“Moving into Petworth is not “urban pioneering”–a term I have significant problems with. The best way to arm oneself is with education and community involvement. Please look for ways to combat not only criminal acts but their precedents, such as lack of education, employment, and affordable housing. Petworth is a wonderful, vibrant community that is not defined by crime. It is and should be defined by the families that live here.”
Why is there only one window on the side of this rowhouse?
Hold on I have to stop laughing for a second. Ok, this is a photo from my local bodega in Petworth (from the cell phone, c’mon I can’t always have my camera on me). At any rate, I was stunned and overjoyed to see that they were selling the traditional kosher wine Manischewitz. Manischewitz is the sickly sweet wine that every Jewish boy and girl knows all too well. Why it is being sold in Petworth that probably has a .05% Jewish population is beyond me. But the mere thought of someone slugging Manischewitz on the side of the road is simply beautiful. And a bit sad. I think this may be the only bottle of Manischewitz in the world that is located behind two inches of bulletproof glass…Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some Manischewitz to drink.
From the Petworth listserv: “My housemate was brutally beaten by a gang of 8 young men who followedhim out of the Petworth metro Friday evening at 10PM. They followed
him up New Hampshire Ave heading NE until they got into the shadow of
the trees. He was beaten unconscious and has several staples and
stiches. I’m very grateful that he’s alive. Given the way he was
injured it easily could have not turned out that way.”
Council Member Bowser responds: “I’m very sorry to hear about this incident. I am copying Commander Burton to have him increase officers and patrols in the area around the Petworth Metro station and the adjoining neighborhoods with specific attention in the later evening hours. The community’s continued vigilance is important and we will follow this case closely.”
My two cents: This is a tragic occurance and I wish the victim a speedy recovery. I still feel that these incidents, thankfully, are rare. But please be careful and use good street smarts – pay attention to your surroundings, don’t talk on a cell phone while you walk late at night and don’t listen to your ipod. Having said that, no amount of street smarts can always prevent an incident like this. So hopefully, we will get more MPD patrols as well.
For the expats who are curious about the condos being built above the metro, this is for you. You can see some serious steel(?) beams have been set otherwise despite a ton of work it still looks like a gigantic hole in the ground. But I believe they aren’t supposed to finish until 2009…
After getting scolded for not visiting North Petworth, I decided to take a walk up to the Java & Cream coffee house located around 5500 Georgia Avenue. I am happy to report that it is a fantastic independently owned coffee house. I had the opportunity to briefly chat with the owner who told me he has plans to open 4 more in the area over the coming years. The coffee was delicious and cheaper than Starbucks. I paid $2.75 for a large latte. The owner also told me that in the future there will be some live music, which I’ll post when it happens. There is a great seating area here as well, so if you live in North Petworth enjoy this fantastic coffee shop. For those who live further south, there are plans to open another store near the Petworth Metro in about two years time.
A reader who is doing research on a book writes in (including the title of the post):
“The Feb 13, 1923 edition of the Washington Post lists the following ad in its real estate section:
“PETWORTH
A semi-detached house of stone and frame construction; six rooms and bath, front and double rear porches, exceptionally large kitchen; hot water, heat, electric lights; good condition; side alley. Price: $8750.”
Another, Petworth house lists for $11,000, the difference in price likely due to its “having been newly papered and painted both inside and out,” and its boasting a “45 foot front lot.”
Advertised houses of similar size in Chevy Chase and Cleveland Park sell for $12,000 to $14,500, while similarly-sized houses near Lincoln Park and (what is now)Near SE sell for $6,000-$9,000.”
It’s interesting to note that our part of town began as one of the more expensive places to live in Washington.”
So who can figure out what inflation on $11,000 from 1923 to today would be?
Male #1: “Give me a good word for that breakfast.”
Male #2: “Volumptious”
Male #1: “Volumptious? Yeah that is a good word for it!”
Personally, I felt that was the perfect word for my meal as well.
Welcome one of Petworth’s newest residents: Benjamin Chalkley Beeson.
Man I wish I had a head of hair like that…
Congratulations to the Beeson family!
Thanks to a reader for sending me this tidbit about the namesake of Upshur St. Let us learn from our mistakes lest we repeat them…
“Upshur St. is named after Sec of State Upshur, who was
tragically killed along with the Sec of the Navy and
other dignitaries when they went with Pres Grant or
Taylor (can’t remember) to see the USS Princeton,
which had some new cannon everyone was very excited
about. They had this big party on the ship, and the
whole Cabinet went, and everyone had a grand time.
Then after the party was over, the Sec of the Navy
(who was very taken with the cannon) asked for it to
be shot one more time. It exploded, and killed him,
Sec of State Upshur, and ten or eleven other people.
The whole city closed in mourning for a few days, and
that’s how Upshur st got it’s name.”