DC Metrocentric

Today down on H Street in North East, Fox’s hit show “So you Think you Can Dance” is in town looking for Dancers who can kick it!

The producers estimate that over a thousand people showed up bright and early for a chance at dance fame and fortune (what ever that is). We are particularly excited that the auditions are being held in the Atlas Performing Arts Center, the areas only community based center also known as “The Peoples Kennedy Center.”

The buildings beautiful historic Atlas movie theater promenade will make for a nice backdrop for FOX when they showcase the talent DC has to offer! [FlickrPhoto:EyeCaptain]

Nothing like a nice bunch of demolition shots to start the day off! A few mechanical crushers is all it took to level this building located in the Penn Quarter at the intersection of G St and 10th NW.

As you can see, the lot is right next to the Martin Luther King Memorial Library, the main branch of the DC public library system. Hopefully the demo doesn’t get to loud!

More destruction after the jump, and since you might not remember what the building being taken down looked like, we have a nice aerial shot of it, pre-demo for you too…

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Crystal City has its share of nice shinny new buildings but the area is also filled with many old warehouses and small dilapidated motels which the area could do without.

One of the worst offenders is a plot of land by the Route 1 overpass at the north end of Crystal City. 

Luckly the Washington Business Journal is reporting that the eyesore is about to be no more! The lot at the center of land-swap negotiations between Arlington County and Monument Realty that has lasted for more than two years, has an agreeement and the plans are being finalized.

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Here we have a great historic shot of Rosslyn looking over the Key Bridge into Georgetown. As you can see, in 1945 Rosslyn was merely a train switching yard with a few warehouses, not the urban center of skyscrapers that it is today.  

You can clearly see the relatively new in 1945 Key Bridge as well as the pillions of the Aqueduct Bridge that it replaced. The original bridge was built to carry the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal across the Potomac to connect with the Alexandria Canal. After the Alexandria Canal was abandoned, the bridge was converted into a roadway. The only piece that you can still see today is the Washington abutment located west of the Key Bridge. [Photo Credit:  DDOT]

Wonder what Rosslyn will look like in the another 60 odd years?

While some amazing shots of our area are captured though simple one click exposures, others take a little more work to piece together the perfect shot. Flickr user IceNineJohn composed this beautiful shot taken from the steps of the Jefferson Memorial using the HDR technique from 3 different exposures.

Getting HDR shots to look right can be difficult but the results are always worth the effort! This shot perfectly captures that amazing ambient glow the city gives off every night and how iconic of skyline truly is!

An equally amazing shot using the same technique after the jump…

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Last year University of Maryland officials unveiled a plan for redeveloping their College Park East Campus area along Route 1. Many DC area Universities have new development plans in the works, but this one is by far the largest.

Currently the East Campus area encompasses the university’s bus maintenance yard, facilities-management operations and several warehouses. The university wants to replace those facilities with a large-scale development containing office, retail and possibly a hotel.

Well now more details are starting to come together and the partnership between Rockville-based Foulger-Pratt and Argo Investment to develop the 38-acre mixed-use project is apparently ready to privately submit initial site layout plans to the University which will focus on street-facing retail, pedestrian and bicycle connections, and lots of public gathering space.

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Our intrepid photographers are always roaming the streets of Washington area looking to capture the latest developments around town. In our travels, we stumbled across this little project right off of North Pershing Street in Arlington. While not as narrow as our areas record holder, it sure looks like it’s going to be tight!

Why would someone do this? We understand the lot itself is narrow, but the proportions are just off! Maybe if the architect hadn’t made the front of the house a flat three story facade… either way, we dub this house the “Super Model House” tall and thin. 

We will be sure to keep you posted when they start to add the exterior finishing because just like a model, the most important factor in determing if we like this project in the end will be what it looks like on the outside!

People have always had differing views on the Old Executive Office Building next tot the White House. Some love it for its granite and slate French Empire Style exterior, while others criticize the building for its garish and inconsistent accents. Originally built for the State, War and Navy Departments between 1871 and 1888 by Architect Alfred Mullet, it was renamed the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in 1999.

Here at DCMetrocentric HQ the opinion is split, but no one can deny that the building catches people’s attention! Plus no mater how you look at it, compared to the New Executive Office building next door, EEOB is a masterpiece!  [FlickrPhoto: JennieZ]

Anacostia - “I wonder how much of the Poplar Point development will take up that middle ground in my favorite Anacostia view?”  At least the Washington Monument will always to visible no mater how high the development goes! [AnacostiaNow]

Bloomingdale - “I am enjoying something I thought I wouldn’t have again since the dairy guy at the Dupont Circle Farmer’s Market went out of business…. chocolate milk from a glass bottle.”  Local Dairy store comes to the neighborhood, Beer too! [InShaw]

Mt Vernon Triangle - “The new building at 3rd and H has finally gone from being a concrete bunker to a lit-up office tower.”  Well we can say that the building sure brings an interesting “glow stick look” to the area, we just wouldn’t want to live across the street! [MVTriangle] 

The National War College at Fort McNair in SW has one of the most beautiful locations in DC right at the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers. Built in 1907 by McKim, Mead and White architects the grand structure has both Neo-Classical and Beaux-Art Classical elements with huge distinctive Ionic Portico’s that can clearly be seen from all around town.

It’s amazing that this shot, taken with a Sony DSLR-A100, was just a simple exposure, nothing fancy. Don’t the clouds look like they were painted on? [FlickrPhoto: Shmaktyc]

Grocery stores in general are not known for their distinctive architecture. However when Harris Teeter decided to build their first store in the District, they went for restoration of a beautiful Art Deco building in NW rather than new construction.

The Adams Morgan store is being built in what was a run-down art deco-style building called the Citadel which had been used as a roller-skating rink in the past.

Douglas Development Corp. bought the dome-topped building nine years ago and has done extensive restoration. We can’t wait to see how it looks on the inside! The neighborhood has had a few other options for groceries, but it’s always nice to have a few more. Plus competition has lead other area stores to step up their game and improve their stores as well!

Isn’t the Harris Teeter sign’s art deco lettering cool?

[FlickrPoto:MrTinDC]

Some people like Valentines Day more than others, but these home owners seem to love the holiday year round! As common as it is to decorate residential homes for some other holidays, you don’t often think of Valentines day. We just wonder what the inside looks like? It has to just be amazing!

[FlickrPhoto: KenRatcliff]

Down in SW by L’Enfant Plaza the new Constitution Center and the HUD building always seem to get all the attention. Well the folks at GSA have obviously been getting jealous and wanted a little attention for themselves. According to a tipster, the historic F Street headquarters building is ready for a makeover!

The project’s design approach includes a focus on sustainable design principles to make the best use of the natural features of the building to promote energy efficiency. For example, the relatively narrow wing design, which was necessary in a pre-air conditioning age for natural ventilation and day light, serves the design team well in incorporating more modern natural lighting technologies into the project. Of course they are going for a silver LEED rating.

However most of the changes, including the large glass enclosure, will not be visible from the street and will preserve the facade of this building which is on the National Register. We like it, and in such an eclectic area of town, it’s nice to have some classic designs intact.