Reading Room

Project to Deck Over Interstate Begins

Looking north from E Street NW.

Capital Crossing, the massive project to construct buildings over parts of Interstate 395, has begun. The interstate currently runs through parts of SW and NW DC, ending rather abruptly near New York Ave NW. The Capitol Crossing project aims to build five new buildings over an exposed portion of 395 from E St W to Massachusetts Ave NW. The exposed portion is open to the air, but it runs below grade.

There are five buildings planned for the seven acre site including 1,000 underground parking spaces for cars, and almost 500 spots for bikes. The buildings total 2.2 million square feet, consisting of mostly office and retail. The intestate will remain operational during and after construction. When complete, it will exist underground; with new entrance and exit tunnels emerging from Massachusetts Ave and 2nd St NW, respectively. 

You can see renderings here, at the project website. The building designs consist of very DC-typical, squat, unimaginative glass boxes. The way some of the buildings engage the surrounding streets (E Street, especially) are underwhelming at best, detrimental at worst. In better news, F Street will get a new block between 2nd and 3rd, and the Mass Ave frontage looks more promising.

The entire project isn't scheduled to be complete until summer of 2019, as the new buildings will come in phases. However, the changes are already visible and this project promises to continue changing the East End over the next five years.

Area under construction marked. Image and Map Data © Google 2015.

American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial

DC's newest completed memorial is just south of the Capitol Building in Southwest DC. The American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial opened this week. As the name suggests it is meant to honor disabled American veterans of war, from the past and present. The memorial is located at 150 Washington Ave SW, at the corner of C and 2nd Streets. The closest Metro station is Federal Center SW and there is an adjacent Capital Bikeshare station at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services building. Some photos: 

Rosa Parks, National Statuary Hall

July 4th - More than Fireworks!

Everyone knows the real July 4th show happens AFTER the official NPS fireworks; by way of alleyways and sidewalks all over the city. If you have access to a 360° view rooftop, you'll likely be entertained with DIY firework displays from as far away as Silver Spring and Alexandria, often ending well after midnight. 

There is also plenty to do before the big show, that don't involve fireworks. Here are some of the other events happening Thursday

Declaration of Independence Reading: This is cool. Historic interpreters (Thomas Jefferson et al.) will stage a dramatic reading of the Declaration of Independence. Then it will be stolen again -for real- by Nick Cage. I heard a rumor he was broke. At the National Archives from 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM.

Smithsonian Folk Life Festival: I used to flock to this cultural overload of a festival religiously each year. Haven't gone in a while, but need to get back into it this year. Same three-tiered format of investigations into world and domestic cultural affectations: Hungarian Heritage: Roots to Revival, One World, Many Voices: Endangered Languages & Cultural Heritage, and Will to Adorn: African American Identity and the Aesthetics of Dress. There is a full schedule of events this Thursday. It's on the National Mall between 14th and 9th Sts.

Nationals Baseball Game: Not sure why the Nats don't wear their patriotic jerseys for every game. They really love America (i.e. the military). A lot. They do wear them on Memorial Day, and July 4th. In addition to wearing the special jerseys, the Nationals will pause the game after the third inning so Neil Diamond can perform his new song, "Freedom Song," live. He'll perform it again at the Capitol Fourth celebration later in the evening. As of this morning there are lots of tickets left for this game, which has an early first pitch time of 11:05 AM.

National Independence Day Parade: Never been to this one. The official National Independence Day Parade will begin at 11:45 AM from 7th St and Constitution Ave NW and run until about 2:00 PM, finishing at 17th and Constitution. It won't be televised this year, so if you want to see it, you'll have to be there in person. Participants.

Capitol Fourth Concert: A Capitol Fourth is generally considered the official event for Independence Day. It's broadcast on PBS and happens on the west lawn of the United States Capitol Building just before the big fireworks show. This event is open to the public and free! The temporary gates to the west lawn will open at 3:00 PM. You should arrive by 6:00 PM to get a decent seat in order to see the concert. The show starts at 8:00 PM. It will run until 9:30 PM. The host is Tom Bergeron (Dancing With The Stars). Other performers include Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond, and Megan Hilty. No, there will be no Tony Danza this year. BUMMER.

Fireworks!: The official NPS Fireworks display will begin at 9:10 PM and have a duration of 17 minutes. They are launched over the Reflecting Pool and can bee seen from roof tops all over the District, some of Northern Virginia, as well as the National Mall, of course.

Be safe everyone!

Out and About: North of Massachusetts, Part II

Part I, from yesterday. Part II, from today:

Retail is often the most visible measure of vitality (if not the most accurate) of a mixed use neighborhood. Residential can be hidden or low key, office space only shows itself during the daylight hours and nite life spots are often dark on weekdays and even some weeknights. But retail is pretty easy to eyeball. Either it's there or it's not.

The retail collection in NoMa is eclectic, but fitting for an area with more workers than residents. TD Bank, Potbelly, and Tynan Coffee & Tea recently opened. A small strip of retail including Five Guys and Pound Coffee is located across from the Holiday Inn Marriot Courtyard. These are all retail options that can serve residents and tourists, but also feed a growing office worker contingent. 1,900 DOJ workers just moved in and 1,400 GSA employees are moving in as we speak.

Harris Teeter is opening a grocery this week, a CVS is opening in January and NoMa's first white tablecloth sit down restaurant is scheduled to open in April inside the new Hilton Hotel. That is a lightening fast opening schedule for the next six months. I guess I wonder who will patronize the businesses until a critical mass of residents move in. There are obviously residential areas right across North Capitol St, NY Ave and the other side of the rail tracks, but at what point is it worth actually coming into NoMa for those residents. Potbelly probably won't do it, but perhaps having Harris Teeter as an anchor will help bring nearby residents to the area and the other businesses (Tynan, TD Bank, Pound) will start get regular use from non-office workers. And Walmart --still unbelievably-- has very early plans for 801 New Jersey Ave NW. For all the new construction though, there has to be more than Potbelly's, CVS and a few dry cleaners in order for NoMa to be considered a destination.

I hope there are places that normal people can live in this neighborhood. The limited new residential projects price out anyone in my salary range and probably the next tax bracket up, too. Really a shame. I guess that's my real hope for this neighborhood. That it can be unique as a tightly knit, very planned, vibrant community, but also that it can be a place that will create options for more than just the wealthy. More on NoMa as it develops, on paper and on the ground. And more photos!

Constitution Square

ATF HQ and NY Ave Metro

Public seating; a nice touch

Looking north on 1st St NE

Office with retail, future Hilton on the right

Archstone's 469 unit apartment building underway

Future NPR site

Constitution Square

Out and About: North of Massachusetts

 NoMa --or North of Massachusetts Avenue-- is what can best be described as a fledgling, but ambitious, engineered, mixed-use neighborhood. The typical Washington anchor is there (government offices filled with employees). The transportation is there (Metro, bike share, Amtrak, bus station). Even the retail is coming along (grocery store, coffee shop, bank). Add to that mix a hotel, new residential and built-in nite life spots, and you're on the way to a real live neighborhood, right?

I visited last week. To me the neighborhood is dressed for prom --well dressed-- but still waiting for its date who has yet to show. The set up is quite nice. The boundaries are generally Mass Ave, North Capitol St NE, New York Ave NE and 3rd St NE. The official BID lines expand a little further. (NoMa BID is one of the driving forces working to shape and market the neighborhood). Essentially, the neighborhood is adjacent to Capitol Hill. You can see and walk to the Capitol Building and Senate office buildings without breaking a sweat. And the rail yard and tracks are all that separate NoMa from the greater Capitol Hill neighborhood and H Street NE/Atlas District.

There are two Metro stations; New York Ave and Union Station, both on the Red Line. Union Station is the southern anchor. The beaux arts temple to transit looks stately, especially next to the equally beautiful National Postal Museum and Bureau of Labor and Statistics. There is an established, if slightly less beautiful, office complex built just north of Union Station and it is fairly developed. CNN, CareFirst, Community College of the District of Columbia are a few of the larger tenants.

But just north of K Street, construction cranes dominates the landscape. New buildings are rising in between older structures and more recent ones. Former industrial and warehouse buildings are being re-adapted or torn down to make way for newcomers (NPR's new HQ for example). Seeing this part of the neighborhood makes me inclined to keep tabs and actually want to see how it all turns out...

I took a few photos, and here is the first batch. More thoughts and photos tomorrow.

Opening this week

Bikeshare, bike parking, Metro trains in the background

Hotel next to NY Ave Metro station

Coffee and French fries; Vice City

Older office park near Union Station

1st St NE twists and turns next to rail yard

Coffee/Riot: Ebenezers Coffeehouse

Coffee shops, cafes, whatever you prefer to call them, DC has its fair share of spots that serve up the caffeinated, addictive beverage in some form or another. Some are bakeries, others more restaurant-like, and others are self-identified coffee shops. I'll take on the dubious task of chronicling some of my favorite coffee spots in the city. Of course its not a dubious task, but in order to really examine the reasons behind their greatness (as decided by me) of any specific location, I'll deliberately visit each one, including a couple I've never been too, on a quest to uncover what's so unique and cool about them. If you have suggestions, well, suggest away. I know DC residents are sometimes fiercely loyal to their favorite coffee joints, so I'll mostly be heaping praise, and being posi. On the other hand, I appreciate coffee of varying quality, so all you purist can start your own blog. Previous Coffee/Riot posts: Sticky Fingers, Baked & Wired, Dos Gringos, M.E. Swing, Grape and Bean, Crumbs & Coffee, Open City, Tryst.

Well, the sheer existence of this place had eluded me until recently. I rode my bike to the Festival on H in September. On the way back to Mt Pleasant I passed Ebenezers Coffeehouse. I didn't stop that day, but I've been back more than a few times since then. Ebz, for short, seems to be a legitimate 3rd place. There is so much going on there, I almost forget that they serve coffee, but that's not a mark against it. Ebenezers is owned by a church, although several visits passed before I even noticed this fact. The National Community Church built and runs the coffee house operation and attatched venue. This is the church which has services in Union Station theaters each Sunday morning.

Ebenezers has a photo of the building in which it resides that was taken before its renovation in 2004. It didn't look like much of anything but an dilapidated abandoned shack on a sleepy corner of Capitol Hill. The corner, F and 2nd Streets NE, is one block from Union Station and literally overshadowed by two large, imposing government buildings, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Thurgood Marshall Courts Building. Ebenezers has ample outdoor seating, is roomy and comfortable on the inside, and has a surprisingly vast and modern performance space in the basement level. Te line is nearly out-the-door busy during midday hours and is an after school (or during?) hangout for the School Without Walls students (the school's on G Street). The staff gets an A+ for service and the clientele is all mixed up with high school students, government office workers, hill staffers, college students and laptop folks. Yes, they have free wireless.

Several times I've caught myself people watching or way into the newspaper, forgetting about my coffee, but I made a concerted effort the last few times out to actually taste the stuff. It's good. Ebz uses fair trade coffee from a roaster in North Carolina. The house blend is fairly muted, but its consistent. Nothing to call home over. The espresso drinks are good as well; again, nothing extraordinary. Ebz recently started serving lunch. The only vegan option was falafel, and although it certainly doesn't go well with coffee, I tried it out anyway last week. It was wrapped up in a pita-like bread and pressed, sort of like a panini. I gather all of the sandwiches are prepared this way. For the few dollars that it cost, it got by as lunch. I won't be abandoning other falafel places in lieu of this place anytime soon though.

Total two-thumbs up to Ebenezers. If I lived in Capitol Hill, this would be a usual hang out for me. As it is, I'm finding ways to hang out there now, although its not at all convenient. to Mt P. Add it to your next excursion too Union Station or Eastern Market.

Ebenezers Coffeehouse is located at 201 F Street NE. Two block walk from the Union Station Metro.

Our Neighbors: Capitol Hill