This house on the 1300 block of Monroe St, NW is getting a bay window. As a huge fan of bay windows I had to give them props. I hope it comes out looking good. I’ll be sure to post when it’s completed.

If you have an event, fundraiser or happy hour you’d like featured on the 5pm Post, please send an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail(dot)com

From an email:

What better way to cook with an unlimited supply of free basil than participating at the Marion Street Garden Basil Bonanza?

“ City Blossoms, in conjunction with the Runcible Spoon, is hosting a basil-themed potluck and cook-off. Drop by the garden (on Marion St. between P & Q Streets, NW) and pick up any amount of basil you need on Monday, August 23. Then, go home, cook your thing (it can be a dessert, main dish, appetizer, whatever), and bring it back on Wednesday, August 25.

1. Come Monday (August 23) from 4pm to 7pm or Wednesday (August 25) from 4pm to 6:30 to pick basil (thai, genovese, lemon, and box).
2. Prep basil in a tasty way (beverage, appetizer, main dish, dessert, whatever!) for 5 or more people and bring the dish to share on Wednesday, August 25th from 6:30-8:30pm.
3. Eat lots of whatever other people bring.
4. Enjoy the loveliness of Marion Street Garden and meet other happy basil fanatics.

There will be awards for the best dishes, so cook with your best effort. Good luck!”

It seems this is another location that is tough to pick a winner. The former location of Enology Wine Bar became Alliance Tavern back in January. A reader noticed that the storefront had been recently papered over. A neighbor thinks that they’ve closed but I called their phone (and left a message) which is still connected as is their Web site.

Were there any fans of Allicance Tavern? Anyone hear any rumors of what’s going on here? I’ll be sure to update when more info becomes available.

The two buildings getting rehabbed on the 3500 Block of 13th St, NW are nearing completion. (I believe the one on the left was a rehab and the one on the right was new construction.) It’s nice to see so many homes get fixed up on this block. How do you think these turned out? Here are the renderings from Capital City Real Estate:

It was a fierce battle for first but Goblin pulled out a victory over Dizzy and Ruby.

Goblin will face Rocky and the winner of the cat semifinalist to be posted tomorrow.

This rental is located at 2120 Vermont Ave, NW:

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The Craigslist ad says:

“Fabulous studio layout in exciting U Street Location accessible to tons of restaurants, cafes and nightlife. 1.5 blocks to U Street Metro.
2120 Vermont Avenue NW, the popular Rhapsody building offers a fitness room, underground parking, massive rooftop, and management on-site.
Open kitchen with breakfast bar and updated appliances.
Spacious floor plan with updated bath and great closet space.
Private patio off spacious Living Area.
Washer/dryer in-unit. Available for September 15th.”

Does $1600 sound reasonable for this unit?

Photo by PoPville flickr user ianseanlivingston

“Dear PoP,

Have you heard about the guy or guys on the metro asking for money with a real novel approach? I’ve heard this several times now and it just hit me this weekend. Can’t remember if it’s one guy or several. The story goes that a guy is up in DC on leave from the military and he’s had his wallet stolen and needs to get back to the marine corps base in lejeune. The guy I saw this weekend had the hair cut and a military bag. He looked the part. After a friend and I got this story we talked and figured out we had both heard this.

Anyways, novel approach to panhandling. It kind of irks me that this guy tugs on the support the troops sentiment. Lots of people fall for it because the kids is so sincere and I hate to see him get away with it. I much rather see the guys with the sign “Ninjas killed my family. Need money for karate lessons.”

Sounds very similar to the door to door scams we hear about from time to time.

Photo by PoPville flickr user bajidc®

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

Photo by PoPville flickr user sciascia

“Dear PoP,

I live right near Highlands/former Mocha Hut (4706 14th Street, NW), and I’ve been there for brunch a few times (it’s been delightful – good food, nice neighborhood-y feel). I happened to catch the chef/proprietor and got to chat a little bit. He told me that a) their license was approved and they should be moving on that soon, and b) the bus barn is being developed into something that’s not a bus barn – he said he thought mixed use condos like the types that are in the Petworth/CH area. I think there was some question as to whether this was an unsubstantiated rumor? Even excluding the condo issue, that block is pretty cute, and seems prime to me for some more neighborhood restaurant/bar/retail action.”

Back in May we talked about Bus Barn rumors at 4615 14th St, NW. We learned more about this section of 14th St, NW in June.

This home is located at 1530 Monroe St, NW:

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The flier says:

“Victorian Beauty in the heart of Columbia Heights! Rich period details include High ceilings, hardwood floors & exposed brick. Spacious kitchen w. breakfast bar. Master Suite w. tiled shower, claw foot soaking tub and ambient heated floors. Lower level office/4th bedroom w. rear entrance and ample storage. Fenced in backyard, double decks and 2 parking spots. Motivated Seller!”

You can find more info here and photos here.

What do you think of the house itself? Does $674,999 sound reasonable for this 4 bed/2.5 bath?

Photo by PoPville flickr user a.w.miller

“Dear PoP,

I wanted to share surprisingly positive experience I had with DC’s online services request. After the last big storm we had there was a large tree limb that broke off and was hanging down over the sidewalk at the entrance to our back alley. If it had fallen on someone, it would have caused serious injury. I entered a request on the DC government site for Tree Removal. This was this past Friday morning. By Saturday morning, the limb was gone. I was shocked given that I have read some comments on your blog from people saying that DC’s services requests are a waste of time. I just experienced the opposite. They even sent me an e-mail confirmation that the request had been resolved.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user JosephLeonardo

You can talk about whatever is on your mind – quality of life issues, a beautiful tree you spotted, scuttlebutt, or any random questions/thoughts you may have. I’ll open this thread every Monday and Friday. So anything good happen to you this weekend?

I’ll start with a rave – the talk of a Petworth Safeway redevelopment by the folks behind City Vista has me at a near giddy level.

And a rant: hearing about the murder of the student in Sherman Circle who was just riding his bike home has put an empty pit in my stomach. It is the feeling of frustration, sadness and anger. A feeling, sadly, felt far too often.

I would like to express my condolences to the family of Mr. Neil Michael Godleski.

Back in May I wrote a post titled, Battle of the Safeways: Haves vs. Have Nots which generated a huge discussion. I’m happy to relay the news that Petworth’s Safeway may become a ‘Have’ from Jonathan O’Connell in today’s Post:

“The developer behind of one of the District’s more successful recent condominium projects [ City Vista in Mt. Vernon Sq.] is nearing a deal with Safeway to bring a 210-unit housing and grocery store development to Georgia Avenue, in the Petworth neighborhood.”

We’ve heard rumblings of Petworth’s Safeway getting redeveloped many times before but this is the first time the folks behind the City Vista project have been mentioned. Suffice it to say, I think this would be a tremendous development. I will now keep my fingers crossed and continue to knock wood until this deal is officially signed…

The sidewalk is dotted with people pushing carts full of furniture, carrying dusty suitcases, or gingerly walking with paintings slung under their arms. I’m sitting at the corner of 9th and Massachusetts on the granite blocks outside the Convention Center. Sitting to my immediate left is a rusted model of a 1920s bus inside a circle of people I’m assuming contains its owner. To my right is a duo of women babysitting a largish discolored piece of wood wrapped in a leather purse. They are all here for the final leg of the 2010 season of the Antiques Roadshow, the popular PBS program that’s billed as “part adventure, part history lesson, part treasure hunt,” which came to the Washington Convention Center on August 21.

I head inside, and am greeted by Mary Stewart, a volunteer for WETA, and my media escort for the day. Security is relatively tight and I am not permitted to go anywhere without her. We chat for a bit about the show, and I learn some interesting factoids (it’s highest rated prime-time PBS series, appraisers see over 1,400 objects an hour) as we ride the elevator down into the lower level, a sprawling, spartan hangar of a room. From the escalator, I see a line snaking its way back toward us. A projector silently plays a faded episode of the series on the back wall of the gargantuan room. The episode is explaining the finer points of a 19th century kewpie doll to no one in particular. The attendees in the long line are waiting to be triaged, which means their items are reviewed by type and then told to stand in line at one of the various booths. Mary said that attendees typically wait three hours to have their items appraised, but that wait depends on the items. Paintings and jewelry have the longest lines. Sports memorabilia, on the other hand, is almost deserted.

The booths themselves form a giant ring facing inward, and attendees mill about under the studio lights in the center. One man carelessly drags a small, dark curio chest on a rug behind him. I don’t have the heart to ask if he’s had it appraised yet.

Continues after the jump. (more…)

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I’ve been getting tons of emails about this terrible news. Sorry for the delay in posting, I was out of town for the weekend.

UPDATE from TBD:

“Police say Neil Michael Godleski, 31, was riding his bike when he was shot at and chased by the suspect or suspects. Police are looking into robbery as a possible motive.

Godleski was a senior, majoring in biology, [at Catholic University] ABC 7 News has learned.”

Original report from MPD:

Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch are investigating a fatal shooting which occurred in the Unit block of Sherman Circle, NW.

On Sunday, August 22, 2010 shortly after 12:30 am, units responded to the Unit Block of Sherman Circle, NW for the report of a shooting. Upon their arrival, they located a victim suffering from gunshot wounds. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services arrived and transported the victim to a local area hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The decedent is identified as 31 year-old Neil Michael Godleski of the 500 block of Ingraham Street, NW.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the police at (202) 727-9099 or 1-888-919-CRIME (1-888-919-2746). The Metropolitan Police Department currently offers a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone that provides information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons wanted for any homicide committed in the District of Columbia.

Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to D.C. CRIME SOLVERS at 1-866-411-TIPS and to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by text messaging 50411. If the information provided by the caller to the Crime Solvers Unit leads to an arrest and indictment, that caller will be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

In other disturbing crime news. On Fri. night/Sat. morning there was a shooting in Shaw. From MPD:

“An adult male was shot at 8th and R St NW at approximately 3:00 am. He was transported to an area hospital in stable condition.”

Also on Fri. night/Sat. morning there was a shooting in Columbia Heights. From MPD:

“An adult male was shot in the 3000 block of 14 St NW and was transported to an area hospital in stable condition.”