I really do like this tree stump, it’s got character. I think it’s awesome that the folks built a fence around it. I suppose the fence may have been put up while the stump was a tree… But someone told me once that it is bad to leave stumps in the ground because they attract termites. Any truth to that? It really does look pretty cool though.
Ever livin’ ever feelin’.
I kind of like all the different sized windows.
Red Derby at 14th and Quincy invites you to drink Mint Julips all day long.
They have the images here. So the three finalists are Frederick Douglass, Duke Ellington and Benjamin Banneker. So who would you like to see on the back of the DC quarter? I vote for Duke Ellington!
It is that time of year. Time to drink yourself silly, meet some of your neighbors and make fun of PoP in person! Who can ask for more? The folks at Looking Glass Lounge have been kind enough to extend happy hour prices all night long. Additionally, manager Dan Searing, will be offering Mojito specials to mark the occasion. This happy hour is fixing to be the biggest one yet. I’ll remind folks again as the date approaches.
Now for a small admin note. Some folks who leave a comment are placed in “moderation”. Let me just say, I have no idea why this happens to some people and not others. It is nothing personal and hopefully the comments get published pretty quickly. I apologize for the inconvenience and hope one day to have it fixed. Thanks for understanding.
I love this sign. It reminds me of a funny story from college. My senior year I lived with a bunch of degenerates but we were basically nice folks. Our (fellow student) neighbors, however, didn’t appreciate our loud music and general raucous lifestyles. So they would never say hello to us or even look us in the eye. But remember we were in college, college kids like to have fun or at least we did at The Miami University, Ohio. The neighbors would, however, frequently deposit there trash bags in our dumpster. So finally one night when they packed our dumpster I lost it and threw every single one of their bags on their lawn in a fit of rage. Ed. note: I’m a much better neighbor now, I swear. I was young and drunk you have to cut me a little slack. But from that day on, they never put a single garbage bag in our dumpster again. I’m just saying…
The word for this place is
Walking down 13th Street near W last Sat. night I heard a group of teenagers talking. One teenager was running towards another shouting “No dawg, this is a gentrified area, the cops’ll be here in two minutes!”. I quietly laughed my ass off at the time. But then it got me thinking. Do “gentrified” areas face less crime because there is the perception/reality that the cops will respond faster? I’ve heard other folks say that sometimes “gentrified” areas face more crime because “that is where the money is”. What do you think – does the mere fact that an area is “gentrified” deter criminal behavior because of the perceived police response or does it attract more criminal behavior?
Located right above the Columbia Heights Metro at 1400 Irving Street, this building is truly phenomenal. This evening I heard a story from Councilmember Graham at the opening party of D’Vines where he recounted the fact that five years ago McDonalds refused to open up a store in Columbia Heights because they thought the area was too risky. We laugh at that now, but five years ago it was very hard to imagine that there would be a building as sweet as Highland Park. Forget McDonalds, these apartments sit above the Pete’s Apizza, Potbelly’s (and soon) Five Guys, Mocha Hut, Commonwealth (the new store from the Hanks Oyster bar folks), Zinnia (Caribbean) and Sake Club. It is unbelievable what can happen in five short years.
As for the apartment building it is truly posh. You recognize you are in a special place as soon as you enter the lobby which has a very modern feel. Just behind the 24 hour front desk you will find a gigantic salt water aquarium (I happen to be a huge tropical fish enthusiast so I was pretty overwhelmed at this point.) Apartment buildings are often throwing around the term luxury. I think I finally understand what a real luxury apartment building looks like. There is a business center, a pool table, a full Gym, a social room, an unbelievable roof deck (pictured above), and of course beautiful apartments. Most folks remember that this building was originally supposed to be high end condos. As a result the apartments themselves are top of the line. The building itself is quite large – 229 apartments of which 61 are lofts. Despite the size it doesn’t feel institutional like I feared. It is seriously posh.
Now a posh apartment building comes with a posh price. However, 20% of the apartments have been set aside as affordable and prices range from $700 to $1600 depending on income category. There are still some available so I’d hustle because there is no way those are going to last. If you are not lucky enough to fall into that category then one bedrooms one bath run $1810-2300. One bedroom loft one and half bath run $2680-2950. One bedroom loft with Den Two Bath runs $3580-3875. Two bedroom two bath run $2775-3095. Two bedroom with den and two bath runs $3035-3940. You do however get one month’s rent free. Now that’s over my budget but I know plenty of folks who live in these types of buildings in northern Virginia. I think it is super cool that they now have the option to live large right in Columbia Heights. And I’m super psyched that we all get to benefit from the awesome restaurants that this project has brought to the neighborhood. Check out lots of cool photos after the jump. (more…)