Photo by PoPville flickr user JRoseC

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Photo by PoPville flickr user mosley.brian

Photo of ’14th and U St, NW 1988′ by Michael Horsley

Thanks to a friend of mine for sending this incredible link to a flickr series called ‘Hidden Washington DC’. The description says:

“From 1985 to 1988 I wandered the streets of Washington DC photographing the unseen and vanishing moments of the city. These images lay dormant in the archives until I realized that they needed to be brought to life before the persons and spaces are totally lost to entropy and time.”

They are absolutely fascinating. See them all here.

And many thanks to Mr. Horsley for allowing me to post a couple of his great photos.

Photo by Michael Horsley

This condo is located at 3303 Water St, NW:

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The flier says:

“Featured in Washington’s “SPACES” magazine. Outstanding high floor condominium, endless walls of windows provide streaming light & dramatic sweeping views of Potomac River & skyline. Incredible kitchen with island & stainless steel counters & appliances. Generously proportioned rooms & custom features offer serenity to the owner. 2-car parking, pool, 3 roof decks. Not to be missed.”

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

How does this one rank for condo porn? This 3 bed/3.5 bath condo is yours for $4,750,000 (monthly condo fee $3,824).

Photo by PoPville flickr user Madame Meow

Yup, I laughed to when I saw this email in my inbox. But it’s for real:

Seasonal Pantry is starting a sausage club. Fall is around the corner, and football season is already underway. That means it’s time to cook up some sausage and get ready to eat hearty meat for the cooler season.

How does it work?
Our club will work like a CSA, or a community-supported agriculture produce-buying scheme, where members pay a farmer at the beginning of the season and receive a load of fruit and veggies every week.

Here’s what we’ve got to offer:
For the second (pickup 1) and fourth (pickup 2) weeks of October (pickups are Thursdays and Fridays October 7 or 8 and 21 or 22), you’ll get three packages with 5 to 6 sausage links in each one. A sausage is 3 to 4 ounces, so that’s roughly 6 pounds of meat for the whole month. At the beginning of the week, you’ll get an email with the types of sausage and where to come get them.

Details after the jump. (more…)

Domku is located at 821 Upshur St NW. Back when I first started this site we didn’t have this section so we’re long over due for this one. Their Web site says:

“Since opening in early 2005, Domku has offered DC residents and tourists a unique dining alternative to the hurried and glitzy offerings of downtown DC. The eclectic menu of mostly Slavic and Scandinavian fare has brought pierogis, borscht, goulash, Janssen’s Temptation, and pickled herring into the everyday language of DC diners. Our menu stays as true to the foods of the region as possible but journeys, on occasion, to other former Soviet bloc regions such as Hungary, Bulgaria and the Caucasus. Perfect for cold weather months, the food is light and healthful enough to enjoy all year long.”

You can see their menus here. Back when Domku first opened it was a huge score for the neighborhood attracting folks from all over the city. Now that it’s been over 5 years what are your thoughts?

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.

“Today was just another sad day for our community. Murder of any kind is so senseless, but it is especially hard when it is a young person. I knew the young gentleman who was killed on U Street. He used to come around the Kalorama Recreation Center, where I work, all of the time to play basketball and hang out. His name was Jamal Coates, but people called him ‘Big Pun.’ I always knew him as a decent and respectful young man. Now, he is just another kid who died too young and will never get a chance to marry or have grandchildren. His legacy ended right there on the street. It is so sad.

“For 39 years, I have been working with kids all over this city through the Parks and Recreation Department. When I was a child, I was a trouble maker, but a friend introduced me to my neighborhood recreation center. The people there really saved me and turned my life around. At the time, I didn’t know that I had it inside of me to help others and be a leader, but the people there saw it in me. They helped me to realize my potential and here I am, 39 years later, still holding on and doing what I can to help our youth.

“See, I can relate to these kids because I’ve been there. I grew up in a single-parent household, as one of 13 children. I was the first to go to college, and I have worked hard all of my life and have been rewarded. I am proud to say that I won the Cafritz award in 2006 as a distinguished D.C. employee. No matter how good you are, though, these streets are some of the toughest competition there is.

Continues after the jump. (more…)

One of my favorite things about running this blog is when I get invited over to readers homes to check out their morning coffee spots. This couple in Bloomingdale have one of the nicest roof decks I’ve ever seen. Well the roof deck is quite nice but I mean the views. The views were insane. 360 degrees. A coffee spot like this definitely contributes to the Beautiful Life! Thanks again to these readers for their kindness in showing me their home.

“Dear PoP,

Meet Amanda and Alexis. They and their little sister Ashley and their mom Deborah lived down the hall in my building in Columbia Heights for several years in the early 90s. We were friends. They used to come over and bake cookies, dress up in my junk jewelry and scarves, play games and hang out. We carved Halloween pumpkins, I took them to the library. Alexis once wrote a story on my computer it started – “Once a pond of time.”

I wasn’t a mentor or big sister or anything like that – I was just a neighbor and they were fun kids – bright, sweet, goofy, but thanks to their mother Deborah, also considerate and well-mannered – good kids. I called them the “Triple A’s.” Over the years as they grew into young women I saw less of them, but we would run into each other in the neighborhood and catch up.

On Sep. 18, the youngest sister, Ashley, was murdered. Today at her funeral, there was a shooting. Now – there are the usual postings on the usual blogs – gangs, crews, section 8, drive-bys, hoodlums – end of the world etc. etc. But perhaps people might want to know a little about the real people in the center of this tragedy.

This is a family from our own neighborhood – even if, for most of you, that part of the neighborhood is a different world. Please let yourselves think past all the sensationalism – she was killed after leaving a nightclub! She was friends with gang members! She lived in Section 8 housing! Please think of all the possible ways of life beyond the stereotypes, because Ashley and her family lived far beyond the stereotypes. Every 21 year old woman goes out dancing, and most of us have gotten in some trouble because of it. Every young person growing up in DC knows someone in a gang. That doesn’t mean much. For many years Deborah was indeed a “welfare mom” living in Section 8 housing. And within that system she worked hard to raise strong girls who are doing well with their lives. I thank goodness – and pay my taxes gladly – that those precious little girls weren’t living on the street or in some crap hotel.

There will be plenty of time to debate what “should be done” and to hopefully examine the pathology – for it is a pathology as deadly as plague – that is infecting an element of our society, but this is not the time.

(Photos are used with the permission of the family)”

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Washington Post reports:

“One person was killed and several others were critically injured early Wednesday in an apartment building fire that shut down 16th Street NW, a major commuter artery, during the morning rush, officials said.

Firefighters were called to the blaze, in the 3100 block of 16th Street in Columbia Heights, at 3:45 a.m., said D.C. fire department spokesman Pete Piringer. They escorted dozens of people out of the eight-story building, carrying some through smoke-filled hallways or down ladders. One person jumped from an upper story and was gravely injured.”

TBD reports:

“The deceased is reportedly a 38-year-old man, AP reports. D.C. fire department spokesman Pete Piringer says two people are listed in serious condition and another three are listed in critical condition, including a child. Piringer says 125 people have been displaced and were given shelter at a nearby recreation center.”

They have photos here.

Photo by PoPville flickr user fromcaliw/love

“Dear PoP,

My nephews were sent home from Day Care Monday because they may or may not have seen a bite on one of them last week. They will not be allowed back to day care until we get an exterminator out to check our home for bed bugs. The kids have no strange bites and we have not seen any bed bugs in the house. They also didn’t mention this last week when they may have seen the bite.

The exterminators we have called will not come out to the house until we can verify that we have bed bugs so that they can treat the problem. One of the companies mentioned that if the Day Care had no proof that one of the kids had a bite, they can not legally send them home or bar them from going back. They also said that the day care can’t request documentation that exterminators can not legally provide (letter of proof of no bed bugs).

Should I spend $500 for an exterminator to come and treat 1 room in order to have documentation that we have been treated?”

Wow, this sounds like hysteria. Not that I would minimize the fear of bed bugs [we spoke about their stigma and difficulty in exterminating here] but how could the Day Care even tell that the bite was a bed bug bite rather than say a mosquito? What do you guys think – is this absurd or is the day care just being cautious? What should the writer of this letter do?

Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr. T in DC

Your captions in the comments and winner (free PoP t-shirt) picked Friday.

On 7th St, NW not far from the Convention Center.

This cool one is from right near the C&O Canal.

One of my all time favorites from Georgetown. Much like really cool fire escapes I find myself incapable of walking by without snapping a few photos.

From a press release:

The District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT) will host a public meeting on Wednesday, September 29, 2010, to update residents and merchants on the preliminary streetscape design plans for 14th Street, NW between Thomas Circle and Florida Avenue.

The streetscape design strives to help create an identity for the 14th Street corridor that reflects the neighborhood’s history and diversity, while making needed infrastructure and safety improvements and accommodating multi-modal transportation.

At the September 29 meeting, the project engineers will present the 65% design plans and solicit feedback and comments from the community. The final design plans are scheduled to be completed in November. Construction is expected to start by spring of 2011 and be completed in late summer of next year.

More information about the 14th Street Streetscape Project is available at: http://dashboard.ddot.dc.gov/ward1/14thThomFLAve.

Meeting Information:

What: Public Meeting for 14th Street, NW Streetscape Project

When: Wednesday, September 29, 2010
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm (Presentation starts at 6:45 pm)

Where: Reeves Center
2000 14th Street NW
2nd Floor Community Room

Photo of Thomas Circle by PoPville flickr user bajidc®