Saturday, July 2: Catch Freshlyground at the Black Cat on 14th Street. (Laura Herman)
From Laura Herman of LauraLikesThis. Laura is also a contributor over at Brightest Young Things; you can find her on Twitter @Lmhhabs.
It’s a Holiday Weekend, Borderstanis! And you know what that means… one extra day (more if you’re lucky) for fantastic weekend pursuits. If you’re planning to stick around town this weekend, here’s your guide to maximum three-day weekend fun:
Friday, July 1
Happy July…this weekend marks the beginning of JulyPA Days at Pizzeria Paradiso. The restaurant will have all IPAs on draft at all three locations, including 2003 P Street NW for the entire month.
At night, get into patriotic party mode at 9:30 Club’s (815 V Street NW) infamous ’90s Dance Party. DJs Will Eastman and Brian Billion will be spinning the decade’s most memorable hits. Tickets are $15 and available here. Doors at 9 pm.
Saturday, July 2
Looking for a pool party? Dubsplash will be making their regular weekly summer appearance at the Capitol Skyline (10 “I” Street SW). This week features “Big Freedia,” the queen of the New Orleans booty-bounce scene, DJ Rusry Laze and DJ Keenan Orr. Doors open at 11 am and the show(s) start at 4 pm. Admission is $20 at the door.
The proposed building that would replace the current one-floor structures at the southeast corner of 14th and Wallach NW caught the attention of some neighbors. (Luis Gomez Photos)
From Matty Rhoades
Borderstan would love to hear from you on the subject of development and other subjects related to the Dupont-Logan-U Street area. Got an idea for a column? Email us at [email protected].
The battle lines over local development and new businesses close to residential areas often elicit a vehement yes or no. What you don’t always get is a yes, but or no, and here’s why.
When we found out that Doug Johnson was part of a new local blog, U Street Dirt, we wanted to find out more about the site and the reasons behind it. Was this a “no more development around 14th and U” gauntlet being thrown down, or something else? Johnson says he wants good development (a subjective term to be sure) and that he is not against density. Decide for yourself; we used a Q&A format.
Johnson and his partner, Craig Brownstein, are among the founders-editors of the site, Who Murdered Robert Wone? and and are also the creators of Puck Buddys. They live on Wallach Place NW, a block of row houses and back gardens that runs from 13th to 14th — just one street south of bustling U Street NW and right off the 14th Street corridor.
Johnson on a vision for the neighborhood: “NOT Ballston [an area of Arlington]. It seems that some people — a few I think, and mostly not residents — want to turn what is a genuine neighborhood into a phony one. One that’s more about chain restaurants rather than a dingy but useful Post Office…”
Borderstan: Can you define for us the mission of your new site? Is the focus on business and development?
“Pod S3″ by Lauren K. Sleat, charcoal on paper, 11″ x 14” (Image courtesy gallery plan b)
Staying in town and want to stay cool? Spend an afternoon in local galleries (remember that most are closed on Mondays.) What’s showing?
Three exhibitions opened just last week… at Long View Gallery on 9th Street NW catch “Creative Process: Four Artists’ Expressions Through Uniquely Different Mediums”… at gallery plan b on 14th Street NW go see “PODS”… and at the Hamiltonian Gallery on U Street NW, take in “Fellows Converge: Broadly Thinking,” the annual show of the 10 Hamiltonian Fellows.
Also showing in the neighborhood are:
- “Evan Reed: traveling past proun” at the Project 4 Gallery on U Street.
- “Susan Weil and Jose Bentancourt: Blueprints” at the Bronfman Gallery inside the DC Jewish Community Center.
- “Workingman Collective: Prospects and Provisions” at Hemphill Fine Arts on 14th Street.
- “Tribute” at Irvine Contemporary on 14th Street.
Get more details below on the 12 galleries in the Logan-Shaw-U Street area.
From Matty Rhoades
The following are crimes of note from the past week — robberies, assaults, sex crimes, drug crimes, stolen autos and burglaries in the Dupont Circle, Logan Circle and U Street neighborhoods. Crimes are from police reports for Police Service Areas (PSAs) 208 (Dupont-Kalorama), 305 (includes U Street area) and 307 (Logan Circle).
“Churchkey” is from Lauren PM in the Borderstan Flickr Pool.
From Luis Gomez. You can follow Luis on Twitter @LuisGomezPhotos and at One Photograph A Day.
Photos of the Day are pulled from the Borderstan Reader Photos pool on Flickr.
Today’s photo, “Churchkey,” was taken byLauren PM, June 20, from inside the Churchkey restaurant on 14th Street NW.
If you don’t already have a Flickr account, you will need to sign up for one, and then join the Borderstan Reader Photos group. Already a Flickr member? Join the group! You can submit up to five photos per day in the Borderstan reader pool. We are looking for photos from D.C.’s Dupont, Logan and U Street neighborhoods.
Click on the collage for more photos: Lost Society will open this Friday at the northeast corner of 14th and U Streets NW. (Alejandra Owens)
This post is by Alejandra Owens. You can find her on Twitter at @frijolita or her food blog, One Bite At A Time.
Check out the preview photos of the Lost Society space and some of the dishes you’ll find on the menu.
14th Street. The city’s new restaurant mecca… or, at least wannabe mecca. While some are still only talking about opening a restaurant on 14th Street, others are actually doing it. Enter: Lost Society.
This three-floor, boutique steakhouse is designed to evoke “feelings of a Victorian underground scene.” Velvet curtains envelop dining booths, purple velvet couches are plush and deep and there’s the Victorian bust wall paper to round out the “rich and old” vibe without the more literal “ducks, wood panel walls and dark green paint” D.C.’s usual steakhouse gives you.
Ruff & Ready: D.C. Councilmember Jim Graham takes a Sunday-afternoon break in front of the resale furniture shop at 14th and T NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)
From Michelle Lancaster. Talk to me on Twitter @MichLancaster.
Open Meetings Now Actually Open
Remember the furor around reporters getting tossed out of D.C. Taxicab Commission meetings? Remember how we thought it was odd the Commission could remove people from open meetings? Well, it turns out there was literally nothing on the law books about whether or not people could record public meetings. DCist reports this may change in the near future, as the D.C. Attorney General is seeking to clarify the law through a strongly worded comment to the Commission.
Bidding Wars Back in Area Real Estate
Apparently, the economy has bounced back enough to inspire some bidding wars or skirmishes in area real estate again. As the Washington Post reports, people are still spending exorbitant sums of money to live in Reston, Bethesda and Georgetown. A quick check of Trulia.com indicates that Borderstan is no exception to condos selling at full price or at least well over the value at which they were appraised.
“Willard Street” is from tedeytan in the Borderstan Flickr pool.
From Luis Gomez. You can follow Luis on Twitter @LuisGomezPhotos and at One Photograph A Day.
Photos of the Day are pulled from the Borderstan Reader Photos pool on Flickr.
Today’s photo, “Willard Street,” is from tedeytan and was taken on June 19 on the 1700 block. Tedeytan says “Not quite warwick avenue, but stunning, nonetheless”.
If you don’t already have a Flickr account, you will need to sign up for one, and then join the Borderstan Reader Photos group. Already a Flickr member? Join the group and submit up to five photos per day in the pool. We are looking for photos from D.C.’s Dupont, Logan and U Street neighborhoods.
From Mary Burgan
There has been a lot of controversy about Terrence Malick‘s new film The Tree of Life. Some critics call it “pretentious.” Others use words like “transcendent.” I am not going to use either word, but I will warn you not to go into the theater with a noisy bag of popcorn or a cough.
The opening twenty-some minutes are the quietest I’ve ever experienced, and the most solemn. You don’t want to be rattling paper as a family mourns the death of a son in stricken silence on the screen, or as an eerie flame flickers, signifying the beginning of creation.
My down-to-earth introductory remark will suggest that I am a skeptic about this controversial film, as I am. But if I won’t call it “transcendent,” I won’t dismiss it as “pretentious” either. Malick’s previous work — Badlands and Days of Heaven are my favorites — calls for a little more reverence, after all, and The Tree of Life has intrinsic value not only in its aspirations but in its achievements.
Never leave anything of value visible in your car. Thefts from autos are the most common crime in the area. (Luis Gomez Photos)
From Matty Rhoades
The number of crimes in Police Service Area (PSA) 208 in May was virtually identical compared to May 2010. On a year-over-year (YOY) basis, there were 198 crimes last month compared to 199 in May of last year. Violent crime decreased slightly while property crime increased slightly overall.
Year to date, violent crime in 208 is basically unchanged from the same period in 2010: there have been 119 violent crimes compared to 122 last year (January 1 to June 26 period). But, year to date, property crime is up 32%: 992 property crimes so far this year compared to 753 last year.
A big chunk of the increase is due to thefts from autos. There have been 398 so far this year compared to 228 in the same period of 2010. Burglaries have doubled from 49 in the January 1 to June 26 period of 2010 to 105 so far this year.
May Numbers
How do the May numbers compare to April and March in the Dupont area? In April, violent crime was steady from the previous year while property rose 31% YOY. In March, property crime increased 69% on a YOY basis from March 2010 in PSA 208. The most noticeable increase in March was in thefts from autos, which were up 146%; thefts and burglaries also increased in March.
The number of thefts from autos in PSA 208 increased again in May. (MPD Crime Database)
May 2011 Decreases: There were decreases in robberies (15, down from 20 last year), thefts (75, down from last May’s 93) and stolen autos (eight last month, compared to 12 a year ago).
May 2011 Increases: The big increase was in thefts-from-autos (“smash and grabs”) — there were 75 last month compared to 57 in May 2010. Assaults were up slightly in May (nine last month compared to seven in May 2010). Burglaries were also up in 208 (16 compared to nine in May 2010).
PSA 208 covers the Dupont-Kalorama area. We compare crime statistics on a year-over-year basis by month; this helps account for seasonal differences in crime. All numbers are from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Crime Database.
The grand ballroom of the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel was the site of the 2011 RAMMYs.(Alejandra Owens)
This post is by Alejandra Owens. You can find her on Twitter at @frijolita and at her food blog One Bite At A Time.
We live in D.C…. the land of alphabet-soup agencies and associations galore. And with associations, comes their awards ceremonies, galas and black tie events where industry professionals let their hair down and cut some rug.
Last night, the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington held its annual awards gala, also known as The RAMMYs. Chefs take off their whites, don tuxedos and gowns and get into a competitive, but friendly spirit with awards such as Best New Restaurant and Best Beverage/Mixology Program.
I believe I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again: damn it’s good to live and eat in Borderstan.
Neighborhood (and really, citywide) favorites like Birch & Barley, Tabard Inn and Estadio were all big winners this year (see below for categories) — and deservedly so.
Congrats to everyone from the restaurateurs who bring these great spots to our ‘hood and the staff that make us go back time and time again! Bravo!
- Best New Restaurant: Estadio, 1520 14th Street NW
- Upscale Casual Restaurant: Tabard Inn, 1739 N Street NW
- Pastry Chef: Tiffany MacIsaac, Neighborhood Restaurant Group (includes Birch & Barley and Churchkey, 1337 14th Street NW)
- Rising Culinary Star: Kyle Bailey, Birch & Barley
“Early Morning in Dupont Circle is from specimenlife in the Borderstan Flickr pool.
From Luis Gomez. You can follow Luis on Twitter @LuisGomezPhotos and at One Photograph A Day.
Photos of the Day are pulled from the Borderstan Reader Photos pool on Flickr.
Today’s photo, “Early Morning in Dupont Circle,” was taken by specimenlife on June 4.
If you don’t already have a Flickr account, you will need to sign up for one, and then join the Borderstan Reader Photos group. Already a Flickr member? Join the group! You can submit up to five photos per day in the Borderstan reader pool. We are looking for photos from D.C.’s Dupont, Logan and U Street neighborhoods.
PSA 307: There were 22 thefts from autos in May, up from four in May of last year. Year to date, thefts from autos are up 121% in PSA 307 compared to 2010. (MPD Crime Database)
From Matty Rhoades
Due to a 97% rise in property crime, total crime in the Logan Circle area was up substantially in May from the previous year. On a year-over-year (YOY) basis, there were 74 crimes reported in Police Service Area (PSA) 307 last month, compared to 42 in April 2010.
The biggest increase was in thefts from autos (“smash and grabs”) or “TFAs,” but there were also more thefts, burglaries and stolen autos in the Logan Circle-area PSA. YOY the number of property crimes almost doubled, from 32 in May 2010 to 63.
There was a similar increases in TFAs and thefts in the Logan Circle in April and March as well. Year to date (January 1-June 26), property crime in PSA 307 is up 42% compared to last year. There were 212 property crimes from January 1 to June 26, 2010 — but 300 for the same period this year. The biggest increase is in TFAs, which are up 121% on a YOY basis; there have been 154 such crimes so far this year compared to 71 for the same period of last year.
Violent crime rose slightly last month YOY. There were 11 reported violent crimes in 307 last month compared to nine to previous May. There were a combined nine robberies and assaults last month — the same as the previous May. Last month there were two reported sex abuse crimes in 307. However, year to date, violent crime is down slightly in 307: There have been 57 violent crimes so far this year compared to 61 in the same period of 2010.
How do May numbers for 307 compare to April and March? Find out: Logan Circle Smash and Grabs on the Rise and Logan Circle: Property Crime Up in March.
PSA 307 covers an area from L Street NW on the south to S Street NW on the north and from 9th Street NW on the east to 15th Street NW on the west. All numbers are from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Crime Database.
The Trendline
What does the May trendline show for PSA 307?
- May 2011: 74 crimes (11 of them violent crimes)
- May 2010: 42 crimes (9 of them violent crimes)
- May 2009: 126 crimes (31 of them violent crimes)
- May 2008: 79 crimes (10 of them violent crimes)
Specific crimes for May are listed below.
The townhouse complex at 14th and Riggs NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)
From Tom Hay. Questions for Tom? Send him an email. You can follow him on Twitter @Tomonswann.
A look at recent developments related to business and politics in the Borderstan area…
Gold Mines on 14th and 11th Streets
Lydia DePillis at Washington City Paper has the details on the effort by Monument Realty and another developer to convince the owners of prime Logan Circle property to sell. The townhouses on 14th between Riggs and S Streets NW and another grouping at 11th and N Streets NW — perhaps best known as textbook examples of bad 1970s architecture — were built as affordable rental properties and then sold to residents in 1998 for bargain prices. The developer’s plans for redevelopment hinge on whether the parcels may be rezoned for higher density and the vote of condominium association members who are being offered top dollar for their homes.
Monument is offering the current owners six or seven times the price they paid almost 10 years ago in order to take over the property, demolish the buildings and redevelop it. 14th & You has a great assessment of the article. “‘We’re living on a gold mine!’ one resident protested. ‘You can live on the gold mine for the rest of your life!’ said Monument’s Josh Olsen… ‘You’re not going to get gold out of the gold mine unless you sell!’ ”
Tuesday is the June date for the U Street Movie Series at Harrison Field. The short is The Poodle Trainer and the feature is Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. Gates open at 7 pm at the field of the Harrison Recreation Center on the 1300 block of V Street NW.
Admission is free, and all films, with the exception of October’s Waiting for Superman, will be shown outdoors at the field at Harrison Recreation Center. Attendees are encouraged to come early, starting at 7 pm, to picnic in the park and listen to music spun by local DJs.
All shows will begin at sundown, so the exact times will vary. Several local food truck vendors will be on site serving food. On the June and August “family” nights, children can play in a moonbounce from 7 to 8:30 pm before the films.
Donations and sponsorships towards the event are accepted online and benefit Friends of Harrison Recreation Center, a nonprofit formed in 2009 that works directly with the DC Department of Parks and Recreation. The movie series is organized by Friends of Harrison Recreation Center, the U Street Neighborhood Association and the Meridian Hill Neighborhood Association. (See Summertime: U Street Movie Series Starts May 24.)
