These great shots are from fromcaliw/love. Anyone recognize the sign from the one above?

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

This home is located at 3017 Gates Road, NW:

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The flier says:

“Spectacular New Contemporary built for grand entertaining. Constructed w/ the finest materials & amenities beyond imagination. Guest Wing w/ 2 full suites, Spectacular Master Suite, Theater & Gym. Private Cabana with Kitchen, Dressing/Shower Room and Powder Room for Heated Saltwater Pool & private garden. 2-car Garage. Buyer Registration Form Required.”

You can find more info here and a virtual tour here.

Well this was a very controversial House of the Day post back in Dec. I was psyched to see it for sale so we could get a virtual tour. If you’re not a big fan of the architecture what do you think of the inside? And how ’bout that pool? It’s yours for $6,500,000.

Bukom Cafe is located at 2442 18th Street, NW. I know they have great live music here from time to time but I never realized that they are a restaurant as well. Has anyone eaten here? Recommend any dishes? Or is it best to just go for drinks and music?

Danny Harris is a DC-based photographer, DJ, and collector of stories. In September, he launched People’s District, a blog that tells a people’s history of DC by sharing the stories and images of its residents. Every day, People’s District presents a different Washingtonian sharing his or her insights on everything from Go Go music to homelessness to fashion to politics. You can read his previous columns here.

“I grew up in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. When I graduated from college, I couldn’t get into graduate school and rather than be drafted into Vietnam, I joined the Navy and went to Officer Candidate School. I spent a year watching the war and two years in Scotland as a diplomatic courier. I came to Washington in the early 70′s. I had G.I. money and went to get my MBA in computers at American University. My first job in town was in the information business. I was a paper boy and delivered the New York Times at 5 a.m. everyday.

“I always knew that I wanted my own business. I would sell hot dogs on the Mall if I had to. I started a few businesses that failed. Then, I became a consultant. Funny how when people fail, they become consultants! So, I started with a phone and a desk down at Foggy Bottom. I was getting free government information and selling it to Fortune 500 fat cats. It shocked me that a schmuck like me from Wilkes-Barre could make a free phone call and turn around and sell that information for thousands of dollars to some rich person who was too lazy to get it. It was basically a shoe shine business. People spend $5 to shine their shoes when you can get a $2 can of shoe polish at CVS that will last your whole life. That mentality is what this town is all about. After helping rich people for a number of years, I figured that I would spend the rest of my life helping the rest of the country find out how to get useful government information.

“Now, I look back on my failures and realize that they were the result of me not doing things my own way. I thought if I failed that I would have a permanent ‘F’ on my forehead, but people don’t give a shit. They are too worried about themselves. It took me a couple of failures to figure that out. When I started this business, I wanted to have fun. I figured that the worse that would happen would be failing again. When I started having fun, things became different. I realized that I was good at acting foolishly on television. My parents did not admit that I was their kid for the first ten years of my career! They wanted me to act like Henry Kissinger. I wouldn’t sell shit if I acted like that. Life is trying to realize who you are. The more you go through this education system, you are told to be like everyone else. We should be bringing out the best in everyone and encouraging people to do what they are really good at.

“To me, that is what the question mark suits are all about. About ten years ago, I was in a down cycle and bought a cheap suit and had someone embroider a question mark on it. I always wanted to have a suit like that. Had I been a teacher or accountant, I would have gotten the same suit. To me, the philosophy behind the question mark is that we live in a society where we have more accessible information than at any other time at history. You can go to Google and get a million answers. The answers are easy, it is the questions that are hard. I really believe that we need to struggle in life to ask the right questions.”

Learn more about Matthew Leskohere.

DC Photographer Paul Sharratt‘s photo, Cherry Blossom Parade was selected for the 12th International Krappy Kamera Competition  at Soho Photo in NYC.  The juror was Daile Kaplan of Swann Galleries.  The show is at the Soho Gallery, 15 White Street, NYC, opens March 2 – April 3, 2010 with the reception on March 2nd 6-8pm.

Cherry Blossom Parade © 2009 Paul Sharratt

Mayor Fenty and Ward 4 Council Member Muriel Bowser (pictured above) attended a ceremonial ground breaking for the new restaurant and bar coming to 3813/3815 Georgia Ave., NW on Tuesday Morning. Also making remarks were developers Chris Donatelli, and Calvin Gladney from Mosaic urban partners as well as co-owner Ian Hilton.

We’ve been following this property very closely. It is one of the more exciting developments to hit Georgia Ave in quite a while. We last looked at it back in early Jan. when demolition started. I was pretty psyched to get a look at the inside. Obviously there is a fair amount of work yet to be done but I was able to get a better vision of what it’s gonna look like. The space will be similar to how Marvin on 14th Street is set up with dining areas separate from the bar and lounge. They hope to be able to open the space in June or July.

Both the mayor and council member were very excited that Petworth will be getting another sit down restaurant which many residents have been requesting for years. Mr. Gladney from mosaic spoke about the historic nature of the building which used to house Billy Simpson’s Seafood & Steaks, a white table cloth restaurant in the 60s that hosted many civil rights leaders. Mr. Hilton mentioned that there is no reason why folks on Georgia Ave can’t have a spot like Marvin closer to where they live.

I agree with all who spoke, this was a great day for Petworth, Georgia Ave, Ward 4 and the whole city.

A few other items of note. The mayor said that the nearby Safeway is still planning to improve and renovate their store. And the empty lot a few storefronts north on Georgia is also set to be redeveloped and will host another restaurant.

It was a great day. And I got to meet the famous Channel 4 News Reporter/WAMU Friday Politics Cohost – Tom Sherwood!

More photos of the inside (which should make for interesting before and after photos when it’s completed) and floor plans after the jump. (more…)

This week’s contest is actually a bit sad for me. This used to be one of my favorite lawn decorations of the day. It was a great rooster. Well, for a silver lining I thought it’d make a good caption contest. It may be a bit more difficult than some others but I’ve got faith. Your captions in the comments and winner(s) announced Friday.

“Dear PoP,

I live in mount vernon square and i was wondering if you know what the deal is with the metal tracks in the street/side walk around the convention center. they’re on 7th and 9th and on the sidewalks around the building.

i’ve thought of lots of different explanations (both practical and ridiculous) but i’m not really sure. any ideas?”

I am completely stumped. But first reader that gets it (and I can confirm it) gets a free PoP t-shirt. What the Helen of Troy is This?

We’ve looked at the two relatively new buildings on the 3500 block of Warder Street, NW. The rundown house in the middle has been torn down and a new condo building is set to go in the space. I wonder if they’ll paint it yellow? I’ll be sure to update as the building gets constructed and the units go for sale.

I’ve seen a couple of these around town. The one above is near the Petworth metro on New Hampshire Ave. The bottom got cut off but says ‘satisfied?’.

I’m not sure if I’ve shown this one before but the bamboo fence looks great. It’s also cool how they made a nook for the garbage cans.

There’s a few things I like about this Mt. Pleasant home. The window up top is phenomenal. Sadly the second part didn’t show up too well in the photo but the first floor has some sweet stonework.

Back in August I mentioned that Locolat Cafe (18th and Florida Ave, NW) had applied for a liquor license. Looks like they got it! So it got me thinking about Belgian beer. Personally I love Stella, Leffe and Hoegarden. A friend of mine loathes Stella. If I had to pick an absolute favorite I’d vote Hoegarden. I’m wondering if there are other haters of Stella? And in general what is your favorite Belgian beer?

I recall that folks hate curb cuts in the city. This home is located on near 5th and S Streets, NW. It looks to be rather new construction. So I’m wondering – does anyone know how curb cuts are permitted? Should curb cuts be banned on all new construction within the city?

Sorry for the late notice. From an email:

“The Development Corporation of Columbia Heights and the DC Bar Pro Bono Program are working together to offer a free Small Business Brief Advice Legal Clinic on Tuesday, January 26th, 5pm – 7:30pm. The site is the Columbia Heights Community Center, which is located at 1480 Girard Street, NW. This clinic is for aspiring or existing small business owners. Attendees will meet one-on-one with attorneys for brief advice on any legal issues their businesses may be facing.

If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact Catherine Fisher, DCCH Business Development Specialist at 202-483-4986 or cfisher@dcch.org, or Darryl Maxwell, Staff Attorney for the DC Pro Bono Program at 202-737-4700 ext. 3369 or via email at dmaxwell@dcbar.org.”