the yellow house begins

work has begun on the yellow victorian at the corner of 15th and W, directly across from the entrance to the Frederick Douglass home. As such, it is one of the most tourist-visible homes in the neighborhood.





so far, the house has been primed and some new moulding has gone up. I'm excited for this one, and even drove the owner around Capitol Hill this morning to get color inspiration. I think she's going to stay with yellow.

this morning's Capital Challenge

at Anacostia Park this morning was the ACLI Capital Challenge 5K. Open only for teams representing the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches of the Federal Government, as well as the media (I counted myself), the race finished just as the rain began.



Senator Lugar, shown above, won the award for most consecutive races (28). Other notables in attendence included Representative Aaron Schock (the youngest member of Congress), Senator DeMint, and Secretary of Transportation LaHood.

photos by DG-rad

savoy school update

the Savoy Elementary School's total renovation is coming along quite nicely. the windows are in, the concrete for the addition is poured, and the first floor is now being built at the community / rec center.





the school is scheduled for completion in time for the 2009-2010 school year.

totally unique iron fence

these twin houses on V Street were recently refurbished with the HPO grant, and although their fences are not new, they are a lot more obvious now. And dang do they look awesome.


check out the six-point stars and the twisted "x"s



chain link fencing, while still a common sight in the neighborhood, is technically illigal (and ugly). it's great to see old and completely unique fences restored, and new fences that fit in with the vintage feel here.

tree planting a wild success

yesterday's historic Anacostia community tree planting was a total and complete success. the Casey Trees-sponsored event drew 87 volunteers from all over the city, and a grand total of 33 new trees were planted on only two city blocks, all on private property.


this 8-year-old received three new trees in his apartment's front yard, and was a part of the whole process: helping with the tree-location flags, planting the trees, and making sure they had enough water


clearly this was an all-ages event: this group named the new magnolia "Angelica" (and another one "Frank")


a group from OPX, a "work environment design" firm standing in front of one of the five trees they planted in a yard on V Street


some loyal blog devotees and "every once in a while" Mama Cole's patrons planting a cherry and london plane tree on U Street


by mid-day, all the trees were planted, staked, and surrounded by bulging ooze tubes

a HUGE thank you to all who came out! It could not have been a more perfectly sunny day, the lunch catered by Congress Heights' own MLK Deli was delicious, and the community and greater city involvement was really encouraging. I hope this is only the first of many.

// new trees on your street or in your yard? please water! //

Read more about the planting in the Washington Post's article "For DC Group, Good Trees Make Good Neighbors"

*goodlinks: the growing focus

the S. Capitol Street Bridge from Poplar Point

Consolidation for Homeland Security, Headaches for Preservationists, via New York Times
most in River East are excited about the upcoming move-in of 14,000 employees to our hood, but others still fear the campus' character will be lost

Alexander calls on all residents to protect the environment, by Greater Greater Washington
councilwoman Yvette Alexander (Ward 7) went on NPR's Kojo Nnamdi show to denounce the claims that the Anacostia bag bill is harmful to low-income residents: "No matter what your income ...it does not excuse you from being environmentally conscious and responsible."

Anacostia Streetcar Plan Runs Into Delays, via Washington Post
in an annoying but not-surprising twist, the Anacostia streetcar is now delayed until 2012. since we're delaying it, howabout running it up MLK to St. E's, then down Malcolm X to the maintenance facility?

DC Unwanted, via the Examiner
so I guess stadiums aren't the pay-anything-to-get-one economic revitalizers everyone used to clamor for. PG County has joined DC (remember Poplar Point?) in dropping plans for a new stadium-based development for MLS's most successful soccer franchise

Cherry Blast: the reviews are in.

reports are in. the Pink Line Project's Cherry Blast last night lived up to its name and was completely amazing.



Photos: Cherry Blast!, by Brightest Young Things
"Now, I know warehouse parties in DC are common fare, but how many of these parties have been in Anacostia?" (click link for some awesome photos)

Stunning art, music and entertainment at the Pink Line Project's 'Cherry Blast', by Swedish Scene
"Look out New York and look out world. Philippa Hughes is reinventing performing and visual art and nighttime entertainment, and it's not long before everybody takes notice."

Who would have thought..., by South East Socialite
"I was left speechless by the well planned, creative, stylish, and well attended event. The location was a raw warehouse... The crowd was individuals from all over the metropolitan area interested in learning more about the River East Buzz that has overtaken the city."

manipulated photo courtesy of South East Socialite

this weekend in Anacostia

there is a ton of great stuff going on today and tomorrow: music, food, art, and more. Come on out to Anacostia and check out a piece of this chock-full weekend.

Click Here for an interactive walking map of the weekend's events!

Friday Night: Cherry Blast
art + music + dance + fashion + anime + origami



When: Friday, April 10, from 9PM to 2AM
Where: 2020 Shannon Place SE
How Much: $10 (21+)

Getting There and Back:

FREE shuttle from Dupont Circle: Pickup on the corner of 20th Street and Massachusetts Ave (on the island between CVS and PNC Bank). First pick up at 8:30 PM and every half hour after that until 1:30 AM. Look for the yellow school bus!

Metro: Anacostia stop on the Green Line. FREE shuttle will run from the metro station to the event.

Parking: Lots of FREE street parking nearby and FREE parking at the Big Chair parking lot on the corner of MLK Ave, SE and V Street, SE.

Music and Video:
Yoko K + Aphrodizia
Optical Groove with A DC DJ
302acid
John Bowen - Video Killers DC
JMC

Art:
Words Beats Life, Inc.
Asad ULTRA Walker
Hiromi Ashlin, courtesy of Gallery Sydney-East
Cory Oberndorfer

Fashion:
Moojooken

Dance:
CityDance Ensemble

Spoken Word Performance:
Life Pieces to Masterpieces - Hope & Renewal

Film:
DC Anime Club

Light Design:
David London - Divergency

Food:
On the Fly

- - -

All Day Saturday:



The day kicks off at 10 am in the Anacostia Park with a Cherry Blossom tree planting and dedication to Phil Pannell, Marion Barry and Butch Hopkins by the Anacostia Garden Club. The festival continues with live jazz music by The Young Lions at Honfleur Gallery at 1241 Good Hope Road at 1 pm. More music can be heard throughout the day from 11am – 11pm at Eric Whitehead’s JazzNSoul Café, located at 2020 Shannon Place S.E. Musicians include SamO & JFC, Earl Carter, Glenn Arnett, Jamie Jones, Paul Chew, Nonya Whitley, DJ JAMMER and many more!


the location of the Cherry Blast and Jazz events

The Art Walk begins just a short distance from the Anacostia Metro with the grand opening of Vivid Solutions, a new photographic gallery located at 1227 Good Hope Road S.E. Sakura: Awakened by Spring is a group show of photography all submitted with the Spring theme in mind. It is full of color, nature and some unexpected visions.

Outside in the open lot next to the gallery is the Art + Craft Market, open all day with local artists ready to sell their work. Please stop by and see the assortment of jewelry, paintings, books and other crafts. At the market, Curbside Café offers their homemade burritos, and pick up an Anacostia Cherry Blossom Festival t-shirt as well. Other food is available along the Art Walk; check out the Jamaican cafe or renowned Soul Food restaurant on MLK Jr. Ave.

Continue on the Art Walk to the storefront at 2204 MLK Jr. Ave SE where you will find a Pink Line Project exhibit in collaboration with Critical Exposure, with curatorial assistance from Chanel Compton. Don’t forget to also check out the Cherry Blast event the night before the festival on Friday April 10th from 9pm-2am, also hosted by The Pink Line Project. Cherry Blast highlights fine art, live music, dance, a DJ, fashion, anime, and origami, presented in association with the National Cherry Blossom Festival and through funding from the DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities.

Alison Spain will paint "live" in a raw studio space on the next stop on the Art Walk at 2200 MLK Jr. Ave S.E. She is offering a charcoal drawing workshop for area youth from 2pm - 4pm; all are welcomed to join. Spain’s colorful abstract paintings are larger than life in both size and dynamism. Upstairs is a showcase of eight selected artists invited to use the space to display their work in any way possible. Don’t miss all this creative energy!

Stop into the American Poetry Museum at 1922 MLK Jr Ave, to hear some live readings by local poets. The current exhibit, Beats to the Rhyme: Visual Representations of Hip-Hop Poetry features works by Franc Rosario, Sami Miranda, Fred Joiner, Howard Fleming, Kenneth Robinson, and Nia Smith. The next space on the Art Walk is at 1231 Good Hope Road S.E. at Arch Training Center, showing local student photography in Spring Visions and Inspirations. Just a few doors down at Honfleur Gallery, take in Darren Smith’s solo exhibition Cross & Ladder. This DC Based artist pushes the boundaries of photography with handmade photo mosaics and a few large installation pieces.

what's the deal with ... shoefiti?

We've all heard the sinister rumors about shoes flung over utility wires, but do they actually mean anything?



...and if they do portend the existence of nefarious activities nearby (or if they are just an eyesore), what's the best way to get them down?

photos by DG-rad

back on the map, one step at a time

my goal with this site is to put Anacostia on the map in a positive way, so things like this are encouraging. here's another little affirmation from the April issue of Washingtonian:




so glad the red dot is in the right spot

thanks to all who are right there with me in trying to bring Anacostia up to date and back on track (there're a lot of you out there). We've still got a ways to go, but we're definitely on our way.