Black Friday wasn’t always such a big shopping day in the District and around the US but back in the 1920s if you did want to have an all day shopping blowout, the place to go was downtown DC (we suspect today many of you went out to the suburbs). Places like Peoples Drug along 7th street had everything the discerning shopper could want along with some major street appeal.
[Photo: National Photo Company Collection via Shorpy]
Penn Quarter - Ford’s Theater grand reopening sets a date for next year after extensive renovations to the historic building [PQLiving]
Columbia Heights - Black Friday at DCUSA is expected to be apocalyptic so the citys pulling out all the stops [New Columbia Heights]
Anacostia - Poplar Point meeting focused on getting the public’s opinion on various project elements for the 150 acre development [And Now Anacostia]
Look what we found while strolling down Connecticut Ave… a Nandos Peri-Peri Chicken location coming soon. But more importantly, check out the incredible doorway and facade… this has to be one of the nicest doors you will ever walk through to get flame-grilled chicken!
[Photo: DCMetrocentric]
International architecture firm HOK has a history in DC going back to the 60s and such credits as the Air and Space Museum and EPA headquarters. And now they are making their mark by launching a new blog called Life at HOK.
So far the posts have been eclectic but we really like the video posts which have ranged from informative to hilarious (caution link contains chairs dancing to music). Welcome to the blog-o-sphere HOK we like what we see so far!
New details about the planned Bloomingdale’s coming to Georgetown Park. Looks like Western Development Corp is amending plans to include a residential component. According to the WBJ about 25 new condos would join the close to 100 condos currently above the east side of the mall.
The condo plan already has approval from the Old Georgetown Board and delivery should still be on track to finish up with the completion of the Bloomingdale’s in 2011. [Photo: Otavio DC]
Half Street Hole Refilled - You know something is wrong when a developer digs a three story deep hole and then a year later fills it back in. The hole just North of Nationals Park is getting refilled with dirt. This would have been the foundation of Monument Realty’s residential and hotel project, but now no one knows what’s going on. [JDLand]
Perhaps the folks at Starwood Capital were listening to us when we were worried about the progress of the Hotel One project at 22nd and M Street. Demolition has finally started to make way for the Chad Oppenheim designed eco-hotel in the West End.
The building being taken down on the site sat empty for a year and we were starting to worry that if they didn’t get started soon, they wouldn’t be able to stay on schedule. You know if there’s demo going on in this city, you can count on us to bring you all the glorious details… more pics after the jump…
Your weekly chance to take a stab at real estate appraisal.
Well done with the guesses… the super narrow 4 bedroom house in Arlington is currently listed at a hefty $1.125 million. PriceChecker crown goes to Sam for the closest guess. This house is seriously narrow, we don’t even think a King size bed would fit lengthwise in that house!
After almost two full years of construction, the American History Museum has finally reopened its doors to the public. We were there for the grand opening ceremony and we have to say the new 5 story atrium and its stunning architectural glass flag centerpiece were worth the wait.
There are definitely some things that didn’t quite get finished in time for the opening weekend like some ceiling sections as well as most of the new railings through the building, but at least everything was in place. The one interesting thing though is that not all the exhibits actually were redone, which creates a real contrast between the new modernized exhibits and the old ones. Missing ceilings and loose railings after the jump…
Haunted mansion in Columbia Heights? [New Columbia Heights]
Park improvements at 2nd and Mass. [The Triangle]
Furniture store “Room and Board” coming to the cool 14th street building (pictured), so much for the restaurant idea. [14th & You]
We have made it clear that when it come to architectural shots, we are suckers for photographic trickery. Now our love of all things HDR are well documented, but another technique that we really dig is called tilt shift. The effect makes photos taken from far away look like little model representations of the real thing. Look at all the tiny people!
[Photo: 4thfullmoon]
More doom and gloom for you, the American Institute of Architects index of construction activity fell again this month to its lowest point since 1995. The billings index shows an approximate 9 to 12 month lag between architecture billings and construction spending. It’s like a foreshadowing index… and the future’s not looking so great.
[Photo: Dan DC]
A bi-weekly take on the area from our friends at UrbanTurf.com
Bidding on Property: The Scene at a Condo Auction
Last Sunday, about 150 people showed up at the Hilton in Rockville to try and scoop up a brand new condo (or two) at a heavy discount. The Ashmore in Germantown was auctioning off a good portion of their remaining inventory well below their original list prices that ranged from $322,000 to $385,000. When the three-bedroom condos were put up for auction around noon, the opening bid rocketed from $150,000 to $200,000 in a matter of seconds, and all indications were that this event was going to be a buying frenzy.
Before you get excited, this building probably won’t be built for some time. Now that we have that out of the way, this design by Sorg & Associates is an angular explosion of awesomeness that incorporates the old three-story Hudson car dealership at 1526 14th Street NW into a re-imagined design that would add 26 residential units.
The old building has already been renovated into a gallery space and will be joined by 2,900 sq. ft. for retail in the new addition. Currently the space to the left of the gallery is a surface parking lot. What do you guys think?
Follow the jump to see what the lot currently looks like…
