Save the mural in Adams Morgan

There is an effort to try to save a mural painted over the doorway of the Potter’s House in Columbia Road in Adams Morgan. The bright and colorful mural has become a fixture on Columbia Road, and now serves as an important symbol of the neighborhood's creative energy. Erasing it will be like a erasing a little bit of what makes Adams Morgan special. This mural is worth saving.

The mural entitled “The Light of the World” was painted by local artist Karla-“Karlisima” Rodas-Israel. Here's a short interview with her in her studio.

The new owners of the building, the Eighth Day Community Church, plan to paint over the work, according to the artist. The artist's Website

The joy of Dupont Circle

There is little better than to sit in the park and watch life go by on what is a perfect summer evening.

What's new in Adams Morgan

One side of the four sided poster board at Columbia and Calvert.

Taan Noodles closes in Adams Morgan

I had dinner here and liked it. The Ramen soup was excellent, with a lot of texture, depth and flavor. The restaurant was brick and wood and on a cold winter night, when I last had a meal there, the place was perfect.

Adams Morgan hotel will be visible, but how big a change?

The hotel planned for old church at Euclid Street and Columbia Road has apparently won final approval.

This news prompted an exchange of notes on the Adams Morgan Listserve.

One person wrote that the hotel "will be the end of affordable housing and affordable businesses in Adams Morgan.  Goodbye Latino community, ethnic diversity, and income diversity.  Only 6-figure-income singles and DINKs need apply."

It's a thought worth considering.

If poll were taken, most would probably support the hotel. It will bring some new restaurants, bar, and meeting area. It will solve a problem. Something, eventually, had to happen to the old Church of Christ Scientist building.

But will the hotel turn Adams Morgan into a 6-figure-income singles DINK haven?

Visually, the hotel will create a commanding presence from some angles. This view, above, is from Adams Mill and Lanier and Calvert. From the distance of a block, this former church will be striking once work is completed.

The broader economic changes are already in place. Two new condo complexes are being built, and slowly -- very slowly -- the restaurants are increasingly getting a little more sophisticated and trendy. The hotel may increase that trend.

What seems certain is that the visual impact of the hotel will be significant, particular from the vantage above and from Columbia Road. (See rendering)