This Month
4 Halloween
Happenings and
Carving Up A Wild
Pumpkin
7 Tricks and Treats for
the Grown-up Set
9 Pumpkin, The Guts
of the Matter
10 Ghostly Haunts
13 Visiting Our
Moldering Oldies
14 Disgusting Tr e a t s
D e p a rt m e n t s
Vo i c e M a i l . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Ask Judith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 1
Business Bits . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 3
Spencer Say s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 6
D o w n L o a d. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 1
Capital Kids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 1
Kids Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 4
Religion Calendar . . . . . . . . .3 5
Community Calendar . . . .3 6
In The Stars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 6
C l a s s i f i e d s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 8
Vol. 1 No. 7 October 15 1999
o f
T h e
H i l l
I t’s the most
s c a ri e st night of
the ye a r. . .
As Washington’s “Quiet” Hometown Bank since 1889, it takes a big event to make
us shout rates in a newspaper ad.
Well, here’s why we’re shouting: National Capital Bank is offering one of the best (and
lowest rate) home equity plans in the area. With extremely low rates, currently 7.75% APR—
only Prime - 1/2%1 for lines with approved credit of $50,000 or more and 8.25% APR
(Prime + 0%) for credit lines under $50,000, no closing costs2, a flexible repayment schedule
and more, you’ll be the one shouting about all the money you’ll be saving.
Stop by or apply by phone (202) 546-8000 ext. 132
1As of September 1, 1 9 9 9 , the va ri able rate APR for NCB’s Home Equity Line was 8.25% for lines with approved credit under $50,000 and 7.75% for lines with approved credit of $50,000 or more . The maximum APR is
1 8 . 0 0 % . The APR va ries monthly. 2If line is closed within three ye a rs , Customer will be re s p o n s i ble for closing costs, ge n e ra l ly totaling between $466 and $2030.Adequate pro p e rty insurance is re q u i re d .
P R I M E
-1
2
%
APR
Excuse our less than subtle
way of announcing our
v ery low home equity rate.
Main Office • 316 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E.
a cure. I urge you to do so in
the next issue of your paper.
You may think that such advice
is so obvious that it could not possibly
need stating, but, sadly, my
experience, and the experience my
friend has had, has shown us the
contrary. Too often people who are
suffering from cancer are so afraid
of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation
that they will look for anything
and everything that will, they hope,
enable them to avoid it, whether
proven effective or not. And, when
searching for such alternatives, people
will too often believe that anything
printed in a newspaper must
be true.
SUSAN C. BLOCK
To the Editor:
I live on 4th St SE. Over the weekend,
in one small block, three
instances of graffiti appeared. On
two brick walls and on a tree the
words “Free Mumia” were sprayed.
I gather from the news it refers to a
man on death row for killing a
policeman who is appealing his case
to the Supreme Court. Why one
would think spraying the message
on our block (not near the Supreme
Court) would influence anyone, I am
not clear. The problem now is how
to remove the white spray paint.
Does the city have any kind of service
to handle this? Both houses
adjacent to the brick walls are
owned by absentee landlords. Are
there any ordinances to force owners
to clear graffiti off their property?
Its really an eyesore and bad for
the quality of life for all of us living
on the Hill.
C. CONNOR
V O I C E
www.voiceofthehill.com 3
Vo i cem a i l The Voice of the Hill is published and
distributed monthly to Capitol Hill
residence and business locations.
The focus is on the community and
includes contiguous neighborhoods
from Gallaudet University to the Navy
Yard and from the Capitol to the
Stadium Armory Complex.
Publication and distribution is the
third Friday of each month.
Advertising deadline is the first of
the month preceding publication.
Voice of the Hill
120 11th St.,SE,Rear
Washington DC 20003
202-544-0703 Main office
202-544-2557 Editorial
202-547-5133 Fax
www.voiceofthehill.com
bruce@voiceofthehill.com
stephanie@voiceofthehill.com
adele@voiceofthehill.com
Staff
Stephanie Cavanaugh,
Editor
Bruce Robey
WebMaster
Adele Robey
Graphic Design and Production
Tamra Testerman
Advertising
Randy Norton, Schools Editor
Gene Miller, Church Editor
Larry Kaufer, Sports Editor
Shaun Koiner, Circulation Manager
Phoenix Graphics,Inc.
T/A Voice of the Hill
Publisher
Contributing Writers
Judith Capen
Patricia Curran
Jeanne Eck
Kristen Hartke
Contributing Artists
Julia Robey, illustration
Beth O’Brien,photography
Memberships
Printing & Graphic Communication
Association
Printing Industry of America
Capitol Hill Association of Merchants
and Professionals
Art Directors Club of Metropolitan
Washington
Barracks Row Business Alliance
VOICE o f
T h e
H i l l
Celeste McCall
Ruthann Overbeck
Duncan Spencer
To the Editor:
I have sent you several e-mails
praising your paper but, as a breast
cancer survivor, I must tell you that I
was appalled to read your 9/17/99,
page 25, article titled “Snakeoil”
wherein you report that a fruit juice
might cure breast cancer.
Because I like your paper so
much, I called a friend who is also a
breast cancer survivor and read the
article to her to check my reaction.
She interpreted the article the same
way I had and made the same
points that had occurred to me.
Yes, there was a bit of “tongue in
cheek” about the whole article. Yes,
you titled the article “Snakeoil?”
And, yes, you stated that “the
national distributor of Tahitian Noni
Juice is extremely careful to make
no specific curative claims for their
potion.” However, your statement,
“But a little web work turned up the
following PARTIAL list of ills the juice
is said to heal: breast cancer... “
undoes the rest.
I know that there are some “nontraditional”
treatments that can be
helpful. Some have been tested and
some haven’t been. I imagine that if
Noni Juice had been tested and
proved effective its distributor would
not be so “careful to make no specific
curative claims.” So, why are
you reporting claims that even its
distributor won’t make?
I wish that you had,at the very
least, urged readers to consult their
doctor about the advisability of taking
Noni Juice—or anything else—as
To the Editor:
Good job on your
efforts so far.
The paper looks
great, and so
does the web site.
Keep it up!
JOHN FRANZEN
To the Editor:
Just wanted to drop you a note to
say how much I love the Voice of the
Hill’s website. I really appreciate
finding updated information on Hill
happenings, from concerts and community
events to restaurant reviews.
Thanks and keep up the good work!
MICHELE REMIL LARD
To the Editor: [Title was Two Faces
of Wille]
A wonderful piece! If anybody gets
confused from now on, it
definitely won’t be your fault! In fact,
I think I might occasionally use your
article as a Guide to the Perplexed,
which puts you at one degree of
separation from Maimonides!
Thanks for getting it all so right—I
hadn’t known that Gwyneth Paltrow
and Julie Taymor had used the
library—somebody here must be
holding out on me! Thanks again
WERNER GUNDERSHEIMER
FOLGER SHAKESPEARE
L I B R A RY
One the cove r: This fabulous pumpkin wa s
c a rved by Jeffe ry Watson, dire c tor of the Capito l
Hill Arts Wo rkshop, in pre p a ration for th e
P u mpkin Carving Wo rkshop on October 30. See
this month’s calendar for all of the great Capito l
Hill Halloween happenings.
4 www.voiceofthehill.com
Real Estate, who helps orga n i z e
H i l l - o - ween: “It’s one of th o s e
events that pulls to g ether all segments
of Capitol Hill. People come
to the Hill to be part of someth i n g
b i g g e r. . . to celebrate the specialness
of the neighborhood. It’s fun
wa t ching the ch i l d ren grow up.
When we ’re face painting, we see
that those little faces that we painted
a few ye a rs ago have ret u rned to
help paint other little faces!”
It all sta rts at dusk October 31,
and unless th e re is to rrential ra i n
the show will go on. Wind and mist
o n ly enhance the atmosphere. Just
one wa rning from co-orga n i z e r
Lynne Breaux, “Un s u p e rvised ch i ld
ren will be eaten. Please attend
w i th your ch i l d .”
By the way, rumor hath it th a t
M ayor To ny Williams has Hill-OWeen
on his calendar this ye a r.
Wonder what he’ll be….
More Treats
If you re a l ly like to drag this holiday
out, the Capitol Classic Cine at
E a st e rn Market’s Market Fi ve
G a l l e ry will get you off to a savo ry
sta rt. On We d n e s d ay, October 20 ,
the fe a t u re flick is the ori g i n a l
Count of Dark n e s s . . . the 19 31 production
of D ra c u l a sta rring Bela
Lugosi. Doors open at 7:30 for th e
8PM show and admission is $5.
On Fri d ay the 29th, the ghoulish
we e kend ta kes off with anoth e r
s p i n e - t i n gly treat. The Capitol Hill
A rts Wo rks h o p ’s Films on the Hill
s e ries is offe ring up the 1935 classic,
We rewolf of London, sta rring Henry
Hull and Spring Byingto n .
S h owtime is 7:30PM and admiss
i o n’s $5. The Wo rks h o p ’s at 54 5
7 th St., SE.
The East e rn Market Pre s e rva t i o n
and Development Corp o ra t i o n
(EMPDC) is th rowing a we e ke n d -
long Harve st Days Fe st i val. The shebang
gets going Fri d ay night,
O c tober 29, with a “Fall Fe st” social
at Market Fi ve Gallery. On Saturd ay,
p ro fessional histo rians will give
h o u r-long histo ry to u rs of East e rn
M a rket bet ween 2 and 4PM (th e re ’s
a $5 charge), and on Saturd ay night
th e re will be a hoedown at Market
Fi ve ($10). All day Saturd ay and
S u n d ay, musicians, dancers and
other perfo rm e rs will be scattere d
among the farm e rs and cra ft s p e o-
BY CELESTE MCCA L L
Pe rhaps yo u’ve noticed th a t
C a p i tol Hill is big on
o r ganizing. We have ga rden
clubs, equ e st ri a n
clubs, book clubs, neighb
o rhood wa t ches and neighborhood
wa l ke rs, pre s e rva t i o n i sts and
a n a rch i sts, and an endless number
of associations with their attendant
committees and sub-committees. Is
it any wonder that we ’ve got
H a l l oween activities organized to a
f a re - th e e - we l l ?
Hill-O-Ween
The main kids’ party is Hill-o-we e n ,
s p o n s o red by neighborhood businesses
and centered aro u n d
Tu n n i c l i f f’s Tave rn, across fro m
E a st e rn Market. Spooky music fills
the air, bales of hay are tru cked in
and sta cked up for climbing and
sliding. There ’s face painting and
apple bobbing (yo u’d be surp ri s e d
at how much kids love this), as we l l
as lots of treats
H i l l - o - we e n’s biggest draw is
a l ways the haunted house at
P rudential Carru th e rs. The re a l
e state office is fe stooned with cobwebs,
faux blood and plenty of
c re e py, crawly, squ i s hy things (usua
l ly ch i cken fe et and entra i l s
o b tained from East e rn Market poult
ry stands). Offices become “dung
e o n s ,” and tunnels are fo rmed by
lining the area with plastic. It is on
this night that the true ch a racter of
real estate agents is reve a l e d .
Shedding their designer suits fo r
ghoulish makeup, va mp i re teeth
and long fake nails, th ey cack l e
w i cke d ly and spring from coffins.
I t’s a horrible sight. “We expire
eve ry ye a r,” says Prudential manager
Mary Sta rk. “We usually have to
repaint our offices aft e rwa rd s .”
Also not to be missed is th e
g u t - ch u rning window at Antiqu e s
on the Hill. Barry Hayman pro m i ses
a chamber of horro rs that wo u l d
do Stephen King proud. Fa ke blood
is in abundance as Barbie dolls and
other figures are dispatched in va rious
Hitch c o ckian ways. The th e m e ,
w i th a few va riations and exqu i s i t e
t w i sts, is a perennial favo rite. But
next ye a r, Hayman promises, he’ll
g et new — e r — d e c o ra t i o n s .
S ays Don Denton of Pa rd o e
H a l l owe e n H a p p e n i n g s
When ghosts do talk,
And witches walk,
And spooks are in the air.
When bats do fly,
And black cats cry,
It’s Hill-o-ween…Beware!!!
— LYNNE BREAUX
V O I C E
www.voiceofthehill.com 5
ple to provide entertainment. The
grand finale is Sunday at dusk with
the pump k i n - c a rving contest (see
next article for details).
Then th e re ’s the Chri st Episcopal
C h u rch Halloween party on
S a t u rd ay night at 620 G St., SE.
C o stumed adults are welcome to
b ring their little monst e rs for a wild
night of dancing to the music of
DC Swing from 8 to 11 PM. The
eve n t’s a fund-raiser for the ch u rch ,
so th e re ’s a $10 admission fo r
adults. Kids are free.
And th e re ’s a two - d ay scene at
the Capital Childre n’s Museum,
8 00 3rd St., NE. On both Saturd ay
and Sunday from 10AM to 5PM
kids will be treated to a “spookta c ular”
time. There ’s a costume cont
e st, a “haunted film fe st i va l ,” mask
making, re f reshments, and visits to
D r. Spooku m ’s Mad Scientist
L a b o ra to ry. The event is free fo r
Museum members; for all oth e rs
the usual admission is charged.
On the Hill, even dogs get in
on the act. On Saturd ay the 30th at
4PM a cadre of canine aficionados
called the Lincoln Pa rk Dog Gro u p
will get to g ether with their pets fo r
H owl - O -Ween, a ra m b u n c t i o u s
ro mp th rough Lincoln Pa rk. The
fo u r- fo oted contestants—and most
of their ow n e rs — a rri ve in cost u m e .
P rizes are handed out for va ri o u s
c a t e g o ries including scari e st, funnie
st, dog-and-owner look alikes, et c .
P rizes, which might be bags of
t reats or doggie para p h e rnalia, are
p rovided by Doolittle’s, the pet supp
ly sto re that has sponsored th e
event for the past seve ral ye a rs .
C el e ste McCall is a Capitol Hill based
w ri t e r
The Irish imp o rted far
m o re than blarn ey, exqu isite
crystal, whiskey, a
d e l e c table sense of
h u m o r, atrocious fo o d ,
and swe a t e rs and wool capes th a t
e nvelop you like a vat of homemade
ch i cken soup. They also brought us
H a l l oween and “Jack of th e
L a n t e rn .”
Two thousand ye a rs ago th e
Celts, a superstitious lot, celebra t e d
the end of eve ry year as if...th e
Millenium was at hand. They
donned costumes in the hope th a t
their disguises would tri ck ghost s ,
w i t ches and goblins and keep th e m
at bay. While their subterfuge may
h ave tri cked the “mean-spiri t e d ”
wo rld, it failed to stop to ga - c l a d
Romans from taking over th e i r
p a rade. As the two cultures blended,
“All Hallows ,” the day befo re th e
s a c red Roman holiday, merged to
become “All Hallows E’en” or
H a l l owe e n .
“Jack of the Lantern.”
The Irish are also responsible for th e
i nvention of the Jack o’ Lantern .
Ac c o rding to www. h i sto rych a nnel.
com, a website produced by th e
A & E Te l evision Net wo rk, Jack o’
L a n t e rns came to be associated with
H a l l oween after Irishman “St i n g y
J a ck” fooled the dev i l .
“ Stingy Jack invited the Devil to
h ave a drink with him. True to his
name, Stingy Jack didn’t want to
p ay for his drink, so he conv i n c e d
the Devil to turn himself into a coin
that Jack could use to buy th e i r
d ri n ks. Once the Devil did so, Jack
decided to keep the money and put
it into his pocket next to a silve r
c ross, which prevented the Dev i l
f rom changing back into his ori g inal
fo rm. Jack eve n t u a l ly freed th e
D evil, under the condition that he
would not bother Jack for one ye a r
and that, should Jack die, he wo u l d
n ot claim his soul.
The next ye a r, Jack again tri cke d
the Devil into climbing into a tre e
to pick a piece of fruit. While th e
D evil was up in the tree, Jack carve d
a sign of the cross into the tre e ’s
b a rk so that the Devil could not
come down until he promised Jack
that he would not to bother him fo r
ten more ye a rs. Soon aft e r, Jack
died. As the legend goes, God
would not allow such an unsavo ry
f i g u re into heaven. The Dev i l ,
u p s et by the tri ck Jack had playe d
on him, and keeping his wo rd not
to claim his soul, would not allow
J a ck into hell. He sent Jack off into
the dark night with only a burn i n g
coal to light his way. Jack put th e
coal into a carved-out turnip and
has been roaming the earth with it
ever since.”
From this tale came the Irish tradition
of placing Jack o’ Lantern s
in windows or by doors on
H a l l oween. The Jack o’ Lanterns are
meant to scare away Stingy Jack and
all the other spirits that are said to
walk the earth on that night. Since
th e re we re no pumpkins in Ire l a n d ,
the original was carved from ro ot
ve g etables ; beets, turnips, ru ta b a ga
and pota to e s .
J e f fe ry Watson, dire c tor of th e
C a p i tol Hill Arts Wo rkshop, has
been honing up on his carv i n g
skills for a one-day only Pump k i n
C a rving Wo rkshop. It will be held
on Saturd ay, October 30, fro m
10 : 00 AM until 12 : 00 noon at 54 5
7 th St., SE. Bring your own pumpkin,
and the Wo rkshop will prov i d e
re f reshments, carving utensils and
c ra ft materials. The cost is $5.00 per
p e rson, or $10 . 00 per family.
J e f fe ry’s been re s e a rching unusual
carving tech n i ques which he’ll
s h a re with participants. If yo u
want to create Jack o’ Lanterns at
home, stop by Trove r’s or Fa i ry
G o d m oth e r, th ey’ve sto cked up on
the books he used for inspiration.
J e f fe ry has a few tips for pre s e rving
your creation. Befo re beginning
to carve your pumpkin, wash it we l l
and then coat it with an antisept i c
l i ke rubbing alcohol. When yo u’re
done carving, coat the areas th a t
h ave been cut or scraped with
p et roleum jelly. WARNING: Befo re
you light your candle, make sure all
the alcohol has dried! Even bet t e r,
ra ther than a candle, cut a hole in
the back of the pumpkin th a t’s
large enough to fit the face of a
sta n d a rd flashlight. Put the flashlight
inside the pumpkin and turn
it on!
W h ether yo u’ve picked up pointe
rs at the Wo rkshop, or have been
qu i et ly whittling away on yo u r
own, Sunday brings an opport u n i t y
to test what yo u’ve learned ; th e
EMPDC has planned a pump k i n
c a rving contest at the Market’s
No rth Hall at 5PM. Prizes will be
g i ven for the tops in diffe rent categ
o ries. For more details, or if yo u
want to help, call Mary Fa rrell at
54 3 - 05 87.
B Y J E A N N E E C K
CA RVING UP A WILD PUMPKIN
6 www.voiceofthehill.com
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Holy Eucharist Rite I followed
by breakfast and Adult Forum.
Nursery provided.
11:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist
Rite II followed by
Coffee Hour. Nursery provided
Wednesdays at 7:30 a.m.
Holy Eucharist Rite II
followed by breakfast.
Our doors are open to all
CH R I S T CH U R C H ?WA S H I N G T O N PA R I S H
Washington’s Oldest Episcopal Parish
620 G St., SE • Washington, DC 20003 • (202) 547-9300
on Capitol Hill near Eastern Market Metro Stop
Handicapped accessible from back parking lot, off Archibald Walk,
between E and G Streets
BY PATRICIA M. CURRAN
Ca p i tol Hill and tri ck- o rt
reat we re made for each
oth e r. While the ch i l d re n
of our suburban fri e n d s
run out of steam befo re th ey’ve
rounded the second cul-de-sac, our
ch i l d ren fill up a bag just by trave rsing
one or two tightly knit blocks of
rowhouses. No tri ck- o r- t reating in
the shopping mall for Hill kids—
th ey and their parents know what
t re a s u res await them on blocks all
over our neighborh o o d .
Sophie Reuss, a student at Capito l
Hill Day School, loves tri ck- o r- t re a ting
on Capitol Hill. “I know a scary
p l a c e ,” she said. “When you ring th e
doorbell, a re a l ly ugly witch comes
out!” Teddy Ech eve rri ra and Joseph
Powden, who also attend the Day
S chool, have seen some fri g h t e n i n g
sites on Halloween. “Once I went to
this place and the people had a ra d i o
behind their bush that was making
all these scary sounds,” Teddy said.
He also claimed to have seen a man
in a haunted alley who “had panc
a kes coming out of his hands. I
d o n’t know how he did th a t ! ”
Joseph said his most fri g h t e n i n g
H a l l oween moment was when “I
went to this house where these kids
b u ried a Fra n ke n stein under a pile of
l e aves and then when people wa l ke d
by th ey pulled a st ring and he
popped out!”
Hill kids and their parents are
a l m o st unifo rm in their opinions
about the best places to tri ck- o rt
re a t: East Capitol St. and
M a s s a ch u s etts Avenue. The blocks
b et ween Fo u rth St. and Lincoln Pa rk
a re the most popular on East
C a p i tol; on Massach u s etts Ave. most
of the action ta kes place on th e
b l o cks bet ween Sta n ton and Lincoln
Pa rks. Residents of these st re ets seem
to recognize that occupying easily
s p o o ked-up, older houses on bro a d ,
well-lit st re ets almost re qu i res th e m
to put on a bit of a show fo r
H a l l oween. Sto ries of haunted ya rd s ,
w i t ches cackling from th i rd - sto ry
balconies, and gra n d ly decora t e d
ga rdens abound.
M a ny of the houses surro u n d i n g
Lincoln Pa rk are also decorated fo r
H a l l oween. Ye a rs past have seen a
ve ry popular haunted alley, entere d
f rom 12 th St. SE bet ween the park
and Independence Avenue. The
o r ga n i z e rs are expecting a baby ri g h t
a round Halloween, so it’s uncerta i n
if the alley will be haunted this ye a r.
Pa rents say the blocks surro u n d i n g
the alley, on 13 th, Independence,
and Massach u s etts, have been we lcoming
when lines we re too long
and kids too re stless to wait. Hill
mom Liza Button ta kes her brood of
th ree along a much-beaten path up
E a st Capitol, over to Massach u s et t s
A ve. and around Lincoln Pa rk. “We
e s p e c i a l ly make sure to hit the 100
b l o ck of 12 th St. SE—it’s always
gre a t .”
Matt Bewig & Melanie Lach s
B ewig say the 700 block of Maryl a n d
NE has lots of decorated houses and
has included haunted ga rdens in
p a st ye a rs. Their sons Na thaniel and
Jonah, who attend the Capitol Hill
C l u ster Schools, are hooked on th e
Po kemon theme this ye a r.
Na thaniel said, “I’d ra ther be
P i ka chu than any thing scary, and
Jonah is gonna be Charm a n d e r.”
One-block Wonders
You might consider taking the ro a d
less traveled. There are seve ral oneb
l o ck st re ets on Capitol Hill that can
p rovide a re st from the heavy fo ot
t raffic on the big avenues. Dudd
i n g ton Place, SE runs bet ween Fi rst
and Second St re ets and provides a
respite from the hustle and bustle of
some other areas. Keep your eye
peeled for a house on the we st side of
3rd St re et SE bet ween E and South
C a rolina that is always lav i s h ly deco
rated for Halloween. Neighbor
D evon Spencer, who attends St .
Pet e r’s School, re p o rted, “th ey’re
re a l ly nice, I like going th e re ,” and
added, “this year I’m gonna’ be a
b l a ck cat because that is the animal
for Hallowe e n .”
If yo u’re not quite up to th e
haunted alley near Lincoln Pa rk, try
Walter St re et SE, bet ween 12 th and
13 th, where neighbors try to outdo
e a ch other by seeing who can disp
l ay the biggest pumpkin. Wa rre n
St re et NE, bet ween Constitution and
D St re et, was the home of the No rth
Lincoln Pa rk Neighborh o o d
A s s o c i a t i o n’s haunted house fo r
ye a rs, and even though that eve n t
has moved, it’s Saturd ay from 2-5 at
Kingman Field, th ey’re still in th e
s p i rit.
But re st assured that no matter
w h e re you go on Capitol Hill th i s
H a l l oween yo u’ll find fri e n d ly- b u t -
f rightening neighbors all over th e
place. All those fo l ks who named
E a st Capitol St re et and Massach
u s etts Avenue as the best places to
go had another tip: “Mention my
b l o ck ,” th ey all said, “we have a
great block for tri ck- o r- t reating!”
How to Be Good Hallow
Hosts
I remember our first Halloween on
C a p i tol Hill. We ’d lived all over th e
c i t y, but always in wa l k-up apartments
or large buildings, so I wa s n’t
s u re what to expect. I bought fo u r
p a ckages of candy, and was env isioning
munching on the leftove rs
later that night. Ha!
C a p i tol Hill is a ve ry popular dest ination
for kids who live here and in
s u rrounding neighborhoods. So
sto ck up and get re a d y — the goblins
and ghouls are headed your way !
1) Tu rn on your porch lights or
light up some pumpkins to let kids
k n ow yo u’re open for business.
2) Hand each tri ck- o r- t reater a
piece of candy or two. If you let
them grab their own, yo u’ll be out of
candy befo re nightfall. Double-dipping
may be permitted in th o s e
cases when a st rapping 18 - ye a r- o l d
holds out his bag and says he’s tri cko
r- t reating for his baby sister who’s
home with a cold.
3) Tu rn off your lights and extinguish
pumpkins when yo u’re out of
candy—or while you run to th e
S a feway for more indust ri a l - s i z e
p a ckages of Snicke rs. You may wa n t
to bring carved pumpkins inside,
since cases of late-night smashings
a re not unheard of.
4) Have fun—dress up yo u rs e l f ,
t ry to scare the kids, guess who’s
behind that mask, or make a bet
w i th your neighbor on how many
Freddy Kru e g e rs yo u’ll see.
5) Save the last Snicke rs for yo u rs
e l f .
Pa t ricia M. Curran is a Capitol Hill based
w ri t e r
V O I C E
www.voiceofthehill.com 7
BY KRISTEN HARTKE
O kay, it’s Capitol Hill, and people
h e re actually do dress up like th e
S p e a ker of the House on Hallowe e n ,
even if Dennis Hast e rt is not qu i t e
the cari c a t u re that Newt wa s .
H oweve r, hard ly a soul will tell yo u
what th ey are planning on we a ri n g
when th ey think you might actually
put it in print. It loses that element
of surp rise.
If yo u’re going to be stuffy about
d ressing up on Halloween, yo u’d
b etter steer clear of Heidi Ecke r’s
annual bash. She’s gone so far as to
keep a trunk full of cost u m i n g
m a t e rials at the ready for people
who arri ve at her annual bash sans
c o stume. “We ’ve sta rted to collect
th i n g s ,” says Ecke r, “because, as th e
night pro gresses, the witches ta ke
off their hats and put down th e
b rooms and so now we have a pretty
good supply.”
H a l l oween is a big deal for Ecke r
and her roommates, who spend th e
b etter part of two days just decora ting
their house; last year th ey actua
l ly made 400 ice cubes, each containing
a jumbo-sized plastic fly. Fo r
H a l l oween 1998, of course, th e
f avo rite costumes we re Monica, Bill,
and Linda Tripp, but Ecker said one
of the most cre a t i ve was a laundry
b a s ket, comp l ete with ove rf l ow i n g
d i rty clothes and a bottle of Wi s k.
“ People are already e-mailing me
and trying to think of cost u m e s ,”
s ays Ecke r. What’s she going to be?
“I don’t know yet ,” she confe s s e s .
Yeah ri g h t .
S eve ral Hill re sta u rants, and th e i r
ow n e rs, always put on a show fo r
H a l l oween. Lynne Breaux, owner of
Tu n n i c l i f f’s Tave rn, caused quite a
stir a few ye a rs back dressed as
Queen Boadicea; that queen wa s
the wa rrior leader of the ancient
B ri tons, who appare n t ly sto p p e d
her Roman atta cke rs in their tra cks
by baring one bre a st, just befo re she
killed them. Queen Breaux elected
n ot to bare all, but, according to a
re p o rt in Roll Call, she “gave ‘em
half of each .” Breaux isn’t reve a l i n g
a ny thing (yet), but says, “The sta f f
is re qu i red to dress up and th ey re a lly
get into it.” Last year th ey dre s s e d
up as the “Tunni Militia.” This ye a r,
m u m ’s the wo rd, but Tu n n i c l i f f’s is
g etting ready for the annual Hill-oween
party at East e rn Market ,
w h i ch may sta rt out with hay sta cks
for the kiddies, but definitely ends
up with Hurricanes for the grow n -
ups. Bullfe a th e r’s is having their big
c o stume extrava ganza on Octo b e r
2 9 th this year; last ye a r’s do fe at
u red music, dancing, and ow n e r
St ra t ton Liapis as Teddy Ro o s eve l t .
This year? He’s as silent as Mount
Ru s h m o re .
W h e re might you find cost u m e d
i n t e rp retations of the Powe rp u f f
G i rls, Queen Amidala, and the U. S .
wo m e n’s soccer team? Where else
but Re m i n g to n’s, the Hill’s gay and
lesbian hot s p ot. Happy Hour bartender
Johnny says, “Halloween is a
big holiday for gays and lesbians,
because it’s the one night th ey can
re a l ly go out in drag and nobody
c a re s .” Re m i n g to n’s gives out bar
tabs as prizes for the best cost u m e s ,
and Johnny says eve ryone looks fo rwa
rd to the bash because “Yo u
k n ow how these queens like to
d ress up!”
If you are heading off somew h e re
but have n’t a clue, www. eve ryth
i n g h a l l oween.com offe rs some
p redictions about favo rite cost u m e s
for adults this ye a r. If you like fitting
in with the crowds, you can
choose bet ween: camcord e r- tot i n g
student filmmake rs acting terri f i e d ,
a la “The Blair Wi t ch Project”; va rious
interp retations of the Y2K Bug;
No st radamus (he’s a natural th i s
year); camouflaged surv i va l i st s
a rmed with canned soup; and, fo r
those who actually enjoy fo l l ow i n g
the most boring court case in history,
a Mac and Wi n d ows comp u t e r
duking it out.
H a l l oween re a l ly is the same fo r
b oth ch i l d ren and adults, a ch a n c e
to let go of reality for a few hours
and assume another persona, no
st rings atta ched. For many adults,
the fun is a reminder of more caref
ree days and th ey love to dress up
for the kids that come tri ck- o r- t re a ting.
Capitol Hill dentist Larry
B owe rs and his staff used to dre s s
up when th ey still had kids fo r
patients, but, says Bowe rs, “We
d o n’t re a l ly do that any m o re .” To o
bad, since it might be more fun to
g et a ro ot canal from a guy dre s s e d
l i ke a circus clown. Halloween night
is another sto ry. Both the house,
and Larry, are done to the teeth.
Real estate agent Rosalie St ro u b e
and her “pet gorilla” have been
s c a ring about 200-plus kids out of
their wits each Halloween for th e
l a st 26 ye a rs. “Eve ry year I think it’s
the last, but it’s become a tra d ition
—and you can’t stop a tra d ition.
Children just love to be
s c a re d ,” says St roube, who annually
s aves the neighborhood tri ck- o rt
re a t e rs from her escaped silve rb
a cked gorilla (whose true identity
remains shrouded in darkness) as
he races out of the house in search
of kids masqu e rading as bananas.
M a ny of those visiting St ro u b e ’s
house now are second-genera t i o n
g o ri l l a - s e e ke rs, who are brought by
their parents who remember th e
“ g o rilla lady” fo n d ly from th e i r
own ch i l d h o o d s . “ C o n s i stency is
the key,” according to St ro u b e ,
who, a couple of ye a rs ago, heard
the front doorbell ring late on
H a l l oween after the lights had been
t u rned out and the “gorilla had
gone back in his cage.” On the door
step was a young man, about 18 or
19 ye a rs old, not in costume, and
w i th no bag for goodies. St ro u b e
was hesitant about opening th e
d o o r, but she did, saying, “Sorry,
h o n ey, th e re ’s no more candy.” The
young man shuffled his fe et a bit,
eyes cast down, and finally said,
“A w, I didn’t come for any candy. . .
Can you just tell the gorilla I love
him?”
Now, th a t’s a real treat, no matter
h ow old you are .
K ri sten Hart ke is a Capitol Hill wri t e r
“ Yo u ’ re Going as the C h a i rm a n
of the Armed Services Committee
A g a i n? ”
Tricks and Treats
for the Grown-up Set
8 www.voiceofthehill.com
and ga rlic in butter until soft and
t ra n s p a re n t .
2. Add the pumpkin, sto ck, hot
p e p p e rs, ground pepper, allspice,
s u gar and sherry. Bring to a boil,
c over and simmer for 30 minutes.
Cool mixture. Place in a fo o d
p rocessor or blender and pro c e s s
until smooth .
3. Befo re serving, ret u rn the soup to
a saucepan, add the half-and-half
and simmer until heated th ro u g h .
G a rnish with nutmeg and serve .
Note: The soup may be served hot
or cold.
From: The Whole Chile Pe p p e r
C o o k b o o k, by Dave DeWitt and
Nancy Gerl a ch
Rich Pumpkin Pie
9 inch unbaked pie shell
3 eggs slightly beaten
1 cup pumpkin pure e
12 cup firm ly packed brown suga r
1 cup half-and-half
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons apri c ot
b ra n d y
14 teaspoon salt
12 teaspoon ground cinnamon
14 teaspoon ground clove s
14 teaspoon mace
2 tablespoons finely chopped candied
ginger (opt i o n a l )
Whipped cre a m
P reheat oven to 400 degre e s
1. Pri ck bot tom and sides of pie
shell with fo rk. Bake at 400 degre e s
for 3 minutes. Re m ove from ove n
and gently pri ck with fo rk aga i n .
B a ke an additional five minutes.
Re m ove from oven and cool while
you make the filling.
2. Reduce oven temp e ra t u re to 375
d e gre e s .
3. Mix to g ether eggs, pump k i n ,
b rown suga r, cream, bra n d y, salt,
cinnamon, cloves, and mace.
4. Pour into pie shell. Sprinkle with
chopped ginger.
5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until
center is set and a to oth p i ck inserted
in center comes out clean.
6. Cool. Garnish with whipped
c re a m .
From: So u t h e rn Living 1986 An n u a l
Re c i p e s
Baked Whole Pumpkin
Custard
S e rves 6-8
1 5-7 pound sugar pumpkin or two ,
3-4 pound pump k i n s
6 eggs
2 cups whipping cre a m
12 cup brown suga r
4 cups ch i cken broth (or ve g eta b l e )
14 teaspoon fre s h ly ground black
p e p p e r
14 teaspoon ground allspice
12 teaspoon suga r
1cup half-and-half or light cre a m
14 cup dry sherry
Fre s h ly grated nutmeg
1. In large saucepan, saute onions
Spicy Pumpkin Bisque
S e rves 4
112 teaspoons dried ground small
red chilies
1 large chopped onion
2 cloves chopped ga rl i c
1 teaspoon butter or marga ri n e
2 cups pumpkin pure e
Consider the pumpkin, such a ve rsatile
fruit. Yes, fruit. It can be substituted
in recipes calling for squ a s h
or swe et pota toes. Its flesh is low in
c a l o ries and ri ch in Vitamins A, C
and potassium. pumpkin seeds and
p u mpkin oil contain ri ch sources of
zinc and unsaturated fatty acids.
E a rly colonists battered and fri e d
the blossoms and even made beer
f rom its flesh. Na t i ve Ameri c a n s
used the pumpkin as a food sourc e
w h i ch th ey dried to carry th e m
th rough the winter. They eve n
wove dried, pounded st rips of ri n d
i n to the mats that th ey traded.
A l though pumpkins we i g h i n g
over a thousand pounds have been
grown, if yo u’re going to try our
ta sty recipes using fresh pump k i n
vs. the stuff you find in cans at
S a feway, choose seve ral small ones
(in the five to 8 pound ra n g e ) ;
th ey’re less st ringy and swe et e r.
Some markets carry “sugar” pumpkins,
which are the best va ri ety fo r
cooking. To ensure that it hasn’t
begun to decay, choose a pump k i n
w i th an intact stem and no soft
s p ot s .
E a ch pound of pumpkin will
yield about a cup of puree, the basis
for soups, pies, breads and oth e r
t reats. If you don’t use all the pure e
at one time, freeze it. It doesn’t do
well left in the re f ri g e ra to r.
Pumpkin Puree:
Clean any gunk from the outside of
the pumpkin with a stiff brush, and
rinse well. Cut it in half, pull out
the seeds and scrape away th e
m e m b rane (don’t th row out th e
seeds —we’ll tell you what to do
w i th them). Now you can cut th e
p u mpkin in ch u n ks and steam it,
b a ke it, grill it, or zap it in th e
m i c rowave (but don’t boil it, th a t
d e st roys the flavo r ) .
Steaming: Toss large ch u n ks of
p u mpkin (with the rind) onto a
ra ck set in a large pot. Add one cup
of wa t e r. Cover and steam. The
ch u n ks are done when a fo rk easily
p i e rces the skin. Cool and drain.
Baking: Preheat oven to 350. Cut
the pumpkin in half and place it cut
side down on a lightly greased baking
sheet. Bake for one hour or until
fo rk tender.
M i c rowave: Fo l l ow steps for baking,
place on microwaveable plate
or tray and cook on high for about
15 minutes or until tender.
A l l ow pumpkin to cool enough
to handle, then re m ove the skin
and puree the flesh in a fo o d
p ro c e s s o r. If your kitchen is tech n ol
o g i c a l ly challenged, mash it with a
p ota to masher.
PUMPK IN, THE
GUTS
of the Matter
B Y J E A N N E E C K
V O I C E
www.voiceofthehill.com 9
Pumpkin Nut Bread
M a kes 1 large loaf or 2 mini loave s
2 cups all-purpose (or 1 cup whole
wheat flour and 1 cup white flour)
2 teaspoons baking pow d e r
12 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 teaspoon each: salt and nutmeg
1 cup pumpkin pure e
1 cup suga r
12 cup skim milk
2 eggs slightly beaten
14 cup ve g etable oil
12 cup each: chopped pecans and
b l a ck walnuts (you can subst i t u t e
your favo rite nuts or combine th e m
w i th raisins to equal one cup).
1. Preheat oven to 350 degre e s
2. In a bowl, sift to g ether flour, baking
pow d e r, baking soda, ground
cinnamon, salt and ground nutm
e g .
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine
p u mpkin, suga r, milk and eggs. Mix
we l l .
4. Add dry ingredients and nut mixt
u re to wet mixture. Mix just until
m o i stened. Batter will be slightly
l u mpy. Do not over mix.
1 tablespoon molasses
12 teaspoon ground nutmeg
12 teaspoon ground cinnamon
14 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon butter
1. Preheat oven to 350 degre e s
2. Scrub the outside of the pump k i n
w i th a brush and rinse. Pat dry.
3. Cut the lid off the pumpkin and
re m ove seeds and membra n e
4. Combine eggs, cream, brow n
s u ga r, molasses, nutmeg, cinnamon
and ginger.
5. Pour into pumpkin shell. To p
w i th butter.
6. Replace pumpkin lid. Place
p u mpkin in a large baking pan.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 112
h o u rs or until mixture has set like a
c u sta rd .
8. Serve right from the pumpkin at
the table, scraping some of the meat
f rom the pumpkin wall with each
s e rv i n g .
From: B reaking Bread: A Fa m i l y
H i st o ry Pre s e rve d by Seven Sist e rs
5. Pour into one well greased loaf
pan or two small loaf pans (use ve getable
oil)
6 . B a ke large loaf in middle of ove n
for 65 minutes or two mini loave s
for 50 minutes (or until a wo o d e n
p i ck inserted in the center comes
out clean).
7. Cool 10 minutes in the pan. Use a
k n i fe to loosen edges of the bre a d .
Re m ove from pan. Cool on wire
ra ck.
From: Un i ve rsity of Illinois
E x t e n s i o n
Pumpkin Seeds
P u mpkin seeds, such a perfe c t
s n a ck, can either be ro a sted or
m i c rowave d .
If you like them salty: Wa s h
seeds and separate from pump k i n
pulp and fiber. Soak ove rnight in
salted wa t e r. Drain. Place on
k i t chen or paper towels and let dry
ove rnight. OR, place clean seeds in
p ot of boiling, salted wa t e r. Boil fo r
10 minutes. Drain. Place on towe l
or paper towels to dry ove rn i g h t .
For unsalted seeds, just place
washed seeds on newspaper and let
them dry at least 6 hours befo re
p ro c e e d i n g .
O ven Ro a sting: Preheat oven to
250 degrees. Place dried seeds in a
b owl and toss with oil or melted
butter (If you like spicy seeds, add
some dry spices to the butter (ga rl i c ,
chili pepper, etc.). Spread seeds out
on a large cookie sheet and ro a st 30-
40 minutes, st i rring eve ry ten minutes
until crisp and golden brow n .
M i c rowave Ro a sting: Wash and
pat seeds dry. Place 2 ta b l e s p o o n s
butter in 2 qu a rt re c tangular dish
and microwave on high for 30 seconds.
Stir in seeds to coat. Spre a d
eve n ly in dish. Microwave on high
for 7-8 minutes or until to a st e d .
STIR eve ry 2 minutes. Sprinkle with
salt or other seasonings.
Sto re seeds in air-tight conta i n e r
or re f ri g e rate until ready to eat.
From: The Th a n k sgiving Cookbook,
by Holly Garri s o n
Jeanne Eck is a fre elance writer who
l i ves on Capitol Hill
Let Thom put a S O L D
sign on your house.
Thom Burn s Thom Burn s
Serving Capitol Hill for 22 years and counting.
202 547-5805 Office 202 543-5616 Home
10 www.voiceofthehill.com
BY RUTH ANN OV E R B E C K
For many of us, Hallowe e n
c o n j u res up re m e m b ra n c e s
of Tri ck or Treat in cost u m e s
that reflected our alter egos.
In the small Te xas town where I
grew up, Halloween also meant parties,
comp l ete with dim lights, stories
of local ghosts and haunted
houses. How deliciously spine-tingling
to learn that Capitol Hill has
its share as well. Old—re a l ly
o l d—buildings and ghosts fit each
other to perfection, and indeed, th e
H i l l ’s “best ghosts” claim some of
our oldest addresses.
H e re are some of my favo ri t e s :
Ladies, Ladies....
“The Maples,” now known as
Friendship House, was built
b et ween 1795 and 17 97 as the tow n
e state of William May n e
Duncanson, one of the ri ch e st men
in the Fe d e ral City. Duncanson
l i ved th e re with his beautiful yo u n g
u n m a rried sist e r. For a ve ry few
ye a rs, th ey enjoyed a luxurious life
filled with candlelit dinners, ri d e s
in their carriage, and visits from th e
ri ch and famous. Even George
Wa s h i n g ton called their home “a
fine house.”
Then, the Duncansons’ fo rt u n e s
changed. Like so many oth e rs, th ey
l o st eve ry thing when the city’s land
Jackie
Jackie von Schlegel, CBR, GRI
Capitol Hill is our neighborhood,
we hope you’ll make it yours.
Licensed in DC, MD and VA
202-547-5600 (W) • 202-543-4296 (H)
email: jackiev@realtor.com
REMAX Capital Properties
speculation collapsed. Gone we re
the fine mirro rs, the silve r, and th e
t wo-dozen gilded ballroom ch a i rs .
S h o rt ly befo re th ey we re to move
out of the house Miss Duncanson
u n e x p e c t e d ly died, some say of a
b ro ken heart. There are those who
b e l i eved it is her ghost who goes
f rom room to room weeping and
w ringing her hands, seeking th e
beauty that once surrounded her.
O th e rs believe th e re ’s anoth e r
ghoul afo ot: the maligned wife of
M ajor A. A. Nicholson of the US
M a rine Corps. The Nich o l s o n s
owned The Maples during th e
1840s when it still commanded its
e n t i re squ a re, surrounded by ga rdens
and the wo n d e rful stand of
t rees that gave the estate its name.
J u st a few blocks away live d
Daniel Carroll, another pro m i n e n t
resident, along with his family and
beautiful daughter Sallie. To th e
m i s fo rtune of Nich o l s o n’s wife, th e
M ajor had a roving eye and a st raying
heart. His attention to Sallie
C a rroll drove Mrs. Nicholson to suicide.
Not long aft e r, Sallie Carro l l
became the second Mrs. Nich o l s o n .
But th ey didn’t stay long at The
M a p l e s .
The Major qu i ck ly sold the house
and built a new home for his bri d e .
Some say that the ghost of the first
M rs. Nicholson replaced that of
V O I C E
www.voiceofthehill.com 11
Miss Duncanson; oth e rs that th ey
had joined fo rces and the two
weeping wra i ths we re simp ly more
than Nicholson and his new bri d e
could stand.
A re the ghosts still th e re? They’ve
n ot been seen in many a ye a r, but
then no one re a l ly lives in th e
house any more. Who knows what
happens at night when the moon
c a sts its spell?
Some of the newe st ghost sto ri e s
on the Hill are about a woman who
is said to haunt one of the old houses
near 6th and E, SE. So far, no one
has a clue as to her identity, but
those who’ve experienced her say
that th ey feel a definite chill when
s h e ’s present. Those who’ve had th e
p a rticular pleasure of seeing her
m a t e rialize say she seems pleasant
enough, no weeping or wri n g i n g
her hands.
At least once, she’s re p o rted as sitting
on the sta i rs, holding something
that looks va g u e ly like a spinning
wheel. That makes her ve ry
difficult to place histo ri c a l ly
because by the time the house wa s
built in 18 02, home spinning wa s
outdated exc e pt in ru ral are a s .
F u rth e rm o re, the occupants of th e
house have always been persons “of
m e a n s ,” so th ey could have affo rded
sto re-bought cloth. Maybe someone
will get a better look and we
can learn more .
And Gentlemen...
The longest tenured Commandant
of the Marine Corps was Arch i b a l d
H e n d e rson, who moved into th e
C o m m a n d a n t’s House on G St re et
b et ween 8th and 9th, SE in th e
e a rly 18 20s. Henderson and his
large family occupied the gra c i o u s
building for more than th re e
decades. There are many tales of
H e n d e rs o n’s ghost dri fting about in
full unifo rm, re a ching out his
w h i t e - gl oved hand to ch e ck for dust
on the mantel, a smudge on th e
b rass. The most re m a rkable sto ri e s ,
h oweve r, relate to his port ra i t ,
w h i ch hung over the mantel in one
of the first floor parl o rs.
The Commandants have always
s h a red their pride in the Corps by
c e l e b rating its special events at th e i r
home. Congre s s’ vote to admit
women into the Corps duri n g
Wo rld War II was no exc e pt i o n .
G u e sts assembled in the parl o r, and
raised their glasses to to a st th e
m o m e n tous occasion. Then, in
amazement, th ey wa t ch e d
H e n d e rs o n’s port rait virt u a l ly hurl
itself from the wall to the floor!
Well, how else would you expect a
p roper Victo rian gentleman to re a c t
to such revo l u t i o n a ry news ?
Thomas Ti n g ey, the Nava l
Commandant who supervised th e
building of the Wa s h i n g ton Nav y
Ya rd 200 ye a rs ago, is anoth e r
c a reer officer who’ll never say die.
He lived in the house now know n
by his name for almost a qu a rter of
a century. Old newspaper art i c l e s
s ay that he even willed the home to
his wife, but to no avail. Ti n g ey,
w h o’d pers o n a l ly set fire to the ya rd
in 1814 to keep it out of the hands
of the British inva d e rs, also dire c t e d
its rebuilding after the war ended.
No wonder then that his ghost has
been seen
over th e
ye a rs. He
keeps wa t ch
f rom th e
upper wind
ows of
Ti n g ey
House, surveying
th e
Ya rd as if he’s
still re s p o n s ible
for its
s a fet y.
And
Demon
Cats?
One of th e
m o st haunted
buildings
on the Hill is
the US
C a p i to l .
Sto ries about
its ghosts are
legion. St i l l ,
the best one
for Halloween is about the dre a d e d
D.C. —which, in this case, sta n d s
for Demon Cat. D.C. hangs out in
the cata f a l que sto rage area. He’s
a p p a re n t ly the only remnant of th e
mouser cats that we re ke pt in th e
C a p i tol during the ninet e e n th cent
u ry. As better methods of contro lling
the rat population surf a c e d ,
some of the old cats we re ta ke n
home as pets or th ey just wa n d e re d
off, but not D.C.
The phantom feline has ro a m e d
the corri d o rs in the depths of th e
C a p i tol for over a hundred ye a rs ,
waiting to make his appearance on
those ra re opportunities when he
deems eve ry thing is perfect—late at
night when some unlucky pers o n
happens to come alone. Fi rst his
victim sees the gl owing, pierc i n g
eyes. As D.C. gets closer, he also
grows larger and larger, litera l ly
s welling to the size of a giant tiger.
His purr changes to a fe ro c i o u s
growl and he leaps st raight for his
p rey. Over time his victims have
fainted, run screaming from th e
building, or simp ly stood para ly z e d .
Who was the last to see him? Who
will be next?
For those of you in No rth e a st
who wonder where your ghosts are :
T h ey we re associated with buildings
that have long since been demoli
s h e d—unless, of course, some of
you know ones that have n’t been
re p o rted. In that case, do tell!
H i st o rian and wri t e r, Ruth An n
O ve r b e ck, is the president of
Washington Pe rs p e c t i ves and a re s i -
dent of Capitol Hill
LOCAL MORTGAGE
BROKER HELPS
APPROVE MORE LOANS
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Not all
home buyers are
alike, and no one
mortgage product
suits everyone.
While some people
may qualify
for a typical loan
from their local
bank, others need
to search harder for a mortgage program
that suits their qualifications.
Qualifying people with excellent
credit, high income, and large down
payments is easy, says Craig Strent,
Vice-President of Apex Home
Loans, Inc., but what about those
individuals who require a more spe -
cialized type of financing?
With the recent housing boom and
the surplus of home buyers in our
area, greedy banks and large lenders
often ignore individuals who may
not meet standard mortgage guidelines.
Many of these home buyers
are good candidates for new mortgages,
but are turned away because
they are self-employed, recently
divorced, have little or no money to
put down, or may have experienced
some minor credit issues.
Fortunately, new developments in
the mortgage industry are making it
easier for more people to qualify,
and Apex Home Loans is leading the
way in bringing more flexible prod -
ucts to the market.
In addition to the “easy stuff,” they
offer options for No Income
Documentation Loans, Zero Down
Payment Programs, and
Combination 1st & 2nd Mortgages
to help home buyers avoid costly
private mortgage insurance payments.
They even lend on invest -
ment properties & condos, which are
often harder to find financing for.
Combined with personalized service
and armed with innovative loan pro -
grams, Craig Strent and his staff at
Apex Home Loans deliver where
other mortgage companies can not.
In a recent interview, Craig said that
“working with a mortgage broker
allows individuals to save time and
money by shopping numerous
lenders at once for flexible products
and competitive pricing.”
Whether you’re purchasing a new
home, refinancing your existing
mortgage, or need a home equity
loan for debt consolidation and/or
home improvements, check with
Craig first to hear your options. For
24-hour recorded information on
financing a home and a free copy of
“AGuide to Getting a Mortgage
Loan,” call 800-914-9475 ext 2075.
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The Commandants have always shared their pride in the Corps by celebrating its special events at their home.
12 www.voiceofthehill.com
The Old Ebenezer
Methodist Cemetery: 1700
block of D and E Streets SE
From 18 24 — 1890, 3,000 people
we re buried at Old Ebenezer. In
18 91 the Fo u rth St re et Meth o d i st
C h u rch re c e i ved permission fro m
C o n gress to re m ove and re b u ry th e
i n t e rred, within a 12 - m o n th deadline.
Families complained about
mismanaged re b u rials. In re s p o n s e ,
the health department dire c t e d
that “indiscriminate mingling of
the remains of bodies hereto fo re
b u ried in diffe rent sites is expre s s ly
p ro h i b i t e d .”
M a ny we re re b u ried at
C o n gressional Cemet e ry across th e
st re et. A monument th e re marks a
common grave: “In memory of th e
dead re m oved from the Old
M eth o d i st Burial Ground, fo rm e rly
called Ebenezer/Our people die
we l l .” The ch u rch sold the land.
The successor Meth o d i st congre gations
remain on Capitol Hill:
Ebenezer United Meth o d i st
C h u rch, 4 and D St re ets SE; Tri n i t y
M eth o d i st Church, Sewa rd Sq., SE.
Congressional Cemetery
C o n gressional Cemet e ry (18 07) is
l i sted on The National Re g i ster of
H i sto ric Places as the first tru e
National Cemet e ry. Its official
name is the Wa s h i n g ton Pa ri s h
B u rial Ground because it is ow n e d
by Chri st Church, Episcopal, 620 G
St re et SE. But its common name
reflects its long association with
C o n gress. Befo re ra i l roads we re
built, it was imp ractical to ship bodies
long distances for burial at
home, so, in 1816, the ve st ry of
C h ri st Church made sites ava i l a b l e
to Members of Congress and heads
of depart m e n t s .
N i n eteen Senato rs and 72
Re p re s e n ta t i ves are buried here .
The Congress also erected cenotaphs,
or “empty tombs” to memorialize
Senato rs and Re p re s e n ta t i ve s
who died in office. These marke rs
we re designed by Benjamin Latro b e
and made from the same sandsto n e
used in building the Capitol and
the White House. Through 1876 ,
118 we re placed here, but when a
n ew appro p riation for cenota p h s
was considered, Rep. George Hoar
(D-Mass.) re m a rked that it added
“ n ew terror to death” to think th a t
one would be memorialized by
s u ch a monument, and the pra c t i c e
was stopped. A century later, one
m o re cenotaph was erected in
m e m o ry of Reps. Hale Boggs and
N i cholas J. Begich, who disapp
e a red on a flight over Alaska.
C o n gress also funded const ru ction
of the Public Vault, a temp ora
ry holding vault. Thousands of
people passed th rough the Public
Vault until appro p riate arra n g ements
we re made for their interment
here or for tra n s p o rtation to
a n other cemet e ry. Among th o s e
whose bodies we re held here we re
P residents William Henry Harri s o n ,
Z a ch a ry Taylor and John Quincy
Adams and Fi rst Ladies Dolly
Madison and Louisa Adams.
At Congressional Cemet e ry are
also buried Matth ew Bra d y, th e
p h oto gra p h e r, David Hero l d ,
hanged for the Lincoln assassination
conspiracy and Genera l s
Benham, Emory, Hump h reys ,
P l e a s o n ton, Shoepf and Totten. The
f i rst Civil War memorial erected in
the city was the Ars e n a l
Monument. Built by public subs
c ri ption, it stands over the grave s
of 21 young women who died while
filling shell casings at th e
Wa s h i n g ton Arsenal. Gunp ow d e r
ignited and set the building ablaze.
P resident Lincoln led their funera l
p rocession in 18 64, traveling dow n
E St re et SE .
C o n gressional Cemet e ry fe a t u re s
a cross-section of 19 th century
f u n e ral sculpt u re-angels, sleeping
infants and young women, and
e l a b o rate milita ry monuments (Lt.
John T. McLaughlin and Genera l
A l e xander McComb). There are
6 0 , 000 people buried here. Because
of a high infant mortality rate in
the 19 th century, th e re are more
ch i l d ren than adults. Seve ra l
Na t i ve Americans are buried here
who died while in Wa s h i n g to n
n e g otiating treaties with the fe d e ra l
g ove rnment. Other famous persons
in American and DC histo ry :
Vice President Elbridge Gerry of
“ g e rry m a n d e ring” fame, also a
signer of the Declaration of
Independence; march king John
Philip Sousa; FBI Dire c tor J. Edga r
H o over; Belva Lock wood, a candidate
for President (35 ye a rs befo re
women could vote); Anne Roya l l ,
an aggre s s i ve re p o rter adjudicated a
“common scold” in 1829; and Mary
Hall, a noted 19 th century madam.
The tomb of gay activist and
V i etnam vet e ran Leonard J.
M a t l ov i t ch reads: “When I was in
the milita ry th ey gave me a medal
for killing two men and a disch a r g e
for loving one.” A memorial is also
planned for Harvey Milk.
In the 19 th century,
Wa s h i n g tonians met in cemet e ri e s
for picnics and carriage ri d e s .
V i s i to rs to Congressional Cemet e ry
in 18 97 we re asked not to “enga g e
in cursing, swe a ring, indecent or
p rofane language, loud and boist e r-
COURTESY OF THE CAPITOL EAST HISTORICAL GUIDE AND TOUR BOOK
Visiting Our
M o l d e ri n g
O l d i e s
If yo u’re not about to break into th e
C a p i tol or Fri e n dship House to scare up
some s p e c te rs , the Hill offe rs seve ra l
choice spots fo r ph a ntom baiting . M ay b e
you can raise J. Edgar Hoove r; th e re ’s a
f rightening thought. But if you can’t f i n d
a gh o st in one of these haunts…
V O I C E
www.voiceofthehill.com 13
ous conve rsation, yelling, hallooing,
playing cards, casting dice, or
gambling, drinking liqu o r, th rowing
stones or other missels [sic],
s h o oting pistols ... .”
Wi th similar limitations, visito rs
a re welcome to d ay. The grounds are
open daily during daylight; th e
office at 18 01 E St re et SE is open on
S a t u rd ays, where a map of th e
c e m et e ry is also ava i l a b l e .
________________
Our cemet e ry lore was grac
i o u s ly provided by th e
a u th o rs of The Capitol East
H i st o rical Guide and Tour Book, a n
Yar m o u t h
Management Co.
Property Management and
Rentals on Capitol Hill
since 1981
309 Seventh Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
At Eastern Market
202-547-3511
rent@yarmouthm.com
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Please
bring
this ad.
i l l u st rated, 20-page booklet full of
l o re about the neighborh o o d s
b et ween Lincoln Pa rk and
C o n gressional Cemet e ry. The
a u th o rs, Beth Purcell and Jim
M ye rs, designed the book to boost
community identity and attra c t
n ew residents and homebuye rs to
the area. Hill East, Inc., a non-pro f i t
community group, used donations
to publish 1, 5 00 copies of th e
guide. Hill East hopes those who
read the book will be moved to
m a ke further donations towa rd
publication of the month ly Hill
E a st News news l etter in PSA 10 9
E a st .
The book, ch o ck full of info rm ation
about points of intere st and
the arch i t e c t u ral st yles in th e
C a p i tol East area, is available at th e
fo l l owing locations: Albert’s
L i qu o rs, 328 Ke n t u cky Avenue SE,
C o n gressional Cemet e ry office,
18 th and E St re ets SE (open
S a t u rd ays); Bonnie’s Dog & Cat
G rooming; 13 64 E St. SE, Coldwe l l
B a n ker Re a l t y, 109 8th St. NE;
Fra g e r’s Hard wa re, 1115 PA Ave., SE;
and Pa rk Cafe, 106 13 th St. SE.
Pa rdoe Real Estate, 605
Pe n n s ylvania Avenue SE, has also
published their own edition of th e
C a p i tol East guide for their clientele.
For further info rmation, call Beth
Pu rc ell, 544 - 0178 .
Congressional Cemetery
14 www.voiceofthehill.com
1115 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington, DC
Phone: 202-543-6157 • Fax: 202-543-9048
www.voiceofthehill.com/fragers.htm
Mon.-Fri. 7am-7pm, Sat. 7am-5:55pm, Sun. 8am-5pm
VISA, M.C., AMEX & DISCOVER
BY JEANNE ECK
You pro b a b ly wo n’t want to hand
out these goodies to Tri ck or
Tre a t e rs, but as party fare? They’re
g u a ranteed to turn sto m a ch s !
Strained Eye Balls:
S e rves 6
6 hard - c o o ked eggs
1 tub whipped cream ch e e s e
Large st u f fed green olive s
Red food colori n g
1. Shell cooled eggs
2. Cut eggs in half width-wise
3. Re m ove yolk and discard
4. Fill whites with cream ch e e s e
5. Press a whole olive into each
c ream cheese eyeball, pimento facing
up.
6. Dip the tip of a to oth p i ck in re d
food coloring and drawn bro ke n
blood vessels in the cream ch e e s e .
Ad a pted from C re e py Cuisine, by
Lucy Monro e
Icky Sticky Sugar Snakes.
M a kes 24
1 st i ck unsalted butter at room temp
e ra t u re
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extra c t
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extra c t
12 teaspoon salt
12 teaspoon ve g etable oil
12 cup chocolate ch i p s
1. In medium bowl cream to g eth e r
butter and honey until well blended
2. Gra d u a l ly sit in vanilla, flour and
s a l t .
3. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and
chill for one hour.
4. Preheat oven to 300 degre e s .
5. Grease cookie sheets with ve getable
oil
6. Re m ove dough from re f ri g e ra to r
and separate into golf-ball size
p i e c e s .
7. Divide each ball into four equ a l
p a rts. Roll each ball bet ween hands
i n to snake l i ke pieces. Place each
“ s n a ke” one inch apart on cookie
s h e et. (Note: if the dough st i cks to
your hands, rub your hands with a
little flour).
8. Bake 20-25 minutes or until
s n a kes begin to turn brow n .
9. Immediately re m ove snakes fro m
cookie sheet and place on a tray.
A l l ow to cool slightly. Press 2
chocolate chip eyes into the head of
e a ch snake. Allow to cool comp
l et e ly. Arrange on a platter.
Sticky Sauce (Snake Dirt)
12 cup honey
2 tablespoons suga r
2 tablespoons cinnamon
Mix honey, sugar and cinnamon in
a small bowl. Drizzle over cooled
s n a kes and serve .
Ad a pted from: C re e py Cuisine, by
Lucy Monro e
Disgusting Tre ats for
Trick or Tre aters of All Ag e s
V O I C E
www.voiceofthehill.com 15
Earwax on a Swab
S e rves 6
24 mini mars h m a l l ows
6 ounces butters c ot ch ch i p s
12 solid-colored st raight dri n k i n g
st raws .
1. Snip st raws into 2 inch length s
2. Place one mars h m a l l ow onto th e
end of each st raw
3. Place butters c ot ch chips into
m i c rowave safe bowl
4. Microwave on low or defro st setting
for about th i rty seconds.
5. Re m ove bowl from microwave
and stir contents with to oth pick.
Repeat process until the butters
c ot ch is comp l et e ly melted.
6. Dip the tips of each st raw into
the melted butters c ot ch (“earwa x ” )
and place sideways on wa xed paper
to harden. When hard, arrange in a
ghoulish container and serve .
Ad a pted from: G ross Goodies, by
Tina Vilicich - S o l o m o n
Hairy Moles
M a kes about four dozen
12 cup butter
34 cup unswe etened cocoa
1 14 ounce can swe etened condensed
milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extra c t
14 cup unswe etened cocoa
4 st rands black shoelace licori c e
1. Melt butter over low heat in a
medium-sized heavy saucepan. Ad d
34 cup of unswe etened cocoa and
can of swe etened condensed milk.
2. Mix well with wooden spoon
and cook over medium heat
until th i ckened and
s m o oth (about 5 minu
t e s ) .
4. Re m ove fro m
heat and add
vanilla. Cove r
pan with lid
and place
in re f ri g e ra tor for at
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S TEP BACK INTO THE 70’S
Saturday Night • November 6, 1999 • St. Peter’s Church Hall
We’re polishing our disco ball and pressing our polyester
to eat, drink, bid, buy, and boogie! Please join us.
Gourmet Dinner • Live & Silent Auctions • Disco Dancing and DJ
All proceeds benefit St. Peter’s Interparish School
Tickets $ 2 5
($30 at the door)
For more information call (202) 544-1618
St. Peter’s Thanks Its Title Sponsor Pardoe Real Estate
AMENITIES
• Complimentary morning
coffee/juice/muffin
• Complimentary in-room coffee
• Complimentary access to fully
equipped health club.
• Complimentary newspaper in
the lobby
Call the sales or reservations
office for group and seasonal
specials
200 C Street, SE • Washington, DC 20003
202-543-6000 • Reservations 800-424-9165
l e a st 3 hours, or until firm .
5. Scoop a rounded teaspoon of
m i x t u re and fo rm into 1 1/4 inch
round balls. Roll each ball in 1/4
cup cocoa. Place on wa xed paper
and place 12 i n ch lengths of licori c e
st rands (mole whiske rs in each
m o l e ) .
6. To serve: Tear out full-page head
s h ots of models from old maga z i n e s
and place them on the table as
d e s s e rt “plates.” Tra n s fo rm th e s e
beautiful women into scary hags by
placing your “Hairy Moles” on th e i r
chins and noses!
Ad a pted from: G ross Goodies, by
Tina Vilicich - S o l o m o n
16 www.voiceofthehill.com
CAPITAL
home title, inc.
703 D Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
Phone 202 544-4300
FAX (202) 544-7876
E-mail
capitalhometitle@erols.com
Michael Hines
Other Settlement Locations
Georgetown Chevy Chase
Columbia, MD Camp Springs, MD
Rockville, MD Annapolis, MD
Bowie, MD Greenbelt, MD
Crofton, MD Baltimore, MD
Fairfax, VA
Across from the
Eastern Market Metr o
Tu n n i c l i ff’s
C i rc a 17 9 6
The Capitol Hill Tavern with a British name and a Cajun accent.
222 Seve n th St., SE, Capitol Hill • 202 - 54 6 - 3 6 6 3
c rumbling and spilling concrete, rotted dra i n
pipes and ru sting gird e rs. One massive gird e r
holding up a lane of the 11 th St., Bridge is ke pt
a l o ft with a hy d raulic jack; large pieces of concret e
fell off the underside of the same bridge this ye a r.
But th e re ’s another reason that the ra mp, such a
minor player in the large affairs of fre eway const
ruction, is getting the tre a t m e n t: Money. The
D e p a rtment of Public Wo rks is swimming in an
ava l a n che of cash from the city’s fe d e ral bailout
p a ckage, the fe d e ral highway tru st fund, and th e
addition of $140 million to other projects as a
result of the scuttling of the ill-considered Barn ey
C i rcle project, which would have linked th e
S E / SW fre eway with Interstate 295, to the benefit
of commuters, almost solely.
The confluence of so many sources of funding is
a once in a lifetime occurrence, or so I was told by
C e l l e rino Bernadino, the we l l - l i ked fo rm e r
D e p a rtment of Public Wo rks dire c tor dismissed
d u ring the final days of would-be chief city exe c ut
i ve Camille Cates Barn ett. Bernadino said th e
heap of money would help the Dist rict catch up
on infra st ru c t u re, and build sidewa l ks and gutters
in neighborhoods which have never had them.
So, awash in cash, highway planners figure
th ey’ll realize their fo n d e st schemes (or rewa rd
their fo n d e st contra c to rs, cynics would say) by
pushing long-delayed projects. One of these is th e
ra mp redo.
Opposition to the ra mp closure is th e re, according
to Wa rd 6 Councilmember Sharon Ambro s e ,
but it is up aga i n st the most politically correct slogan
of them all—s a fet y. Many residents are willing
to say in their hearts that th ey would be willing to
put up with a few serious accidents for the ra mp ’s
c o nvenience, but few would make that speech at a
m e et i n g .
The closing is like a juggernaut. “It did kind of
sneak up on us,” said Ambrose aide Amy Mauro .
T h e re was “discussion” over the ra mp “about a
year ago,” she re m e m b e rs, but never we re th e re
w i d e ly attended public meetings, and never did
the community’s temp e ra t u re rise as it has in th e
p a st to highway crises which th reatened th e
n e i g h b o rh o o d .
M o re fe rvent have been backe rs of sound barrie
rs which would shield the close-in neighborh o o d
near Garfield Pa rk from Fre eway noise, and also
p e rhaps from train traffic on the CSX Rail tra cks
w h i ch pass under the Fre eway at that same heav ily
used park. Members of the Friends of Garf i e l d
Pa rk have long sought some relief from train noise
and fumes, and have become part i c u l a rly vo c a l
since hearing that CSX plans to increase traffic by
48% over the ro u t e .
BY DUNCAN SPENCER
We will all get a good ta ste of suburbia,
that va st we l l - washed car-land, when
the 3rd St., Ra mp to th e
S o u th e a st / S o u th we st Fre eway closes
for two ye a rs later this month. Goodbye, qu i ck zips
to dow n town, Georgetown, whereve r. The closure
of the ra mp will mean that we, like the hapless culd
e - s a cke rs, will spend many hours of our lives in
c a rs, waiting for release to somew h e re .
When the ra mp was last closed, for seve ra l
m o n ths in 1990, the effect was something like a
m i graine headache—or one of those colds that has
hung on so long it becomes part of your pers o n a l
p o rt folio. Yo u’d jump in the car and suddenly it
would hit again. No exit.
This time it will be wo rse. There are more cars
than befo re, and life is moving even more swift ly.
The neare st altern a t i ves, South Capitol St. and 7th
or 9th St., SW, are all ve ry susceptible to the tides of
in and out-migration. Adding to the fru st ration is
the fact that the 6th St., exit ra mp, the one most
Hill dwe l l e rs ta ke to ret u rn home, will also be
closed “for a short time,” according to D.C. highway
officials.
W h a t’s the reasoning behind the altera t i o n s ?
The 3rd St., ra mp feeds traffic dire c t ly into the path
of cars swe rving to the right to exit at the 3rd St . ,
NW exit to dow n town and the Capitoline complex.
The re s u l t: numerous collisions over th e
ye a rs.
I t’s undeniable that much of the repair wo rk to
the fre eway is long needed. One need only look at
the underpinnings of the bridges over Hill st re et s ,
as at 3rd St. SE or at the 11 th St., Bridge SE, to see
Spencer Says
Two Ye a rs Without the Ramp…
I Wanna Get Out Of this Place!
The city ’s Department of Pu b l i c
Wo rks is swimming in an
a va l a n che of cash from the
c i ty ’s federal bailout packa ge ,
the federal highway tru st fund,
and the addition of $14 0
million to other pro j e c t s …
www.voiceofthehill.com 17
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Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday 10-9
Friday, Saturday 10-6
Sunday 12-6
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202.543.3030
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Over 10 years experience in Real Estate
Licensed in DC, VA and MD
Why settle for less when you can get the best.
A m b rose eagerly joined that battle this summer,
but found the Department of Public Wo rks unres
p o n s i ve. After some vigorous prodding, DPW’s
D i re c tor Vanessa Dale Burns has ord e red a ninem
o n th study to “det e rmine the feasibility and
d e s i rability of erecting noise barri e rs .” That sta t ement,
the embodiment of delay, doesn’t have th e
ring of enthusiasm about it. But DPW’s awa re n e s s
of community noise concerns has a dow n s i d e .
C o n t ra c to rs on the fre eway project are not to be
a l l owed to wo rk befo re 7 AM or after 10 PM. Who
k n ows how many months this favor to the neighb
o rhood will cost in terms of delay of the ra mp
p ro j e c t .
W hy will it all ta ke so long? Because engineers
h ave decided to alter the entrance ra mp we stbound,
lengthening it and making it vault ove r
the too-close exit ra mp to the 3rd St., NW tunnel.
I t’s a big job, says const ruction manager Luke
D i p o mpo. “What can we do?” DiPo mpo lamented
b e fo re attending an October 7 meeting of Po l i c e
S e rvice Area 112 where he was sure to be shelled,
“ we ’ve got to rebuild it.”
T h e re we re two main lines of hostile qu e st i o ning
by angry and fru st rated residents who met
D i Po mpo at the meeting: Some fear the fre eway
will move closer to homes, part i c u l a rly the new
Ellen Wilson neighborhood; oth e rs resent the fact
that DPW ke pt the closure plan hidden until last
m o n th .
C o u n c i l woman Sharon Ambrose sent four re pre
s e n ta t i ves to the Chri st Church meeting place—
p re s u m a b ly to push her own plan to get DPW to
e rect those sound barri e rs, and at least mollify
p a rt of the community. But the barri e rs got short
s h ri ft as Hill residents complained that DPW had
g i ven almost no thought to wo rkable deto u rs or to
the effect on close-in South e a st .
“T h e re ’s safety on one side, quality of life on th e
oth e r,” said one recent arri val to the Hill. But
D i Po mpo made it clear that the quality of life th a t
his department wished to protect was that of th e
suburbanites who use the fre eway to travel fro m
d ow n town to Prince George’s County. “We must
m a i n tain 7 lanes of tra f f i c ,” he repeated. The only
s h u t d own will be the Hill’s favo rite entrance, and
for four months from September 2000 to January
2001, its favo rite exit, the 6th St., SE fre eway exit.
But we can be glad for one thing: Gary Burch ,
the DPW traffic administ ra to r, has argued for closing
the 3rd St., Ra mp fo reve r. Now that wo n’t happ
e n .
Duncan Spencer is a fre elance writer and re g u l a r
c o l u m n i st for The Hill
18 www.voiceofthehill.com
Ask Judith
Dear Judith:
When I moved into a re n tal house I discove re d
c rumbling asbestos surrounding some of th e
pipes in the basement. Since this space will be
used as a studio, I asked my landlord to have it
re m oved by a pro fessional who knows the material.
Howeve r, it was re m oved while I was away,
( w h i ch is a comp l et e ly separate issue), and I can
a l m o st guarantee it was handled incorre c t ly. I
h ave gotten mixed responses in the past, eve n
f rom re sto ration specialists, when inqu i ring about
the hazards of asbestos. How much of a danger is
it? Can you suggest an inexpensive method of
t e sting air quality?
H E AT H E R
Dear Heather:
Our indust rial hyg i e n i st was on vacation so I
ch e cked with his boss to make sure I had it ri g h t .
A s b e stos is only a hazard when air- b o rne. That’s
w hy it is imp o rtant to re m ove crumbling pipe
insulation, flaking asbesto s - c o n taining ceiling
tiles, and other asbesto s - c o n taining elements th a t
m ay be releasing the fibers into the air where th ey
can be bre a thed. It is my understanding th a t
a s b e stos miners, facto ry wo rke rs making pro d u c t s
that contain asbestos, const ruction wo rke rs
a p p lying spray-on fire p roofing with asbesto s
f i b e rs, and oth e rs similarly exposed on a daily and
l o n g - t e rm basis are the ones most at risk fo r
a s b e stosis.
H oweve r, like so many toxic or carc i n o g e n i c
s u b stances, no one re a l ly knows what the lowe st
th reshold is for problems that may crop up ye a rs
hence. So, the attitude of the gove rnment re g u l ato
rs is better safe than sorry, at least when it comes
to apartment buildings of four or more units and
public facilities. In your case, you can get your air
t e sted for ve ry little per samp l e — p ro b a b ly $100 to
$ 200 (look in the Ye l l ow Pages under Env i ro nm
e n tal Te sting).
What our indust rial hyg i e n i st told me he wo u l d
do in your situation is to use a wet mop or wet ra g s
to clean up any and all of what could be asbesto s -
c o n taining dust in your basement. Then yo u
should th row those rags or mops away. You could
also use a vacuum with a HEPA filter, if you happened
to have one. Best of luck !
P.S. I’ll talk about your qu e stion on the best
m ethod for cleaning the exterior of a ca. 18 8 0
b ri ck row house next month .
Dear Judith:
We got a free sofa, knocked down a wall to get it in,
and are now afraid we got rid of a supporting wa l l .
H ow can we tell?
PANICKED ON FOURTH STREET
Dear Panicked:
If it was a supporting wall and you took it out, yo u
and your insurance agent would pro b a b ly know
by now...
For future re fe rence, and for oth e rs who may be
l u cky enough to re c e i ve free sofas, here are some
ways to det e rmine if a wall is supporting (or, as we
call it, load-beari n g ) .
Fi rst, a load-bearing wall will be perp e n d i c u l a r
to the floor joists that it is supporting. But, yo u
might say, how do I know which direction my
floor joists run? You can go down to the basement
and, if you don’t have a ceiling th e re, you can get
an idea. It is like ly, though not certain, that yo u r
second or th i rd floor joists run the same way.
W hy, after all, should a builder change th i n g s ,
floor to floor? Also, if you go down into your basement
and don’t see a wall or beam or columns
under the wall yo u’re wo n d e ring about, th a t’s a
p retty good clue that the wall above is not loadb
e a ring, since the load has to be supported below.
If you can’t see floor joists in the basement, yo u
can figure that in most of our row houses th ey are
running from side to side (or bearing wa l l / p a rt y
wall to bearing wa l l / p a rty wall). This fo l l ows th e
building principle that you need to support th e
ends of the floor joists, which the party walls are
c o nve n i e n t ly located to do, and that you want to
run your framing in the short e st dimension. This
a l l ows you to use the smallest possible lumber,
and to have a st i f fer floor. Howeve r, bewa re: In
m a ny of our row houses the wall running fro m
f ront to back bet ween the hall and the parl o rs is
load bearing. You can pro b a b ly confirm this in
the basement by ch e cking walls, beams and
columns.
Because th e re are many particular conditions in
our houses, these are only general guidelines.
Taking out walls is not something you should do
unless yo u’re ve ry certain th ey’re not holding up
your house, or you have great insurance cove ra g e ,
or both. Wo rking on old houses is guaranteed to
p roduce surp rises, so do a little homewo rk befo re
m ajor demolition.
I t’s also good to have an idea about the logic of
st ru c t u ral systems because sometimes (apologies
to my re p u table contra c tor friends) contra c to rs
use the old “looks - l i ke - a - b e a ri n g - wa l l - to-me” ploy
to talk you out of doing something you want to. It
might well be a bearing wall, but even beari n g
walls can be re m oved if you provide new support
for what yo u’ve ta ken away.
Dear Judith:
Our ra d i a to rs are re a l ly beautiful with elabora t e
p a t t e rns but the paint is in terrible shape. What
should we do?
CHIP FLAKY
Dear Chip:
Your ra d i a to rs pro b a b ly have lots of ye a rs of leadbased
paint on them, not to mention some miscellaneous
laye rs of post - 1976 oil-based and latex.
When ra d i a to rs have many laye rs of paint on
them, it is inev i table that th ey will be in terri b l e
shape. Think about it. The ra d i a to rs heat up and
cool down many times a day in the heating season.
They are steel or cast iron with a diffe re n t
coefficient of expansion than umpt y- u mpt laye rs
of paint, whose coefficient of th e rmal expansion
has yet to be calculated. The ra d i a tor expands and
c o n t racts, and the paint doesn’t, so it cra cks and
f l a kes and poisons the dog or other floor dwe l l i n g
c re a t u res with lead, making them st u p i d .
My advice is to get all the paint off the ra d i a to rs
once and for all, put on a coat of high heat paint,
designed for hot applications (in either gold or silve
r, ta ke your pick), and never paint them aga i n .
( You may, at your option, “pick” out or highlight
the raised ornament on the ra d i a to rs with a cont
ra sting dark paint. You dab the oil-based paint
o n to the raised areas with a brush after you have
s p ray painted the ra d i a tor with the silver or gold.
Then you dust the painted areas with more silve r
or gold, both toning the contra sting color down a
bit and cove ring up the places you slopped ove r
o n to the ra d i a to r, then you wipe the raised are a s
w i th a rag moistened with solvent to re-expose th e
c o n t ra sting color and you have gorgeous ra d i ato
rs.)
To get the paint off, I suggest you schedule yo u r
plumber to drain your system and pull out all yo u r
ra d i a to rs (make sure the wa rm we a ther is holding
f i rst, you might want to wait for spring), and ship
the ra d i a to rs off to be dip st ripped or sand-blast e d .
When th ey come back you can paint. Then get
your plumber to re i n stall the ra d i a to rs and get
your heating system wo rking again. When yo u
call, remind him to put the single piece (not th e
hinged type that always open up and wander off)
e s c u t cheons on the pipes coming out of the floor
b e fo re he re - s ets the ra d i a to rs. He will have to go
b a ck to his supplier to get enough of the ri g h t
sized ones, but it’s wo rth it since you hope neve r
to have to pull any of these ra d i a to rs aga i n .
Judith Capen, AIA, practicing re st o ration architect, is
the author of many of the Capitol Hill Re st o ra t i o n
So c i e ty ’s awa rd-winning guidelines for wo rk on
Capitol Hill Homes.
www.voiceofthehill.com 19
Aatish on the Hill
The city’s finest Pakistani
restaurant featuring delicious
Tandori charcoal cuisine.
609 Pa Ave., SE
202-544-0931
Banana Cafe &
Piano Bar
Serving the best Cuban,
Puerto Rican & Mexican
food in town. Come join us!
500 8th St., SE
202-543-5906
Bistro Bis
Located in the ultra modern,
ultra stylish, ultra smashing
Hotel George.
15 E St., NW
202-661-2700
Caffe Italiano
Ristorante
Classic Italian-European
cuisine, quiet, romantic
atmosphere & extensive,
reasonably priced menu.
1129 Pa Ave., SE
202-544-5500
Capitol City
Brewing Co.
Unique brewpub with 15
barrel brewery on premises,
featuring a dozen beer styles,
and reasonably priced American
cuisine.
2 Mass Ave., NE
202-842-BEER
Capitol Lounge
Enjoy Capitol Hill’s first
pub. 15 tap beers, 3 billiard
tables, 18 televisions. American
grill menu.
229 Pa Ave., SE
202-547-2098
Hawk and Dove
Washington’s oldest sports
bar. Four TVsatellites;
hearty American food;
twelve draft beers; private
party rooms.
329 Pa Ave., SE
202-543-3300
Il Radicchio
Washington’s most extraordinary
pizza & pastaria.
223 Pa Ave., SE
202-547-5114
Jimmy T’s Place
Chow down with the Hill’s
most famous faces. Breakfast
& lunch with a view of
history.
501 East Capitol St., SE
202-546-3646
Las Placitas
Specializing in Mexican and
Salvadorian cuisines. Great
margaritas!
Open 7 days a week.
517 8th St., SE
202-543-3700
The Monocle on
Capitol Hill
Experience the neighborhood
dining tradition.
107 D St., NE
202-546-4488
Mr. Henry’s
Restaurant
A Capitol Hill tradition for
33 years. Your neighborhood
pub. Smoke free upstairs.
601 Pa Ave., SE
202-546-8412
Szechuan House
Restaurant
“Hidden treasure” on the Hill
-Washington Post. New
cuisine coming soon!
515 8th St., SE
202-546-5303
Tortilla Coast
A fun, hip restaurant on
Capitol Hill serving up great
Tex-Mex food and excellent
margaritas!
400 First St., SE
202-546-6768
Tu n n i c l i f f ’s
Tavern, circa 1796
A great good place with a
British name and a Cajun
accent! www.tunnicliffs.com,
e-mail: BigEZdc@aol.com
222 7th St., SE
202-546-3663
Two Quail
“has that special something
that makes hundreds call it
the most romantic, most
comfortable and charming
restaurant in Washington.”
Zagat Guides. Intimate
dinners, cocktail receptions
& private rooms available.
320 Mass Ave., NE
202-543-8030
Xando Coffee
and Bar
A specialty coffee house
offering a creative food menu
and a full liquor bar featuring
coffee cocktails.
www.xando.com
301 Pa Ave., SE
202-546-3345
Sizzling Express
Where freshness sizzles &
the service is express!
600 Pa Ave., SE
202-548-0900
Antique &
Contemporary
Leasing
The only furniture company
in the metropolitan area that
specializes in the selling &
leasing of high-quality furniture
as well as antiques.
709 12th Street, SE
202-547-3030
Antiques on
the Hill
A general line antique store
specializing in lighting
restoration, ethnological and
period antiques.
701 N. Carolina Ave., SE
202-543-1819
Art & Soul
Contemporary wearable art,
jewelry & crafts.
225 Pa Ave., SE
202-548-0105
Asman Custom
Photo Service
Serving the nation’s capital
since 1961. Offering professional,
digital and photographic
services.
924 Pa Ave., SE
202-547-7713
Capitol Hill
Art & Frame
Currently exhibiting
Australian Aboriginal art and
artifacts in the Walkabout
Gallery.
623 Pa Ave., SE
202-546-2700 &
202-547-8317
Clothes
Encounters (...of
a second kind)
Women’s consignment
clothing.
202 7th St., SE
202-546-4004
Doolittle’s Pet
Supplies, Gifts
& Grooming
Save 10% on your next
purchase with this ad!
Shop on-line at
www.doolittles.com!
224 7th St., SE
202-544-8710
Frager’s
Hardware
On Capitol Hill since 1920.
Open 7 days a week.
1115 Pa Ave., SE
202-543-6157
Frame of Mine
Offers both do-it-yourself &
custom picture framing.
522 8th St., SE
202-543-3030
Grubb’s
Care Pharmacy
& Medical
Equipment
Nutritional supplements,
Medicaid/Medicare billing,
pharmacy & medical equipment
company, delivery,
braces/mastectomy products.
326 East Capitol St.
202-543-4400
Holly Ross Art
Services, Inc.
Excellent custom framing &
art consulting services. By
appointment.
703-538-5385
fax: 703-536-0984
Juleon
Personalized
Books
Make your child the STAR of
the STO RY! Take $1.50 off
by ordering through our web
page at www. j u l e o n . c o m .
1020 13th St., SE
202-547-2214
Less Than
a Fortune
Antique home furnishings,
linens, quality resale
menswear & Queen of
Memphis gowns.
645 Pa Ave., SE
202-544-9433
Morton’s
Pharmacy
Herbal products, hospital
supplies, wheelchairs, canes,
crutches, orthopedic supports.
724 East Capitol St., NE
202-543-1616
Newman’s Gallery
& Custom Frames
We offer conservation quality
picture framing and design as
well as rotating exhibits by
local and international artists.
513 11th St., SE
202-544-7577
Pauli’s Flowerland
Fresh cut flowers at bargain
prices, delivery throughout
DC. Custom arrangements,
charge by phone.
650 Pa Ave., SE
202-546-3835
Red River
Western Wear &
Dance Studio
Where the real cowboy
shops! Clothes & boots for
men, women & children.
641 Pa Ave., SE
202-546-5566
Taylor and Sons
Fine Art
When art is a basic necessity.
666 Pa Ave., SE
202-546-0021
Trover Shop
Books, cards, gift wrap, party
goods, balloons, Beanie
Babies™, newspapers, magazines,
office supplies.
Open 7 days.
221 & 227 Pa Ave., SE
202-547-BOOK
Two Lions
Antiques &
Interiors
Antique furniture, decorative
mirrors & lamps; custom
ordered upholstered furniture,
accessories & gifts.
621 Pa Ave., SE
202-546-5466
The Village
Collection of art, clothing &
unusual stuff from artisans
around the world. Across
from Eastern Market
705 N. Carolina Ave., SE
202-546-3040
Make this holiday season a special one with gifts
and fine dining right here on Capitol Hill. The
Capitol Hill Association of Merchants and
Professionals (CHAMPS) is proud of its Retail
and Restaurant members and encourages you to patronize businesses
displaying the CHAMPS member sticker. CHAMPS member businesses are
dedicated to improving the quality of life in “Our Nation’s NeighborhoodTM. ”
Look for the CHAMPS member
sticker in member windows.
Snowflakes on the Hill are provided
through the efforts of CHAMPSmembers and their supporters
To contribute call Kitty Kaup at 202-544-6666.
For more information about the Capitol Hill
Association of Merchants and Professionals call
202-547-7788 or visit their website www.capitolhill.org.
Eastern Market, a bazaar for the holidays.
Member
Holiday Dining on Capitol Hill
Holiday Shopping on Capitol Hill
20 www.voiceofthehill.com
Business Bits
545 7th Street, SE • Washington, DC 20003
202-547-6839
THE VILLAGE
705 N. Carolina Ave. Se Eastern Market
Tues-Fri 11-6 Sat 10-6, Sun 12-4, 202 • 546 • 3040
From The Gallery Of Art,
Clothing, And Unusual Stuff.
Great New Flax Clothing has
arrived! Check us out
for all Kinds of
exciting gifts.
Second chance
for Fall classes a n d
w o r k s h o p s. Register for
for daytime Pre - K a rt s
and music classes and n e w
Suzuki Vi o l i n classes.
October 20
A u t u m n L i s t e n i n g
October 28
C reative Expre s s i o n
October 30
Pumpkin Carv i n g.
S u p p o rt the Arts Wo r k s h o p
t h rough the CFC #7660
capitol hill a rts
w o r k s h o p
H&W Contracting, Ltd.
MAURICE HILL, CEO
Home Improvements
Don’t let your house get you down.
Let H&W Contracting keep it up.
We can take care of it all.
Home Improvements
Kitchens and Baths • Painting • Plumbing •
Doors & Locks • Drains and Downspouts •
Drywall and Plastering • Brickwork • Carpentry •
Ceilings • Concrete • Roofing • Fences
General Cleaning and Repairs
Windows • Appliances • Blinds and Shades • Linoleum Tile •
Hot Water Heaters • Exterminating • Landscaping
202 398 7117
You think yo u’re a past master of multitasking?
Able to ta ke a confe rence call,
eat a sandwich, go th rough the mail and
tie your shoelaces with silken ease?
Welcome to kinderga rten. That ain’t noth i n’ comp
a red to what Marsha Martin can do.
In the past year Mars h a’s opened E l l i ng to n’s
on 8th , a ch a mpagne bar and re sta u rant on 8th
St., SE, the 8 th St reet Market d i re c t ly across th e
st re et, and created a training school for re sta u ra n t
help. This is in addition to wo rking full time as th e
special assistant to the secreta ry of the US
D e p a rtment of Health and Human Serv i c e s ,
Donna Shalala, and flying about the country making
sure that the secreta ry’s initiatives are imp l emented
th roughout the department.
She was just back from LA when we met at th e
re sta u rant to talk about her va rious projects. She’s
coiled in one of the big wing ch a i rs in the fro n t
w i n d ow, her mass of dre a d l o cks an elaborate mantilla
crowning her head. A handsome woman with
a deep, wa rm voice. All easy energy, just a lioness
taking a bre a th e r.
What she’s doing is ve ry simple, in its unbelieva
b ly complex way. Marsha lived in New Yo rk City
for 20 ye a rs, taking her docto rate at Columbia,
wo rking as a coord i n a tor for homeless vet e ra n s ,
and then as exe c u t i ve dire c tor of the Intera g e n c y
Council on the Homeless for HUD. In her spare
time she took two ye a rs of
evening classes at New Yo rk
Te chnical College in Bro o k ly n ,
one of the best schools in th e
c o u n t ry for hotel and re sta u ra n t
management, “because I’ve
a l ways wanted to run a re sta urant.
I learned about qu a n t i t y
food purchasing and cooking, all
of th a t .” Then, seven ye a rs ago
Doc Martin was tapped by Shalala
and moved to DC, and the Hill.
M a rsha found she missed th e
easiness of eating in New Yo rk.
The excellent gro c e ries on eve ry
b l o ck, the little neighborh o o d
hangouts. She wanted to be able
to walk around the corner and
“ g et a decent $5.50 glass of ch a mp
a g n e .” When Heart and Soul
re sta u rant moved to
Pe n n s ylvania Avenue she saw her
o p p o rt u n i t y, and called her sist e r
A n n ette who was still in New
Yo rk, to see if she’d be a part n e r.
“The idea was we ’d open up th i s
re sta u rant, and people wo u l d
want to come and eat here. We
expected to be able to hire and
t rain a staff and that that staff would be able to
o p e rate the re sta u rant with a modest amount of
s u p e rvision. Bet ween my sister coming down on
we e kends and my being here at night we th o u g h t
‘no pro b l e m .’ So we called our friends and painted
walls and got the furn i t u re .”
I t’s only natural, given her background, th a t
s h e ’d we ave in a social context. Marsha and
A n n ette, who is also a social wo rke r, went to Third
8th Street Eats
And Marsha Martin Serv e s , in More Ways than Tw o
www.voiceofthehill.com 21
Banana Cafe
& Piano Bar
Serving the Best Cuban,
Puerto Rican, & Mexican
Food in the City!
Open for lunch, dinner
& Sunday Brunch
No Cover!
Piano Bar
Upstairs
Tues-Sat
Performances
by Deena Javor
and Chuck Smith Happy Hour
Tues-Fri 5-7:30 Upstairs only
Drink Specials with Free Hors
d’oeuvres
500 8th St, SE
1 block east of Blue/Orange Eastern Market Metro / 202-543-5906
and Eats, the DC Central Kitchen, and the DC
Coalition for the Homeless, agencies that prov i d e
food service training for people in we l f a re - to - wo rk
and rehab pro grams, and hired their graduates to
staff the re sta u rant. They opened, serving dinner
o n ly from We d n e s d ay th rough Saturd ay, and a
S u n d ay bru n ch. It was delibera t e ly ke pt low- key
and slow paced. “We didn’t want the public to
come in and be disappointed with the experi e n c e .
We we re still learn i n g .”
One of the things the team was learning wa s
that lack of a decent and convenient market in th e
n e i g h b o rhood meant she was spending eve ry fre e
moment running all over town to buy for th e
re sta u rant. “And I thought — it’s a little too cra z y.
If we ’re gonna have this re sta u rant, we need to
h ave some convenience. So, is it possible that we
could have a gre e n grocer in our neighborh o o d
that carries good bread so that we could shop out
of the market for the re sta u rant? I want my cooks
to be able to go right across the st re et if we run out
and not have a hassle. And maybe can we do it and
in a way that meets a need in our neighborhood”.
Then Murray’s St e a ks moves out of the space
a c ross the st re et and it’s owned by her landlord fo r
E l l i n g to n’s, Herb Lehner. Enter The 8th St re et
M a rket, Gro c e ries Greens and Other Things,
w h i ch Marsha sta rted along with her partner Ru th
S ch i ckel, and which should be open this we e ke n d .
M a rsha says, “The gro c e ry is not something I’ve
wanted to do all my life, but the convenience fo r
the re sta u rant is critical. We have a level of produce
that will match any b o d y’s in town since
we ’re using the same high end dist ri b u to r.” It also
m e ets the needs of the 20 re sta u rants that line 8th
St. from Pe n n s ylvania Avenue to M St.,, SE. “We
h ave a huge wa l k-in re f ri g e ra to r, pro b a b ly 20 x 10 ,
and we can do eve ry b o d y’s lettuce, avocados and
to m a to e s .”
W h i ch, logically, led to the next project. In th e
p rocess of developing the gro c e ry Marsha ta p p e d
i n to another need of neighboring re sta u ra n t s ,
qualified help. Noticing that the help wa n t e d
signs in the windows we re permanent fixture s ,
she ta l ked to the ow n e rs, listened to their difficulties
in finding good staff, and figured as long as
she was training emp l oyees for Ellingto n’s she
might as well train wait staff, cooks and dishwa s he
rs for the oth e rs.
M a rsha hired a project dire c tor who used to do
we l f a re - to - wo rk training at Lockheed Martin, and
a counseling psych o l o g i st to provide training in
s e rvice. She ta l ked to large organizations that are
looking for places to teach people hospitality and
food service, and asked them to consider placing
candidates with 8th St re et Eats, which is what
s h e ’s calling the pro gram. The course will be a
modified ve rsion of one used by Project Re n ewa l ,
a ve ry successful New Yo rk-based training program
that provides staff for re sta u rants all ove r
that city.
This fall Ellingto n’s will open a lunch time
s chool, a series of 12 - week sessions that will tra i n
re c ruits two days a week, and have them put tra i ning
into practice by pre p a ring and serving lunch
to the public We d n e s d ays, Thurs d ays and Fri d ays .
When you come in to lunch, “the to a st might not
be quite how you like it, but it will be almost th e re .
T h a t’s because the trainees will be doing it.” The
p rices, she claims, will be low enough to keep us
coming back.
Sound logical and smooth? Not for a
second.
If you tried Ellingto n’s during the past ye a r, it’s
quite possible that you found the experi e n c e ,
shall we say, wanting. In my case I was wanting a
fo rk. For 20 minutes I wa t ched my food congeal
while waiting for someone to appear so I could
even ask for one. It was not an experience one wa s
inclined to repeat. Had I known, though, th a t
th e re was a socially conscious experiment going
on, I might have tapped my minute re s e rve of
patience and ke pt try i n g .
“ H aving never hired people to wo rk in an env ironment
this close to the public,” Marsha says ,
“ we hadn’t anticipated what the demands of ru nning
a re sta u rant would be like on the people th a t
we we re attempting to provide emp l oyment fo r.”
The graduates of hospitality training pro gra m s
that th ey picked for the re sta u rant had not been
t rained “for jobs w i t h the public, just close to th e
p u b l i c .” They we re taught how to wo rk in “a hot e l
c a fet e ria or an institutional cooking setting, wo rking
an assembly line. “This is a place where it’s
m o re cook to ord e r, it’s more... you have a re l ationship
with the person yo u’re going to put th i s
plate in front of. The public has a desire and certain
expectation around what th ey’re going to
re c e i ve, and wo rke rs need to be able to understa n d
and meet that expectation. That’s ve ry diffe re n t
for the people that we we re seeking to emp l oy.”
M a rsha elaborates, “We ’ve had lots of people
f rom rehab pro grams who couldn’t wo rk here .
And th e re are two levels of ‘couldn’t wo rk here .’
One is when we ’re slow, we ’re slow. There ’s not
going to be high stimulation, high energy. We
h ave nights when th e re are only th ree custo m e rs
h e re. That re qu i res you to be self-assured, self-re gulating,
and mot i vated. You can’t ‘oh well’ when
yo u’re serving the public. You can’t half to a st th e
b read when yo u’re making a BLT.”
When things we re hopping she encountere d
the opposite problem, being able to juggle multiple
ta s ks and stay cool. “If yo u’re used to a kind of
c a fet e ria lunch line food service, ‘I make the soup,
th a t’s what I do,’ it wo n’t wo rk ,” says Mars h a .
“ H e re you make the soup, you make the to a st, yo u
f ry the bacon. And you may be helping to bus th e
ta b l e s .” It was just too much for most of her
e mp l oyees.
Helping women drawn in from we l f a re - to - wo rk
p ro grams was also problematic. “One woman we
l i ked a lot wo rked out ve ry well, then all of a sudden
one day didn’t come to wo rk. Just didn’t
come. Hello? She’s pregnant. Sick. Just didn’t
b other to call. Gone. Well, we liked her but...th a t’s
n ot going to wo rk out. Somebody else, re a l ly good.
We liked her a lot. Then her boy f riend shows up. A
little domestic violence situation. She had to disa
p p e a r.”
So, Marsha says, “my sister and I re grouped. We
sat with the sta f fs of the training pro grams and
ta l ked to them about what we we re wo rking on,
and what we we re wo rking with. We said let’s do a
s o rt of internship, have people in their pro gra m s
come here two nights a week instead of get t i n g
them after graduation. And 25% of the fo l ks th a t
we re with us during that phase have moved on to
ve ry good jobs elsew h e re. They’re now at TG I
Fri d ays, and the Cheesecake Fa c to ry, much more
high-energy places. Up-scale McDonalds.
B oth women learned a lot during the ye a r. “We
l e a rned that people need a whole lot more coaching
than my sister and I could do. We learned th a t
if we ’re going to do this we have to be aro u n d
m o re and available more and we can’t be the ones
to tell emp l oyees that th ey need to go back into
rehab. Now I put my social wo rk hat on and say,
th a t’s to be expected. On the other hand I can’t
run a successful business and be a job coach. Some
p a rt of all of it slips.”
It’s All Together Now
Un d e rsta n d a b ly Marsha was re l u c tant to pro m ot e
E l l i n g to n’s much that first ye a r, and she shut th e
place down to re o r ganize over the summer. The
decision was made that training would be done
d u ring the daytime, and pro fessional staff wo u l d
be put in place for the evening. If good candidates
for the re sta u rant emerged from the training program,
excellent. They would be moved up. But th e
re sta u rant needed to satisfy Mars h a’s sta n d a rd s
and the sta n d a rds of the public. She also bro u g h t
in Culinary Institute of Ameri c a - t rained Re g i n a l d
B rown to head up the kitchen, and Donna Brow n
and Marsha Boykins, graduates of the Baltimore
C u l i n a ry Institute, to assist .
Donna and Marsha will not only be cooking fo r
the re sta u rant, th ey’ll be pre p a ring specialty gourm
et items, including deli, rot i s s e rie and salads, fo r
the gro c e ry — w h i ch also suffe red a bumpy sta rt -
up. That neatly let t e red awning went up early last
s p ring, but months we re spent refurbishing th e
space, buying equipment, finding the right supp
l i e rs and hiring a pro fessional staff. Though a
couple of spots will be available to trainees, most
of the 25 positions have been filled by experienced
personnel. There ’s a gro c e ry manager,
22 www.voiceofthehill.com
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t rained cashiers and sto ck clerks, and two pro d u c e
m a n a g e rs, ex-Marines who used to run farm e r’s
m a rkets.
This is not a big market, but Marsha and Ru th
h ave provided both staples and luxuries. There ’s a
f ruit juice bar that fe a t u res Samanth a’s
S m o othies, “the best fresh juices in Ameri c a ,
a b s o l u t e ly exquisite juices.” There ’s a 32-fo ot produce
section with plenty of organic ve g eta b l e s ,
including greens and carrots. Pa st ries and bre a d s
“ f rom the finest bake ries in Wa s h i n g to n .” The deli
counter has a full assortment of meats and sandw
i ches. The cheese section goes beyond the basic
B rie to goat cheeses and some specialty items fro m
a producer in Ve rmont. Another counter is
sto cked with olives, ro a sted peppers, gourm et salads,
and ta ke-out food selections pre p a red at th e
re sta u rant. Then th e re is a limited, but high qu a l ity
selection of staples like Barilla pasta, “a good
sta n d a rd .” Not 14 musta rds, “just Grey Po u p o n .”
C o rn f l a kes, Cheerios and granola, enough of a
va ri ety so you can please the kids. Brown Cow and
Dannon yo g u rt at the dairy counter. And Haagen
Daz Ice Cream, though no frozen foods, “th e re ’s
n ot enough space.” That reality also ke pt th e m
f rom putting in meats, “T h e re ’s nothing like having
a neighborhood butch e r, but East e rn Market is
j u st a few blocks away.
So it’s all in place, Mars h a’s grand experi m e n t
w i th something she dubs “entre p re n e u rial social
wo rk in the new Ameri c a .” And she cre d i t s
P resident Clinton for helping it to happen.
“T h e re ’s a new message from the Clinton team.
The citizens are to go to wo rk, and we ’re to use th e
e c o n o my and the tax st ru c t u re and other programs
to help. That’s a re i nvention of our social
s e rvice wo rld. We have n’t used wo rk, ta xes and th e
e c o n o my to re a l ly help people befo re. This admini
st ration has said, create jobs, give them jobs, put
them back to wo rk and help that way. This is an
o p p o rtunity for me to test whether th a t’s doable.”
She also took adva n tage of the new energy on
8 th St., energy helped along by the promise of
changes on M St., SE and the Navy Ya rd area. The
B a rra cks Row Main St re et Project should soon be
g etting funds for re n ovating the st re et. The
B a rra cks Row Business Alliance (BBA) is supporting
the shops and re sta u rants. CHAMPS is planning
a Business Imp rovement Dist rict that will
e n c o mpass the area. New businesses are opening,
old ones are re n ovating, landlords are spru c i n g
up, and even the residents of the area are lending
helping hands. “I would love to have the Pre s i d e n t
come, and I’d love to have Secreta ry Cuomo and
S e c reta ry Herman and Secreta ry Slater come and
spend some time in an 8th St., seminar, and list e n
c l o s e ly to the businesses that have developed here ,
and what this community has been able to do. It’s
happening because some people have ta ken a ri s k ,
and the env i ronment and climate is such that yo u
can ta ke that risk and be a little bit more on th e
s a fe side. As we wait for developments at the Nav y
Ya rd, and along M St., th e re ’s this dynamism, a
synergism going on in the neighborhood th a t
m a kes it a great model for what we know th e
C l i n ton administ ration would like to see happen
in communities across the country.”
Yet she is cautious about the long-term success
of her projects, and the projects of oth e rs. “It ultim
a t e ly depends on the neighborhood to support
it. That means we need custo m e rs walking in th e
d o o r. We need people believing in it. Capitol Hill
is fickle. We leave our neighborhood to shop.
What would re a l ly help to make 8th St. successful
is for us to decide that our neighborhood is wo rth
staying in, eating in, and shopping in. That’s what
we have to do, and th a t’s not what we ’re convinced
we have to do yet .”
My response is that it’s a two - way st re et. If businesses
want community support, th ey have to be
re s p o n s i ve to our needs, and too fre qu e n t ly
th ey’re not. The service is poor, the selection inade
quate, and the ow n e rs unwilling to meet our
needs even when aske d .
M a rsha says “yo u’re right that the neighborhood
expects certain things. I was ve ry much
awa re of that when Gro c e ries Greens and Oth e r
Things opened up, not one thing could be missi
n g .” While she feels more residents are willing to
t ry shopping and dining along 8th St., the tri ck
will be to keep them coming back. People have
had their expectations met in places like
“ B l o ck b u ster Video, the Banana Cafe, and Las
P l a c i tas. We ’ve picked some spots that meet our
e x p e c tations, and we ’ve responded. The BBA
needs to bring more businesses into the conve rs ation,
raise them a bit, and then have the community
come back and ch e ck it out. If what you wa n t
is th e re, support it. If it’s not, ask. But we as a
n e i g h b o rhood have to try.”
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
So What’s Happening With Yes! Natural Gourmet?
It is coming, just slower than expected. The health
food sto re that also has locations in Wo o d l ey Pa rk
and Adams Morgan should be open at 64 5
Pe n n s ylvania Ave., SE by the end of the ye a r, says
Kitty Kaupp of Sta n ton Deve l o p m e n t
C o rp o ration, the developer of the building. The
space has been gutted, the superst ru c t u re re p a i re d
and a new roof is on. Next comes the facade
designed by architect Amy We i n stein (who is
responsible for the Bluestone Cafe building, 666
Pe n n s ylvania Avenue, and however many oth e r
refurbished or newly built spaces on the Hill).
Then the ow n e rs can ta ke ove r. We can expect a
www.voiceofthehill.com 23
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sto re similar to the one in Wo o d l ey Pa rk, with a
juice bar, deli, organic produce, bulk herbs and
spices, vitamins and cosmetics.
Talay Thai. The sun was dazzling, the sky a bri lliant
blue, and the air held just the faintest nip of
fall. Eve ry outdoor cafe on the Hill was doing a
b risk bru n ch business on September 18, including
the brand new Ta l ay Thai at 406 1st St., SE. They
c o u l d n’t have wished up a prettier we e kend to
open. No, we have n’t tried it yet, but it looks swe l l
— spacious, bright and ra ther elega n t ly furn i s h e d .
Owner Jalla, who left Thai Town on Connecticut
A venue to open this eatery, says she’s ve ry pleased
w i th the wa rm re c e ption. The re sta u ra n t’s open
M o n d ay- S a t u rd ay from 11:30AM to 3PM fo r
l u n ch, and from 4:30PM to 10PM (10:30 on
S a t u rd ay) for Dinner. Prices are quite moderate, an
ave rage $8 for entrees, $4-$5 for appet i z e rs. Ta l a y
Thai, 546-5100.
Artful Ed Hughes at REMAX Ed Hughes is one
a sto n i s h i n gly talented individual. His murals and
c a nvases grace homes and businesses up and
d own the East Coast. He does stained glass by special
commission, creates eve ry thing from imp o sing
doork n o cke rs to sculpt u res in brass, and is a
delightful carto o n i st and wri t e r. The REMAX Re a l
E state office at 227 7th St., SE will be fe a t u ring Ed’s
wo rk “for the duration of this millennium, and
well into the next millennium, though the collection
will change from time to time, as new wo rks
a re created, and old favo rites find new homes.”
R EMAX is at 220 7th St., SE.
Group Art Show at The VillageN ew wo rks by th re e
e x t ra o rd i n a ry wa t e rc o l o ri sts are now on view at
The Village, in a show that will run th ro u g h
November 5. Included are: Multidimensional
a b st ract wo rks on handmade paper by Sara
S chneidman (who is already well known at th e
shop for her fo l k l o ric gre eting cards); vivid imp re s-
24 www.voiceofthehill.com
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s i o n i stic pieces by Rey Tizon, who uses his fingers
as often as his brushes in the creation of his pieces;
and canvases by Village owner Alan Bra l ey, who’s
e x p e rimenting with a mix of wa t e rcolor and
a c rylic. The Vi l l a ge is at 705 No rth Carolina Ave., SE.
5 4 6 - 3 0 4 0 .
And the Artist goes Round and Round. Now happening
at Zack ’s Re sta u rant on Pe n n s ylva n i a
A venue SE, a mural by art i st AJ Giovanni which is
s l owly creeping around the interior walls. AJ’s also
responsible for Zack ’s art shows, which not only
fe a t u re the wo rk of local art i sts, but benefit
G ra n d m a’s House, the 6 homes in the DC are a
that care for cra ck addicted and HIV positive
babies. AJ holds a “50/50” raffle eve ry We d n e s d ay
and Saturd ay, with half the proceeds going to th e
raffle winner, and the other half to the ch a ri t y.
Raffle entrants can also win dinner for two at a
local re sta u rant, or an 11 x 17 ch a rcoal drawing by
AJ. New art i sts are still being sought for the show,
j u st see AJ at Zack ’s, 613 Pe n n s ylvania Ave., SE,
f rom 7PM to closing. Or call him at the re sta u ra n t ,
54 3 - 73 02.
A Saturday Night Coffee House to Keep You
Perking The Saturd ay night mov i e ’s over but yo u
d o n’t feel like going home yet? Flick on over to
B i st ro Italiano at 320 D St., NE, for a little wine, or
c o f fee and dessert, and live music from 10PM to
1 A M — w i th no cover or minimum. The little
re sta u rant that was fe a t u red last spring in th e
Washington Po st’s “ C ru m my But Good” food column
for its “spaghetti sauce with a nice subtle bite
and sinful fresh-made cannoli” is now making a
p l ay for the late-night crowd. B i st ro Italiano, 320 D
St, NE. 546-4522.
No, You’re Not Seeing Double. There a re t wo Las
P l a c i tas on 8th St re et SE. By the time you pick up
this issue, Cancun Cantina at 723 8th St., SE will
h ave become the Las Placitas Cantina and Las
P l a c i tas at 518 8th St., SE will be...Las Placitas. Got
it? Says Isadoro Amaya, owner of both re sta urants,
th e re was a little conflict with a re sta u ra n t
called Cancun Cantina somew h e re in the wilds
of Maryl a n d .
As long as he’s changing the name, Isadoro figu
red he’d do a little tinke ring with the menu. The
Cantina menu will be including dishes fro m
Argentina, Pe ru and other Latin spots in addition
to the usual succulent Mexican fare. Give it a try
( ch e ck out the new coupon with savings at both
re sta u ra n t s ! )
Oktoberfest at Cafe Berlin B aye ri s cher sch we i n eb
raten mit kummelsobe. Say it in Au g u st and yo u
could pass out from the weight of the wo rds alone.
S ay it on a cool October evening, and it seems just
the thing to wa rm the cockles of your sto m a ch .
I t’s even better in translation: Bava ri a n - st yle ro a st
loin of pork with caraway sauce, which Cafe Berl i n
s e rves with red cabbage and bread dump l i n g s .
T h e re are plenty more treats on the Okto b e rfe st
menu, which begins with Bava rian cream of potato
soup and ends with home made apple st ru d e l
w i th vanilla sauce. And all of it’s in addition to th e
regular assortment of schnitzels and wursts. C a f e
B e rlin, 322 Massachusetts Ave., NE. 543-76 5 6 .
Metropolis Bikes Rolls into the Sunset We have
yet to get to the ve ry bot tom of this, but
M et ropolis Bikes on 8th St., SE has shut down aft e r
20 ye a rs on the Hill. They abru pt ly placed a closed
sign in the window the last week in Sept e m b e r,
and appare n t ly didn’t even notify emp l oyees th a t
th ey we re closing. Sta f fe rs showed up the fo l l owing
day to find the doors locked and the sto re
cleaned out
If you call the number on the placard a
m a ch i n e - voice tells you to call the Virginia sto re
for info rmation. Un fo rt u n a t e ly, the Virginia location
also seems to have closed. The message on
that machine th a n ks custo m e rs for their business
and re fe rs them to Spokes Bicycles in Alexa n d ri a
for serv i c e .
A spokesman from Spokes couldn’t shed any
light on the closing but said that all bikes th a t
we re in for service at Met ropolis are at Spokes fo r
p i ck-up. They’ve been trying to re a ch ow n e rs to
l et them know where their bikes are. If you have
n ot re c e i ved a call, you can re a ch Spokes at 703 -
8 20 - 2 200. The sto re is also offe ring one free tuneup
on any bike purchased at Met ropolis that is less
than a year old. S p o kes is at 1545 N. Qu a ker Lane in
Al e x a n d ria (take 395 to Glebe Rd. Exit).
Star Studded Guests. It’s getting to be an eve ry d ay
thing at the too too chic Hotel George. In just a
handful of days in late September th ey we l c o m e d
M i chael J. Fox, in town to testify befo re Congre s s
about Pa rk i n s o n’s Disease, MASH star Loret ta
Swit, and the lady who singl e - h a n d e d ly turn e d
e g g - b e a t e rs into relics by teaching us to wield th e
w i re whisk, Julia Child.
The Fre n ch Chef was in town, along with fe l l ow
c u l i n a ry genius Jacques Pepin, to host a $500 per
plate dinner for WETA support e rs at La Colline,
and introduce their new PBS series and book, J u l i a
and Jacques Cooking at Home. S ays La Colline’s Pa u l
Zucconi, “dinner went off without a hitch .
T h ey’re both ve ry congenial personalities. Both
posed patiently for photo graphs with guests, and
signed copies of the book.” And what was serve d
for half a grand? A glazed st u f fed crepe with
jumbo crabmeat, fo l l owed by “line caught” bass
w i th a cri s py pota to cru st in red bercy and black
t ruffle emulsion, fo l l owed by to u rnedos (beef tend
e rloin) “poele” with a ga l ette of polenta, art ich
o ke bot tom filled with cepes, and ro a sted fo i e
gras pinot noir sauce. Then th e re was salad of julie
n n e ’s of Belgian endives and Gru ye re with wa lnut
dressing. And finally, a wa rm feuillantine of
b l a ck mission figs with cream Anglaise. Fi ve wines
a c c o mpanied the five courses, all from Ke n d a l l -
J a ckson. Both the Hotel George and La Colline, by
the way, donated rooms and meals to WETA. All
in the cause of fine pro gramming for those of us
that spent the evening in front of the tube eating
m a c a roni and ch e e s e .
M e a nwhile, spied around the corner at the qu iet
ly elegant Wa s h i n g ton Court Hotel, was infamous
fight pro m oter Don King being fo l l owe d
about the lobby by his personal videogra p h e r.
Said source, “we i rd e st damn thing I’ve ever seen.”
The Business Bits section is written by Voice editor
Stephanie Cava n a u g h
lign your body,
mind and spirit
PE R S O N A L G ROWT H A N D S PI R I T UA L
M E N TO R I N G
CORRIN BENNETT, M.S., ADTR
Experienced Personal Growth
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since 1976
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www.voiceofthehill.com 25
Tom & Alice Faison
REMAX Real Esta t e
2 20 7th St., SE 547 - 5 8 81
John C. Fo rm a n t
John C. Fo rmant Real Esta t e
225 PA Ave., SE 544 - 3 9 00
Pa rdoe Real Esta t e
6 05 PA Ave., SE 54 6 - 7000
See our ad on the back cove r
Ya rm o u th Management
309 7th St., SE 547 - 3 511
See our ad on page 13
J a ckie von Schlegel
REMAX Real Esta t e
2 20 7th St., 547 - 5 6 00
P hyllis Jane Young
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6 05 PA Ave., SE 54 6 - 7000
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703 D St., SE Wa s h i n g ton DC 544 - 4 3 00
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C o n gressional Ti t l e
650 PA Ave., SE 544 - 0 8 00
See our ad on page 28
E a st e rn Market Ti t l e
210 7th St., SE 54 6 - 3100
See our ad on page28
Restaurants
Banana Café
4 00 8th St., SE 54 3 - 5 9 0 6
See our ad on page 21
Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cre a m
3 27 7th St., SE 54 6 - CA K E
See our ad on page 26
B l u e stone Cafe
3 27 7th St., SE 547 - 9 007
See our ad on page 9
C a f fe Ita l i a n o
1129 PA Ave., SE 544 - 5 5 00
See our ad on page 13
E l l i n g to n’s on 8th
4 24A 8th St SE 54 6 - 8 3 0 8
See our ad on page 24
H awk ‘n’ Dove
329 PA Ave., SE 54 3 - 3 3 00
See our ad on page 6
Antiques
A n t i ques on the Hill
701 No rth Carolina Ave., SE
See our ad on page 26
Arts Center
C a p i tol Hill Arts Wo rks h o p
545 7th St., SE 547 - 6 8 3 9
See our ad on page 20
Association
CH A M P S
6 21 PA Ave., SE 547 - 7788
See our ad on page 19
Bank
National Capital Bank
316 PA Ave.,SE 54 6 - 8 000
See our ad on page 2
Book Buyer
R i ve r by Books
419 E. Capitol St., SE 547 - 3 2 2 8
See our ad on page 38
Business Consultant
The Baldwin Gro u p
611 PA Ave., SE, 544 - 2 877
See our ad on page 38
Chimney Cleaning
Wi n sto n’s Chimney Serv i c e
Wa s h i n g ton DC (301 ) 571 - 8 54 6
See our ad on page 23
Church
C h ri st Church Wa s h i n g ton Pa ri s h
6 20 G St., SE 547 - 9 3 00
See our ad on page 6
Clothing & Gifts
A rt & Soul
225 PA Ave., SE 54 8 - 0105
See our ad on page 27
Red River We st e rn We a r
641 PA Ave., SE 54 6 - 5 5 6 6
See our ad on page 31
The Village
705 N. Carolina Ave., SE 54 6 - 3 0 4 0
See our ad on page 20
Computer Consultant
B etter Computer Solutions
623 N. Carolina Ave., SE 54 6 - 8 0 84
See our ad on page 28
Drug Store
G rubbs Care Pharm a c y
326 E Capitol SE 54 3 - 44 00
See our ad on page 14
Garden and Landscape
Holler Landscapes
54 3 - 5172
See our ad on page 22
Grocery
The 8th St re et Market
419 8th St., SE
G ro c e ries Greens & Other Things!
Hardware
Fra g e rs Hard wa re
1115 Pe n n s ylvania Ave., SE 54 3 - 6157
See our ad on page 14
Health & Fitness
GI Jane
645 Pe n n s ylvania Ave., SE 547 - 7 9 0 6
See our ad on page 26
Home Furnishings
Woven Histo ry
311 7th St., SE 54 3 - 1705
See our ad on page 22
Home Repair
Fe d e ral City Iro n
3 21 K St., NE 547 - 1945
See our ad on page 22
Handyman on the Hill
Wa s h i n g ton DC 20 6 - 718 5
See our ad on page 30
H&W Const ru c t i o n
13 02 S Carolina Ave., SE 398-7117
See our ad on page 20
Hotel
C a p i tol Hill Suites
200 C St., SE Wa s h i n g ton DC 54 3 - 020 9
See our ad on page 15
Income Tax Services
J a ckson Hewitt Tax Serv i c e
8 th St., SE 554 - 8 84 0
See our ad on page 10
Lawyers
R i ck Halberstein & Ka ren Byrn e
705 D St., SE 54 3 - 1110
Pet Supplies
D o o l i t t l e ’s Pet Supply
2 24 7th St., SE 544 - 8710
See our ad on page 23
Picture Framing
Frame of Mine
522 8th St., SE 54 3 - 3 03 0
See our ad on page 17
N ewman Gallery and Custom Fra m e s
511 11 th St., SE 544 - 7577
See our ad on page 16
Plumbing & Heating
L e a k b u st e rs Plumbing & Re m o d e l i n g
202 544 - 5 000
See our ad on page 24
Real Estate
Thom Burns
C o l d well Banker Real Esta t e
109 8th St. NE 547 - 5 8 05
L a rry C
Pa rdoe Real Esta t e
6 05 PA Ave., SE 54 6 - 7000
Directory Listings:
Beginning with this issue of the Voice of the Hill we’ll be including a yellow-pages style directory of businesses and services that
cater to the Capitol Hill community. Businesses that would like to be included in the directory must commit to a one-year contract,
payable in advance by check, Visa or Mastercard. The annual fee is $250. Display advertisers on annual contracts will be
included in the directory at no additional charge.
Each business will be given three lines in the directory; two must be used for the company name,address and phone number. An
extra line is available for your name,a description of your business or service,or a direction to see your ad. Additional lines may
be added at an annual cost of $60 per line (per year).
If you would like to be included in our November directory, please fill in the following form and send it, along with your check or
payment information, to: The Voice of the Hill, 120 11th St.,SE, Washington,DC 20003. If you have questions please call Bruce
Robey at 544-0703.
Your Name:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Company Name: ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Address: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Phone: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Business Description: (30 character maximum) _____________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Please charge my Mastercard or Visa
Name on Card:__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Card Number: _______________________________________________________________________Expiration Date:____________
Las Placita s
518 8th St., SE 54 3 - 3700
See our ad on page 6
M i ckey’s Pa t i o
406 8th St., SE 544 - 4 84 2
See our ad on page 31
Pa rk Café
106 13 th St., SE 54 3 - 0184
See our ad on page 37
Tu n n i c l i f fs Tave rn
222 7th St., SE 54 6 - 3 6 6 3
See our ad on page 16
White Ti g e r
3 01 Mass. Ave., NE 54 6 - 5 9 00
See our ad on page 30
Salon
RPM Salon
225 PA Ave., SE 54 3 - 64 81
See our ad on page 23
Social Services
C a p i tol Hill Group Minist ry
4 21 Sewa rd Sq., SE 544 - 03 8 5
See our ad on page 22
Schools
C a p i tol Hill Day Sch o o l
210 S. Carolina Ave., SE 547 - 2 244
See our ad on page 33
Edmond Burke Sch o o l
2955 Upton St., NW 362-8882
See our ad on page 12
L evine School of Music
2 8 01 Upton St., NW 686-9772
See our ad on page 31
St Pet e r’s Sch o o l
422 3rd St., SE 544 - 1618
See our ad on page 15 & 32
Spiritual Advisors
C o rrin Bennet t
9 20 G St., SE 54 3 - 5 8 2 5
See ad on page 24
G a b rielle Hill
639 E. Capitol SE 544 - 4 3 8
See ad on page 29
Yoga Studio
Dancing Heart Center for Yo ga
2 21 5th St., NE 544 - 0 841
See our ad on page 29
Business Serv i c e s
26 www.voiceofthehill.com
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The Voice Meets Fresh Fields—
At Last!
Neighborhood Petitions Presented to President
Fi n a l ly, and at last, your 400-odd petitions have
been turned over to Michael Besancon, pre s i d e n t
of Fresh Fields Mid-Atlantic Region. Here ’s th e
scoop. Besancon is new to the region, he wa s
t ra n s fe rred from LA back in January, and he is now
scouting new sto re locations. Fresh Fields plans to
double their number of sto res within the next 5
ye a rs .
In response to our agitation, he visited the Hill
in Au g u st, and said he is “most excited” about th e
d eveloping area around M St.,, SE and the Nav y
Ya rd. The location would be accessible from SW
( you think we have a lousy Safeway), and the Hill.
It would also be good for the thousands of gove rnment
and pri vate wo rke rs who will be filling all of
the new offices that will be built in just a few short
ye a rs. “I would love to be th e re ,” he said. But, he
has certain re qu i rements.
Fresh Fields does pre fer wide-open spaces. They
want a site big enough for a sto re that is at least
3 0 , 000 sq. ft., with additional room for a spacious
p a rking lot. The new sto re th ey’re building at 144 0
P St., NW, which should be comp l eted by late next
s p ring, is 38,000 sq. ft. and will have 10 , 000 sq. ft .
of parking. Though th ey’ve done some conto rtions
to fit parking into aw k wa rd spaces in
G e o r g etown and on upper Wisconsin Ave n u e ,
th ey would ra ther not “go down for parking. The
c o sts are phenomenal.”
T h ey’re not afraid of cities. Fresh Fields sto res in
DC, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago and San
Francisco “are among the highest grossing sites.
The volume is phenomenal.” But when yo u’re
dealing with multiple pro p e rty ow n e rs it ta ke s
time and a lot of headaches to put the right space
to g eth e r. It took them 20 ye a rs to carve out
enough turf in New Yo rk City; their first sto re is
n ow being built on the lower East Side.
Though income matters, education level is
m o re imp o rtant. They look seri o u s ly at any are a
w h e re at least 40% of the residents have college
d e grees. That put Chapel Hill, No rth Carolina, on
their map, despite fairly low median family
income. They are also intere sted in areas with a lot
of singles, couples with no ch i l d ren, and gays —
since the disposable income tends to be higher.
The demographics for Capitol Hill mesh with
Fresh Fields re qu i rements; that he already sees.
The next step is finding the right space and th e
right deve l o p e r. Councilmember Ambrose has
a s s u red us that she will call Besancon and th e
n ewly appointed DC Deputy Mayor for Economic
D evelopment Eric Price. She says th e re are a number
of city owned, and pri va t e ly owned, sites
s o u th of the Fre eway that might be appro p ri a t e ,
and that the city must “ta ke a more pro - a c t i ve
role” in attracting businesses such as Fresh Fi e l d s .
When it comes to the developing M St. St rip, no
one has a better handle on intere sted deve l o p e rs ,
and what can and cannot be done with the va rious
parcels of public and pri vate land, than our
C o u n c i l m e m b e r.
Diagonal Parking Proposed for 8th
Street, SE
Bureau of Traffic Services Completes Study
In response to a re qu e st by the Barra cks Row
Business Alliance (BBA), the Traffic Safety Bra n ch
of the DC Bureau of Traffic Services has comp l et e d
a study of parking and traffic in the 8th St. corrid
o r. They have suggested that many of the parking
spaces on the south side of the st re et, bet we e n
D and M Sts., SE, be changed to angled spaces.
T h ey also supported changing the portion of 8th
St. that lies south of the Fre eway from one-way to
t wo - way traffic. The modifications are intended to
c reate more parking and ease the flow of traffic.
A p p roval by 75% of the businesses in the corridor
must