This Month 4 Paul Singer recounts the history of movie theaters on Capitol Hill. 7 An interview with Don King, Capitol Hills Movie Man 10 Alternative Movie Spaces for the Video-Weary 12 The Last Egg Roll: Goodbye to the Sampan Departments VoiceMail... ....................3 Ask Judith....................14 Can of Worms ..............16 Business Bits ..............18 DownLoad....................21 Churches .....................28 Capital Kids .................31 Community Calendar ....32 The Stars Say ..............32 Classifieds...................34 VOICE Vol. 1 No. 5 August 13 1999 of The Hill The Capitol Hill movie houses may be extinct, but you can still go to the movies. Kristof Realty Group Pam Kristof Principal 202.588.2021 Joan Carmichael Buyer Specialist 202.484.0146 Kevin McDaniel Buyer Specialist 202.486.8388 Licensed in DC, MD & VA A d v e r t i s i n g b y E d g e A d v e r t i s i n g ( 2 0 2 ) 5 4 3 - 8 0 7 6 w w w. e d g e a d v . c o m CAPITOL HILL LIVING AT ITS FINEST This fabulous home was redesigned by award winning Interior Designer Patrick Vick. Featured on the Capitol Hill House Tour, this remarkable home has 2 master suites (1 with a wetbar and fireplace), fantastic library, a gourmet chefs kitchen with fireplace, and is perfectly designed for entertaining with a grand dinner party or casual weekend guests. Located near Eastern Market with garage parking. $569,900. Call Kevin McDaniel at 202-486-8388. PERFECT POTOMAC! Fantastic Potomac, MD town home features a contemporary feel. Large rooms, table space kitchen, and custom upgrades. Deck with view of grass and trees, garage parking. $299,900. Call Joan Carmichael at 202-484-0146. FIRE THE CONTRACTOR! This architect designed home is ready for you to move right in! Contemporary renovation of a classic home. Dramatic 2-bedroom, 2-level owners unit plus snazzy 1-bedroom rental unit. Home is accented with glass block, wood floors, fab kitchens, grand deck, large yard, and parking. Just steps to Childrens Museum and Union Station. $239,900. Call Kevin McDaniel at 202-486-8388. GRACE CHURCH GORGEOUS Magical 2-bedroom plus den in glamorous Grace Church. Wonderful windows with 100-yearold original stained glass, dramatic 3-story skylight, fireplace, and master suite with steam sauna. Many custom upgrades make this a home to appreciate. One block to metro and Eastern Market. $229,900. Call Kevin McDaniel at 202-486-8388. WANT MORE FOR YOUR MONEY? Terrific 2-unit - live in one and rent the other or easily convert to a single family home. Both units are bright and sunny with tall ceilings and gorgeous moldings. Cute landscaped back yard with parking. Great condition. Great location. Unbeatable price! Only 119,900. Call Joan Carmichael at 202-484-0146. ITS ALL IN THE DETAILS Gorgeous Center Stair Hall Capitol Hill home features exquisite Victorian details including, marvelous moldings, wonderful wood floors, and wainscoting in the separate dining room. The renovated kitchen has a fireplace. Home also features skylights, a patio and garage parking. $239,900. Call Joan Carmichael at 202-484-0146. DONT RENT ANOTHER APARTMENT Snazzy 2 bedroom condo with wood floors and large open updated kitchen. Located near Union Station metro, shops, and restaurants. Get it before its gone at only $99,900. Call Kevin McDaniel at 202-486-8388 CAREER CHANGE? Have you been dreaming of the time when you can chuck the 9-5 office job and own a Bed & Breakfast? Now is your chance! Move right in to this fabulous 19th century fully licensed B&B located in the absolute prime of Capitol Hill. This charming 4300 sq. ft. mansion boasts 8 guestrooms, 6 bathrooms, a premium guest suite, and a 2 bedroom monthly rental apartment. Shown strictly by appointment. Current owner will instruct you in all you need to know. $659,000. Call Joan Carmichael at 202-484-0146. THE #1 WASHINGTON, D.C. REAL ESTATE AGENT FOR THE #1 REAL ESTATE COMPANY IN THE WORLD Re/Max Capital Properties congratulates Pam Kristof on being named the #1 Re/Max Sales Agent in Washington, DC. New Listing! New Listing! New Listing! New Listing! SOLD Remember, in Real Estate it doesnt cost more to work with the best. It is in the greater interest of the community that the farmers and the south hall merchants be given a voice in the changes that will take place as the market is repaired and renovated. Everyone must have a say in the revitalization of the market, i.e., the citizens, the farmers, the south hall merchants, the arts and craft people and the general public. I strongly believe that the market can retain its historical significance and serve the enlarged community. Having shopped at the market for over twenty years I value it as an oasis of quality on the Hill. FRANK B. WITHROW COMMISSIONER 6A03 The Eastern Market Parking Task Force will be presenting its recommendations for improving the safety of pedestrians and drivers, increasing parking opportunities and reducing traffic congestion in the Eastern Market area at a public meeting at the Capitol Hill Natatorium on Tuesday, September 14 at 6:30PM. An overview of the completed study is included in the Download section, page 21. To the Editor: Two interesting ideas have recently been put forthattracting a new Fresh Fields and closing 7th street to traffic to make room for more market and street activities. Unfortunately, both ideas have little chance for success. Fresh Fields would probably not locate any further east than 7th Street and there is no suitable location, with parking, any further west than 7th Street. As for the closing of 7th street SE (Eastern Market), loss of parking and red tape would promptly kill this. However, there is a simple solution build a new state-of-the art Junior High school at one of the locations currently up for auction. The DC government could sell the property at 7th and Pennsylvania SE and use the proceeds to build a new Junior High in a suitable residential area. Developers would drool over the property on Pennsylvania. Enough space to build a parking structure; and more than enough space to attract multiple large retailers -to include Fresh Fields. Imagine: A new Junior High for the kids in a residential area. No more parking issues Fresh Fields, Super Giant etc. - Major retail space a TRUE weekend destination A cleaner, safer and more attractive surrounding area Simplistic? Maybe, but its nice to dream :] SCOTT SCHLIEWE VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 www.voiceofthehill.com 3 Voicemail 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. Voice of the Hill 120 11th St., SE, Rear Washington DC 20003 202-544-0703 Main office 202-544-2557 Editorial 202-547-5133 Fax www.voiceofthehill.com bruce@voiceofthehill.com stephanie@voiceofthehill.com adele@voiceofthehill.com Staff Stephanie Cavanaugh, Editor Bruce Robey WebMaster Adele Robey Graphic Design and Production Tamra Testerman Advertising Randy Norton, Schools Editor Gene Miller, Church Editor Larry Kaufer, Sports Editor Shaun Koiner, Circulation Manager Phoenix Graphics, Inc. T/A Voice of the Hill Publisher Contributing Writers Judith Capen Kristen Hartke Celeste McCall Paul Singer Duncan Spencer Contributing Artists Julia Robey, illustration Beth OBrien, photography Memberships Printing & Graphic Communication Association Printing Industry of America Capitol Hill Association of Merchants and Professionals Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington Barracks Row Business Alliance VOICE of The Hill To the editor: Although I have never heard it as a consideration, I would like to propose that 7th Street at Eastern market be closed off to traffic and become a pedestrian mall. The restaurants could add extra tables for outdoor dining (as they do in Milan, Grand Junction, CO, Tokyo, etc.), it would add a wonderful 3rd Space area for residents to gather, would be great on market days (additional vendors could be accommodated), and foster a greater sense of community, in my humble opinion. If parking is a problem, why not build a garage? What does everyone else think? MAUREEN ROSCH To the editor: The historical significance of Eastern market can not be plowed under in our efforts to reform it. The concept by Maureen Rosch to close 7th Street is an interesting one. It offers many possibilities. Possibilities for better control of traffic and an expanded opportunity for the farmers market and the crafts and arts stalls. On Saturdays it is almost impossible to go down 7th in any direction. Therefore, it would not interfere with the viability of the area. A systematic way for the farmers to park their vehicles would be required. Here we are in the dead, dry dregs of summer, and nothing much is shaking. Havent tripped across a good case of umbrage in weeks. Its all rather...restful. As the last long hot summer of the century drips to a close, the normally feisty are reduced to drooling over the lucious fresh berries at Sizzling Express, and theres plenty of parking if you can summon the energy to run an errand. About the biggest excitement is the shiny, new street level drop-box at the SE Library (books only please. Return CDs to the front desk). No better time, we think, to reminisce. To remember a time when the Hill was filled with movie palaces, and dinner out meant chop suey with jello for dessert at the Sampan Cafe. So we begin. Once upon a time... VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 4 www.voiceofthehill.com Kelly, who has lived on the Hill 75 years, says back in the 30s, people went to the movies 2-3 times a week. It was almost as much a center of entertainment as television. The movie houses showed double features, an A movie which was the main attraction, and a B movie, which were cheaply made, poorly written, and now may have a broader cult following than the A movies that they were made to support. And there were cowboy movies for kids. On Saturdays, theyd show the cowboy pictures, Kelly recalls. Serials. They were all geared so that at the end of the movie, the hero is in a fatal pickle, and the kids would have to return the following week to see how the hero escapes. And they did return, every Saturday, for 10 cents, for an afternoon of hooting at the bad guys and cheering for the hero. I dont think any right-minded adult would go into a theater on a Saturday afternoon, Kelly says with a chuckle. The theater owner would come down and tell the kids hed empty the theater if they didnt quiet down. But the movie Kelly says he remembers most vividly is Dracula, with Bella Lugosi. I remember seeing Dracula at the Apollo on H St. I was probably a teenager, but I remember being scared to death. Its not a movie you forgot easily. In 1945, the Avenue Grand, stood at 645 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, on the South side of the street, a thousand seat movie house with a small candy machine built into the back of each seat. Across the street was the Penn, an art deco masterpiece seating more than 1400, which opened in 1935 with a live singing of the Star Spangled Banner. A string of theaters lined H street, NE: the Apollo, the Atlas, the Empire. The Stanton theater looked out over Stanton Park, and the Carolina showed movies on 11th St. By 1976, the Penn was showing Xrated films, and the H street theaters had all gone quiet. The Avenue Grandrenamed the Capitol Hill in the mid-1960shad been razed. The Stanton was no more, the Carolina had been torn down, and the only other theater still showing films was a decrepit two screen theater on 8th Street called the Capitol Hill I&II. Most of its features were Kung-Fu flicks. Today the Penn theater is the Penn Medical Center. Where the HOMAS KELLY OF CONSTITUTION AVENUE REMEMBERS THE THEATERS and remembers the films of his youth. Where have all the theaters gone? TB Y PA U L S I N G E R VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 www.voiceofthehill.com 5 the neighborhood memories are of the Avenue Grand and the Penn. Nancy Hackett, who grew up on the Hill and now lives in Leesburg, remembers Tiger Boy, a racy heartthrob feature that played at the Avenue Grandthen called the Capitol Hillin the 1960s. The afternoon movies started at 3:30 or 4, Hackett recalls, and my sister and I went to see Tiger Boywe must have seen the first two-thirds of that movie ten times, but we had to leave [before it ended] to get home in time for dinner. Hackett says with a sigh, you just dont know how great it was to grow up in DCthat strip of Pennsylvania Avenue was where everything was happening. Barbara Fortune, who runs Less than a Fortune, the antique shop that sits where the Avenue Grand once was, says she remembers the Penn, its marquee all lit up like Las Vegas stretching over the sidewalk of Pennsylvania Avenue. Fortune saw dozens of movies there, she says, but her mother didnt take her to the Avenue Grand. We always went to the one on the other side of the street, for some reason. Several neighbors remember the Penn for the controversy it stirred in the early 1960s, when it began showing adult films. I remember picketing the Penn, says Joan Keenan, a Hill resident with her husband Frank since 1953. When the theater began showing adult films in the early 1960s, Keenan says she and several other Capitol Hill parents protested. Our youngest [son] was about 2, and I remember all of these moms, and kids in strollers, and kids by the hand walking back and forth in front of [the Penn] for a couple of days. Patricia Taffe Driscoll of 5th St, SE remembers the pickets as well. We didnt want our kids to see the posters, Driscoll says, though she agrees with the Keenans that the pickets didnt achieve much. The Penn went porno, and the only theater left was the Avenue Grand. Don King, who ran both theaters has no recollection of the pickets, and argues that he made great efforts to satisfy community concerns (see next article). Driscoll says the Avenue Grand was a lovely old theater, and it was great to have the continuity; to go to a theater where I saw shows as a teenager and to take our kids back there. The theater, she says, had lost much of its luster and excitement in the 50s, but it came back with the Beatles. She adds, it is a real loss for people not to be able to see a movie in their neighborhood theater. The Keenans remember seeing King of Hearts at the Avenue Grand, a quirky anti-war film that was the first show there after the theater was renovated in 1967. We saw it several times over the years, the Keenans recall, always back on Pennsylvania Avenue. After the Avenue Grand and the Penn closed down, the last theater remaining on the Hill was the Capitol Hill I&II, a rundown hall on 8th St., SE, which was once a bowling alley. The Shakespeare Theater studios now occupy the space. The Capitol Hills last days were in the early 1990s, but as Driscoll remem- Avenue Grand once stood is the grey, labyrinthine Market Place shopping center. Capitol Hill movie patrons are now herded into the underground caverns of the Union Station 9. In the first half of this century, people streamed to the Avenue Grand and a dozen other neighborhood movie houses on Capitol Hill, all of which are now closed. A new book by Robert K. Headley, Motion Picture Exhibition in Washington, DC; An Illustrated History of Parlors Palaces and Multiplexes in the Metropolitan Area, 1894-1997 (McFarland & Company, 1999) makes for a fascinating walking tour of Capitol Hill. For instance, at 513 C St., NE, there is a non-descript little brick building, square and off-white. It is noticeable primarily because it is so plain compared to the traditional Capitol Hill row houses that are next to it. From 1913 to 1964, that little cube was the Stanton theater, complete with columns and a little glass ticket booth out front. A few blocks down, at 1230 C St., NE, stands the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ for the Apostolic Faith. From 1915 to 1952 the building was the Home theater, built with a massive arched entrance and a dome styled after the U.S. Capitol. The dome and arch are gone, victim of a 1940s renovation, Headley reports, but the rest of the building remains. Headleys book includes a tantalizing list of little theaters, some enclosed, some open air, that were operating on the Hill before 1910, but about which little is known. For instance: 418 E. Capitol St. The Capitol Amusement Company operated a movie theater on this site around March 1910. By August 1910 it was a tailor shop. Today it is a small, quaint wood-sided row house. Across the street, at 401 was the Casino, which operated from 1907 to 1915. This was the first theater run by Harry Crandall, who went on to operate dozens of theaters in the area. Headley explains that the Casino had ten-minute shows and advertised by means of a phonograph outside the entrance. There were also dozens of open air theaters in the first two decades of the century. An owner of a little lot could throw up a fence, some benches, and a little shack to serve as a projection booth, and folks would come round for a nickel movie. There was an open air theater on [what is now] the Peabody School playground, Kelly recalls. The owner gave free lifetime passes to everyone who lived on the block, since you could see [the films] from your front porch. Headleys detailed listings confirm Kellys memory: The Orpheum, at 205-217 4th St., NE, was apparently an open air theater The Orpheum was also called the Stanton Park. Another Orpheum theater, this one made of brick, stood at the corner of 4th and C NE. The original building is gonein its place is a modern row of dark brown townhouse- style offices, housing the Sierra Club and the National Funeral Directors Association. While Headleys book is a treasury of information about the obscure and forgotten little theaters, most of Early drawings of Senate Theatre (left) and the Stanton Theatre. The Home Theater on C Street NE was fashioned after the US Capitol. VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 6 www.voiceofthehill.com bers, it was mostly shoot-em up flicks. [Reporters note: I actually saw a couple movies at the Capitol Hill theater in 1989-90. I took a young woman there for our first date, expecting to see the suspense movie listed in the paper. Instead, it was a zombies-eat-people movie, which was interrupted in the middle for the police to come in and arrest a couple from the audience. The movie resumed, but the crowd left en masse as soon as the bloodshed ended, despite the fact that ten minutes of wrap-up and resolution remained. How do you know when the movie is over? my date asked. Then the fire alarm went off, at which point, we knew that the movie was now over. I do not recall there being a second date.] The I&II did make an attempt at higher brow fare for a while in the home video had given people the option of staying home to see a movie, even as they limited the options for people to go out. Aside from the Uptown in Cleveland Park, there are few original big-screen theaters left, and even the Uptown is a shadow of its former elegance. As Pat Driscoll says, Its a real loss not to have movies on the Hill. We end up losing something so special. But you can still see movies at 645 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE. Where the Avenue Grand was built in 1910, and torn down six decades later, there is now a Penn Video store. Other Capitol Hill theaters of the past, and their approximate dates of operation, according to Headley: Aragon, 815 Maryland Ave, NE (1914-1916) Atlas, 1313 H St, NE (1938-1976) Beverly, 515-519 15th St., NE (1939-1963) Carolina, 103-107 11th St., SE (1913-1952) Colonial, 814 H St, NE (1909-1913) Dixie, 800-802 H St., NE (1910-1921) Eastern, 515 8St., NE (1909-1918) Empire, 911 H St., NE (1913-1929) Senate, 320-322 Pennsylvania Ave, SE (1909-1926) Zenith,715 8th St., SE (1910-1919) Photos on pages 4-5 are from Motion Picture Exhibition in Washington, D.C., An Illustrated History of Parlors, Palaces, and Multiplexes in the Metropolitan Area, 1894-1997. 1999 Robert Headley by permission of McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640. www.mcfarlandpub.com What is interesting is that while long-time Capitol Hill residents have scattered memories of these little theaters, their memories of the big downtown palaces remain clear and unanimous. For years, Capitol Hill was connected to downtown by trolley, and the big, chandeliered houses awaited. These were the Palace, the Capitol, the Warner, even the Tivoli on U Street. As Frank Keenan recalls Wed usually head West to go to the movies. Joan Keenan adds details: we would ride the trolley downtown to those spectacular theaters wed get dressed up, and Id wear white gloves. White gloves for the movies? You always wore gloves to go downtown. That was a big deal. Besides, she says, her mother had always said you should wear gloves on public transportation to avoid germs. Tom Kelly remembers those theaters as well. The neighborhood theaters cost 20 cents but the downtown theaters were 50 cents. They were extemely elaborate. The made people feel large. Nancy Hackett describes the old theaters as a magic carpet . . . they take you to a big exotic place thats totally away from your humdrum existence. But the carpet ride ended by the 1970s, and the Hill now has no theaters other than the Union Station complex and the occasional art film at various galleries or museums around the neighborhood. Large, elaborate movie houses became too expensive to maintain, and in the 1960s and 70s, Capitol Hill was not considered an attractive destination for a night out. The suburban multiple- screen complexes were more convenient, and gave patrons more choices, and they were cheaper to operate and maintain. Cable TV and 1970s. Driscoll recalls seeing a Bergman film festival there, and the theater briefly hosted a live soap opera, played out on stage in 45 minute installments at lunch hour one summer. But it never thrived, and never managed to stray far from the cheesy action adventure films that it showed until its end in 1993. Other shells of old movie houses still stand on 8th street. The Peoples Church at 535 8th St. used to be the Meaders theater, which was later renamed the Academy. The theater operated from 1910-1961, and, as Headley reports In its later years, the Academy featured triple-feature westerns, re-runs, and at the end, even some foreign films. Up the block a bit, the Blockbuster Video store occupies the space that used to be the Navy theaterthough it is not clear whether this is the original building. Park Cafe on Capitol Hill 106 13th St., SE at the east end of Lincoln Park Continental & Latin Fare Mon 6pm-10pm Tues-Sat noon-3pm & 6pm-11:30pm Sunday noon-8:30 pm Large Wine list New Menu Items Daily Specials Mention the ad and recieve a special surprise! 202-543-0184 Do you realize is more than Burgers and Beer? Try our daily special including pasta and catch of the day. 320 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE C A P I T O L H I L L New summermenu! 311 & 315 7th Street, SE 202.543.1705 www.wovenhistory.com Store Hours: 10-6, Tue-Sun. Eastern Market Metro Woven History and Silk Road The Penn Theater as it appears today as the Penn Medical Building. Photo: Beth OBrien VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 www.voiceofthehill.com 7 Voice: So what was the difference between the Penn at its peak and the Avenue Grand? Well the Avenue Grand went up in the early 1900s, and it was the only real theater around. It had a small stage, and it played vaudeville. And the of course the Penn opening in the 30s, the first run movies went there, and the other one got the second run. But they were both owned by the same company [Warner Bothers], but this one [the Avenue Grand] became second fiddle. But there were several other first run theaters around here. I think the Beverly was one [511 15th St., NE], and there were a few others. Voice: Some of the neighbors around here say they remember picketing the Penn when it started showing adult films. Tell me your side of that story. Never happened. The only thing that happened is they came to us and said We have no place for children. I said, Fine, well run a childrens show every morning. So thats what we did. But I said, You have to monitor it, Im not going to have a bunch of screaming kids tearing up the theater, and so they did. But I kept the candy stand open myself. So we did it, we ran the shows, and it flopped. And I said, Well, thank you very much, but now you see the problem. We ran that theater just like it was a first run deluxe theater. We had special posters made up, nothing that would be offensive on it at all. These pictures were not the kind you see today. They had a story line. You see, the Supreme Court ruled that nudity was not illegal. Once that happened, they started making these pictures. Decent pictures. All of the sets were similar to regular pictures. They had to have a story line, they were full length. You had to have production values, and they all did. I used to watch every picture, a couple reels of it, to make sure that it met all of those rules. Voice: When did you first come to the Hill? In 1946, fresh out of the World War. I was sent here by my company, which was E.M. Loew theaters, to reopen the drive in theater in Mount Vernon. It had closed during the war. This wasnt the other Loews [of the big downtown theaters]. That was Marcus Loew. I left E.M. Loews to go in with some partners in a drive-in theater in Clinton, MD in 1953. That didnt go very well, because we were under financed. But during that period, I found this Capitol Hill Theater which had been closed, so I leased the theater and we reopened it in 1955. Voice: And this was a regular first run theater? No. The Penn theater was across the street, and the Penn had first runs, which would be 14 days after downtown. Then after a similar period maybe 14 days after the Pennthe Avenue Grand would get them. And then after the same period it would move down to 8th street somewhere. First runs down town, second runs was neighborhood theaters, third run was the crap-cans, and then after that who knows. Voice: And would it be cheaper at each stop? Yup. Cheaper to buy it, and cheaper admissions. The theater was run exactly like a first run theater. A beautiful theater, we put in a bigger screen, a screen that ran all the way across the front. We put in new carpets, had the seats reupholstered. It was very elegant. The cashier was an old woman. The doorman, Mr. Mudd, was a great old man. And when we changed the policy we asked them if they wanted to stay on. Mr. Mudd was a very dignified Catholic gentleman, and he said As long as I dont have to look at it, I dont care. So youd walk into this so-called porn house, and theres this great view of the theater, a grand lobby, an old man taking tickets, and you buy your ticket from this old woman, and you walk in and you gaze around at all this beautiful carpet. The auditorium in the theater was absolutely stunning. Voice: And the policy change was because you couldnt survive as a first run theater anymore? We couldnt make any money. You have to understand, all these theaters had overhead. Its not like opening a store. The overhead was really high at the Penn theater. It was fully air conditioned, which in a big theater is not cheap. The theaters would turn out maybe $2000 a week, and you may not break even at $2000, with second runs. We were running Sidney Portier, in To Sir With Love when this man came down from New York. He said I would like to have you try this King of the Hill Paul Singer Interviews the Hills Movie Man Perhaps as well as anyone, Don King knows the story of the Capitol Hill movie theaters. Beginning in the mid-1950s, King at various times ran the Avenue Grand (Capitol Hill) the Penn and the Capitol Hill I&II. Now a realtor in Pardoes Capitol Hill office, King shares some of his memories of the last years of the neighborhood movie theaters. VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 8 www.voiceofthehill.com picture in your theater. Its an adult picture, but I think you will like it, and I think it will do a hell of a lot of business. Then he said What are you doing with To Sir With Love, and I said $5000, and he said OK. Play this picture. So I said OK, Let me screen it. And I did it wasnt bad. It was a detective story, it had about 5 or 10 minutes of nudity, and that was it. Aside from that, it was a good story. I mean, you can see more than this on television now. So I said All right, well try the picture. We ran it adults only, and we did $10,000 the first week. And at half the rental cost. So we continued. We ran these filmsonly the ones that would pass, so no one would be offended. And wed use these posters, the same identical ones wed use downtown. We had them made up by a commercial artists, no pictures. They showed nothing. And the theater was run like any other theater. Never, never had any trouble with the neighbors. Voice: But ultimately, that proved to be unprofitable? Well, see, after a while, everybody got greedy, and they started putting real sex in them. We tried one picture, because it was a documentary, I am Curious Yellow, which had opened downtown. And the Post critic raved about the picture. He said, at last, the real thing. And then we tried one of the As Capitol Hills only independent community pharmacy, accepting all major prescription plans including ADAP, we invite you to use our full range of pharmacy services Recipient of the CHAMPS Business Award Citation Medical Equipment & Convalescent Aids: Sale, Rental, Repair Metro Area Delivery Medicare-Medicaid Billing Individualized Counseling Available Vitamins, Nutritionals & Herbal Supplements Managed Care Doesnt Mean You Cant Have First-Class Prescription Service 326 East Capitol Street, SE at 4th (202) 543-4400 Fax (202) 543-6276 Email grubbs@erols.com harder core films. Its what you see today on television. And we got busted. They said, You can show documentaries, but you cant show that. The funny thing isWarner Brothers came to us with a picture they couldnt sell, Bonnie and Clyde. And I looked at it and I said This is the bloodiest thing I have ever seen on the screen. I wouldnt take it. They couldnt get this thing shown anywhere. And now its a big cult film. They came to us and wanted to play it in the Penn Theater, and I said No way. Its too bloody. Sex is one thing, blood is another. Voice: So why did these theaters all close? People didnt want to come out at night here. And they didnt want to come down 8th street. We just couldnt get people to come out to the pictures. I dont know where they were going, but they werent coming here. Thats why we got into adult films. This was especially true after the riots. After 1968, people didnt want to come down here. In the late-1960s we closed the Capitol Hill and restored it. It was a beautiful theater. We reopened it with The King of Hearts. Nobody came. Critics didnt like it. And you know what happened after that a year later it was playing over and over again at the art houses. But we couldnt get anybody in. At the same time we turned the Penn into an art theater. We had a Canadian anti-war film, we had Andy Warhol pictures which had a lot of nudity in them. He had one called . . . I dont remember what it was called. But it had two 16mm films running simultaneously on the screen. You had two pictures. I called him up one time because the film came in with no leaders saying what reel went where and what order theyre in. And Warhol says, Doesnt make any difference. So youd walk in and theres these two pictures going side by side, not related, nothing to do with each other, and people would come in and say, Oh, isnt this wonderful, and Im thinking, What the hell are they saying? Voice: Could you fill the house with pictures like that? Oh Yeah! Youd be surprised at the audience. Even for the sex films. And these are not the overcoat crowd. Half the Senate, half the Congress, we had regulars. Youd be surprised. But only because it was a nice theater. They wouldnt be embarrassed to be seen going in. Voice: But you were out of the theaters by 1980 or so. That was it for you? No more movie business? No. It changed. The multiscreen theaters were running some first runs in like six theaters around the city, but it didnt sink in that this was the way it was going to go for first run movies. But we kept protecting our territory. The Penn at this point had only half a theater left, but we wanted to keep it running. We kept it running long after it should have been running, long after it had stopped being a profitable business. Voice: And you never had any inclination to get into the multi-screen theaters? No, in those days there were a few of them, like the Janus, that were multi-screen, but they were tiny screens. I always thought you had to have a big screen, or whats the point. People wouldnt want to see these little pictures. And nowadays theyre making the screens bigger, but some of them, theyd fit in your living room. I didnt see the point in it. Theyre nice theaters. Even Union Station, its nicely done. But to me it doesnt have the same feel. But now thats all thats left. And its sad. People born in this generation dont know anything else. They dont know about the old theaters. Theyve lost the experience of seeing the pictures on the big screens. They go into the Warner Theater, and they say Wow, what a nice theater. and it is a nice theater. But the Pennthat was really something. People born in this generation dont know anything elseabout the old theaters. Theyve lost the experience of seeing the pictures on the big screens. They go into the Warner theater, and they say Wow, what a nice theater. and it is a nice theater. But the Penn that was really something. VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 www.voiceofthehill.com 9 The lights dim. You settle back and the voice of Doris Day booms out across the theater, singing There must be a boy somewhere for me as the credits of Pillow Talk roll across the screen. It could be Capitol Hill, circa 1959, when you liked Ike and you thought you might stop by the counter at Woolworths at the corner of 7th and Pennsylvania for a root beer float after Rock Hudson has swept Doris off her feet. Except, of course, its actually the summer of 99 and youll probably indulge in a couple of scoops of Chunky Monkey at Ben and Jerrys before calling it a day. While the grand old theaters of Capitol Hill may have come and gone, there is still a thriving even growing movie scene on the Hill which offers a wide variety of classic, and sometimes unusual, films in alternative spaces. Capitol Classic Cin is the group that recently ran Pillow Talk to an enthusiastic crowd of 45 at Eastern Markets Market 5 Gallery, where theyve been showing about 8 films a year for the past three years, complete with popcorn, soda, beer and wine. Maggie Hall, a founding member of Capitol Classic Cin, says that for years she patronized the old movie theater on 8th Street because you thought you were doing your bit to keep cinema going on Capitol Hill, even if the movies were sometimes awful. It was Halls buddies at Tunnicliffs who finally told her to put up or shut up as she grumbled about the lack of classic movie venues in the areathe rest is history. Now Hall fantasizes about film festivals and even marching into the bank for a loan to open up a real movie theater, although she loves the casual atmosphere of showing films at Market 5. Dogs and babies are welcome and you can simply move your chair to another location if someones big hair is in the way. The thing that strikes me the most, says Hall, are the number of young people who come. Theyll say This is my favorite movie of all time and Ive always wanted to see it on a big screen. Capitol Classic Cins goal is to show crowd favorites Nothing foreign or arty, says Hall and each months feature is often chosen just a couple of weeks in advance, like the August 18th presentation of To Kill a Mockingbird. Expecting to swelter in the un-air conditioned gallery, Hall and cohorts Ken Jarboe, Dave Peterson and Kit Arrington figured it might be just as well to sweat it out with Gregory Peck during the courtroom scenes but at least patrons can beat the heat with a cold beer. The popularity of films on the Hill is growing daily. Witness Capitol Classic Cins successful fundraiser that will allow them to install a permanent screen at Market 5 Gallery, which, says Hall, can be used by other groups as well. Even local bar Politiki has been showing movies on their tv screens, as opposed to more traditional bar fare like sports. They recently featured three Stanley Kubrick films after the famed directors death. Excitement is reaching a near fever pitch among serious film buffs for the much-anticipated opening of the Capitol Hill Arts Workshops new series of Films on the Hill, which will feature classic silent films, talkies, cartoons, shorts, and something called puppetoons, according to program coordinator Marilyn Kaufman. The series will debut on September 10th with a screening of the 1927 silent classic Metropolis, which Kaufman calls The mother of all science fiction films, and will be preceded by a buffet and winetasting benefiting the Arts Workshops education program. Pianist Ray Brubacher, who is much sought-after in Washington film circles as a silent film accompanist, will perform the original musical score, adding some authenticity to the evening. Of course, as goes Capitol Hill, so goes the country. Interest in classic films has grown in communities across the nation, although enthusiasts are often confined to watching their favorites on the small screen, either on video or on such cable networks as American Movie Classics or Turner Classic Movies. The recent showing of classics like The Wizard of Oz and Citizen Kane on the big screen at the Screen on the Green series at the Washington Monument drew thousands of people of all ages and ethnicities. People are tired of just seeing special effects, says Marilyn Kaufman. No plot, no characters. Classic films give people what they want: Just the story, maam. The Films on the Hill series will show a 1920s-or 30s-era movie on the second Friday of each month, and will also include a special Halloween presentation of the first werewolf movie ever made, 1935s Werewolf of London on October 29th. Says Kaufman, On a Friday night, after a long week, come by the Workshop and for $5 you can watch a great old movie and then head up to 8th Street for a nice dinner afterwards. Those in the know on the Hill have been patronizing the Mary Pickford Theater at the Library of Congress for years, but a surprising The Stars Come Out on Capitol Hill: Alternative Movie Spaces for the Video-Weary BY KRISTEN HARTKE CAPITAL home title, inc. 703 D Street, SE Washington, DC 20003 Phone 202 544-4300 FAX (202) 544-7876 E-mail capitalhometitle@erols.com Other Settlement Locations Georgetown Chevy Chase Columbia, MD Camp Springs, MD Rockville, MD Annapolis, MD Bowie, MD Greenbelt, MD Crofton, MD Baltimore, MD Fairfax, VA Across from the Eastern Market Metro At Your Service Cleaning RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL 10% off first cleaning with this ad Free cleaning for 5 references Enjoy your summer... leave your cleaning to us. 202-483-8184 202-269-3653 VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 10 www.voiceofthehill.com number of people are not even aware of this little gem housed on the third floor of the Madison Building. The 64-seat theater draws its movies from the collection of nearly 700,000 films and television shows housed in its Motion Picture and Television Reading Room; films are absolutely free but reservations must be made in advance and it can get pretty competitive. This summers offerings have included a Bob Hope film retrospective, actor/director Spike Lees 1989 Do the Right Thing, the 1940 RKO classic Dance Girl Dance featuring Maureen OHara and a young Lucille Ball, and a series of 26 short films by noted furniture designers Charles and Ray Eames on subjects as varied as toy trains, jellyfish, and Jeffersonian democracy. Just steps off the Hill are a number of options for local film-goers at the museums on the Mall. The National Gallery of Art has a continuing series of independent films, major retrospectives, classic cinema and movie premieres in its 460-seat auditorium in the East Wing. While the National Gallery features many fascinating films documenting the work of artists on exhibit in the Gallery, their recent summer schedule included a series of new Canadian documentaries, the films of Francois Truffaut, and a presentation of Cecil B. DeMilles biblical epic The Ten Commandments, which was accompanied by a live orchestra. A childrens film program, featuring films and cartoons from around the world, is also offered on the first Saturday of each month beginning at 10:30 A.M., and all programs are completely free. The other art venue on the Mall, the Hirschhorn Museum, offers its own free series of independent films from countries like Croatia, Italy, and Poland, as well as exhibition- related films about artists and projected-video installations involving the artists themselves. With no reservations available, seating is competitive, and the line can form quite early for an 8 PM showing. Finally, both the National Museum of Natural History and the National Air and Space Museum offer excellent films on their really big IMAX screens. Shown throughout the day and sometimes into the early evening, these educational movies are beautifully filmed and can be a great way to perk up an otherwise boring afternoon with your kids or fill in the last hour or so before you meet up with your pals for an evening of bar-hopping. The new Johnson Theater at the National Museum of Natural History is currently showcasing Africas Elephant Kingdom, which is filled with majestic vistas and features the glorious voice of actor Avery Brooks as a 60-year-old elephant roaming the African landscape. The Air and Space Museums Langley Theater offers six different films from which to choose, including early evening features of Wildfire: Feel the Heat and the vertigo- inducing Everest. Of course, theres always Union Station for todays first-run movies, and thats fun, too. But people like Maggie Hall are loving the filmboom on the Hill, saying Its great the way that Capitol Hill is catering to film tastes, for both real film buffs and also those who just like the physical experience of going to the cinema. So, forget the microwave popcorn and settling for the only video that hasnt been rented on Friday night. Tonight theres no pause button, no bathroom breaks, no phone call from the Sierra Club. Its just you and a roomful of other movie goers hanging on Rock Hudsons lips with a box of Milk Duds melting in your lap. And after that its just a short stroll home, with stars in your eyes. Where to go: Capitol Classic Cin Market 5 Gallery, 7th St. and North Carolina Ave., S.E. Every 3rd Wednesday of the month, March - October 8 PM; $5 donation popcorn, beer, wine, soda available for small donation For more information or to volunteer, call Maggie Hall, 546-7231 Films on the Hill Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, 545 Seventh St., SE Every 2nd Friday of the month, and also October 29th 7:30 PM; $5 donation light refreshments available for small donation Jackie Jackie von Schlegel, CBR, GRI Capitol Hill is our neighborhood, we hope youll make it yours. Licensed in DC, MD and VA 202-547-5600 (W) 202-543-4296 (H) email: jackiev@realtor.com REMAX Capital Properties VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 www.voiceofthehill.com 11 For more information, call 547- 6839; on the web at www.chaw.org Mary Pickford Theater Library of Congress, Madison Bldg., 101 Independence Ave., SE Full schedule throughout the year; free, but advance reservations necessary. For information and reservations, call 707-5677; on the web at www.loc.gov National Gallery of Art East Building, 4th and Constitution Ave., NW Full schedule throughout the year; free. For information, call 842-6799; on the web at www.nga.gov Hirschhorn Museum 7th and Independence Ave., SW Changing schedule; free, with seats available on a first-come, firstserved basis. For information, call 357-2700; on the web at www.si.edu The National Museum of Natural History Samuel C. Johnson Theater 10th and Constitution Ave., NW Showtimes throughout the day until 5 PM; $5.50 Adults, $4.50 Youth/Seniors. For information, call 633-9045; on the web at www.nmnh.si.edu The National Air and Space Museum Samuel P. Langley Theater 6th and Independence Ave., SW Showtimes throughout the day until 6:45 PM; ticket prices vary and may be purchased up to 2 weeks in advance. For more information, call 357-1686 or 357-2700; on the web at www.nasm.edu Kristen Hartke is a Capitol Hill-based freelance writer. WASHINGTON, DCThe housing market continues to sizzle here and more as more people are qualifying to purchase a new home thanks to the hard work of Craig Strent, Vice-President of Apex Home Loans, Inc. Known for his professionalism and personal service to clients, Craigs innovative approach to helping home buyers and Real Estate Agents along with his extensive knowledge of mortgage products and market trends, allow him to offer custom mortgage solutions at competitive rates. Craigs arsenal of No Income Documentation Products has earned him the nickname The Dr. Of No Doc, from industry colleagues. He helps selfemployed, recently divorced, and other individuals who typically can not document their income qualify for mortgage loans. In fact, numerous real estate agents have often taken advantage of these products to forego the hassles normally associated with conventional financing. More people qualify to purchase new homes as a result of No Doc loans, said Rob Bergman, a top agent at Prudential Carruthers. Thats right, sales are completed quicker and with fewer problems as a result of No Doc loans, said Amy Ferrino of Pardoe Era. Another area of expertise for Craig is the zero down payment market. Largely ignored by banks and under served by big lenders, individuals with no down payments have historically had trouble qualifying to purchase a home. Thanks to new legislation, which mandates that lenders make a certain amount of money available to lower and middle income borrowers in areas where they operate, numerous programs are now available for individuals with no down payment funds. While these programs require full documentation of a home buyers income along with a good credit record, they have allowed thousands of people to attain the dream of home ownership for little more than their current monthly rent. With expert knowledge and experience working with these types of programs, Craig may be able to help you qualify for a new home with little or no money down. Homebuyers all over town are taking advantage of this product. Tom & Alice Faison, experienced agents with ReMax Capitol Properties, recently encountered a buyer who wanted to purchase a home with no money down. Knowing the buyer would not qualify for standard mortgage financing, Tom & Alice turned to Craig for a solution and their buyer was qualified the next day. He wouldnt have been able to buy that house without this great program, said Tom. I couldnt believe that I could do it with no money down, said the buyer, who is now a proud homeowner. If youre thinking about purchasing a new home, refinancing your existing one, or obtaining a home equity loan, theres only one place to call. Craig Strent and his staff at Apex Home Loans, Inc. will take you from application to closing in no time. Dont miss out on this great opportunity, take the next step and call today. To speak with Craig personally or to request your free copy of his Guide to Getting a Mortgage Loan, which includes a free mortgage calculator, call him today toll free at 877-416-2471. A D V E R T I S E M E N T Innovative Approach to Mortgages Helps More People Buy Homes VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 12 www.voiceofthehill.com Clothes Encounters ( o f a s e c o n d k i n d ) 202 Seventh Street, SE Washington DC 20003 Metro: Eastern market 202-546-4004 Las Placitas is now serving The Best frozen margaritas on the Hill at their new location Cancun Cantina Try It! and get 2 for 1 entres through Sept. 15 (up to $8.95. One coupon per table.Not valid on Fridays) for Salvadorian and Mexican for Spanish & Mexican LAS PLACITAS CANCUN CANTINA 518 8th St., SE 723 8th St., SE 543-3700 546-9340 1 coupon per table. Cancun Cantina only. Not valid Fridays or on Cinco de Mayo BY CELESTE MCCALL The year was 1942. World War II dominated the news as FDRmidway through his third termwas leading a nervous nation. The Washington Senators and the Redskins played at Griffith Stadium. And Fong and Yow Wu, brothers from Canton (now Guangzhou), China, unveiled the Sampan Cafe at 656 Pennsylvania Ave., SE. Since then, nearly a dozen presidents have come and gone. The Senators are history and our Redskins have been exiled to the suburbs. Griffith Stadium was torn down decades ago. But Sampan remained the same for almost six decades, until last month. On a broiling July day, when the mercury hit 103 F, the homey little Chinese restaurant closed its doors for the last time. There was no fanfare. Owners Brian and Kim Ng had sold the building, which had also housed Betterway Natural Foods, to Stanton Development Corporation. (Betterway has relocated to 705 8th Street., SE, Barracks Row). A Yes! natural foods store will replace Sampan, indicative, perhaps, of changing lifestyles and tastebuds. Sampan was not the senior restaurant on Capitol Hill; that distinction still belongs to Sherrills (233 Pennsylvania Ave., SE), which dates back to 1922. Second-oldest is The Tune Innnext doorwhich opened in 1933 at the end of Prohibition. But at 57, Sampan was the oldest Washington area Chinese restaurant remaining in the same family, said Brian Ng, grand-nephew of the founders (Hong Wu died in 1980, his brother a decade later). Before opening the Sampan, they operated the Lotus Club at 14th Street and New York Ave., NW. The nightclub enjoyed its heyday in the 1940s, attracting such luminaries as Johnny Mathis and Peggy Lee. It was great back then, recalls Ng, now 72. During World War II people spent money like water because they didnt know what was coming. The Lotus Club closed in 1960. Nephews Brian, Kim and Al Ng arrived from Canton in 1951. They worked for their uncles restaurant for years. In 1973, Brian left the Hill to open a second Sampan in Franconia, Va., leaving the management of the original to Kim and Al. I never returned to Washington, said Brian Ng, reached by phone in the Virginia Sampan, which is still going strong in the Franconia Shopping Center. Its a lot fancier than the homespun original, featuring cocktails and a more contemporary menu. In 1975, the family acquired a second spinoff in Hyattsville, which they sold 15 years later. Not surprisingly, Capitol Hills Sampan was patronized by senators, representatives and their staffers. Brian Ng reminisces about the old days: While her father was president, Tricia Nixon, flanked by Secret Servicemen, occasionally came in for carryout. Customers all recognized her, theyd call out, Tricia, Tricia. Other regulars included the infamous Sen. Joseph McCarthy (RWis.) and his wife, who lived nearby on Second Street, SE, and later Rev. Robert Drinan (D-Mass). Ng recalls that, back in the 1960s, an elderly gentleman came in for dinner one evening. Making conversation, Ng asked him if he was still working. Only later did he realize his distinguished customer was Sen. Theodore F. Green (D) of Rhode Island. He was so famous they named the Providence airport after him. It would be like asking Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC)whos almost 97if he was still working! In the early 1950s, a complete Chinese meal at Sampan cost 85 cents, adds Ng. Even on Sampans final day of business, a meal averaged around $6.50, as we were transported us back to 1955. Booths were day-glo orange, floors linoleum. Paper placemats were decorated with the Chinese zodiac. The Last Egg Roll Sampan Cafe Closes After 42 Years VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 www.voiceofthehill.com 13 Diners had to request chopsticks. Piped in music was vintage 1950s. You half-expected Rod Serling to do his famous voice-over for a Twilight Zone episode. Food was the comforting, bland fare of childhood: egg rolls, glutinous eggdrop and chicken noodle soups, chow mein, egg foo young, moo goo guy pan, even chop suey, a concoction reportedly invented not in China but in California by Cantonese immigrants. When did you last see chop suey on a menu? Sampan provided realnot contrived nostalgia. Customers took Sampans departure in stride; most were unaware of its impending demise. Jim Haile was finishing his General Tsos chicken. Although he recently moved from Capitol Hill to Southwest, he still found time to visit Sampan once a week. A former Congressional staffer, 47-year-old Haile now teaches seventh grade science at Ron Brown Middle School near Kenilworth Gardens. Changes at Sampan? None. Sampan is always dependably the same, he said. I think diners are lucky to find a restaurant with such a reputation that it doesnt have to change its decor continuously. Another Sampan regular was Francis Seidlinger. In spite of living in distant Fairfax Station, he managed a weekly Sampan lunch for the quarter century hes worked for the Library of Congress. With colleague William Palmer (who retired from the Library two years ago), Seidlinger usually ordered shrimp chow mein or eggs foo young. We would walk here from the old Library Annex at Second Street and Massachusetts Ave., NE (now the Heritage Foundation). That was in the late 1970s. Changes? Sampan is traditionally reliable for a good, satisfying meal, he said. A lot of things have changedthe Madison Building was a hole in the groundbut little has changed at Sampan. Oh yes, something has. When we used to order a platter, they would serve bread and dessertmaybe almond cookies, bread pudding or Jell-O. Now, all you get are fortune cookies. However, Sampan has maintained its low prices, and its well worth every penny! Opting for Sampans American fare (fried shrimp and a hamburger), attorney Glenda Wheeler and her aunt, Irma Booker, were seated near the door. I usually come here with my mother, said Wheeler, 32. But she had a doctors appointment and is filling a prescription next door (at ProCare, formerly Foers pharmacy). Eating in DC changes as you grow older, mused Wheeler, a fifth generation Washingtonian. Lots of Hill restaurants are new, but most have not been traditionally frequented by black people. Its not our tradition to eat out. We would eat out when shoppingat places like Hot Shoppes. Not McDonalds, that was a treat. I think the reason so many children today are overweight is that they DO eat at McDonalds. When I was growing up, your parents cooked. You had to be in at a certain time. The family ate dinner together. On Sundays, youd eat at home or go to a relatives. Saturdays were for picnics maybe at Fort Washington Park or the National Arboretum. For now though, the two women were enjoying their final Sampan repast. The Sampan building is empty now; a plain, hand-lettered sign reads simply: Closed, as of July 9, 1999. So, where will folks eat now? Many simply walk up the street to Sizzling Express, a spiffy chain eatery which opened last month at 600 Pennsylvania Ave., SE. There, patrons choose from an exotic buffet of Asian greens, hearts of palm, jicama, artichoke hearts, pork carnitas with tomatillo, chicken fajitas, calamari salad, fresh berries and mango. Yes, times are changing. Celeste McCall is a Capitol Hill based writer Where the Freshness Sizzles and the Service is Express! Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Gourmet Sandwiches Frozen Yogurt Gourmet Coffee and Pastries Full Bar Happy Hour 3-6 Fresh organic produce delivered daily All food prepared on premises daily Hundreds of food items to choose from 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE 202.548-0900 FAX: 202.544.9199 $1 OFF Dinner Entre (With this ad. Expires Sept. 15, 1999) Sizzling Express Specials! At the bar from 9pm- 11pm daily at the bar only Visit the buffet for all you can eat for the low price of $4.99! All draft beer, house wine and rail drinks are 2 for one! (Through Sept. 15) In the early 1950s, a complete Chinese meal at Sampan cost 85 cents Even on Sampans final day of business, a meal averaged around $6.50. VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 14 www.voiceofthehill.com To Find Your Voice GABRIELLE HILL Spiritual Coach 202/544-4386 Ask Judith The DancingHeart Center for Yoga & the Art of Living 221 Fifth St., NE Ongoing Classes. Beginners Welcome. Join Us Anytime! 202-544-0841 First Class FREE with this Ad (offer expires 8/21/99) . Kamakshi Hart, Director Dear Judith I have a nice glass door (photo attached) that is in good shape but Im worried about security and am thinking about getting a new solid door. What should I do? CINDA Dear Cinda: I made a call to our substation for information about break-ins. I also asked the nice policeman on the bicycle, who stopped by with a flyer outlining saftey tips, about the security of glass front doors. Both MPD sources agreed that glass doors arent a particular risk since most house break-ins occur from the back where a criminal is less likely to be seen. However, the bicycle guy did say that hes seen just about everything. If you would like to improve your front door security, there are three things you can do with little or no impact on how your house looks. First, make sure you have a good deadbolt lock on the door. It should be keyed on both sides: obviously, if you have glass in your door you dont want someone to break the glass and reach in and unlock your deadbolt from the thumb turn on the inside. Just as obviously, you dont want to leave your keys in the inside lock. Second, you can install decorative and appropriate security iron on the door to protect the glass (photo). But, security iron will not keep some Neanderthal from kicking in the door. To protect yourself from that possibility, or at least give the prospective felon a broken ankle, you want to strengthen the jamb or frame of the door so that the inside door-stop doesnt get kicked off. The hardened steel throw bolt of your new deadbolt may hold against the kick, but the force has to go somewhere and that somewhere, is the wood door stop and jamb, which shatter. You can strengthen these parts of your door-frame with steel plates in the frame and jamb. This is basically the weak part of a lot of peoples line of defense. They have mondo locks attached to wood doors and frames with a couple of 1/2 long wood screws...you get the picture. Dear Judith: This summer has pushed us over the edge: we decided to put central air conditioning in. But were wondering if we should put the outside part in the back yard or on the roof. -Shvitzy Dear Shvitzy: The outside part of the air conditioning system is called the condensing unit and consists of a compressor (which is why some people call it a compressor) and a fan and a coil. Its job is to convert the refrigerant that arrives at it from inside the house in gas form to a liquid. The change of state from gas to liquid dumps heat from inside to outside and then allows the liquid refrigerant to pick up more heat inside. The units are noisy, which might not be such a problem for you. If the weather is hot enough to be running your cooling youre unlikely to be outside in your yard. But your neighbors might be... They are also not designed for beauty. I like to put them on the roof, out of the way of limited outdoor living space. You pay some penalty in efficiency since your roof is just about the hottest place you could put the thing and it would rather have shade. And this usually requires steel beams spanning between your masonry party walls. Make sure you set it back far enough from the front so it cant be seen from the street. Bonus: its fun to watch the crane lift the condensing unit up there. Even though it is hot right now and you probably want cooling yesterday, may I suggest that toughing it out through the rest of the summer into cool weather is likely to get you better prices and attention from all the overworked HVAC contractors? VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 www.voiceofthehill.com 15 Dear Judith: A runaway car did a real job on a section of our hairpin fence. Can it be fixed? CRUMPLED ON KENTUCKY Dear Crumpled: Probably. We had a section of fence that looked like Hercules had lifted it in the middle. We had our ironworkers come out, they removed the section, took it to their shop and straightened it out. They had to weld in a little extra piece, but unless you were looking, youd never notice. The way our typical hairpin fences are made is that the verticals were set in blocks of granite with lead and diagonal braces. The verticals have threaded tops. The decorative finials screw on. The sections of fence have holes in the top piece that drops over the vertical and a little ear on the bottom horizontal that fits into the vertical. All modular and demountable. Dont let your ironworker weld any of these connections that come apart. If the damaged section cant be fixed, you can and should get new fence to match the undamaged part. As long as you have someone working on your fence, look at it carefully and see if there is other maintenance and repair work you should do. Then give it a good coat of paint. Judith Capen, AIA, practicing restoration architect is the author of many of the Capitol Hill Restoration Societys award-winning guidelines for work on Capitol Hill Homes. Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10-9 Friday, Saturday 10-6 Sunday 12-6 522 Eighth Street, SE 202.543.3030 Drymount & Lamination Conservation Framing Pre-framed gifts Commercial Discounts Calligraphy Major Credit Cards Accepted Buy 2, Get 1 Free! Bring in any three items for framing and the least expensive is FREE! OR take 20% off any 2 items OR 15% off 1 item. Frame of Mine offers custom framing but we specialize in do-it-yourself picture framing. We cut all the materials and work with you to put it all together. You leave with a picture thats ready to hang! LARRY C The Intelligent Choice for Your Real Estate Needs 202-547-3525, ext. 228 Over 10 years experience in Real Estate Licensed in DC, VA and MD Why settle for less when you can get the best. VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 16 www.voiceofthehill.com Spencers Can of Worms H Street, NE: The Corridor That CouldntUntil Now BY DUNCAN SPENCER Take any warm Friday at 5 PM and watch H Street hop. By that time the drunks are in a good mood, gathering near any one of half a dozen liquor stores and groceries. The few suburban commuters keep their windows buttoned up, eyes straight ahead. Locals drive, windows open, hands and arms jutting out. Recorded gospel music and Jeremiads pour from one storefront church. Street vendors hawk and holler. Stores on side streets push bargain goods in plastic baskets. Men, bystanders, watch the sidewalk and chat, sticking close, looking at the traffic, waving and shouting at friends. Women are shopping for memorable meals, the 32 hair and beauty salons that decorate the street are finding customers. In fact everyone on Friday Eighth Street is in a pretty good mood. Money has been made, the scent of fried fish wafts from a storefront, and the weekend is looming long and alive. From 3rd and the H Street overpass, to 17th where the big street dissolves and splits into Benning Road, Maryland Avenue and Bladensburg Road, the stretch is a neighborhood and a self contained drama. Once the main shopping artery for much of Northeasts neighborhoodsStanton Park, Trinidad, Ivy City, Brentwood Village, and even Lincoln Park, the corridor remains in limbo, cut off from downtown, far from any feel of prosperity or even safety. What is H Street? The northern boundary of Hill gentrification? The last biggest black shopping corridor west of the Anacostia? A street of nostalgia, romance and magnetism? A wreck that never recovered from the April 68 riot? A pit of unbridled crime and license? An urban miracle of renewal, just waiting to happen? Eighth Street is all of the above and moreit is a puzzle, a battleground, an experiment, a work in progress. And it is a portrait of Washington and of the Hill at the end of the 20th Century. The man at the center of the street is Bill Barrow of the Eighth Street Community Development Corporation (CDC). Hes its mayor, its strongman, its suit, its promoter, its redeveloper and, to some, a lodestone for criticism and blame. Barrows latest plunge into controversy came August 2 when he rushed demolition equipment to the corner of H and 8th NE to tear down a rare 1870s brick building and two nearby 1880s structures, just as preservationists led by Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (6A) Janet Schmidt and others sought a last minute reprieve from city authorities. But Barrow, demolition permit and a negative structural report from a paid consultant in hand, was busy faxing press releases as his demolition team smashed the Italianate structure into brickbats. Preservationists say he ran roughshod over architectural considerations and preservation rules for important 19th century buildings in his haste to demolish what he should, as an owner, have saved. This was demolition by neglect, says Hill preservationist Mary Farrell. The clash was typical of the chasm that divides the gentrified Hill from neighborhoods to the north and east. Preservation, many on the street say, is a white thing. Progress, to these same voices, means creating opportunities for black and white business, not restoring 19th century woodwork. To his enemies, the demolition was vintage Barrow. They paint him as an autocrat with scant regard for other sensibilities than his own progress and business mindset. For Barrow, the old German tavern built by the Beuchart family in 1875, once known as the Coco Club, once owned by former Washington Redskin Ozzie Cray, decorated with murals depicting great figures of African-American history by noted Washington artist Alex Mattison, was just a worn-out building too expensive and risky to restore. Barrow feels that his decision to demolish the building was sound. The structure was rotten, he says. When we touched the wall, the whole thing started to come down. He would much prefer to build anew rather than follow stringent and expensive procedures to restore the old building. He insists he will build now in tune with neighborhood architectural values. The CDC acts as an assembler of land, a guarantor of loans, a silent partner in negotiations with financiers, an organizer of information, and a relentless promoter. It makes moneysupposedly returned and reinvested in the communitywhen business deals succeed and rental income flows. Over his time as chairman, Barrow has developed over 330,000 square feet of offices, apartments, stores and homes valued at over 70 million, according to Washington Business Journal. The CDC, with some exceptions, owns 50 percent of most of the developments it has undertaken, receives city support and private funding from a CDC consortium of over $100,000 per year. Among the near H Street properties the CDC owns hunks of are the John A. Wilson Plaza, the Auto Zone a new building on the south side of H at 10th Street, the Greater Northeast Medical Center at 1647 Benning Rd. N.E., the Atlas Theatre at 13th Street, his own headquarters building at 611 H (much of which is leased to the city), and of course the H and 8th property demolished Aug 2. As a result, the CDC shares a healthy stream of income from the properties it owns, as well as increasing support from D.C., the Federal Government and private foundations. A typical recent boon is a $500,000 grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to create a year-long Business Improvement District which will add security. improve shop facades, clean up litter, create new signage, plant trees and offer $500 incentive grants to outstanding merchants. But meanwhile, down at street level, the drunks still guzzle and pee, the buildings totter, businesses fold, drugs are around the corner, and crime erupts with horrifying regularity. Barrows virtual ownership of the H Street CDC goes back 15 years, to when he was considered a do-gooder and fairly heroic for even undertaking Down she comesthe August 6 demo at 8th and H. VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 the job. Consider: The street had been bombed by the riots, neglected after them, then highway planners, anxious as always to speed commuters into their downtown buildings and back to their protected enclaves, decided to build the H Street Overpass a name which said it all and effectively cut H Street off from Washingtons East End and from Northwest D.C. The bridge, in spite of its sprightly artwork, also virtually doomed the first two blocks of H by creating a freeway zone where only the most determined driver would be inclined to stop on impulse. And the disorderly mix of run-down buildings, liquor stores, boarded up ghosts, and rusty security grills deters even the determined urban explorer. The western-most blocks fairly scream lets get out of here. Faced with this kind of stage, Barrow soldiered valiantly on. Fifteen years later, doubt remains without stability or safety. The doubt springs from that terrible day in 1968, when black rage at the death of Dr. Martin Luther King became personal here, and many businesses owned by whites and absentees (but also many black businesses) were put to the torch after they were looted by crowds of residents. As a reporter who was on H Street that day, it was my observation that police did little to prevent looting, and the fire department allowed buildings to burn, on orders from headquarters. In the aftermath there was no girding up of civic loins or concrete determination to put things back together. For months and then for years, buildings gaped, smoke blackened window frames, derelicts and drug users found easy access to temporary quarters, and owners, despairing of either profit or sale, simply abandoned their buildings, knowing that the city had a dismal record of collecting back taxes on property. Developers looked, sniffed, left. H Street became a backwater, feeding on old affection and dreams. It still is a backwater. Barrow admits he hasnt been able to change that. But development is coming, as much because of good economic times as from all the efforts made in the streets behalf over the years. Its ironic that the moving force behind this latest revival of hopes for the corridor is the fact that streets to the south have become hot real estate; young professionals are moving in, houses are renovating, and H Street is once again ...needed. Duncan Spencer is a freelance writer and regular columnist for The Hill. www.voiceofthehill.com 17 This just in: A consortium of four Washington area theater companies and the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, who have taken the name The Atlas Theatre Project, have a plan before the H Street CDC to restore the Atlas Theatre in the 1300 block of H Street, NE. At the their last meeting, the CDC board voted to move forward with landmarking the historic Art Deco facade and were optimistic about the concept of a performing arts center anchoring the far end of H Street. Councilmember Sharon Ambrose has lent her enthusiastic support to the fledgling plan. The CDC board meets again in the end of September at which time the consortium will present fleshed-out plan, complete with preliminary site designs and fund raising plans. The consortium is hopeful that the board will then give the green light so that fullscale planning and fundraising can commence. Below is a copy of the first mission paper submitted to the H Street CDC. If you are interested in getting involved, or showing your support for this project, please write to Adele Robey c/o Voice of the Hill, 120 11th Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003. Mission Statement The Atlas Theatre Project intends to renovate and operate the currently vacant Atlas Theatre and adjoining commercial spaces as an active theater and educational center for the performing arts at the east end of the H Street, NE, business corridor. The theater will house four existing professional and semi-professional theater companies from the Washington, D.C. area, who have joined together to ensure that the Atlas Theatre is a continuously thriving and vibrant institution. The Atlas Theatre will be an active, morning-to-night facility: During the day, it will be home to a school for the performing arts, including dance, theater, and music. Our primary focus will be students of all ages from the immediate community, with special programs targeted for youth at risk. Taking advantage of the 42,000 square feet on one level at the theater complex and our universal access design, we intend subsequently to expand our education program to serve students with disabilities, through ties with St. Coletta School, Gallaudet University and other institutions serving individuals with disabilities. The educational program will be administered by the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, which has 25 years of experience successfully administering arts education programs on Capitol Hill. A local advisory group is planned to help the Arts Workshop to design and operate the educational program so that the programs offered are in response to and address the needs of the community. At night, the Atlas Theater will offer a continuous series of performances which will range from dance to theatrical to musical, in four different spacesa 250-seat mainstage theater, a 125-seat proscenium stage theater, a 75-seat black box theater, and large dance studio. Performances will be sponsored by the four resident companies, and by other presenting arts organizations throughout the city. Students from the education center will have opportunities to participate in producing the performances through internships and work-study programs. Additional spaces in the complex will include classrooms, rehearsal rooms, and scene and costume shops as well as an atrium space to be used for performance intermissions and receptions. Many of the spaces will be available for rent to local presenting organizations who either have no space of their own or who need additional facilities on a short term basis. We are currently considering options for parking to ensure that the theater is easily accessible and can attract a broad audience. The four theater companies involved in the project share a unifying mission: to promote access to the arts for under-represented populations, including children, individuals with disabilities, the international community, the gay and lesbian community, and the African-American community. Our guiding motivation is to build a universal access community arts center that will attract a wide range of participants and audiences. All four companies bring extensive experience in building community-based arts programs. An ancillary and equally important objective of the Project is the preservation of the historic Atlas Theatre and its restoration as a performing arts facility. Built in 1938, it represents one of the finest art moderne street facades in Washington and the only asymmetrical art moderne theater faade in the city. The Atlas Theatre was built specifically as a movie theater for the African-American population in Washington. The Project* has applied for Historic Landmark Designation for the Atlas Theater. *It was subsequently decided that the application would be made by the H Street CDC. Beth OBrien VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 18 www.voiceofthehill.com Business Bits ANTIQUES BUY SELL TRADE 701 N. CAROLINA AVE, SE WASHINGTON, DC 202-543-1819 327 7th St., SE (202) 546-CAKE The Village Its worth staying home from the beach... THE ANNUAL SUMMER CLOTHING SALE Clare Southerlin and her husband Alan Braley, own The Village, the shop with a split personality around the corner from Eastern Market on North Carolina Avenue. The whimsical downstairs, filled with crafts from around the world, ethnic jewelry, and clothing that inspires the inner artist, is presided over by the ever-behatted Clare. Upstairs is Alans aerie, an art gallery that provides a showcase for his own color saturated watercolors, and also the site of frequent group shows of the work of Hill artists. Like Art & Soul, which we profiled last month, The Village is another winner of a shop that took off from its predecessorKaren Getmans Mission Tradersand has continued the success story. Two years ago, Clare was a part-time employee at Mission Traders. She was taking a breather after 25 years teaching primary grades at Ketchum Elementary, a DC Public School in Anacostia. When Getman decided to sell the business and move to Israel with her husband, Clare and Alan seized the opportunity. Both had long toyed with the notion of opening a storebut they never thought theyd do it on the Hill. Though theyd lived here over 25 years, the fantasy was of a shop in a quaint village on the Eastern Shore, or in Maine, where they retreat for the summer. But then Clare said wow, we could walk to work. We could bring the dog. Turns out they love it, and so it seems does their pooch, Winston, who can usually be found in such a state of utter relaxation that, Clare says, weve had kids come in and argue over whether hes dead or not. Or if hes real.... Picking up from where Karen Getman left off was a natural for Clare. Before she worked at the shop, she was one of the best dressed by Mission Traders. They loved to see me coming. I didnt fit into the DC Public School system, I was always...flaky. Its one of the things that drew me to the shop. But both members of the couple are fascinated by crafts, and particularly the imagination and creativity of third world artisans who create wonders with primitive tools and scarce supplies. In fact they still use many of Mission Traders sources, and the emphasis remains on crafts of developing nations. But Clare and Alan dont restrict their buying. In the mix now, for instance, is a collection of witty takes on grandfather clocks constructed of decoupaged boxes by an Alexandria, VA artist. Coming in for Fall is a line of Tencel clothinga blend of wood byproducts and cotton that is soft, drapy and resists w r i n k l i n g a collaborative effort between a group in Guatemala and another in Texas. They buy what they think people will be interested in, and in limited VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 www.voiceofthehill.com 19 LEAKBUSTERS, INC. Plumbing and Remodeling 202-544-5000 MD 19586 WSSC 70086 AA CO 101923 DC 949 ANNAP 723 Hot Water Heaters Boiler Installations Free Estimates Gas Co. Financing Back Flow Prevention and Certification Now Specializing in Lawn Sprinkler Systems on the Hill! BONDED INSURED Oil to Gas Conversions Drain Cleaning Repiping Installation Gas Logs Wall Street Cleaners Grand Opening 20% off all dry cleaning (minimum order $10) 99 for shirts (minimum order 3 pieces) Please come and visit us! 703 8th Street, SE (202) 544-6900 Wall Street Cleaners quantity. Just ones and twos, threes, says Clare. People come in and say, I was gonna buy that! They think we have a warehouse, but we put out what we have. While many that visit the Village roll with the odd mix of fine art and craft that are only connected by similar blasts of riotous color, others find it jarring. When asked whats upstairs some comment, oh just pictures. Others scoot quickly past the crafts at street level to the artwork upstairs. That second half of The Village is Alans gallery, a jewel box for the display of his dazzling watercolors, paintings that redefine the medium in both color and style. Alan says, I started out as an illustrator and designer, creating pictures that everybody could identify withmore traditional paintings. In the last few years, he has abandoned all the technique to concentrate on abstract shapes and color. His watercolors are so dense with color that they hardly resemble watercolors at all. A lot of people think watercolor is supposed to look a certain way, its supposed to have transparency, he says, indicating a traditional soft wash hanging on the wall. Thats fine if thats your intent, but my intent now is pure pigment. When someone says it doesnt look like a watercolor I take it as a complement. Nor does he paint from reality, creating instead from mental images, thoughts. When you look outside, nature is not very inspiring sometimes. Im finding that if you invent your own shapes and colors you have more fun. It may not look like...but it will FEEL like...what you saw. Abstract his paintings may be but theres an elusive reality that flickers through them, like childhood fantasies seen for a remembered instant in startling clarity. A joyous recollection that red waterfalls do tumble through the forests, followed by befuddlement as the adult works quickly to dispel the notion, dissolving the snippet of recognition in a purple mist, leaving the picture abstract once more. Its surprising to hear that some viewers find Alans work offensive. He says a lot of people just want to know where it is, what it is, and how much it is. They have to be able to recognize the scene. Then again, perhaps not so surprising, given our conservative city. But consider your closet. Male or female (including you conservatives), youve probably got a few bizarre sartorial turns tucked away; strange yearnings from your alter-persona, purchased on a whim, and for a pretty penny. Isnt it curious that when faced with art we agonize, unwilling to trust our instincts. We mutter, is this really good? Will it be a good investment? And, perhaps most importantly, does it go with the couch? People fret too much over the value of art as an investment, a concept that Alan finds crippling. Though he has displayed his work in plenty of shows, and won his share of awards, hes dismissive of the honors. Just buy art because you like it, not because this artist may be another van Gogh. Remember, van Gogh was laughed at most of his life. Theres this feeling of maybe a painting will be worth something ten years from now. Who knows? And, really, who cares. Going on now downstairs at The Village, the summer clothing sale, with mark-downs from 25 to 50%. Coming in September, in the upstairs gallery, a group show which will include works by Sara Schneidman (who also creates the charming cards stocked downstairs). The Village is at 705 North Carolina Ave., SE. 546-3040. THE ORIGINAL HEALTH, DIET AND FITNESS BOOT CAMP of Capitol Hill for Full and Small Figures Call G.I. Jane for a FREE workout! 202-547-7906 645 Pennsylvania Ave, SE Mon-Fri 6:30am-9:30pm Sat 9:30am-1pm Closed Sun. www.washington.digitalcity.com/bootcamp TRY BOOT CAMPS BASIC TRAINING 5 WEEK PROGRAM. with free weights and resistance equipment with trainers. 1/2 off 16 workouts with trainer. Expires Sept 30. With this ad. Not valid with any other offer. Alan Braleys color saturated watercolors in the upstairs gallery. A spectacular collection of clothes, jewelry and crafts from around the world at await you downstairs at The Village. VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 20 www.voiceofthehill.com Oggi on the Move Salon Seeking New Location The July print edition of the Voice mentioned that architect Amy Weinstein would most likely be designing the facade of the building next to the Bluestone Cafe on 7th Street, SEif and when Stanton Development Corporation closes on the siteand that the Oggi Salon would be closing. Rosina DiPilla, owner of Oggi, rightly chastised us for not noting that the salon will simply be moving. After 15 years on Capitol Hill, nine at this location and six on Massachusetts Avenue, DiPilla has no intention of saying ciao to her beloved customers. Though a new location has yet to be closed in on, DiPilla wanted everyone to know that she intends to keep her clippers right here on the Hill. Maximizing Your Tax Deductions FREE Course offered at Jackson Hewitt in September Oi, did you know that there have been over 800 recent changes in the tax code? With such sweeping changes, says Iris Burnell of Jackson Hewitt tax preparation center, it is critical to understand the fundamentals of tax preparation. Beginning this September, shell be offering a 12-week, tuition free, tax school. The course will cover such topics as earned income credit, child tax credits, interest and dividends, Hope and Lifetime credits, IRAs, and small business income. Youll not only learn how to prepare your own taxes, youll know enough to start helping others, says Iris, some successful graduates have gone on to join the Jackson Hewitt team and earn extra money during the tax season. Iris Burnell, Jackson Hewitt, 725 8th Street, SE, 547-6540. The Dr. of No Doc Civil war history buff, star of the amateur roller hockey field and occasional mortgage columnist for the Georgetown Crierhis second column on the importance of maintaining good credit comes out this monthCraig Strent, has earned quite the following from Hill realtors and home buyers. He says its because of the personal service he offers, catering even-handedly to the richest of the rich as well as the most penny-pinching intern. His bag of tricks contains everything from the conventional to no income documentation loans (which is why they do call him the Dr. of No Doc). Just the kind of guy you need to see to land the home (or condo) of your dreams, or that oh-so-tempting little rental property. Give him a call and hell send you a free mortgage calculator and guide to getting a loan, a nifty tome thatll help you calculate your payments. Craig Strent, Apex Home Loans, 301-474-7100 (www.apexhomeloans. com) Sizzling Special at Sizzling Express Cheer Up August-Left-in-Town Mope-Abouts Everyone is raving about our brand new Sizzling Express in the 600 block of Pennsylvania Ave., SEand this aint no advertorial hype folks. Weve overheard the chatter everywhere from street corners to tables at other restaurants. Another reason to go back, or try it if you havent, is their Happy Hour specialwhich gives new meaning to the phrase belly up to the bar. Every night, from 9 PM to 11 PM, youll not only get two for the price of one drinks, but for an additional $4.99 ALL YOU CAN EAT of the gazillian and one entrees and salads at the buffet. (Keep in mind please that the specials for bar customers only, and only for the buffet. The special runs to September 15.) Glitch Update: Last month we reported that Sizzling Express ran into a sudden glitch just as they were swinging wide the doors for their opening night party. Someoneand no one knows whoreported the restaurant to the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board, saying that the restaurant is within 300 feet of Hine Jr. High School and therefore was incorrectly placarded for their license. Official measurers from the ABC board took their rulers to the pavement the next day and declared the restaurant a good 30 feet beyond the 300. Unfortunately the officials had to talk to other officials who had to talk to various lawyers, all of which delayed the bar opening nearly a week. Editorial note: this is getting really silly folks. I See, a Future at Eastern Market Dont Know When, But Its Soon, Catch the Moon.... Julia, the psychic whos been holding court on the fringe of the Capitol Hill historic district for the last two years, is seeking an Eastern Market address so we can more easily check our auras when we pick up our arugala. San Diego born Julia recognized her gift when she was just seven-yearsold, and received seven years of training before she began practicing at the tender age of fourteen. What did she tell us? Um...suffice it to say she hit some curious buttons. Meanwhile the crystals dim on the date of her move, and the exact location so for now, oh seekers, youll have to visit her for palm and tarot readings, ESP and aura checks, and hand writing analysis in her cool little studio at 630 8th Street, NE. 543-5506. Blow, winds, crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow! The Shakespeare Theatre Blusters into Fall King Lear, the first production of the Shakespeare Theatres 1999-2000 season stars Helen Hayes Award winning actor Ted van Griethuysen in the title role. Jennifer Harmon and Tana Hicken, also a Helen Hayes Award winner, play Lears most savage and unnatural daughters. And making her Shakespeare Theatre debut as Cordelia is Monique Holt, who recently performed as Ivy in The Skin of Our Teeth at the New York Shakespeare Festival. Four-time Helen Hayes Award winners Floyd King and Edward Gero have also been cast. A certain sell-out, King Lear runs August 31 through October 24 at the Lansburgh Theatre, 450 7th St., NW. Tickets range from $14 to $58 with discounts available for groups, senior citizens, and students. Call the box office for reservations, 547-1122 (638-3863 TTY). Peche a la Hill Getting Juiced Over Peaches at La Brasserie Comedians Peter Cook and Dudley Moore once had a routine about a tony bistro nestled in the English countryside called the Frog and Peach that served but two dishes: Frog a la Peche and Peche a la Frog. Frog a la Peche, was a frog with a peach stuffed in its mouth, and Peche ala Frog was a peach half swarming with tadpoles. Peche a la Hill, or Peach Night (as La Brasserie would have it), promises to be frog free and a tad tastier. The three course dinner includes a salad of shrimp, honeydew & peach salsa, followed by maple leaf breast of duck aux peches de vigne with wild mushrooms, and peach melba for dessertall washed down with peach schnapps. Peach Night is Saturday, August 14. Dinner is $36 per person. Call 546-9154. Conly Robert PERSONAL COMPUTER FLUENCY Training and application support for MS Office Word Excel Access Outlook Powerpoint 623 North Carolina Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20003 Phone/Fax 202.546.8084 email rconly@bellatlantic.net VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 www.voiceofthehill.com 21 Camels are a great choice of cheap transportation on some parts of the planet, but around Washington, you need four tires, not four hoofs, to get around. Thats where National Capital Bank can help you. We have one of the lowest new car loan rates in town for any breed of car, truck, or sport-utility vehicle. So if youre on the prowl for a Mustang, Cougar, Ram, or even a Beetle, just stop by or call (202) 546-8000 to apply over the phone. Looking for cheap transportation? We recommend Option B. 316 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E. (202) 546-8000 5228 44th Street, N.W. (202) 966-2688 Rates subject to change without notice. Loans are subject to normal credit criteria. Member FDIC. Option B. 6.95% APR New Car Loans Up to 60 Months. 60 monthly payments of $19.78 per $1,000 borrowed. Option A. downLoad Picnic with the Mayor Scheduled for August 21! Foot Stomping Music, Free Grub, Prize Drawings....and Mayor Tony Williams The Mayors office is organizing a block party for Saturday, August 21 to celebrate the swiftly rejuvenating 8th Street commercial corridor. The event, which is being co-sponsored by the Barracks Row Business Alliance, 8th Streets Business Association, will feature free hot dogs and sodas, munchies donated by various restaurants along the row, prize drawings, music, entertainment and community booths. The party will go from 2 PM to 4 PM in the 500 block of 8th Street, SE (the block that begins with Banana Cafe and ends at the Marine Barracks). The Mayor has promised to hang with us through the afternoon, which means (for those of you with an agenda) that there will probably be plenty of rubbable elbows crowding the street all afternoon. Though this picnic is specifically designed to highlight the Barracks Row Main Street Project that has such great plans for transforming 8th Street (a project that Williams seems quite keen on), it is also one of a series of similar block parties that the mayor will be throwing in different areas around the city over the next few months. Says Kathleen Donner who is organizing the event for the Mayors office, the Mayor doesnt want to be isolated, he wants to talk to people. So come out and talk to him. Eastern Market Parking Task Force Completes Study Report to be Presented to Public September 14 Brian Furness, president of the Capitol Hill Restoration Society, gifted us with the following (moderately edited) overview of the Eastern Market parking study. The complete report is on line at www.voiceofthehill.com. The Task Force on Parking and Traffic at Eastern Market will present its recommendations for improving the safety of pedestrians and drivers, increasing parking opportunities and reducing traffic congestion in the Eastern Market area to the public at a meeting scheduled for Tuesday, September 14 at 6:30 PM at the Capitol Hill Natatorium on North Carolina Avenue, SE. The Task Force, co-sponsored by Councilmember Sharon Ambrose (Ward 6), the Capitol Hill Restoration Society, and Captain Alan J. Dreher, Commander of Police Substation 1D1, represented a community-city partnership. Community participation on the Task Force included residents and members of the public; Capitol Hill elected and civic organizations; the 7th St. business community; and representatives of Eastern Markets farmers, South Hall food merchants, the North Hall art gallery, artists and crafters and flea market vendors. City agencies lending indispensable technical and other support included the Department of Public Works Parking Administration and Bureau of Traffic Services, Office of Property Management (which manages Eastern Market under the legislation recently enacted into law), and the Department of Recreation and Parks, which manages the Natatorium adjacent to Eastern Market. At the July 20 meeting, the Task Force and city agreed that safety had to have first priority, and recommended particularly that the intersections at Independence and North Carolina Aves., SE 7th and North Carolina Ave., SE and 7th and C Streets, SE needed significant improvement, including new signals and clearly-demarcated pedestrian crossings. On parking, the Task Force concurred that customer parking should have priority, but recognized the need to accommodate parking requirements for South Hall merchants, farmers and non-food vendors. To make it easier for customers 22 www.voiceofthehill.com to find parking and to ease the impact on residents, the Task Force will encourage residents of the blocks surrounding the Market to circulate petitions asking that Residential Permit Parking be extended to Saturdays, The Task Force also recommended that the city extend parking meter restrictions to Saturdays, but exempt one truck for each farmer. The Office of Property Management and the merchants will work together on parking rules for the parking area/driveway on the west side of the Market. Three handicapped parking spaces will be created. The Task Force studied traffic circulation around the Market, including the possibility of making 7th Street one-way, but decided that any changes needed further study. In addition to the changes in signaling and crosswalks mentioned above, the DPW Bureau of Traffic Services will stripe the parking along the Farmers Line so that southbound traffic can pull in. Enforcement, agreed the Task Force, is key to improving traffic and parking around the Market. Both DPWs Parking Administration and 1D1s Commander Dreher pledged cooperation within the extent of their resources. Task Force members noted that increased enforcement, for instance, of the no-parking restrictions in the alley between 7th and 8th Streets, SE, was already having a positive effect. Even before the Task Forces report is presented, the city has taken action to implement many of the recommendations. A DPW/Community team surveyed the area. Faded and missing signs have been replaced, loading zones have been redefined, and parking restrictions around Hine Jr. High School have been changed to provide additional hours for parking. Wheel chair ramps were installed at the corner of 7th and C Streets, SE. The co-sponsors and the Task Force members alike lauded the Citys support and participation. The community has undertaken an important initiative that has produced real results. DPWs cooperation, and that of other city agencies, has been outstanding, noted Councilmember Ambrose. The DPW team, led by Parking Administrator Gwen Mitchell and Bureau of Traffic Services Chief Karen Benefield, has given us an example of how the city and the community can and should work together to solve problems, added Brian Furness, president of the Capitol Hill Restoration Society and Chair of the Task Force. City officials were equally pleased. The collaboration between the community and the city should serve as a model for such efforts, stated Parking Services Administrator Gwen Mitchell. She saluted the communitys participation, noting how important it was that ...city agencies, residents and economic stakeholders at the Eastern Market pulled together to benefit the Capitol Hill community and the city. After presentation of the report at the September 14 meeting, the Task Force will help residents of the affected blocks circulate petitions to extend Residential Permit Parking to Saturdays. DPWs Bureau of Traffic Services will complete work on a re-design of the intersection at 7th Street and North Carolina Ave., SE, and North Carolina Ave. at Independence Ave., SE with a view to installing new signaling, which would include pedestrian signals to improve safety. The Eastern Market merchants and vendors will work with OPM, and eventually the Market manager to be selected under the new legislation, to improve parking behind the Market and to identify offstreet parking for vendor and employee vehicles. Restaurants Slapping at Stings Hill Booze Wars Move to Another Front Over the past few weeks nearly a dozen Capitol Hill restaurants, including il Radicchio on Pennsylvania Avenue, Tunnicliffs Tavern on 7th St., SE, Las Placitas and Trattoria Alberto on 8th Street have been caught serving drinks to minors but at least theyre are in good company. Such downtown chic-spots as Sam & Harrys, Kinkeads, Red Sage and Mortons have also been hit. This is not just a matter of restaurants being fined; though they are and its a hefty one. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC) and the Metropolitan Police have been conducting actual raids, sending in as many as eight uniformed and plain clothes officers to hand-cuff and arrest waiters and owners. Nico Ladisa, owner of Trattoria Alberto on 8th Street, says that a well-dressed couple, both of whom looked well above drinking age, grabbed a table in the clubby upstairs bar area one night in late July. The restaurant was busy, and he took their drink orders and served them. The woman at the table then asked to use his phone, which he allowed. Almost immediately eight officers, four in uniform and four in plain clothes, barged into the restaurant, and put him under arrest. He was marched off in hand-cuffs, taken downtown, finger- printed and tossed into a cell with several other restaurateurs picked up for the same offense, and an odd assortment of shady looking characters in the clink for who knows what. It took three hours to be released. He faces criminal charges, and a $1500 fine, which he intends to fight. Across the street at Las Placitas a waiter was arrested that same evening, and in similar fash- VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 We have been located on Capitol Hill for more than 20 years serving the District of Columbia and Maryland Let us make your refinance, purchase or sale hassle free with no stress Call us 202-544-0800 650 Pennsylvania Ave., SE Suite 170 Washington, DC 20003 Federal City Iron, Ltd. All Ornamental Ironwork Expert Cast Iron Stair Repairs Window Bars & Security Gates Fencing & Tree Boxes Metal Repairs SPECIALIZING IN CAPITOL HILL STYLES 202-547-1945 Best Price Guaranteed! Free Estimates 321 (rear) K St., NE e-mail: steel1M@aol.com VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 www.voiceofthehill.com 23 Visit the NEW Arts Workshop booth every Saturday in August at Eastern Market Enter to win free stuff! See the Fall course catalogue and register now! Come to the Open House on August 28, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. www.chaw.org 545 7th Street, SE Washington, DC 20003 202-547-6839 capitol hill arts workshop BANDUCCIS Italian Cuisine & Catering RESTAURANT St. Peters Interparish School Education and Inspiration Since 1868 Pre-K through 8th Grades High Academic Rating Reading Resource Specialist Guidance Counselor French & Spanish Pentium Computer Lab Before & After Care Pamela Klobukowski, Principal have a difficult time with steps, as well as the staff. But the box was not exactly high on the priority list. The library lacks for scotch tape, paper and office supplies. And the roof leaks. That said, please use the drop-box ONLY outside of library hours and ONLY deposit books and magazines. CDs and Audiobooks are to be returned to the library desk. ion. Two well-dressed, seemingly of age women took a table, and ordered drinks from the waiter. Once they were served one of them asked to use the phone, and suddenly the place was swarming with cops. The waiter was led off in hand-cuffs and jailed. Isadoro Amaya, owner of Las Placitas, who was not at the restaurant that evening, says their fine is also $1500, a sum that can be paid in three handy installments. Curiously, both Nico and Isadoro knew about the sting operations that took place on Pennsylvania Avenue and 7th Street the previous week. They were aware that police and ABC Board officers were on a serious, and seriously disruptive, hunt for infractions. One would imagine that they would have exercised caution. And they did. Nico was so astonished that the patron that he served was underage that he demanded to see proofwhich was supplied. But even the proof still struck him as questionable, so convinced was he that the patron was of drinking age. Theres something bizarre, extreme and ugly about this series of incidents. Hauling employees and owners of respectable restaurants to jail in handcuffs? Come on. Lord knows what the diners in these restaurants made of the scene. Most of the local businesses involved are white-tableclothed places, the kind of restaurants that provide polite service, to a generally low-key, adult audience the type of places favored for business lunches and dinners, and by families. Not nightclubs or bars that employ bouncers, or stamp your hand after you provide proof of age. Not, in other words, hot spots preferred by carousing youngsters. No doubt the police and ABC Board argument will be that if they are going after violations they must do so in even handed fashion. Maybe these raids stem from similar operations involving mom-and-pop shops and liquor stores earlier this spring, raids that engendered cries of targeting by their proprietors. But this makes no sense. Here we have city officials boasting that the climate is improving for business in the District, and that vigorous efforts are being made to attract more and better business to town, while at the same time police officers are entrapping, embarrassing and jailing respectable restaurateurs. Paul Pascal, president and council of the DC Association of Alcoholic Beverage Wholesalers, says that part of the problem is that late last year Congress mandated the hiring of 12 new ABC Board investigatorshalf of them specifically charged with investigating sales of liquor to minors. In addition, federal funding has been provided to police for these stings. Unfortunately, says Pascal, ABC Board investigators have no police powers and need to call in local police. If the Board had such powers, they could issue a civil infraction instead of making arrests. Pascal feels the best protection for restaurants is education, his association offers several training courses for restaurant and bar owners and employees. But, he admits, even highly experienced business personnel have been caught up in this sting. Councilmember Harold Brazil is trying another tactic. He has just introduced a bill that would change the process, allowing police to issue a summons instead of making an arrest. At Last! A Book Return Box at the Southeast Branch Library! The Southeast Library now has a bright blue book return box located next to the handicapped access door on the 7th and D Street side of the building. No more trudging up 19 steps to return your books through the mail slot for you, and no more morning mountain climbing for the library staff. Librarian Sheila Power, who is pictured surveying a mountain of returned books after a recent holiday weekend, says shes very pleased about the $2000 box; it is a convenience for patrons who Monday-Thursday 11am-9pm Friday until 10pm Sundays 5-10pm 601 2nd Street, NE, at 2nd and F Streets 202-544-8995 Fax 202-544-8996 Fall 99 space available in select grades 422 Third Street, SE 202/544-1618 24 www.voiceofthehill.com Playground Squeeze at Peabody Parents Riled over Office Building Planned for South Side of Stanton Park A three story office building planned for the south side of Stanton Park adjacent to the Peabody School is running into some opposition from the PTA. Developer Drew Scallan, owns the commercially zoned property and has allowed the school to use the space as an auxiliary playground for the last 20 years. Now hed like to build on it, and hes raising some hackles. The area around Stanton Park has become a magnet for small officesand a sprinkling of retail, including the charming furniture and interior design shop, Row House Interiors. Scallans site is about the last buildable parcel available. His plans call for a three-story red brick Italianate/ Victorian style office building designed by Bernardo Rostad, a former associate of internationally acclaimed architect I.M. Pei. A plan, we understand, that has won the approval of the Stanton Park Neighborhood Association. Construction, however, would require a slight increase in density; an increase, says Scallan, to the exact density recommended in the citys Comprehensive Plan. Hill Based Gay & Lesbian Chorus to Sponsor International Conference Sweet Honey in the Rocks Bernice Johnson Reagon to Deliver Keynote Address Over 500 leaders and singers from the international association of lesbian and gay choral movement will gather at the 1999 Leadership Conference and Singers Weekend to be held at the Capitol Hilton the weekend of September 3-6. The conference, hosted by the Hill-based Lesbian and Gay Chorus of Washington DC, will feature workshops led by presenters from around the world, a silent auction to support the creation of new choral works, and a keynote address by Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, founder of Sweet Honey in the Rock. Singers Weekend, which is held in conjunction with the Leadership Conference, features hundreds of singers from around the world in a closing night conference at the historic Lincoln Theater on Sunday, September 5. There is also an opening night cabaret at the Capitol Hilton on September 3. Both concerts are at 8PM and are open to the public. For ticket and information, call 467-5830. Mickeys Patio 406 8th Street, SE 202 544-4842 VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 Think Twice TOM AND ALICE FAISON A couple of best sellers Twice the energy Twice the persepctive Twice the responsiveness Twice the knowledge Twice the satisfaction TOM & ALICE FAISON Realtors RE/MAX Capital Properties 202.547.5881 or 202.255.5554 FAISON@Realtor.com The Board of Zoning Appeals met on the increased density issue on Thursday, July 22. Peabody parents presented a petition bearing 70 signatures protesting the development. According to Scallon, the chief objection is safety. That increasing the density on the site will bring increased traffic and congestion to the area around the school. What protestors miss, says Scallan, is that a much smaller building, with a different use, could bring more traffic. A one story dry cleaner [for example] could have three times the traffic of an office building. Meanwhile, Peabody parents are lobbying the school board for another buildable site to offer Scallan in trade. Scallan says that if the site is right, he will consider a swap. For now hes attempting to work through the difficulties with ANC6A. Meet Toyla Taylor, Miss DC 1999, at Market Five Next Stop: Atlantic City Toyla Taylor, Miss District of Columbia 1999, will be at the Market Five Gallery at Eastern Market on Wednesday, August 25 from 7-9PMone of her last local stops before heading to Atlantic City for the Miss America Pageant. Toyla is a 1997 graduate of the University of Washington where she majored in Political VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 www.voiceofthehill.com 25 Banana Cafe & Piano Bar Serving the Best Cuban, Puerto Rican, & Mexican Food in the City! Open for lunch, dinner & Sunday Brunch No Cover! Piano Bar Upstairs Tues-Sat Performances by Deena Javor and Chuck Smith Happy Hour Tues-Fri 5-7:30 Upstairs only Drink Specials with Free Hors doeuvres 500 8th St, SE 1 block east of Blue/Orange Eastern Market Metro / 202-543-5906 Winstons 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 Service Waiting to Inhale Restoration Society Pokes at Police Enforcement of Tour Bus Idling Regs The Architect of the Capitols office continues to be bombarded with complaints about tour bus parking on the Hill. There are regulations about where buses are to wait for passengers, and rules about idling and double parking, but unfortunately theyre most often disregardedby both drivers and police. Until recently there has been no place for these tour buses to go once theyve off-loaded their passengers, which did make enforcement difficult. But now there is. The Architect has created two tour bus parking areas, one at Union Station and the other on South Capitol Street. Yet the problem remains. Brian Furness, president of the Capitol Hill Restoration Society, places much of the blame on enforcement by Metropolitan Police Officers who are not educating tour bus drivers about the options, and worse, are indifferent or unresponsive to neighbor complaints. Furness sent the following letter to Captain Alan Dreher, Commander of Substation 1D1, asking him to take action: At a recent meeting, the Architect of the Capitol distributed a slightly revised Tour Bus Guide for Capitol Hill brochure, which the Capitol Police are distributing to tour bus operators in the Capitol area and elsewhere as may be requested. I am attaching a substantial quantity that I hope your officers could use to help educate tour bus drivers on the options for parking the Science and American Ethnic Studies. She is currently employed as a family coordinator for the Districts Housing Authority. The evenings festivities include a drawing for VIP tickets to Miss DCs official send-off reception at the Embassy of Ecuador on August 26, entertainment by her court of honor, featuring 4th runner-up Ruperta Nelson who was recently cast in a touring company of the musical Showboat. Children will have a chance to have photos taken with Toyla, and former Miss DCs will be on hand to talk to potential future Miss DCs. Hors douvres and refreshments will be served. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youngsters under 17 and senior citizens. Proceeds from this fundraiser will benefit the scholarship fund of the Miss District of Columbia Scholarship Organization and its community outreach activities. There will also be information available at the event for young women who want to learn about educational scholarship assistance through the Miss American Program. For more info call 543- 1747 or e-mail dcscholar@aol.com Logan Elementary Taken Off the List of Surplus Schools Amy Mauro Provides Status Report Amy Mauro of Councilmember Sharon Ambroses office reports that Councilmember Ambrose met with Mr. Gerry Cooke, the new Director of the DC Public Schools real estate office on Tuesday July 20 and received a briefing on the status of a number of Ward 6 surplus school properties. Included on the list was the Logan School at 3rd and G Sts NE, a property that has aroused some community curiosity. Logan has been taken off the surplus schools list and, since July 1, the DC Public School system has been using half the building for administrative offices and the other half for teacher training initiatives. All parking for these uses will be accommodated in the existing parking lot. The Metropolitan Police Department is still using the trailers and some of the parking for its Special Operations Division, but continues to look for a better, more permanent space elsewhere in the city. Finally, some of the parking lot will be used to store other DC government vehicles. VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 buses in a way that breaks no laws and minimizes the impact of tour buses on the Capitol Hill neighborhood. As you know, the campaign to address tour bus abuses (illegal idling, illegal parkingincluding in residential and Metrobus zones and illegal operation on unauthorized streets) has three basic elements. This brochure is part of the educational element; that is, providing information to drivers to help them behave appropriately. The second element is the identification and improvement of facilities for tour bus operators, such as the changes made in the Union Station area and identification of Lot A on South Capitol Street. The third element is enforcement, which is necessary to ensure that drivers and companies behave consistently with the law, and to protect the neighborhood and its residents. I must indicate, Alan, that I and the community have been very disappointed in the support the Metropolitan Police Department has provided so far. The neighbors most affected, and most active, report failures to enforce the laws regarding idling, parking and driving on streets closed to such traffic. I get reports that MPD officers are indifferent or unresponsive, and unwilling to take vigorous action required to instill respect for the law and for the neighborhood... Drivers are, community activists note, becoming more abusive. Neighbors are being threatened and abused, so far only verbally. And the illegal activities of tour buses create dangerous conditions for both pedestrians and drivers; lessen the quality of the air we breathe, and provoke structural damage in residential properties from operation on streets not designed for heavy traffic. Illegal parking restricts the vision of pedestrians and drivers, increasing the risk of accident and injury, and inconveniences hundreds, especially those using Metro bus. This problem will only get worse when work begins on the Capitol Visitors Center, perhaps in the next year or two. We have to start now to ensure that drivers and companies will respect the law. I would appreciate your thoughts on how enforcement might be improved; as the Commander of Substation 1D1, we look to you to stimulate a more energetic response to this important issue. The Voice of the Hill Business & Services Directory is Now On Line! The Voice of the Hills new on-line directory is a quick and easy to use way to find businesses and services in the Capitol Hill community. The listings are comprehensive, and revised monthly, so the information is always up to date There are three ways to search: by business name, address or category. For example, enter the word hardware in the category block and listings for our closest hardware stores will appear. Please check it out and tell us how you like it. We want to make this the best possible directory and are absolutely open to your suggestions. 26 www.voiceofthehill.com Peek into the past and celebrate the future Join MAYOR ANTHONYWILLIAMS and friends for a Picnic on 8th Street, SE Saturday, August 21 2-4 PM food music prizes and history ad paid for by the Barracks Row Business Alliance and the Barracks Row Main Street Project Rediscover Barracks Row The Oldest Main Street in Washington's Federal City VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 www.voiceofthehill.com 27 1115 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE,Washington, DC Phone: 202-543-6157 Fax: 202-543-9048 www.voiceofthehill.com/fragers.htm Mon.-Fri. 7am-7pm, Sat. 7am-5:55pm, Sun. 8am-5pm VISA, M.C., AMEX & DISCOVER CHAMPS, Business Owners and DPW to Revisit Pennsylvania Avenue Parking For the past few years signs in the 200 block of Pennsylvania Avenue SE have been warning away early morning parkers. A $50 fine is the penalty for parking (never mind double parking) in the stretch between the hours of 7AM and 10AM and a police officer is pretty much permanently on duty during those hours, rewarding violators who run into Sherrills Bakery for a donut or Trovers for a paper with a pretty pink ticket. The parking restriction is also officially on the books for the 300 block of Pennsylvania, though signs were changed about eight months ago (mysteriously it seems) to permit parking beginning at 7:30AM. The Department of Public Works (DPW) created the extended loading zone in response to complaints from businesses that delivery trucks were being ticketed for double parking when it was impossible for them all to fit in existing loading zones. It was also in response to complaints that metered spaces along the Avenue were being monopolized by vehicles with handicapped plates (the handicapped can park at metered spaces anywhere in town, for as long as they please, at no charge), and street vendors who set up shop and then just feed the meter all day. The result was that precious few metered spaces were ever available to customers. By turning both blocks into loading zones until This August, the parking situation is going to be reviewed. Smith, who is still on the case, says that DPW has received a petition from area businesses and complaints from Councilmembers Ambrose and Brazil, asking that the restrictions be eliminated or changed. Al Shuman, one of the partners in the Trover Book Store, says that the policy has helped with the handicapped parking problem, but it has had a negative impact on his business, and the businesses of neighbors like Chesapeake Bagel Bakery and Sherrills. He feels that the problem of street vendors feeding meters all day would be eliminated if parking enforcement would just ticket the offenders (many merchants in the area have noticed that the meter people turn a blind eye to the infraction, and are particularly chummy with the vendors). As far as truck deliveries, Shuman thinks the existing loading zone is sufficient for their needs. The Download section of The Voice is just a taste of the news that has been posted to www.voiceofthehill. com over the last few weeks articles and news bites, gathered from weeks of web-writings, that we think are worth repeating in the paper. 10AM, DPW officials figured that businesses would have the space and time to take their deliveries. It would also eliminate the double, and sometimes triple, parking on the avenue while also forcing street vendors and cars with handicapped tags to seek other parking alternative opening up meter spaces for use by customers. Far from being a snap decision, the parking arrangement had been four years in the making and stemmed from a walk-through of the area by the Department of Public Works that was arranged by CHAMPS and attended by DPW head Norma Anders Mapp, DPW Parking Specialist Harold Smith, Rob Robinson of then Ward 6 Councilmember Harold Brazils office, and business owners. After the walk through, Harold Smith told us that each affected business was surveyed, and all but a few were in favor of trying the new arrangement. Foot traffic patterns were examined to make sure that the policy would not hurt stores that open early in the day ( DPW noted that most of the early morning shoppers were people who had arrived via Metro, or parked elsewhere, and were stopping on their way to work for a paper or a nosh). Most dramatically, tag numbers were collected and parking patterns were tracked and sure enough, said Smith the same vehicles were parked along the avenue day after day - as if those metered spaces were reserved for them. In fact the Department of Public Works found that on average, during the course of a day, only three parking spaces turned over in the entire strip. Log On! www.voiceofthehill.com Your online daily newspaper for Capitol hill Mums the Word 8'' mums 3/$9.99. Plant now for a healthy fall start Prices good August 14-September 13 VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 28 www.voiceofthehill.com BY GENE MILLER St. Monica was a devoutly Christian North African wife and mother of three. She remained faithful to her beliefs in spite of her husbands hostilityhe refused to permit her to have their children baptized and her childrens indifference. She prayed regularly for all of them. The eldest of her children showed great promise as a student, so off he went to school in the city, where he promptly fell in with a cult, took up with a loose woman and fathered an illegitimate child. When he returned home, St. Monica, praying all the while, threw him out of the house. She sought the advice of her bishop, who told her The child of these tears shall never die. The child of those tears was named Augustine. He later became the Bishop of Hippo, and it is through that most modern of ancient writings, his Confessions, that we learn how important his mothers steadfastness and perseverance were to him. The history of St. Monicas Episcopal Church is also a story of steadfastness and perseverance when faced with difficulties. This year marks the centennial celebration of the founding of the St. Monicas congregation. Genesis On December 31, 1899, the Right Reverend Henry Yates Satterlee, First Bishop of the Diocese of Washington, opened a new mission named St. Monicas in the heart of a poor, predominantly black neighborhood in Southwest Washington. The fledgling congregation met in a rented house at 601 Second Street, SW, which was also the home of the priest in charge, Rev. Christopher Mapp, M.D. By 1904, St. Monicas counted fiftytwo members. St. Monicas Episcopal Chapel continued to meet in that house until 1908, when a layman donated a lot on the corner of South Capitol and L Streets, SW. Contributions to the mission continued through 1909, and by 1910 the new brick church building (and school) were completed. The church was large enough to seat around 300 people, and St. Monicas core membership swelled to suit, pushing to 100 and then beyond. Angels in a Dumping Ground Southwest Washington had long been mixed racially and economically. The more western areas tended to be white middle-class residential, while the more eastern where St Monicas Chapel was locatedwere rough and tumble, poorer black neighborhoods. To the extent that Washington was industrialized, much of that industry was in Southwest, primarily because of access to both the Potomac River and the railroad lines. In June, 1922, Rev. George Fisher, who was then assigned to St. Monicas, made a prescient report to the Diocese. He noted that the church was surrounded by junk yards, the District of Columbia dog pound, the Standard Oil plant, and railroad coal dumps...The industrial life...almost surrounds the whole of the Chapel, and leaves no room for future residential growth, not only for lack of ground but of environment. In a sentence, the territory contingent to St. Monicas is fast becoming a dumping ground for everything offensive... St. Monicas reflected the economic and social conditions in which her members found themselves. In the first twenty-eight years of her existence, she had seven different priests in charge. Much of the turnover was due to the fact that St. Monicas mission status meant that she was not self-supporting and was thus heavily dependent on the good will and attentiveness of the Diocese. Resources were scarce, and budgets meager. There was no parsonage for the priest in charge. Rev. Fisher noted to the Diocese that he had been obliged to send his wife and child back to Delaware because of the lack of work and decent living quarters for the family in Southwest. His family was not the only family feeling the pinch. Among the needs Rev. Fisher wanted to fill in and around St. Monicas was a reading room and library, there being none for blacks. He wanted a youth program so that the young people of the area would have a wholesome way in which to pass their evenings, and also a day nursery for working mothers. Very little was forthcoming. We May Not Have Known it, But We Were Poor The difficulties for Southwest residents continued to grow during and after the war years. In 1942, a survey of Southwest by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board acknowledged what the residents had long known: structural economic and social conditions were shameful. The post-Civil War brick structures were sub-standard and the frame struc- Perseverance? Thats us.... Celebrating a Century at St. Monicas Church Churches St. Monicas as it appears today. VOICE of the Hill / August 13, 1999 www.voiceofthehill.com 29 tures were worse. Inside bathrooms, kitchen sinks, central heating, and electric lighting were rarities. In a word, Southwest was poor! says William Mac Campbell, a Southwest native and continuing St. Monicas member. We may not have known it, but we were poor. The notion that such living conditions obtained in the nations capital city was deemed by mainstream politicians to be a sorry situation indeed. As more and more attention came to be focused on the burgeoning urban renewal movement, Southwest was seen as a potential model labora