Here’s a couple of nice examples that lead to vestibules.

I’ve been tracking this house for the past few months at Brown and Monroe Streets, NW. It is completely finished and looks awesome. Even has a great spot for a morning cup of coffee.

More movement on 18th Street, NW. This time a bit further south from yesterday. Lloyd’s was located at 1917 18th St, NW. The plywood recently went up and the permits say that the proposed use will be a restaurant. Anyone happen to hear what type of restaurant is going in here? I’ll be sure to update as this project develops.

These buildings are located just west of 15th Street, NW just north of P Street. I always like to put up examples of curb cuts when I recognize them because in the past folks have been strongly opposed. How do you think these look?

We last judged 2121 11th Street, NW in the beginning of March.

From an email:

“Thursday March 25th 6-9PM.
Food, Drinks & DJ Danny Harris of Fatback.

Also featuring works from local artists:
Joshua Cogan – Photography
Assefa – Paintings
Edmond van der Bijl – Screen Prints”

Ed. Note: Danny Harris contributes the People’s District to PoP.

You can take a virtual look inside from the same guy who did the Columbia Heights video.

This apartment is located above the Petworth Metro at Georgia and Quincy, NW:

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The Craigslist ad says:

“Set atop the Georgia Avenue / Petworth Metro station, Park Place provides unmatched convenience with underground parking, generous building amenities, street-level shops and services and new stores and restaurants nearby. You’ll find spectacular design, modern comfort, and an established, friendly community.”

Ed. Note: Park Place is a PoP advertiser. However, lots of people ask me about this property and bring it up when we look at other rentals nearby (like yesterday). So I figured it was time to give it its own post – does $1680 sound reasonable for a 1 bedroom here?

Photo by PoPville flickr user Hoodsweatsh

“Dear PoP,

I recently purchased a condo conversion in a 4 unit townhouse. 3 of the 4 units have been sold. Over the last 6 months, I have encountered one problem after another. The other owners were experiencing similar problems and we have grown close when we started comparing notes.

We are currently having structural problems with our building (leaky roof for example) and hosts of issues dealing with shoddy workmanship. The builder, in effect, hires unlicensed workers for work and he cuts corners wherever he can. For example, our gas lines were installed improperly, causing a gas leak in our building 3 months ago.

The builder’s name is well known at the DCRA. We have initially consulted with a lawyer, who pulled a record of active lawsuits against him in MD and DC. There were pages and pages of lawsuits against him. As you probably know, builders who do condo conversions are legally bound to post a bond with the city. The bond is to cover items under warranty. When I called the DCRA, they could not find a record of his bond.

My neighbors and I are currently exploring our options. One of them is a lawsuit. We haven’t hired a structural engineer to assess the whole building, but based on our known problems, we believe the damages are not worth more than $30K, maybe $50K tops. This is a lot of money for us, but clearly not a lot of money to a lawyer or a real estate mogul. The builder also clearly knows the ins and the outs of the legal system and uses that to his advantage. Our lawyer friend (who we have not retained) played out a likely scenario:
-lawyer files lawsuit and sends notice to builder
-Builder ignores all letters
- lawyer serves builder
- Builder appears in court, represents himself, and feigns ignorance and or innocence and asks for an extension
- new date appear, builder does not appear
- Builder drags this out…
- etc etc
Meanwhile, our legal fees would mount and our lawsuit drags on.

The builder has economy of scale on his side, and he wins many battles because his accusers give up.

If you could reach out to your readers and ask them about their experiences, that would be a big help. The three of us owners of the building are all single women, middle class, and in our late 20s and early 30s; we inexperienced in these matters.”

This sounds absolutely brutal. Does the lawsuit scenario sound likely? If anyone else dealt with a similar situation – how’d you resolve it?

I’m loving the shot above from slgdc1433. And in a complete contrast – I’m also loving the shot below titled “leftovers” from rosiedawn.

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

And finally more flowers from Jess J.

This row house is located at 1644 Irving Street, NW:

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The flier says:

“2 Unit, Stunning Renovations. 2 Level 3BR, 3.5BA Penthouse. Master w/ SPA bath. Abundant outdoor space – potential roof deck. Amazing Kitchen (Subzero, Thermador, Bosch) & Baths (Sonia, Duravit, Hansgrohe) Main level Flat w/ 2BR, 2BA. Renovated to Studs in 2009. Gorgeous Kitchen, deck. Landscaped Yard, 2 car parking. Unfin basement w/ roughed in Plumb. Rear/Front Access.”

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

I actually went inside this house and was pretty blown away. It is set up that you can rent out the first floor which is pretty sweet in its own right. Personally I think it is essential that a roof deck be added. But all in all I was pretty impressed. What do you guys think of the house itself? It’s yours for $1,350,555.

Sushi Taro is located at 1503 17th Street, NW. I’ve wondered how this place is given its proximity to some of the best restaurants in the city. You can see their menus here. Any fans?

Photo by PoPville flickr user ewilfong

From an email:

“After working with Compassion Over Killing, Tonic Restaurant on Mt. Pleasant St. has just added a brand new vegan menu in addition to their current menu. They are now offering poblano pepper, broccoli risotto, and a lot more! In order to celebrate the new menu, DC Vegan Drinks is being hosted at Tonic on April 5^th at 7 pm.”

While we’re on the topic, I’m still waiting to hear if Vegetate has found a new home.

This photo was shot on expired Kodak Max 400 film by local DC photographer Jennifer Wade.   Join the LOOKDC photo pool.

Dunes © Jennifer Wade 2010

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“Dear PoP,

I was sitting in Tryst last night when I saw 3-4 police cars frantically drive back and forth, followed by an ambulance and a fire truck. It was later when I walked back to my building the officer on 14th and Girard told me there was a shooting on 16th and Kalorama (location might be off since I have the memory of a fish). According to him, the hispanic gang and the black gang have been fighting pretty badly in the past few weeks. The shooting on 14th and Fairmont was also between the same groups and one victim was actually a random person.”

Do you have any more information? I just moved to the neighborhood and would appreciate some safety tips…”

I only saw the following from MPD from the listserv:

“The police department is investigating a shooting which occurred in the 1700 block of Kalorama Rd of an adult male victim.

Anyone with information pls contact MPD on 202-727-9099 or you can provide information to the anonymous tip line on 1-888-919-CRIME or text to 50411″

The previous shooting at 14th and Fairmont was a targeted shooting involving no random individuals according to MPD. While it is sadly common for gangs or crews to feud this is the first I’m hearing of this particular flare up. In the reality of our world, these incidents usually don’t involve bystanders so I’m afraid there are no additional safety tips other than as usual being aware of your environment.

I never know who I’ll meet on my walks… I’ve been admiring Mr. Nelson’s work for years now (as long time readers of this blog will recognize.) So I was taking a photo a mail slot on the 1400 block of Belmont Street, NW (just east of Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park):

and I had immediately recognized Mr. Nelson’s small piece in the front of this house:

But I had never noticed the mail slot before. At any rate as I’m admiring the pieces and taking some photographs a neighbor came over and asked me if I’d like to meet the artist. Mr. Nelson was sitting on the stoop right next to me. I was totally starstruck. Mr. Nelson could not have been nicer. We chatted a bit about his art and the neighborhood. I tried to get him to tell me which was his favorite sculpture in the city but like asking a parent to pick a favorite child he declined to place one above the others.

I consider Mr. Nelson to be a legend. It was truly an honor to have met him. Our city is a much more beautiful place with the addition of his sculptures.

Above is a sculpture from Belmont a bit closer to 14th Street, NW. After the jump is more detail about Mr. Nelson’s background and art from his Web site. (more…)

Last week a reader requested this construction fail sent in by a reader be used for this week’s caption contest. I couldn’t agree more. Your captions in the comments and winner picked Friday.