Bomb scare in Adams Morgan?

The block between Columbia and 18th and Calvert Street at Lanier/Adams Mill Rd., was blocked off with yellow police tape late this morning into the early afternoon. A posting on the neighborhood mailing list said it was in response to a bomb scare. The Washington Post said it was a suspicious package.

This is the second weird thing to happen on that block in relatively short period. On Friday, the Wells Fargo branch on this block was robbed by a man with a gun, the Washington City Paper reported.

DC Street Scenes

Opposing DC's gambling law

DC's plan to make gambling widely available online and in restaurants, bars and hotels is a very bad idea and something I deeply opposed.

I've been trying to get the local Adams Morgan ANC interested in this issue and hopefully they'll agree to at least look into it.

The DC Lottery will approve the permit/licensing process for creating these neighborhood electronic casinos, but the law provides no oversight or notice to neighborhoods.

The ANC often invites local officials to its meetings to discuss topics of interest. I'd really like to see them invited someone from the DC Lottery to explain the process they will use to improve electronic casinos in bars and restaurants.

I'm working with another person to try to organize something against this Internet gambling law. The site is brand new but includes an argument as to why this law is bad.

The murse on 18th St. NW

Canvas bag in window at Meeps

I saw this bag (above) in the window of Meeps on 18th.  It had potential as a man bag or murse, which is what the Urban Dictionary defines as “a man-purse -- very fashion-forward right now, seen on many hipster guys” and something that can be also be used to carry a laptop computer. 

Design that takes ordinary item, a military green canvass bag, and then adds art has appeal. The art on the Meeps bag preserves its original rugged, utilitarian and practical look even as the art turns the bag into a canvas.

I also have a military style canvas bag (photo to the right), and attached a button with an iconic image of Marilyn Monroe, a fast design shortcut but not nearly as effective or interesting as the bag in the Meeps window.  

The hotel and ‘unique ethos’ of Adams Morgan

Click on image for large view. See end note on source. 

The columns and long steps leading up the old Church of Christ Scientist in Adams Morgan give it the feeling of a federal building.  The plan to convert it into a hotel, part of a new line of boutique hotels,  Edition, designed by Ian Schrager, will preserve the columns, steps and general outline of the church. The 179 rooms will be in a new 10-story structure.

In the rendering above, the former church space will serve as the hotel’s main lobby. It shows plans for two bars and a restaurant. It’s a large space, and it’s not hard to imagine areas of dramatic light and height.

Schrager’s Edition hotels are being built with a design philosophy that calls for “rare individuality” in each property along with an “unique ethos” that “will reflect the best of the cultural and social milieu of its location and of the time. “

But how will Schrager interpret the “unique ethos” of Adams Morgan? Will the former church space be turned into a free flowing and inviting area that integrates itself with the community, a place for the neighborhood’s laptop toting legions to gather, perhaps a version of Tryst?  Or will the hotel be aloof, along the lines of an expense account-driven hotel on Capitol Hill or a Georgetown boutique, a refuge and island for its guests alone?

To be true to his design philosophy Schrager has a problem to solve.  The hotel has to infuse the character of the Adams Morgan neighborhood to claim that it reflects its ethos.  This goes beyond incorporating architectural elements and art alone. It involves making the neighborhood a part of the hotel and not a collection of design artifacts.

The rendering above shows great design potential. The former church space appears devoted to lobby and public spaces, with immediate access to one bar and restaurant, along with a second bar near the pool. There’s potential for abundant seating. It is easy to imagine this space becoming a welcoming area for neighborhood people to gather for a drink or coffee and to chat and type away on their social networks.

Hotel guests arrive in separate registration lobby with its own entrance. For guests of the hotel, the old church space becomes, perhaps, their first exposure to the creative chaos of Adams Morgan. The steps from the church into the neighborhood may be akin to entering a theater.

The hotel’s developers must be hoping that the vitality, diversity and energy of the neighborhood will help sustain it. That will mean creating a lively social and entertainment place that works for the neighborhood as well as the hotel's guests.

About rendering: That's a screen shot from a PDF by the developer that is posted on the Kalorama Citizens Association web site.

Columbia Heights Photoshop fog

Just discovered that iPad doesn't support blogger, so we are trying this blogpress app. It seems to provide some capability but not the ability to resize photos.

any recommendations for an iPad app that makes custom photo sizing easy?

Location:Dc

Did DC employees decide election?

The reason Vincent Gray won this election was economics of the most basic kind. School reform turned job security on its head.  District employees were wary of another Adrian Fenty term and the risk that it might prompt him to expand his more radical approaches and layoffs.   Employees, in any company, dread upheaval even if it promises new opportunities. 

In the election 126,000 people voted, or 34% of eligible voters. The District employs approximately 32,000 employees.  No doubt a large number of these employees live in the District and since most District jobs are middle income, the highest concentration of these workers likely live in Wards that went heavily to Gray.  District employees, plus friends and family, make up a sizeable voting bloc and enough to swing an election.  

District civil servants have a powerful incentive to vote in any mayoral race. And in this race, they had no incentive to vote for Fenty.  

Gray’s campaign was unimpressive on the issues, but it was masterful, old school politics. He capitalized on the job and benefit insecurities of District employees to win their vote.  The unions turned to Gray. District employees clearly believe Gray, in the end, will keep the balance sheet in their favor. Gray never discouraged this thinking.  

I have lived long enough to know that winning candidates can be better than their campaigns. I have that hope for Gray.   

In 1991, when I worked as a reporter in Connecticut, former U.S. Sen. Lowell Weicker was running for governor. The state didn’t have an income tax but was growing broke from sales tax revenues. During his campaign, Weicker refused to tell whether he would support an income tax.  He won and shortly after taking office sought an income tax, which was approved by the legislature. There was a massive protest rally at the State Capitol, unlike anything the state had seen. Weicker did not seek re-election and probably would have lost but he did what was needed, and so did Fenty with the schools.  That’s what leadership is about and now its Gray’s turn. I wish him the best.