“Dear PoP,

On U St, between 14th and 15th St, NW, in front of the parking garage, there seems to be some sort of “shrine” on one of the street signs. Every few days, it looks like someone puts up some sort of decoration, or I don’t even know what, on the sign. The other day there was even some sort of walker/toilet seat contraption as part of it.

Does this ring a bell? Any idea what’s the deal?”

This is truly bizarre. Street memorials are not uncommon after a shooting or violent death. But I’ve never seen one like this before. This one seems so random I can’t tell if it’s legit or not. Normally these “shrines” spring up on the site of the killing and I don’t recall one happening recently at this location. And secondly and perhaps most importantly – the portable walker/toilet seat just makes no sense at all. I mean no disrespect but this is really strange.

Anyone know the story here?

This is the first time I’ve heard bells ringing that didn’t come from a church. The Robert A. Taft memorial is located near Union Station at the intersection of First St and Louisiana Ave, NW. Anyone else heard of a memorial having bells before? It was ringing on Sat. afternoon around 3pm.

Also is this a memorial to the Senator Robert A Taft who opposed the New Deal?

You knew this one was coming when I went to SW…

According to Wikipedia:

The memorial is located on P Street SW next to the Washington Channel near Fort Lesley J. McNair. It was designed by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, who won the commission in open competition, and sculpted by John Horrigan from a single piece of red granite furnished from Westerly, RI, by the Henry C. Smalley Granite Co. It was unveiled on May 26, 1931, by Helen Herron Taft, the widow of President Taft.

Originally located at the foot of New Hampshire Avenue, NW in Rock Creek Park along the Potomac River, the monument was removed in 1966 to accommodate the Kennedy Center.[1] The memorial was re-erected without ceremony in 1968 on the south Washington waterfront outside Fort McNair in Washington Channel Park at Fourth and P Streets, SW.

Photo by PoPville flickr user  mosley.brian

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Photo by PoPville flickr user mosley.brian

We’ve seen lots of Fire Box art but this is the first memorial I’ve seen. It’s from Georgia Ave near Howard University. I thought it was cool how it still had the phone in it so you can see what one of these used to look like:

We’ve noted this memorial before but just wanted to mention all the flowers that are placed here on the anniversary of their death every year. You can see a bit of background on the monument and incident here. The memorial is on Sheridan Circle near Embassy Row and Massachusetts Ave, NW.

It was amazing to see the community come together last night for Neil Godleski’s vigil in Sherman Circle. I don’t think I describe how sad the evening was. It gives the term a ‘senseless death’ a whole new meaning to me. There were so many recollections of Neil’s life and nearly every single speaker mentioned how he never judged anyone and welcomed all he encountered. I never had the good fortune to meet Neil but I couldn’t help but get choked up hearing these stories. I don’t think it’s fair to say, I hope something good comes out of this tragedy like lighting in Sherman Circle. I do hope Sherman Circle gets lighting. And I’m glad the community came together to mourn during the tragedy. But I can’t help but think unless our community including our elected leaders come together outside of times of tragedy this will not be our last vigil.

Rest in Peace Neil Michael Godleski you moved many and shook a community and at the end of the day those who knew you well, remembered you not only with tears but also smiles.

Photo from flickr user jdcdc

While we enjoy our bbqs and time off let’s take a moment to remember those that have made the ultimate sacrifice for us.

After the jump, press release on 2010 Memorial Day Parade Route and parking restrictions as well as Rolling Thunder Route and parking restrictions. (more…)

I’m not saying I was offended at all but I found it curious that there would be a cross and the ten commandments (I think) on a memorial outside a Federal Court. Is this unusual?

A small but classy memorial outside the Polish embassy on 16th Street, NW (south of Harvard).

Image from Eisenhower Memorial Commission

Thanks to all for sending in the word. You can read the full press release here:

The selected design will be located on a four-acre site at the base of Capitol Hill (between 4th and 6th Streets SW, south of Independence Avenue). This design not only creates a gathering place for memorial visitors, it also represents Eisenhower’s ability to bring people together to achieve goals on behalf of the citizens he served. From a central location featuring a grove of oak trees, visitors will move to different parts of the memorial, where themes from Eisenhower’s life will be presented. The selected design concept includes columns along the north and south edges of the site, paying homage to the memorial traditions of the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, while respecting the historic vista along Maryland Avenue. Large memorial tapestries of woven stainless steel mesh supported on the colonnade of limestone depict images of Eisenhower’s life, amplifying the setting and creating an ideal background for the memorial experience.

Image from Eisenhower Memorial Commission

Back in December I asked if was time for the Code Pink shoe memorial to be removed due to its condition. At the time there were, not surprisingly, mixed opinions. Well, walking down 14th Street last weekend I noticed that the memorial was no longer there.

This is a pretty wild one for a personal residence. Here’s the name:

From Wikipedia:

“In 1971, sculptor John Cavanaugh chose to create a statue honoring her rather than her accomplished father. A picture of her was not found at the time, so Cavanaugh sculpted his idea of an idealized Victorian lady instead…The statue stands in front of a private residence on North Carolina Avenue and Sixth Street, SE in Washington, D.C.. The subject’s head is turned to the left as if gazing toward the nearby Seward Square, named for her adoptive father. Olive died in Washington, D.C., and is buried in Fredonia, NY with her parents.”

PoPville flickr user annejuliet found this one. I assume it’s somewhere near Capitol Hill?

The Code Pink memorial has been set up outside Busboys and Poets on 14th and V Streets, NW for quite a while. When it was originally placed there memorializing civilians killed in the Iraq war (I think) I found it very moving. But I don’t think it was ever meant to be a permanent memorial. It is looking more like an eyesore, to me, these days. What do you think – is it time for this memorial to be removed?