VOICE
Vol. 4 No. 10 January 2003
of
The
Hill
This Month
12 H Street : A
Neighborhood Story
16 Who’s Who at The Voice
23 A Year of News in
Review
26 Kicking the Winter
Blues
29 A New Year of Fitness
That Works
31 Tom Rall: Flea
Marketing Strategist
35 Façade Easement:
Everything You Need to
Know
37 Danny Cheung Takes a
Family View
38 He Writes the Songs
40 Doug Siglin: Cleaning
Up our Backyard
Departments
VoiceMail ...................................3
City Desk ...................................4
DownLoad..................................8
Business Bits...........................10
Ask Judith ................................42
Home Design ...........................46
Ask the Vet ..............................48
Health and Fitness ...................51
Barracks Row...........................52
KidSites...................................53
Kids’ Calendar .........................55
Capital Kids .............................56
Community Calendar ................57
Horoscope ...............................58
Classifieds...............................59
Business Servces ....................60
Grub Street ..............................62
Putting a face on
the past to help
plan the future.
Putting a face on
the past to help
plan the future.
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314-1/2 G Street, SE (Selling Agents) $329,000
1220 G Street, NE (Selling Agents) $219,000
601 Pennsylvania Ave, NW #211 (Selling Agents) $245,000
601 Pennsylvania Ave, NW #1012 (Selling Agents) $293,000
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ty taxes. This is not
true. Increased property values
are responsible for increased
property taxes. When a developer
renovates an abandoned building,
property values in the area tend to go
up. Sometimes dramatically. But development
is only a small portion of the
increasing property value. Real estate
agencies help drive higher property values.
Each time a homeowner improves
the exterior of his property, he is impacting
property values in the immediate
area. Why does ACORN ignore these
activity and only target property development?
Instead of attacking developers,
why doesn’t ACORN target legislators to
try and stabilize property taxes for long
time homeowners? Making property
developers your target is equivalent to
saying, “stop improving the neighborhood.”
3. ACORN specifically targeted
local developers on the Hill who have
purchased DC surplus schools and
are converting the schools into condominiums
and apartments. The rhetoric
directed against these developers
again focused on the profitably of such
business. It, however, failed to discuss
the fact that these developers are
investing millions of dollars in the area
to improve what were abandoned properties
that were eye-sores, generating no
tax revenue and often the scene of loitering
and crime. This investment provides
jobs for local businesses, generates
tax revenue and improves neighborhoods.
Several of the developers have
paid for upgrades and improvements to
public utilities in the area that benefit
entire blocks, not just their
property. Why was this not discussed by
your representative at the meeting?
4. The flyer sent to residents
advertising the meeting contained
blatant errors regarding local property
developers. For example, the Pierce
School Loft project will not be selling luxury
lofts for hundreds of thousands of
dollars. The owners will be renting loft
style apartments, while living in the
building themselves. At the meeting,
local residents heard horror stories
about increased property taxes and
increased rent that, in ACORN’s opinion
is the result of property development. I
am a resident in a neighborhood being
impacted by local
development, and I
applaud the efforts
of the developers
and the positive
impact I am seeing
in our area. I
don’t see anyone
in our neighborhood being pushed out of
his or her home. To assert that this is
happening without backing up the claim
was unconscionable. ACORN wants local
residents to believe that homeowners
are being pushed out, and that families
can’t buy homes in our area anymore!
The truth is there aren’t many vacant
homes in this area of Capitol Hill. The
big factor in high property values is supply
and demand. There are people who
are willing to pay to live here. If the
property values had been driven beyond
the reach of most people, houses wouldn’t
sell, and the price would come
down. It’s simple economics. Why wasn’t
this mentioned by ACORN?
5. Most disturbing of all was the
fact that ACORN is investing more
energy in forcing other businesses to
implement ACORN’s agenda, than
they are in actually implementing the
agenda themselves. The primary focus
of this meeting was to advise residents
that they could participate in local
“actions” against developers by showing
up at Hechinger Mall on November
21. These actions appear to involve
picketing of local properties—a tactic
that is only designed to tarnish reputations
and gain media attention. I am
going to recommend to several location
organizations that for each incident of
picketing by ACORN, the organizations
arrange for the ACORN offices to be
picketed. If ACORN wants to insure
there are adequate amounts of affordable
housing, they need to get out of the
propaganda business and into property
development. If they are convinced that
their way of doing business is better let
them invest their money into housing
projects. Lead by example, not by intimidation.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey P. Coulter
640 14th St. NE
Washington
VOICE of the Hill / January 2003
www.voiceofthehill.com 3
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The Aim of ACORN
NOTE: The following letter was sent to
The Voice of the Hill for publication.
ACORN
739 8th Street SE
Washington, DC 20003
To Whom It May Concern:
I attended the November 12th meeting
on Capitol Hill. First, let me say that I
think many of the goals of your organization
are very worthy. Working to ensure
that there is affordable housing, working
toward the stabilization of property taxes
and helping homeowners repair their
homes are excellent pursuits.
However, the meeting content and
delivery really disturbed me. While
ACORN works to protect potential homeowners
from predatory lending based
on, and I quote from your website,
“aggressive sales tactics, taking advantage
of borrowers’ lack of understanding
of extremely complicated transactions,
and outright deception,” your speaker
displayed no shame in using the same
techniques to stir the emotions of the
attendees.
The tone of the meeting was set early
and carried throughout that property
developers working in and around
Capitol Hill are greedy, unconcerned
business people who care little for the
community and reap much gain with little
or no return. That combined with the
constant message of helpless individuals
being “pushed out of their homes”
was a perfect example of aggressive
sales techniques combined with misinformation,
deception and taking advantage
of the attendees’ lack of understanding.
Some key points that your organization
failed to mention during the presentation:
1. It is ACORN’s opinion that property
developers have a moral obligation
to “give back” to the community.
Furthermore, it seems to be your
opinion that the only acceptable terms
of this type of contribution are the terms
demanded by ACORN. Other charitable
donations, investments in community
organizations and community development
were not mentioned or have been
ignored. While it is certainly a wonderful
thing if property developers want to
invest back in the community, there is
no obligation do to so. They are here to
do business. Additionally, unless ACORN
intends to hold all business in the area
to the same standard, you are unfairly
imposing your beliefs on a segment of
the population, which seems unfair and
discriminatory.
2. The discussion of property taxes
was very one-sided. The attendees
were given the impression that developers
are responsible for increased proper-
VOICE of the Hill / January 2003
4 www.voiceofthehill.com
cityDesk
COVERING THE HILL’S POLITICAL SCENE AND MORE
ALL STORIES BY MARK SEGRAVES
ANC 6A December Meeting Called
Invalid by Outgoing Chairman
Development, Plans for 2003 Discussed
December 17—Advisory Neighborhood Commission
6A (ANC 6A) met last night for the final time
before the effects of re-districting and the
November election change the face of the ANC
come January 1. The ANC, which has been mired in
controversy over the years, went out in typical ANC
6A form—without a quorum of commissioners
being present and under the veil of what was most
likely an invalid meeting.
At the November meeting of the ANC, the first
meeting to have a quorum since last summer, several
commissioners attempted to remove
Commissioner Keith Jarrell as chair, but were
unsuccessful. They did, however, force Jarrell to
relinquish control of that meeting to Vice-Chair
Daniel Pernell. Subsequently, the original date of
the December meeting was canceled due to a snow
storm. Both Commissioners Jarrell and Pernell sent
out e-mails canceling that meeting, Pernell signing
his notice as “presiding Chairman.”
Jarrell objected to Pernell calling himself the presiding
chairman and sent out an e-mail insisting
that he stop doing so. Pernell then sent out an email
of his own, again referring to himself as “presiding
chair” and rescheduling the canceled meeting.
ANC law requires that several layers of notice
be given for a meeting to be valid; according to
Jarrell, the meeting held last night did not meet
those requirements.
“Daniel is an idiot,” Jarrell said in a phone interview
Dec. 16. “He had no authority to call the meeting,
and Corporation Council is prepared to invalidate
any votes taken at the meeting.”
Jarrell’s objection to the meeting was moot in the
end. Due to the lack of a quorum, no votes were
taken. Jarrell said that he decided not to re-schedule
the canceled meeting due to the holidays and a lack
of interest amongst the commissioners. Jarrell sent
out an e-mail to the commissioners asking if they
were interested in re-scheduling and received little
feedback.
Jarrell, who did not seek re-election in November,
has been appointed to sit on the Metropolitan
Police Department’s Citizens Advisory Council for
the First District.
200 K Street Development
The commissioners did hear one presentation at
the meeting. Residents who live near the 200 block
of K Street, NE, spoke in opposition of the request
by a developer for an extension to a planned unit
development (PUD) at that site. Ronald Cohen is
seeking his fourth extension to a PUD since 1995.
The residents object to the size of the proposed
project.
Cohen is proposing to build 140 units that will
cost an average of $450,000, according to the residents.
“It’s just too big,” said Mozella Johnson. “He
has no site control and has been a bad neighbor for
years.” The Board of Zoning Adjustment will hold a
hearing on the matter on February 13, 2003.
The New ANC 6A and 6C
The current ANC 6A will be split into ANC 6A and
ANC 6C in 2003. One small part of ANC 6A will
become part of Ward 7. Several of the ANC 6A
Commissioners-elect were on hand for last night’s
meeting, and, in fact, by the end of the meeting,
outnumbered the current commissioners in attendance.
Commissioners-elect Joe Fengler, Cody Rice,
Nick Alberti and Jessica Ward were all in attendance.
Fengler told the audience that ANC 6A will
hold its first meeting of the new year on January 2
at the Miner Elementary School, but that the commissioners
are proposing to change the regular
meeting date to the second Thursday of the month
beginning in February, so as not to conflict with the
Near Northeast Citizens meeting.
Several of the incoming commissioners have
been meeting informally, preparing for the next
year. Fengler had drafts of the proposed new bylaws
which will be voted on at the first meeting; the
commissioners will also vote for new officers at that
meeting. While no formal nominations have been
made for officers, sources say that Fengler will most
likely be elected to chair the new ANC 6A. Wanda
Harris has apparently expressed an interest in
becoming chair. Harris will be the only current
commissioner to return to the commission next
year. Harris did not attend last night’s meeting.
Two current ANC 6A commissioners will be serving
in the new ANC 6C next year. Commissioners
Pernell and Hall both won re-election. Hall said last
night that ANC 6C will meet on the first Thursday
of the month, but that the location of the meetings
will rotate. ANC 6C’s first meeting will be on
January 6 at 7 p.m. in Terrell Junior High School.
January 2 will be a busy day for the commissioners,
as they are to be sworn in at a public ceremony
at 2 p.m. that day.
Attendance
Commissioners in attendance were Daniel Pernell,
Rob Hall, and Veronica Raglin, all of whom won reelection.
Raglin will serve in Ward 7 next year (she
left the meeting five minutes after the meeting was
called to order). Commissioners Marvin Fields and
Ronald T.T. Nelson were also in attendance, neither
of whom sought re-election. Commissioner Lamar
McIntyre, who did not seek another term, was at
the meeting, but left prior to the meeting being
called to order. Commissioners not in attendance
were Ivette Basterechia, Joe Amons, Janet Quigley,
Keith Jarrell, Phillip Edwards, Gregory Ferrell, and
Wanda Harris. Only Harris ran for re-election.
ANC 6B Responds to Audit
Various Issues Highlight Last Meeting of the Year
December 11—Advisory Neighborhood
Commission 6B (ANC 6B) held its regular monthly
meeting last night, the final meeting of the year
and the last for the current ANC. The commissioners
voted to approve a response to the Office of the
D.C. Auditor (ODCA) report, which recommended
that $28,288.50 be withheld from future allotments.
The report cited a number of bookkeeping-related
errors, including making $39,134 in disbursements
prior to ANC approval, failure to approve
$8,047 in disbursements for staff salary, filing quarterly
reports late and failure to include the phrase
“DC Government” on the ANC checking account.
In its response to the ODCA, the ANC wrote that
there were “areas of misunderstanding and errors”
in the audit. The one glaring error is the failure to
approve the salary of the former executive director.
In fact, ANC 6B did approve that salary at the
October 2001 meeting, and that vote is reflected in
the minutes of that meeting.
The misunderstandings referred to in the letter
surround the requirement to add the DC
Government to the ANC checking account. The
ANC did add the phrase to the checks, but not to
the account itself, which is how the ODCA gains
access to the account. As for the late quarterly
reports, the letter cites mitigating circumstances
such as the turnover in staff (there have been three
executive directors in the past 18 months) and the
fact that ANC 6B does not meet in July and August.
The letter asks the ODCA to withdraw the recommendation
to withhold future allotments, saying
the recommendation is “unwarranted and punitive.”
Once the ODCA reviews the ANC’s response,
it will make a final report.
No Opposition to Liquor License Renewals
The ANC voted not to oppose the renewal of eight
liquor licenses on Capitol Hill. The Li’l Pub at 655
Pennsylvania Avenue, the Patio at 406 8th Street,
The Capitol Lounge at 229 Pennsylvania Avenue,
The Hawk and Dove at 329 Pennsylvania Avenue,
Phase I at 525 8th Street, Remington’s at 639
Pennsylvania Avenue, the Bachelor’s Mill at 1104
8th Street and Poltiki at 319 Pennsylvania Avenue
are all up for renewal. The ANC makes recommendations
to the Alcohol Beverage Control Board
(ABC) which has final authority on liquor licenses.
Under D.C. law, the ABC must give great weight to
the recommendations of the ANC.
Two applications for new liquor licenses were
voted on, as well. The commissioners voted to support
an application for a license for beer, wine and
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alcohol for La Plaza at 629 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The commissioners also voted to approve a change
to a voluntary agreement with N.Y. Pizza at 14th
and Pennsylvania Avenue. The ANC voted last
month to support N.Y. Pizza’s application for a CR
license, which allows for the sale of beer, wine and
alcohol, provided the establishment agrees to sell
only beer and wine. The new voluntary agreement
allows for the sale of alcohol, as well, provided that
no alcoholic beverages are sold without the sale of
food.
All applications and renewals go next to the ABC
for approval. Residents can comment before the
ABC at the public hearings, but must first qualify
for party status. Contact the ABC at 442-4418 for
more information.
ANC to Protest Nation
The ANC voted to protest the renewal of the liquor
license for Nation nightclub at 1015 Half Street, SE.
Outgoing ANC Chairman Kenan Jarboe and
Commissioner Bob Seigle, who chairs the ABC
committee for ANC 6B, implemented a strategy
that ensures that a protest will be in place for the
renewal of Nation’s liquor license.
Because of redistricting, Nation will be located in
the new ANC 6D as of January 2003, and because of
the timing of the renewal, a protest needed to be
filed prior to December 31, 2002. To ensure that
there was no issue of jurisdiction over the protest,
Jarboe and Seigle appeared before ANC 2D, which
will become ANC 6D in January, and asked them
vote to protest the license, which they did. Seigle,
who himself holds a liquor license, will be a commissioner
in ANC 6D next year, and Nation will be
in his district.
Seigle, who was more than an hour late for the
meeting, said that he has been the target of threats
since voicing his opposition to Nation. Seigle told
the commissioners that he was late because he had
been “held hostage” due to the fact his driveway
had been blocked. Seigle suspects that the blocking
of his driveway was done as method of intimidation.
He also said that he has been threatened with
physical harm by a supporter of the nightclub.
City Seeks to Activate Meters on Saturdays Around
Eastern Market
The Office of Property Management (OPM) and the
management company that oversees Eastern
Market, Eastern Market Ventures (EMV), are
requesting that the parking meters on 7th Street,
North Carolina Avenue and C Street surrounding
the Market be activated on Saturdays. The activation
of the meters is intended to free up parking for
customers. Currently the majority of the parking is
monopolized by vendors, some of whom have as
many as five vehicles parked at the market.
No vendors attended the meeting, but
Commissioner Mary Wright said that several of the
vendors had expressed to her that they would not
be in favor of such a change. “How will these vendors
re-stock their tables if they can’t park at the
market?” Wright asked. The Eastern Market
Community Advisory Committee (EMCAC) has
not yet weighed in on the matter, but according to
EMCAC Chair Ellen Opper-Weiner, the EMCAC
executive committee is in favor of the change.
The ANC voted to refer the matter to the transportation
committee and schedule it for a vote by
March 2003.
Hope IV Presentation
Representatives of the D.C. Housing Authority gave
a presentation on the planned unit development
(PUD) for the Arthur Capper-Carollsburg redevelopment.
The city received a Hope IV grant of $34
million to redevelop the public housing project
that sits between the freeway and M Street. More
than 700 families, including hundreds of senior citizens,
currently residing in the public housing units
will be relocated beginning next year as construction
begins.
These residents will not be guaranteed placement
in the new housing once it is complete. While the
current residents will get priority, they will need to
qualify on several criteria such as credit history and
criminal record checks. The exact criteria have not
been established yet, but the 1998 public housing
laws do not permit some ex-offenders to live in public
housing.
The plan calls for 707 public housing units, 50
Section 8 houses, 800 moderate and market rate
units for sale and rent, as well as 600,000 square feet
of office space, 20,000 square feet of retail, a community
center and a park.
The housing authority will return before the
ANC next year for support of its plan, at which time
public comment will be heard.
Outgoing Commissioners Bid Farewell, But Not
Goodbye
As is the tradition of ANC 6B, those commissioners
who will not be serving in the next year are given
the floor for parting comments. Commissioner Bob
Seigle, who was re-elected but due to re-districting
will serve in ANC 6D next year, told the commissioners
that he was “very sad to be leaving this wonderful
commission.” With tears in his eyes, Seigle
spoke of the friends he had made and the work he
had done. His voice began to quiver as spoke about
appearing before ANC 2D the previous night. “I felt
alone at the meeting,” Seigle said. “People accused
me of being a liar, and I was threatened.” Seigle
went on to call himself a “soldier” and told the
commissioners that he would continue the fight
against Nation.
Kenan Jarboe did not run for re-election. “As
_
MICHELE PIQUET, PH.D.
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST
Individual,
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psychotherapy
CAPITOL HILL 202-544-4480
VOICE of the Hill / January 2003
6 www.voiceofthehill.com
Hugh Kelly
A S S O C I AT E B RO K E R
Winner, ‘Platinum Award’ Every Year Since Inception in 1998
(Annual DC Home Sales in Excess of $10 Million)
202-588-2224
email hugh@hughkelly.com
GARY JANKOWSKI, Buyer Specialist, 202-439-6009
gary@hughkelly.com
Capitol Hill’s
Second Annual
‘LIGHT UP THE
NIGHT’
WINNERS!
155 E St., SE,
The Spencers
1st Prize, $2,000
515 8th St., NE,
Jeremy Skidmore/
Tim Carlin
2nd Prize, $1,000
1213 East Capitol St.,
Steven Cline
3rd Prize, $500
152 11th St., NE,
Kris Swanson
4th Prize, $500
Congratulations!
All of Hugh’s listings can be viewed at
www.hughkelly.com
usual, the Chair gets the last word,” Jarboe said.
“It’s been fun, burdensome, frustrating and rewarding.
I hope that I made a difference.” Jarboe
reminded the commissioners that there was still
much work to do, and that many important issues
awaited them next year. Jarboe will continue to be
active in the community, having been appointed to
the Community Development Corporation for the
Capper-Carollsburg development.
Other Business
The commissioners voted to support the request for
a zoning variance at 335 16th Street, SE. The homeowner
is building a rear addition and needs to
exceed to lot occupancy limit. The commissioners
voted to request “no tour bus idling” signs for various
locations yet to be determined and also to
request stop signs at 3rd and C Streets SE and at 10th
and C Streets, SE.
Halfway House Hearings
The Mayor’s Community Corrections Facility
Siting Advisory Commission, which has been
charged with making recommendations to the
Mayor and the Bureau of Prisons on the criteria
governing the siting of community correctional
facilities or halfway houses, is still accepting written
comments from the community. Those who
wish to submit comments are asked to contact Lisa
Feldman at 202-994-5245 or lfeldman@gwu.edu.
Of the 501 community-based residential facilities
in the District, 87 are located in Ward 6. Only Ward
4 has more with 120. Ward 2 has the third most
with 63, and Ward 3 has the fewest with 27.
The committee will submit its draft report to the
Mayor on February 3. A public hearing on the draft
report is scheduled for February 10.
Treasurer’s report
The ANC currently has $32,768.91 in its checking
account. The commissioners voted to approve the
payment of $831.22 for 2001 D.C. withholding
taxes. An additional $200 was approved for the
cleanup of the ANC office and to haul away
unwanted items.
Thank you,
Capitol Hill!
It’s Been a
Banner Year!
VOICE of the Hill / January 2003
www.voiceofthehill.com 7
Attendance
Commissioners in attendance were: Kenan Jarboe,
Will Hill, Julie Olson, Mary Wright, David Sheldon,
Bob Seigle, Michael Simpson, and Neil Glick, who
brought brownies for the commissioners. All except
Jarboe, who did not run, won re-election.
Commissioners not in attendance were: Kalimah
Abdul-Sabur, John Branscomb, Colleen Harris,
Charles White, and Kemi Muwwakkil. Abdul-Sabur
and White both lost in their bids for re-election.
Branscomb and Muwwakkil did not seek re-election.
Harris, who has not attended an ANC meeting
since 2001, was re-elected to ANC 6A.
ANC 6B will meet again on Tuesday, January 14,
at 7 p.m. in the Old Naval Hospital.
Woman Arrested in Attempted Murder
of DC Police Officer
Incident Remains Under Investigation
BY MARK SEGRAVES
December 17—An unidentified 19-year old woman
was arrested last Friday night (Dec. 13) for the
attempted murder of a First District police officer.
In what the police are calling an unprovoked incident,
the woman fired one shot at point blank
range at the officer’s head, causing his hat to blow
off and inflicting burn wounds to the officer’s face.
The officer then dropped to the ground and
returned fire without hitting the suspect. Officers
apprehended the suspect minutes later just a few
blocks away.
Officer Mark McConnell was patrolling the 400
block of 7th Street, SE, at about 9:30 p.m. when he
noticed a young woman acting strangely.
According to police, McConnell, who was in uniform,
asked the woman if she needed assistance.
She told the officer she was looking for the Metro.
McConnell gave her directions to the Eastern
Market Metro and asked her if she had the fare
needed for her trip.
The woman began to reach into her pockets,
searching for what the officer assumed was money
for the Metro. She then produced a 380 semi-automatic
handgun and placed it to the officer’s head
and pulled the trigger.
“Your natural reaction when someone puts
something in your face is to pull back,” said First
District Luitenant John Hedgcock. “Thank goodness
he did.”
According to Hedgecock, McConnell dropped to
the ground and began to roll. He drew his weapon
and fired two shots that missed the suspect.
McConnell then put out a distress call on his radio.
Officers apprehended the suspect a few blocks away
as she was attempting to reload her weapon. The
suspect offered minimum resistance and was taken
to D.C. General for observation before being taken
to a police holding facility, where she was charged
with assault with attempt to kill.
Hedgecock said it is not known what prompted
the woman to take such actions, but that a toxicology
test was taken to determine if she was under the
influence of any drugs or alcohol at the time of the
incident. Hedgecock said that the officer and the
suspect had no prior relationship. Police are continuing
to investigate the incident. McConnell is
on leave, which is department policy for officers
after being involved in a shooting.
City Should Forgive ANC 6A
Withholding Funds Only Punishes an Already Burdened Community
BY MARK SEGRAVES
The District of Columbia should forgive Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6A (ANC 6A) for
its budget problems and fully fund the ANC beginning next year. ANC 6A has been without
operating funds for almost a year and has not received any disbursements from the city in more
than two years. D.C. Auditor Deborah Nichols has stopped all disbursements and taken the
ANC’s checkbook, leaving the group without a penny.
The auditor’s actions were the result of an investigation which found that the ANC had improperly
disbursed more than $30,000 in city funds over several years. ANCs are funded by the city each year
based on the population of the ANC. The funds are used to make community grants, rent office and
meeting space, hire staff, and communicate with the community. ANC 6A was the largest ANC in the
city and received more than $25,000 a year in disbursements.
There is no doubt that ANC 6A mismanaged their funds. There is also the possibility that there was
fraudulent or even criminal intent on the part of some commissioners. That said, to further withhold
funds from the new ANC 6A would be punitive beyond reason. It would also be punishing the wrong
people. If the auditor or the Inspector General thinks criminal charges are warranted, they should go
after the individual commissioners who were responsible. But to further withhold funds only punishes
an already burdened community.
ANC 6A is not solely responsible for the fiscal predicament the commissioners find themselves in
today. It was no secret that the ANC had financial troubles. Councilmember David Catania, who has
oversight of the city’s ANCs, has known for years that ANC 6A was heading for disaster. Ward 6
Councilmember Sharon Ambrose also was fully aware of the problems in her Ward. Neither Catania
nor Ambrose ever made an attempt to fix the problem. Both chose to look the other way and hope the
problem would just go away.
Now, due to re-districting and the November election, that is exactly what has happened. The problem
has gone away—or at least gone away from ANC 6A. The new ANC 6A will be completely different
from the current one. Of the 14 commissioners who currently serve, only one will return as a commissioner
in ANC 6A. The others have either been voted out, chose not to seek re-election, or have been
re-districted to another ANC. The incoming commissioners-elect have already shown great promise,
with better attendance records at monthly meetings than their elected counterparts and a determination
to make a change.
Geographically, the ANC will be different next year, as well. ANC 6A will go from 14 single member
districts (SMD) to 10. Five of the SMDs will be re-districted into other ANCs—mostly in Ward 6, but
also in Ward 7. Those SMDs that are changing will not carry with them the fiscal burden of the current
ANC 6A. That means that three commissioners who were in office during the audit period and
responsible for the fiscal debacle will find themselves in new ANCs that are fully-funded.
Conversely, one SMD that is currently in ANC 6B will be in ANC 6A next year and will have to pay
the penalty for something it had absolutely nothing to do with. That means that 2,000 residents who
have enjoyed the fruits of a well-run ANC will now be left without city funding through no fault of
their own. And that’s just wrong.
The city is bending over backward to accommodate the new ANC 6C. The Office of Advisory
Neighborhood Commissions and the D.C. Auditor are working out the details to fund the new ANC
6C prior to the normal disbursement schedule so the ANC will hit the ground running. They are
doing this even though two of the incoming ANC 6C commissioners will be from ANC 6A—including
one of them who has been at the center of the fiscal controversy.
Councilmembers Ambrose and Catania should propose legislation that would forgive ANC 6A for
their audit and allow the new ANC 6A to begin with a clean slate so it is not burdened with the sins of
its predecessors. Anything less would be an undue hardship on a community that is working hard to
better itself with little help from the city. Residents of Ward 6 should call Ambrose and Catania and
demand they correct this problem.
Mark Segraves can be contacted at mark@voiceofthehill.com.
Opinion
VOICE of the Hill / January 2003
8 www.voiceofthehill.com
downLoad ITEMS OF INTEREST FROM THE VOICE WEBSITE FOR THE LAST MONTH
The following stories all appeared on the Voice’s website,
www.voiceofthehill.com, during the past month.
Log on daily for updates on local news, businesses, and
much more.
Hugh Kelly’s Light Up The Night
Contest Winners
155 E St., SE, The Spencers—1st Prize, $2,000
515 8th St., NE, Jeremy Skidmore/Tim Carlin—2nd
Prize, $1,000
1213 East Capitol St., Steven Cline—3rd Prize, $500
152 11th St., NE, Kris Swanson—4th Prize, $500
Capitol Hill Scouts Thankful For
Successful Winter Coat Drive
Capitol Hill Scouts has expressed its gratitude to
area residents who helped make the annual Troop
500 Winter Coat Drive a success again this year.
The Boy Scout troop collected coats on the
Saturday before Thanksgiving to benefit organizations
and people in the Capitol Hill community.
The Scouts volunteered their time at their usual
Eastern Market collection point on the corner of
7th Street and North Carolina Avenue, SE. During
the following week, they also volunteered their
service to sort and distribute the coats. This year,
the Scouts collected and distributed 160 coats,
which were gratefully received by Friendship House
and Sasha Bruce Youthwork just before
Thanksgiving.
The Troop 500 Winter Coat Drive is an annual
community service project of Capitol Hill Scouts.
The donations help provide warmth for less-fortunate
members of our community, from toddlers to
seniors.
Fate of the Old Naval Hospital Will Be
Topic of February Restoration Society
Meeting
Interested Groups Will Make Presentations
The fate of the Old Naval Hospital at 925
Pennsylvania Avenue SE will be the focus of the
February 12 membership meeting of the Capitol
Hill Restoration Society in the St. Peters Church
Hall (2nd and C Sts. SE), beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Presentations will be made by various groups
which have indicated an interest in occupying the
building. These include the Capitol Hill Arts
Workshop, The Naval Medical Museum, The Old
Naval Hospital Foundation, and St. Mary’s College.
The Old Naval Hospital was built in 1865 to serve
the Civil War forces on the Potomac. It was used as
a Naval hospital until 1911. It then became the
Temporary Home for Veterans of All Wars, a private
institution providing lodging for those pressing
pension claims in Washington. Owned by the
Federal government and leased to the District of
Columbia since 1966, this local and national landmark
is being demolished by neglect. In addition to
the main building, the complex includes landscaped
grounds, a detached carriage house that currently
houses a D.C. government-sponsored social
services facility, and an elaborate, monumental,
cast iron perimeter fence.
A volunteer, neighborhood group formed The
Friends of the Old Naval Hospital and have worked
to keep the grounds clean, paint the interior walls,
and press the City to conduct ongoing maintenance.
The group has also raised money to fund a
study by the Urban Land Institute which brought
together five local and nationally-recognized urban
development and historic reuse experts who spent
three days touring the site and surrounding community
and meeting with local stakeholders, political
leaders and interested citizens.
The ULI Panel focused on the market for reuse
and the process for redeveloping the property. The
panel made recommendations for developing an
RFP (Request for Proposal), and the City has indicated
it will be issuing an RFP for the building and
site in the near future.
CHAMPS Holiday Gathering, Silent
Auction Raises Over $11,000
From the CHAMPS Office
The CHAMPS (Capitol Hill Association of
Merchants and Professionals) office is pleased to
announce that its 2002 Winterlude Holiday
Gathering and Silent Auction, held Dec. 5 once
again at Antique and Contemporary Leasing, was a
successful event.
The many attendees, CHAMPS members and
guests, enjoyed good conversation and good cheer
and had the opportunity to ‘procure’ (via bidding)
lots of good gift items which were generously
donated by various CHAMPS businesses and members.
The auction raised over $11,000 for CHAMPS,
which assists the budget and various programs of
Capitol Hill’s business association.
The CHAMPS office is most grateful for all the
volunteers, gift donors, food and beverage sponsors,
attendees, and ‘high bidders’ who helped to
make the occasion so festive and successful.
The CHAMPS office can be reached at 202-547-
778).
Sheridan’s Rides Off Into the Sunset
December 14—It is with great regret that we report
the demise of one of 8th Street’s more popular
restaurants. Sheridan’s 1876 Steakhouse has entered
Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Sidewalks 101
District Department of Public Works Advises Us
How to Tackle Winter
District law requires property owners (home and
business owners) to clear snow and ice from sidewalks
abutting their property within the first eight
hours of daylight after snow, sleet or ice stop falling.
(DC Code, 2001 Ed, § 9-601.) If ice cannot be cleared
without damaging the sidewalk, then property
owners may spread abrasives to make the sidewalks
safe. (DC Code, 2001 Ed, § 9-604.)
Property owners must also clear snow from the
ADA-bicycle curb ramps. These are part of the sidewalk.
The District must publicize these legal requirements
vigorously in the media and inform the public
that they may be fined for failure to comply.
(Property owners should be informed that they are
“responsible for” clearing snow and ice from their
sidewalks. If they are unable or unwilling to clear
the sidewalks themselves, they should hire someone
else to do it for them.)
If property owners fail to comply, the District is
required to clear their sidewalks (DC Code, 2001
Ed., § 9-605) and sue the property owners for the
cost of clearing the snow or ice plus a $25 fine (DC
Code, 2001 Ed., § 9-606).
The National Park Service is responsible for clearing
sidewalks around federal buildings. Likewise,
the District is responsible for treating sidewalks and
steps around municipal property.
DC DMV Revises Hours at
Headquarters and Satellites
You Can Renew Your Registration or Driver’s
License Online
Citywide budget cuts have affected service hours at Leezee Porter and Phyllis Jane Young at the CHAMPS’
Winterlude fundraiser.
VOICE of the Hill / January 2003
www.voiceofthehill.com 9
Doolittle
Guest House
506 East Capitol Street
A spacious and
conveniently
located bed and
breakfast.
202 546-6622
www.doolittlehouse.com
the DC DMV. Beginning Monday, December 2, all
DMV service centers—with the exception of the
inspection station—are now operating five days per
week. The new DMV customer service center hours
and days of operation are as follows:
Brentwood—Monday – Friday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Georgetown—Monday – Friday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
301 C Street, NW - Tuesday – Saturday 8:15 a.m. -
4 p.m.
Penn Branch — Monday - Friday 8:15 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Inspection Station - Monday – Friday 6 a.m. - 6:00
p.m.; Saturday 7 a.m. - 3 p.m.
‘Livin’ Large’ Art Exhibition at The
Results Gallery
Local Artists’ Work Featured
The Results Gallery at Results the Gym Capitol Hill
presents Livin’ Large, an art exhibition on display
now through January 19.
On display are over 50 large bold paintings in oil
and acrylic by local artists Kevin Adams, Carl Amt,
Paula Amt, Patrick Campbell, Aster da Fonseca,
Susan Engle and Mariusz Nawratil. Many of the
paintings in the show were inspired by the artists’
reflections on their urban communities, such as
Paula Amt’s ‘Community Garden’ and Susan Engles
native Santiago, Chile or the landscapes inspired by
former Marine Combat Artist Kevin Adams. Each
work shows a love of life and nature and the manner
in which light influences our perception of the
color and shape of our surroundings. Joining the
Livin’ Large artists is Jane Hellewell, a Capitol Hill
artist, who is showing 30 of her playful miniature
works which are on display in the areas most frequented
by Results’ youngest members – the Child
Care Center.
Wings Opens Quest Season
Quest Productions, a division of Quest: arts for
everyone, returns to the stage after its highly successful
coordination of Gallaudet University’s Deaf
Way II International Arts Festival. Quest will mount
three productions in the upcoming season.
Wings, a new theatre piece celebrating the
human spirit, opened its season in at the H Street
Playhouse, located at 1365 H Street, NE, only a few
blocks from Gallaudet. Wings features a dynamic
young cast of deaf and hearing performers.
Directed by Tim McCarty, with choreography by
Quest Affiliate Artist, Fred Beam, and mime direction
by David Gaines, Wings employs a variety of
visual theatre elements to explore both the lighter
and darker aspects of the human experience.
Tickets are $10. For reservations, www.boxofficetickets.
com or 1-800-494-8497.
In March, Mike Lamitola, a Quest Affiliate Artist
and the Artistic Manager for the National Theatre
of the Deaf, will direct Willy Conley’s powerful play
The Water Falls. In May, Quest will remount its
highly successful production of White Frost Falls
featuring Quest Affiliates Shizumi Manale, Mark
Jaster, and Willy Conley.
Balance in the Neighborhood
North Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association
Celebrates
On Sunday, Dec. 15, the D.C. Arts Commission
unveiled a whimsical bronze sculpture, created by
celebrated local artist Marcia Billig, in a public ceremony
at the triangle park at 13th Street,
Constitution, and Tennessee Ave., NE—across from
Maury Elementary School. The sculpture is one of
the first art projects completed under the city’s new
Community Public Art Initiatives Program.
Marcia Billig’s dynamic cast bronze sculpture,
Balance, depicts a boy and a girl balancing with a cat
and a top hat. Ms. Billig describes the children as
ìsupporting and challenging each other,î a symbol
of the “communityís striving to grow and work
together.” The top hat is a “reminder of North
Lincoln Park’s namesake” and the cat “provides a
touch of humor which always helps in reaching a
goal.” The sculpture is 12 feet tall by 2 feet wide by
2 feet deep, with a polished granite base.
Installation of the artwork began in early
November. The first step was to excavate and pour
the foundation. After the concrete had cured for a
few weeks, a stone base was installed. The sculpture
was then secured on the base, and two plaques
installed alongside it. One plaque identifies the
artist and the artwork; the other gives†the artistís
statement about the symbolism in the artwork.
Kid Real, A Magazine For and By Kids
Created and Published by Hill Youth
This summer, over 60 children attended a full-time
Summer Enrichment Program at Tyler Elementary
School, conducted by KidSafe and the Capitol Hill
Group Ministry. As part of their activities, 4th, 5th
and 6th graders wrote, designed and published the
first edition of Kid Real, a magazine for and about
children and youth. KidSafe intends to continue
this project throughout the academic year at the
KidSafe Center at Tyler with two more editions
being published.
The KidSafe/CHGM Summer Enrichment
Program was funded by the Children & Youth
Investment Trust Corporation, the DC Housing
Authority, the South Washington/West of the River
Family Strengthening Collaborative and the
CHAMPS Community Foundation. Supplemental
funding for specific activities was provided by the
Freddie Mac Foundation for two family events and
Abe Pollin and the Capitol Area Food Bank for
meals for the children.
NOTE: The Voice plans to publish installments of this
magazine in upcoming publications.
Do you or your organization, community group or business,
have some late-breaking news you’d like the rest
of the Hill to read? Submit it via email to
editor@voiceofthehill.com or via fax at 202-547-
5133.
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For Art’s Sake Café
A new concept of family entertainment has popped
up on the Hill. For Art’s Sake Café, a “paint your
own pottery studio,” has just opened at 641
Pennsylvania Avenue, SE.
Patrons are invited to select a piece of pottery
(provided by the café) to customize with their own
touch. With over 200 pottery designs from which
to choose, and a plethora of tools for even the most
artistically challenged, there’s something for everyone’s
taste. Professional artists are available to help
at no additional charge. After the customer’s work
of art is finished, the staff at For Art’s Sake will glaze
and fire the piece in one of the kilns located on the
premises. The finished piece is ready for pick up in
only five to seven days. The best part is that all costs
(paint, glaze etc.) are included in the pottery prices.
Café owner, Paula Lancaster, is a 34-year old
Washington native, who graduated from St.
Cecilia’s Academy on Capitol Hill. She received her
associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in Studio Art
from the University of the District of Columbia.
After an extensive career in graphic design, Ms.
Lancaster decided to return to her roots in fine arts,
and she opened For Art’s Sake Café, one of the few
Capitol Hill businesses owned and operated by an
African American woman.
The café is a two level facility with the main studio
located on the first floor. A private party room
and pottery studio are on the second floor. The
party room seats 25 to 30 people and is available to
rent for social gatherings like birthday parties, baby
showers, church groups…you name it! Companies
are also encouraged to use the space for business
meetings, team-building workshops, or just some
stress-relieving fun. The pottery studio houses eight
potter’s wheels and tables for slab building and
sculpting.
In addition to offering classes and workshops for
adults and children, For Art’s Sake Café hosts community
events each week, which include promotional
discounts. Regular monthly events include:
Sundae Social: 2 to 4 p.m. on the first Sunday
Teen Nite: 6 to 9 p.m. on the first Friday
Mommy & Me: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the first and
third Wednesdays
Tea Party: 2 to 4 p.m. on the second Sunday
Senior’s Day: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the second
Thursday
Family Movie Night: 6 to 9 p.m. on the second
Friday
Kid’s Nite: 5 to 8 p.m. on the third Tuesday
For Art’s Sake Café is open every day, and adults
and children of all ages are invited to visit and show
off their creative abilities. For more information or
to schedule your own party or event, call Paula
Lancaster at (202) 544-8044.
Right Brain Cooperative
In August 2002, Alexandra Huttinger, Julia
Oldham, and Ben Thomassen (three Capitol Hill
Arts Workshop instructors) started a new program
called the Right Brain Cooperative (RBC). The idea
was to create a venue in which performing, visual
and literary artists could get together and bounce
ideas off one another, gain advice, and spend time
working in the studio—and that’s just what they
did.
The mission of the group is to “facilitate an
exchange of creative ideas, techniques and criticism
among individuals involved in all media. The
artistic mind, as an instrument of creation, requires
a constant source of input. By providing an environment
in which a creative community can grow
and persist, the group nurtures the artistic processes
of its talented members.” This is all accomplished
through a series of workshop-style meetings
culminating in a public exhibition.
Nearing the end of their second session, the
Right Brain Cooperative is gearing up for it’s second
show, with the theme Metamorphosis. Their work
will be on display on January 2, 2003 from 7 to 9
p.m. in the gallery at the Capitol Hill Arts
Workshop, 545 7th Street, SE.
In addition to the workshop sessions, the Right
Brain Cooperative also has a great website with a
wealth of information about the group, workshop
schedules, and an artists’ discussion group. Artists,
musicians, poets, thespians—everyone is encouraged
to learn more about the RBC and get involved.
Visit their website at www.chickinsandowichi.
com/rbc or email them at rightbraincooperative@
yahoo.com.
OTHER BUSINESS NEWS
Doolittle’s In the News
USA Today Article, Radio Feature Highlight Local
Business
USA Today recently featured Doolittle’s, DC’s premier
pet boutique, in its story, “Four-legged friends
dig holiday cheer,” noting that “Americans spend
$5 billion on holiday presents for pets, according to
the American Veterinary Medical Association.” The
article highlighted several hot holiday pet toys
available at Doolittle’s.
Robb Rexroth, Doolittle’s Assistant Manager,
reported that “Animal headgears, toys with replaceable
squeakers and Hanukkah toys have been the
biggest sellers at Doolittle’s....” The article also
included a link to Doolittle’s web site, www.doolittles.
com. The complete article may be viewed on
line at http://www.usatoday.com/life/2002-12-10-
holiday-pets_x.htm.
In addition to USA Today, Doolittle’s owner
Dennis Bourgault was interviewed by WTTR radio,
Westminster, Maryland. The segment of WTTR’s
“Pet Talk” aired on Saturday, December 21, and
included a discussion of some of the hot holiday
gifts for pets available at Doolittle’s, as well as some
of the other hard-to-find items available on
Doolittle’s website, ranging from distinctive leather
collars and leads, complete with Swarovski crystals,
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www.thevillageoncapitolhill.com 202 • 546 • 3040
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VOICE of the Hill / December 2002
www.voiceofthehill.com 11
Fulton
framing services
or the framing
and preservation of
fine art and documents
F
516 1/2 C Street, NE
on Stanton Park
202.544.8408
ffs@pobox.com
Hours: Monday and Tuesday, Noon–6 pm
Wednesday through Saturday, 10 am–6 pm
or by appointment
Tati Kaupp and Kitty Kaupp
Coldwell Banker-Pardoe 546-7000 x 257/247
kkaupp@coldwellmove.com
Residential and Commercial
Sales In Washington, D.C. and VA
Specializing in Capitol Hill
to pet urns and memorial markers.
Known as “The Voice Of Carroll County”, WTTR
is considered one of the most listened-to stations in
the country. WTTR has won dozens of regional and
national awards, including the prestigious Crystal
Award for outstanding community involvement,
and has been nominated for a Marconi Award
(radio’s version of the Oscar) three times, twice for
small market station of the year and once for Adult
Contemporary station of the year.
This Spring, look for Doolittle’s to be featured in
Delta Airline’s in-flight magazine, and p.s. (pleasure
scene) magazine. p.s. is a national quarterly lifestyle
magazine featuring the latest music, hottest styles,
coolest gear, travel destinations and other pleasurable
pursuits that interest its over 1.5 million readers.
The articles in both publications will highlight
Spring fashions for pets, including Wind & Rain
Gear, and doggie Trench Coats, available at
Doolittle’s.
Finally, custom dog collars by Hot Dogs All
Dressed, available at Doolittle’s, were recently
sported by Ozzy Osbourne’s dogs on MTV’s “The
Osbournes,” and may be seen in the upcoming
sequel “Legally Blonde II.” The collars are made of
purple leather with multi-color metal daisy ornaments,
range in price from $18 to $38, and are featured
at http://www.doolittles.com/design.htm.
Doolittle’s is located at 224 Seventh Street, SE. For
more information, interested persons may call 800-
354-8710, or 202-544-8710.
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The Survey Area.
The study area is particularly significant
in that it is part of the original
L’Enfant City, which was bounded
on the north by what is now Florida
Avenue, but was called by L’Enfant
“Boundary Street.” Much of the original
city has already been documented,
so the study of this section is
long overdue. The study area encompasses
numerous historic schools
and churches, thousands of 19th
and early 20th century houses, and
the Uline Arena, which once featured
professional sporting events,
dances, lectures by prominent
Americans such as Malcolm X, and
concerts, including the first Beatles
concert in the United States. It
includes the historic H Street commercial
corridor, which was the
shopping mecca for African-
Americans during the segregation
era–home to department stores, the
first Ourisman car dealership, sitdown
restaurants, movie theaters,
Introduction
In October 2001, the community
organization Near Northeast
Citizens Against Crime and Drugs
received a federal Historic
Preservation Fund grant for the
study of the Capitol Hill North/Near
Northeast neighborhood. Intended
to be the first phase of a multi-year
effort, that research focused on
developing a broad historical
overview of the neighborhood.
Research was conducted in archives
and libraries, buildings were
described and photographed, and a
narrative history of the neighborhood
was written. Personal reminiscences,
photographs, and other
memorabilia are being collected and
oral history interviews were and will
continue to be conducted with longtime
residents. Future phases will
include more in-depth research, as
well as documentation of the history
of individual buildings within the
survey area boundaries.
tance to the study include Robert
Headley, Ph.D., author of a book
about the history of Washingtonarea
movie theaters, Patricia McNeil,
a scholar of the city’s early history of
land ownership, and William
Wright, who is writing his dissertation
about Union Station.
Federal Documentation
Requirements. This work is being
funded in part to bring the city government
into compliance with the
provisions of the National Historic
Preservation Act and the National
Environmental Policy Act, which
call for the identification and protection
of historic resources in areas
affected by federal undertakings.
There are several federally-funded or
licensed projects that affect historic
resources in the study area, such as
the activities of the H Street
Community Development
Corporation, the construction of
new facilities for two federal agencies
—the Securities and Exchange
Commission and the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and
the construction of a WMATA subway
station on Florida Avenue.
The Study—What It Is And
How It’s Done.
Cultural resources surveys are community-
based efforts, in which a
group of volunteers and/or preservation
professionals work under the
direction of a trained historian to
research neighborhood history and
document individual historic
resources—buildings, sites, structures,
and objects–to build an understanding
and appreciation of the
community’s distinctive cultural,
architectural and social history. As
community understanding and
enthusiasm for neighborhood history
grows, so does community pride.
Benefits of this work are already
evident. The fact that cultural
resources survey work had already
been undertaken in the neighborhood
helped the H Street Merchants
and Professionals Association compete
successfully for one of the city’s
first five “Main Street” projects. DC
Main Streets is a new commercial
district revitalization program
grounded in historic preservation.
The historical documentation created
through the study process can
be used by residents to establish a
sound basis for planning and for the
protection of resources that define
the character of the neighborhood.
This is particularly important now,
because there are increasing development
pressures throughout our community,
especially in the area
around Union Station and along its
railyard up to Florida Avenue.
The documentation produced during
this phase, a written history; a
collection of historic and contemporary
views of the study area, oral hisand
a wide variety of other stores
and services.
An impressive group of scholars
and other researchers was assembled
for the project. They included:
Nancy Schwartz, M.A.,
Architectural Historian and Principal
Investigator. Ms. Schwartz served for
many years as the Senior
Architectural Historian for the
Historic American Buildings Survey
(HABS) of the National Park Service.
Since leaving HABS, she has worked
as an independent contractor on
many survey and documentation
projects, including the “Eastern
Market Historic Structure Report”
and the “Thematic Study of Black
Architects, Builders, and Developers
in Washington, D.C.” Ms. Schwartz
co-authored What Style is It?, considered
to be the definitive work on
architectural style in the United
States. She provided research guidance
to the study team and is the
author of the study report.
Donna Hanousek, M.A. Senior
Researcher. Ms. Hanousek is preservation
planner. She organized and
edited the proceedings of the first
city-wide Preservation Planning
Conference, held in 2000, and was
Senior Researcher on the Barracks
Row Cultural Resource Survey. As
Grants Administrator for the DC
Preservation League, she provides
oversight of cultural resource survey
efforts throughout the city. Ms.
Hanousek was responsible for most
of the map and census research done
for this project.
Lee Rogers, Researcher. Mr.
Rogers is an eminent international
transportation consultant, with an
exhaustive knowledge of the history
of Washington’s transportation systems.
He is one of the nation’s leading
experts on historic trolleys and
was an important advisor to the federally
funded, three-year study of the
city’s early transportation systems.
For this study, Mr. Rogers conducted
research and provided important
documentation from his own collections
on the city’s early transportation
systems and infrastructure.
Koura Gibson, Ph.D, Oral Historian.
Dr. Gibson is an award-winning
scholar in the field of African
Studies, with 15 years experience as
an educator and an education consultant
in the United States and
abroad. She is a resident of and has a
particular interest in the African-
American history of the study area.
Carolyn Gray, Oral Historian. Ms.
Gray is a native of DC and a resident
and preservation activist in the
Anacostia Historic District. She has a
first-hand knowledge of the study
area, particularly the H Street NE
commercial corridor, and a longstanding
personal acquaintance
with a number of the neighborhood’s
residents.
Other experts who lent their assis-
HA Neighborhood’s
Story
A Study of Capitol Hill
North/Near Northeast
Street
Editor’s Note: The Voice of the Hill is proud to publish the following study of the
Capitol Hill North/Near Northeast Neighborhood. The study will be published in its
entirety, including all notes, over the coming months. Our appreciation to all those
involved who have allowed us to share this interesting history with our readers.
VOICE of the Hill / January 2003
www.voiceofthehill.com 13
tory tapes, transcripts or summaries
of interviews, and portrait photographs
of subjects interviewed will
be deposited in the offices of the DC
Historic Preservation Office. To
ensure that this information is
broadly available to the public,
copies will be provided to the
Washingtoniana Division of the DC
Public Library. The research findings
will also be made available on the
community website
www.hstreetdc.com/history.html.
Richard Layman
Project Administrator
Capitol Hill North/Near Northeast
Cultural and Social History Study
NOTE: The Capitol Hill North/Near
Northeast Cultural and Social
History Study has been funded with
the assistance of a matching grant
from the US Department of Interior,
National Park Service, through the
State Historic Preservation Grant-in-
Aid Program, Historic Preservation
Office, Office of Planning, District of
Columbia, under provisions of the
National Historic Preservation Act of
1966, as amended. Near Northeast
Citizens would also like to acknowledge
and thank the Capitol Hill
Restoration Society for their support,
including the collection of oral histories.
***
Boundaries of the
Study Area
The boundaries of the area investigated
for this report are well defined
on the east, north and west. The
western boundary is 2nd Street, NE.
This boundary is visually and physically
defined by Union Station and
the expanse of tracks that leads away
from it to the north. For much of the
20th century, Union Station was the
looming presence that delineated
the western edge of the neighborhood.
Very recently, the Thurgood
Marshall Building, offices for the
U.S. Supreme Court, was built on
open land at 2nd Street and
Massachusetts Avenue NE between
the station and the residential
neighborhoods to the east. Presently,
a new development, Station Place, is
under construction on 2nd Street,
NE between F and H Streets, further
defining the 2nd Street boundary.
North of H Street, the viaduct carrying
railroad tracks into Union
Station and the retaining wall that
shields it create a distinct visual barrier
between the survey area and the
rest of the city to the west.
The northern border of the survey
area is Florida Avenue, the boundary
of the original L’Enfant city, once
known as Boundary Street. The area
north of Boundary Street was in
Washington County and did not
develop in the same patterns as the
platted land within the L’Enfant
plan. It was an area of large estates,
and over the years has come to be
the location of the Union Terminal
Market, Gallaudet University, and
the Trinidad neighborhood. Because
of the large land holdings that historically
occupied the north side of
Florida Avenue, there were few
through streets leading north from
the survey area..
The eastern boundary lies at 15th
Street, which, like Florida Avenue,
was the border of the L’Enfant city.
The complex intersection where
Florida Avenue, 15th Street, H Street
NE, Maryland Avenue, Bladensburg
Road, and Benning Road come
together was historically the entry
point to the city from the north and
east. It served as a transportation
hub from the earliest days of the
city. Over time it was the terminus
for a turnpike, street railroad, and
interurban lines. The intersection
also marks the end of the long H
Street commercial corridor. Again,
areas beyond 15th Street were in
Washington County and were subject
to different development patterns.
The Southern boundary of the
survey area is less distinct. It runs
along the north side of F Street, NE,
and abuts the northern border of the
Capitol Hill Historic District. In the
late 19th century, development
moved south from the H Street corridor
and north from the Stanton Park
area. The squares between F and G
Streets were built up slightly later
than those to the immediate north
and south. However, there is no
sharp divide between the types and
quality of housing stock on either
side of this boundary.
Early Land Ownership
Most of the land that is part of the
study area once lay within
Youngsborough, the 1461- acre holding
that Notley Young assembled
from parts of other estates and resurveyed
into a single property in 1793-
4.1 Notley Young was the half-brother
of Charles Carroll of Duddington,
owner of the land on which the
Capitol building was erected.
Another branch of the Young Family
owned an adjacent land grant, The
Nock. The Nock (1687) and The
Houpyard (1686), stretched from the
Anacostia River north to about H
Street. The land in the survey area
south of H Street would have fallen
within the northern limits of these
patents. A small part of Cerne Abbey
Manor (another name for
Duddington, 1759) covered lots in
the southwestern corner of the survey
area.
Although there is nothing that
deals specifically with the survey
area, language in early patent and
deed records gives some clues to the
appearance and use of the land in
the general area in the 18th century.
Names like “Allison’s Woods” and
“Turkey Thicket” and references to
“good woods” point to the fact that
part of the area was forested. Trees of
a size to cut for lumber were valuable
commodities in the 18th century.
Part of the land was also farmed for
there are references to plantations,
cultivated land, cornfields, and careful
counts of numbers and kinds of
fruit trees. There was a mill located
to the southeast of the survey area in
1766; the owner, Walter Evans,
allowed water from his millrace to be
used to water stock2. At the time the
land became part of the new Federal
district in 1790, it was a largely
woodlands interspersed with cultivated
land consisting of meadows,
fields and orchards watered by
springs and streams flowing to the
Potomac or the Anacostia Rivers.
Under the deal struck with area
landholders for the creation of the
District of Columbia, property owners
ceded the land within the
L’Enfant plan to the government,
and in return got half the platted
lots in the area they once owned.
Although the government now
owned half the lots as well as land
dedicated to streets, roads, and reservations,
the potentially enhanced
value of platted city lots was supposed
to adequately compensate the
original proprietors. Based on the
land holdings described above, the
largest owner of lots in the study
area in 1795 when lot division was
complete was Notley Young, owner
of Youngsborough. Others who
owned lots in the area were Daniel
Carroll of Duddington,3 Abraham
Young (owner of part of the The
Houpyard4), William Prout (owner
of part of Duddington), and George
Walker (owner of part of The
Houpyard).5 Walker and Prout,
unlike the Youngs and Carroll, did
not have long family associations
with the area. They were among a
new breed of entrepreneurs and land
speculators attracted by the potential
of the new Federal city. Prout
was a prominent merchant who
lived near the Navy Yard.6Walker
was a Scottish merchant and land
speculator from Philadelphia who
bought up land on the east side of
the Capitol building.7 The area
between the Capitol and the river
would have seemed a prime location
to land speculators since L’Enfant
planned for the commercial heart of
the city to grow up between the eastfacing
Capitol and the commercial
docks that he expected to spring up
along the Anacostia waterfront.
Factors Influencing the
Development of the Near
Northeast Area After the
Foundation of the City
The Topography of the Study Area
The land that formed the far northeast
corner of the L’Enfant plan for
the City of Washington was fairly
flat and supplied with enough water
sources to make parts of it quite
soggy. The main branch of Tiber
Creek, or Goose Creek as it was also
known, ran almost due north
between North Capitol Street and 1st
Street, NE. A residential enclave
known as Swampoodle would eventually
form along its banks. A large
branch divided from the main creek
at Massachusetts Avenue and then
flowed east, across the site of the
present Union Station and then
through all the squares in the study
area between 2nd and 6th and F and
G Streets. From 6th to 10th Streets, it
flowed across the squares bounded
by G and H Streets. At 10th Street it
took a northern turn and headed
toward the city boundary. It was fed
along its course by a number of
smaller streams. Where this branch
crossed the intersection of
Massachusetts and Delaware
Avenues, the land was swampy until
filled for the construction of Union
Station and its plaza in 1904.8 Early
accounts also refer to wet conditions
at several of the cemeteries that
existed along H Street in the early
19th century. (See below).
There were also several large
Columbia Railway Stephenson horsecar. Taken in 1891 probable near 15th and H
St., NE
VOICE of the Hill / January 2003
14 www.voiceofthehill.com
Patterson’s Woods, on the property
west of Gallaudet University, survived
into the 20th Century. North
of Boundary Street on the hills overlooking
the city, a number of large
country estates were founded:
Trinidad, owned by W.W. Corcoran;
Kendall Green, owned by Amos
Kendall; Brentwood, home of the
Pearson, and later Patterson, family;
and Joseph Gale’s Eckington. These
estates helped to establish a pattern
of open land to the north of the
study area that persisted through the
19th Century.
Development Within the L’Enfant
Plan
Washington was a planned city that
was much too big for its initial population.
Its location owed more to
political compromise than to natural
economic or topographic factors.
Despite the best efforts of its planners
and promoters to create a major
city and economic center,
Washington’s principal industry was
only the Navy Yard, its principal reason
for being was to house the new
representative government, and its
principal economic activity was land
speculation—which often ended
badly. There were some natural
incentives for commerce in the
area—the shipping of tobacco and
wheat from surrounding agricultural
areas—but the merchants of the
fledgling city had to compete for
trade with the already established
towns of Alexandria, Georgetown,
and Bladensburg. As a result, the city
grew very slowly. Settlements in the
vast expanse of L’Enfant’s plan grew
up in the vicinity of the White
House, the Capitol, and the Navy
Yard. Despite L’Enfant’s desire to
establish East Capitol Street as the
principal commercial thoroughfare
of the new capital, businesses and
hotels gradually appeared along the
sections of Pennsylvania Avenue
NW that connected the Capitol and
White House, and the best residential
areas eventually grew up to the
springs in or near the study area. The
largest was located on the east side of
15th Street between E and F. It was
known by various names— Cool,
Young’s, Stoddert’s, Federal, and
Gibson’s Spring.9 The spring’s flow
was so copious that Benjamin
Latrobe supposedly considered using
it to supply the dry docks at the
Navy Yard.10 At one time it supplied
water for the fire department and in
later years it provided water for the
ice produced by the American Ice
Company, one of several ice companies
in or near the study area.11 The
location of the spring is also cited as
the reason for the odd notch in the
northeast corner of the L’Enfant
plan. Instead of Boundary Street
continuing on to the banks of the
Anacostia, it stops at 15th Street. The
boundary then runs south along
15th Street and then east on C Street
to the river. John Clagett Proctor
quotes from George Washington’s
diary entry of June 28, 1791, concerning
the reason for the diversion
of the boundary. “…I went out with
the Majs. L’Enfant and Ellicot to take
a more perfect view of the ground in
order to decide finally on the spots
on which to place the public buildings
—and to direct how a line,
which was to leave out a spring
(commonly known by the name of
Cool Spring) belonging to Maj.
Stoddart should be run.”12
L’Enfant laid out the new federal
city on rolling land just below the
fall line. An escarpment rising to the
north formed a natural boundary,
and L’Enfant placed his Boundary
Street at the base of those hills. The
original proprietors had cultivated
some of the land in the northeast
quadrant of L’Enfant city. But most
of it, including Jenkins Hill, the site
of the Capitol, was heavily wooded.
Numerous visitors to the infant city
at the turn of the 19th century commented
on the beauty and denseness
of the forests through which
the first roads were carved.13 Indeed,
a portion of this original woodland,
Anton Ruppert whose establishment
further up Bladensburg Road became
the National Arboretum.21 A
reminder of these agricultural uses
continued into the mid-20th century
in the form of the farm attached
to Gallaudet University that was
used to grow food for students and
staff. Elsie Smith, who was born in
the neighborhood in 1935, remembers
cows still grazing on the
Gallaudet Farm.22
Cemeteries
The most common non-agricultural
use of land in and near the study
area in the early19th century was for
cemeteries. The fact that so many
cemeteries were, and still are, located
in the northeast section of the
District of Columbia also testifies to
the fact that the area was considered
to be removed from population centers.
In 1798, two public cemetery
sites were set aside for city residents,
both adjacent to Boundary Street.
The Western cemetery between 19th,
20th, S and Boundary, NW, was also
known as Holmead’s Cemetery. It
served the western half of the city
and was the principal early burial
ground. The Eastern Cemetery was
located in square 1026 between 14th,
15th, H and Boundary Sts, NE. In
1820, $200 was authorized to
enclose and drain the graveyard.
[East Washington Citizen’s
Association] But despite these
improvements, the land remained
wet, and there were few early
burials.23
Before 1840, Washington Young
donated square 776 (between 3rd,
4th, H and I Streets, NE) to St. Peter’s
Church (2nd and C Streets, SE) for
use as its burial ground. Several
notable early Washingtonians,
including Daniel Carrol of
Duddington, were interred in St.
Peter’s Cemetery.24 Just south of St.
Peter’s Cemetery, at the southeast
corner of 3rd and H Streets, (the
northwest quadrant of square 777)
was another cemetery associated
with city residents of German ancestry.
25 Near the Eastern Cemetery,
Square 1002 (between 12th, 13th, I,
and Boundary) became the Eastern
Methodist Cemetery.26 In 1852, the
City Council passed an ordinance
prohibiting any new burial grounds
within the city limits. After that
date, new cemeteries were established
outside of Boundary Street,
many of them in the area north of
our study area, and graves from the
old city cemeteries were gradually
moved, opening the cemetery sites
for residential development. In an
1867 article, a reporter for the Daily
National Intelligencer visited all the
old cemeteries in the city and reported
on their condition. He found St.
Peter’s Cemetery uncared for.
Within the fenceless grounds, he
north of this axis. The Near
Northeast neighborhood, in
early19th century distances, was far
from the action.
The entire eastern half of the city
developed slowly and very differently
from L’Enfant’s vision. Private
developers built wharfs in areas
other than those planned by
L’Enfant. The clearing of the site of
the city and the intensified agricultural
development beyond caused
the Anacostia to silt up and form
wide marshes at its banks, further
hampering the construction of an
active commercial port. Land speculation
also inflated prices, helping to
drive development elsewhere. The
established amenities of
Georgetown, far less raw than the
new Federal city, and the prestige of
the White House neighborhood also
served to pull development to the
west.14
Land outside the developed areas
was used for grazing and for small
scale farming to provide fruits and
vegetables for the city’s markets. A
description of the pre-Civil War city
notes that few streets were cut
through to Boundary Street. Of the
land outside the developed areas,
“All above M street NW, and threefourths
of that east of North and
South Capitol streets, were covered
with scrub growth, now and then
relieved by a corn or wheat field, or
market garden. In some instances
the exact boundaries of the squares
were not heeded, and that part of
the street laid down on the map as
the carriage-way often yielded a
good crop to some industrious husbandman.”
15 The agricultural use of
undeveloped parts of the Near
Northeast continued after the Civil
War. Small farmers are also known to
have occupied the outer edges of the
Capitol Hill Historic District in the
1870s.16 Evidence of this can be
found in maps, directories, and census
records of the period. There was
a green house in square 859
(between 6th, 7th, G and H Streets)
in 1874 and a gristmill for grinding
grain in square 981 (between 11th,
12th, H, and I Street.17 The 1880 census
lists three gardeners and a potato
farmer living in the study area.
In 1874, William Clark, a dealer in
cattle, had a house, stable and
slaughterhouse in the square bounded
by 10th, 11th, and K Streets and
Florida Avenue,18 and even earlier
than that, the 1858 City Directory
lists John August[sic], butcher, living
on the northwest corner of 4th and
G Streets.19 Many farms were located
along Benning and Bladensburg
Roads just east of the study area.20
This area was also the site of numerous
slaughterhouses. Like the
Augusterfer’s, many of them—
Dorr’s, Auth’s, Lauer’s, Hornig’s—
were German immigrants, as was
Gallaudet University
VOICE of the Hill / January 2003
www.voiceofthehill.com 15
encountered a broken-down military
horse and a drunken soldier each
using a tombstone for support. He
was encouraged to report that the
graves would soon be moved to Mt.
Olivet Cemetery.27 Mt. Olivet
Cemetery was founded in 1857 by
the six oldest Catholic parishes in
the city (including St. Peter’s), which
together purchased 40 acres of land
on Bladensburg Road about a mile
north of its intersection with H
Street. Reinterments from cemeteries
within the city limits, both Catholic
and non-Catholic, occurred there.28
Graceland Cemetery was established
in 1872 on a parcel of land
called Long Meadow, owned by
W.W. Corcoran, lying in the angle
between Bladensburg and Benning
Roads, just across 15th Street from
the study area. In 1884, it also
accepted many reburials from older
cemeteries, including from the original
Western or Holmead’s Cemetery.
It, like Mt. Olivet, accepted both
whites and African Americans for
burial. Graceland had a relatively
short life: it closed in 1894, and most
of those interred were moved to
Woodlawn Cemetery at Benning
Road and C Street SE for reburial.29
The site is now bisected by Maryland
Avenue extended. Glenwood
Cemetery on Lincoln Road founded
in 1854 and the nearby African
American Columbian Harmony
Cemetery were also established west
of Mt. Olivet. The establishment of
these large park-like cemeteries, plus
the eventual placement of campuses
for the Old Soldiers Home (1851),
Catholic University (1887) and its
surrounding colleges, seminaries
and monasteries, and the purchase
of over 400 acres for the National
Arboretum (1927) at Bladensburg
Road and New York Avenue set a pattern
of large non-residential open
spaces that characterizes the northeast
sector of the District of
Columbia.30
Notes
1 Youngsborough was composed of parts
of earlier patents: The Inclosure (patented
1687 by Ninian Beall), Chance (originally
patented as Meurs in 1685 by Andrew Clark,
repatented in 1733 by Thomas Evans), the
Grange (patented in 1685), the Gleaning
(patented 1717 by Thomas Fletchall) and
Allison’s Forest (patented 1760 by James
and Zachariah White. All information on
original land patents within the District of
Columbia comes from the data provided by
researcher Pricilla McNeill.
2 Provincial Court Land records 1765-
1770, Liber DD4, ff.165-68.
3 Construction on the Carroll Family
mansion, called Duddington, was begun in
1791 on a site that straddled the route
L’Enfant proposed for New Jersey Avenue,
SE. The French engineer sent a crew to
demolish the building, an act that, on top
of escalating conflicts, led to L’Enfant’s dismissal.
The mansion was rebuilt in 1793 at
the northwest corner of 2nd and F SE.
Goode, p. 7
4Young’s mansion was located at 15th
and D, just south of the study area.
(Proctor, 11/29/31)
5 Faehtz & Pratt Real Estate Directory,
1874. MLK Library microfilm WHDPP-6
6 Overbeck, Ruth Ann. National Register
Nomination for Eastern Market. 1992.
7 Overbeck, Ruth Ann. “Capitol Hill:
The Capitol Is Just Up the Street.” In
Washington at Home, Katheryn Schneider
Smith, Editor. Windsor Publications, Inc.
1988. . Walker’s home and family graveyard
were on the north side of Maryland
Avenue between 6th and 7th Streets. (MLK
Index Cards)
8 “…looking north from the Capitol
toward Massachusetts Avenue, one saw a
swamp. Beyond there was a rise up to the
hill on which were Patterson’s Woods, and
around the swamp was a settlement known
as Swampoodle, famous for its Irish inhabitants
and their goats.” Cullen, Elizabeth O.
“Railroading In and Around Washington
Since 1900.” Records of the Columbia
Historical Society. Vol 53-56. 176-77.
9 Three of the names are those of owners
of the land. The name “Federal Spring”
refers to the Fourth of July picnics that were
held there.
10 Proctor, John Clagget. “Bladensburg
Road and Its Old Homes. The Sunday Star,
November 29, 1931
11 Wymer Collection Photo, Area 25,
#1303, Historical Society of Washington
D.C. and Proctor, Ibid.
12 Proctor, ibid.
13 Gutheim, Frederick. Worthy of the
Nation. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian
Institution Press. 1977, p. 21. and Green,
Constance McLaughlin. Washington, A
History of the Capital, 1800-1950.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,
1962. Vol.1 p. 5
14 On L’Enfant’s plan, what is now the
Near Northeast area was to been the site of
several public reservations—land set aside
within the plan for public buildings, monuments
or other civic uses—that were evenly
distributed through the city. A square at
the intersection of Maryland Avenue and
11th Street was to have been the site of one
of “five grand fountains, intended with a
spout of constant water.” Further east on
Maryland Avenue between 13th and 14th
Streets was one of 15 reservations, placed
around the city, that were supposed to be
improved by one of the states, and where
they could place “…statues, columns,
obelisks, or any other ornaments…” Neither
of these reservations was ever developed.
The entire square between 2nd and 3rd, H
and I Streets NE was also shown as a state
reservation, but the diagonal avenue that
was proposed to pass through this square
was dropped from later maps, and the land
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VOICE of the Hill / January 2003
16 www.voiceofthehill.com
always been…especially after
WWII….But the book cycled interestingly
between the war’s absolutely
insane origins and mass death of the
combatants (war technology was
really starting to kick in)…..and the
spawning of WWII from its outcome.
Stephanie Briggs
HOMETOWN: Westwood, New Jersey
What I like best about Capitol Hill (in
10 words or less) Finding a piece of
my family’s history right here.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…The article on
the holistic community on Capitol
Hill, although I do have a soft spot
about my hip hoppin’ through
music history story.
My favorite website:
www.mapquest.com. It can get me just
about anywhere I need to go.The
other one is www.ChickenBones. htm.
My “dream interview” would
be…Living—the choreographer and
dancer Homer Avila. He is my inspiration.
Dead—Malcolm X, because I
just didn’t fully understand him
when he was alive, but his words still
resonate.
My favorite soup: Veggie chili made
from scratch! ’Nuff said.
The last book I read was…Hair Story:
Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in
America, by Ayana D. Byrd & Lori L
Tharps, so I can authoritatively
answer all those questions.
JoAnne Carey, DVM
HOMETOWN: As my father was in the
military, we moved many times and
lived in many cities across the
United States and Europe, but I
claim Washington, D.C., as my
hometown.
What I like best about Capitol Hill (in
10 words or less) is… The neighborhood
feel and walkability of Capitol
Hill and its many wonderful twoand
four-legged residents.
Courtney Bell
HOMETOWN: Telford, Pennsylvania
and Fort Collins, Colorado
What I like best about Capitol Hill (in
10 words or less)… It’s beautiful in
the fall.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…The article on
three one-person shows that were
performed in the H Street Playhouse.
My favorite website: ???? …. I just
got internet service for the first time
ever this year.
My “dream interview” would be….
Either the photographer Sally Mann
or filmmaker Atom Egoyan.
My favorite soup: Any kind of pumpkin
or squash soup
The last book I read was…A Prayer
for Owen Meany by John Irving.
Larry Kaufer
HOMETOWN: Albion, Pennsylvania
What I like best about Capitol Hill (in
10 words or less)… Proximity to city
things, but quick access away from
the city (other than rush hour).
The best article I ever wrote forThe
Voice of the Hill is…The article on
the deaf baseball World Series at
Gallaudet a couple years ago.
My favorite website: Not so much a
favorite site, but use www.Google.
com as the best, but still chaotic,
encyclopedia……lots of info but lots
of chaff.
My “dream interview” would be….
Alive— in the current
context….Saddam Hussein….to sense
what his ‘vision’ is. Dead— Stalin—
kind of the same idea…..what made
him tick….what was his ‘vision?’…
was there any ‘greater good’ balancing
to his decisions in his mind?
My favorite soup: Most any soup will
do…..but soup has been lost in modern
life.
The last book I read was…Don’t
recall the name, but a recent and
lengthy book about WWI…the overshadowed
war….and seems like it has
Shirley Serotsky
HOMETOWN: Rochester, NY
What I like best about Capitol Hill (in
10 words or less)… Diversity, community,
serenity, history, culture,
color, trees.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…My favorite was
probably my first article ever – the
piece about Mystery Writers for the
Halloween issue this year. Jim Toole
was a trip and I got to drink wine
while I did the interview.
My favorite website: I am a fan of
Citysearch.com and Zagats.com
(although not since Zagats started
making you pay for access), as I am a
slave to reviews when making any
entertainment decisions. I love the
Entertainment section of the
Washingtonpost.com (the going-out
gurus rock). Also a frequent visitor to
Snopes.com, in my effort to stop the
abundance of Internet urban legends
that fill my email box every day. No,
Penny Brown is not missing, and she
probably never was. And J.K Rowling
is not a devil worshipper.
My “dream interview” would be… A
friend of mine went on a blind date,
and one of his “Getting to know
you” questions was similar to this.
She cringed when he predictably
and sanctimoniously said, “Hitler.”
So I won’t say Hitler. Virginia Woolf.
Amelia Earhart (especially if she
could tell me where she vanished
to). Shakespeare (of course). Alive?
Elie Weisel (who I did meet, but
never got a chance to converse with.)
Hillary or Bill Clinton (purely out of
curiosity).
My favorite soup: Anything with lots
of vegetables. Or Asian noodle
soups. With lots of vegetables.
The last book I read was…The
Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and
Clay by Michael Chabon.
Stephanie Deutsch
Hometown: Born in Washington,
DC; grew up in Arlington, Va., Lower
Hutt, New Zealand, and Paris,
France!
What I like best about Capitol Hill is
having neighbors who are dear
friends and family; the way the
streets, houses and front yards look;
walking everywhere and views of the
Capitol against the evening sky.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…My interview
with my nephew Tom Winkler; writing
about someone you love and
respect is inspiring!
Favorite website: www.amazon.
com... I don’t use the web much.
My “dream interview” would
be...Julius Rosenwald. He died in
1932 so there’s no chance of that,
but it would save me a lot of work on
the book I’m writing about him!
My Favorite Soup: anything homemade.
The last book I read was… Purely for
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…The story of
Thomas C. Feral comes to mind. The
first time I saw this cat, he was running
in the street past Bullfeathers—
skinny, homeless, and frightened.
Now, he is inside—safe, healthy and
happy.
My favorite website: (NOTE: JoAnne
tells us she doesn’t surf the net. She’s
just getting used to email!)
My “dream interview” would be… In
high school, I read On the Origin of
the Species by Charles Darwin, and as
a result, later visited the Galapagos
Islands. He remains someone I
would like to have met.
My favorite soup: Homemade turkey
vegetable.
The [LATEST FAVORITE] book I read
was… The Horse Whisperer.
Ajai
HOMETOWN: Marinette, WI
What I like best about Capitol Hill (in
10 words or less)… The bowers of
flowers.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill …STARRY DAYS,
Oct.
20 – Nov. 16 2000.
My favorite website: www.washingtonpost.
com and www.nytimes.com.
My “dream interview” would be…
David Ovason, author of The Secret
Architecture of Our Nation’s Capital. In
D.C., there are over 20 public zodiacs,
many on Capitol Hill. (Peek into
the lobby of the Jefferson Building of
the Library of Congress.) No city in
the world has so many public zodiacs.
By contrast, the ancient cities of
Rome, and London, England, each
have only four public zodiacs.
My favorite soup: My own Chinese
noodle soup.
The last book I read was… A PEACE
TO END ALL PEACE: The Fall of the
Ottoman Empire and the Creation of
the Modern Middle East, by David
Fromkin.
Who’s Who
at the Voice…what we read and what
we eat, why we like Capitol Hill, and, just in case
you’ve been wondering, what we look like.
www.voiceofthehill.com 17
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Call Tom, Jason or
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$483,500
Situated in the absolute
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Call Tom, Jason or
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$495,000
Completely blown open
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rear and two-car parking,
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Call Tom, Jason or
Tina
650 C Street, NE
$350,000
Surrounded by homes
in the upper $700s &
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Good open space, 2
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yard and a perfect
mix of traditional and
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Equidistant to Eastern
Market or Union
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Call Tom, Jason or
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Tina 202.277.2004
Tom’s Team
VOICE of the Hill / January 2003
18 www.voiceofthehill.com
October 2002 issue), about the trip
that I and a group of artists from the
Hill made to Denmark.
My favorite website: To satisfy my
frequent cravings for tango music, I
go to www.todotango.com, which has
the distinction of having won an
award for “Best Music Site in
Argentina” for 2001. For the other
side of life, I like www.j-bradforddelong.
net. De Long is an Economics
professor at Berkeley who combines
a high level of understanding of
political/economic issues with a
sense of humor, the latter being a
rare quality in the profession.
My “dream interview” would
be…Myself, actually. There would be
no problems with scheduling, fitting
the time required into the obligations
of my day job, responsiveness,
quotations, etc. If pressed to branch
out, Bruce Springsteen, because he is
thoughtful and candid.
My favorite soup: My wife’s vegetable
soup. Often she purees vegetables
that have been used in still lifes for
her art classes. They are best if they
have not yet started to rot. The fact
that they have previously made a
contribution to art gives an extra
dimension to the enjoyment.
The last book I read was…Since I
compulsively read almost everything
in the New Yorker, the Economist, and
the Washington Post, I have less time
for books than I would like.
However, I have recently read No
Way to Treat a First Lady by
Christopher Buckley.
Bill McLeod
HOMETOWN: Scotch Plains,
N.J./Northumberland, Pa.
What I like best about Capitol Hill is
there is a real sense of community
and involvement.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is… My last article
about Christmas and how great the
merchants are on 8th Street. There is
such a wide range of merchandise
here, but many Hill residents don’t
take the time to walk down 8th
Street to rediscover Washington’s
oldest retail corridor. Did you know
that Chat’s Liquor has expanded its
wine selection to almost half its
store? Szechuan House now serves
sushi! Alvear Studios received an
entire truckload of imports from
fun — Kristen Lavransdatter by Sigrid
Undset. It’s three volumes, the life
story of a fictional 13th century
Norwegian woman. The plot is complicated
(I really wished there was a
Cliff’s notes to help me follow some
parts) but Kristen is a compelling figure.
I think about her a lot!
Ben Thomassen
HOMETOWN: Here and there.
What I like best about Capitol Hill (in
10 words or less)… the
Pennsylvania Avenue Post Office
employees. They’re so nice (really!)!
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…my article about
Men Can Stop Rape. It’s a rare treat
to research and write about such an
important issue.
My favorite website: www.chikinsandowichi.
com
My “dream interview” would be….
Ben Edlund (see: The Tick).
My favorite soup: I actually hate
soup.
The last book I read was… Kitchen
by Banana Yoshimoto.
Julia Oldham
HOMETOWN: Ijamsville, MD
What I like best about Capitol Hill (in
10 words or less)… is doggy playtime
at the park.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is… My article about
rats on Capitol Hill in the September
2002 issue. I have a soft spot for the
nasty little critters.
My favorite website: www.chikinsandowichi.
com
My “dream interview” would be….
Lady Murasaki, the 1,000-year old
author of The Tale of Genji, if I could
go back in time.
My favorite soup: My mom’s chicken
and rice soup. It’s so comfortable.
The last book I read was… Lizard, by
Banana Yoshimoto. It’s a beautiful
collection of short stories about the
individual’s process of becoming.
Gene Clapp
HOMETOWN: Not applicable (I was
an “Air Force brat”)
What I like best about Capitol Hill…is
the community, Eastern Market, and
proximity to downtown delights.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…The first one I
wrote, “Enchanted August” (in the
Celeste McCall
HOMETOWN: I was born in New York
City, but I consider Washington my
hometown, as I have lived here more
than 30 years.
What I like best about Capitol Hill (in
10 words or less)… It has the intimacy
of a village with the amenities
of a big city.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is… “The Dead
Zone, Celebrating Los Dias de Los
Muertos on the Hill.”
My favorite website: It depends:
When I’m working on a food or travel
piece, I access related websites. If I
enjoy a bio-pic like Frida, I’ll search
the web for more information.
As an avid Yankees fan, I often visit
www.yankees.com.
My “dream interview” would be….
I’ve actually had my dream interview
—with my idol, Julia Child.
However, my fantasy would be to
meet Margaret Brown (incorrectly
called Molly Brown), best known as
the heroine of the Titanic. Her real
life (1867-1932) was far more interesting
than all those legends and fictional
accounts.
My favorite soup: Anything homemade,
especially ribollita, a rib-sticking
Tuscan soup made with white
beans, kale, vegetables and bread.
Perfect for a cold winter day.
The last book I read was…The Fiery
Cross, the latest in a marvelous series
of novels by Diana Gabaldon. The
story line is a romantic fantasy about
a post-World War II nurse who travels
back in time to 18th century
Scotland. I’m totally hooked, and
was thrilled to meet the author at
the recent book festival on the Mall.
Gwydion Suilebhan
HOMETOWN: Baltimore, MD
What I like best about Capitol Hill (in
10 words or less)… Living here feels
like living in a vaguely European village.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…My review of
subs on the Hill. The research was
hell, but the writing was fun.
My favorite website: Definitely
http://www.angelfire.com/clone/melvix
/ - particularly the entry for January
31, 2002. Oh, and
http://www.b3ta.com/. And
http://www.rathergood.com/ …don’t
Mexico the other week! World
Cuisine serves gourmet prepared
food that is affordable! And, the
brand new Hoopla Traders sells fair
trade goods, and it is doing so well
that merchandise is flying out the
door!
My favorite website: Hands down –
ebay!!! There is so much stuff for sale
and so little time. It is like going to a
huge flea market without ever stepping
outside. I’ve pretty much perfected
my searches so that I keep my
focus narrow so my wallet stays more
full. Ebay does a great job of updating
it site regularly. Never have I
been burned in a transaction, and
only once have I had to return something
I purchased because it was not
as it was advertised.
My “dream interview” would be with
George Washington. He seems like
he was an interesting man who was
wrapped up in mystique — someone
very well admired and loved. Early
Americans were enamored with him,
what he represented, and his life.
Colonists admired the man for being
a successful plantation owner with a
love for fine things – maybe the first
American dream come true. If he
were alive today, I wonder if he
would be regarded as highly? Could
he survive the MTV sound byte or
the Generation X cynicism?
My favorite soup: Corn and
Crabmeat Chowder from Starfish
Café. Chef Miguel Rodriguez creates
the most interesting soups and
entrées. I eat there once a week!
The last book I read was…Women
Silversmiths: 1685-1845, by Philippa
Glanville and Jennifer Faulds
Goldsborough. (Sorry, I don’t really
enjoy fiction.) This book was a rare
find, and I was lucky to stumble
upon it at the gift shop at the
National Museum of Women in the
Arts. The book is a collection of
essays from experts about silversmiths
who were women, and it is
also a catalog of the Museum’s permanent
collection. Although the
subject sounds obscure, silversmithing
for women was one of the
few socially accepted occupations for
ladies. The book explains that
female silversmiths were strong businesswomen
who were well respected
in the community and treated not as
blue-collar workers like blacksmiths,
but as bankers.
Ben Thomassen Bill McLeod Celeste McCall Gene Miller Gene Clapp Scott Shumaker
VOICE of the Hill / January 2003
www.voiceofthehill.com 19
miss the Viking kittens singing Led
Zeppelin.
My “dream interview” would be….
I’m not sure I’d really like to interview
him, per se, but I’d love to have
dinner with David Mamet and pick
his brain.
My favorite soup: I have to choose a
favorite? Maybe the seafood chowder
you can get at Bertha’s in
Baltimore. Or the salmon bisque I
had in Grenada, Spain about six
years ago. Or the vegetable soup at
Café Dalat in Arlington. Anyway,
soup is like love in a bowl (when it’s
made well). Picking a favorite’s
impossible.
The last book I read was… Angel of
Darkness by Caleb Carr.
Dug Hanbicki
HOMETOWN: Hamilton Square, NJ
What I like best about Capitol Hill (in
10 words or less)… As a runner, it
only has one hill.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…Since I started
recently, I don’t have much of a pool
to choose from, but my favorite to
research and write was on kids’
health.
My favorite website:
www.priceline.com—I’ve never stayed
in so many four star hotels for less
than $100.
My “dream interview” would be….
Katherine Switzer who in 1967
applied for entrance to the Boston
Marathon as K. Switzer with no sex
identified. She was the first woman
to run with a racing bib. What kind
of guts does that take?
My favorite soup: Really, any (vegetarian,
of course). My husband calls
me the soup lady.
The last book I read was…Yellow:
Race in America Beyond Black and
White, by Frank H. Wu. You can tell
it was written by a good lawyer—
great arguments, support, and
research about racial topics in the
U.S.
Gene C. Miller
HOMETOWN: Gap, Pa., although my
mother once let slip that I may have
been conceived here in Washington,
where she and Dad were having a little
weekend away.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is… Jim Myers is
right: there’s a story on every corner.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is...probably the
first one I wrote: the story of St.
Monica’s over on 13th and Mass.
Ave., SE.
My favorite website: Well, www.voiceofthehill.
com, of course. And
Google—but then, I work in a
library, so what else could it be?
My “dream interview” would be….
among the living, John McPhee;
among the departed, Socrates.
My favorite soup: homemade chicken
corn soup with leeks and rivels.
Rivels are homemade noodles that
look a little like spaetzle but are
made from dough rather than batter.
The last book I read was... The Soul
of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman. The
companion volume is The Making of
a Chef. These are books about people
who love to eat and love to cook and
about how extraordinarily difficult—
and rewarding—it is to learn to be a
really good cook.
Jessica Leshnoff
Hometown: Caldwell, NJ
What I like best about Capitol Hill…It
feels like a real neighborhood.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…Last month’s
story on Rodney Smith, owner of
Capitol Hill Sporting Goods and
Apparel (he was shot, paralyzed,
learned to walk again and now owns
a neighborhood store). His courage
and energy is an inspiration.
My favorite website: I’m a big fan of
the Village Voice and The New York
Times Magazine, so www.villagevoice.
com and www.nytimes.com/
library/magazine/home/.
My “dream interview” would be…the
“Today” show’s Katie Couric for sure.
I sincerely admire and look up to
her. She is the most compassionate
and intelligent interviewer I have
ever seen. I’d love some tips from
her. I’ve already interviewed
singer/songwriter Ani Difranco, so
that’s one off my list.
My favorite soup: Au Bon Pain’s new
pumpkin soup. It sounds a little odd,
but it’s sweet and salty and goes perfectly
with a nice sandwich.
The last book I read was…The latest
biography of Madonna by Andrew
Morton. I wasn’t really impressed by
the writing, but I’m just fascinated
by the way people live their lives,
whether it’s Madonna or your average
small-town person. If all goes
according to plan, I’ll be writing
biographies one day, as well.
Mark Segraves
HOMETOWN: Washington, D.C.
What I like best about Capitol Hill :
Community, history, diversity, and
the fact that my house has doubled
in value since I bought it.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…Not for me to
say, and since I’m paid exactly the
same for every article I write, I must
believe that they are all of the same
quality. That said, I never tire of writing
about controversial issues in city
politics and certainly the Marine
barracks offer a wealth of stories that
I have barely scratched the surface
of.
My favorite website: Government
agency sites are where I spend most
of my internet time. www.dcboee.org
is a good place to start, if you’re a
wonkish geek like I am.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…Whoever is elected
as the District’s first United States
Senator (I’d actually just settle for
being able to vote for a member of
Congress with full voting rights).
Forced to pick from reality, I’ve been
trying for more than a year to speak
with Father Val Peter of Boys Town,
who for some reason won’t return
my calls. I’d love to meet President
Jimmy Carter, and I’ve got some
Budding restaurateur Jorge Zamorano didn’t quite know where to turn to
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Jessica Leshnoff Judith Capen Julia Robey Julia Oldham Linda Norton Gwydion Suilebhan
VOICE of the Hill / January 2003
20 www.voiceofthehill.com
Tocqueville. I’ve been struggling to
finish Tocqueville since college. The
last books I finished were; Fat Man in
the Middle Seat by Jack Germond,
Harpo Speaks by Harpo Marx and
Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot by Al
Franken. You do the math.
Scott Gates
HOMETOWN: Millersville, Maryland
What I like best about Capitol Hill (in
10 words or less)… Nosing around
Eastern Market on weekends.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…yet to be written.
I’m most pleased thus far with how
this summer’s (August edition) story
on roller hockey came together as a
piece of writing. My thanks to Scott
Shumaker, who contributed the last
questions for Steve Spurrier too.
My favorite soup: As hard as it is for
me to believe that anybody actually
would care what my favorite soup is,
or for that matter, that anybody is
actually still reading this, I’ll say that
my recipe for red pepper and corn
chowder stands tall amongst soups
anywhere.
The last book I read was…Ahhh, my
weakest link, I am currently reading
Undaunted Courage by Stephen
Ambrose, Live from the Battlefield by
Peter Arnett, Stories from American
History by Brian Lamb, The Necessary
Hunger by Nina Revoyr, We Wish to
Inform You that Tomorrow We Will be
Killed With our Families, Stories from
Rwanda by Phillip Gourevitch, and
Democracy in America by Alexis De
New England clam chowder (which I
like with liberal amounts of pepper
and Tabasco sauce—for color and
kick) and Dan Quayle’s favorite,
tomato(e) soup.
The last book I read was… The
Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.
It made for a nice complement to
some recent readings on complexity
theory—a topic that I find fascinating
while difficult to fully grasp or
describe.
Scott Shumaker
HOMETOWN: Berlin, Pennsylvania
What I like best about Capitol Hill (in
10 words or less)… It’s a place that
made me feel instantly at home.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…The article on
sentence, neatly bringing the story
full circle. Taking the action photos
was fun for me too!
My favorite website: Merriam-
Webster Online: www.m-w.com. I
love their word games. I’m fond of
silly words like snaffle, flapdoodle,
and my personal favorite,
callipygian.
My “dream interview” would be….
Living—I’d love to discover incontrovertible
evidence on who “Deep
Throat” is and interview that person
before he/she dies. This would be
the scoop of a lifetime and have the
added benefit of irking Bob
Woodward no end! Deceased—My
father, who died when I was very
young.
My favorite soup: It’s a tie between
Stephanie Deutsch Sharon Negri Shirley Serotsky Brian Cook Stephanie Briggs Dug Hanbicki
VOICE of the Hill / January 2003
www.voiceofthehill.com 21
Shanksville, Pa., that ran in our
“September 11 Remembered” newspaper.
I also enjoyed recounting my
trip to St. Anselm’s Monastery last
winter, as well as my personal interview
with the fabulous Michael
Kahn.
My favorite website: Well, www.voiceofthehill.
com, of course, but also
www.theonion.com and www.jonimitchell.
com. And I admit to logging
on to www.hotornot.com on occasion.
My “dream interview” would be….
Living—Joni Mitchell (that should
come as no surprise to anyone),
although she’d probably be crusty
and mean to me. Dead—Benjamin
Franklin. He always looks so serene
in paintings. I’d like to find out
where that serenity came from.
My favorite soup: Campbell’s cream
of chicken soup. Actually it may be
my favorite food ever.
The last book I read was…Soul Picnic
by Michelle Kort. It’s a biography of
the amazing Laura Nyro, a
singer/songwriter who has been very
influential to me. I am also in the
process of re-reading all the original
Nancy Drew books from the 1930s.
I’m up to Book Number 12—The
Message in the Hollow Oak.
Barbara Wells
HOMETOWN: I’ve never lived longer
anywhere than D.C.! But like many
D.C. immigrants, I spent much of
my wasted youth in New Jersey.
What I like best about Capitol Hill (in
10 words or less)… It feels more like
a small town than a small town.
(That’s eleven.)
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…about rescuing
Pebbles, my father-in-law’s suicidal
Yorkie.
My favorite website: No kidding, it’s
really www.voiceofthehill.com! I love
knowing what’s new in the neighborhood
on a daily basis.
My “dream interview” would be….
Who could be more fascinating than
Bill Clinton?
My favorite soup: . . . My husband’s
homemade split pea.
The last book I read was… Empire
Falls, but my new favorite is Fool’s
Errand by Capitol Hill’s own Louis
Bayard.
Here’s looking at you…
Randolph Cree
hair etc.
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Scott Gates Courtney Bell Dr. JoAnne Carey Mark Segravrs
VOICE of the Hill / January 2003
22 www.voiceofthehill.com
The last book I read was…OK, I
guess this is where I admit that I
don’t really read books. So honestly,
the last book I read was probably The
Scarlet Letter in 6th grade…and for
the record, I didn’t enjoy it too
much. I’m a nut for the Washington
Post crossword though, if that
counts…
Brian Cook
HOMETOWN: Elkhart, Indiana
What I like best about Capitol Hill (in
10 words or less)…The sense of
community and friendliness.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…Would have to
be my first (and only one to date)
article, which was an interview with
Tom McCamy, owner of Pheonix
Design Associates, an new interior
design and antique store near
Eastern Market.
My favorite website: Don’t have a
single favorite, but have been known
to “frequent” www.cnn.com,
www.orbitz.com (or just about any
other travel website), and even
www.startrek.com (avid Treker and
sci-fi geek…I mean aficionado).
My “dream interview” would
be….Tough question, but I would
have to say either Henry Kissinger
NAME: Julia Robey
HOMETOWN: Washington, DC
What I like best about Capitol Hill (in
10 words or less)… the real sense of
community and the fact that everyone
knows everyone else.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…I don’t know if it
was the best one per se, but my
favorite assignment was to write
about my 6th grade teacher, Della
Spradlin.
My favorite website: To use this as an
excuse for some utterly shameless
self-promotion, I’d say my favorite
website is my band’s website,
www.seriouslee.com. I also really like
www.bored.co— it’s got lots of
quizzes; you can even find out what
kind of shoe you would be based on
your personality. And for the record,
I am a wing-tip.
My “dream interview” would be….
Living—Katie Couric. I am addicted
to Matt and Katie. Dead—Jasper
Johns.
My favorite soup: Toss-up between
the ever popular Chicken with Stars,
and the classic Tomato (with milk
added instead of water). BUT not the
kind that comes already creamy; it’s
just not the same as when you add
the milk yourself.
underpinning basements: my
neighbor laughed about it for weeks
afterward. “As if!” “What a nightmare!”
“You’d have to have your
head examined…”
My favorite website: Well, www.
voiceofthehill.com, of course, but also
alibris.com. All those books thought
forever lost are found! And, duplicates
of obscure childhood books
that both children want a copy
of…And the NOAA website for all
that climate data.
My least favorite website: noaa: I
know the info is there, but
where?!@#$?
The book I’m reading now: Early
American Architecture From the First
Colonial Settlements to the National
Period by Hugh Morrison, weighing
in at 580 pages plus another forty
pages of notes and index. Wonderful
bedtime reading. I’m sleeping much
better. Should last a while, as I am
only on page 48. Current issue of
New Yorker reading: October 17 and
25 double issue, 1995
Dream Car: 1985 blue Volvo station
wagon: how do I love thee? Let me
count…
Car driving: 1985 blue Volvo station
wagon
Last professional outfit bought from:
L.L. Bean
Hobbies: gluing things back together;
recycling, reusing, using up; making
bag lunches for school age children,
mine and others on extra
lunch day.
Preoccupations: thermal comfort
My “dream interview”er: living —
Susan Stamberg, laugh and all. Dead
— Kim Williams of Missoula,
Montana (you have to read her name
with the same singsong rising and
falling tone she used).
Sharon Negri
HOMETOWN: Corning, New York
What I like best about Capitol Hill (in
10 words or less)… Seeing someone
I know every time I go to Safeway.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…Yoga for the
Swingset Set (July 2002), because I
collaborated with my good pal, six
year-old, Aleson Laird.
My favorite websites:
www.poems.com and www.allkindsofminds.
org.
My “dream interview” would be….
Living -—Patti Smith, the poet/musician/
over-50 brave woman who is
one of my heroes. Dead —Anne
Sexton, so I could thank her for writing
the poem, “The Black Art.”
My favorite soup: My mother’s
Minestrone.
The last book I read was… Rose,
poems by Li-Young Lee. He is the
wonderful poet who read at the
Folger in December, in celebration of
Emily Dickinson’s birthday.
(living) or Noel Coward (deceased).
The former to learn more about one
becomes a king/king-maker in 20th
century America, and the latter to sit
over tea and scones to learn the
secrets of being a witty and brilliantly
sarcastic playwright, songwriter
and overall bon vivant of English
society.
My favorite soup: Cream of mushroom
soup (or almost anything with
that delectable fungi in it) prepared
with fresh ingredients and served in
a fine dining establishment.
The last book I read was…Still reading
the complete Lord of the Rings by
J.R.R. Tolkien. A monumental work
and a slow read that still captures my
imagination after all these years.
Linda Norton
HOMETOWN: Richmond, Virginia
What I like best about Capitol Hill (in
10 words or less)… is that it is a
wonderful small town in the eye of
the tornado.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…It’s hard to judge
the best; the response has been very
positive. I think that the “small
space/ I’ve got it all, now where am I
going to put it? “article was my
favorite.
My favorite website: www.
abebooks.com because so many art,
design and children’s books are out
of print and you can always find
them there.
My “dream interview” would be…. A
mythical figure who knew everything
about the history of Capitol
Hill, who lived where, what used to
be where, gossip and history.
My favorite soup: Good lobster
bisque
The last book I read was…The Girl
with the Pearl Earring by Tracey
Chevalier-a great fairy tale built
around the life and paintings of Jan
Vermeer...and years of December
issues of decorating magazines as
inspiration for the Revelry house
tour.
Judith Capen
HOMETOWN:Washington, D.C.—
since 1979 anyway…
Born: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in St.
Luke’s Methodist Hospital, same as
Nancy Schwartz, longtime Hill resident
until she decamped for Garrett
Park.
What I like best about Capitol
Hill…Bicycle commuting; the tenminute
garden, the time warp; that
people still live over the store here;
community (natch); living in the
front yard of the building that’s the
backdrop for the national news each
night.
What I like least about Capitol Hill:
no skyline, like skyscrapers, in the
adjacent city.
The best article I ever wrote for The
Voice of the Hill is…The article on
Sunday Worship Schedule
8:15 am Holy Eucharist - spoken
9:15 am Breakfast
9:45 am Adult Forum - Bible
study and discussion of
special issues
10:00 am Church School
11:00 am* Holy Eucharist - music
12:00 pm Coffee Hour and
Fellowship
Nursery care for children under 3
available at 8:15 am
CHRIST CHURCH—a
welcoming community
of faith and fellowship
with a big heart and
room to grow.
620 G Street SE
Just two and a half blocks
south of Eastern Market
Metro station Christ Church in 1918
See our web site
www.washingtonparish.org
Phone (202) 547-9300
The Rev. Dr. Judith A. Davis, Rector
VOICE of the Hill / January 2003
www.voiceofthehill.com 23
As the Hill paused to reflect
at the first anniversary of
the September 11 terrorist
attacks, we realized that
things would never be the
same: barricades everywhere,
closed streets, tightened
security and blocked access to
our national monuments—including
the U.S. Capitol. Those grounds
were further defaced by our “big
dig,” construction of a humongous
underground visitors center.
On the plus side, friends and
neighbors bonded, and we were
grateful that summer concerts on
the Capitol lawn went off as scheduled,
even though security was tight
and glass containers were prohibited.
In other news, our local and citywide
officials were re-elected.
“Second Saturday” became a monthly
moveable feast as folks strolled
along Seventh and Eighth Streets,
sipping, nibbling, chatting and
enjoying the artwork.
And some things certainly
remained unchanged. The battle
over Boys Town dragged on, with
appeals and counter appeals as redand-
white “No Boys Town” signs
popped up in windows across the
Hill. Meanwhile, the townhouses in
question continued to rise on
Pennsylvania Avenue near the
Potomac Avenue Metro. And squabbling
over who gets to manage
Eastern Market also seemed neverending.
The following is just a sampling of
the news that appeared on the pages
of The Voice of the Hill during 2002.
January
The new year brought new enterprises
to our neighborhood. Among
early newcomers was Starfish Café, a
seafood spinoff of Jorge Zamarano’s
popular Banana Café. Both are located
along Barracks Row. Actually,
Starfish opened December 11, but
customers considered Starfish’s New
Year’s Eve bash its “coming out
party.”
Starfish Café remained in the news
that month, as Mayor Anthony
Williams stopped there January 25
and announced the city-wide initiative
called “ReStore DC.” The
National Trust for Historic Preservation
tapped Barracks Row as tops on
the agenda for a facelift and economic
boost. The very next day,
Williams accompanied community
leaders, including Ellen Opper-
Weiner and Will Hill, in a stroll
down Pennsylvania Avenue. Under
the glare of TV cameras, the group
assembled at the Old Naval Hospital,
at 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, and
headed east to Barney Circle. Along
the way, His Honor stopped at local
businesses, including Frager’s
Hardware, Caffé Italiano and Penn
Market.
St. Mark’s Players, the energetic
community theater group at St.
Mark’s Episcopal Church home,
launched its 20th year on the Hill.
Beginning with a modest Gilbert &
Sullivan production in 1983, the talented
thespians went on to produce
such icons as The Lion in Winter, The
Music Man, Fiddler on the Roof, Miracle
on 34th Street, Lord of the Flies,
Amadeus, Oklahoma and many others.
The Eastern Market management
flap continued, as the D.C. Court of
Appeals denied the request by
Eastern Market Corporation (EMC)
for an emergency motion for a stay
pending appeal. EMC had relinquished
control of the Market’s
South Hall when DC superior Judge
Linda K. Davis ruled against it in
EMC’s suit against the city. The ruling
paved the way for Eastern
Market Venture (EMV) to assume
management of the hall and the
farmers’ line. As always, Hillites were
advised to stay tuned.
Sadly, at the end of December,
French’s Fine Southern Cuisine, a
mainstay on H Street NE for 15 years,
closed its doors. Proprietor Sharon
French was beloved for homespun
fare like fried chicken, collard
greens, macaroni and cheese and
peach cobbler. Purchased by
Phoenix Graphics, the building
would be turned into a black box
theater with rehearsal space for community
theaters.
And the statue of the Shakespeare
character Puck returned to its familiar
spot at the Folger Theater at First
and East Capitol Street. The endearing
figure had been in the shop
undergoing “surgery” to repair a
missing arm as well as general
restoration.
February
The Capitol Hill Restoration
Society’s popular Restoration Café
resumed its monthly meetings, now
being held