“Dear PoP,

The Veterans History Project is a Congressionally mandated program at the Library of Congress that collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of America’s wartime veterans. To date, the Project has collected more than 70,000 stories, nearly all collected by volunteers. This Veterans Day, the Veterans History Project urges Americans to pledge to record the story of at least one veteran in their community or neighborhood for the Library of Congress. More than 1,000 veterans die every day in the United States, so these are important elements of history to capture before they disappear forever. People can take the pledge and learn more here.”

Sounds like a great project.

This home is located at 605 Upshur St, NW:

View Larger Map

The flier says:

“Drop dead gorgeous renovation w/ all new windows, new furnace & CAC, gourmet kitchen w/ top of the line Energy Star appliances, ceramic bathrooms which will make your jaw drop, and beautiful new hardwood floors, decorator paint colors throughout, custom large deck on rear and 1 car garage w/ automatic opener. Extra loft/den area would make great office/playroom or exercise area!”

You can find more info here and photos here.

So people ask me how do I pick homes for GDoN and rental options. GDoN posts are homes that I usually pass during my walks. Exceptions are houses that are emailed to me by folks. Rental options I usually find via craigslist but sometimes requests are emailed to me as well. These are normally indicated by “reader request, owner request” etc. So don’t hesitate to email me with interesting homes/rentals you come across.

Anyway, I saw this house last weekend and thought it would still be for sale when I planned on posting it today. I was (happily) surprised to see that it was already under contract. I’ll admit, I didn’t think it was going to go for this asking price. But I do think think the renovation looks good. And since you guys are better at searching the archives of this site than I am, didn’t another renovated house on this block go for a similar price? What do you guys think of the reno? Are you surprised that the asking price of this 4 bed/3.5 bath was $575,000?

Photo courtesy of Young Playwrights’ Theater

Appreciating more great programs in the city. Learn more about YPT here.

From a press release:

Accepting the award from Mrs. Obama on behalf of Young Playwrights’ Theater was Mariana Pavon Sanchez, who was accompanied to the White House by David Andrew Snider, Producing Artistic Director and CEO of YPT. Mariana Pavón Sánchez, a YPT student, spoke about YPT’s effect on her life and the lives of her fellow students. As a tenth grader at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Mariana participated in YPT’s In-School Playwriting Program. Mariana offers the following advice to other young people who are interested in playwriting: “Don’t be afraid to express yourself through writing, even if it is something small.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user ekelly80

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 week?

I’ll start with a rant: I’ve been sick all week with some insane flu/cold. You’re not supposed to get a cold like this in Oct. Being sick especially sucks when you can’t take a sick day. But thanks to all who have sent kind words.

Rave: Nyquil, starting to feel better, and weekend parties.

Ojo Latino is a series by Néstor Sánchez Cordero. Néstor writes that the photos are from, “Georgetown, M street, October 2010, Holga with Ilford B/W 400 film” The last photo is of “a good old friend, named María Cristina…”

You can see previous Ojo Latino Series here. Welcome back Néstor!

María Cristina after the jump. (more…)

The Museum of Unnatural History

When we first heard the scuttlebutt that an an organization called 826DC would be opening up in the old Score space in the Columbia Heights Plaza, I thought it sounded cool but after visiting them yesterday afternoon – I am blown away.

I chatted briefly with Joe Callahan, Deputy Director 826 DC, Mike Scalke, Program Manager and Erin Archuleta Development and Site Director from 826 National. The DC open house is this Saturday:

“On Saturday, October 23 from 12 to 4 PM, 826DC will be throwing open our doors for our community open house. We’re located at 3233 14th St. NW.

Come explore our fantastic storefront, The Museum of Unnatural History, and hear about our workshops, field trips, in-school, and after-school tutoring programs for kids. The event is open to the public, so please: stop by. Say hi.”

Their Mission Statement explains what they do:

“826DC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. Our services are structured around our understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.

With this in mind we provide drop-in tutoring, field trips, after-school workshops, in-schools tutoring, help for English language learners, and assistance with student publications. All of our programs are challenging and enjoyable, and ultimately strengthen each student’s power to express ideas effectively, creatively, confidently, and in his or her individual voice.”

If you are interested in volunteering you can sign up at the open house or on their Web site (you can also donate here.)

All I’ll say is that the space is amazing (see tons of photos after the jump) and the people I met are filled with a contagious enthusiasm. And at the very least the store itself is worth checking out (from a press release):

“The newest chapter of the nationally renowned 826 writing centers – founded in San Francisco by bestselling author Dave Eggers and award-winning educator Nínive Calegari, and with eight centers across the country – officially opens its doors in Columbia Heights on Saturday. 826DC has operated workshops and provided assistance to teachers in DC Public Schools since fall 2008, reaching more than 1,000 students and publishing two books compiled from students’ writing. The opening of its own dedicated space will expand the nonprofit’s reach to thousands more District students.

To raise funds, inspire creativity, and advertise their programs to the local community, 826 centers also include a street-front retail store filled with unusual products, entertaining signage, and, of course, their books for sale. San Francisco’s Pirate Supply Store sells glass eyes and one-of-a-kind peg legs, 826NYC’s Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company offers custom-fit capes. Located on the heavily trafficked 14th Street in the hub of this vibrant neighborhood, 826DC will also house its own storefront, The Museum of Unnatural History, an homage to fictional scientists that will spark creativity and create a fun and safe atmosphere for field trips, after-school tutoring, and weekend workshops.”

Lots more photos after the jump. (more…)

Voted one of the best real estate agents in DC by the Washington City Paper Readers’ Choice Poll in 2009, hipchickindc aka the not-so-hip Suzanne Des Marais is an Associate Broker with Urban Pace. She lives (and sells a lot of houses) in Bloomingdale, but works all over DC, with everyone from first time buyers to highly regarded developers. Unless specifically noted, neither she nor the company that she is affiliated with represented any of the parties or were directly involved in the transaction reported below. Unless otherwise noted, the source of information is Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), which is the local multiple listing system. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Featured Property: 136 North Carolina Ave SE

Original List Price: $779,000.
List Price at Contract: $779,000.

List Date: 09/08/2010
Days on Market: 9
Settled Sales Price: $772,500.
Settlement Date: 10/12/2010
Seller Subsidy: $0.
Bank Owned?: No Short Sale? No

Type Of Financing: Conventional with a first and second trust. A select few lenders are currently offering a 2nd trust. Typically, the borrower must have stellar credit and still puts 10% of their own cash down. This financing strategy can be used to avoid private mortgage insurance. It also may be a good choice for someone who is expecting a lump sum of cash or gets paid in bonuses and intends to pay the second trust off sooner rather than later.

Original GDoN is: here.

The Listing can be seen: here. To see the mouse on house tour, click the film strip icon.

Given that this property falls into the very narrow margin that is actually identified as the legal subdivision of Capitol Hill, and that you can practically look out the front door and see the Capitol Police standing on street corners, I think we can avoid the typical dispute of whether or not we all consider this Capitol Hill. This is quintessential Capitol Hill. Period.

No central air, pink subway tile bathroom, street parking, “finished” basement…no problem. It’s The Hill! Sold in 9 days. $772,500.

Hey, it does have some nice heart of pine floors, gorgeous unpainted wood doors and trim, a huge 2000+ square foot lot, LOVE the vestibule tile, and yes, it came with a hot tub.

“Dear PoP,

After MPD told me that the picketers outside my office building (downtown) who are protesting another firm in the building, didn’t need a permit to cause a ruckus and disrupt my business, I did a quick Google search to find out more about the picketers’ grievances. I’m all for fair wages and labor standards, and I’m also for allowing people to protest in public. But what I found out about these particular picketers destroyed any and all goodwill I had for them. They’re non-union workers, paid by the unions to protest!

There was a Wall Street Journal article written up about this practice in July. Sure enough, the unions in the article are the same ones represented on my sidewalk, and the signs are the same, too.

According to the WSJ, they have no opinion about the issue they’re protesting. These folks have been around almost two weeks, and there’s no indication that they’re going anywhere anytime soon.”

The WSJ article says:

“For a lot of our members, it’s really difficult to have them come out, either because of parking or something else,” explains Vincente Garcia, a union representative who is supervising the picketing.

So instead, the union hires unemployed people at the minimum wage—$8.25 an hour—to walk picket lines. Mr. Raye says he’s grateful for the work, even though he’s not sure why he’s doing it. “I could care less,” he says. “I am being paid to march around and sound off.”

Ed. Note: It is not clear if these particular protesters are paid or not but I still think it’s an interesting question.

Wow, I’ve never heard of something like this before. It def. is an interesting question. What do you guys think – is it cool to hire people to picket/protest for you?

Photo by PoPville flickr user DCityDude

As expected, a ton of good entries this week. But congrats to JDM with:

“Man: Alright, get ready for it. You can do this. You’re the man! You’re the man!

Conductor: Gallery Place-Chinatown

Man: [Sprints through rush hour crush]”

Runner up to AWard with:

“I’m gonna hang by the bar. Put out the vibe.”

Bravo, Som Records, Bravo. I highly recommend bookmarking this page for gray days in the future.

This is on the side of Sushi Ko located at 2309 Wisconsin Ave. NW. The photo is about a week old but it looks promising. I’ll be sure to follow up when it’s completed.

Well I’ve run out of cool “double houses” for this week so please accept the last two notable row houses I spotted from the Burleith/Georgetown area.

Photo by PoPville flickr user Wayan Vota

From an email:

“Cathy Lanier, Chief of Police; Kimberly Missouri, Commander, Fourth District; Linda Harllee Harper, Chief of Committed Services, Department of Youth and Rehabilitation Services; and Teresa Howie, Deputy Chief, Superior Court Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office will join Councilmember Muriel Bowser for an in-depth review of recent criminal activity and actions initiated to thwart crime in Ward 4.

The Georgia Avenue/Rock Creek East Family Support Collaborative; the Montgomery County, MD Police Department; Montgomery County Councilmember Valerie Ervin’s Office; and the Silver Spring Regional Center have also been invited.

When: Thursday, October 21, 2010

Time: 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Where: Ohev Sholom – The National Synagogue
1600 Jonquil Street, N.W.

If you have questions regarding this meeting please contact Brandon Todd at btodd@dccouncil.us or 202-724-8052.”

Back in late Sept. I reported some scuttlebutt saying that the Brass Knob Warehouse located at 57 N Street, NW would be closing soon.

Thanks to a reader for sending in confirmation from the Post today:

Owner Ron Allan says the rent on the 24,000-square-foot property at 57 N St. NW has become prohibitive. In addition, the economy, the extreme weather and the city’s shift to modern condos have slowed sales in the business Allan likens to a “Victorian Home Depot.”

This is one time I hoped my scuttlebutt would be wrong. I’ll be sure to keep my eye on this space to see what it becomes. In the meantime you can see what a cool space the warehouse was here.

And they will be liquidating all their contents. You can read more about that here. And of course, “The Brass Knob Architectural Antiques will remain open at 2311 18th Street NW.”

As a graduate of the School of International Service (MA ’99) all I can say is – this is bull shit! I went to classes in a shack compared to this. Alright, alright, I’m happy for the current and new students. This building is great!

A couple photos of the inside after the jump. (more…)