DSCN6657, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

This is taken outside the Reagan Center and the old Post Office.

DSCN6624, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

Here’s another fine example of a double door. This is actually a bit of a funny story. I was really fixated on the door knob and locks and stood in front of the gate for a good two minutes or so. Little did I know that the owner was standing right behind me. He was super chill. He didn’t say a word. He just nodded. I guess when you have a door this sweet you’ve got to expect some admirers.

DSCN6753, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

Here is a super cool one from 16th Street Heights. Not only is the house itself incredible but it’s on its own little island.

Red Derby (3718 14th St. NW) Mardi Gras Party
Fat Tuesday
Feb. 24th – 8pm on

King Cakes, Hurricanes, Beads, Feather Masks

Ed. Note: I wish it was Fat Friday because Hurricanes may make work on Wed. a bit brutal…

The folks at Fusion (4815 Georgia Ave. NW) tell me they are “starting a happy hour at Fusion starting today from 12 pm to 6. pm all beers at $3.00, wine $6.00 a glass and Martini’s for $ 6.00″.

Happy hour is from Tues – Sunday. 

I think I may have shown this sign once back in the day but I wanted to include it in the “capturing sweet city signs” feature. It’s located up in 14th Street Heights around Allison or Buchanan (via an alley).

I saw this cool little structure adjacent to the big church on Thomas Circle. Does anyone know if that has a special function aside from looking good?

Rowhouses, originally uploaded by hipchickindc.

This is from our very own hipchickindc who often sketches the great rowhomes of the Bloomingdale neighborhood.

Submit your photos to the PoPville flickr pool here.

These condos are located at 3534 10th Street, NW:

View Larger Map

The flier says:

“Brand new complete renovation of charming older building
Located on a quiet suburban street
Highly efficient unit layouts
Off-street parking available
Many state-of-the art GREEN Building features (link to Green Features tab)
Granite countertops and stainless steel appliances in kitchen
Oak hardwood floors in living area
Built-in custom closet organizers
Pet-friendly building
Storage spaces available”

More info and a virtual tour from their Web site.

There are 23 units in the building and prices range from mid $100s for an efficiency and low to mid $200s for a 1 bedroom. Full pricing info can be downloaded here.

I like the location of this spot and the model unit that I checked out seemed pretty nice. So what do you think – good deal or not?

You can talk about whatever is on your mind – quality of life issues, a beautiful tree you spotted, scuttlebutt, or any random questions/thoughts you may have. I’ll open this thread every Monday and Friday. So anything good happen to you this weekend?

In real life, hipchickindc is licensed as a real estate broker in the District of Columbia and Virginia, and as a real estate salesperson in Maryland.  Unless otherwise noted, the source of information is Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), which is the local multiple listing system.  Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

It might seem a bit anticlimactic to be talking 2008 market numbers in February.  For what it’s worth, Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS) unceremoniously rolled the official numbers out last week.  (Agents had until the end of January to update all 2008 listing information, hence the timing).  I figured the numbers would still be of interest, so here they are.

First of all, let’s be clear at what we’re looking at.  This is Pure DC, people.  Most media sources that describe the “Washington DC Metropolitan Area Real Estate Market” are giving you DC, Loudon County, Gaithersburg, with the kitchen sink thrown in, too.  Right here we are talking only District of Columbia and all District of Columbia.

You’ve heard, “Location.Location.Location.”  The second rule of real estate is that all markets are local.  Of course, we could get intensely specific and look at the numerous micro markets within the District.  Intuitively, most people get that the Petworth market is different from Georgetown.  For a moment, however, let’s step back and look at the overall performance of the residential real estate market for DC as a whole.

Not surprisingly, there was an almost 25% reduction in the dollar volume of settled sales from 2007 to 2008.  The total dollar volume of sales declined from $3,988,755,576. to $3,001,913,863.    Additionally, the number of units sold (a whole house equals a unit, as does a condo or co-op unit) decreased from 7,422 in 2007 to 5,563 in 2008.  That is a 25.05% drop.  Average days on market went up from 69 in 2007, to 80 in 2008.   Continues after the jump. (more…)

DSCN6682, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

Well, I’ve finally tracked down the answers to a number of questions folks have been asking for a while. So here goes. In the space pictured above there’s going to be a local coffee shop yet to be named. It is going to be owned by a pair of brothers named Jim and Brian Sullivan. They intend to make it a very comfortable coffee house with the motif featuring Columbia Heights history. The goal is to open up in May. Let’s file this under good news.

The sushi restaurant, Sake Club is still a go but I didn’t get a targeted opening date. (Irving St.)

The Caribbean place, zinnia, is a no go. A replacement has not yet been named. (Irving St.)

The forever “coming soon”, Royal Blue, is no longer coming soon or coming at all. A replacement has yet to be named. (14th Street)

I don’t know how I missed this but apparently a Peruvian steak and chicken place is coming (Park Road).

Sadly, after a very short run Coco Libre has closed at Sherman and Harvard Streets. They write on their Web site:

“We would like to inform all of our customers and supporters that, unfortunately, we had to make the hard choice to close our shop at 786 Harvard Street. This is due to forces beyond our control. We anticipate moving to another location, so please check back to get an update on where to find us and our products. Thank you to the community and take care.” (Thanks to a reader for sending.)

So we got some good news and bad news. What are you happiest/saddest about? I’ll be sure to update when replacements are named.

DSCN6687, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

For some reason I’ve wanted an El Camino for years now. I actually almost got one off craigslist but it had already sold. Crushing. The one pictured above is phenomenal. One day, one day…

What is your dream car?

DSCN6704, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

Back in June we discussed whether or not 15th Street should become a two way street. Borderstan has found out what the reconfiguration will look like:

1. 15th Street NW will remain one-way going north, with three lanes of auto traffic.
2. Two bicycle lanes will be added to 15th Street NW.
3. The northbound bicycle lane will be on the east side of 15th, between parked cars and car traffic—just like many of the bicycle lanes we currently see in the city.
4. However, the southbound bicycle lane will be next to the west curb of 15th Street. Bicyclists will ride between the sidewalk and parked cars, protecting them from northbound traffic.

Sound good?

Backpack Contents, sans food & water, originally uploaded by use2blost.

“In the past I have led weekend backpacking trips for high school students during the summer. I did this through a summer camp that I worked for in NC. That said, I would really like to get back into such a thing but do not know how to go about doing it. I do not just want to go on a backpacking trip but to help lead one, preferably through an organized program. I know there has to be groups out there seeking female counselors. Any readers out there know if this exists in DC?”

Wow, that sounds like a great program. Sadly, I don’t have any info about a similar program in DC but the readers have an incredible wealth of knowledge about these topics. Is anyone familiar with an existing program like this? If not, any suggestion for how one could start one up?

BL, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

Inspired by the ridiculously cool album covers sent this one in. He writes:

“I think this would be a cool post for Black History Month. Maybe not the first Black super Hero but still cool. Found this cleaning this morning. Yeah showing my age when you look at the price.”

If you have any super cool covers, be it album or comic book, please email princeofpetworth@gmail.com