Ever since Michael Landrum the owner of foodie favorite Ray’s the Steaks opened up a little no frills burger restaurant in Arlington, people have pretty much not been able to stop talking about it. However people have been having a little trouble finding the place, considering there is no sign or even a website. Hope this clears things up!
[Photo: DCMetrocentric]
Each week we turn the site over to a different neighborhood blogger from the metro area and let them loose on a series of topics about what makes their neighborhood great. This week we are focusing on the historic Shaw neighborhood.
Site Name: In Shaw (an historically gentrified blog)
Neighborhood: Shaw, which in my mind includes a family of smaller neighborhoods within it, Logan Circle, Truxton Circle, U Street, Blagden Alley/Naylor Court, the undetermined Mid-City, parts of Thomas Circle, and small parts of Mt. Vernon Square.
Neighborhoods Best Kept Secret?
It wouldn’t be secret if I told you.
Favorite Neighborhood Building?
I don’t really have a favorite. Some of the most imposing buildings are monstrosities of the urban renewal period like Dunbar, which can be seen blocks away. There are buildings and personal residences I like and admire like houses on Marion, in Logan Circle, parts of Amstrong School, etc. The Phyllis Wheatley YWCA on Rhode Island is nice on the outside.
Least Favorite Building?
Dunbar. Big & ugly.
Biggest Current Issue for Residents?
Your weekly chance to take a stab at real estate appraisal.
Well done with the guesses…
All your comments are in and counted and we can now reveal the listed price of this six bedroom townhouse mansion near Dupont. The price is currently at a hefty $17.5 million.
They must be counting on some foreign country purchasing it, because we doubt any rational person would pay that much for basically a huge townhouse, when they can get so much more elsewhere. Congratulations to Sam for the most outlandish and closest guess.
Prolific area photographer Mr. T in DC has been tracking the progress of this recently finished beautiful mural on Irving St NW. The work was done by the Latin American Youth Center and brightens up a very drab structure that has been the repeated target of graffiti in the recent past. We think it’s a big improvement, how about you?
[Photo: Mr T in DC]
We have mentioned in the past how much in love we are with 1110 Vermont Ave NW. The building, designed by STUDIOS Architecture, features interactive light and music displays by world renown artist Meejin Yoon that are just incredible.
For those that have never seen the building in person it’s hard to full appreciate how unique and interesting the building’s features are, but this video should give you a good idea. If you live in DC we recommend visiting at night with a few friends and making a symphony! [Video Credit: Ramblingovers]
Not sure this is exactly news, but the Washington Business Journal sure does. Apparently the super green nonprofit Sierra Club is getting new office space in NoMa THAT ISN’T GREEN!
Well not exactly, they just won’t be getting LEED certification. While the important standard has done a lot for helping developers employ green practices, it certainly doesn’t mean that if you don’t have the certification, you don’t care about the environment. The Sierra Club’s offices in the new building at 111 K St. NE will in fact have numerous green technologies as well as energy efficient elements.
So what do you think, should we all silently judge them?
Not unlike the skyline of today, back in 1890 the DC skyline was filled with cranes, but unlike most of the projects going up these days, the cranes were helping to put up some architecturally stunning buildings. This photo is taken from the Capitol building towards the new Library of Congress and you can see how many cranes had to be constructed on site to build such a large building.
[Photo: Dullshick]
Next to the FBI building and the HUD building, the Christian Science Church at 16th and I street downtown is one of the best examples of Brutalist Architecture this city has to offer, but we have never really been a big fan.
The 1970s building was designated a historic building by preservationist back in the 90s and dispite support from the community and the church, the Historic Preservation Review Board voted unanimously to recommend denying the church permission to demolish its own building.
The Church wants to raze the the building and incorporate a smaller Church into a mixed use development on the prime real estate. We understand the need to preserve buildings, even ones that are not currently viewed as aesthetically pleasing, but this just seems like a small group of idealists holding back progress.
[Photo: Rex Mottram]
Metropolitan Branch trail construction update. [BloomingdaleForNow]
Parking minimums on new construction are not good. [GGWashington]
Nice old Art Deco building for sale, which at one time was a masonic temple, a furniture store, and a bowling alley. [AnacostiaNow]
It’s fun to judge people, but more fun to judge buildings. [PrinceOfPetworth]
Your weekly chance to take a stab at real estate appraisal. Submit your guesses in the comments and closest guess gets the PriceChecker crown for the week. This weeks PriceChecker is an Embassy Row home built to entertain.
To call this home elegant might be an understatement. The home built in 1890 is prime for the type of lavish parties the area is known for, with an expansive first floor. The home also has 6 bedrooms and 7 baths all with high ceilings.
So take your best guess and we will crown a winner next Wednesday afternoon, and should you need some more information to help you, follow the jump for an exterior shot and the Realtor speak…
There has been a lot of construction going on in SE DC lately and we think this great shot perfectly captures all the action. Isn’t it amazing how colorful construction sites are? It’s interesting because many buildings end up being so colorless once finished.
[Credit: LoveDC]
Each week we are going to turn the site over to a different neighborhood blogger from the metro area and let them loose on a series of topics about what makes their neighborhood great. This week we are focusing on Near Southeast… or is it the Ballpark District?
Neighborhood: Near Southeast/Ballpark District/Navy Yard/Capitol Riverfront (Near Southeast is the official neighborhood name, though all sorts of rebranding attempts are underway)
Site Name: JDLand (or Ballpark and Beyond, or Near Southeast DC)
Neighborhoods Best Kept Secret?
That it exists at all? Most of the city didn’t even know about it until it was decided in 2004 to put the new Nationals baseball stadium here.
Favorite Neighborhood Building?
Nationals Park, The Boilermaker Shop at The Yards, due to be turned into a 46,000-sq-ft retail space by the end of 2009. Of course, there aren’t actually all that many buildings in the neighborhood right now. More than 150 of them have been demolished since 2003. Until there’s more buildings, you can see my favorite before-and-after views from all over the neighborhood to see how much it’s changing.
Least Favorite Building?
I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings…..
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has been doing a lot of construction work lately on their new Ocean Hall and they set up a web-cam to monitor all the progress. It’s really amazing to see the museum’s largest permanent exhibit finally come together. We like the music too!
We told you about Founders Square back in February when they were in the pre-development phase. Looks like things are really moving along now that the Arlington County Board has approved the development plan. It also looks like they are going to be able to squeeze some extra density into the project in exchange for helping to build Arlington’s Mosaic Park.
The developer Shooshan Company has designed the building to be compliant with all Federal Security requirements so that Government tenant will be able to occupy the building. There are rumors that the research arm of the DoD (DARPA) is a possibility for moving it’s headquarters. In addition to keeping important government work in the County, this is great news for Ballston residents because they not only get the ugly Metro bus yard replaced by a nice new development, they also are getting public park improvements. Sounds like a win-win to us.
The Country Board really has been busy lately, at the same meeting this week they also managed to approve the final site plan for the last section of land in the Pentagon City area. The new development will be on the site of the Costco parking lot, right adjacent to the metro.
