Well I knew the 80s were coming back because I saw folks on H St, NE sporting ‘Members Only’ jackets. Anyway with this Nancy Reagan reference, it’s now official the 80s are back!

Photo from PoPville flickr user rosiedawn

“Dear PoP,

Last night we were robbed again! Between the hours of 2am – 5am. The thief ripped out a window screen on a back porch and jiggled open an old window that did not have a lock on it (as of this afternoon it does). Our house has an alarm but we do not normally activate it while we are all home. Thankfully the thief only stole a couple of small electronics that were within eye sight and reach.”

and

“Dear PoP,

My roommate was cooking in the kitchen in the back of the house and heard a noise upstairs from her bedroom, which is directly above the kitchen. She didn’t think anything of it and went back to cooking. A little bit later she went to her room and noticed her window (no bars on the window) was open. She then walked down the hallway to talk to another roommate and ask if the landlord was putting our window units in. When she said “No” she walked back to her room and saw someone on the back porch running away. (She has a small porch off her room on the second level, so the person had climbed up to the second floor porch, probably using the neighbors porch which is slightly higher than our back porch, opened the window and then who knows what transpired between the time he opened the window and she saw him). A short chase ensued with the help of a neighbor, but the guy ended up grabbing a bike that he had left on the corner and riding away. The cops were called, and they had seen the bike and were actually in the area looking for someone suspicious.”

Both of these incidents took place in Mt. Pleasant so remember to lock your windows.

A few weeks ago there was concern that the U and 14th Streets, NW area had reached its cap of 25% for eating and drinking establishments. On twitter @dcra reports, “Zoning Commission approves raising cap for Arts Overlay to 30 percent immediately – agrees to consider further increase at June”. While we heard that the cap could’ve increased to 50% an initial increase to 30% should at least allow a few more new places to set up. Presumably the percentage will increase a bit more in June.

DCfireems says on twitter:

“Quincy St NW – cause under invest – appears accidental – damage $100K – maybe 2 families displaced – no injuries”

And a reader who sent in the photos writes:

“Apparently the fire is out now, but it looks like 612, 614, and 616 Quincy St NW burned today. 612 and 614 look particularly devastated, 616 (the one with the fire truck ladder over the roof) at least has all of its windows. 612 has been vacant for years now, the other two houses are occupied.”

It is sad to hear that a couple of families have been displaced but thankfully there were no injuries, great response from the emergency responders.

This is actually next door to the house of the day (see below). I’m surprised this doesn’t violate some historic Georgetown rules.

This is one of the coolest I’ve seen in a while. Perhaps not that impressive from the above photo but when you see it perched atop this house…

This Georgetown house seems a bit plain at first sight but if you look at the left hand side of the photo, it kinda looks like a mirror.  It’s a bit bizarre when you’re walking by it and realize that it’s not a mirror.  Maybe it’s just me… Obviously when you get up close the illusion wears off:

Looks like crossfit gyms are becoming popular in DC. Last summer one opened at 1469 Church Street, NW in Logan Circle. This weekend, I followed up on a reader tip and indeed there is another one coming to 624 New York Ave, NW in the Mt. Vernon Square neighborhood. They plan to open up on May 3rd.

It’ll be interesting to see if all the development at CityVista (5th and K Streets, NW) links up with the Chinatown development on 7th.

While we’re on the subject of carriage houses, I thought these were a couple of interesting examples. These are both from alleys in Capitol Hill. Do you think the addition of windows works on this one:

How ’bout this one (not sure if it was ever technically a carriage house…):

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From MPD:

“On Sunday, April 25, 2010, at 11:10 p.m., a Robbery Hold Up/Gun offense occurred in the 2600 blk. of Woodley Pl., N.W. (PSA 204) and was subsequently reported to the MPD.

The victim reported that an unknown suspect(s) got out of a parked vehicle and approached him from the front. He produced a black colored semi-automatic handgun and told him to give him his wallet and to empty his pockets. Before the victim could react, a second suspect got out of the same auto and began to go through the victim’s pockets. A third suspect stayed in the vehicle the entire time the offense was occurring. The suspects took a cell phone, money, credit cards, NJ Driver’s License as well as other personal items and left the scene in the vehicle.

The suspects were described as follows:
#1-Black/Male, 20-25 YOA, 6’0’’, 175 lbs. (medium build), with short black hair, clean shaven and a medium complexion. He was wearing a blue colored jacket and pants and was armed with a semi-automatic handgun.
#2-Black/Male, 20-25 YOA, thin build and a medium complexion.
#3-Black/Male, nothing further.

The vehicle, a dark blue 4-door, no further description, was being driven by the third suspect.”

This rental is located at 1629 Columbia Road NW,

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The Craigslist ad says:

“Spacious Studio located in DC’s most vibrant neighborhood. Just walking distance from shopping, restaurants, and historical venues. This 8th floor cozy 480 sq. ft. home offers a beautiful hardwood flooring, newly remodeled galley kitchen, enchanted style bath, and huge walk-in closets”

Another bonus not mentioned is that in The Argonne you can also get Pica Taco.

Does $1425 a month sound reasonable?

Photo from flickr user shil

Back in October ’08 we first heard plans of Waffle House coming to DC by Washington Redskin Fred Smoot. This morning on the DC Sports Bog he repeats the claim:

“”The thing about it is, D.C. loves me as much as much as I love D.C.,” Smoot said. “I’m always gonna be a part of D.C. I’m actually in the process of starting a couple businesses up here. I’m bringing Waffle House to D.C. — I think they’ve been yearning for it for a long time. My first location is right off 14th and U, so I’m gonna always be back and forth here, and D.C. know I love them.”

Thanks to a reader for sending the word. Do you consider this good news or bad news? Since we first heard about it a couple of years ago, what are the odds that it’ll actually happen?

I thought the above was a great shot from rockcreek of Greater Harvest Baptist Church, 3231 Sherman Avenue, NW.

And below is a beautiful shot of the skyline by seligson2.

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

This carriage house is located at 210 10th Street, SE:

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The flier says:

“Seductive, secluded, surrounded, surreal. .. yep all those are usuable. The garish baths are elaborate, sensual & not your usual shower baths, the stairs have bronze railings, Catwaba stone wall the surrounds and stairs. .. Venetian Crystal, handwrought palladium doorways. .. for one or two persons or more intimately.”

You can find more info here and an amazing virtual tour here.

The reader writes:

“ok, here is a completely insane carriage house. I looked at the virtual tour and cannot believe this place is for real. They certainly didn’t do the usual “staging” to make the place bland enough for potential buyers to see themselves in it.”

This virtual tour left me speechless. I’ve been doing these ‘Good Deal or Not?’ posts for a while, but this one really blew me away. Parts of it are definitely a bit insane. Thanks again to the reader for sending it in. It’s yours for $400,000. How long do you think it’ll last and what’s your favorite part of the house?

“Dear PoP,

I was participating in the DC Servathon this weekend and came upon a chainlink fence off of Georgia Ave, by the Howard U Gadget Center (Gresham-ish cross street), with several padlocks on it. Being a silly suburbanite, I assume that they mean something. Do you know what these locks mean, if anything?”

Well I consider myself fairly urban and I wondered the same thing last March!

I’m not sure if we ever figured it out but at the time WDC had a good guess:

“A memorial to stolen bikes?”