VOICE
Vol. 5 No. 4 July 2003
of
The
Hill
This Month
12 A Neighborhood Story
Part VII
16 Gay & Lesbian Unit
Bridges Gap
18 8th & I: Best Show on
the Hill
20 Treasures at the Navy
Museum
24 Coaching for Life
26 Watering & Weeding
28 Son of the Soil
29 Cycling on the Hill
32 Anacostia Paddling
34 Hooked on Knitting
36 Chrissy Coughlin Writes
the Songs
38 Photography: Life & Art
39 Middle C Makes Music
40 Bringing Books to Life
Departments
VoiceMail......................................3
City Desk......................................4
DownLoad ....................................7
Business Bits .............................41
Business Snapshot.....................41
NEW! Armchair Movie Reviews.....42
Ask Judith ..................................44
Ask the Vet.................................52
Health and Fitness......................48
Barracks Row .............................50
Kids’ Sports ...............................54
Kids’ Calendar ............................56
Community Calendar ...................57
Horoscope..................................58
Classifieds .................................59
Business Services ......................60
Restaurant Review ......................62
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Hill…
summer’s
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Relax Capitol
Hill…
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length of time it would take to accomplish
the task of getting the BID launched,
or the sense of community that would be
created in the process.
First was the task of creating a business
plan that would be unique to the
Capitol Hill community – one that not only
provided the typical services of a BID
[making an area clean, safe and marketable]
but that would also reach further
by providing resources and job opportunities
to the under-employed and even homeless.
With careful consideration and planning
on the part of BID committees, a comprehensive
plan was mapped out and
approved by the acting Board to be submitted
for approval by all commercial property
owners in the BID area.
Then, the terrorists attacks of
September 11, 2001, occurred in the
midst of the massive petition campaign to
get the approval of the commercial property
owners – causing a delay nearly a year
beyond the original estimate. In addition,
from that day on, safety and security took
on an even greater importance, especially
in and around the nation’s Capitol.
By the end of 2002, the BID had met all
legislative requirements and was sanctioned
by the DC Council and by Mayor
Williams. Capitol Hill would get their BID in
2003.
Of the four BIDs in D.C.
(Downtown, Golden
Triangle and
Georgetown) Capitol
Hill’s annual budget
—at $500,000—
was, by far, the
smallest. Funded
through a $.15 per $100
assessment on commercial properties, the
interim board had to figure out how to
effectively cover the extensive linear area
that encompassed the proposed BID with
less than half the budget of Georgetown,
the next smallest BID in D.C. The solution
would lie in conservative spending and creative
collaborations with community programs.
In February 2003, when Patty Brosmer
officially started as executive director, her
first order of business was to identify service
providers for the maintenance and hospitality
programs who could work within the
restrictions of a minimal budget.
Early on, Brosmer, as a paid consultant,
was instrumental in getting District-wide
BID enabling legislation passed in 1996.
While serving as executive director of the
Georgetown Business & Professional
Association in the late 90’s, she fostered a
program to supplement Georgetown’s
street cleaning called “Ready, Willing &
Able.”
The Ready, Willing & Able program was
founded by New York businessman George
MacDonald as a means to combat the rising
homeless crisis that was plaguing New
York City. Through the philosophy that
“work works!” men and women of different
racial and cultural backgrounds become
productive citizens through job training,
support services and paid employment
experience. So inspired by the success of
the program in Georgetown, she lobbied to
get them to submit a proposal for the
Capitol Hill BID maintenance program.
VOICE of the Hill / July 2003
www.voiceofthehill.com 3
Voicemail
The Voice of the Hill is published
and distributed monthly to Capitol
Hill residences and business locations.
The focus is on the community
and includes contiguous neighborhoods
from Gallaudet University
to the Navy Yard and from the
Capitol to the Stadium Armory
Complex.Publication and distribution
is the last Friday of each
month. Advertising deadline is the
first of the month preceding publication.
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Contributing Writers
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Gene Clapp
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Scott Gatesd
Dug Hanbicki
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VOICE of
The
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Jessica Leshnoff
Celeste McCall
Bill McLeod
Andrew Noyes
Julia Robey
Patti Shea
Nicole Spiradakis
Robert Wander
It Takes a Community to
Make a BID
Capitol Hill’s Business Improvement
District: Already Benefiting the
Neighborhood
On any given day – you can see cheerful,
helpful Ambassadors dressed in blue
uniforms cleaning up and assisting
visitors, shoppers and residents in the 80
blocks that make up the Capitol Hill
Business Improvement District (BID). By all
accounts, their presence over the short
couple of months that the services have
been in place, has already added to the
neighborhood’s sense of security and
cleanliness.
That’s exactly what the founders had in
mind when they held their first meeting in
the fall of 1999 to propose a BID for
Capitol Hill. The effort, started by CHAMPS
(Capitol Hill Merchant’s and Professional
Association) and led by National Capital
Bank’s President, George Didden, Don
Denton of Coldwell Banker Pardoe, and
local business people like Kathleen
Franzen and Bill Rouchell, along with a
dozen or so business and municipal leaders,
was supported by $30,000 in contributed
seed money.
What they couldn’t anticipate was the
Note: This month the Voice donates this space to the Capitol Hill
Business Improvement District (BID). Our readers’ views will return in
next month’s edition.
Continued on page 22
Left: The BID ambassadors
from Ready, Willing and Able.
Below, Patty Brosmer and Ray
Cammas of the BID. Right, The
BID at work.
4 www.voiceofthehill.com
VOICE of the Hill / July 2003
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Waterside Mall Closing Time a Hot
Topic, Again
Residents Voice Frustrations at ANC 6D Meeting
Residents surrounding the Waterside Mall voiced
their frustrations about the early closing time of the
Southwest commercial center at the June 9 meeting
of ANC 6D.
The new management company of the facility,
located on the 400 block of M Street, SW, began to
close the building’s doors at 10 p.m. for security
and cost-cutting purposes. But the residents, who
have used the mall as a shortcut and safe route
home, said in doing this, the company has put
pedestrians in harm’s way. Now everyone must
walk around the block, through dark alleys wellknown
for criminal activity, the citizens said.
Southwest resident David Sobelsohn told commissioners
he was assaulted May 30 when he was
walking to his home from the Metro station after
the mall had closed for the day. Sobelsohn said he
escaped unharmed, but was worried about the
extent of the next attack. “What level of crime does
it take for our elected officials to take security seriously?”
the resident said. “We deserve safety in
Southwest, and we’re not getting it.”
Commissioner Mary Williams said police
authorities and council members have been notified
of the problem, but little has been done.
Williams and Commissioner Ed Johnson said the
mall property belongs to the federal government,
which is currently re-negotiating the lease with the
facility’s operator. Mall hours are a topic during
these proceedings, he said. Furthermore, Williams
added that the management company has gone
through two security firms in the past two months.
First District Police Commander Thomas
McGuire was on hand for the meeting and
acknowledged the dilemma. “We know that’s a
problem,” McGuire said. “[The mall] is a private
enterprise. We have to work through this.” A representative
from the mall management company was
not present at the meeting.
The commission decided to co-host a security
meeting with police and other officials to discuss
the matter. A date was not set, but will be available
by the next meeting on July 14.
Panel OKs Arena Stage Variance
The commission squeaked out a 3-2-1 vote over a
request made by the Arena Stage for a height
change for its new facility. Representatives from the
theater company needed to change the variance to
accommodate new structures on its soon-to-be renovated
campus. Commissioner Williams voted
against the request, stating that buildings in the
area were getting too tall. Commissioner Moffat
opposed the request, as well, saying that the theater’s
allegiance with surrounding controversial
businesses does not make it a friend of the neighborhood.
Chair Assalaam abstained from the vote.
Zoning, ABC ad hoc Committees Formed
Due to the increase of applications, the panel unanimously
approved a motion made by Commissioner
Ahmed Assalaam to create two ad hoc committees
to handle zoning and ABC issues. The temporary
committees will serve as advisors to the rest of the
commission on these issues. Members of the temporary
boards were not determined at the meeting.
6D’s ‘Ghost Budget’
Commission Treasurer Bob Siegel said the city government
still has not approved a budget for the
council. Siegel told the panel that a budget was
approved some time ago, but the district treasurer’s
office has not been able to locate it. He said the
committee was operating off a “ghost budget,”
which has made it hard to pay its one administrative
employee. Furthermore, Siegel said postal
glitches have prevented bank documents from
being delivered to committee’s office on time. The
treasurer also announced the status of the committee’s
reserves:
Checking account: $19,432.42
Savings account: $5,057.89
Petty cash account: $100.00
Surf’s Up, 6D
The website for 6D is near completion, Commissioner
Ed John announced. Soon residents will be
able to view all commission correspondence, meeting
minutes and agendas online. More information
will be provided to the public when available.
Commissioners present were Ahmed Assalaam,
Ed Johnson, Mary Williams, Roger Moffat, Bob
Siegel and Andy Litsky. Charles Hargrave was the
lone absent commissioner.
Reservation 13 Prelim Plans Draw
Fire at ANC 6B Meeting
Planner Told Changes Do Not Reflect Community
Input
A city planner presented preliminary revitalization
plans for the Reservation 13 district to the displeas-
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Drs call it “spontaneous resolution”
ure of some audience and commission members at
the June 10 meeting of ANC 6B.
Maxine Brown-Roberts of the DC planning
department diagramed zoning changes for the
upcoming revitalization project of the
Southeastern area. She said the general uses for the
area, located between the Stadium Armory and
Congressional Cemetery, range from municipal to
educational to correctional treatment facilities.
That didn’t go over well with some commissioners.
Commissioner Neil Glick told the planner the
proposed changes do not reflect the input from the
community, adding that community leaders put a
lot of time and effort into the Reservation 13 project
and, basically, none of the suggestions was
taken into consideration. “Will the opinion of the
residents be respected?” Glick asked.
Resident Lisa Alfred agreed. “We’re not looking
to have a government village at Reservation 13. We
have been shafted,” Alfred said about the plans to
install more city buildings in the area. “This is not
what the neighbors wanted.” Commissioner Kenan
Jarboe called the plans a “municipal enclave. We’re
in a box on this,” Jarboe said. “Maybe it’s time we
found a different box.”
Brown-Roberts reminded the panel and audience
members that the plans are a work in progress and
are open for public comment. Commission Chair
Julie Olson encouraged commissioners and residents
to attend a public meeting concerning the
Reservation 13 project which was held June 19.
Two Charter Schools to Open on the Hill
Investors behind two charter schools announced
their plans to open facilities on the Hill within the
next year. Manda Kelly of the Two Rivers Public
Charter School told the commissioners that it
intends to open its doors to pre-Kindergarten to
third grade students by the 2004 school term. The
school will operate out of a temporary facility until
a permanent location on can be found, Kelly said.
A second school, The Eagle Academy, will open
in August, catering to 3- to 5-year olds. The school’s
administrator, Cassandra Pinkney, said Eagle is the
first charter school exclusive to this age bracket.
Eagle, no relation to Two Rivers, will cap the number
of students to 116. Pinkney said the school will
also accommodate children with special needs.
Registration is currently underway. Interested parties
should contact the school at 202-544-2646, or
visit the site at 770 M Street, SE.
Commissioners present were Julie Olson, Scott
Cernich, Mary Wright, Neil Glick, Will Hill and
Kenan Jarboe. Commissioners David Sheldon,
Daryl Snowden, Keith Smith and Francis Campbell
were absent.
Web Woes Among Chief Topics at
ANC 6A Meeting
Commission Grapples Over Ownership
of Internet Site
A bid by the 6A Community Outreach Committee
to lasso in the use of the commission’s “unofficial”
website was once again the topic of conversation at
the June 12 meeting. The move comes after a rather
“unpleasant” email was sent to the members of the
6A listserv inviting all its members to a clothes-free
camp.
Commissioner Michael Musante, head of the
outreach committee, made the motion to impose
usership policies on the website, even though the
commission has no governing power over it.
Musante said there was “no Draconian, high-handed
government [attempts] to stop free speech in
6A.” Instead, he said the outreach committee wanted
to make the users feel at ease to utilize the site,
which is mainly used to notify subscribers to public
meetings or of new issues.
However, as noble as Musante’s motion was to
protect the users, the move wasn’t welcomed by
some of the panel members. Commission Chair
Joseph Fengler disagreed with clamping down on
the site users’ free speech. “The medicine is worse
than the illness,” Fengler said. The site wasn’t even
the commission’s to impose context restrictions
upon, he added, saying the body “hijacked” it for
its use. Instead, he called for the completion of the
“official,” commission-run site.
The site’s webmaster, Commissioner Wanda
Stevens Harris, said she immediately deleted the
unwanted email after hearing complaints from the
users. The commission decided to direct the outreach
committee to draft a disclaimer that will be
sent to all 6A website users.
Lights On at Lincoln Park, Commission Says
The commission voted unanimously to send a letter
to the National Park Service about the “Closed at
Dark” signs recently posted at Lincoln Park. In a
draft letter, the commission is asking for the park
service to reconsider its decision to impose a curfew
at the popular park because of summertime activities.
“The reality is that most members of the community
are at work or school during the day and can
only make use of the park in the early morning and
evening hours,” the letter states. “If the park is
closed from dusk to dawn, it will be effectively off
limits to working people, weekdays for much of the
year.” Instead, the commission asked for hours to
be limited from midnight until 4 or 5 a.m.
START Reading Begins!
The SummerTime and Reading Together (START)
program kicks off next month, Commissioner Nick
Alberti announced. The 12-year old program is for
children ages 5 to 14 who meet every Monday from
6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Lincoln Park for a group read.
Participants have the chance to win gift certificates
to local bookstores, as well as take field trips. START
runs from July 7 through August 25 and will benefit
the Lincoln Park Book Club.
For more information, interested persons may
contact START at 202-419-3508 or send an email to
startdc@erols.com.
ANCs 6A, 6C to Jointly Meet
The commission approved a laundry list of concerns
that were a topic of conversation during a
joint meeting with ANC 6A, held on June 25.
Discusssed were design and zoning concerns related
to the H Street revitalization project.
Treasurer’s Report
The 6A treasury stands as follows:
Checking account: $3,062.68
Savings account: $4,086.26
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VOICE of the Hill / July 2003
Musante, Joseph Fengler, Cody Rice, Nick Alberti,
Wanda Stevens Harris and Gladys Mack—were
present at the meeting.
ANC 6A will next meet at 7 p.m. on July 10 at
Miner Elementary School, 601 15th Street, NE.
Housing, Open Park Space Top List of
Concerns Over Reservation 13
Enough affordable housing and open park space
were among the list of issues voiced during the
Reservation 13 public informational meeting June
13. Residents told city planners they were not convinced
of the city’s intentions to bring homes that
would be comparable for medium- and low-income
families to the area.
Reservation 13 is the 67-acre parcel of federal government-
owned land located in east Capitol Hill
slated for commercial and residential building once
the city completes its zoning and environmental
review processes. The land used to be the home of
DC General before it closed but still houses the city
morgue, methadone clinic and jail. The federal government
is handing over the land to the city, but
with rigorous use restrictions—one being that the
city cannot sell the site to a private developer.
City planner Uwe Brandes said no discussion of
the makeup of the residential housing has been discussed,
but did assure the residents that city policies
stipulate a certain percentage to be slated for
affordable housing. “We don’t know what the
housing is going to look like or [where it’s] going to
be,” Brandes said.
Adequate park space and assurance of public use
were another topic of discussion at the meeting.
The draft zoning proposal calls for two parks – one
centrally located in the planned residential area
and the other on the waterfront. However, one resident
wanted to be assured that the parks will be
open for everyone to enjoy, not just the residents of
the adjacent neighborhood.
Hill East resident Lisa Alfred said the city has
ignored the residents’ wishes since the process
began. “The neighbors have felt this process has not
been open,” Alfred said, calling the proposed plan a
“government village.” Brandes maintained the city
listened to the citizens’ concern and has reflected
them in the proposal. “We tried to mitigate as best
as we can the neighbors’ concerns with the city’s
concerns,” he said.
Some residents were also upset that the city hasn’t
made any specific plans for area of the property
slated for municipal use. Talk of bringing more city
health buildings – including a crematorium and a
quarantine station for terrorist attacks—as well as
adding on to the already in-use methadone laboratory
was also of concern to the residents. Brandes
said the office of planning has not talked with the
city health department about its intentions, but
added that all that information would filter out as
the zoning process moved forward. However, he
added that it is less than likely for any health
administration offices to move to the site because
of city’s tight purse strings. That didn’t bode well
with one resident. “Is the dog wagging the zoning
tail?” the resident asked the planners.
Reservation 13 is located east of 19th Street,
south of the Armory and north of Congressional
Cemetery. The city has proposed to split the 67
acres into five parcels which include medium- to
medium-high residential, commercial, light industrial
and waterfront open space. The planners reinforced
that the plan was “work in progress.”
Resident Jim Harvey didn’t think so. “It sounds
like to me this is already a done deal,” Harvey said
referring to the city’s agreement with St. Coletta, a
school for special needs students, which will build
on roughly four acres of the Reservation’s northwest
area. The federal government granted the
school a 99-year lease for $1 per year.
Harvey wanted to know if any other “deals” had
been made. Maxine Brown-Roberts, the city planner
heading the Reservation 13 process, said that
since St. Coletta was promised the land the facility
had the opportunity to move ahead with its plans
to build a 96,000-square foot building on the corner
of 19th Street and Independence Avenue. “I
don’t know of any other projects,” Brown-Roberts
said. St. Coletta has yet to submit an application
with the city. The school is currently in its design
and public outreach stage.
The planners said there is at least one known historic
building, Potter’s Fields, and an archeological
site that have been identified on the premises.
Brown-Roberts said the Historic Preservation
Review Board will be consulted before any building
begins.
The Voice’s political reporter, Patti Shea, can be
reached at patti@voiceofthehill.com.
News from the Friends of Southeast Library
Volunteers for the Friends Group are always needed and welcome. Interested persons may contact
Janet McGregor at 202-547-8897.
The book sale on May 17 was very well attended—thanks to all who helped make it a success.
An Honor Cart, kept stocked with a selection of donated fiction and non-fiction for sale at book sale
prices, is now on permanent display in the library. All income goes to support library activities.
A memoir writing group is now forming; interested persons may contact Margaret Hollister at home, 202-
544-7763, or at work, 202-576-5746.
Library activities—Among the many summer activities at the library for
adults, teens, and children are these:
• Adults: mystery and non-fiction book clubs, community forums, movies, computer tutorials.
• Teens: “Holla’ Back at DCPL,” a summer reading program for young adults; art expression, chess, creating
rap songs and poetry, games, movies.
• Children: The Summer Quest reading program for kids 14 and under began on June 10 and will continue
through the summer. Ongoing programs include story hour, lap time, preschool movies, chess.
• Robbie, the former children’s librarian, participates from time to time in the various children’s programs;
check with the library for details.
Call 202-698-3377 or visit the library at 403 7th Street, SE for further information on the full range of
activities and the current schedule, or visit its website: www.southeast.s5.com. It’s always a good idea,
too, to call ahead when planning to attend a specific activity.
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Wednesday through Saturday, 10 am–6 pm
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downLoad ITEMS OF INTEREST FROM THE VOICE WEBSITE FOR THE LAST MONTH
The following stories all appeared online this past
month at www.voiceofthehill.com.
Capitol Hill Cluster School Plans
Fourth of July Parade
The Capitol Hill Cluster School will be sponsoring a
Fourth of July parade starting at 10 a.m. The parade
will go down 8th Street, SE, from E to I Streets.
Organizers are looking for a wide variety of participants,
including clubs, kids, babies, pets, Boy/Girl
Scout troops, sports teams, Mini Cooper owners,
historic car owners, safety patrols, bands (marching
or otherwise), kids on bikes or in strollers, and dogs
and their owners, etc.
Marching is FREE, but interested persons are
asked to register with Gina Arlotto at 202-546-2291
or citymom92@yahoo.com. In conjunction with the
parade, there will also be a bake sale with all proceeds
going to Share Our Strength.
Second Saturdays at For Art’s Sake
Café Highlight Local Artists, Activities
Second Saturdays at For Art’s Sake Café celebrates
the talents of the visual arts community of
Washington, DC. The event includes a meet-andgreet
with featured artists, workshops, chances to
win unique creations and great prizes from businesses
in the Capitol Hill community. Second
Saturday festivities at the café will be held from 4 to
8 p.m. on Saturday, July 12.
The event offers artists an opportunity to market
and promote their talent to a diverse audience, as
well as the potential of increased sales. Local media
and businesses are invited to the exhibit each
month, increasing the visibility of the artist featured.
Live entertainment and refreshments are
incorporated to make the Second Saturday series a
great afternoon activity for residents and visitors of
the Capitol Hill community. Coming Soon to For
Art’s Sake Café are artists Brianne Barbour, Marcel
Taylor and John Holyfield.
For Art’s Sake Café is located at 641 Pennsylvania
Avenue, SE (1/2 block from Eastern Market Metro).
For more information, interested persons may call
Ritza Yana at 202-548-2440 or email RitzaYana@
ryink.com.
In Memoriam—Bob Herrema
It is with great sadness we reported the death on
June 13 of Bob Herrema. Bob was a longtime resident
and developer of Capitol Hill who was recently
featured in an article entitled “Legacy of a
Trailblazer” on page 36 of the June issue of the
Voice. Capitol Hill is a wonderful place to live and
work thanks to Bob and his good works. He will be
greatly missed.
CHAMPS Annual Meeting Held
Rouchell Named President
The Capitol Hill Association of Merchants and
Professionals (CHAMPS) held its annual meeting
June 11 at the Holiday Inn on Capitol Hill. Over 200
members elected new officers, board members and
presented annual awards.
Sizzling Express was awarded the Libby Sangster
Capitol Hill Business of the Year Award. Judy Wood
of Art Works received the President’s Award, and a
new Community Outreach Award went to Officer
Rita Hunt of 1-D. The new officers elected were:
Bill Rouchell, President, Maison Orleans B&B
Kathleen Franzen, 1st Vice President, Woman
Friday LLC
Kathleen Milanich, 2nd Vice President, Burnham
Communications
Judy Wood, Treasurer, Art Works
Brad Johnson, Esq., Secretary, Goodman & Johnson
The new board members are:
Jane Osborne, Change by Choice
Susan Perry, Consultant
Danielle Burness, Merrill Lynch
Welcome Inspector Williams
In Charge of First District Substation at 5th and E
Streets, SE
Keith Williams, 38, a 13-year MPDC veteran, has
been promoted to the rank of Inspector in charge of
the First District Substation (1D-1), located at 5th
and E Streets, SE. Williams was previously director
of the Evidence Control Branch.
In making the announcement, Police Chief
Charles Ramsey stated, “This reassignment is part
of a continuing effort to strengthen the
Department’s leadership and better serve the community.”
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QuinTango to Perform Benefit Concert
July 2 on Capitol Hill
A Century’s Worth of Tango Coming to Lutheran
Church
QuinTango, a touring quintet of two violins, cello,
bass and piano, brings a century’s worth of tango
repertoire to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, July 2, at
7:30 p.m. at Lutheran Church of the Reformation,
212 East Capitol Street.
Known for its sizzling musicality and captivating
narrative style, QuinTango is the winner of two
consecutive Washington Area Music Awards and is
the only tango music group to have given a
Command Performance at The White House. This
performance will benefit the Capitol Hill Arts
Workshop and features Arts Workshop director Dr.
Jeffery Watson on piano.
When QuinTango made their debut at
Charleston’s Piccolo Spoleto Festival, Spoleto critic
Robert Jones wrote exuberantly that “. . .their concerts
packed the place and sent the customers home
tango crazy.” This year marked their fourth appearance
as festival favorites, with Watson on piano,
substituting for QuinTango pianist Bruce Steeg.
Recent festival performances in the area include
the Kennedy Center Open House Festival, Wolf
Trap’s Theatre-in-the-Woods Children’s Festival
and the Virginia Highlands Festival. QuinTango
made its European debut in 2002 with five performances
in Normandy, France. QuinTango has
also performed at both the 9th and 12th
International Music Festivals in Costa Rica.
Last year the group joined Maestro Donald
Portnoy and the Augusta Symphony as soloists in
their Valentine Pops at the Bell concert. They were
featured soloists for the Ars Nova Orchestra’s Gala
Fundraiser under the baton of Lynn Luce at Miniaci
Hall in Davies, Fla. In 2001, QuinTango joined
Maestro David Stahl and the Charleston Symphony
as soloists for the opening concert of their pops season.
The group will also make three appearances
next season with the Wichita Symphony in
Kansas.
With sizzling energy and contagious passion,
QuinTango gave sixty concerts last year in venues
ranging from an elementary school in eastern
North Carolina to the 1,000-seat 19th century
Teatro Nacional in San Jose, Costa Rica. It is this
devotion to bringing the music of tango to new
audiences that prompted the Washington Post to
proclaim QuinTango “one of Washington’s musical
treasures.”
This concert is being presented by the Capitol
Hill Arts Workshop. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10
for seniors and children under 12, and may be purchased
in advance by calling (202) 547-6839. For
more information, interested persons may go to
www.chaw.org.
Stanton Park Neighborhood
Association Awards $8,000 in College
Scholarships
Five DC students will begin college next year with
the aid of $1,600 each awarded by the Stanton Park
Neighborhood Association. The $8,000 in awards
marks the latest installment in an annual scholarship
program begun in 1991. Some 45 first-year
scholarships have been given to deserving D.C.
high school students. The scholarships are funded
through contributions by SPNA members and
Capitol Hill organizations, and donations from
Capitol Hill merchants that are auctioned to raise
money at SPNA’s Annual Dinner.
The five winners this year were:
David Brown is a Capitol Hill resident and
Banneker High School senior who plans to major in
economics and business at Duke University. He is
president of Banneker’s math honor society, captain
of its soccer team and a tutor of algebra.
Rae-Ann Headley, a Capitol Hill resident and senior
at School Without Walls, will major in child
psychology and music with the goal of coupling
the two in support of children’s needs. She plans to
attend Columbia Union College.
Tyece Jones, also a Hill resident, will major in
pre-medicine in the fall, aiming to become a cardiologist.
She attended Dunbar High School, is a
national honor society member. She and her two
brothers were raised by her 84-year-old grandmother
to whom Tyece attributes much of her success
and describes as “the strongest person I know.”
Jones is winner of SPNA’s Joe and Ruth Henson
Scholarship, named for D St., NE residents who
opened their hearts and home to neighborhood
children.
Krystal Robinson is a senior in the Dunbar High
School pre-engineering program. One of two
daughters of a teenage mother, Krystal began working
at 14. She was first exposed to engineering in
the fourth grade through a weekend education program
and found she has, as she puts it, a “passion
for electricity.” She will enter Bowie State
University in the fall working toward an engineering
degree.
Garang Yak is a native of Sudan, whose father was
killed in the civil war when he was 11. Garang and
his nine-year-old brother were separated from their
mother and wound up in a refuge camp in Kenya.
In 2001, Garang was allowed to enter the U.S and
graduated from Bell Multicultural High School. He
has been accepted at St. Mary’s College of
Maryland, where he will study science with the
goal of becoming a pharmacist.
The selection was made by the Stanton Park
Neighborhood Association Scholarship Committee
from 38 applicants. The awards are only available
for students living in Washington, D.C., with a
preference for Capitol Hill residents and those living
in the Stanton Park area. For more information
on the program, contact SPNA, PO Box 75085,
Washington, DC 20013-5085 or call Jeff Johnson,
202-872-6072, or check SPNA’s web site at
www.stantonpark.org
First Five Call Boxes Approved
More Volunteers Needed for Effort
The first five call box proposals submitted by the
Capitol Hill community have been approved by the
review panel of the citywide Art on Call project.
Approximately 20 other boxes on Capitol Hill have
been assigned, and artists and community members
are now working on proposals.
The five approved boxes, their themes and artists
are:
• Fire box at 11th Street and Lincoln Park,
SE, “Carolina Theater” by Betsy Damos: Line
drawings of the original 1913 and redesigned
1923 Carolina Theater at 11th Street and North
Carolina Avenue, to be etched on to a bronze
plaque.
• Fire box at 1st and D Streets, SE, “Fighting
Fauna” by Bill Fleishell: An etched and enam-
VOICE of the Hill / July 2003
www.voiceofthehill.com 9
“The used key is
always bright.”
—BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Let my thirty years
of real estate experience
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JOHN JANKE
(202) 857-4385
Real Estate
eled “cartoon” of an elephant and a donkey
“duking it out” while the sunflower symbol
twines around the box.
• Fire box at 7th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue,
“The Old Wallach School” by Will Fleishell and
Jessica White: A cast bonze of Fleishell’s view of
the 1850s Wallach School complimented by
White’s colorful ceramic tiles on the base.
• Fire box at 8th and G Streets, SE, “Benjamin
Latrobe” by Will Fleishell and Jessica White: A
cast bronze bas relief of Fleishell’s portrait of
Latrobe with White’s Latrobe-related ceramic
tiles on the base.
• Fire box at 8th and I Streets, SE, “Anacostia Fire
Company” by Will Fleishell: Cast bronze of
Fleishell’s rendition of the c. 1840s parade hat
of the Navy Yard community’s volunteer fire
company, organized in 1804.
Other call boxes in the design process include
ones honoring the Police Department, based on a
1905 photograph of the officers at the present 1-D-
1 station; dogs in the cemetery; the trolley line
along Pennsylvania Avenue; the Eastern Terrace
houses at 17th and D Streets, SE; the Home Theater;
and the Parking Act (that set aside front public
space for gardens).
Although each of the approved call boxes will
receive the maximum $250 grant from the city, the
costs associated with making the plaques to be
inserted within the call boxes will be higher. Those
in the Capitol Hill community who would like to be
involved in the project, but don’t feel their talents
in the art department would measure up, are
encouraged to join the fund-raising effort. Please
contact Nancy Metzger through the Capitol Hill
Restoration Society, 202-543-0425.
Earlier this spring, Unity Construction
announced the stripping and priming schedule of
the remaining call boxes, but the wet weather this
spring has caused serious delays in the schedule.
Look for this phase of the project to be completed
by this summer.
There are still many call boxes that need to be
“adopted” by a block, an artist, or an organization.
To register your interest in a specific Capitol Hill
box, either as an artist or as a ‘captain’ working on a
specific box, or to help with fundraising or another
apsect of the project, please contact Nancy Metzger
through the Capitol Hill Restoration Society 202-
543-0425. The CHRS is serving as the coordinator
for the Capitol Hill effort, with participation by
neighborhood associations representing Stanton
Park, Capitol Hill East, North Lincoln Park and H
Street Main Street.
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His wife, Marie, was the theater
manager, “one of the first women to
manage a theater in the United
States.” Later named the Maycroft
and the Pastime, it existed between
about 1910 and 1917.2
The Dixie Theater, 800-02 H St.,
was begun in January 1910 and was
one of the first theaters in the city to
be built especially to show movies. It
had a capacity of 400 and in 1911
was described as “the largest motion
picture house in the northeast section
of the city.” It survived until
1921 when it was replaced by the
Northeast Savings Bank (now Riggs
National Bank). For much of its life it
was an “action house” specializing
in westerns and cops and robbers.3
The Apollo, 624 H St., was reportedly
the largest theater in the city
when it was built in 1913 for a cost of
$16,000. It was acquired by local
NOTE: This month’s article picks up
on a discussion of movie theaters in
the study area.
Among the most interesting early
theaters in the survey area are the
following:
The Diamond, which opened in
1906 at 1342 H St., which is associated
with Tom Moore, a motion picture
pioneer who began as a singer
and traveling film exhibiter and
organized one of the city’s first film
supply houses. The Diamond was his
first theater, but he was soon competing
with Harry Crandell for dominance
of the local movie industry.1
The Crystal Theater at 625 H St.
was, in 1911, the first theater in the
city to install a crystal screen that
greatly increased the clarity of the
image. The theater was owned by
Sydney Jacobson who had worked
for five years with Thomas Edison.
wooden benches. A number of brick
and mortar theaters also operated
open-air sites to retain patronage
during the summer months. Of the
seven airdomes operating in the city
in 1911, three of them were on H
Street, including the Northeast
Airdome (operated 1910-at least 1914)
at 1101 H Street and the Maycroft at
625 H. The Apollo (624 H) was erected
on the site of an open-air theater
called Imp Park. For many years, the
Apollo maintained its own open-air
theater on the lot adjacent to the
theater. This airdome had a separate
box office and in 1919 its board fence
was replaced by a handsome wall of
gold-colored brick.9 The Universal,
an open-air theater at 1310-20 H
Street was in operation from about
1910 through 1917. During at least
part of that time, it served as the
summertime venue for the Empire
Theater (911 H) despite being located
three blocks distant.10 With the
development of improved ventilation,
and then air conditioning,
open-air theaters gradually disappeared.
African American exhibitors were
rare in Washington. One example,
adjacent to the survey area was the
Florida at 1438 Florida Avenue. The
Florida was a one-story brick theater
with adjacent airdome. It seated
about 400 patrons when it was built
in 1913 at a cost of $10,000. It came
under African American ownership
sometime in the 1920s. In his 1927
Survey of Recreational Facilities for
Negroes, William Henry Jones comments
on this theater and the effects
of its closure. It was closed during
the summer of 1925, and scheduled
to re-open in September. However, it
has been sold and has been converted
into a garage. It had colored ownership.
With the closing of this theater,
the Northeast section, like the
Southeast section of this city, is now
without a [colored] theater.”11 The
theater was on the site of the apartment
building erected at northwest
the corner of Florida and
Bladensburg Road in the 1970s.
Architecture in the
Business Areas
The first third of the 20th century
was a period in which new building
types—banks, theaters, auto show
rooms, filling stations, and department
stores—were added to H Street.
These businesses, because of their
size or specialized needs, could not
make do in buildings that had formerly
been residences. The process
of replacing dwellings with businesses
also continued for smaller stores.
Many older buildings were replaced
to create more efficient and modern
shop space and many other buildings
were remodeled with the addition
of shop front windows or a
whole new façade to make them
movie mogul Harry Crandall in 1915
and became part of his organization
which eventually included the
Metropolitan (900 block of F St.
NW, with 1500 seats, the first of the
Movie “Palaces” to be completed
downtown in 1918), the ill-fated
Knickerbocker (18th and Columbia
Rd., the roof of which collapsed
under snow in 1922 killing 101), and
the Tivoli (14th and Park Rd.), the
grandest of the neighborhood theaters.
Crandall owned 12 theaters
when he sold to the Stanley chain in
1925. The Apollo later became one
of Warner Brothers’ theaters when
they took over the Stanley organization
three years later.4 The Apollo
was the “high class” theater on H
Street, with its usher corps, polished
brass fittings, and electric-lighted
façade. It continued in operation
until 1955 and was demolished by
an expansion of Ourisman
Chevrolet.5
The Empire, at 911 H St., also built
in 1913, was another large (seating
nearly 500), handsome theater on H
Street. It had boxes for singers and
lecturers flanking the screen, and,
like other theaters of the time, a
place at the rear of the auditorium to
park baby carriages—a way of
attracting mothers to the $.11 matinees.
It ceased operation in 1929.6
The Princess, at 1119-1121 H St.,
opened in 1910 as part the remodeling
of the North East Masonic
Temple as an entertainment center.
The building was just west of the
Northeast Market and was erected at
the same time by the same developers.
Instead of the lodge rooms that
occupied the top three floors in
1904,7 the four-story brick building
had meeting rooms and offices on
the top floor, bowling alleys on the
second and third floors, and the
approximately 300-seat theater on
the first floor. The theater survived
for 38 years until the building was
demolished in 1948.8
Although some theaters boasted
large electric fans for ventilation,
assembling a crowd of people in an
enclosed space during Washington’s
steamy summers was uncomfortable
at best. Some theaters closed down
for the summer. Until the advent of
effective air conditioning, the openair
theater provided a less stifling
way to view movies in the summer
time. These “airdomes” were popular
in the early days of film exhibition
because they required little investment
to operate, and could seat far
more people than the early enclosed
theaters. But being outdoors, their
profitability was subject to the
vagaries of Washington weather—-
temperature fluctuations in the
spring and fall, and rain in the summer.
The airdomes usually consisted
of a plot of open ground surrounded
by a wooden fence with a screen and
ticket booth. Patrons sat on long
HA Neighborhood’s Story
Part VII
BY NANCY SCHWARTZ
Street
Introduction
What follows is the seventh installment of a brief history of the Capitol Hill
North/Near Northeast neighborhood. The first installment appeared in the
January issue of the Voice, and all installments are available on the website at
www.voiceofthehill.com/history.htm. This history is the product of the first
phase of a multi-year cultural resources survey undertaken in October 2001 by
the Near Northeast Citizens community organization with the support of a
federal Historic Preservation Fund grant. The first phase of the project focused
on gaining a broad historical overview of the survey area. Future phases will
include additional research on the neighborhood as a whole as well as documentation
of individual buildings. The survey area is roughly bounded by the
Union Station railroad tracks/2nd Street, NE (west), Florida Avenue (north),
Maryland Avenue (east) and F Street, NE (south). This area, platted as part of
the original L’Enfant plan for the Old City of Washington, is comprised of 66
city squares and over 3,500 buildings.
The project’s Principal Investigator and the author of this history is Nancy
Schwartz, a former Chief Historian of the federal Historic American Buildings
Survey, the author of What Style Is It?, a popular guide to architectural styles in
the United States, and the Architectural Historian for the Eastern Market
Historic Structure Report.
RICHARD LAYMAN
Project Administrator
Capitol Hill North/Near Northeast Cultural and Social History Study
VOICE of the Hill / July 2003
www.voiceofthehill.com 11
look more commercial and less residential.
The common red machine
brick of the older buildings was
replaced after the turn of the century
by a variety of textured brick in
hues from maroon to tan. Decorative
details were simplified and usually
borrowed from the classical vocabulary.
Modernized shop fronts featured
large plate glass windows to
more effectively display the wares
within and entice passersby. Shop
fronts were usually organized under
a subsidiary cornice and often had
transom widows above the plate
glass shop windows. The most common
arrangements had shop windows
flanking the main entrance
with a side entrance to serve the
upper floors. Sometimes the two
entrances flank a single shop window.
The various elements of the
shop front were usually separated by
pilasters. As the 20th century progressed,
shop windows that project
into the sidewalk space become
more common. The canopies that
shelter them often featured decorative
metal cornices suspended on
iron chains or rods.
Residential Development,
1900-1930
Early 20th Century Row Houses
The residential blocks of the study
area were filled with houses in the
first quarter of the 20th century.
The beginning of the century saw
the last variations on the bay front
before a new type of row house
appeared. This was the flat-front
three-bay brick row house with one
story porch. The flat roof was
recessed behind a simple sloped roof,
commonly slate and sometimes tile,
with a central dormer. The houses
were usually set on a raised basement
with a broad set of frame steps
leading up to the porch. Porch
columns could be brick piers, simple
heavy round columns, or more elaborate
columns with Classical bases
and capitals. Porch and stair railings
were simple pickets, and there was
sometimes a balustrade on the
porch. The brick walls could be red,
but were more often a light brown,
tan or gray; occasionally they are
stucco or stone. These buildings were
the row house equivalent of the simple,
symmetrical four-square freestanding
houses being built in suburban
areas.12
As the undeveloped squares and
block faces were filled in, one builder
often erected long rows, or even
entire blocks of houses. This was
especially true as developers strove
to relieve the pent up demand for
housing after World War 1. To break
the monotony of repeating identical
houses, the builder would sometimes
vary the façade, spacing the
variations symmetrically to create a
coordinated design. These rows
could be interesting and attractive as
the example at 1209-31 G Street with
their peaked gables and decorative
medallions. Or they could give only
the barest nod to variety like the
houses that line the east side of the
3rd Street and the west side of Abbey
Place between L and M. Here the
builder, McKeever and Goss, used a
central shaped gable and an occasional
triangular gable to break up
the monotony of long rows of serviceable,
but plain, row houses.13
Other builders who were very active
in the teens and 20s were Boss &
Phelps, Ferrell, and especially H. R.
Howenstein (whose real estate office
was at 652 H Street).14
Apartment Buildings
People lived compactly in the study
area in the early 20th century.
Census records and directories show
that extended families in small
houses were common, and several
families often occupied the floors
above shops on H Street, but specially
designed apartments for moderate
income families did not appeared in
the Near Northeast until the turn of
the century. On the 1904 Sanborn
map, flats are identified on the 1200
and 1300 blocks of H Street and near
12th and Maryland Avenue. Luxury
apartments were identified with
wealth, but apartments for the middle
and working class had to overcome
negative images of the crowded
urban tenement before they won
gradually acceptance as an appropriate
living arrangement.15 One way
to emphasize their home-like qualities
was to design them to look like
houses in the neighborhood. The
1898 Roosevelt Flats at 1116-18 F
Street16 represent this early stage of
middle class, multi-family development.
They have the appearance of
side-by-side row houses, but have
one apartment, or flat, per floor. The
five-unit row of three-story brick
buildings at 1032-40 6th Street also
looks like a row of large bay-front
houses with Romanesque details and
round-arched entrances on grade.
They were built, however, as flats in
1903.17 Another form of apartment
living seen in the study area was the
combination apartment and commercial
building. Examples are
found on H Street in buildings like
the 1901 Franzoni Store and
Apartments18 at 1346 H. Another
example, at 1341-43 H, is a threestory
building with Flemish-bond
façade and contrasting tan brick
quoins running with the sides. It
had two stores on the first floor and
two large apartments on each of the
upper floors.19 After the turn of the
century, larger apartment buildings
began to appear in the residential
neighborhoods, especially south of
H Street. They have a scale that identified
them as multi-family
dwellings, but were still small
enough to fit comfortably within
the streetscapes dominated by row
houses. Examples are the Ellsworth
at 625 3rd Street, a 12-unit, threestory
brick building that was built in
1903, 20 and the 22-unit, four-story
Ramona (now called the Tuscany)
built in 1907 at 674 4th Street.21 By
1910, Boyd’s City Directory lists
eleven apartment buildings in the
study area.
Neighborhood People,
1900-1930
The early 20th century saw an influx
of new immigrants into the study
area. In addition to the Germans
and Irish immigrants of the 19th
century, Eastern European Jews,
Italians and Greeks also appear.22
Affordable housing and small stores
in which to start businesses must
have been a draw, along with the
already diverse ethnic mixture in the
neighborhood. Often arriving with
few language or professional skills,
many of the immigrants started
small businesses. Relatives helped
one another to get started, providing
living quarters and training that
spawned additional businesses. As a
result, certain ethnic groups became
associated with certain types of business.
Eastern European Jews began
arriving in the United States in great
numbers at the turn of the century.
Some found their way to
Washington, settling in Georgetown,
Southwest, and in the neighborhood
around H Street.23 In 1907, they built
the Ezras Israel Synagogue at the
northeast corner of 8th and I Streets.
The building is still there, now a
church and covered with form stone.
The businesses most associated with
the Eastern European Jewish immigrants
were delicatessens and small
grocery stores.24 They also entered
the garment trade, first as tailors and
cobblers, and then in shoe sales, dry
goods, men’s and women’s furnishings,
and eventually department
stores.25 Italians names also appear
in great numbers among merchants
of this period, many in shoe repair
or selling fruit. Greek names are
associated with prepared foods, turning
up first as confectioners and
then as restaurateurs. They are also
florists. Many bakers were German,
and a number of saloonkeepers were
Irish. Chinese names also appear in
the study area where they dominate
the hand laundry business. There
were eight Chinese laundries in the
1910 directory and more appear over
time.26 The first Chinese restaurant is
established in 1920 at 1494 H. There
are even Messrs. Tutty and Ota who
advertise Japanese goods. But these
generalizations were in no way
absolute. There were Syrian confectioners,
Italian hardware store owners,
and Jewish bakers. A woman
who grew up on the study area in
the 1920s and 30s, summed up her
impression of H Street as “a street of
immigrant shopkeepers.” 27
Life for new immigrants was not
easy, and success required hard work.
In her short memoir “Growing Up
On H Street,” Naomi Love Fisher
paints a picture of family life in one
of the small commercial buildings
on H Street. Her father rented 1405
H Street in 1907 for his shoe repair
shop. There were three rooms for
the family upstairs and a small
kitchen with a wood burning cook
stove behind the store where
bathing, laundry, and cooking were
done. There was only cold running
water and no indoor toilet. The store
had electricity to run the shoe repair
equipment and one overhead light;
the rest of the house was illuminated
and heated by gas. The family gathered
and entertained around the
pot-bellied stove in the store, their
largest space. But the family prospered,
added a shoe store in the
building next door and expanded
their living quarters. By the 1920s,
they moved to a larger building on H
Street and eventually bought their
own building.28
Because new housing and commercial
buildings were still being
erected in the neighborhood, the
new faces and accents did not
replace the mixed population that
had been there previously. The
German, Irish, and English names
that were found on 19th century
census schedules, were still plentiful
in the 1920 census. In a city that was
not known for its ethnic neighborhoods,
the study area seems to have
been an exception. The number of
foreign-born in the study area
exceeded that for the city as a whole
by about 30%. The African
American population also grew in
the study area, rising to about a
quarter of the total, a bit less than
the city as a whole. African
Americans were more concentrated
in the eastern part of the neighborhood.
There were far fewer opportunities
for African American advancement
in the segregated culture of the
day. In the squares sampled for this
study, census records reveal that in
1910, most African Americans in the
neighborhood held unskilled or
domestic jobs such as laborer, driver,
servant, cook, and laundress. Some
worked for the railroad as car cleaners
or porters and others for the government
as laborers and messengers.
The brickyard was also a source of
employment. By 1920, the same
squares contained a small number of
African Americans with far more
substantial jobs. There were railroad
firemen, elevator operators, teachers,
letter carrier, clerks in government
offices, and skilled laborers at the
GPO. Burton G. Robinson, a Black
physician lived at 702 12th Street
VOICE of the Hill / July 2003
12 www.voiceofthehill.com
and Peter Price, another Black doctor,
at 1128 G. Harvey Lewis, a D.C.
school principal lived at 822 12th
Street., and George Lomax at 813 9th
Street was a barber with his own
shop. Linden Street was an enclave
of middle class African Americans
whose professions in 1920 included
dentist, policeman, music teacher,
photographer enlarger, and clerks in
the Treasury and Post Office
Departments. Although African
Americans still lagged behind whites
in employment opportunities, there
had been a decided improvement in
the status of some of those living in
the study area in the ten years from
1910 to 1920.29
An important historical figure in
African American and labor history
became a resident of the study area
during this period. In 1918, Rosina
Tucker and her new husband B.J.
moved to a house on 7th Street. B.J.
was a porter on the Pullman sleeping
cars on the railroad, a job that was
considered to be prestigious for
African Americans at the time.
Although tips could be generous,
hours were long and base pay was
low. In an effort to raise wages and
improve working conditions, the
porters formed the Brotherhood of
Sleeping Car Porters under the leadership
of A. Phillip Randolph, an
organization that would become a
powerful force, not only for protecting
Black labor, but in promoting
broader civil rights issues. Both
because the porters were traveling so
frequently and because open union
participation would invite dismissal,
much of the early organizational
work fell to the wives who were
members of the Ladies Auxiliary of
the Union. Rosina Tucker met with
Phillip Randolph, visited homes to
recruit union members, and chaired
a committee at the Union’s first
national convention. She gave
speeches, organized marches, testified
before Congressional committees,
and lobbied lawmakers, continuing
her efforts on behalf of Black
labor and welfare issues throughout
her 105-year life. The work for which
she is now well known was all carried
out from her house at 1128 7th
Street NE.30
Not all of the Caucasian residents
of the Near Northeast were shopkeepers.
Many worked in jobs associated
with the railroads, either on
the trains as engineers, conductors,
and firemen, or at the station as telegraph
operators or ticket clerks, or
with related businesses such as
express companies. A large number
also worked at various jobs as the
Navy Yard and the Government
Printing Office. Streetcar conductors
and brakemen also found the neighborhood
convenient to their jobs.
There were several stone yards in the
area, and a surprising number of
stonecutters, carvers and polishers
appear in the census roles. There
were also professionals in the study
area working at jobs such as doctors,
dentists, lawyers, real estate brokers,
teachers, musicians, and many government
clerks.
Despite the generally middle and
working class population of the
study area during the first third of
the 20th century, census records
reveal that by 1930, the study area
had a slightly higher rate of home
ownership than the city as a whole,
29.8% compared to the city average
of 28%. African Americans in the
study area fared even better. In the
two enumeration districts that make
up most of the Near Northeast, they
averaged a 21.5% and 16.5% home
ownership rate, compared to 15% for
the city as a whole. As was true for
the entire city of Washington, however,
the majority of residents in the
Near Northeast, both working class
and professionals, were renters. [See
census tables in the appendix for
more complete statistics.]
The census figures give more credibility
to the laudatory review found
in the Board of Trade’s 1930 Book of
Washington, summing up the state
of the neighborhood at the start of
the Depression. It describes a business
district that “is second only to
that of the congested metropolitan
district. The area covered by the
Northeast [Businessmen’s] Association
is one in which the percentage
of home owners is the largest of any
section in Washington, while public
and private schools are so ideally
located that one may be found within
easy walking distance of every
home. In the shopping district,
stores carrying every line of merchandise
are to be found, while the
banking facilities equal those in
downtown Washington. Churches
of every denomination are represented
in the northeast area and are
conveniently located on or near car
lines. While business flourishes to a
marked degree in the northeast area,
the section is largely one of homes,
and for this reason the business
depression that has affected other
sections, in so far as building operations
are concerned during the last
few years, has been conspicuously
absent.” By the 1930s, the study
area was a middle and working class
neighborhood, more affluent at its
western end, with remarkable ethnic
diversity along its prosperous local
shopping street, and with some businesses
that attracted citywide
patronage.
1930 Through 1950
The Depression years were difficult,
but Washington, with the stable
incomes of government workers, had
an easier time than many cities. The
directories do not show a marked
increase in vacant buildings, and as
the Thirties passed, businesses like
Ourisman’s Chevrolet had maintained
their position in the market
and returned to healthy growth.
Stores that had begun tentatively
with novice businessmen were now
well established. H Street continued
much as it had been with some new
stores being added and remodeling
of existing buildings. This was the
period in which commerce on the
street was most fully developed.
People who knew the street during
the late 30s and 40s refer to crowds
moving up and down the sidewalks,
and describe it as “like a shopping
mall.” It had a neighborhood quality
in which people would patronize
their favorite merchants, but it was
large enough to include all types of
businesses. Many people, especially
in the Black community, did all their
shopping there,31 while others went
downtown for clothing and specialty
shops.32
Architecture in the 30s
and 40s
The streamlined features of the late
Art Deco or Moderne style appear on
H Street during this period, perhaps
inspired by the nearby 1929 Sears
Building. Some buildings, like the
one at the southwest corner of 11th
and H, have the smooth surface, ribbon
windows, and stylized ornament
associated with this style.
Moderne touches can be seen in
remodeled shop windows topped by
curving aluminum bands with evenly
spaced horizontal lines. Even the
warehouse buildings in the northwest
corner of the study area incorporated
elements of the style. For
example, 1111 2nd Street, a large
brick industrial building built in
1939,33 with ribbon windows and an
asymmetrical entrance tower with
stacked vertical brick details, illustrates
how well the spare style could
be adapted to utilitarian buildings.
Economic conditions and war controls
restricted building during this
period, and some of the buildings in
the area that exhibit Moderne
styling may date from the mid-40s.
This is true of some of the apartment
buildings erected in the vicinity of
12th and F Streets after the war.
Atlas Theater
The most impressive example of the
Moderne style, and one of the land-
The Atlas Theater
today. It is scheduled
to reopen as
the Atlas Performing
Arts Center in the
next couple of
years, part of the
new H Street Arts
and Entertainment
District.
VOICE of the Hill / July 2003
www.voiceofthehill.com 13
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marks of H Street, is the Atlas
Theater. Although the Depression
put an end to the extravagant movie
palace, it did not end movie going,
especially in Washington. With the
government swelled by New Deal
workers and wages fairly secure,
Washingtonians continued to
patronized the movies in such numbers
that new theaters continued to
be built until the start of World War
II cut off building supplies.34 The
active entertainment industry in the
Washington/Baltimore area in the
1930s resulted in many new theater
buildings whose architectural style
reflected new aesthetic trends. The
stripped down, modern lines of the
Art Deco and Moderne theaters of
this period featured bold geometric
shapes, smooth surfaces, and horizontal
emphasis. These new theaters
were smaller, with less applied ornament,
and were consequently less
expensive to build. They often
included adjacent retail shops in
their overall design, and those in
suburban locations were often part
of “park and shop” shopping centers
aimed at attracting—and providing
parking for—the automobile driving
patron.35
The last theater built on H Street,
and the only movie theater still
remaining, the Atlas at 1331 H Street,
is an excellent example of the
Moderne theater. It was designed in
1938 by Baltimorean John Zink.36
Zink had worked with famous theater
architect Thomas Lamb and
later developed his own practice that
specialized in the modern suburban
theater, designing over 200 theaters
on the East Coast.37
Like many theaters of this period,
the plans for the Atlas included
shops as part of the coordinated
design. The complex is dominated
by the tiered slabs of the theater
façade that rise at the east end and
were set off at night by neon backlighting.
The one-story shop fronts
to the west (1313-27 H Street) share
the same textured concrete facing as
the theater.
A band of dark architectural glass
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above the shop windows creates a
unifying horizontal feature that is
interrupted at intervals by wide fluted
shafts which curve above the
parapet and divide the composition
into three sections. The eastern end
of the complex was occupied by a
new Sanitary Market, (later a
Safeway). A Peoples Drug Store was
located next to it. A round-cornered
marquee, faced with aluminum
banding, shelters the theater
entrance. Beyond the box office, the
lobby gives access to the auditorium,
the main axis of which runs parallel
to H Street behind the street-front
shops. It originally featured a large
screen, and a sloping floor with the
good sight lines for which Zink was
known. The Atlas was also one of the
first theaters to feature an innovation
that Zink used later in other
theaters, a glass enclosed “quiet
room” where parents of young children
could watch the movie without
disturbing other patrons.
The Atlas was the first theater
built by K-B theaters, a local chain
that grew to provide competition to
Warner Brothers, the studio that
dominated the mid-Atlantic states.
The partners of K-B, Fred S. Kogod
and his brother-in-law Max Burka,
entered the movie business by accident.
Both men were European
immigrants who were successful in
the grocery business and were partners
in real estate ventures in the
1920s. In 1926, they purchased the
Northeast Temple building that contained
the Princess Theater. When
they found themselves with a theater
with no manager, they hired
Charles Olive, a veteran of Warner
Brothers to run it for them. It
remained their only theater until,
with Olive as “managing director,”
they opened the new Atlas in 1938.38
Warner Brothers had been thinking
about expanding its presence on
H Street by replacing its Apollo
Theater as early as 1930. They
attempted to buy the Atlas, and failing
that, they hired noted theater
architect, John Eberson, to build a
competing Art Deco house on 15th
Street near F Street, NE. Although
the Beverly was a handsome theater,
its location several blocks from the
main commercial thoroughfare of H
Street diminished its popularity. K-B
also challenged the Warner chain
legally on the issue of the appropriate
interval of time before new films
could be released to competitors.
They were instrumental in bringing
first-run films more quickly to suburban
theaters, and eventually,
when the power of the studios was
broken, they operated first-run houses
themselves.39
In addition to films, the Atlas provided
live entertainment on Friday
and Saturday nights, featuring local
talent in a kind of amateur hour. The
theater was one of the first to experiment
with the new medium of television.
In February 1940, WOL radio
personality, Art Brown, was the master
of ceremony for a live television
show broadcast from the stage of the
theater.40 The Atlas could not, however,
overcome the forces that were
shutting down all of the old city
movie theaters. It finally closed in
1976, and despite several attempts to
reopen, it remains closed. The façade
of the theater and its adjoining
stores was restored by the H Street
Community Development
Corporation, in 1986. It has recently
been nominated for consideration as
a District of Columbia landmark,
and a group is once again interested
in opening it as a legitimate theater.
In the segregated world of
Washington in the first half of the
20th century, the rich history of
movie theater development along H
Street described above benefited
only the white residents of the area.
For most of their entertainment
needs, African Americans living in
the Near Northeast had to journey
to other parts of the city. The area
around 14th and U Streets, NW, was
the center of commercial and social
life for the African American residents
of Washington. The Lincoln
and the Republic on U Street were
the largest and most popular movie
theaters for African Americans, and
the nearby Howard Theater, well
known for the famous performers
who appeared there, also occasionally
showed movies. There was another
cluster of smaller theaters, including
the Dunbar, on and near 7th
Street, NW, in the Shaw area.41 In
Washington, African Americans at
least had the opportunity to attend
attractive theaters of their own without
the indignity of being relegated
to the balcony, but the numbers
were small and concentrated in a few
locations.
In his article, “A Movie-Going
Capital,” Douglas Gomery lists 14
theaters for African Americans in
1948, the last year before theaters
began to desegregate. Two served the
residents of Near Northeast: the
Langston on Benning Road, and the
Plymouth at 1365 H Street. In 1942,
architect Morris Hallet converted the
former Plymouth automobile showroom
at 1365 H Street into a movie
theater just a few doors east of the
white-only Atlas. The stone-fronted
building was one of the handsomest
on H Street. The new theater was a
response to the swelling number of
war workers in the nation’s capital
and to the restrictions on travel that
made it more difficult to get to distant
venues.
An article in the Washington Afro
American welcomed the new theater
for “Washington residents and
newly arrived war workers living in
the Northeast and Southeast
area….Not only does this house help
meet the long felt need for motion
picture entertainment, but will also
help residents obtain recreation
without violating the ban on pleasure
driving, being within walking
distance for many and on a street car
line for others.”42 The initial renovation
was minimal, probably due to
war time regulations on building
materials and new equipment.
When the war was over, improved
restrooms, heating and air conditioning
were installed.43 The theater
operated for about ten years, closing
in 1952 after the nearby Atlas had
desegregated.44
The Plymouth, like many of the
other movie theaters for African
Americans, was owned by whites. In
1951, the K-B-owned Atlas played a
small role in the drama surrounding
the desegregation of Washington’s
theaters. In the aftermath of World
War II, pressure for racial desegregation
increased dramatically. It was
viewed as particularly shameful that
the nation’s capital should still cling
to its discriminatory Southern customs.
In 1948, a prominent group of
playwrights, composers, and lyricists
announced that they would not
allow their works to be presented at
Washington’s foremost legitimate
theater, the National, as long as it
was segregated. The theater’s management
chose to show motion pictures
rather than comply.45
In an effort to fill the void, New
York producer, William Robins,
leased the Atlas and prepared to
open two plays for an integrated
audience in August 1951.46 But
despite these good intentions, the
production was stopped hours before
curtain time for technical problems.
There was no fire curtain or sprinkler
system and the theater did not qualify
for a certificate of occupancy for
live entertainment. The cost of making
the changes was great enough
that the dream of live theater on H
Street was abandoned.47 The theater
was refurbished as a movie house
and reopened as a non-segregated
theater in December of 1951.48 The
National reversed its policy and
resumed its role as the city’s principal
legitimate theater, but now for
integrated audiences, in 1952.
In the fall of 1971, the Atlas
became part of a small independent
circuit that was owned by African
American Tommy Perkins, but by
then large-screen city theaters were
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closed or closing across the city, victims
of television, suburban competition,
and fear of city crime. The
Atlas closed as a movie theater in
1976.49
Notes
1 Headley 76, 254
2 Headley, 48-49, 292
3 Headley 30, 50, 254
4 Gomery, Douglas. “A Movie-Going
Capital. Washington, D.C., in the History
of Movie Presentation.” Washington
History Vol. 9, No.1 (1997), p.11
5 Headley, 228
6 Headley 259
7 Sanborn Map, 1904
8 Headley, 307
9 Headley, 229. A photo on page 50
shows the theater and its adjoining openair
venue.
10 Headley, 336
11 Jones, William Henry. Recreation and
Amusement Among Negroes in Washington,
D.C. Reprinted by Negro University Press,
Westport, CN. 1970. Originally printed by
Howard University Press, Washington, D.C.
1927, p. 117
12 A good example of a row of this type
of row house with brick columns is found
on the north side of the 800 block of L
Street. Two unusual stone versions of the
style can be found in sandstone at 812 8th
Street and in granite at 723 5th Street.
Smaller versions with basic porches can be
found along the 600 block of K Street.
13 McKeever & Goss developed the entire
west half of this block in 1922-23. The
development included an apartment building
at 1100 Abbey Place. It was designed for
R.L. McKeever in 1923 by architects Porter
& Lockie. (Permit # 364, 7/12/1923. IPS #
0773-0087, Apartment Survey) The 700
block of Florida Avenue is part of a complex
of coordinated houses that turns the corner
and continues down both 7th and 8th
Streets. The builder, whose name was
Ferrell, used cornice-line variations, with
shaped, square, and tiled pent roof terminations
to modulate the repetitive house
facades. Examples of more unusual coordinated
rows can be seen at 1102-10 8th Street
where exaggerated contrasting quoins set
off first floor windows and doors. The row
of duplexes at 1012-22 6th Street have their
plain walls highlighted with large bull’s-eye
windows.
14 D.C. Building Permit Indexes, 1900-
1930.
15 Traceries, “Apartment Buildings in
Washington, D.C. 1880-1945.” National
Register of Historic Places, Multiple
Property Nomination Form, 1993.
16 D. C.Apartment Building Survey, IPS #
0983-0863
17 D.C. Apartment Building Survey,
Permit # 1257, 2/14/1903. IPS# 0830-0044,
45, 46, 47, 48
18 D.C. Apartment Building Survey, PS#
1026-0135
19 The Love family moved their shoe
store from 1409 H Street to 1342 H in 1922,
and the family moved their residence to
one of the large apartments in this “more
modern, centrally-heated building.”
(Fisher, Naomi Love. “Growing Up On H
Street.” The Record, vol. 13, Nov. 1985, p.
56)
20 D.C. Apartment Building Survey,
Permit # 12, 7/1/1903. IPS# 0778-0009
21 D.C. Apartment Building Survey, IPS #
0778-0112
22 U.S. Census, schedules for ED 83, 84,
and 85, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930.
23 .Marans, Hillel. Jews In Greater
Washington. Self-published, 1960. p. 29
24 Marans, 43, and Pelecanos, Ruby.
Telephone interview, 9/23/02
25 Boyd’s City Directories 1910-1930
26 Evidence of the last Chinese Laundry
on H Street can be seen at 1305 H. An old
sign for Hen Lung Laundry on the front of
the bay front row house has hung there
since at least 1948. The Lee family moved
in to operate the laundry in 1960, and Mrs.
Lee continued to live in the house in retirement
until it was damaged by fire in 2001.
Conversation with Fee Lee, April 2002
27 Pelecanos, Ibid.
28 Fisher. Ibid.
29 U. S. Census, 1920.
30 Smith, Jessie Carney. Powerful Black
Women. Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1996,
pp. 339-44
31 Powell Family, oral history, September
2002
32 Pelacanos, Ibid.
33 Tracerie, DC Warehouse Survey. IPS #
34 Gomery 13
35 Gomery 14-17
36 D.C. Preservation League. “Atlas
Theater and Shops,” Application for
Historic Landmark Designation. January
20, 2000
37 He designed at least eight other theaters
in the Washington area in the years
before and immediately after the war,
including the Senator (built across the
Anacostia River at Benning Road and
Minnesota Avenue in 1942), the Uptown
(one of the few remaining large-screen theaters
at 3426 Connecticut Avenue, 1936),
the Reed in Alexandria (1937), the
McArthur on McArthur Boulevard (1946),
the Apex on Massachusetts Avenue,
N.W.(1941), the Newton, 3601 12th St., N.E.
near Catholic University (1937), the Naylor
in Anacostia (1945), and the Flower in Silver
Spring (1950). (Gomery, 17; Headley, 142)
38 Headley 201, Atlas Nomination 19.
They quickly went on to open the Apex and
the Senator before the war time building
hiatus. After the war, they added the
MacArthur, the Naylor, the Flower, the
Ontario and the Langley, all suburban theaters
and then the Cinema and Fine Arts.
39 Headley, 142-43
40 Headley, 175
41 Gomery, 21
42 Washington Afro American.
1/30/1943. p. 17.
43 Gomery, 306
44 D.C. Landmark Application, H Street
Playhouse, p. 14
45 Gomery, 21; Headley 172, 178
46 D.C. Landmark Application, Atlas
Theater and Shops, p. 6
47 Headley, 230
48 D.C. Landmark Application, Atlas
Theater and Shops, p. 6
49 Headley, 209
Note: A Neighborhood History concludes
next month.
VOICE of the Hill / July 2003
16 www.voiceofthehill.com
Reports of hate crimes in
the Washington, D.C.
area are up 600 percent,
and Sgt. Brett Parson of
the Metropolitan Police
Department couldn’t be happier.
He takes a sip of hot chocolate—a
dramatic pause to let this shocking
statistic marinate momentarily—
then the bulky, broad-shouldered
lawman lurches forward and delivers
a follow-up wallop. “I’m damn
proud of that statistic, and so is our
chief, and so is our city council, and
so are the people who live in this
community.”
To clarify, Parson is not proud of
soaring hate crimes, per se, he’s
proud that victims are increasingly
inclined to report crimes against
them—a breakthrough due in large
part to MPD’s Gay and Lesbian
Liaison Unit, which Parson has led
for three years.
“I’ve got to tell you, that number’s
still anemic,” he says. “There’s no
way in hell we should only have 16
or 17 hate crimes reported in the
District of Columbia right now.
Statistics say we should have hundreds
reported in this city.”
An Impressive Presence
since its launch in June 2000, the
GLLU has dedicated itself to serving
the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
communities in the area and
its work has paid off in spades.
Members of the unit advise MPD
Police Chief Charles Ramsey on
GLBT issues, serve on the Hate
Crimes Task Force and provide assistance
to gay-owned or operated businesses
and organizations.
Additionally, the group supports law
enforcement investigations that
involve the GLBT communities.
The GLLU’s presence in the community
has been impressive, with
Parson and Officers Joe Morquecho
and Kelly McMurry conducting outreach
just about anywhere a rainbow
flag is flown. However, the unit
grew earlier this spring when the
team expanded. Now, the group’s
got strength in numbers.
Officers Juanita Foreman,
Zunnobia Hakir, Rosa Roldan-Torras,
Rob Edwards, Vince Miccone, Clark
Ray, Guy Whitney and Tomi Finkle
joined the GLLU in May.
GLLU representatives are going
places that police officers traditionally
don’t. When thousands crowded
Constitution Avenue at last
month’s Capitol Pride festival, the
GLLU was there. When Cherry 8,
Washington’s annual fundraising
circuit party, drew throngs to city
bars and clubs in May, the GLLU
was there. And when leather enthusiasts
from around the region congregated
here for the MidAtlantic
Leather Weekend, the GLLU was
there.
“I don’t think that a liaison unit,
which is really the ultimate in community
policing, can be done from
the office,” Parson says, sporting a
MAL weekend T-shirt. “If your work
is to have a positive relationship
with the community, you have to be
out in the community.”
Bill McColl, a member of Out on
the Hill, a social group for gay and
lesbians living on Capitol Hill, lauds
the MPD for launching the GLLU.
“They seem to be very committed
to being at community events and
are also committed to going to talk
to people and make them aware that
they exist,” said McColl, director of
national affairs for the Drug Policy
Alliance. “They’ve made a real effort
to get out on into the community—
to be seen, to be heard.”
You’ll never hear Parson request
that callers meet him in his office.
“Why would someone want to come
to a police station? People go there
for bad news—to identify bodies or
go to jail,” he says matter-of-factly. If
people want an appointment, he
goes to where they feel comfortable.
Parson turned up to talk about
violence against gay men following
the Out on the Hill group’s viewing
of HBO’s The Laramie Project, a film
that depicts the efforts of a New
York theater company to expose a
town’s loss of innocence after a fatal
hate crime against a college student.
Earlier this year at the group’s Mardi
Gras party, Parson brought five colleagues
along.
“He could have been anywhere
after hours,” McColl said. “He’s
always just been really accessible.”
Parson ticks off recent GLLU destinations
rhythmically and without
hesitation. “We’re going to sex clubs,
strip clubs, adult bookstores. We’re
also meeting with groups of people
who are on the fringe of legality—
street workers, sex workers.” He adds
that the GLLU is not there to condone
their behavior but to inform
these individuals that even though
what they’re doing is illegal, it doesn’t
mean they forfeit their rights. “It
doesn’t mean that if you’re victimized,
you shouldn’t be able to call
the police. I’m getting calls from
commercial sex workers. That
wouldn’t happen if we weren’t out in
the community.”
He has even attended gatherings
of little-known gay nudist groups in
the D.C. area and spoke with The
Radical Faeries—a small, leftist,
semi-political pagan group.
“I don’t think that the work we’re
doing is necessarily one-on-one or to
the thousands. We need to take
advantage of every connection we
can make. Yes, we deal with HRC
Protecting a
Community
Police Department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit Bridging Gaps
BY ANDREW NOYES
VOICE of the Hill / July 2003
www.voiceofthehill.com 17
[Human Rights Campaign] and
Lambda Rising bookstore and those
visible monuments in the community,
but more importantly, we’re dealing
with groups and people who
aren’t out, who aren’t comfortable
with who they are and who sometimes
don’t even want to be seen
with us,” he says.
Parson and his posse respond to
calls of all types. “Everything from
calls from people who have had
contact with police officers who
have been less than professional or
respectful, people involved in criminal
activity who want to turn themselves
in or change their lives but
don’t trust the police to treat them
respectfully,” he says.
The GLLU easily logs seven to ten
contacts a week, ranging from emails
and voicemails to calls for service.
Cases aren’t resolved immediately,
he cautions. There are between 60
and 100 cases open right now.
And to think Parson never imagined
he’d be able to fill an eighthour
day with this job.
“I wouldn’t be expanding this unit
if I couldn’t fill an eight-hour day,”
Parson confesses. “I’m working 20-
hour days—sometimes more than
20-hour days.”
A History
While the GLLU was formally established
in June 2000, the push for
greater interaction with the gay and
lesbian community started much
earlier. According to Parson, a former
police sergeant made the appeal
to MPD leadership repeatedly, but
her recommendations were ignored
for years.
It wasn’t until two lesbian officers
joined the force that times started to
change. Officers Kelly McMurry and
Bredet Williams put together a plan
and implemented the GLLU in
MPD’s 3rd District. Shortly after
Chief Ramsey was clued in on the
unit, he decided the program should
be spread throughout MPD’s jurisdiction.
“That first year was really a survival
year for them,” Parson says.
“They had some real obstacles to
overcome.” They were women, they
were lesbians, and they were officers
—the lowest rung of the MPD’s
rank structure.
“On the respect totem pole,
they’re pretty low,” he says. “They
did not enjoy the amount of respect
and support they probably should
have.”
Feeling frustrated and defeated,
the duo told Ramsey the GLLU was
not working and it should be discontinued.
Recognizing the political
ramifications of shelving such a
high-profile program, Ramsey said
the unit must be maintained.
Upon his request, McMurry and
Williams offered three recommendations
on how to make the GLLU succeed.
They said he needed an openly
gay male to lead the unit because
the vast majority of calls did not
come from the lesbian, bisexual or
transgender community.
They said he needed someone to
lead with rank—“someone with a
gold badge who could divert other
people from their activities to do
what he wanted.” Their third recommendation
was the clincher—
and the one that got Parson the job.
“They said you need somebody
who just doesn’t give a s*** what
people think,” he chuckles.
Parson—who then supervised the
MPD’s Narcotics Strike Force—was
on vacation in Colorado Springs
when he received a call from
Ramsey’s chief of staff, wanting to
know how he’d feel about being
transferred. Parson turned down the
job, citing his disinterest in being
“the gay poster child for the D.C.
police department.”
However, in the typical style of a
paramilitary organization, Parson
learned he had no choice in the
matter. “He said, ‘I don’t think you
understand. We’ve already transferred
you. We just want to know
how you feel about it.’”
Three years later, Parson remains
in the post for which he never
applied, and the GLLU’s operations
and outreach have increased by leaps
and bounds. The team has successfully
created a bridge between the
GLBT community and law enforcement
and nurtured a working environment
for GBLT police that
Parson says is “more bearable.”
“By working side-by-side with
them, we’re showing them that gay
cops are just as good as straight
cops, and I think that message is
coming through,” he says.
Parson’s handful of new recruits
can expect a crash course in community
outreach training during their
first weeks and months on the job.
“You can expect them to be
dragged around to every [expletive]
event you can imagine,” Parson says
excitedly. “I’ve already told them
“You’d better buy a new pair of
shoes because I’m gonna wear them
out.’”
Parson thinks that whether he
and members of the GLLU are on- or
off-duty, they should be recognized
throughout the city. “I don’t think I
should have to wear a little rainbow
pin that says ‘I’m the gay police,’” he
adds.
A training campaign is also underway
—a concept that Parson says is
unprecedented in law enforcement.
“We’re going to invite the community
to come in and train us on the
needs, resources, opinions and views
of the community,” he says. “Just
because I’m gay does not mean I
know it all.”
Accolades and
Continued Growth
As the unit’s work has saturated the
city, accolades for the group have
been plentiful. In an April ceremony,
the Gay and Lesbian Activists
Alliance presented GLLU with a distinguished
service award. The event
marked an important milestone in
the rocky relationship between
D.C.’s gay community and police
department.
Frank Kameny, a Washingtonian
who has been called the father of
gay activist militancy, recounts a
nationwide history of strained relations
between law enforcement,
lawmakers and gays, but conditions
were particularly hostile in this city.
He told attendees at GLAA’s 32nd
Anniversary Reception of the long
struggle toward acceptance and over
a period of decades, “We gradually
eroded the hostility and anti-gay
effectiveness of the MPD.”
“What we have here today is
acknowledgement of the conversion
of a period of the darkest of night
into the welcome dawn of a bright
new day,” said award presenter and
GLAA charter member Franklin
Kameny. “No longer are the police
our enemies; I find it comforting to
have the GLLU there.”
According to Kameny, Parson’s
unit is unique in the nation. Other
somewhat smaller operations exist
elsewhere, he said, “but they are
only public relations efforts.”
“Ours alone has full enforcement
powers, and, under a Sgt. Parson
who seems to be everywhere, is
using those powers effectively to
bring about a dramatic improvement
in community-police relations;
an increase in the mutual respect of
gay people and the police; and a
focus on previously ignored problems
in the community.”
More information about MPD’s
Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit is
available at www.gaydc.net/gllu.
Andrew Noyes has covered breaking
news, politics and human interest topics
for more than five years and his political
and feature reporting has appeared
in newspapers around the country.
Currently, he works as a science policy
reporter and freelance feature writer in
Washington.
Brett Parson of the MPD’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit.
VOICE of the Hill / July 2003
18 www.voiceofthehill.com
show just a few blocks from our
house. Even though the Marine
band music drifts to our backyard on
summer evenings, we somehow did
not get around to walking those few
blocks to the parade until a couple of
years ago. We decided to return June
6 and somehow lucked out on the
weather that night—it was beautiful!
Presented every Friday evening
from mid-May through August 22,
the hour-and-a-half Marine Corps
Parade is a spectacular display of
musical talent, precision and
pageantry. It’s much better, natural-
You’ve always heard about native
New Yorkers who have never
visited the Empire State building
or the Statue of Liberty.
Likewise, there are Washingtonians
—including some Capitol Hill
residents—who have never taken
advantage of one of the city’s best
summer happenings: the Friday
Evening Parade at the Marine
Barracks at 8th and G Streets, SE.
Unlike those Big Apple attractions,
this one is free!
For years, we were among those
guilty ones, missing this marvelous
ly, if the weather cooperates, as it did
for us. But even if it doesn’t, the
show goes on anyway, albeit somewhat
abbreviated. “We deal with it,”
a Marine told us.
Upon arrival at the barracks
grounds, each female guest is greeted
by a Marine who escorts her to her
seat in the stadium, overlooking what
the USMC call the “Parade.” Guys
walk in on their own. As darkness
approaches, attendees are entertained
by Marines who explain the whole
process and provide some historical
information, sans microphones.
Precision and History
The Marine Barracks on Capitol Hill
is the oldest post of the Corps, dating
from 1798. John Adams was
President at the time. Completed in
1806, the attached, white brick
Marine Commandant’s mansion is
Washington’s oldest continuouslyoccupied
residence. It’s also the only
part of the original complex still
standing, and one of the few structures
not burned by the British in
1814. The Barracks site and the
Home of the Commandants were
designated as National Historic
Places by the U.S. Department of the
Interior in 1976, during our nation’s
Bicentennial. The Barracks—
arranged in a quadrangle—currently
house more than 1,100 Marines,
sailors and civilians.
As a replica of the 1798 American
flag–with 16 stars and 16
stripes–floated overhead—the show
started promptly at 8:45 p.m. It
began with the Marine Corps Color
Guard’s presentation of the United
States and Marine Corps flags, followed
by the National Anthem. As
always, the performance showcased
the US Marine Corps band, known
as the “President’s Own,” as well as
the Marine Drum and Bugle Corps.
Although both are part of the
Marines, these two musical groups
are totally separate, and do not play
together. Band selections are likely
to include music by Marine band
leader John Phillip Sousa (who was
born nearby on G Street, SE, and
composed many of his famous
marches right at the Barracks). The
band also plays contemporary
music; tonight we heard the stirring
theme from the HBO series, “Band
of Brothers.”
Our favorite part of the show, how-
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ever, was the precision rifle handling
of the Silent Drill Platoon, as each of
the 24 Marines twirled and flipped a
10-pound M-1 rifle with a fixed bayonet.
Everything was done in complete
silence, and not a single command
was given. I called the team
“Rockettes with rifles” and marveled
that no one lost a finger.
Oh yes–lest we forget–at some
point in the evening the Marine
Corps mascot Chesty, an English
bulldog named after the legendary
Lt. General Lewis Burwell (“Chesty”)
Puller, was trotted out onto the field.
After the Colors were retired, and
the flag was lowered, the evening
finale elicited goose bumps and a
few tears. All lights were extinguished
except for a spotlight shining
on a lone bugler standing on top
of the Barracks, who played the
solemn strains of Taps.
The Marine Corps Evening Parade
is free and open to the public, but
reservations are required. However,
you no longer have to hang on the
phone or submit requests in writing;
simply log onto www.mbw.usmc.mil/
paraderes, and follow the directions.
When you receive your e-mail confirmation,
simply print it out and
bring it with you. Be sure to note
your gate number, and everyone in
your party should arrive together.
The Barracks is within easy walking
distance of many Hill neighborhoods
(including ours), and the
Eastern Market Metro stop
(Blue/Orange lines) is nearby.
Parking is available on the street and
at Maritime Plaza, 1201 M Street, SE.
Although the show doesn’t start
until 8:45 p.m., gates open at 7:30
p.m., and guests with reservations
should show up no later than 8 (people
were already queued up when we
arrived shortly thereafter). At 8:10
p.m., the general admission gate
opens and all unclaimed seats are
filled–first come, first served. In this
post 9/11 world, everyone has to pass
through metal detectors. Purses,
backpacks, and packages are
searched. Hint: leave those bulky
bags and backpacks at home!
Check Out 8th Street
Nightlife
Taking in the Marine Corps Evening
Parade is also an ideal excuse to
check out the rapidly-evolving 8th
Street nightlife. Since we had to
arrive at the Barracks at 8 p.m. and
the show didn’t start for 45 minutes,
we had dinner beforehand. On this
rare, rain-free evening, we wanted to
dine al fresco. The Banana Café was
jam-packed with a long wait, so we
decided to try Ellington’s on Eighth.
The homey jazz club/restaurant’s
secluded “Garden Café” (patio)
offered a pleasant ambience. A basket
of multi-colored potato chips
appeared with our drinks.
Ellington’s cooking, which exceeded
expectations, centered around West
African and Caribbean dishes. Peter
ordered tilipia with a spicy red sauce,
white beans and spicy greens, while I
chose salmon with a delicious
coconut milk sauce, escorted with
those same zesty greens, black beans
and fried plantains.
Wines by the glass (we had Merlot
and Pinot Grigio) were decent, and
our bill came to about $60.
Ellington’s is located at 424-A 8th
St., SE; call 202-546-8308. Open
Wednesday-Saturday for dinner,
with Saturday brunch from 10 a.m.
to 3 p.m.; Sunday Jazz brunch-dinner
from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
After the show, which let out
around 10:15 p.m., we stopped for a
nightcap at the Banana Café’s lively
upstairs piano bar. The bartender
(who’s also stationed at the Marine
Corps Barracks) makes a mean
Cosmopolitan, and the music was
great! Banana Café is at 500 Eighth
St., SE (202-543-5906), open daily.
Other close-by, pre-or post Parade
suggestions are Starfish Café (sister
restaurant of Banana Café), at 539
Eighth St., SE (202-546-5006); Las
Placitas, 517 8th St., SE (202-543-
3700) and its spinoff, Las Placitas
Cantina, 723 8th St., SE (202-546-
9340). Both serve Salvadoran and
Mexican dishes.
Hill resident Celeste McCall contributes
her stories each month in The Voice of
the Hill.
VOICE of the Hill / July 2003
20 www.voiceofthehill.com
scramble over abandoned gun
mounts, while fighter jets loom overhead.
A suitcase once packed by a
Navy serviceman during World War
II is covered with stickers from
London, Italy, Gibraltar, San
Francisco and Honolulu. Aviator
goggles - with bifocals fixed inside -
were once used by Vice Admiral
Williams F. Halsey, Commander of
the South Pacific Forces during that
same war. Scale models of Navy
cruisers and destroyers are placed
At the Washington Navy
Yard, the presence of the
destroyer U.S.S. Barry—
permanently moored
near the Navy Museum—
belies the shallow depths of the
Anacostia River. While few military
ships currently traverse those muddy
waters, the artifacts housed in the
nearby museum attest to the breadth
of the U.S. Navy and its involvement
in nearly all major U.S. conflicts.
Inside the museum, young visitors
“flagship museum” of the United
States Navy, with a collection dating
from 1800. While the first naval
museum was formed in 1865, the
current museum, located at the
Naval Yard in Southeast Washington,
was established by Admiral
Arleigh Burke and opened in 1963.
Permanent Exhibitions
Permanent exhibitions include Polar
Exploration; The Forgotten Wars of the
19th Century; Commodore Perry and
throughout the building, which
once produced ordnance, missile
components and electronic equipment.
Housed in the former Breech
Mechanism Shop of the old Naval
Gun Factory, constructed between
1887-1889, the Navy Museum at
Washington’s Navy Yard is part of
the Naval Historical Center. Over
5,000 artifacts are housed in 40,000
square feet of exhibition space.
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VOICE of the Hill / July 2003
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the Opening of Japan; the Civil War;
the Spanish American War; World War
I; In Harm’s Way: the Navy in World
War II; Navigation; Navy Submarines;
and Korea 1950-’53: The Navy in the
Forgotten War.
The Navy Museum also hosts a
variety of free public programs,
including musical concerts, exhibition
openings, book-signings and
lectures. A recent event was a June
lecture and book signing on
Revolutionary War Captain John
Paul Jones, given by author Evan
Thomas.
The Washington Navy Yard, a
secure naval base as well as a national
historic landmark, functioned primarily
in ordnance production,
according to Yard literature.
Industrial production ceased in 1961,
and the complex currently functions
as a supply and administrative center.
Also located at the facility is a
small Navy art gallery, featuring
mostly Navy combat art. The Marine
Corps Historical Center, which
maintains the archival, research,
library and museum facilities of the
U.S. Marine Corps, has the original
flag flown at Iwo Jima on exhibit.
The U.S.S. Barry, a de-commissioned
Cold War-era destroyer, is permanently
moored and open to tours
near the Navy Museum at Pier 2.
Most of the artifacts housed in the
museum belong to the U.S. Navy,
while some have come from personal
donations to the Navy by individual
donors, said Sheila Brennan,
Director of Education and Public
Programs for the Navy Museum.
Current permanent displays do
not encompass more temporary conflicts
in which the Navy has been
involved due to security concerns,
Brennan said.
“We are working on renovating a
space where we can deal with the
Cold War and the more modern
Navy,” Brennan said. “We hope to
do a gallery of contemporary Navy
conflicts, but some objects and documents
are classified, so we have to
wait for those.”
Brennan said the museum also
touches on the humanitarian aspect
of the Navy while involved in the
wars featured in the exhibits.
For example, within the Korean
War section of the museum, a video
and display highlights the contributions
of medical staff during the
conflict. Dressings and bandages
used by servicemen are displayed.
Body armor, which entered widespread
use in 1952, is also shown.
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Special Exhibits
The Navy Museum’s major exhibits
are those encompassing World War
II, the Korean War, and the Navy’s
involvement in polar exploration.
In Harm’s Way: the Navy in World
War II details and explains individual
battles such as the Battle of Coral
Sea (May 1-8, 1942) and the Battle of
Midway (June 4-5, 1942). Navy uniforms
used during the war, as well as
souvenirs collected by servicemen,
are on display. Near the end of the
exhibit, a recreation of a war bond
booth and war ration books remind
visitors of the impact of the war on
American civilians.
Included in the exhibit is a replica
of the U.S.S. Ranger, used in 1943 and
which joined the fleet in 1934 as the
first warship designed and built as
an aircraft carrier. The Ranger
patrolled the Atlantic from 1939-
1942 and ended the Second World
War as a training center for naval
aviators.
An example of a 3-inch, 50-caliber
dual-purpose gun, the Navy’s principal
heavy anti-aircraft weapon used
between the world wars, invites visitors
to imagine the weapon used in
action.
An arresting exhibit placed near
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the entrance to the museum, Polar
Exploration, details the Navy’s
involvement in the exploration and
mapping of Antarctica. The exhibit
includes photographs, maps, artifacts,
instruments and clothing used
in early expeditions.
America’s first expedition, led by
Charles Wilkes in 1838, spanned
four years. Wilkes’ assumption that
Antarctica was a continent was later
proved to be correct through aerial
mapping techniques.
Also seen in the exhibit is Admiral
Richard E. Byrd’s advanced base
Antarctic hut, which he used on his
second expedition to the continent
in 1933-35. Byrd lived within the
insulated hut for seven months and
later donated the shelter to the
museum.
Objects used by Finn Ronne, a Norwegian-
born explorer later commissioned
a Navy lieutenant in World
War II, round out the display. Ronne
made nine trips to Antarctica and
traveled by ski and dog sled 3,600
miles. His Antarctic Research Expedition
in 1947-48 included the first
two women to winter over on the
continent, and confirmed that Antarctica
is one continent by exploring
and mapping more than 250,000
square miles of new territory.
Summer reading doesn’t
have to be Duh Reading.
Trust us... you can skip The Nanny Diaries
We recommend our fine selection of PEN/Faulkner
and Booker Prize winners for your consideration.
And if you want to catch up with
the rest of the universe,
we have Harry Potter #1 and #2 and #3.
(Hilary went to Trover, but hasn’t reached Riverby yet.)
VOICE of the Hill / July 2003
22 www.voiceofthehill.com
Changes, Post 9-11
While the Navy Museum is free and
open to the public on weekdays,
planning and arranging visits beforehand
is a necessity.
The September 11, 2001, attacks
on the United States, which have
caused increased security measures
around the country, have also affected
procedures at the Washington
Navy Yard.
Visitors must now call at least 24
hours in advance to access the museum
and bring photo identification
with the eighth graders who come to
Washington DC every year,”
Brennan said. “We’re very pleased
because the fall was a slower fall
than we anticipated because of the
sniper - that affected everyone in
Washington.
“We follow the patterns for
tourism in DC,” she added. “We just
feel them a little more dramatically.”
The September 11 attacks and the
consequent security concerns have
caused the number of visitors to the
museum to drop, Brennan said.
Pre-Sept. 11, visitors averaged
about 300,000 per year; in the last
year and a half, tourism has dropped
to about 150,000 visitors a year,
Brennan said.
“A lot of [visitor] drop-off is also
attributed to closure on weekends,
and that we can no longer have
walk-ins—but individuals are welcome
to come,” Brennan said.
Naval commands work at the
Navy Yard, and the Chief of Naval
Operations, the highest-ranking
naval official, lives on the Yard —
another reason for the heightened
security, Brennan said.
Directly following Sept. 11, the
museum was more widely publicized
in Washington papers through
advertisements in attempts to
increase tourism. Now, local papers
such as the Washington Post,
CityPaper and Voice of the Hill carry
listings for lectures and exhibits.
“I think sometimes people from
out of town know us better than
those who live here, since you find
yourself falling into patterns [of
going to the same museums],”
Brennan said. “We do have a lot of
very good friends, faithful return visitors
who talk us up, spread the
word.”
The heightened security at the
yard may be changed or lowered at
some point in the future, but there
are no current plans to do so.
“It’s hard to say right now if it will
change,” Brennan said. “We’re definitely
looking forward to that. We
really want to be open for our neighbors
and for our local community.”
The Washington Navy Museum,
located in Building 76 at the
Washington Navy Yard at 9th and M
Streets, SE, is open to the public
Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. through Labor Day; open
until 4 p.m. through April 1. The
museum is closed weekends and federal
holidays.
Visits must be booked at least 24
hours in advance by calling 202-433-
6897 and giving the names of all
adults who will be visiting. Visitors
should enter the Navy Yard at the
11th and O Street gate, and all adults
must have photo identification.
Visitor parking is limited but available.
Visitors traveling by Metro may
take the Eastern Market (Blue-
Orange line) or the Navy Yard
(Green line) stops.
This is DC-based freelance writer
Nicole Spiridakis’ first contribution to
The Voice of the Hill.
to be shown to guards at the visitors’
entrance. Visitors must then go
through a visitors’ center, established
after Sept. 11, to be further
processed before continuing on to
the museum.
The museum is also closed on
weekends, due to increased security
at the base.
According to Brennan, tourism
patterns follow those of the rest of
Washington, with many tour groups
arriving in the spring.
“So far in June we’ve been flooded
Pre-Sept. 11, visitors averaged about 300,000 per year; in the last year
and a half, tourism has dropped to about 150,000 visitors a year.
Exhibit showing USS Comfort going to New York City, post 9-11
Ready, Willing & Able, in cooperation with Gospel Rescue Ministries, came back with a
proposal that would provide twice the coverage as any other contractor for the same dollar
amount. Ready, Willing & Able won the support of the BID Board and ultimately was awarded
the contract.
Currently, there are 12 members of the Ready, Willing & Able program who work 7-days a
week from 8 am to 4 pm. One of the primary goals of the Ready, Willing & Able program is
that participants remain drug and alcohol-free throughout the programs entirety (which can
take from 12 – 18 months). Through case management and job training, each participant is
assured that he or she will be treated as an individual with guidance and support.
Case in point: Revell Anderson, a former homeless individual who, with a smile on his
face, refers to his former self as the “traveling man.
“For the longest time I was in a bad place in my life,” he reflects. “It wasn’t until I
became homeless and in a shelter that I realized this is not where I wanted to be. I thank
God that I was at the right place at the right time.” After spending several months in a shelter,
he was approached by members of the Ready, Willing & Able team, who offered Revell
an opportunity he couldn’t refuse. “I now have peace of mind and I believe that each day
that I am out there, I am giving back to the community in a positive way and I am making
myself a better person in the process.”
Concurrently, the BID received proposals from three contractors for Hospitality
Ambassador services. While all three were able to provide similar training and coverage
hours, the contractor selected was the one who displayed the most enthusiasm for Capitol
Hill and were least concerned about the BID’s limited budget. SGI, Inc. out of Malvern,
Pennsylvania has similar contracts with many BIDs nationwide, including Georgetown.
In a commitment by Service Group, Inc., to hire within the Capitol Hill area, three of the
four individuals came to the Capitol Hill BID through Strive DC. Strive DC is a three-week
job-readiness program in which students are immersed in life skills, attitude training, team
building and a commitment to each individual that they can succeed. Strive DC maintains
a two year long follow up system to ensure that each graduate achieves their goals of economic
security and self satisfaction.
The Ambassadors, or STARS, as they are referred to, are deployed Thursday through
Monday from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. to assist the public. Each Ambassador must undergo
120 hours of training in public safety and crime prevention, First Aid and CPR, customer
service, conflict resolution, District of Columbia city services and Capitol Hill history, attractions
and events. They are equipped with bicycles, maps, first aid kits and 2-way radios for
quick response.
Connecting it altogether in the central command center (a trailer at Union Station) is
Operations Manager, Ray Cammas. Ray has worked for BIDs in Phoenix, Arizona and
Baltimore, Maryland in project management and economic development. In commenting on
the impact of Capitol Hill BID’s positive reinforcement and team support, Ray says, “Our
guys show up every day energetic, professional and always armed with a smile.”
Executive Director Patty Brosmer sums it up. “This is truly a dream come true for the
founders of the BID to be able to provide a cleaner, safer and more hospitable environment
for Capitol Hill; for the Ambassadors who are employed to work in the community; and for
me to be a part of such an amazing community.”
Submitted by
PATTY BROSMER
Executive Director
and
RAY CAMMAS
Operations Manager, Capitol Hill BID
Capitol Hill BID, continued from page 3
VOICE of the Hill / July 2003
www.voiceofthehill.com 23
The Voice Offers Good Summer Reading in
Our August Edition
August is generally a time when Washington becomes a ghost town. Not
so on the pages of The Voice of the Hill! Coming next month we’ll feature:
• A glimpse inside the American Legion—Writer Shirley Serotsky
explores this longtime tradition at 3rd and D Streets, SE.
• Jessica Leshnoff explores new developments at the historic
Congressional Cemetery.
• A comprehensive history of another Hill landmark, the Uline Arena.
• Writer Shannon Dunne discusses the Cornerstone School, located at
9th and Maryland Avenue, NE.
All this, plus our regular monthly features, including our newest column,
“Armchair Movie Reviews,” by Hill resident Beth Lambdin.
Residents’ Experiences Wanted
Share CHRS Views for Upcoming Voice Article
The Capitol Hill Restoration Society and the Historic Preservation Review
Board have played a significant role in the lives of many a Hill homeowner.
For an upcoming Voice of the Hill article, we would like to hear your
experiences, good or bad, for possible inclusion in our story. Please contact
Chris Arrasmith at 202-546-7522 or Tom Kelly at 202-544-5698 if you
are interested in being interviewed .
We Want Your Two Cent’s Worth
Voice of the Hill Wants Your Letters to the Editor
Our Hill Talk discussion at www.voiceofthehill.com has been a lively
forum for discussion of all sorts of Hill-related topics for quite some time,
BUT we want to extend this to the printed version of the paper. In order
to do this, we need to hear from you! Let us know what you think in your
letter to the editor.
Guidelines for letters to the editor are as follows: 1. Letters must
include your name, email address and evening phone number; 2. Letters
must be sent via email to editor@voiceofthehill.com or via snail mail to 120
11th Street, SE (Rear), Washington, DC 20003. We look forward to hearing
from you!
To their neighbors and readers, Adele and Bruce Robey’s The Voice of the Hill is
an important symbol of the vitality of this neighborhood. But their vision for
Capitol Hill goes even further. They’re also committed to the arts and to making
the H Street corridor a showcase.So working with The National Capital Bank’s
George Didden was a natural. NCB is well-known for its support of the neighborhood,
and Didden stepped up with encouragement and financing for the Robey’s
dream … The H Street Playhouse.We believe in people at The National Capital
Bank; that’s what we’re about. NCB offers business loans and a full array of business
products and services. Please visit www.NationalCapitalBank.com or call
546-8000. As the Robeys learned, “NCB cares about hopes and dreams, not simply
about numbers.”
“No bank is
more committed
to the Hill
than NCB.”
We Believe In People...
316 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20003 • 202-546-8000
5228 44th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20015 • 202-966-2688
www.NationalCapitalBank.com • TDD 202-546-0772
Second Saturdays at For Art’s Sake Café Highlight
Local Artists, Activities
Second Saturdays at For Art’s Sake Café celebrates
the talents of the visual arts community
of Washington, DC. The event
includes a meet-and-greet with featured
artists, workshops, chances to win unique
creations and great prizes from businesses
in the Capitol Hill community. Second
Saturday festivities at the café will be held
from 4 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 12.
The event offers artists an opportunity to
market and promote their talent to a
diverse audience, as well as the potential of
increased sales. Local media and businesses
are invited to the exhibit each month,
increasing the visibility of the artist featured.
Live entertainment and refreshments
are incorporated to make the Second
Saturday series a great afternoon activity for residents and visitors of the
Capitol Hill community. Coming Soon to For Art’s Sake Café are artists
Brianne Barbour, Marcel Taylor and John Holyfield.
For Art’s Sake Café is located at 641 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE (1/2 block
from Eastern Market Metro). For more information, interested persons
may call Ritza Yana at 202- 548-2440 or email RitzaYana@ryink.com.
Coming Attractions
VOICE of the Hill / July 2003
24 www.voiceofthehill.com
children. The family moved to
California when he was three years
old. “We grew up with the belief
that we could accomplish anything,”
he recalls, adding that he was the
first of his siblings to attend college.
“My father said it was up to me to be
an example to my other siblings,” he
recalls.
After graduation, Raphael took a
career planning course, scoring very
high in two career choices—occupational
therapy and the priesthood.
“At that time, the priesthood wasn’t
even a consideration,” he recalls. But
he did explore the field of occupational
therapy—and he did join the
Army. He ended up being one of four
U.S. Army interns at the Walter Reed
Medical Center.
Following that stint, Raphael was
stationed at Fort Poke, La., where he
got involved with the Catholic
church community. He left the army
and began spending more time
exploring opportunities within the
church—eventually returning to DC,
where he spent a year in theological
study at a Carmelite house of study
in Northeast. From there, Raphael
spent time as a novitiate (essentially,
a student of a holy order) in
Middletown, N.Y., and following
that period, taught social justice in a
Catholic high school in Joliet, Ill.
Yet his spirit was still restless, in a
sense. Raphael desired a way to bring
all those lessons learned together.
He came back to Washington, where
he began working as an occupational
therapist at Greater Southeast
Hospital—after a year, he moved
into the position of director of occu-
Raphael Aguon has always “thought
big.”
Throughout his adult life, Raphael
has followed a path that may seem
dizzying to some—from a career as
an occupational therapist, a fitness
trainer, a high school teacher and a
second lieutenant in the U.S. Army
to explorations into being an artist,
musician and Carmelite novitiate,
he’s proven that the desire to change
and to put one’s life in motion
comes from within.
Two years ago, the Hill resident
became a life coach, allowing him to
gather what he learned through his
own journey and apply it to th