Story written and all photographs taken by the great Intangible Arts. Ed. note: This is my favorite one yet!

So here’s a few places you’d never expect to find me: At an NFL game, in a church, in a Turkish brothel, anywhere in Texas, uh… Disneyland or anywhere with loads of children, and in the audience at a beauty pageant.

But NO! Scratch that last one!

Last Thursday was the event to crown the new Mrs. District of Columbia and Mrs. Maryland America. The winners go on to represent their home turf in the national Mrs. America smackdown. And this ain’t no puny, teenage “Miss America” neither — this contest is for the married folk. The missus-es.

Mrs. Intangible and I had a fine reason to attend the event, since our neighbor was in the race, representing our fair neighborhood as Mrs. Columbia Heights. Who knew we lived next door to possible royalty?

Markette Smith-Sheppard, who worked her way through school and is developing a fine career in broadcast journalism, decided spontaneously a while ago to try the pageant scene. Why not? She’s fiercely intelligent and charming as hell. Destined for greatness! Story continues after the jump. Read Full Post

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DSCN0628, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

Since this is a short week I’ll announce the winner on Thursday. As always best caption wins a free PoP t-shirt.

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Jean, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

Thanks to Kalia for submitting this great interview.  If you have any neighbors who have lived in any of the neighborhoods covered on PoP please send their recollections to princeofpetworth@gmail.com  

“I have been fortunate enough to work with an extraordinary woman and friend who I recently discovered was a former resident of Mt. Pleasant. Jean Poholsky was born in 1936 and since then has traveled and lived all over the world in places like East Africa, Ireland, and Australia to name a few. She often shares her fondest memories of living in Mt Pleasant and can recall things like they were yesterday. In 1940 she moved into her first house in Mt. Pleasant, 1948 Irving Street. Her grandmother owned the property which was a house split into two apartments inside the vestibule area. Her neighbors, the Vought’s, were an older couple that had the lower level apartment and her family’s door led them up to the top two floors including the attic (where she once ate a moth ball just to see what it would taste like!) The house was beautiful inside she describes and had a very similar look to the 1.3 mil house featured earlier on PoP’s site under “Let’s Play Good Deal or Not -Fantasy Edition”. (Yes, Jean does like to occasionally check out PoP’s blog!) Jean’s family would live in this house from 1940 to 1946 where she fondly remembers being able to roller skate from 16th street to the Zoo jumping the curbs and cracks in the sidewalks. When it snowed, Irving Street would be closed to traffic and she and the other children would sled down it all day or ice skate on Adam’s Mill Creek. She loved going to Tivoli to see a movie or hopping on the Street Cars to ride to the National Theater to catch a show. Jean says that those were very exciting years for her. Interview continues after the jump. Read Full Post

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DSCN0842, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

There’s something slightly less offensive to hanging plastic bags that have the Target bullseye on them, yeah? Don’t get me wrong I’d still prefer a proper garbage can but in their absence these are a bit better.

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DSCN0955, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

You have to admit this is pretty funny.

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DSCN0952, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

Nice, ahead of schedule. Peaches, Apricots and Corn. Next week I’m fairly certain I’m going to encounter a goat. God willing.

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DSCN0956, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

But how does this explain non police emergencies going to 911? Do you think this campaign will help clear up the confusion?

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DSCN0942, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

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DSCN0652, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

Perhaps the Germans could’ve used this…

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DSCN0936, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

What do you think of the contrast of the stone on the first floor vs the material above? No doubt about the good door and details though.

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I can’t remember if I’ve posted this photo before but I always find it striking every time I walk by. So which do you like better the orange one or the one with more windows?

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I saw this on the bulletin board outside Columbia Heights Coffee and based on all the strollers I’ve been seeing around the neighborhood I thought some folks may be interested.

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For those who haven’t yet experienced the fourth you can check some video I took last year here. By the by, you can expect to see tons of fireworks beginning this week, peaking on Friday, but continuing throughout next week.

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An apricot tree! I saw the owner with a bucket harvesting some of the fruit. Super cool.

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It’s official – 11th Street is the coolest street in the city. Forget about Columbia Heights Coffee, Wonderland, Red Rocks and the soon to be Meridian Pint – First Bloom of Bloom – the new “spontaneous, underground, music, art and inspiration in the heart of Columbia Heights” is ridiculously awesome! I was sitting with a friend at Red Rocks drinking a couple of beers and relaxing after the Parade and a guy named Jon Chambers comes over to us to talk about his new spot. (And when I came home I had quite a few emails from folks also telling me about this new space.) Well, it is exactly like it sounds – art and music and lots of good vibes. I should say that this awesome spot is located at 3222 11th St, NW right between Wonderland and El Rinconcito. It is in one of those buildings that we’ve been wondering what will become of it. And I don’t think it would be possible for anything cooler than this to arrive.

I was given a tour during the day and got to see much of the cool art located on two levels. I then returned around 11:30 that evening to listen to some phenomenal music. The event was free although you could give a $5 donation but it wasn’t mandatory. I was a little hesitant when I heard a lot of talk about love and peace. The New Yorker in me came out and I thought I may have entered some sort of cult headquarters. But I couldn’t have been further off base. These folks are simply socially conscious people who are trying to bring the community together. The hope seems to be that all sorts of folks, white, black, latino, young, old, etc, will use this space as a community center. Pictured above is Jason Jasper who had an incredible voice and sang acapella. You can also see to the right of the photo that there was an artist painting a piece throughout the evening inspired by the music being played. Sat. night was the last night of a three night stand but I’ll be sure to post info for upcoming shows/events as they become available. I realized it was a super cool evening when famed WJLA anchor, Maureen Bunyan, arrived (see photo below). It seems like this space is really going to evolve into something great. Lots more photos after the jump.

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