“Dear PoP,

I have found a lot of affordable places in the Petworth area but have gotten a lot of conflicting opinions on its level of safety. I was wondering if you had any solid advice and if moving there would be a wise decision. Thank you for your time.”

Well since I live in Petworth and am an unabashed fan, I’d say it’s great. As we’ve discussed a million times, when living in a city you need to have common sense and this applies for nearly all of DC’s neighborhoods. You can read a guest post from Eric Nuzum about moving to Petworth here.

However, I must warn you about the perils that do exist in Petworth. If you move to Petworth and fall off your roof it is likely you will break your leg. If you move to Petworth and someone with H1N1 coughs on you it is likely you will catch the Swine flu. If you move to Petworth and fall off your bike it is possible you may break your collarbone. Since I’ve moved to Petworth, I’ve sprained my ankle twice playing soccer and smashed my foot once in a terrible breakdancing injury. All of the above is 100% true. Petworth can be rough.

I’m sorry for being a bit snarky but I receive this question quite frequently and always find it frustrating. We all have our comfort levels. What is “safe” for one person is not considered “safe” for another. I highly recommend you visit it and see for yourself if you feel comfortable. And I have to say, (knock wood, knock wood) I’ve lived here for 6 and a half years and have had 99% positive experiences.

“Dear PoP,

Can you confirm that Pho 14 will start offering delivery next month? This will ALMOST make up for moving outside the Tono Sushi delivery range.”

I stopped by Pho 14, located at 1436 Park Rd. NW, and sadly delivery will not be coming until November. It was supposed to come in October but there was some difficulty with staffing. They think they will hire someone start delivery sometime in November. And for the real question – what is the delivery radius? 3 miles! That should hook a lot of us up.

In other Pho news, the new spot, possibly to be names Pho Viet, opening up at 3515 14th Street, NW still looks a few weeks away from opening. Stay tuned on both fronts.

IMG_0853small, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

“Dear PoP,

Just west of Florida & 16th Street, on the south side of Florida Ave,
just beyond the end of the Washington House on 16th Street, this is
barely visible behind a fence. It doesn’t fit the front of the
building at all. Know anything about it?”

I absolutely love this yard and the columns. I posted about this back in August of ’08. At the time nobody could solve the mystery. I think I’ll have to swing by and try to knock on the door of the nearest rowhouse to see if they know anything. Of course it’s been a year, so maybe some new readers know what the deal is here?

IMG_1949, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

Weschler’s Auction House is located at 909 E Street, NW. They often have super interesting items in the window. Here’s a look at the upcoming auction schedule. Has anyone gone to one just for fun? I’ve always wanted to but end up just looking in the window kinda like this:

IMG_1962, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

This is pretty wild. It looks like a tree house of sorts but there doesn’t seem to be any kid things adorning it. It’s got a couple of proper chairs. If it is a deck for the parents I got mad props for them building it around a tree.

IMG_2057, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

The door’s pretty cool but I thought it was particularly wild that there was a proper street lamp by the entrance. Wonder how you score one of those. Anyone know if it actually works?

IMG_2025, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

I’ve always liked this house right in front of the LeDroit Park metal sign. I was first taken with the smiley face on the front door but crossing the street you tell the whole house is pretty amazing.

I thought I had read somewhere that a bar or restaurants was going to move into the old Visions Movie Theater space located at 1927 Florida Ave, NW. Am I imaging that? Anyway, it turns out that the Non Profit AED has moved into the space. From their Web site:

“AED is a nonprofit organization working globally to improve education, health, civil society and economic development–the foundation of thriving societies.

In collaboration with local and national partners, AED fosters sustainable results through practical, comprehensive approaches to social and economic challenges. AED implements more than 250 programs serving people in all 50 U.S. states and more than 150 countries.”

Sounds like a great organization.

We’ve been wondering for months whether or not Ellwood Thompson’s was going to move into the space on Irving Street in the DC USA complex. As you probably surmised, it’s not looking good for a move any time soon. Thanks to a reader for sending an article from the Richmond Times Dispatch. While the Richmond Store is doing well the economy is going to have to improve for a DC expansion:

“In April, Ellwood Thomson’s scuttled plans to open a store in Washington. The 15,000-square-foot store would have been its second location.

Hood says the economy played a significant role in putting off the expansion.

“The timing just wasn’t right,” he said, though he hopes to open a store in the same D.C. location at some point.”

I wonder when all these vacant ground level retail spots in DC USA are going to fill in. Any guesses? One year, two years, longer?

We’ve given a lot of attention to the boarded up buildings on 9th Street, NW in Shaw. However this past weekend I noticed another eyesore in an otherwise tony neighborhood – N Street, NW between 18th and 19th. Anyone know what the story is here? Have these buildings been boarded up for a long time? Anyone know who owns them? Development plans?

From an email:

“The Creative Genius Happy Hour will be on Thursday, Oct. 1 at Gordon Biersch Brewery (900 F St, NW). The happy hour starts at 6 pm (GB has good happy hour deals until 630) and then if you want to stay for dinner, let’s eat at 7. Please RSVP for dinner.

GB has a large bar area, look for a creative genius sign and your host (African American, very short hair). Pass along the invite to anyone who might interested.

When: Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009 drinks @6; dinner @7.
Where: Gordon Biersch, 900 F Street NW, WDC
Why: To meet other creative geniuses and make some new friends!

Creative Genius DC is a happy hour for writers, poets, dancers, actors, artists, and the creatively curious! It’s a low-key networking event and all are welcome. For more info, email Willona at creativegeniusdc@gmail.com.”

This beautiful stained glass was taken by rockcreek from the “Window in the attic of the Charles Sumner School, 1201 Seventeenth Street, NW.”

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

You have to read the full article from Loose Lips here. But here’s the craziest part:

After she arrived, Loza pressured the woman to abort the baby, according to court records. Part of Loza’s coercion, the woman would later testify, was physical. “On one occasion, after the parties had driven to get [the woman] a burrito, [she] reiterated that she did not want an abortion,” a judge wrote. “[Loza] became upset and pushed the defendant out of the car. She was not injured. The car door was open, she said.”

Graham put the $3,200 late-term abortion onto his personal credit card, according to a receipt included in court records.

This mansion is located at 3101 Woodland Drive, NW:

View Larger Map

The flier says:

“Exceptional 1924 Estate highlighted by English-influenced architecture. Set on a rare, over 16,500 square foot lot of manuicured & mature landscaping w/ Guesthouse & Pool. Gracious & elegant principal rooms full of period details, paneled walls, wideboard hdwd flrs & handmade terra cotta tile flrs. 6 bedrooms, 5 full, 3 half Baths. 7th Bedroom and 6th Full Bath in Guesthouse.”

More info found here and a virtual tour found here.

Well I had to show another from Woodland Drive. It’s not quite as crazy as last week’s house porn but hey it’s only half the price. What I thought was really wild was that from the street you have no idea that this an estate. It just looks like a normal slightly bigger than normal house. But man you have to take the virtual tour. I’m guessing it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea but hell it’s just house porn. What’s your favorite or least favorite part?

For those looking for more moderate house porn. This home at 1311 S Street, NW went under contract in 12 days and the asking price was $1,045,000. You can see more info and photos from this house here.

Bar Dupont is located at 1500 New Hampshire Avenue NW in the former location of Biddy Mulligan’s. It’s been almost a year since Biddy Mulligan’s closed so I thought it was about time to judge Bar Dupont. How’s the atmosphere? Better or worse than than Biddy’s? Do they serve food as well? It looks pretty swank – how are the prices? Overall – thumbs up or down?