Dear PoPville

“When we were seeming to not be paying attention or in a down dog position he was noticeably taking photos or videos of us”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by Peter Bjork

“Dear PoPville,

I wanted to put it out to the community that there was a man in Kalorama park Wednesday night who was either on a phone call or pretending to be on a phone call for the entirety of a friend’s yoga class. When we were seeming to be not paying attention or in a down dog position he was noticeably taking photos or videos of us. When this was blatantly obvious I approached him and asked if that was what he was doing, which he said yes but he only took one photo and it was because he used to do yoga and thought we were very accomplished and wanted to show a friend. (more…)

“We need a mural for Gil Scott Heron”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I recently retired after nearly 40 years working in hospitality in this amazing city of ours. I am planning to move overseas but would very much like to leave “a mark” behind me. I am hoping to find someone with space for a mural, as well as an artist to collaborate with.

Specifically, I would like to honor the musician, Gil Scott Heron. Gil lived and taught, recorded, and performed in DC for ten of his most influential years in this town. (more…)

“Rollerskating in DC?”

By Prince Of Petworth


photo by Samuel Dixon Photography

“Dear PoPville,

The super nice weather today is inspiring me to look into more outdoorsy activities. I have a pair of roller skates I haven’t used in about a year or so and was wondering if you had any recommendations of where to skate around the District? The National Mall is an obvious first choice but I wanted to see if anybody had any other spots they’d recommend.”

Ed. Note: This is also a good time for our annual reminder, “Did you know there is a National Park in DC with roller skating? Now you do.”

“Something nice taking over Harpeth Swill?”

By Prince Of Petworth


18th and Wyoming Ave, NW

“Dear PoPville,

I saw there was a story on Harpeth Swill closing, do you have any idea what is replacing it? Lots of plants outside that seem new, and a new name “Coin Des Poetes?”

The “poets corner” almost reminds me a bit of the old sarcastic murals from Shaw (Slum Historique) at 9th and Q and Rhode Island, NW. Here’s a photo I took of that from 2008 since completely renovated: (more…)

Missed Connections – Coffee Bar, Takoda and 5th and K St, NW

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by Olaf Zerbock

“Dear PoPville,

I’d like to submit a missed connection, please:

You: Cute Jay Duplass-type with a nice smile and salt-and-pepper beard fixedly reading something on your kindle at The Coffee Bar on S Street (Saturday, July 3), wearing bike clips and pant straps.

Me: Lady in white jumpsuit and giant sunglasses hoping we could make eye contact. Want to get together and talk coffee, bikes, and books?

and (more…)

“DC building inspection records?”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by Diane Krauthamer

“Dear PoPville,

So hopefully the tragedy of the Surfside Champlain towers has few implications for dc residents (right?), but still curious to know if there are public records of dc building inspections, and how often such inspections must legally be performed. My building is old, but I think our board is pretty proactive about this kind of stuff. Still…can’t hurt to be sure.”

“It’s imperative that everyone be made to feel like they belong at our public pools.”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I am a 32 year-old gay man who lives and works in D.C. I am writing to tell you about an experience I had (July 3, 2021, between the hours of 12 and 4pm) while visiting the Harry Thomas Recreation Center in Northeast Washington, D.C. While swimming in the pool with a friend, I overheard 3 young kids shouting homophobic slurs over the course of a 3 hour period. The pool was relatively empty, with only about 7 people swimming during this time. At one point, one of the lifeguards began engaging in conversation with these kids, using the homophobic slurs himself and doing nothing to put an end to the offensive dialogue. (more…)

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