad on page 33
The Village
705 N. Carolina Ave., SE 546-3040
See our ad on page 19
Computer Consultant
Better Computer Solutions
623 N. Carolina Ave., SE 546-8084
See our ad on page 31
Dog walking services
Zoolatry, Inc
202-547-WALK
www.zoolatry.com
<http://www.zoolatry.com>
Mid-Day Dog walking Service
Insured - Bonded
Drug Store
Grubbs Care Pharmacy
326 E Capitol SE 543-4400
See our ad on page 13
Electric Repairs
Bob Willett / K&W Electric
301-283-4004
Service work small jobs
Funeral Services
Pinckney-Spangler Funeral Home
524 8th St. NE, 544-7720
A full service funeral home. Traditional burial
or cremation services. Burial or cremation
can be accompanied by a viewing and/or
funeral or memorial service.
Garden and Landscape
Gingko Gardens
911 11th St., SE 543-5172
See our ad on page 33
Frager’s Garden Center
1115 Penna Ave., SE,
543-6157
Ornamental Garden
544-7831
District Cityscapes, Inc
202-544-4886
Business Directory Listings:
Voice of the Hill is including a yellow-pages style directory of businesses and services that cater to the Capitol Hill community.
To be included in the directory businesses must commit to a one-year contract, payable in advance by check, Visa or
Mastercard. The annual fee is $250. Display advertisers on annual contracts will be included in the directory at no additional
charge.
Each business will be given three lines in the directory; two must be used for the company name, address and phone number.
An extra line is available for your name, a description of your business or service, or a direction to see your ad. Additional
lines may be added at an annual cost of $60 per line (per year). If you would like to be included in the next directory, please
fill in the following form and send it, along with your check or payment information, to: The Voice of the Hill, 120 11th St., SE,
Washington, DC 20003. If you have questions please call Bruce Robey at 544-0703.
Your Name:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Company Name: ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Address:_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Phone: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Business Description: (30 character maximum) ____________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Please charge my Mastercard or Visa
Name on Card: _________________________________________________________________________________________________
Card Number: _______________________________________________________________________Expiration Date:____________
Business Serv i c e s
Jeffrey A. Love, Loan Officer
Federal Funding Mortgage Corp
202-210--7106 jlove@ffmcorp.com
Office Supplies
Capitol Hill Innervision
Art and Office Supplies
701 8th St., SE 544-4664
Pet Supplies
Doolittle’s Pet Supply
224 7th St., SE 544-8710
See our ad on page 25
Photography
Motophoto
666 PA Ave., SE 547-2100
See our ad on page 2
Picture Framing
Frame of Mine
522 8th St., SE 543-3030
See our ad on page 31
Newman Gallery and Custom Frames
511 11th St., SE 544-7577
See our ad on page 30
Real Estate
Valerie M. Blake
Prudential Car ruthers Realtors
5025 Wisconsin Ave, NW 202-362-1348,
x111, www.DCHomeQuest.com
Thom Burns
Coldwell Banker Real Estate
109 8th St. NE 547-5805
Larry C
Pardoe Real Estate
605 PA Ave., SE 546-7000
Tom & Alice Faison
REMAX Real Estate
220 7th St., SE 546-5881
John C. Formant
John C. Formant Real Estate
225 PA Ave., SE 544-3900
28 www.voiceofthehill.com
Business Serv i c e s
Pardoe Real Estate
605 PA Ave., SE 546-7000
See our ad on the back cover
Jackie von Schlegel
REMAX Real Estate
220 7th St., 547-5600
Phyllis Jane Young
Pardoe Real Estate
605 PA Ave., SE 546-7000
John Parker
Pardoe Real Estate
605 PA Ave., SE 546-7000
Kristof Realty Group/Pam Kristof
REMAX Capital Realtors
202-588-2021, www.kristofgroup.com
See our pad page 7
Real Estate Settlement
Congressional Title
650 PA Ave., SE 544-0800
See our ad on page 31
Eastern Market Title
210 7th St., SE 546-3100
See our ad on page 28
Restaurants
2 Quail
320 Massachusetts Ave. NE 543-8030
See our ad on page 11
Banana Café
400 8th St., SE 543-5906
See our ad on page 31
Winston’s
Quality Service since 1976
Cleanings • Repairs • Relinings
Expert second opinion
Air duct cleaning
301-571-8546
Licensed • Insured • Certified
202-CHIMNEY
(244-6639)
Recommended by
Washingtonian Magazine
1984-1987
DCHIC #3615
Chimney Serv i c e
Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream
327 7th St., SE 546-CAKE
See our ad on page 34
Bluestone Cafe
327 7th St., SE 547-9007
Café Berlin
322 Mass. Ave., NE 543-7656
German American Cuisine
Hawk ’n’ Dove
329 PA Ave., SE 543-3300
See our ad on page 32
Sheridan’s Steak House
713 8th St., SE 546-6955
Stompin’ Grounds
660 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, 546-5778
See our ad on page 32
Salons
Randolph Cree
325 7th St., SE
See our ad on page 7
Social Services
Capitol Hill Group Ministr y
421 Seward Sq., SE 544-0385
Schools
Capitol Hill Day School
210 S. Carolina Ave., SE 547-2244
Edmund Burke School
2955 Upton St., NW 362-8882
Levine School of Music
2801 Upton St., NW 686-9772
St Peter’s School
422 3rd St., SE 544-1618
Spiritual Advisors
Corrin Bennett
543-5825
Gabrielle Hill
544-4386
Call or email hillhouse@erols.com for a brochure
Vacation/Travel Consultants
Jan Cammarata
Judiciary Express Travel
7th & Penn SE, 547-3007
Workshops
Writer’s Way Workshops
Make time for you! 547-3506
www.dcwritersway.org
Yoga Studio
Dancing Heart Center for Yoga
221 5th St., NE 544-0841, www.dancingheartyoga.com
See our ad on page 33
St. Marks Yoga Center
3rd & A St., SE 546-4964
www.us.net/edow/1/stmch/yoga.htm
Computer We e n i e s
• Repairs, Upgrades, Troubleshootong
• Network & Lan Installation
• Internet Web Page Development
• Quality Work at Reasonable Rates
202-543-7055
Eggs-traordinary
Capons • Turkeys •
Ducks • Cornish Hens
Eggs-traordinary
Capons • Turkeys •
Ducks • Cornish Hens
Mel, Sr. Mel, Jr.
MARKET POULTRY
Eastern Market
225 7th St., SE 202-543-7470
MARKET POULTRY
Eastern Market
225 7th St., SE 202-543-7470
Call Charlie!
• Remodeling
• Old and New Work
• Quality Work
• Low Prices
202-397-2273
Fax 202-397-2127
Lic. DC EM900042
NEED A GOOD
E L E C T R I C I A N ?
www.voiceofthehill.com 29
d o w nL o a d BY STEPHANIE CAVA N A U G H
AN T I QU E S
BU Y SE L L
TR A D E
701 N. CAROLINA AVE, SE
WASHINGTON, DC
202-543-1819
Toll Free 877-509-3772
t h e c a n c e r d i a g n o s i s
frightening, maddening,
confusing
individual, couples and group
psychotherapy for those with cancer
joseph tarantolo, md
board certified psychiatrist
certified group therapist
202/543-5290
but also a time for
self-reflection and enhancement
of personal development
And We Thought You Were Joking
Le Mans on the Hill? Good Heavens!
August 8. Early this spring, an anonymous message
materialized in the Hill Talk area of the Voice website
:
“Is it true there’s a plan to bring Formula 1 auto
racing to Capitol Hill? I hear it’s being proposed as
an annual event, some sort of fund-ra i s e r. The
c o u rse will go we st on the we stbound lanes of
Pennsylvania Avenue, with the pits in the eastbound
lanes. From the Barney Circle chicane, the
c a rs will accelerate to 200-plus mph up
Pennsylvania toward the Capitol, then cross over to
East Capitol at some undisclosed point, then go
down East Capitol, around Lincoln Park, then go
south on 17th Street, which already is a speedway.
“Though I like the idea of bringing creative new
ventures to the area, particularly the eastern end of
the Hill, I’m wondering what this event, which is
likely to draw 100,000 people or more, will do to
the community’s residential character.
“Aren’t auto race fans notoriously rowdy? How
will our beleaguered police handle such an event?
Have ANC 6A or 6B taken a stand? (Perhaps, they
could, at least, require that the cars have mufflers.)
Will East e rn Market become a souvenir sta n d ?
What will the Restoration Society folks say? (Or
have they been bought off by the motor oil interests?)
I’m very concerned.”
Oh, puleeze, didn’t we think. Good joke. If the
w riter hadn’t been anonymous, we would have
awarded bonus points for creativity.
Turns out, however, it twern’t a joke. The August
10Washington Post Sports Section reported that the
American Le Mans sports car racing series and the
DC Sports and Entertainment Commission will be
bringing a road race to Washington, and it seems
they’ve got they’re eyes on the Hill as a track.
You wo n’t be seeing a Viper screaming past
E a st e rn Market, however (unless it’s your ow n ) .
Reporter, Tarik El-Bashir, said the race “will take
place on a 1.7 mile temporary street circuit built in
the parking lots surrounding RFK Stadium. It will
h ave 12 turns, including th ree hairpins, and a
3,000-foot straightaway on which cars will reach
full speed as they blast past bleachers and luxury
suites. The three-hour race will be held July 21.
“…The track will take a minimum of 10 days to
set up and will cost race promoter National Grand
Prix Holdings $11 million to build. Organizers are
prepared to build seating for as many as 75,000 fans
depending on ticket demand. Efforts to resurface
the parking lots already have begun.”
Yard Sale—and Puppy—Policing
Department of Debriefing
August 10. It took a while to get to the bottom of it
all, but here it is: no one has been arrested or ticketed
for holding a yard sale on Capitol Hill. That was
a period. As rumors fly, this one went off like a rocket.
Per Lt. John Hedgecock of 1D, what happened
was this: The station received a complaint on July
21st from a vendor at Eastern Market (since no one
needs to be harassed over this, and we know that
will happen, no names will be mentioned in this
story). The vendor, said Hedgecock, “had lived on
the Hill for quite some time and was upset that he
had to pay rent to sell his wares at the flea market
when a nearby resident regularly holds sales on
public space—in front of his or her residence. He
said [this person] does it all the time, and that this
is a business.
“Naturally,” added Hedgecock, “we had to investigate.”
Officer Barker was set to the thankless task. He
t rotted off to the location in qu e stion and
“observed that there was definitely a yard sale in
front of the residence, on the sidewalk and in the
tree box area.”
When the Officer explained why he was there,
the sale holder replied, “Since when is it against the
law to hold a yard sale? I’ve been doing this every
weekend for the last 15 years...no one has ever bothered
me.”
Barker apologized and explained that he was following
up on a complaint, and that—technically—
according to DC’s municipal regs, if you’re going to
sell items on public space you need to have a vending
license. There are also—tech n i c a l ly — re st ri ctions
on what you can sell.
There was some back and forth and “the dialog,”
said Hedgecock, “became a little heated.”
Barker did tell the seller that the police department
can issue a $50 ticket for violations of DC
municipal regulations and added that if the ticket is
n ot paid on time a “wa rrant could possibly be
issued for your arrest.”
At this point, said Hedgecock, the seller “became
very agitated, very upset.”
Officer Barker left, and no ticket was issued.
While neighborhood scuttlebutt has it that there
were raids and threats of arrests all over the Hill that
Saturday, this was, said Hedgecock, the only yard
sale incident on July 21: “The Captain checked it
out. He talked to everyone that was working that
day and the officers just looked at us…puzzled.”
That is not to say that there haven’t been other
incidents where the police have gotten involved
w i th such sales, but th ey are not out ta k i n g
vengeance for having to work on a beautiful weekend.
They are, said Hedgecock, responding to calls
from neighbors, who sometimes complain when
old toasters and unwanted wedding gifts sprawl
into their yards or clothing is hung from next-door
fences. Not a fine or arre st situation, said
Hedgecock, “mediating is more of it.”
“ Un fo rt u n a t e ly,” the Lieutenant added, “th e
police have to address some of the more unpopular
aspects of law enfo rcement when it comes to
Grand Reopening
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 AT 10A.M.
M o re than D O U B L ET H ES PA C E (2 floors)
NE WE N T R A N C E (down, not up)
SA M EL O C AT I O N, just more of us—more space,
m o re to buy, and more staff to help you buy (smile)
Meet our aesthetician, book a facial and buy our new skin care
products • Present your hands for a free hand massage • Buy
an armload of Eileen Fisher clothes, and get a free gift
(first 200 customers)
218 SEVENTH STREET, SE
202-547-7337
STORE HOURS
Tuesday-Friday 11-7 • Saturday 10-6 • Sunday 12-5
O N C A P I T O L H I L L
30 www.voiceofthehill.com
enforcing municipal regulations.”
Like dogs in sidewalk cafes, for instance. Oh my
my my, this is quite the itchy spot in a community
like ours where a lot of people’s babies have tails.
Hedgecock reports that the police have gotten
entangled in a number of incidents involving pups
at sidewalk café tables. Sometimes french fries gets
snitched or there’s some other canine infraction
and sometimes other diners just don’t appreciate
dogs, whatever. Usually the complaint is made to
the restaurant owner or manager who, not wanting
to get into this nasty business with good customers,
calls the police to intervene.
And you’re not going to find a restaurateur that’ll
fess up to this. They call the police in the first place
because they don’t want to alienate customers. So
don’t even bother asking.
The police must respond to these calls because,
reports Hedgecock, “Chapter 26 of the regs specifically
prohibits bringing any [live] animals into a
food establishment, except for seeing eye dogs or
other animals, if there are any, that