VOICE
Vol. 4 No. 4 July 2002
of
The
Hill
This Month
10 Development: The
Hill’s wish list
13 Development: it’s
here, ready or not
15 The Tuesday night
Quizz(o)
16 Restoration,
Conservation, Repair
19 Renovation: Return
on your investment
20 Time traveler at 8th
22 Bookbinding: Found
art on Capitol Hill
25 Inside the Folger
27 Going around the
world at the Market
30 The costume’s the
thing
32 Capital Renaissance
Theatre unveiled
Departments
VoiceMail............................................3
City Desk............................................4
DownLoad ..........................................7
Business Bits .....................................9
Ask Judith ........................................34
Home Design....................................38
Barracks Row ...................................40
Business Services ............................44
Ask the Vet.......................................48
Capital Kids......................................52
Kids’ Sports .....................................53
KidSites ...........................................50
Horoscope........................................57
Community Calendar .........................58
Kids’ Calendar ..................................59
Classifieds .......................................61
Grub Street.......................................62
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206 Randolph Place, NE
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Pete Frias, Esq.
ment. The only entity that is
actively working with the community
(and succeeding) is the
Office of City Planning. Until the
suspicions (well founded or not) are
set aside, the inherent biases and differences
between the groups and organizations
will complicate the development of
H Street. With the amount of taxpayer
funding and city emphasis on H Street,
the interaction of all the groups, entities
and organizations needs to be a topic
for the next ANC 6A meeting.
JOE FENGLER
815 F Street NE
Response to Construction
Project Concerns
Dear Editor:
This is a response to the recent letter to
the editor submitted by the owner of the
apartment building adjacent to our project
at 525 G Street SE. While most of
her rantings aren’t worthy of any
response, we offer the following information
to refute a number of her unfounded
accusations:
1. Building Damage: Both our organization
and DCRA have taken careful
steps to make sure that our construction
does not damage the apartment
building at 529 G Street SE. At the property
owner’s request, we recently had
the building inspected by a team of
experts to include two architects, a
forensic construction expert and a registered
structural engineer. It was the
opinion of everyone involved with the
inspection that no structural damage
has occurred as a result of our construction.
To date, Ms. Smith has not provided
any specific information by a professional
architect or engineer identifying
any structural damage – because there
isn’t any. Our team related their specific
findings at a meeting called by DCRA to
gather information on this matter. The
one inspection expert Ms. Smith
retained, in essence, told DCRA officials
the same thing in a telephone interview,
and indicated that he saw no reason for
us to stop work on our project. As to her
assertions regarding the readings of
installed crack monitors, Ms. Smith
freely told us that she had “re-installed”
her own crack monitors because of
improper installation by the engineer. It
is an interesting coincidence that the
only monitors that show any movement
are the ones that she “re-installed.” Her
assertion regarding a central beam
reflects her lack of knowledge of her
own building. In the location she references,
there is no beam, the walls are
load bearing and are framed of wood
studs. The wall cracks under the
“beam” and depression at her roof are a
direct byproduct of the
arrangement of old
wood framing in
her building.
2. Permits:
We did obtain a
permit for excavation.
Our general
permit for construction of our building
includes excavation work necessary for
the construction. To the extent that our
general construction and excavation was
sufficiently deep to require a separate
permit for sheeting and shoring, we
obtained a separate permit. Ms. Smith’s
accusations stem from her own understanding,
or lack of understanding, of
the requirements of the Building
Code. Both professionals in my employ
and DCRA officials have attempted to
educate/explain the requirements to
her, but she is certain she knows the
code better than design professionals
trained to use the code and code officials
trained to enforce it.
3. Pile Driving: Ms. Smith makes her
story up as she goes along, with no
regard for facts. For example, Ms. Smith
testified on March 21 that “I have been
told by four structural engineers that the
vibrations from pile driving are likely to
crack my masonry.” Yet she submitted
to us, as part of ongoing litigation, a single
structural engineer’s report, dated
March 3, prepared for her that stated
“…the pile driving will take place approximately
25 feet away from the subject
building (529 G Street). There is no evidence
to suggest that the subject building
will exhibit structural damage due to
pile driving.” Later she withheld her own
engineer’s report from a Superior Court
judge. This is typical. Despite similar
advice to us from registered engineers,
we elected to spend additional funds to
auger the shoring beams, providing an
additional degree of safety.
4. Existing Condition of 529 G
Street: The fact is that Ms. Smith owns
a 75-year-old building that has apparently
had little or no money spent on it in
many years. While providing testimony
to city council, Ms. Smith offered that
“…the property was badly neglected
when I purchased in and has required a
considerable amount of attention and
repair.” The building has original plaster
ceilings that were improperly installed,
with additional layers of rough plaster
added to hide previous cracks and failures.
This is why the ceilings of her
building have been and will continue to
be cracked.
5. Credibility: Ms. Smith alleges that
we have no regard for the health and
safety of her twenty tenants and that we
would put others at risk for a small
increase in our profit margin. This is
VOICE of the Hill /July 2002
www.voiceofthehill.com 3
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Linda Norton
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Ben Thomassen
(continued on page 42)
A Week in the Life of 8th
and H Street, NE
Posted June 21 on “Hill Talk Discussion”
First, the building permits were issued
to the H Street CDC to begin construction
on a one-story retail building – with
a second story façade – on Wednesday,
June 19. Accordingly, there were no zoning
issues on the construction of the
building.
Second, at the last ANC 6A Zoning
and Licensing (Z&L) meeting held on
June 12, Mr. Barrows and Commissioner
Ferrell agreed to hold a community
meeting to discuss the development
plans for this corner. However, it appears
this meeting will not occur due to fear
that it will not be a productive meeting.
Pending the outcome of this meeting, I
encourage that the H Street CDC to consider
the following three things:
• Work with the Office of Planning to
design a façade that is in line with the
fabric of the street. In a perfect world,
the whole project could be delayed nine
months until the H Street Revitalization
contract is complete. This would allow
the corner to be developed in accordance
with the design the city is paying
to develop.
• Consider a two-story building versus
a one-story building. The economic
assumptions of 1998 – when the project
was initially developed - are not the
same in 2002.
• Post to the H Street CDC website
an update, detailing the efforts to attract
businesses that might occupy the
space. The community is concerned that
the current zoning may need to change
to attract businesses to this retail
space.
• The DC Office of Planning heard
presentation from the final four consultants
being considered to win the bid to
develop a comprehensive proposal to
revitalize H Street on June 19. The city
has done a superb job at screening the
final four candidates – all of the presentation
were excellent and informative.
• Four, at the H Street Revitalization
meeting, it was announced that the
Main Street Group would hold a meeting
on Saturday, June 22, at the Children’s
Museum (time unknown). How does the
Main Street Group expect anyone from
the community to attend with less than
seven days’ notice? True community
involvement needs to be developed and
respected and not treated as an afterthought
or a check in the box. All community
meetings should be professional,
planned and organized. If this is the
start of the Main Street Group process,
its commitment to include the community
is certainly suspect.
In closing, the lack of information and
communication are the major obstacles
to positive, proactive community involve-
VOICE of the Hill /July 2002
4 www.voiceofthehill.com
cityDesk
COVERING THE HILL’S POLITICAL SCENE AND MORE
ALL STORIES BY MARK SEGRAVES
Stop Work Order to be Issued For
Phase One of Boys Town Development
Construction Could be Halted as Early as July 5
Monday June 24—The Board of Zoning Adjustment
(BZA) has issued its formal decision on the appeal
by Southeast Citizens for Smart Development
(SCSD) and Advisory Neighborhood Commission
6B (ANC 6B) of the building permits for the Boys
Town facility on Capitol Hill. The official order
paves the way for the Department of Consumer and
Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) to issue a stop work order
for phase one of the Boys Town development on
Pennsylvania Avenue, SE. Construction could be
halted as early as July 5. The order comes after several
months of hearings in which the BZA found
that the zoning administrator had erred in issuing
the building permits as a matter of right.
Ellen Opper-Weiner, co-founder of SCSD, says
she is happy to have the official order in hand.
“We’re very pleased that our appeal was granted
and we look forward to having community input
and oversight on such a large project,” she stated.
The official order, which was issued on Friday,
June 21, puts in motion a time table of possibilities.
DCRA has ten days to issue a stop work order on the
project. DCRA could grant Boys Town more time to
halt construction if there are issues, such as safety,
that would make it necessary for work to continue
longer. Boys Town has several options for remedy at
their disposal. They can request a stay of the stop
work orde, file for a variance to the zoning regulations
or file with the D.C. Court of Appeals within
30 days of the June 21 order.
Phil Feola, the D.C.-based attorney representing
Boys Town, says he expects that Boys Town will look
to the Court of Appeals. “I’ve presented the options
to the people in Nebraska [where Boys Town is
based], and I’m waiting to hear from them.”
Feola noted that the BZA order does not apply to
the actual buildings, but to their use. Feola said
another option would be to continue construction
on the houses as single-family units and seek to
change the use at a later date.
Should Boys Town seek a variance to the zoning
regulations, it would mean going before the ANC
and the community for approval—something Boys
Town has been reluctant to do in the past.
Boys Town recently requested building permits
for phase two of the project. The second phase
includes an administrative office and a short-term
housing facility.
DC Council Told It Has No Authority
Over Reservation 13 Master Plan
Memo Comes to Light During Public Hearing
May 28—D.C. City Council heard testimony from
the Office of Corporation Counsel today, stating
that the council has no authority over the master
plan for Reservation 13. Charles Barbera, in a twopage
memo, wrote that it is his opinion that “the
master plan has no legal effect and that the Council
does not have the legal authority to accept, reject or
modify the plan.”
City Council Chairperson Linda Cropp said she
was “somewhat shocked by this memo.”
The memo came to light during a public hearing
today on the Reservation 13 Master Plan. Andrew
Altman, the Director of the Office of Planning, told
the Council that it was his understanding that the
Council did have the authority to act on the plan.
Cropp instructed Altman to make sure that was the
case, or she would have the Reservation 13 plan
attached to the comprehensive plan for the city
(over which the council does have authority).
ANC 6A Special Audit Meeting
Reveals Few Answers
Commissioners Offered Six-Month Extension to
Justify Expenditures
June 4—D.C. Auditor Deborah Nichols has told
members of Area Neighborhood Commission 6A
(ANC 6A) that she would grant them a six-month
extension to respond to the recommendation of
her audit that calls into question more than
$30,000 in expenditures. Nichols appeared before
the commissioners at a special meeting Monday
night called to discuss the financial problems surrounding
the most recent audit of ANC 6A.
Nichols told the commissioners they would
receive no disbursements of money until the ANC
complies with the recommendations. The commissioners
also learned that the fiscal woes of the current
ANC 6A will affect the finances of the new
redistricted ANC 6A in 2003, when the redistricting
of all ANCs takes effect.
“ANC 6A succeeds ANC 6A,” Gottleib Simon,
Executive Director of the Office of Area
Neighborhood Commissions (OANC), told the
commissioners. However, Simon also said that the
current audit troubles that face ANC 6C will not
adversely effect ANC 8A next year (under the redistricting
plan, ANC 6C will become part of Ward 8
and be known as ANC 8A).
This means that some neighborhoods in Ward 6
that are not currently in ANC 6A, but will be next
year due to redistricting, will most likely lose city
funds that are allotted to ANCs. The 37 ANCs in the
city are each made up of single member districts
(SMD). Each SMD elects a commissioner to the
ANC. The ANC is funded with city money, based on
the number of districts in the ANC, roughly $2,000
per SMD per year. Each district represents about
2,000 residents. ANC 6A is the largest in the city,
with 14 SMDs. Next year, that number will decrease
to 10 districts (you can view the new ANC maps at
www.voiceofthehill.com ).
If the current commissioners do not fully comply
with the auditors recommendations within the
allotted time, ANC 6A could have as much as
$31,703.14 withheld from future allotments. This
would mean that ANC 6A would have to operate
nearly two years without any funds. ANCs use their
funding to pay rent on meeting space, buy office
supplies and postage, and pay phone bills. ANCs
also award community grants with the money.
Most of the troubles that surround ANC 6A’s
finances are procedural—failure to properly document
expenditures, failure to properly approve
expenditures, or both. Questions still remain
regarding certain expenditures. During the period
the audit covers (July 1998 through September
2001), the commissioners spent more than $1,500
on postage. The commissioners paid a private
cleaning company more than $600 to clean the
ANC office. Almost $6,000 was spent on office supplies
and computer equipment. More than $12,000
was paid in employee salaries—an amount that was
not properly approved by the commissioners and
not supported by documentation.
Few Answers
At Monday night’s meeting there were few answers,
although ANC Secretary Janet Quigley was able to
produce some of the missing documentation.
Quigley had recovered about a dozen time sheets
for one employee, but it was revealed that the
method of keeping those time sheets raised even
more questions. Apparently, the ANC did not keep
any time sheets themselves. Each week someone
from the ANC would call a payroll service and tell
them the number of hours the staff person worked.
There are no actual records, such as a time card or
work log, to show how many hours were worked.
Quigley also produced a phone bill and some office
supply receipts.
Part of the dilemma for the commissioners is
finding any of the old records. ANC 6A no longer
has office space, but does maintain a storage locker.
A recent tour of the storage locker revealed no real
answers for the auditor. There are files of records
that date back to the 1980s, but for the early 1990s
there are no records, and those papers that do exist
would take a great deal of effort to organize.
Absences
Several of the commissioners did not attend the
meeting. Most notably were Commissioners
Pernell, Fields and Ferrell. All three were officers of
the ANC at some point during the audit period.
Commissioner Pernell had stated in the past that
he was “going to make a liar out of the auditor.”
Pernell said he was unaware that the auditor was
going to be attending this week’s meeting, and that
he missed the meeting due to personal obligations.
Commissioner Ferrell said that he, too, was busy
with personal matters and unable to attend.
Commissioner Marvin Fields is recovering from a
recent heart attack.
VOICE of the Hill /July 2002
www.voiceofthehill.com 5
Next Steps
Those commissioners who did attend were divided
as to what course of action should be taken. The
auditor has recommended the commissioners
retroactively approve the expenditures in question.
If the commissioners vote to retroactively approve
these expenditures, it will free up that money for
future disbursement to the ANC. If they fail to do
so, that money will be withheld from future allotments.
ANC 6A Chairman Keith Jarrell, who had been
steadfast in his belief that he wanted to see former
commissioners held accountable, and that he
would not approve past expenditures, took an
about-face on the issue. Jarrell now wants the commissioners
to approve the expenditures in order to,
in his words, “put this behind us.”
Commissioner Joe Amon questioned how this
commission could vote to endorse expenditures
that occurred years ago. Commissioner Ronald T.T.
Nelson said the ANC didn’t deserve any more
money and had been running better without city
funds. Nelson likened the endorsements of the
expenditures as a “get out of jail free” card for the
commission.
Councilmember David Catania ( R-At Large ) has
oversight responsibilities of the ANCs. Catania,
who was reluctant to discuss ANC 6A, is not eager
to judge. Catania, in an interview several weeks
ago, said he wants to wait to hear the response from
the commissioners and the auditors’ final recommendations.
Once the ANC responds to the auditor,
the auditor will then make final recommendations.
The auditor can refer the matter to the
Inspector General for criminal investigation should
she see fit.
Catania did say that he was troubled by the auditors’
report. “I found somewhat troubling the high
phone bills and the amount of money they are
spending on computer maintenance and supplies.”
But Catania doesn’t think that there was any malicious
wrongdoing. “The somewhat sloppy bookkeeping…
is not excusable, but is understandable.”
Catania sites the combination of a lack of support
from city and the fact that ANC commissioners
are volunteer positions which demand a great
deal of time and effort from people whom Catania
characterized as being sometimes “of modest education
and modest backgrounds.”
“We set these people up to fail,” Catania said.
Catania is reluctant to take any action against
what he called “one of the most troubled ANCs in
the city.”
“It doesn’t make sense for us to stop the entire
government to chase this down,” Catania said of
the high expenditures. Catania is hopeful that ANC
6A is on the right path for the future. He says he has
confidence in the ANC Chairman, Keith Jarrell and
that the OANC will help to better train all ANCs.
Two Heavy Blows at Thursday’s
Meeting
ANC 6A Commissioner Resigns; Auditor Orders
Checkbook to be Relinquished
June 7—Area Neighborhood Commission 6A ( ANC
6A ) received two blows last night at its regular
monthly meeting. The first hit came when
Commissioner Marina Martin announced her resignation
from the commission. The second blow
was dealt by D.C. Auditor Deborah Nichols, who
sent a letter to ANC Chairman Keith Jarrell, ordering
him to relinquish the ANC’s checkbook.
Insult Leads to Resignation
Martin read from a one-page letter to the ANC citing
her reason for leaving the commission. At the
regular monthly meeting of the ANC in May,
Commissioner Martin and Commissioner Gregory
Ferrell began yelling at each other during the meeting.
At one point Ferrell began to mock Martin,
who speaks with an accent.
“I am disappointed not only at this crass and
ignorant behavior, but also at those who tolerated
it,” Martin said in her statement. “Commissioner
Ferrell should be ashamed of himself, but where
were the other commissioners who so quickly
denounce intolerant speech in other ‘politically
correct’ situations?” (Martin’s entire letter follows
this article). Martin was referring to the backlash
from other commissioners several months ago,
when Commissioner Rob Hall used a derogatory
term against Commissioner Daniel Pernell.
Martin’s statement concludes, “So, dear
Commissioners, mocking and laughing at my
accent shows only your bad taste, intolerance and
ignorance. It’s pretty clear that my values are quite
different from yours. Therefore, effective immediately,
I resign from my position as Commissioner
for SMD 6A06.”
Martin left the meeting after reading her statement.
There was no comment or discussion on the
matter from any other commissioner. And the
question did arise whether or not a quorum had
been lost with her departure. Gottlieb Simon,
Executive Director of the Office of Area
Neighborhood Commissions (OANC), who has
become a regular fixture at ANC 6A meetings,
informed the commissioners that due to her resignation
becoming effective immediately, the quorum
was not lost. The ANC now has 13 commissioners,
needing only seven for a quorum.
Lack of Quarterly Reports Leads to Sanction
Chairman Jarrell read a letter from the D.C. Auditor
ordering the ANC to relinquish its checkbook by
the end of business Friday, June 7. ANC 6A has not
received any funds from the city since the auditor
began an audit of the ANC several months ago. The
ANC did, however, have some cash reserves that it
used to in order to pay recurring expenses such as
rent for meeting space. Now the commissioners will
have to request check disbursements for recurring
expenses from the auditor. The auditor’s letter cites
the ANC’s inability to produce a quarterly report for
more than five quarters as reason for the action.
Discussion of Audit
There was a lengthy discussion regarding the course
of action the ANC should take regarding the auditor’s
requirement that the ANC produce the missing
documentation for the more than $30,000 in
disputed expenditures. Chairman Jarrell proposed
that the commissioners form a special task force
comprised of commission members and community
members. That proposal fell flat. A resident in
the audience suggested that the ANC seek permission
to hire a professional accounting firm to sift
through the papers.
Commissioner Ronald T.T. Nelson made a
motion that the ANC hire a bookkeeper with the
permission of the Auditor. That motion passed
unanimously.
Zoning / Loss of Quorum
About a dozen residents attended the meeting to
protest the proposed construction in the 900 block
of Constitution Avenue. A Virginia-based developer
has bought three lots on that block—918, 920 and
922. The lots 918 and 922 are currently vacant, and
there is a house standing at 920. The developer is
seeking approval from the Historic Preservation
Review Board prior to obtaining building permits.
The residents object to the size of the proposed
homes that they say will block the light and air
they have enjoyed for decades. The commissioners
were unable to vote on the matter. The discussion
broke into several small group discussions between
various commissioners and residents. The meeting
lost any form of procedure, and it was hard for some
residents to follow what was happening.
Commissioner Veronica Raglin left the meeting
during this period, and the quorum was lost.
Commissioners Amon and Nelson left soon after.
Chairman Jarrell tried to regain order to the meeting
by calling a scheduled speaker to the dais, but it
was too late. Most of the commissioners had either
left or were engaged in conversations with residents.
Flexcar
Josh Gibson gave his presentation on the Flexcar
program in the city, but very few people were left to
hear it. Flexcar offers hourly car rentals to members.
The cars are available at most Metro stations. For
information, interested persons are asked to log on
to www.flexcar.com.
Attendance
Commissioners in attendance were Daniel Pernell,
Keith Jarrell, Marina Martin, Janet Quigley, Ronald
T.T. Nelson, Veronica Raglin, Joe Amon and
Gregory Ferrell. Commissioners Marvin Fields,
Ivette Basterrechea, Lamar McIntyre, Phillip
Edwards, Wanda Harris and Robert Hall were not in
attendance.
The next ANC 6 A regular meeting will be held
Thursday, July 11, at 7 p.m. in the Miner
Elementary School.
AN OPEN LETTER TO ANC 6A
At the last regular ANC meeting on May 2, I saw the
true colors of the 6A Commissioners.
Commissioner Ferrell and others were overheard
mocking my manner of speech and my Italian
accent.
It is amazing that in 2002, in an international
city such as Washington D.C., and in the very
shadow of the Capitol dome, an elected official not
only can make fun of a foreigner’s accent during an
official meeting, but can do it with impunity.
Since I don’t belong to any obvious minority
group based on the color of my skin, my religious
beliefs or my sexual orientation, I don’t have anyone
to speak up for me. I have to do it myself. I am
informing all of you that making fun of my accent
and manner of speech is not a laughing matter. It
reveals the prejudice, bigotry and pure and simple
racism of this Commission. If I were physically
challenged and, say, walked with a limp,
everyone would have been appalled if a
Commissioner had mocked my disability. At the
very least everyone would have agreed that it was in
poor taste. But making fun of my accent is a hilarious
joke, right? Believe me, I don’t need an ANC
Commissioner to remind me of my handicap.
I am disappointed not only at this crass and ignorant
behavior, but also at those who tolerated it.
Commissioner Ferrell should be ashamed of himself,
but where were the other Commissioners who
so quickly denounce intolerant speech in other
“politically correct” situations?
I was born and raised in another country, but I
became a citizen over a decade ago and pay my
taxes, volunteer, and serve the community like
VOICE of the Hill /July 2002
6 www.voiceofthehill.com
(continued on page 42)
many other Americans. I am Italian by birth but
American by choice. I’m not here to justify my heritage
to you. After all, Italians have come a long
way since the nineteenth century, when upon
arriving in the U.S., many were forced to wear the
label “W. O. P.” (“Without Papers”), a label not
forced on other ethnic groups. They were lynched
and murdered as they took places in the forefront of
the labor movement, the same labor movement
that is so important to us today. Yet they have
embraced, loved, and fought for this country.
Read the list of firefighters who lost their lives in
New York on September 11. You may have difficulty
in correctly pronouncing the many Italian surnames,
but I’ll bet you can proudly pronounce the
name of Rudolph Giuliani, an Italian-American.
So, dear Commissioners, mocking and laughing
at my accent shows only your bad taste, intolerance,
and ignorance. It’s pretty clear that my values
are quite different from yours. Therefore, effective
immediately, I resign from my position as
Commissioner for SMD 6A06.
Sincerely,
MARINA L. MARTIN
Southeast Citizens Chili Cook-off
Raises Nearly $8,000
June 3—Southeast Citizens for Smart Development
(SCSD) raised nearly $8,000 over the weekend at a
backyard chili cook-off and silent auction. The
grassroots organization was founded by neighborhood
activists Will Hill and Ellen Opper-Weiner to
oppose the construction of a 24-bed, communitybased
residential facility(CBRF) on Pennsylvania
Avenue SE. The money comes just in time for SCSD,
as the organization had run out of funds and still
had outstanding legal fees.
“It was a great success,” Opper-Weiner said of the
event.
The money will be used to defray legal costs associated
with the appeal of a building permit issued
to Boys Town for the construction of the facility,
along with the defense of both Hill and Opper-
Weiner, who are being sued by Boys Town. The
Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) recently ruled
that the permits were issued in error. Opper-Weiner
expects a stop work order to be issued in the next
week or so. Boys Town can still appeal the ruling,
seek a variance for the permit, or pursue both remedies.
Congressman Lee Terry ( R-NEB ) is seeking to
have the BZA ruling overturned by Congress. This
move has inspired the Congressman’s hometown
paper, The Omaha World-Herald, to rail against
him. (See editorial: http://www.omaha.com/index.
php?u_np=0&u_pg=608&u_sid=409707).
The chili cook-off was won by longtime Hill resident
Charlotte Furness. Her Red Chili comes from a
Mexican recipe that had been handed down over
the generations through her husband’s family.
Furness received a Tabasco gift basket as her prize.
Her recipe follows this article.
The more than 150 people who attended the
event, including City Council members David
Catania ( R- At-Large ) and Harold Brazil ( D- At-
Large ), had dozens of items to bid on that had been
donated by SCSD supporters. Several council members
donated a lunch date with the highest bidders
—Jim Graham ( D- Ward 1 ), Vincent Orange (
D- Ward 5 ), Kevin Chavous ( D- Ward 7 ), Phil
Mendelson ( D- At-Large ), Adrian Fenty ( D – Ward
4 ) and Linda Cropp ( D- At-Large ). Only Fenty’s
and Cropp’s lunch dates garnered more than the
minimum bid of $40, raising $65 for lunch with
Fenty and $70 for Cropp. It was a dinner with council
members Sharon Ambrose ( D – Ward 6 ) and
David Catania ( R – At-Large ) that brought in the
highest bid of the day. Capitol Hill Restoration
Society President Rob Nevitt paid $280 to break
bread with the duo.
A VHS copy of the Spencer Tracy classic Boys
Town brought in $15.
Critical Dates for ANC Election
Area Neighborhood Commissions (ANC’s) are
elected advisory boards made up of non-partisan
commissioners that represent residents on matters
such as zoning variances and liquor licenses,
among others. Each ANC is made up of about 10
Single Member Districts (SMD); each SMD is made
up of about 2,000 residents. Each SMD elects a commissioner
to the ANC.
The redistricting of the city will drastically
change the current make-up of the ANC’s in Ward
6. ANC Commissioners are volunteer positions,
and the term runs for two years. Below is a list of the
important dates for anyone interested in running
for ANC. To qualify to be on the ballot in
November, interested parties must submit a petition
with 25 signatures of registered voters in the
SMD in which they live. Petitions may be picked up
at the office of the D.C. Board of Elections and
Ethics (BOEE) at 441 Fourth Street NW, Suite 250
North.
• Wednesday, August 7: First day nominating
petitions are available at BOEE. (90 days before
the election).
• Friday, September 6: Deadline, by 5:00 p.m., for
filing of nominating petitions. (60 days before
the election).
• Friday, September 13: Lottery to determine ballot
position
• Tuesday, November 5: General Election Day
ANC 6B Gets New Commissioner
May 22— Advisory Neighborhood Commission
(ANC) 6B will soon have a new commissioner. ANC
6B Chairman Kenan Jarboe expects to get the official
notice from the Board of Elections and Ethics
confirming Michael Simpson as the replacement
for Anne Black. Black resigned recently, and
Simpson filed the needed signatures to fill the
remainder of her term. Once the ANC receives the
official notice, Simpson can be sworn in by a City
Council member.
Below is a brief biography submitted by the commissioner-
elect:
Michael W. Simpson
Since moving to Washington, DC, in 1997, I have
developed a deep love and affection for this city. My
lovely wife Kristin and I moved across town to
Capitol Hill in 2000, and bought a house on Walter
Street with our two dogs, Calvin and Annie, and our
cats, Rocky and Matilda. Instantly we felt a part of
this tremendous community, from our close-knit
group of neighbors to the fabulous community
service activities and weekly neighborhood watch
patrols. Of course, I hope to be part of the ANC so I
can make a difference. I see our neighborhood
expanding its vision and leading with conviction. I
want to represent 6B-06 as a whole, not as a segmented
group. We are only one neighborhood that
makes up this great city, and we can continue to
grow and create ideas, promise and hope. By creating
a clean, proactive, fun and productive neighborhood,
we can set an example and also partner
with the rest of the city. Why am I running for
ANC? Because serving this community and our
city is what I want to do. I will listen with my heart
and my mind.
A little bit about myself: I was born in France and
grew up an “army brat,” and was fortunate enough
to travel the world with a great sense of American
values, beliefs, duty and sense of responsibility.
Having one parent in the military and one who is a
28-year civil service veteran taught me the importance
of community and public service. My father
retired from the military in Dale City, Virginia,
which is where I completed high school and started
community college. After working in the building
supply/concrete industry for many years, I completed
college at Norfolk State University, majoring
in history and early childhood education. I worked
as a pre-K instructor for three years and then went
on to become a professional chef. I have worked in
the restaurant and catering business for the past
five years and am currently a territory manager for
a chemical company while continuing to dabble as
a personal chef and caterer.
You may contact me at welshsimpson@aol.com.
ANC 6B Chairman Chooses Not to Run
Jarboe Cites Professional and Personal Reasons
June 24—Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6B
(ANC 6B) Chairman Ken Jarboe announced today
that he will not seek re-election. In a two-paragraph
statement, Jarboe cited professional and personal
reasons for his decision.
Jarboe wrote,“On the professional side, the next
two years will be a very intense period for my career
and business. I need to devote far more time to
these activities than I have been able to give during
my time in office. On the personal side, I anticipate
that I will be moving out of my SMD within the
next six months to a year.” Jarboe’s entire statement
follows this article.
Jarboe, who is in his fourth year as a commissioner,
has been Chairman of the ANC that represents
the southern portion of Capitol Hill for the
past two years. His tenure has seen the ANC take an
aggressive stand on the renewal of liquor licenses
and the sale of single beers. He was instrumental,
along with ANC Vice-Chairman Will Hill, in having
the ANC become part of the appeal of the Boys
Town zoning permits. He ran the ANC meetings
with a deft touch of his gavel and a street-wise
approach to parliamentary procedure.
Jarboe plans to continue to live on Capitol Hill
and to be active in local affairs. He will be working
to help School Board Member Tommy Wells gain
re-election this fall. Jarboe doesn’t rule out a return
to politics in the future. The “Mayor of Capitol
Hill,” as some have come to refer to him, has long
been seen as a potential candidate for higher office.
Ward 6 Councilmember Sharon Ambrose, who
lives in ANC 6B, hopes that more community volunteers
will follow the example of Jarboe. “He has
been a wonderful representative of the community
and a terrific Chairman,” Ambrose said. “His not
running is a loss to the community; he has been a
hard worker on our behalf.”
Statement by Kenan Jarboe, Chairman, ANC 6B
Dear Friends,
I am writing to let you know that for both professional
and personal reasons I will not be seeking reelection
to the ANC this Fall. On the professional
side, the next two years will be a very intense period
for my career and business. I need to devote far
more time to these activities than I have been able
to give during my time in office. On the personal
side, I anticipate that I will be moving out of my
SMD within the next 6 months to a year. While I
VOICE of the Hill /July 2002
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Blimpie CFO Makes Presentation To
ANC 6A Zoning and Licensing
Committee
CDC Director Shows Drawings of Proposed NE Site
After Public Badgering
June 12—Peter DeCarlo, Chief Financial Officer of
Blimpie, made a presentation Wednesday to the
ANC 6A Zoning and Licensing Committee, describing
the proposed Blimpie fast food outlet at 8th and
H Streets NE.
While the presentation seemed to satisfy most of
the attendees, specific questions were raised by
committee members and the community relative
to the design of the building, the community participation
(or lack of it) in the design process, and
the H Street CDC connection to the deal.
While DeCarlo made the case for Blimpie and the
company’s commitment to the neighborhood and
adherence to design standards for the interior of
the building, it was not until an hour of increasingly
heated requests from the meeting attendees to be
shown what shape the building would take, that
Bill Barrow, H Street CDC Executive Director,
admitted he had drawings of the proposed building
with him (Barrow, when asked by this newspaper
earlier in the evening, had said that the only plans
were in the CDC office). Barrow also contended
that he had been showing this drawing at public
meetings for two years, although several attendees
stated this was a new drawing and not the one that
they had been shown at the time the CDC demolished
the 8th and H corner.
Attendance was heavy, considering that notice
for this meeting was sent at 1:30 p.m. the day of the
meeting (not within normal guidelines of community
notice).
Bill Barrow agreed to host a meeting in late July
before the next full ANC 6A meeting, in order to
solicit more community input. Please read Joe
Fengler’s account of the meeting in Hill Talk
Discussion for more details.
CHAMPS Annual Meeting
Election of New Officers and Two Awards Given
June 5—The CHAMPS Annual Meeting/Spring
Gathering was held Wednesday night at the
Monocle Restaurant on Capitol Hill. In addition to
recognizing the board of directors for the coming
year, outgoing President Dennis Bourgault presented
two awards. The President’s award was given to
Kathleen Franzen of Woman Friday, and The Libby
Sangster Award for Outstanding Capitol Hill
Business was awarded to Alvear Studio. The new
officers elected were:
Bruce Robey, Voice of the Hill, President
Bill Rouchell, Maison Orleans, 1st Vice President
Kathleen Milanich, Burnham Communications,
2nd Vice President
Kathleen Franzen, Woman Friday, Secretary
Judy Wood, Art Works, Treasurer
The four CHAMPS Gatherings each year are
designed to provide opportunities for members to
meet other members. The sharing of ideas and
resources among neighborhood business is one of
the major benefits of CHAMPS membership. For
more information about CHAMPS, interested persons
may call Rob Gabany at (202) 547-7788.
Birth of a BID
Capitol Hill Business Improvement District Coming
Soon
Capitol Hill will soon join such D.C. neighborhoods
as Georgetown, Downtown and the “Golden
Triangle” as the site of a Business Improvement
District (BID). George Didden, President of the
Capitol Hill BID Steering Committee, made the
announcement June 13.
While legislative and other requirements still
need to be met, the “yes” votes necessary to be cast
by business and property owners was secured. The
group achieved 38% “yes” votes from local business
owners (25% is the requirement) and 51.01% “yes”
votes from owners of the $273,547,794 of assessed
business property on the Hill.
Business owners can expect to see the additional
charges to fund the Hill BID in their September tax
bills, and all of us should start to see the effects of
the BID Clean and Safe program starting in
September, as well.
Capitol Hill Dawgs Open Season With
Resounding Victory
Sets Stage for Maiden Season
Release from the Capitol Hill Dawgs. The Capitol Hill
Dawgs opened their 2002 maiden season in the
Prince George’s County Senior Babe Ruth League
with a resounding 17-2 win over Fort Washington
in a game played at Cosca Park (PG County).
Clyde “CJ” Bailey led the Dawgs with a sterling
mound performance, allowing only four hits in a
complete game victory (seven innings). Bailey
struck out nine batters and walked only two,
exhibiting excellent command of his fastball.
Leading the Dawgs’ 18-hit offensive attack were
Justin Lazenby (three hits, including a double and
triple, three runs scored, along with three RBIs) and
Aaron Scott (two hits, two RBIs, two runs scored).
James Freeman, Kelvin Bigesby and Calvin Bigesby
also chipped in with two hits each.
The Dawgs, playing with only one practice session
behind them, also displayed strong defense.
VOICE of the Hill /July 2002
8 www.voiceofthehill.com
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Calvin Bigesby played strongly behind the plate,
throwing out one of two runners at second; Justin
Lazenby and CJ Bailey executed a perfect relay and
cut set of throws to nail a runner attempting to
advance to second base on a single to right field;
and the Dawgs consistently executed infield throws
on close plays and run-downs.
Also apparent was the fantastic team speed up
and down the Dawgs’ lineup that resulted in 15
stolen bases (three from James Freeman and Kelvin
Bigesby and two each from Franklin Davis, Aaron
Scott, Justin Lazenby, and Calvin Bigesby). Third
base coach Al Scott conveyed to the Dawgs’ players
a very aggressive offensive philosophy.
“Tonight’s game was a confidence-booster for our
players,” said Dawgs’ Manager Jack Polidori. “But it
is not indicative of the league’s highly-competitive
nature. It gave us a chance to start off positively and
have our team realize that our success is dependent
on good pitching, sound defense and a full roster of
players ready to perform their assignment at any
given moment.”
Two Capitol Hill Scouts Earn Eagle
Rank
John O’Donnell, Jack Pfeiffer Receive Scouting’s
Highest Honor
It’s celebration time for Capitol Hill Scouts. Two
members of Troop 500 have recently earned the
highest rank in Boy Scouting. A Court of Honor was
held in the Rayburn House Office Building on June
1 to officially present the Eagle Scout Award to John
O’Donnell and Jack Pfeiffer.
The formal ceremony was attended by Troop 500
Scouts, adult leaders and alumni, along with many
relatives and friends. Those gathered included
about a dozen fellow Eagle Scouts from Troop 500
and other units. Some had earned the rank in other
regions of the country as long as 40 years ago.
The sunlit U.S. Capitol dome loomed appropriately
behind the honorees, through the glass doors
of the Rayburn Building’s main foyer. John’s brother,
Life Scout and Troop Guide Luke O’Donnell led
the Court of Honor. Color Guard members were
Tenderfoot Scout Andrew Melendy and 2nd Class
Scout Robbie Otto. All Scouts had a part in presenting
a special version of the 12-point Scout Law.
Father Michael O’Sullivan, Pastor of St. Peter’s
Church on Capitol Hill, led a prayer.
Troop Committee Chair Jeff Serfass presented the
Eagle awards to John and Jack. Speakers included
Scoutmaster Rob Corder, Troop Advancement
Chair Bob Sonderman, Assistant Scoutmaster Gary
Barbour and Irene Gardner, Eagle Advancement
Advisor for the Horizon District of the National
Capital Area Council.
To accomplish the remarkable achievement of
becoming Eagle Scouts, John and Jack each needed
to earn 21 merit badges, including 12 that are
specifically required and nine selected from a broad
range of skills and interests according to each
Scout’s personal preferences. In addition, each
completed a requisite community service “Eagle
Project.”
John’s service project was to plan and carry out
the painting of a mural on all four walls of the
music room at Watkins Elementary School. The
project was the inspiration of Watkins librarian
Cathy Pfeiffer, Jack’s mom, who died in a tragic car
accident in January. The work was carried out with
artistic support from Margit Kerwin and Pia Oehler.
Jack planned and led Troop 500 Scouts, classmates
and family members in designing and building
shelves and a mobile book cart for the
Children’s Room of the Southeast Branch of the
District of Columbia Public Library on Capitol Hill.
Jack and the Troop are donating the shelves and
cart to the Library in memory of his mother.
Both John and Jack have held several key leadership
positions in Troop 500, including Senior Patrol
Leader; Assistant Senior Patrol Leader; Patrol
Leader; and Assistant Patrol Leader. John has
recently been named an Assistant Scoutmaster and
will be a leader of the Capitol Hill Scouts crew at the
high-adventure Philmont Scout Ranch in New
Mexico this August.
John and Jack also have been involved in many
activities outside of Scouting. John has participated
in crew, swimming and cross-country sports in
school. Jack has been on his school swim team
(captain), crew and rowing, was an altar server at St.
Peter’s Church, and a Congressional page in the
House and Senate. Both boys have been strong
swimmers for the Cheverly Swim and Racquet Club
in nearby Cheverly, Md.
Former Scoutmaster Mark O’Donnell, John’s dad,
related some touching personal experiences that he
and the two boys had shared in Scouting. He
observed that they had advanced through Cub
Scouts together and attended school together on
Capitol Hill from pre-school to high school.
O’Donnell said John and Jack have been “joined
at the hip” since they were born. Punctuating that
point, he noted that just as the boys were receiving
their Eagle awards together, they would be receiving
their diplomas together from Gonzaga College
High School the next day.
Union Station and the National
Archives Celebrate - July 4th
“Declaring Our Freedom—Preserving Our Freedom”
BY LISA KUNKLER MCCLURE
While the National Archives Building is under renovation,
the public is invited to come to Union
Station for the 226th anniversary of the
Declaration of Independence. The ceremony and
family activities are free and open to the public in
the Main and West Halls of Union Station. Union
Station is located at 50 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
has an attached parking garage and a Metro stop on
the Red Line.
The festivities include: Special exhibits from 10
a.m. – 5 p.m., such as viewing the 1823 copper plate
engraving of the Declaration, the model of the new
case for the Declaration and a preview of the
National Archives Experience. There will be live
demonstrations and performances ongoing from
10 a.m. to 5 p.m., as well as hands-on family activities.
The Declaration Reading Ceremony will be held
from 2 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Featured dramatic readings
will be presented by Washington DC news anchors
Maureen Bunyan (WJLA, ABC 7) and Gurvir
Dhindsa (WUSA, CBS 9) and the Time Travelers.
Voice of the Hill CD Available
A CDROM containing every issue of the Voice of the
Hill since April 1999 is now available. For more
information, contact Bruce Robey, 202-544-0703
World Cuisine Catering Opens for
Coffee and More
World Cuisine Catering, located at 523 8th Street
SE, has just finished rehabilitating its facade and
refitting its storefront to allow owners Cara Masino
and Robert Ramsey to open a retail coffee and gourmet
breakfast/lunch take out operation. Inside the
sparkling new display glass storefront, a warm interior
adorned with stylish furnishings from Barracks
Row’s Alvear Studio Design and Imports invites
patrons to linger, sampling lemon caper salmon,
grilled vegetables, gourmet chicken wings, and, of
course, coffee!
The Voice’s website, www.voiceofthehill. com, is
updated several times a week, providing readers with
up-to-date news that affects all of us. Log on and
explore!
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VOICE of the Hill /July 2002
www.voiceofthehill.com 9
Business Bits
BellArchitects: Building a Reputation on
the Art of Historic Preservation
BY ADELE ROBEY
There’s something calming and almost Zen-like
about an architect’s office. People speak in low
tones, moving quietly and with economy of movement
as they work silently, totally absorbed in the
piecing together of plans for buildings to be. And
although these days, most of these plans are done
with the aid of a computer, the atmosphere of the
office is more reflective of the days when these
large, elaborate floor plans and renderings were
painstakingly inked by hand.
David Bell’s office is like that.
David and the four employees who make up
BellArchitects have recently taken over the first
home office on G Street, NE. On his own since 1999,
David is building a reputation as a local authority
on the architecture of historic preservation. He is a
passionate believer in community, and that good
design is about problem-solving. Every structural
action that is taken—be it construction, restoration
or deconstruction—has a strong impact on what
surrounds that action and thereby on the community
at large. These beliefs are borne out by David’s
commitment to groups that are grappling with
both the architectural direction and economic
development of the community, such as the new H
Street Main Street initiative.
David was born in Toronto, moved to
Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1976, and attended
Virginia Tech, graduating with a Bachelor of
Architecture degree in 1983. After graduation he
migrated north (a little bit) to Alexandria, where he
worked for the firm of Wisnewski Blair for six years,
getting his architectural feet wet working on commercial
as well as multi-family residential projects.
His next stop was a bit down the road in at Morgan
Gick in Falls Church, a firm which had six employees
at the time. The move enabled him to become
more involved in the decision-making laying the
groundwork for the day he would be making those
decisions for himself (he had set a timeframe to be
on his own by age 35, a goal he missed by only three
years). Morgan Gick was his last stop in Virginia,
leaving there for Sorg and Associates, at that time
located downtown on K Street, NW. It was here he
worked on his first historic tax credit job, Central
Station in Memphis, Tenn., originally designed by
Daniel Burnham for the Illinois Central Railway.
This led to a number of highly visible preservation
projects such as the Main Street Station in
Richmond, Va. (yes, it’s the one you see from the
expressway when you are passing through on your
way south), and the Georgetown Post Office.
Although he had other responsibilities on some of
these projects, he was “preservation architect” on
all of them. His career path was set.
Along the line he purchased a home on Capitol
Hill on G Street, NE. It was here that he opened the
doors of BellArchitects in 1999, a move that was
kicked into gear by his volunteer work with the
Atlas Theater Project, a project which had as its goal
not only adaptive reuse of an historic structure but
also the economic development of upper H Street,
NE. This convinced him that there were enough
possibilities for work in the community that he
wouldn’t go hungry. His first paying job was a window
restoration in Kalorama.
David currently has a number of projects on the
burner, the most visible being the Sherwood
Recreation Center between 9th and 10th on G
Street, NE. This design build project was proposed
to the DC Office of Property Management in 2000,
got the go-ahead in fall 2001, and is looking toward
completion in March 2003. Renderings of the center
line the walls, and sample pieces of colorful tile,
flooring and bits of glass are piled around as tangible
pieces of the design process. In the works also is
a wonderful (I saw the plans) addition for a private
client on Capitol Hill—a commercial work along
Georgia Avenue—and now he is part of the team
looking at the Old Naval Hospital on Pennsylvania
Avenue, SE.
Preservation does not necessarily
mean historic restoration.
When David first said this, I thought I had misheard
him. Surely as a preservation architect, he is
about preserving the past. And he his. But not to
the point of slavishly recreating it. What he believes
in is the reuse of buildings in new ways—not copying
what was done in, say 1890, but using modern
materials in a way that is sympathetic to the original
aesthetic. He points out that all of the buildings
that are reused were “modern” in their own time,
and it is now our legacy to impose 21st Century sensibilities
onto them. He believes that’s what makes
our cities so rich—the overlay of ideas and materials
which, over time, causes an evolution which is not
just about architecture but about community.
Problem Solving
David’s style centers around problem solving and
project evolution, something he learned through
his work on the Georgetown Post Office. The final
Architect David Bell checks plans for an addition he is designing for a Capitol Hill client.
floor of 500 H Street, NE, after having outgrown his
VOICE of the Hill /July 2002
10 www.voiceofthehill.com
Morton’s Care Pharmacy Announces
Opening of New Wellness Center
With franchises governing much of our economy,
it has become increasingly difficult to find a pharmacy
that is committed to the customer.
Newcomers to the Hill often think that CVS and
Safeway are their only options, but that is not the
case! Many Hill residents frequent Grubb’s
Pharmacy (4th and East Capitol) because of the
warm friendly, and competent staff. Prescriptions
are filled accurately and in a timely manner, and
the customer is, of course, always right. Just a few
blocks away from Grubb’s is Morton’s Care
Pharmacy, another small business that offers the
same personal care and attention that we all crave
when we’re sick.
Serving the Capitol Hill community since 1969,
Morton’s is soon to be more than just a pharmacy.
On July 1, the business will unveil its new, highlyinnovative,
patient-centered health and wellness
center. Incorporating a wellness center within its
pharmacy, Morton’s will now provide pharmaceutical
care services to the Capitol Hill community,
including medication counseling, disease prevention
& management services and health screenings.
The new wellness center is coordinated by Dr.
Ranti Akiyode and Essie Orekoya, RN. An assistant
professor at Howard University, School of
Pharmacy, Dr. Akiyode is well-trained in medication
and herbal counseling and disease state management
programs (i.e. diabetes, hypertension,
HIV/AIDS). Essie Orekoya, RN, specializes in breast
prosthetic fittings, flu/pneumonia vaccinations,
women’s health and nutrition counseling.
Morton’s new wellness center aims to provide optimal
health care in collaboration with other health
care providers (physician, nurses, dieticians, etc.).
The following services will be available at the
Morton’s Care Pharmacy Wellness Center: diabetes
screening, cholesterol screening, blood pressure
screening, osteoporosis screening, medication
counseling, nutrition counseling, flu/pneumonia
vaccinations and prosthetic fittings. Also available
will be a diabetes management program, hypertension
management program, and a weight management
program. For more information, interested
persons may stop by Morton’s at 724 East Capitol
Street, NE, or give them a call: 202-543-6813
(Wellness Center) or 202-543-1616 (pharmacy).
And word is that the crew at Morton’s will soon
be offering a line of veterinary wellness services.
Imagine—you and Spot can now get your shots
together!
3 G Painting and Faux Finishing:
Three Generations of Painting
If you’re looking for a decorative change—maybe a
new color in the dining room, or perhaps marbling
the kitchen cabinets—whatever the project, 3-G
Painting and Faux-Finishing can help. Established
in 1999, 3-G is a one-man business, run by Hill resident
Robert (Bo) Eddy.
As many people know, it can be almost impossible
to find a painter who does great work, is consistently
on time, and doesn’t charge an arm and a leg.
Sometimes quality must be sacrificed for the sake of
cost, but not with 3-G.
structure looks far different than the drawings initially
submitted for bid. This was due to negotiations
along the way with USPS, who had one idea of
restoration; input from Georgetown community
leaders who wanted a project that respected history
and the environment; and working with the
Historic Preservation Review Board. As each of
these entities weighed in, modifications were
made—some suggestions were kept, others discarded,
until a final design emerged that honored the
best of all of them. And this is how he works. His
design conceit centers around color and texture,
how things fit, sympathetic forms to the project
surroundings, modern materials in unexpected
uses.
The Future
Like anyone in business (and don’t believe them if
they tell you otherwise), David can always use more
business. He’d like to keep 8 to 10 projects on the
books at any one time, and thanks to technology,
he can do that with a fairly compact staff. With his
grounding in historic preservation, adaptive reuse
More Business Bits
COMPILED BY JULIA ROBEY
Bo Eddy was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon,
where he learned to paint in 1991. He started with
his father as a summer job, and went later to work
with his uncle Don, who taught him the value of
getting the job done quickly. Occasionally, his
grandfather (Chuck) would need some help, and Bo
would work with him, eventually working for him
full-time. Bo says it was his grandfather who taught
him the most important aspects of business: “He
taught me patience and detail; to make it right or
don’t even bother; and to make money after you
make the customer and friend happy.”
Bo later worked with another uncle, Tommy,
from whom he “learned the business-like manner
in which to treat people…and when to say no.” Bo
gained many of his skills while living in Oregon:
painting, chemical compatibility, drywall repair,
patching, priming, caulking, construction, fire
damage control, restoration, cleanliness, spackling,
electrical, plumbing and troubleshooting. Bo also
learned about custom color matching. “Chuck used
to have to color match from books,” he recalls, with
colorants he had on hand. “There were no computers
to match colors back then.”
After acquiring such a vast knowledge of skills
and techniques, he moved to DC, where he took up
with a man named Michael Cochran. Cochran
took Bo under his wing and hired him for regular
work in 1997. “He taught me faux finishing, and
even paid for some of my courses,” Bo states.” “He
taught me about wallpapering, stripping paper,
borders, custom screens and the beauty element
that paint can sometimes lack. He taught me that
anyone can paint; the difference is making it sing,
making it beautiful, and doing it quickly. He introduced
me to the world of corporate work, as well.
We did work for design houses, set displays in the
Design Center, and did some work for Polo of
Georgetown. I was always more of a detail guy, and
sometimes I took too much time for his taste, but
we complemented each other in many ways.”
In 1999, Bo started launched own business, 3-G
Painting and Faux-finishing; the rest is history! You
can see samples of his faux-finishing on his website:
http://home.earthlink.net/~djsimple007/3G.html, or
contact him at 202-543-0532.
Julia Robey compiles Business Bits—as well as the
Community Calendar—every month in The Voice of
the Hill.
and belief in sympathetic design, his skills should
become more and more in demand, as the Hill
struggles through this latest growth spurt with
development arguments erupting on all sides on
almost every project. David’s is a calm voice of reason
in this storm.
But meanwhile, he designs a mean addition.
Reach him at 202-548-7570.
The BellArchitects team,
left to right: Agyei O.S.
Hargrove, T. David Bell,
AIA, Theresa K. Romano,
Sylvia T. Rollins, Robert L.
Kaylor, AIA
VOICE of the Hill /July 2002
www.voiceofthehill.com 11
Not terribly long ago, I used to joke to my real
estate colleagues “what neighborhood in
America doesn’t have a Starbucks?” Invariably
they would say they didn’t know and I
would reply “Capitol Hill.” But, of course, all that
has changed now with the arrival of Starbucks on
Pennsylvania Avenue.
In fact, in the last year alone, we have witnessed
the advent of not only Starbucks, but also a whole
plethora of players, as the benefits of urban retail
have been lauded both near and as far away as Las
Vegas, Nevada, at the annual International Council
of Shopping Centers Convention.
Since the arrival of Starbucks, we have seen every
conceivable retailer arrive from Firehook Bakery to
Yes! Organic Grocer to Sherwin-Williams Paints to
Joseph A. Bank Clothiers to Home Depot Hardware.
Was it a coincidence? I hardly think so.
To better understand the urban retail phenomenon,
we must look back a year or more ago. Before
the arrival of these new retailers to the origins of the
Capitol Hill Business Improvement District (“BID”),
the Barracks Row/MainStreet initiative, and the
Bolan Smart Commercial Development Report was
The Voice of the Hill Retail Survey—the results of
which heave never been released. Until now.
Surveying the Situation
To begin with, we need to examine the theme of the
“Retail Survey.” The theme posited the question
“Where do Capitol Hill residents shop?” rather
than “What goods and services do they want on
Capitol Hill?” It was intended to be a reverse
approach to retail requirements based upon the formulaic
approach that to identify the retailer we can
then define (a) the floorplate requirement; and (b)
floorplate availability. The survey was essentially
broken down into three retail components: 1) Food;
2) Sundries; and 3) Entertainment. The category
“Food” was further broken down into breakfast,
lunch and dinner. “Sundries” was broken down
into drug stores, hardware and clothing, and
“Entertainment” was broken down into books,
music and movies.
We then took the results of the survey and
plugged in the Commercial Development Report.
The report found that, based upon the results of the
2000 Census demographics, the mean family
income on the Hill was approximately $84,500; the
average single family home resale value was
$215,000; and that 59% of the overall population
had achieved either a college-level or post-graduate
education.
The report went on to suggest that the Hill could
experience further retail success with a proposed
mix of restaurants, sundries and specialty shops.
Some of these suggestions included everything
from a delicatessen to an office supply store to a
sports bar to a store specializing in home furnishings.
The report further recommended that certain
retailers such as Buffalo Billiards, Lechter’s and
Staples should be sought after as suitable additions
to our retail mix.
Oddly enough, The Voice of the Hill survey supported
the same findings. It seems that we are an
upwardly-mobile community, and that Capitol Hill
residents were willing to travel great distances to
consume their creature comforts. As you can see
from the following list of retailers, we simply want
to enjoy the same goods and services found in other
major metropolitan markets in America; however,
the results may surprise you.
Taking a Closer Look
Armed with the above information, I began a comprehensive
inquiry into the total number of commercially-
zoned retail properties on Capitol Hill. I
contacted all the owners and tabulated the individual
properties’ gross overall first floor footage, a
floorplan if available, and a lease expiration date.
Many of the pre-existing tenants, with a strong
presence in the retail marketplace, had long-term
leases that extended out five, ten or more years.
Examples of these tenants include Kinko’s,
McDonalds, CVS and banks. In all of these cases,
these retailers exist in urban areas throughout
America without exception. Unfortunately, other
national retailers have an entirely different formulaic
approach, based upon everything from minimum
square footage, pre-existing tenant mix, larger
retail anchors, column spacings, floor-to-ceiling
heights, proximity to public transportation, freestanding
pad sites, closest competition, corner versus
mid-block locations, availability of parking,
demographics and more.
Often price was not nearly as key a quotient as
the other aforementioned criteria, and, unfortunately,
the aforementioned criteria did not reflect
the urban environment. Let’s face it—the Hill has
two principal corridors of retail development:
Pennsylvania Avenue and 8th Street, SE. Another
dilemma, as the results of the survey demonstrated,
is that we want all of the goods and services that
every other urban neighborhood in America does,
but we also want to retain our own individuality.
We want to participate in the urban redevelopment
process and not be dictated to by the whims of consumer-
oriented corporate America. The good news
is that we are a proactive community willing to participate
in the process.
Forming a Partnership
Lest I forget, I want to let you know that many of
So Where Do We Go From Here?
Results of The Voice of the Hill’s Retail Survey Reveal Some Surprises
BY HARRY SCHNIPPER
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Food
Bagels
Chesapeake Bagels
Einstein Bagels
Bethesda Bagels
Bakery
Firehook Bakery
Marvelous Market
Donuts
Krispy Kreme
Dunkin Donuts
Eat-In Pizza
Pizza Paradiso
Food Markets
Fresh Fields
Trader Joe’s
Harris Teeter
Sutton Place
Dean and DeLuca
Magruders
Furnishings
Home Furnishings
Crate and Barrel
Pottery Barn
Housewares
Crate and Barrel
Target
Sur La Table
Williams Sonoma
Linens ’n’ Things
Home Rule
Restoration Hardware
Pottery Barn
Bed Bath and Beyond
Rodman’s
Men’s Clothing
Banana Republic
The Gap
Nordstrom’s
Britches
Eddie Bauer
Shoes
Nordstrom
Kenneth Cole
Comfort Zone
Sportswear
The Gap
Sports Authority
Fatigues
Women’s Clothing
Target
Filene’s Basement
Putumayo
Ann Taylor
Talbot’s
Eddie Bauer
Nordstrom’s
Sundries
Arts and Crafts
Pearl
Michaels
Bookstore Café
Kramerbooks and
Afterwords
Politics and Prose
Olsson’s
Barnes and Noble
Computers and
Electronics
Best Buy
Cosmetics
Kiehl’s
The Body Shop
Sephora
Drug Store
Rite Aid
Eckerd
Hardware
Home Depot
Lowe’s
Office Supplies
Staples
Office Depot
Sewing
Jo Ann Fabrics
Calico Corner
Toys/Games
Zany Brainy
your favorite retailers have been contacted.
Kramerbooks, Olsson’s and Politics and Prose are all
being beaten up right now by the big boys—namely,
Borders and Barnes and Noble. Chesapeake,
Einstein and Manhattan Bagels are all owned by
World Coffee out of New Jersey, and there are rules
associated with pre-existing territorial turfs governing
all future franchising. Lechter’s is now bankrupt
and preparing for liquidation (if it isn’t already
liquidated); Sutton Place Gourmet is suffering the
economic ills of over expansion and outsider competition;
and Trader Joe’s is presently negotiating to
take space in the new O Street Market near the new
Convention Center.
But it’s not all bad news. Firehook Bakery arrived
in first quarter of 2002 and specifically cited the
survey results as one of the leading reasons for
locating on Capitol Hill.
So where do we go from here? We must enlist the
support and cooperation of absentee landlords and
third-party brokers alike. We must continue to educate
them to our needs and not their wants. After
all, retailing is a partnership between corporate and
consumer needs—or at least it should be. We want
complementary goods and services that both compliment
the community and complement themselves.
Harry Schnipper is a principal in the commercial real
estate brokerage firm International Realty Group, representing
both individual and corporate clients alike.
He is a native Washingtonian, a Capitol Hill resident
and is incoming Chair to the CHAMPS Economic
Development Committee.
Results of 2001 Capitol Hill Consumer Survey
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www.voiceofthehill.com 13
The H Street Amoco. The
MedLink hospital. Boys
Town. St. Coletta and DC
General. Old Naval
Hospital. Bryan School.
What neighborhood in the city
boasts more potential development
projects than Capitol Hill?
Unfortunately, it is up to us, as the
residents who are forced to live with
the results of these projects—for better
or for worse—to differentiate
between development that will be a
plus for the Hill, and development
that will detract from the historic
neighborhood’s architecture, neighborly
feel, and of course, its parking.
Although, as evidenced above,
countless projects exist, two particular
plans have been the talk of our
small village lately—Station Place
and Main Street. While Station Place
caused tempers to flare, both the H
Street and Barracks Row Main Street
Projects continue to prove that
“development” doesn’t have to be a
dirty word.
Station Place—Will it Lead
to ‘Crystal Citification?’
Construction of Station Place, the
1.5 million-square foot office complex
located next to Union Station,
began in February of this year. The
controversial project divided Capitol
Hill into two camps: those who welcomed
the project and those who
claimed that its presence would
mark the beginning of the “Crystal
Citification” of Capitol Hill, bringing
in a huge number of commuters
with no vested interest in the neighborhood.
Like it or not, however, the Station
Place project is now officially underway
—but even those who supported
the project, designed by Kevin
Roche, John Dinkeloo and
Associates, still have concerns about
the practicality of the design.
The Stanton Park Neighborhood
Association, who supported the
project since the beginning, is still
“My home is vibrating every
morning,” he says. “Neighbors have
told me that they literally have
things vibrating off of the shelves.
The developer maintains that it is
not substantial enough to cause
damage, but they’re dealing with
100-year old Victorian row houses
that are held together with sand and
hope—in dealing with modern construction,
I’m sure the developer is
right.”
A Walk Down Main Street
Unlike the controversial Station
Place project, the city’s Main Street
Program, part of Mayor Williams’s
ReStore DC initiative, has been
extremely well-received by Hill residents.
Capitol Hill has not one, but
two Main Street projects taking place
within its boundaries—8th Street
Barracks Row and H Street. The
Capitol Hill projects are two of the
first five sites selected to receive up
to five years of assistance with funding,
technical assistance, and other
measures to help attract business
and economic development.
Barracks Row was chosen to participate
in Washington’s Main Street
program just like everyone else—at
an April 25 press conference held by
Mayor Williams. But the area of 8th
Street between Pennsylvania Avenue
and M Street had been unofficially
implementing the Main Street
model, as outlined by the National
Trust for Historic Preservation,
which oversees the program, for
some time now.
“We’ve been operating independently
through private, individual
and foundation funding since 1997;
we became incorporated in 1999;
and opened an office in 2000,” says
Jill Dowling, outgoing executive
director of the Barracks Row Main
Street organization, the nonprofit
that oversees the project.
Unlike seemingly every other
development project on the Hill,
Dowling says there has been no
opposition to the Main Street project,
largely because those spearheading
the project keep the public
informed at every step. “We’ve been
going through the community association
meeting process with each of
our project’s goals —the streetscape,
historical survey, and historical district
expansion efforts.”
“We also publish a quarterly
newsletter, update our website weekly,
and we have a column in the
Voice of the Hill to make the community
aware of what’s going on,” says
Dowling.
The organization’s mission is to
“to benefit the broadest possible
local community by restoring 8th
Street SE as a vibrant commercial
link connecting Capitol Hill with
the waterfront,” according to its
website. With official recognition by
Development on the Hill:
Like it or Not, Things Are
Happening Here
BY SARAH GODFREY
worried about the building’s design.
“What got lost in the public discourse
was the ability to approve the
project, but oppose the design,” says
Drury Tallant, president of the
Stanton Park Neighborhood
Association (SPNA).
According to Tallant, the SPNA
lobbied for design concessions from
the developer, but the group was
“largely unsuccessful.” Their main
concern—the short amount of space
between the building’s façade and
the street.
Station Place will be only 30 feet
from the curb—the neighboring
Thurgood Marshall building has a
setback of 55 feet. The SPNA believes
this isn’t enough space for two reasons.
“First, for aesthetics,” says
Tallant. “It’s too close to the street
for a two-story Victorian Row house
neighborhood. Second, for security
—the building will house the
Securities Exchange Commission,
and all of the security arrangements
are on public space—the 30 feet
between the curb and the building.
A bike path, a pull-off for cars dropping
people off, a pedestrian walkway,
landscaping and security—
that’s an awful lot to cram into 30
feet.”
The SPNA had also hoped that
designers would incorporate elements
from the very different landscapes
on each side of the building
into the architecture. The site faces
Columbus Circle on one side, neighborhood
homes on another, the H
Street Bridge on yet another, and
railroad tracks on the remaining
side.
“It won’t win any design award—
it’s a mediocre government building,”
says Tallant. He also says that
the site was a great opportunity for
an interesting building, with very
different elements on the north,
south, east and west sides. “It’s an
unusual site,” says Tallant. “There
are four radically different expressions
—monumentality, small scale
architecture, industrial, and a 50-
mile-per-hour, eight-lane bridge.”
Tallant also says that Station Place
construction has already disrupted
those living nearby—and the work
isn’t even close to being finished.
VOICE of the Hill /July 2002
someone in Virginia who didn’t care
about it. With the exception of the
H Street Playhouse, it is the most significant
development in the last
three years.”
Layman says that the area has
great potential, but that careful planning
is key to the revitalization of H
Street. “H Street has been the way
that it is for 34 years—does it make
sense to rush and do stupid things,
or look at it in a more nuanced
way?”
The Issue of Parking
The one unifying issue most Capitol
Hill residents are concerned about,
regardless of which development
project they are opposed to—or in
favor of—is parking. Suburbanites
are granted not one, but two
assigned spaces that belong only to
them, and those who dare to park
there without invitation are promptly
towed.
City dwellers have no such luxury
— a lucky few have driveways, but
most of us park on the street. No
matter how welcome they are, new
stores, restaurants and offices on the
Hill means more people, in cars, visiting
our neighborhood and taking
our parking spaces.
Jill Dowling says the Barracks Row
project is actually going to add to,
rather than subtract from, the number
of available spots. “Parking is an
issue for 8th Street,” she says. “Our
streetscape design actually adds 40
spaces by creating angled parking on
the east side of the street, and we’re
exploring development opportunities
to create a surface lot under the
freeway.”
Tallant, however, says he isn’t worried
about Station Place draining the
neighborhood’s street spaces. “DC
does one thing right, and that is
ticket cars,” he states. “I don’t complain
about Zone 6 parking enforcement.
It’s very good.”
Tallant says Station Place developers
did a good job in making sure
excess traffic will come off the H
the city’s Main Street program, coupled
with Capitol Hill’s new Business
improvement District (BID) designation
announced in June, Barracks
Row is well on its way to becoming
one of the city’s brightest destination
spots.
The H Street Main Street project is
also gearing up to revitalize H Street.
The commercial strip, which will be
anchored by the H Street Playhouse
on one end and, perhaps, the hotlyopposed
BP Amoco Station at the
other, can look forward to exciting
new businesses and other improvements.
Hill resident Richard Layman,
however, believes that the city
should pump more money into the
H Street Main Street project—which
helps businesses and focuses on
building preservation—and give less
to the H Street Community
Development Corporation (CDC).
“The city has committed $250,000
over four years to the Main Street
program, but just this month gave a
million dollars to the H Street CDC
to build a one-story building with
two chain shoe stores and a fast food
restaurant,” Layman points out.
“Why even bother funding Main
Street if you’re going to give four
times the amount of money to
something that contradicts it?”
“In my opinion,” Layman continues,
“every [H Street CDC] project is
a little worse than the one before it.
They’re destroying the architectural
character and pedestrian orientation
of the quarter.”
Layman says the majority of quality
development to date has come
from individuals, not the CDC.
“Most of the development has been
initiated by individuals who opened
businesses on H Street and encouraged
their friends to do the same.”
Layman cites David Bernhart’s renovation
of 421 H Street as particularly
significant. “It was an eyesore—people
were sleeping in the building,
shooting up in the building. Before
David bought it, it was owned by
banites. In New York City, people
don’t assume that it is their Godgiven
right to own two, three, or
four cars and to park them on the
street.”
“The issue isn’t parking,” Layman
concludes. “The issue is bringing
viable, exciting businesses that
attract people.”
Writer Sarah Godfrey has written about
a number of local development projects
in past issues of this newspaper.
Street Bridge and into a parking
garage, instead of circling through
the residential areas. Tallant, who
doesn’t drive, isn’t as concerned
with the parking issues as other Hill
residents are. “It can’t get any
worse,” he muses. “When the street
fills up, the street fills up—but I may
be proved wrong.”
Layman believes that parking is
the least of H Street’s concerns. “This
is a city. The problem is that most
people here are thinking like subur-
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www.voiceofthehill.com 15
BY SCOTT GATES
What do Strategery, Moose
Knuckles, and Rusty Trombones
have in common? Are they up-andcoming
local bands? No (at least, not
that we’re aware). These are some of
the whimsical team names of folks
who recently had a go at “Quizzo,”
the Tuesday night trivia contest that
starts at 8 p.m. every week at Politiki
on Pennsylvania Avenue SE.
We’ve begun with some questions,
because that is what Quizzo is all
about—two consecutive games of
trivia questions, each lasting a little
over an hour and consisting of three
rounds, including a “Speed Round”
in each game. Of course, the more
correct answers one’s team gets, the
better that team is doing versus the
competition. A “joker” option,
which can double a team’s score for
a round, adds a wrinkle of strategy
(or is it “strategery?”) to the game, as
well.
But enough about the rules and
mechanics of the game; what’s it like
to play Quizzo? Why bother to play
at all?
Quizzo is advertised as an opportunity
to “…test your knowledge,
and win a $10 or $20 bar tab—just
for knowing the correct answers.”
But you can also think of it as a time
for getting together with some
friends and having some fun racking
your brains for answers in an atmosphere
where the stress is positive,
not daunting. You may impress your
pals with your knowledge of, say,
1940’s cinema; you may surprise
yourself with what you know; and
regardless, you’ll surely pick up a few
more factoids to add to your repertoire
of the esoteric.
Neal Racioppo, who compiles the
questions for Quizzo is also the lively
and amiable emcee, keeping the
game moving at a fairly speedy pace.
This lends some excitement to the
game—rushing one’s team’s answers
to the scoring table before time is up
can be a bit exhilarating. Racioppo
has a handful of friends who from
time to time help out with the scoring.
This night (June 11)’s “Scoring
Babe” is Sara, who says it can be
“stressful, but it’s a lot of fun helping
out.”
Levels—Literally—of
Competition
The competition can be intense,
with each team trying to do its best,
often with internal debates as to
which answer to choose—yet there’s
nothing ferocious about the interaction
between teams (if you ask someone
at the next table to repeat question
number five, they likely won’t
mislead you or pour a beer on your
head—they’ll just tell you what
question five was.) Many teams
choose to throw in the towel rather
than slog through the entire two
games, yet there are other teams
joining the fray long after the action
has begun.
One may choose to play either in
the street-level “Pour House” room,
festooned with a variety of Western
Pennsylvania memorabilia, or in the
faux-Polynesian “Tiki” level below,
which is literally cooler, and a bit
more relaxed—at least until the
crowd grows later in the evening.
But those who play should note that
the audio system can be spotty, and
you’ll have a much easier time hearing
the questions from the Pour
House level (Quizzo has yet to
invade the “Top of the Hill” martini
lounge upstairs).
Players will get some “softball”
questions, such as finishing the jingle
that begins “The best part of
waking up is….” But others aren’t as
easy, such as naming the G.I. affiliation
of Homer Simpson’s dad, Abe
(the answer, which only two teams
guessed, is the fictitious “Veterans of
Popular Wars”). Racioppo avoids asking
questions of a political nature
because early on, participants let
him know they get enough of that
stuff in their daily work and lives.
Quizzo is aptly housed in the
Pennsylvania-themed Politiki, since
it was inspired by Racioppo’s experience
with the bar trivia scene in
Philadelphia (which itself has roots
in English pub trivia). Quizzo was
born from a chance encounter last
year between Racioppo and Erik
Kessler, an owner/manager of
Politiki who thought staging the
game was worth trying. With some
effort, the experiment has paid off.
They recall Quizzo’s debut last
September (Quizzo’s inaugural was
set for September 11, but was postponed
until later in the month). It
took some prodding to get four
teams of participants out of the
reluctant Tuesday night patrons.
Now, less than a year later, the
game has expanded to two floors of
eager participants, numbering a
record 35 teams on this particular
night (Kessler and other Politiki staff
remember Tuesday nights before
Quizzo when one could count on
one hand the number of customers).
Kessler is pleased with how Quizzo
has taken off from its humble beginnings
—no doubt, in part, as gamers
are downing beer and pizza when
they’re not scratching their heads
trying to figure out who claimed the
first patent on a gasoline-powered
automobile (Answer: Charles Benz).
Fun, Competitive Spirit
But its more than that. They both
say that Quizzo has a looser, more
open feel than the games in
Philadelphia, noting that teams
often welcome outsiders to join
them. Aaron Kleffman, who mans
the door, likes the “competitive spirit”
that goes along with the growing
numbers.
But there are other quiz nights in
town, including Fadó’s
“Brainstormer” on Monday nights.
Jerry Medrano, a DC resident who’s
enjoyed trivia nights in Philadelphia
and at Fadó, says the Philadelphia
crowd has more of the academic set,
while Quizzo seems to pull in more
“policy wonk” types, adding that he
finds Fadó food prices steeper than
Politiki’s fare for quiz night.
Quizzo’s success is not without
difficulties, however. “Woe to me
when I have the wrong answer,” says
Racioppo. He says it’s a rare occurrence,
but when it happens, people
are not shy about letting him know
he’s messed up. Then there are the
occasional rowdy or forgetful
patrons who blurt out the answers
for all to hear.
But these glitches don’t seem to
get in the way of most players’
enjoyment. Joshua Bowen, a Capitol
Hill local and a first-time Quizzo
player, likes “feeling involved” in the
buzz that Quizzo stirs in the room,
adding that he is “absolutely coming
back.”
The suitably named “Regulars,”
winners of tonight’s first game, are
positive but more reserved in their
assessment—perhaps because the
team’s core are indeed regulars here
and have known defeat as well as victory
(or perhaps because, as regulars,
they feel it best to play it cool).
Consisting of Hill staffers, non-profit
workers and more, the “Regulars”
typify Tuesday night patrons.
Those who would like to join the
regulars and the rest of the largely
20-to-30-something crowd for
Quizzo, may want to get there early
or reserve a table. Politiki’s is no
longer a quite refuge for a Tuesday
night, but it can be a good place to
escape some of your daily worries by
immersing yourself in some lowstakes
trivia competition.
This is DC resident (and trivia buff)
Scott Gates’ first contribution to The
Voice of the Hill.
Local Trivia Game Taking the Hill by Storm
WHAT’S a Quizzo?
Just meander along any tree-lined
vista, filled with the pungent smell
of flowering fauna dusted by the
mist of morning dew, and look into
the windows of any brick rowhouse.
Perhaps sitting on sills, ledges
and tables are elegant vases
from periods unknown or
interesting hand-blown
glass objects. If the
windows aren’t
draped or shuttered,
you might
even catch a
glimpse of
fine art
hanging on
the wall, or
pieces of
pottery
perched
on fireplace
mantles
or
pianos.
There
in the
window,
basking
in the
early
morning
sunlight,
the family
feline
lounges with
eyes tightly
shut, poised and
elegant as an
Egyptian sculpture.
That is, until a small
troupe of noisy mockingbirds
land in the front
yard. The feline leaps to its
feet, and its tail, once gracefully
wrapped around the turn-of-thecentury
vase, causes the fine antique
to rock from side to side. You gasp
loudly. The birds disperse. The cat
jumps down from its perch. The vase
has disappeared from sight.
Repairing Versus Restoring
There are many approaches to
repairing broken objects. You can
use the “I can do it with a steady
hand and some super glue” method
or contact an object conservator.
Conservators come from a variety of
professional backgrounds – archaeologists,
architects, art historians,
artists, scientists, craftspeople and
curators. Committed to preservation
and restoration, these professionals
are trained to investigate, recognize
and solve questions regarding
change or deterioration of an object
due to the environment, accidents
and natural forms of decay. By identifying
the components of the existing
materials, they can determine
the proper program of repair, plus
provide a system of care for all
objects in the home. An object conservator
is familiar with the materials
used to create artifacts, understands
the effects of the environment
on that object, and can provide
information on care.
The Secretary of the Interior’s
Standards for the Treatment of
Historic Properties states that investigation
is crucial for “identifying,
retaining, and preserving the form
and detail of those architectural
materials and features that are
important in defining the historic
character of a property.” Architectural
conservators are professionally
trained in the preservation of
cultural property, such as historic
structures and the way certain materials
react to the environment. It is
important to recognize that structures
were built to stay in one place,
and, therefore, are impacted by the
forces of nature. So by inhabiting
these structures, we are accepting
responsibility to properly introduce
our objects of art to that environment.
Remember the house, cat and vase
scenario? Do you recall whether
there were drapes or shutters at the
window? Did you know that sunlight,
as well as hot and cold weather,
is just as dangerous to objects as
pets? Through simple maintenance
you can protect your home and your
objects. Did you know that most
cleaning products could leave
behind a residue that can attract
more dirt? That the mist from some
spray cleaning solutions can cause
discoloration or even permanently
damage pottery glazes, paintings, or
antique furniture? Have you ever
noticed insects in your wooden artifacts
or the leather binding of
books? Were you aware that the DC
humidity plays a major role in the
propagation of insects? There are
many factors to consider when caring
for your art objects, and a skilled
conservator can aid in the development
of proper design composition,
as well as a maintenance program.
Object Conservation:
Inorganic and Organic
According to Nancy Davis and
Pamela Hatchfield of the American
Institute for Conservation of
Historic and Artistic Works (AIC),
the objects in your collection may be
damaged either by external forces
(such as mishandling), an unstable
environment or the intrinsic nature
of the materials used to make them.
Based on the type of materials used,
an object is either inorganic or
organic.
Non-living substances, such as
stone, glass, ceramics and metals, are
inorganic and considered durable
and less susceptible to damage.
Although they are not generally
affected by DC’s humid climate,
they do have adverse reactions to
salt, so be aware if you display
objects at a beach house. Two common
examples of inorganic objects
are stained glass and building
facades made from composition.
Is your stained glass sagging or
bulging? If detected early, a glass
conservator can remove and soak
the glass to soften the putty, lay it
flat so the panels can relax, and then
add support bars. If the damage is
farther along, the window may need
to be partially disassembled and the
cames replaced. Pollutants can eat
away at the metal and solder joints.
A conservator can clean the glass
with a pH neutral detergent, re-solder
the joints and add a venting
glaze. Proper ventilation between
leaded glass and its protective cover
is imperative, since condensation
between these two layers can cause
corrosive acid to form, damaging the
cames, glass and frames.
Simply clean your leaded glass,
VOICE of the Hill /July 2002
16 www.voiceofthehill.com
The Art of the Conservancy
How to Care For All Sorts
of Objects of Art
BY STEPHANIE BRIGGS
I have
determined
one
undeniable
fact—objects
of beauty
surround us.
VOICE of the Hill /July 2002
www.voiceofthehill.com 17
applying light pressure with plain
water or dust with a cloth or brush.
Be aware that most stained glass has
painted sections, so you might want
to consult a professional before
cleaning to assure that the paint will
not be removed. Remember, painted
glass is not always discernible, as
techniques were devised for painted
objects to resemble colored glass. If
you aren’t sure, ask someone.
The facades of many houses are
made of composition or compo, a
plastic material that is found in interior
cornices, chair rail moldings,
mantelpieces, and wainscot paneling.
Dating back to the Italian
Renaissance, composition flourished
in the late 18th century. It was composed
of the following basic ingredients
– animal glue, linseed oil, pine
rosin, and powdered chalk or whiting.
Compo is a durable substance that
changes with atmospheric changes
due to its moisture-sensitive glue
component, making it a perfect
complement to air-conditioned
townhouses. The combination of
compo (inorganic) and wood (organic)
can lead to deterioration. For
example, compo objects affixed to
wood bases will break down, as the
wood expands and contracts due to
the drying effect of contemporary
heating systems, air conditioning or
extreme temperature changes. A
conservator can repair cracks in an
ornament with a suitable fill material.
If replacing a broken compo
object, written or pictorial documentation
can provide invaluable
historical information needed to create
a detailed mold. By using these
historical details, the missing or
deteriorated portions can be duplicated
with a durable gypsum plaster.
Organic materials consist of animal
or plant products such as
leather, fur, wool, wood, paper and
fiber and are more susceptible to the
environment. Surprisingly, plastic is
one of several synthetic materials
that is considered organic based on
the fact that it has a carbon chain
backbone. Plastics have similar
unstable properties, such as those in
other organic items, causing them to
yellow, crack or break.
Organic materials respond to
excessive light, and that can cause
fading or yellowing of textiles, as
well as initiating and accelerating
damaging chemical reactions.
Mildew and fungi caused by humidity
can loosen joints, causing adhesives
to fail or wood to expand.
When exposed to high levels of
humidity, organic objects will absorb
or give off moisture in an attempt to
achieve equilibrium with the atmosphere,
causing mold to form.
Washington, DC object conservator,
Catherine Magee, is guided by
the words of a fellow conservator,
“Objects like the kind of living environment
that people like.” If your
basement is damp and moldy,
chances are you and your objects
won’t fare well in that space. The
same consideration can be made for
hot, humid attics. Would you want to
live there? Basically, if you are comfortable
in your house, then chances
are your objects will be, as well.
Conservator On the Hill
Hill resident Catherine Magee holds
an MS degree in conservation from
the University of Delaware’s Winterthur
Museum Art Conservation program
and was a Smithsonian Fellow
in archaeological conservation. She
considers herself a generalist of
objects, which is probably the most
encompassing specialty in conservation,
covering a myriad of material
from ancient ceramics, glass, metals
or stone to more contemporary
objects made of paper, fabrics, yarns
or combination of various materials,
known as mixed media art. Magee is
interested in how day-to-day rou-
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cleaning service, it is important that
they don’t dust or clean treasured
objects. Take time to discuss proper
usage of cleaning solutions around
objects. Art that sits on the floor, or
is adjacent to windows, should be
protected from floor and window
cleaning solutions, since contact
with the mist or extraneous droplets
can dissolve or damage portions of
the object. It is best to either dunk
the cleaning cloth into the solution
or hold the cloth down and away
from the object, spraying the chemicals
into the cloth.
“It will guarantee that the object
will not be damaged by anyone
except you,” smiled Magee.
Magee, who is interested in ethnographic
objects or art by indigenous
people (Native Americans, Africans,
etc.), suggests keeping these objects
away from strong sunlight, dust and
atmospheric pollution. Light dusting
with a soft brush offers additional
protection since dust is hyperscopic
and will attract moisture that can, in
turn, cause problems, particularly
when the surface has been treated
with certain types of lacquer. She
suggests reducing the amount of dust
in your home by upgrading and
cleaning the filters in heating and air
conditioning units on a regular basis.
Our humid environment can cause
moldy crystals to form on African art
because it has been treated with palm
oil. Magee cautions not to scrub the
mold, as it is an intrinsic part of the
object, and to simply remove crystals
with a soft brush.
tines affect individual artwork.
When Magee is hired to consult
on the overall art collection she
begins by reviewing two basic elements
– light and heat. Sunlight and
other extreme forms of light can
damage textiles, prints, photographs,
wooden objects and basketry,
to name a few. Even though
ceramics are fired in kilns and can
withstand direct light sources,
intense sunlight beating down on
the object can cause it to crack. The
easiest solution is to filter outside
light using window shades or sheers.
Heat sources, such as radiators,
vents and fireplaces can also cause
damage. For those who insist on
placing or hanging objects over the
fireplace or on a heating unit, Magee
diplomatically presents the pros and
cons.
“I think it’s a personal choice for
someone to say, ‘Okay, if this artwork
deteriorates over the next ten
years, and it fades, and the varnish
cracks, I’m going to accept that
because I want this piece of artwork
here,’” Magee says. “It’s difficult for
people to have their more precious
objects that they care about in darker
corners of a room that may not be
as prominent. So it’s a give and take
of how people want to live with their
art and how they approach it.”
Cleaning as a Culprit
Magee also cites cleaning as a culprit
in much of the damage she encounters
as a conservator. If you use a
more work must be done on the
piece, a conservator can reverse it
with limited complications.
On the other hand, restorers will
take a broken utilitarian object, such
as a ceramic or silver teapot, and use
techniques that will not only make
the item look good but usable, as
well. The materials and approach to
repairing the object could impact
the long-term value, but some items
with sentimental value take a back
seat to possible art investments.
In making the decision between
restoration and conservation, you
must ask yourself several questions.
What is the end use of the object?
Am I going to place this on a shelf to
admire its beauty, or do I plan to use
it on a daily basis? Magee recommends
asking lots of questions and
having discussions with potential
conservators to make sure the person
you are hiring provides the services
you need.
Resources
How do you find a conservator? The
Conservation Resources for Art &
Antique Guide by the Washington
Conservation Guild is an excellent
resource. Contact the Guild for
information at washingtonconservationguild@
hotmail.com. The
American Institute for Conservation
of Historic & Artist Work can be contacted
at info@aic-faic.org or by
phone at 202/452-9545. Both organizations
provide an extensive listing
of conservators in all fields.
Stephanie Briggs is an editor, adjunct
professor, and fitness consultant who
can be found teaching an exercise class
at Christ Church on Tuesday and
Thursday mornings. Currently she is
rethinking the arrangement of all of her
artwork. She’s also considering using
feng shui, which she will discuss next
month.
Some indigenous wood items contain
pests such as wood boring beetles.
If you notice wood powder
coming out of your object, consider
having it treated. Institutions like
the Smithsonian can “freeze” objects
in a carbon dioxide chamber to kill
unwanted pests. Larger objects
require professional fumigation. A
conservator can assist in making the
proper pest elimination choice. For
those who travel overseas and transport
indigenous art back into the
U.S., there is a simple test to check
for infestation. Bag the individual
items in plastic, and wait to see if
any bug activity surfaces.
Selecting a Conservator
When choosing a conservator it is
important to determine your ultimate
goal regarding your objects.
Do you wish to conserve or restore
your object? Conservators are
required to uphold a set of professional
ethics and techniques, in
accordance with the conservation
principles of reversibility. This simply
means they know the properties
of the materials based on long-term
aging tests and are aware of how the
materials they use will deteriorate in
the future without causing damage
to the original object. In order to
repair a broken object, conservators
will not damage the intrinsic value
of the object. All completed work
and materials are then documented
—written about and photographed
—so that 50 years down the road, if
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VOICE of the Hill /July 2002
www.voiceofthehill.com 19
As more and more residents of
Northwest D.C. discover the Hill,
and the eastward march of affluence
intensifies, Andy Rush has been
keeping very busy.
Andy specializes in renovating the
stately, elegant houses that populate
the Hill, and like many other reputable
contractors, he’s booked solid
for months. His popularity is probably
partially rooted in his loyalty to,
and love for, life on the Hill. “The
style of house on the Hill isn’t that
unique,” he says, “but the characters
of people who live on the Hill is
unique...It’s a small town community.”
It doesn’t hurt that his company,
J. Anderson Rush Construction, has
a sterling reputation which, spread
by word of mouth, allows him to be
selective in the jobs he chooses.
Andy prefers to work for people who
live on the Hill and aren’t just renovating
a house with the intention of
selling it for a profit—a process he
calls “flipping.” He instead looks for
clients who will enjoy his handiwork
for 10 or 20 years, and avoids buying
houses on foreclosure, fixing and
reselling them.
It’s a sentiment echoed by Leigh
Mailloux of L.R. Mailloux
Construction, who works closely
with Rush. “Most [clients] have lived
here quite some time, and their
mentality is different,” he says.
Leigh himself was born and raised
on the Hill. He recently worked on a
job during which the client made
lunch for his entire crew of 10 to 12
people—not just once, but every day
they were there. Leigh says he just
pushed his dining room tables
together and laid out the food. That
situation is in stark contrast to treatment
he’s received on jobs he’s done
outside of the Hill.
Leigh and Andy both work almost
exclusively on the Hill, and are
familiar with the unique challenges
posed by Hill homeownership. The
surge in real estate prices has had a
significant effect on their business.
According to Andy, he sees far fewer
whole-house renovations now than
in years past. After paying out the
large (and getting larger) amounts of
money it takes to buy a house on the
Hill, fewer homeowners are able to
finance a whole-house renovation.
As a result of the increasing property
values, both contractors undertake
more single-room renovations—
mostly kitchens and bathrooms.
While remodeling kitchens and
bathrooms may be a favorite of
homeowners, Andy and Leigh each
have their own favorite projects.
Leigh admits his passion is for “old
doors and floors,” as well as for the
hardware that accentuates a room or
a house. He especially loves the pretty
doors and trim that adorn houses
here on the Hill. Andy, on the other
hand, has been longing for an old
house to remodel in its entirety. He’s
done eight or more full houses, but
lately has been focusing more on
bathrooms and kitchens. A wholehouse
remodel is “something I’ve
been pining for,” says Rush.
Tips from the Experts
For those contemplating remodeling,
Leigh and Andy have some suggestions:
• “Plan on planning ahead,”
according to Rush. “It takes a long
time to get on somebody’s list of
clients.” And chances are the contractor
can’t start in a couple of
weeks. A good contractor will need
time to think the job through, as
well as to navigate the labyrinth of
rules in the District’s permit process.
• Do your homework on your
builder,” advises Mailloux. He’s witnessed
more than enough horror
stories of contractors who’ve either
botched a job or have taken off with
large sums of money. It’s a good idea
to ask for references—and to check
into them.
• “Doors and floors will make a
house,” says Leigh, who also reiterates
the popular contention that you
“always get back what you put into
your kitchen.”
• “Know what you want,” Leigh
suggests. “It makes it easier for everyone
involved.” Take the time to leaf
through magazines, and give specific
instructions on what you want.
Contractors don’t want to hear your
vision, they want specifics—down to
types of appliances. Get design help
if you need it; most cabinet-makers
will provide design services for free
when you use their products. Leigh
says he can get a bid in three times
faster when someone is specific
about his or her job. He’s also more
apt to take a job in which the client
has specifics mapped out—and
that’s important to note at a time
when good contractors are at a premium.
• Think about how long you plan
to stay in the house. According to
Rush, “Yes, it’s expensive, but it may
be worth it in the long run” if you
plan to be there for many years.
Most expenses are “fixed labor and
other overhead costs—I can’t do
much about that.” But he advises
people to “look at history.” Money
spent in a house is often returned
several times over when the house
sells. “To do it right is worth it
[when you] think about the extra
amount of money to be spread out
over time.”
Andy, of J. Anderson Rush
Construction, has been remodeling
residential townhouses on Capitol
Hill for 15 years. Leigh Mailloux has
also spent 15 years in the business
and has been on his own (with longtime
employees Oscar Hernandez
and Ed Madden), with L.R. Mailloux
Construction for three years. He specializes
in historic renovations, custom
renovations and additions.
Hill resident Darrin Broadwater is one
of The Voice of the Hill’s regular contributors.
TIME FOR A CHANGE?
Local Renovators/Remodelers Offer Tips to Hill Homeowners
BY DARRIN BROADWATER
MONEY SPENT IN A HOUSE IS OFTEN RETURNED
SEVERAL TIMES OVER WHEN THE HOUSE SELLS. “TO
DO IT RIGHT IS WORTH IT [WHEN YOU] THINK
ABOUT THE EXTRA AMOUNT OF MONEY TO BE
SPREAD OUT OVER TIME.” Leigh Mailloux Andy Rush
VOICE of the Hill /July 2002
20 www.voiceofthehill.com
A Home’s History
James Whelpley was quickly and
numerously promoted; by 1886 he
had been appointed Assistant
Treasurer of the United States. Over
the years, he had fathered four children
and became the president of
the D.C. Board of Education. He
retired in 1915 as president of the
Eastern Building and Loan
Association. Clearly, the prominence
of both man and house was notable.
After Whelpley’s death in 1919,
the house suffered six years of temporary
ownerships and vacancies.
Finally, in 1925, owner Mary
McCarthy, in cooperation with the
D.C. School Board, opened the
building as the School for Feeble-
Minded Children. The name was
changed to the Atypical Public
School the following year. This institution
remained only until 1931; its
presence was followed by several
temporary businesses, tenants and
vacancies.
After World War II, Washington’s
population doubled to 900,000 people.
To keep up with the boom,
many of the District’s mansions were
A casual stroll or drive through residential
Capitol Hill offers a look into
the District’s architectural past. Very
old mansions and row houses speckle
the streets with history, beauty,
and a hint of what the building
trends were one hundred years ago.
At Eighth Street and East Capitol,
a 126- year old mansion is slowly
transforming, and this metamorphosis
is an unusual one. The building’s
new owners, rather than updating
the home to fit a more contemporary
image, are recreating its original
appearance. And the process is
attracting quite a bit of local attention.
In 1876, James W. Whelpley, a
clerk at the Treasury Department,
built this home for his family. It
became an outstanding piece of
architecture, surrounded almost
exclusively by Victorian row houses
built during the following 20 years.
William Cromley, who is currently
directing its renovation, suggests in
his written history of 800 East
Capitol Street that “the house’s
ambitions seem[ed] to mirror the
ambitions of Mr. Whelpley.”
was again developing, Lorraine
Pearce, curator to the White House,
bought 800 East Capitol. By the time
she owned the building, it had been
converted into a nine-unit apartment
house. She owned the building
until 1993, when she sold it to
William Cromley.
Cromley, who wrote such an
informative history of the magnificent
house, maintained the building
as a nine-unit apartment house until
2000. For these seven years, an interesting
assortment of tenants occupied
800 East Capitol Street.
Truly Herbert, a three-year tenant
from 1994 to 1997, describes her
memory of the building: “I loved
that house; I felt so safe there. You
saw people coming and going so
much, and it felt kind of like we were
all a family.” She explains that the
house “had so many interesting people
in it because of Bill [Cromley].”
Indeed, Cromley’s historical essay
states that “its tenants [were] a
diverse group of students and
activists, the latter of whose employers
run the gamut of Washington’s
non-profit advocacy groups:
Greenpeace, Consumer Checkbook,
National Association of People With
AIDS, the Human Rights Campaign,
National Abortion Rights League,
and Amnesty International.”
Herbert adds that the tenants were
“mostly single working people from
the area who didn’t have a lot of
money—a real mixed bag of people.”
Herbert’s apartment had previously
belonged to her longtime friend
Christopher Vasquez. She moved
into the house when he moved out.
Vasquez illustrates the particular
apartment: “Included in my living
space was the grand bay window
that faces 8th Street. I was also
graced with a stunning viburnum
tree with clusters of white pom-pons
that bloomed in front of it.
Although my area had been converted
into an efficiency, it felt palatial
because is had 14-foot ceilings.” He
adds that “the house had a charming
energy and we, the 12 tenants,
all felt it.”
However, 800 East Capitol Street
was not to remain an apartment
building for long. It could not be
maintained this way; the house
needed a family.
A Return to Form
“After owning the building for a few
years,” Cromley states, “I realized it
needed restoration, and I sold it to a
committed family in 2000.” Now,
the house belongs to Robert and
Karen Reed and their children. Mrs.
Reed explains that “the renovations
are being made to make the house
look like it originally did in 1876.”
Cromley is in charge of these renovations.
The change has already turned
converted into rooming houses with
shared baths, kitchens and common
space. In 1947, this situation became
the destiny of 800 East Capitol
Street.
Drastic Changes
Mary McCarthy’s ownership of the
house lasted until her death in 1958.
Over the course of her ownership,
the appearance of the house had
altered drastically. As Cromley
describes, by 1958, “800 was covered
with stucco, its chimneys chopped
off and capped, windows on the
sides and rear enlarged or bricked
over, its tin roof buried beneath
asphalt shingles.”
The building was passed from
hand to hand for the next ten years,
and in 1968, the neighborhood fell
apart. The riots following Dr. Martin
Luther King’s assassination left
Capitol Hill in shambles, and only
slowly did the neighborhoods begin
to improve. During these difficult
years, the rooming house on 800
East Capitol had become an apartment
house with five units.
In the seventies, as Capitol Hill
THE TIME-TRAVELING HOUSE
800 East Capitol Street Undergoing Transformation—Back 126 Years
BY JULIA OLDHAM
VOICE of the Hill /July 2002
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many heads. Capitol Hill residents
are curious about the building’s
transformation, and many neighbors
have stopped by to watch the
progress of the workers and to ask
questions.
Former tenant Vasquez reveals
that, stucco and all, 800 East Capitol
Street “would have been called the
ugliest house on East Capitol; perhaps
an eyesore, an embarrassment.
It did not fit in with the ‘high brow
homes and gardens’ in the neighboring
area; but that is what made it so
charming; it was the misfit and the
reason so many unique people
dwelled there. Ironically, it is now
bound to be the grandest house on
the Hill!” Incidentally, he hopes that
the new owners will bring back his
viburnum tree.
Herbert and Vasquez are clearly
both excited about the restoration of
the house. Herbert feels that “it’s
exciting for it to be turned into a private
home; it was past its time to be
an apartment building. It has great
raw material. A great yard, good
porch for sitting; I can see a happy
family living there.”
The house will now play a different
but equally important role for
Capitol Hill. As an apartment building,
800 East Capitol Street has
reflected the rich diversity of the
Washington D.C. population. Its
tenants have come from all walks of
life, and each individual moved
away to pursue a new path.
Now, as a restored home, the
building will offer a different fragment
of history. Neighbors will see
126 years into the Hill’s past and will
have an idea as to what James
Whelpley’s family experienced in
the home.
“Architecturally and artistically,
the house will be beautiful,” Truly
Herbert is sure. “East Capitol Street is
a treasure trove of beautiful architecture.
The house fits into that puzzle.”
Indeed, 800 East Capitol Street fits
into a puzzle of many very different
pieces. The diversity of the architecture
indicates such a range of taste
and of people. Herbert believes “the
Hill attracts such nice, interesting,
intelligent people. I don’t know
what it is about this place—there are
so many down-to-earth people.
Maybe it’s partially due to the wonderful
aesthetic of the Hill.”
Hill resident and local artist Julia
Oldham is one of The Voice of the
Hill’s newest writers.
800 East Capitol in all of its mustard
colored stucco splendor
Visit Our New
Paint Store1101 Pennsylvania Avenue
(corner of 11th and Penn)
800 East Capitol in all of its current splendor.
VOICE of the Hill /July 2002
22 www.voiceofthehill.com
York; superstar Elizabeth Taylor; the
famed Trinity Church in New York,
and the Muppets.
For close to 20 years, Angela was
the bookbinder whom many of the
top New York-based museums, corporations,
churches, collectors and
archivists turned to for help in saving
their valuable books, ledgers and
paper records.
She operated out of a studio in
SoHo, Manhattan, for quite some
time. And when Angela moved her
operation out to Sag Harbor, Long
Island, they followed her.
Now they’ve followed her to
Capitol Hill. And although her highprofile
reputation and specialized
talent is keeping her busy, Angela
would be delighted to help Hillites
rescue that ramshackle book.
She does caution folks that her
services—including her very laborintense
time and high-quality materials
(such as leather, silk and goldtooling)
—might outweigh the value
of the book.
But then, as Angela knows only
Stop sighing over the sad and
tatty state of that old book
you love—the storybook
you’ve cherished since
childhood; the heirloom
Bible; the once-handsome volume
documenting a family history. Now
there’s no need to carefully re-wrap
the falling-apart-at-the-seams book
into its tissue paper refuge. There’s
no need to promise that one day
you’ll make a determined effort to
dive into the yellow pages and seek
out someone who can repair and
restore it to its original glory.
That ordeal can now be circumnavigated.
Right here, on Capitol
Hill, we have one of the nation’s
leading bookbinders and manuscript
conservators.
Angela Scott has opened up
“shop” at 740 7th Street SE. She
brings a unique business to our
neighborhood—one that boasts
both an elite and colorful client list.
On her resume Angela can note such
diverse customers as the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
At the same time she is absorbed
in and excited about a tiny volume,
published in 1674, that—in Latin—
lists and describes, in flowery prose
and beautiful drawings, every known
sea shell. It is a rare and expensive
book, brought in by a collector
whose passion is shells. Like its subject
matter, the book’s cover looks
like it’s taken a constant beating
from the tides. But with almost surgical
precision and her fine eye for
fabric and color detail, Angela will
restore this rare but battered find.
It’s as if she’s a cosmetic surgeon.
Every bedraggled book that comes
her way is a challenge. And a great
part of the reward is seeing the eyes
of the customer light up when he or
she sees the book’s restored beauty.
“I’m in a gratifying business,”
Angela says. “Each book is different.
It’s not an easy one, two, three,
process. There’s a challenge to rebinding.”
The challenge is to get as close to
the original as possible. This involves
detective work—to mix an exact
too well, when it comes to the individual,
private customer, the value
of a book is very personal. And the
sentimental attachment can make
(what to others would seem a high
price) the cost of repair acceptable.
Among the varied volumes Angela
is currently working on are two good
examples of how different the
demands for her talents are. She’s
restoring a decades old copy of the
Encyclopedic Cookbook published by
the Culinary Arts Institute. In monetary
terms, its worth is nil. But to its
owner, it’s worth every cent of the
$200 that Angela estimates she will
have to present. However, located
within that charge will be the exact
green-blue color matching and dyeing
process of the fabric. And by the
time Angela’s finished, the beatenup
cover and cracking spine will be
indistinguishable from the original.
And the restored cookbook will be fit
and well, ready to do yet more sterling
duty in a continuation of the
family kitchen its enhanced for generations.
Uncovering Literary Treasures
Local Bookbinder Brings Old Heirlooms Back to Life
BY MAGGIE HALL
Angela Scott at her shop on 7th Street,
SE, shows the fabric and machinery used
to restore precious old books.
VOICE of the Hill /July 2002
www.voiceofthehill.com 23
color, be able to replicate the tooling,
match the type of leather, repeat
the marbled paper of the inside
cover.
Her treasure trove of materials is
vast. Drawer upon drawer of remnants
of supple calf and goat skin
leather are arranged in colors that
defy any normal palette. A flamboyant
purple lies against a scholarly
red; sunshine yellow hides under a
dull brown; greens of every shade;
greys, even orange—all of them
make up this interesting rainbow. All
are awaiting that moment when
Angela will put a poor old pauper of
a book alongside it and exclaim:
“perfect.”
The same goes for the rolls upon
rolls of fabric - from the finest silks
to natural linen. Velvets and satins
are found in between. Then there are
the drawers with the paper. Angela
has never seen a fragment of handpainted,
marbled paper she hasn’t
loved. And hoarded. She has stacks
of it—some whole sheets, others just
precious cuttings and leftovers. All
will have their time.
As she says, “Personalized service
and attention are the critical ingredients
for high-quality results.
Listening to my clients, getting to
know their needs, building a relationship
with t