“Dear PoPville,
Do you have any idea why they are removing/cutting down all the trees on Georgia Avenue from Bonifant through Silver Spring Ave? This photo was taken yesterday and now there are no trees left. These trees provided a great cove area for people eating out at the restaurants there.”
962 Wayne Ave
Back in Nov. 2012 we first heard Pete’s would be opening up a Silver Spring location.
From an email:
We got all of our approvals today, so we can finally lock in an opening date: Wednesday! June 19th! 11AM! The hours at Silver Spring are the same at the DC locations: 11AM – 10PM Sunday – Thursday, 11AM – 11PM Friday and Saturday.
You can see a map of their delivery radius here.
Photos courtesy of Pete’s. I’m jealous of the booths:
Dysfunction Junction chronicles the most forlorn, baffling, and wonderful crossroads of our fair city. The column is written by Ben Ball, a transportation nerd in his spare time. He lives in LeDroit Park. Ben previously wrote about 18th and Florida/U St, NW.
This intersection is like the DC equivalent of the River Styx – a grim passage between two worlds that is a test of character in and of itself. (Now, would that put Hades in Maryland or the District? You decide.) The Washington Post recently called it “a treacherous test of patience” – one that officials on both sides of the border have whined about but failed to fix.
DC recorded twelve accidents in this intersection in 2012 (Montgomery County hasn’t released data for its side). A pedestrian was killed here in 2009. So why are we still waiting for this to be fixed after years of promises?
Overlapping jurisdictions are supposedly to blame. Traffic engineers apparently agree that the problem is on the Maryland side – a signal is needed on Colesville Road. Getting the funding and approvals to install that signal requires action not only from Montgomery County and the District, but also the Maryland State Highway Administration, and therein lies the rub. The request for proposals on a series of traffic improvements just went out in January – five years after everyone agreed on what needed to be done. (Hopefully they’ll keep an eye on any concrete…)
Approaching the circle, there’s an amazing glut of signage. Arrows point the way to a bunch of numbered Maryland highways, a bizarre placard on the Maryland side demonstrates various ways you might try to go through, and the circle itself is full of stops and yields that confuse even veterans of DC’s many traffic circle models. The bumper-level dent in the “welcome to Silver Spring” sign seems to sum it all up.
Trying to walk in this area? Don’t. The lack of crosswalks on the Maryland side certainly contributes to the Frogger-like feel. But the part that really takes the cake is in the middle of the circle, where they’ve installed tactile paving for the blind…without a matching crosswalk. This supposes that anyone (let alone the visually impaired) would even attempt to cross straight through the middle without a serious death wish. And what is there to experience in the middle of that circle anyway? Shrubs?
Silver Spring really likes their mosaics. Check out this bench too:
950 Wayne Ave
Thanks to all who’ve written in about Silver Spring’s coming taste of Columbia Heights:
“Passed signage for a new Taqueria Distrito Federal (950ish Wayne Ave) and a new Pete’s Apizza (962 Wayne Ave) that I had no idea were opening in downtown Silver Spring.”
962 Wayne Ave
Brilliant!
Sixth Engine did a great job converting an old firehouse into a restaurant in Mt. Vernon Square. I just saw another great example up in Silver Spring called Fire Station 1 at 8131 Georgia Ave.
“The Fire Station 1 Restaurant and Brewing Company is proud to be locally owned and operated in the original location of the first firehouse in Silver Spring, MD. Retired firefighter Jeremy Gruber began his firefighting and EMS career at Fire Station 1 and nearly a quarter of a century later he’s the proud owner of the newly renovated family friendly Restaurant and event complex.”
More on the history of that firehouse here.
Makes passing the old firehouse on North Capitol Street that much more painful…
What an awesome sculpture/tribute from up in Silver Spring. The dedication says:
The unofficial “Mayor” of Silver Spring was a homeless man who collected hand-outs of money and food. Norman Lane walked the streets of Silver Spring for almost 25 years, doing odd jobs around the neighborhoods and handing out flowers to women on the street picked out of the Bell Flowers dumpster. Norman Lane was a mainstay in the community, and his enjoyment of life has been immortalized in a bronze bust created by artist and friend, Fred Folsom. The plaque beneath Norman Lane’s likeness reads, “Remembering the Caring Kindhearted Forbearance of the People of Silver Spring.” This is a tribute, not only to this local legend, but to the citizens of Silver Spring like Robert Phillips, owner of the Silver Spring Auto Body Shop, who kept a cot and a hot plate in the garage as a permanent home for Lane.
Photo via Piratz Tavern facebook
Thanks to a few people for sending this update from the Washington Post:
Piratz Tavern in Silver Spring headed to Davy Jones’s locker, as they say, this week after the Spike TV reality show “Bar Rescue” chose the bar for one of its Season Two episodes.
The bar reopened the night of Feb. 18 as Corporate Bar and Grill with a menu serving gourmet burgers, tuna steaks and shrimp ceviche.
Photo via Piratz Tavern facebook
Piratz tavern was located at 8402 Georgia Avenue.
Corporate Bar and Grill is, uh, not the most creative name… I’m sure many people would hope that Piratz tavern, like their Website says, was still open!
I didn’t think it could get better than an igloo (see below) but a reader writes:
“I just thought I would share a few pictures from up north in Silver Spring Saturday evening. My husband and our neighbors decided to forgo the traditional snow fort in favor of a snow bar. It wasn’t long before we had about 20 neighbors and friends of friends showing up to enjoy the crisp snowy evening. It’s a rare occasion when our city-friends are jealous of a night in Silver Spring and this was certainly the night!”
