When news broke that Frank Gehry had been chosen by the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission to design the Eisenhower National Memorial in Southwest, I was pleased that a nationally known figure in architecture would be working in the neighborhood, while, at the same time, I hid my disappointment that no local architect was even in the running for consideration to work the design of the project near the Department of Education.
Brushing aside some stories I had heard about caution tape surrounding the buildings he has designed during inclemet weather as ice falls from curiously angled roofs, and trying to block from my mind the image of a crashed airplane fusilage, I started hoping for the best.
This tidbit came up last week
on James
Fallow's Atlantic blog about Gehry:
This evening at the Aspen Ideas Festival, the celebrated architect Frank Gehry talked about his life and works under the questioning of Thomas Pritzker. Until nearly the end, it was entirely captivating. Gehry was funny, illuminating, vivid, unpretentious-seeming....
Then the questions from the audience began. The second or third was from a fairly insistent character whose premise was that great "iconic" buildings nonetheless fell short as fully attractive and effective "public places," where people were drawn to congregate and spend time. He said he was challenging Gehry to do even more to make his buildings attractive by this measure too.
Gehry didn't like the question and said that the indictment didn't apply to his own buildings. He said that the facts would back him up -- and as the questioner repeated the challenge, Gehry said that he found the question "insulting."
Fair enough. The guy did keep pushing. On the other hand, anyone who has ever appeared in public has encountered questions a hundred times as personally challenging as this. But the questioner asked one more time, and Gehry did something I found simply incredible and unforgettable. "You are a pompous man," he said -- and waved his hand in a dismissive gesture, much as Louis XIV might have used to wave away some offending underling. He was unmistakably shooing or waving the questioner away from the microphone, as an inferior -- again, in a gesture hardly ever seen in post-feudal times.
Despite any attitude issues, we still hope for something special.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Frank Gehry is Kind of Special. We Hope.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Residential Real Estate Market Report in SW
Steve Dean with ReMax offers a report on his blog of the current situation with residential real estate sales in Southwest, D.C.:
The residential area of Southwest DC is bounded by South Capitol Street to the east, 14th Street to the west, the Southeast-Southwest Freeway to the north, and Washington Channel to the south.
Here are the figures:
Currently For Sale: 55 homes (current asking price)
Low: $115,000
High: $899,900
Average: $322,416
Under Contract: 26 homes (asking price at contract)
Low: $109,900
High: $539,900
Average: $313,387
Sold since 1/1/2009 43 homes sold (final sales price)
Low: $90,000
High: $750,000
Average: $267,470
Average asking price for sold properties: $282,137
I cannot really imagine what would go for $90,000 and under what conditions. But it is interesting to note the range of prices. If you follow the link to Steve's blog, you will see that he always lists the maintenance/co-op/condo fees clearly. This is important information for assessing the real cost of living in Southwest.
Any thoughts on how this is going to change in the next 5-10 years with redevelopment of the waterfront?
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Culture, Art, and Spirit in Southwest. Come and See The Drum Major.
To many D.C. residents, Southwest is synonymous with “nothing to do”. As the neighborhood enters its first stage of 21st century redevelopment, this common prejudice needs reconsideration. Even without the coming attractions of development future, Southwest is far from the cultural desert, devoid of oasis, it is often portrayed as.
Southwest is home to several museums and gardens: The American Indian Museum, The Air and Space Museum, The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, The Arts and Industries Building, The Folger Rose Garden, The African Art Museum, The Smithsonian Castle, The Ripley Center, The Sackler Galler, and The Freer Gallery. The Women’s Museum is also a serious contender for locating in Southwest.
Beyond the museums on the National Mall, the residents of Southwest have, over the years, built their own cultural event cycles. Arena Stage, although temporarily in Crystal City, will be a focal point of state of the art theater, not only for Southwest, but for the entire city. Around this new complex, there are plenty of local efforts which keep our residents’ cultural thirst satiated.
From Jazz Nights to Southwest Neighborhood Assembly sponsored lectures, from the SW Chamber Players to the planned stage uses of the new St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, our spiritual communities have contributed greatly to providing events presenting the arts for all of our neighbors. One such effort is the regular St. Augustine’s Art & Spirit Coffee House. The monthly series showcases local artists in their various media as they perform and share how their work and artistic viewpoints. Each evening features and artistic presentation, coffee and desserts and a chance for the audience to interact with the artists.
This month, actor, screenwriter and filmmaker Michael Mack will present and discuss his recently completed first documentary, “The Drum Major” at the Art & Spirit Coffeehouse, St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church, 600 M Street, SW, on Wednesday, July 29 at 7 p.m. The free evening includes coffee and desserts, followed by a Q&A with the audience.
“The Drum Major,” a 20-minute documentary captures the last year of the life of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., from April 4, 1967 through April 4, 1968 with Michael Mack as the voice of Dr. King. Recording artist Teejay Riedl will host the evening’s screening and follow-up questions.
Mack created “The Drum Major,” titled after King’s famous sermon requesting that he be remembered as “a drum major for justice…a drum major for peace …a drum major for righteousness,” as a “ way for Dr. King to speak for himself. A lot of his words have been lost, especially on the Viet Nam war, poverty and the human conditions as interconnected on a global level, explained Mack. I want to teach young people about who Dr. King was, by making his words be the star of the show.” The documentary features animation and 3-D like effects to appeal to young people as part of his mission to “inform, entertain and inspire.”
A native Washingtonian, Mack grew up learning the Bible from his mother and Dr. King’s words from his father John Mack, Jr., who is one of three family members mentioned in the film’s dedication. After an improvisational acting class when he was ten-years old, Mack quickly realized “as a black kid in a predominantly white school in the seventies, drama helped others see me as more than a color. I knew acting was a tool to help people see and hear and communicate with each other; the racial barriers just dropped.”
Mack’s varied career as an actor, screenwriter, acting coach and filmmaker, also included teaching acting and play production to incarcerated youth in Montgomery County and homeless people through nonprofit organization as a tool for positive changes. He has acted in several films and television shows and commercials, among them Commander Sirol in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and Ensign Hayes in “Star Trek: Generations.”
This past January Mack produced a multifaceted tribute to Dr. King’s life and legacy with a power point program of photos from “The Drum Major,” followed by a panel discussion at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church. A few years ago, Mack played Dr. King in the play, “The Meeting” by Jeff Stetson, performed at the Washington National Cathedral.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Waterfront Station Metro Plaza Prep
Monday, July 6, 2009
Brick-work Coming to Facades on 4th Street
Here are the promised photos of the "mock-up" for two facades of the two new 4th Street buildings. The terra cotta bricking seen on the left below will go on the silver band areas on the building in the photo on the right.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Arena Stage Takes Form
I took a walk on Saturday to see Arena Stage from the Maine Avenue side. The project is taking shape as the roof comes together. We can see horizontal supports beginning to be installed on the left side of the photo here. These supports will hold up the glass curtain which we might be seeing put into place soon.
Only one more large wooden support post is left to be installed on the 6th Street side by the new Cradle Theater.
The dramatic swoop of the cantilever roof can now be seen between the trees. Bing Thom used to have a rendering of this roof on their website, but it has since been removed. In that rendering, we could see patrons walking on the level above the stairway entrance below the cantilever.
Photos: above left is a view of Arena Stage from Maine Avenue; above right is the cantilever roof with Waterside towers in the background.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Here Comes 4th Street
A rather amazing transformation of the new 4th Street at I Street. The middle portion of Town Center park has been removed and is being brought to grade for the reopening of 4th Street as early as December of this year. The photo on the left was taken last summer, and on the right, today.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Summer News on the Waterfront
A joint public round table with the Committee on Government Operation and the Environment and the Committee on Economic Development will take place on Wednesday, July 8, 2009, 6:00 p.m., Room 500 of the Wilson Building. On the agenda: “Fourth/Sixth and E Street, SW, Property Disposition Approval Resolution of 2009” (PR18-337). You can testify by contacting S. Antonio Brentini at the Committee on Economic Development by email at SBrentini@dccouncil.us or by telephone (202) 727-6683 before the meeting. See our various past articles about this site and about the New Fire Station Development here.
Check out Wikipedia's article on The Southwest Waterfront, and see what can be updated. Actually, we might put a hand in it soon, since it lacks mention of any redevelopment plans or projects.
The Examiner.com recently published an article entitled "Maine Avenue Seafood Market is urban art for the palate". Yet another round of praise for our fish market.
Jazz Night at Westminister (Westminster Presbyterian Church 400 I Street, SW; 4th and I, south side of intersection) has added a fish fry to their offerings. Listen to Jazz every Friday night 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for a $5 cover and enjoy food and beverages at a modest cost: they serve fish and chicken, sides, desserts, iced tea, lemonade, soda and water. A (huge) main dish and one side is $5.50. Sides are $1. Dessert is $2. Specialty teas are $2, soda $.75 and water $1. Find this and other SW events at Whatsoncity.net.
Rebecca from We Love DC plugs the Waterfront: "I’ll keep it 'tranquilo' during the day by hitting up Cantina Marina for some on the waterfront margaritas and a fried catfish sandwich. The dockside restaurant is the perfect place to meet up with friends, soak up good the weather and enjoy the view." According to management, Cantina Marina will remain open during the first phase of construction of the new Waterfront in a temporary location while their new location is being built.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Waterfront Station Plaza Prep Begins
The Waterfront Station project work has expanded into the parking lot between the Waterfront Metro Station and Safeway. As of today, the path to walk to the metro is bordered by Jersey barriers and leads along the fire lane in front of Safeway. Demolition of the parking lot is necessary for construction of the pedestrian plaza near the metro station.
Meanwhile, on the far northwest corner of the project, the mock-up for the facades is now dressed with the terra cotta bricking which will be installed on two of the sides of each of the two new buildings on 4th Street.
I will post photos soon.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Councilman Tommy Wells Calls for an End to the Discussions
From Tommy Wells' Office (Ward 6)
Councilmember Tommy Wells Issues Statement to Protect Committed Community Development Funding in Southwest and Southeast Neighborhoods (Washington, DC) –
Councilmember Tommy Wells issued a statement today regarding the recent reports of the District’s interest in delaying committed community development dollars to publicly fund a downtown Convention Center hotel.
Stated Councilmember Wells, “I am asking the Chief Financial Officer and my Council colleagues to cease discussion about the possibility of delaying the TIF and PILOT funds promised to the Southwest and Capitol Riverfront communities and incorrectly stating the projects are not on track. It is unwise for the City to even suggest going back on its commitment at the exact moment the project is moving forward to attract private financing.
If attempted, it would create uncertainty and jeopardize the jobs, affordable housing, retail amenities and public investment that have been promised to our residents.”
“The District has just finished the Land Disposition Agreement and a Memorandum of Understanding between all lease holders, allowing the Southwest development team to move ahead with the amenity based project,” added Wells.
Wells concluded, “Diverting funding away from the Southwest and Southeast neighborhoods at this time in favor of a fully government funded mega hotel breaks the promise we made to our residents that we are ready to move forward.”
UPDATE 4:00p.m.: WBJ reports that a new deal is close to being made for financing the Convention Center Hotel which will not involve diverting any existing subsidies. Of Councilmember Kwame Brown, the article states: "He said the possibility that existing subsidies could be transferred to the hotel project had understandably raised the ire of developers and residents. 'Any way we can make sure we don’t bust our [12% debt] cap while making sure we keep neighborhood projects on course is a win-win for the city,' [Brown] said."
We hope that the whole affair has not caused a case of the jitters concerning funding issues with possible lenders for those neighborhood projects.
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