DSCN8405, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

We’ve all heard the rumors/urban legends of what it means when shoes are thrown over telephone wires. So I guess this one was sent as a message by Long and Foster…

This one was even odder:

I swear that was not staged. That was exactly how I saw it. I shudder to think what it may mean. Any ideas?

DSCN8379, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

This really cracked me up. (Someone even posted almost the exact same photo in the flickr pool). So your caption in the comments section and winner announced Friday (free PoP t-shirt). I still have to mail some t-shirts out, I promise I haven’t forgotten!

DSCN8607, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

I was very proud of myself for guessing that this script was Sanskrit. I have to say asking strangers to photograph their tattoos has not gotten any easier. Fortunately this woman was super nice. The tattoo is the last two lines of the Mangala mantra. It basically means, “May all beings be happy and free, Om shanti, shanti, shanti.”

Now I have a serious question. As is hopefully obvious, I’m a big fan of tattoos. I know lots of folks out there don’t like them and that is cool. But for the folks that do have them, I’ve always wondered about tattoos on the back. So I’m seriously curious, what pleasure do you get out of a tattoo on your back if you can’t see it?

DSCN8572, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

This is the first sculpture I’ve seen with glasses. I totally dig it. Free t-shirt for the first person who knows where this is from.

DSCN8414, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

It’s gonna be even better a couple months from now…

DSCN8472, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

Here is the sweet transom (new word to me) that a reader mentioned when we judged these buildings.

DSCN8639, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

I really like the iron steps and the blue paint on the borders.

“Dear PoP,

Have you heard what’s going on with the building next to Safeway on Columbia Road, near 18th? The Popeyes, beauty supply store, and other stores have all closed down. I’m guessing it was sold? I doubt the Popeyes went out of business, they always seem to be so busy.”

Yup, it’s going to be a CVS. Kristen Barden from Adams Morgan BID wrote me that:

“Combined Properties (www.combined.biz) is combining all of their stores along that stretch – Popeye’s, the beauty supply store, Citibank, etc… and the CVS on the south side of Columbia Road will move over there. I also don’t know what will go in the old CVS space yet…”

Now, I’m curious what will go into the old CVS spot.

This cool shot was taken by hellomarkers! on H Street, NE.

I thought the skinny glass connecting structure looked really cool between the two older buildings. This shot was taken at the corner of 9th and F Streets, NW. What is the function? To connect the two buildings? Do you dig the look?

This cool shot was taken by Tyrannous and titled, “DC flashback”.

Submit your photos via email or to the PoPville flickr pool here.

This home is located at 213 Rock Creek Church Road, NW:

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The flier says:

“Meticulous & beautifully renovated 4BR, 3BA rwhouse w/ a bright, cheery, & separately metered lower lvl apt & pkng on a scenic block in Petworth. Walk to Metro! Btfl architectural details, formal DR, LR & gourmet kit opens to great deck & yard. 3BR & 2BAs up, incl lrg Master w/ sitting area & FB. Finished bonus room in attic. LL has good ceiling ht, laundry, & separate entrances.”

More info and photos found here.

I love these homes that look out onto the Old Soldier’s Homes. Hipchickindc wrote a GDoN revisited on the home at 303 Rock Creek Church Road which sold for $379,500. But this one seems to be a more extensive renovation. Do you think $529,000 sounds reasonable?

As mentioned below, Penn Quarter has some great restaurants or so my friends tell me. Back in December we saw that Zola had opened up a separate wine and kitchen shop. But I’m curious about the original restaurant located at 800 F Street, NW. You can see their menus here. So any fans out there? Do you recommend a particular dish? And I’ve wondered what the atmosphere is like, I guess I always suspected it’d be filled with folks from the Spy Museum…

Every now and then I like to walk around the Penn Quarter/ Chinatown neighborhoods. I used to work around here and I know lots of readers work in this area as well. I’ve always been a bit disappointed with the bar options. (They do have great restaurants.) So I was excited to see some alcohol application posters. The photo above from 507 7th Street, NW is going to be Iron Horse Tavern. It says it’ll be a “tavern with darts, shuffleboard tables and a juke box. Occupancy Load is 299.” To me, that sounds like an awesome addition to that stretch of 7th Street.

The blog PQLiving had previously noticed this spot a few weeks ago and is a great blog for keeping up to date on development news in Penn Quarter.

I still enjoy the surprise of stumbling upon these alcohol posters by chance. I saw another one at 418 7th Street (the old Olson’s Book Store):

This is slated to be an Asian restaurant called Wagamama. I hope it’s good but I miss the bookstore…

IMG_7578, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

The Washington Nationals. The District of Columbia. Each a true reflection of the other. A match made in heaven – or hell, depending on your opinion of both. The parallels are startling, really. Their story is one of twins separated at birth only to reunite years later. One raised in DC, on borrowed land. The other, a country away in Montreal. Together again. At long last, together again.

It took time for the Nats to make this place home, as it no doubt took the Capital some time to come into its own. The seasons housed in RFK spent awkwardly, like wearing someone else’s shoes. The new stadium seemed to come out of thin air. Plop down it went. Just like DC itself, dropped in the middle of swampy wetlands. The only major metropolitan area and international powerhouse that developed a city around it, rather than the opposite; a powerhouse emerging from a developed city. It took the efforts of the entire Major League to bring one here. The other depended on the action of a strong centralized “federal” government. For those looking in, both concepts seemed somewhat half-baked.

So maybe you are growing convinced that the District and the Nats share a few traits. However, my argument thus far has been one based on generalities. What about the specifics, you ask. Well, consider the following:

(Former) General Manager, Jim bowden = (Former) Mayor, Marion Barry. So he was never actually convicted of corruption. That doesn’t stop everyone from accepting as truth that he was one corrupt SOB. One fell from grace via a prostitute and crack, the other over allegations of skimming bonus checks from dominican prospects. Either way, definitely not the guy you want steering the ship. Sure, they both have their apologists (more generously called “supporters”), but at the end of the day they will be remembered as those that brought shame upon their franchises. Thankfully, neither are still in charge, but the mess they left in their wake is visible everywhere.

Ryan Zimmerman = “Downtown Washington.” He is the “face of the franchise” – the first thing people think of when they think of the Nats. Everyone has a stake in his well being. He is also painfully expensive. You have to secure that kind of investment, so it doesn’t seem too out of the ordinary to see teams of heavily armed guards patrolling his perimeter. If you live here, you take him for granted. Don’t forget, franchise caliber third-basemen are hard to find, and not everyone has one. Every once in a while you remember he is down there and so you’ll go to simply gaze in amazement. Then the tourists start to drive you crazy and you head back up to the real part of town. There is something a little too easy or common about liking him. As a fan, you have way more street-cred if you like a guy like Elijah Dukes.  Continues after the jump (more…)