DC Metrocentric

There is a very interesting method of construction going on at 11th and F street NW. The top four stories of this long abandoned building are being supported on little structural stilts. It looks like the buildings on either side are really providing much of the support and stability!

The lengths that builders and architects can go to preserve a facade is amazing, and beyond the boarded up windows and graffiti, this buildings exterior is very classic and definitely worth preserving!

[Photo Flickr Credit: RockCreek]

We were just talking about thanksgiving decorations and what do you know… Don Juan in Mount Pleasant is getting in the Holiday spirit too!

It’s hard to tell, but look closely, Santa is holding a chicken leg!

Don Juan’s is on Lamont Street in NW.

How do you decorate for thanksgiving? We know that typically decorations are limited to the dinner table, but if some people already have Christmas lights up, surely some people decorate the outside of their homes for this important holiday as well!

We are big fans of the tasteful use of autumn leaves and turkeys. Pumpkins are ok too, but what we really want to see is bright lights, send us your pictures! We will post the good ones, show us your holiday spirit!

As always, send your photos, and any other tips, comments, questions, or queries to dcmetrocentric@gmail.com

Update: This house below is amazing, and just what we were talking about! Keep the pictures coming!

Don’t let the amazing animated photo of construction (below) deceive you, the Capital Hill Towers on New Jersey Ave, SE has one extremely cheesy spy themed website. The Condo sites main page looks like you are accessing a mainframe on a restricted website.

Once you are in the site, the menu lists thinly veiled spy references for all the typical sections of a new condo website. Amenities are listed as “Methods of Seduction”, views as “surveillance”, neighborhood as “local connections”, and floor plans as “home base”.

Do they realize that adults are the ones who buy condos? Not 14 year old boys! You have to check this one out yourself!

Your mission, should you choose to accept it… Capital Hill Towers Website

Just opened at 1626 U street is Greater Goods, an eco friendly consumer products store. The store is the brain child of Daniel Velez and offers green technology products and services for home use. Their store will stock things like insulation, Dual Flush Toilet Kits, Cleaning Supplies, Personal Care, Programmable Thermostats, and Compact Fluorescent Lighting (CFL’s).

Not only is this store the first of its kind for the area, it is an entirely new concept in this country. Given the increasing level of activism and attention the environment is receiving, a store with the products to enable consumers to be able to walk the walk, as well as talk the talk is admirable.

The Store is now open from 1-8pm Monday through Saturday and 11-6pm Saturdays. Check it out and support the community and the environment all in one stop!

[GreaterGoods via Washington Business Journal]

Good Morning Washington, time to start a new week! This lovely picture by flickr user thepres6 captures something we see every day (bridges) and shows it to us in a whole new light. The bridge provides a nice asymmetrical frame for the rising sun captured at just the right moment. Just Lovely!

Radio One Needs New Land [InShaw]

H Street May Cap Number of Bars [FrozenTropics]

Brits Invade DC for Cheep Chic [PennQuarterLiving]

The Waterview complex in Rosslyn is nearing completion, and now the Hotel Palomar and Restaurant Domaso on the fourth floor of the second building are open for business.

Metrocurean (who we love for her use of the prefix metro-) highlighted the menu at Domaso which is severing Northern Italian cuisine that showcases ingredients from local farms. On the menu: oversized ravioli filled with potatoes, crispy pancetta, goat milk butter and shaved Pecorino; grilled jumbo shrimp with buckwheat polenta and lemon sauce; and grilled veal chop, roasted cipolline and smashed parsnips.

 We are planning on checking it out for it’s views of the Potomac and Georgetown, but from the fourth floor, we are wondering how great they could be? We will report back with pictures as soon as we get a chance… stay tuned!

Looking for something to do this weekend? This Sunday starting at noon, the Smithsonian American Art Museum is having an all day celebration in honor of their new courtyard.

The Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard is the centerpiece of the newly renovated Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery. The elegant glass canopy was designed by world renowned architects Foster + Partners. These are the guys that did the amazing City Hall building in London. Internationally acclaimed landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson did the courtyard’s interior design. Check it out if you get a chance, there is going to be live jazz too, we can’t think of a better way to enjoy a sunday!

If you have never seen the UK City Hall building by Foster+ Partners… you must follow the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

If you have ever driven through Cleveland Park on Connecticut Ave you have probably seen Yenching Palace. Unfortunately you can no longer dine there because it is being replaced by a Walgreens. Though it’s always unfortunate to loose a local favorite restaurant, Yenching’s is more than just that, it has major historical significance too!

President John F. Kennedy’s negotiators met at Yenching’s with representatives of the Soviet Union in 1962 to prevent a war during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also at Yenching Palace, Richard Nixon’s Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger met there multiple times to discuss better relations with the Chinese.

Last time we were there was about 10 months ago and the place was packed, but we guess they got an offer they couldn’t refuse! We have to mention that Walgreens IS trying to do its part by restoring the store front to make it look like it did in 1945 based on a single photograph the design team discovered. The diamond windows will remain, as will the art deco glass panels.

Look what arrived in our inbox this morning… a press release from CityVista! We will let this one speak for its self…

“CityVista continues to change the landscape in the Mount Vernon Triangle area bringing in new residents and a variety of community-serving restaurants and retail… restaurateur Andy Shallal will create a venue with his signature blend of good food and food for thought, projected to open in the Spring of 2008

This is actually exciting, considering the success they have had with DCMetrocentric favorite Busboys and Poets on 14th street in NW and now the new location in Arlington. “The concept is ideal for CityVista as it will engage the community on many levels,” according to Michael Balaban, President, Lowe Enterprises Real Estate Group.

We will keep you posted, and are truly looking forward to see what comes out of the PR talk and becomes a reality!

Construction photo from CityVista after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

The view you see is looking east down F Street NW in 1939. You can see all the Holiday shoppers out and the Woodward and Lothrop department store on the left. The buildings distinctive facade was designed by Henry Ives Cobb and the features of leaded glass flower designs and the Woodward & Lothrop monogram can still be seen today. It was declared a D.C. historic landmark in 1964. Don’t know about you, but this photo puts us in the Holiday spirit!

A much less busy view of what it looks like now…

Read the rest of this entry »

 What’s that you smell in the Air? It’s fresh grass, Kentucky Bluegrass to be exact, because the Washington Nationals just installed their new turf.

The New Stadium is nearing completion and one of the last (and most important) parts is the field. The grass comes to our Nations Capital fresh from Tuckahoe Turf Farm in New Jersey.

We saw the new stuff as we toured the new stadium yesterday but if you want to see it up close, you can head out to the ball field next year in March when the Nationals are going to give the field it’s first action in an exhibition game against the Orioles.

[Flickr Credit: RobbyBurgess]