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The first home is located at 3218 Cleveland Ave, NW:

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The flier says:

“Grand 5BR/3.5 plus 1BR/1BA LL In-Law Suite w/ a beautiful professionally landscaped front and rear garden. Features a gourmet Kitchen with attached FR, separate DR, Master Suite w/ beaut renov. Bath and generous bedrooms. Also features a screened-in porch, deck and patio and rooftop deck with amazing views of the Cathedral- perfect for entertaining. A must see!”

You can find more info here and a virtual tour here.

It’s yours for $1,795,000.

And I thought it’d be fun to compare the Cleveland Park house with a Capitol Hill house going for nearly the same price. 18 5th St, NE is going for $1,800,000 and you can see photos here. If you had $1.8 million to drop – which would you pick?

Thomas, left, is pictured with his mother, Joi, center, and brother, Dawson, right, at the 24th Annual Adoption Day at the D.C. Superior Court.

Danny Harris is a DC-based photographer, DJ, and collector of stories. He launched People’s District, a blog that tells a people’s history of DC by sharing the stories and images of its residents. You can follow People’s District on Twitter @PeoplesDistrict, and can read his previous columns here.

“I feel like the first 17 years of my life were hell. I grew up pretty much on my own until I was put in foster care at 11. Until then, I had no support and lived with anyone I could find who would help me. My father tried to raise me the best he could, but he wasn’t around that much. He was more like a social worker than a father and would find people to take care of me when he wasn’t around. So, my story has a lot of heartache because my childhood was filled with a lot of broken promises and tears.

“When I turned 11, I entered the foster care system due to a shooting. I was staying at the home of a woman who I called my grandmother. The house was full of drugs and people doing all kinds of bad stuff. It was July 22, three days before my birthday, and I was sleeping on the couch when someone fired a shotgun by accident and it hit me in the spinal chord. I guess someone brought in a shotgun and was playing around with it when it fired. I remember feeling this sting and then feeling like I was fading in-and-out of life. Then I heard the guy who shot me say, “Well, this is my third strike, so I got to get out of here.’

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Cafe Istanbul is located at 2001 L St NW. Their Web site says:

Our fascination with the cuisine and experience stems from Urfa Turkey. The cuisine is typical of the south-east; bread and meat are at the center either kebab, doner; particularly its distinctive mezes and kebabs.

But, our vision of the perfect restaurant has extended far beyond the actual menu. The atmosphere and décor play just as important of a part as the cooking; therefore, we wanted to provide a feeling of warmth and hospitality. We succeeded by creating dining areas that are as lively as they are sophisticated. A highly-trained and dedicated wait staff is another key to perfection, especially in providing diners with professional service and personal attention.

You can see their menus here. Could be a good late night spot as they are open until 4am on Sat. and Sun.? Any fans?

It was clear after reading the comments on yesterday’s post about the alleged ‘military scammer’ on metro that this was a very active scammer. Fortunately PoP readers kick ass. The photo is a bit blurry but you can see the alleged scammer in the khakis talking with police.

The reader writes:

So a few months ago, I was a victim of this guy’s scam on the Orange line. At the time, I actually felt good about myself and was proud to be helping out someone in need, especially someone who was serving our country. I felt it was the least I could do. He had documentation and everything. After initially ignoring him, the metro stalled for 20-30 minutes, so I eventually agreed to visit an ATM and give him the money he was asking for in order to get back to base.

A few months later, I saw him aimlessly wandering around Chinatown. I recognized him and he asked to use the calculator on my phone. That’s when I figured out if he was who he had originally claimed to be, the likelihood of him being back in DC was small and something did not add up.

I saw him a third time in late summer walking on Pennsylvania Ave a few blocks East of the White House. He was spewing his lies to a couple. I told them he was a liar and I instructed them not to give him any money.

Then this morning my friend (to whom I had told these stories) sent me a link to your recent blog post. I commented on the post and read just how many other people he had been negatively affecting.

Tonight, coincidentally enough, I was walking around the Chinatown area coming home from a work dinner when I spotted him. I planned on taking a close-up of his face, but before I could, he had entered the Mehak Indian Restaurant. I saw him go upstairs, so after a few minutes I decided to follow him. I walked up the stairs only to discover there was no one in sight. Baffled, I walked back down the stairs and outside to the street.

I hung around for a few minutes contemplating what to do, when finally I saw a police car driving around. I hailed it down and started explaining my story to the officers. After starting to unsuccessfully describe his physical characteristics, I saw him exit the restaurant, and said, “actually, thats him right there.”

Two policemen started questioning him, asking, “are you a marine?” to which he responded, “yes.” Thats when I snapped the picture in question.

I finished telling a third officer my story around the block while the other two officers continued to question him. I then left.

I guess we’ll see what happens.

Photo of ‘Georgia and Missouri Avenue NW Washington DC, 1988’ by flickr user Kinorama More about Mr. Horsley’s photos here.

Thanks to all who’ve written about the huge Walmart news that has come out over the last couple of days. Most have sent this Post article:

“The four stores would be built in D.C. neighborhoods where retail options are relatively scarce: on the site of a former car dealership on Georgia Avenue NW; at New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road NE; as part of a new mixed-use development on New Jersey Avenue NW; and at East Capitol and 58th streets SE.”

One reader asks – “What exactly does that do to a neighborhood?”

The Post adds:

“Its four D.C. stores will vary from 80,000 to 120,000 square feet, a typical size for the chain. The company is also considering additional stores for the District, including a new pilot format of fewer than 30,000 square feet, according to spokesman Steven Restivo.”

How do you think that will impact these four locations? Do you think these are good locations for a Walmart?

This home is located at 2009 Columbia Rd, NW:

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The flier says:

“Single Family Kalorama Mansion. Nearly 7,500 TOTAL SQUARE FEET (5,400 Top 3 floors, 2,000 Basement). Zoned R5D-Diplomatic overlay. Ambassador’s residence, Chancery, Art Gallery, endless possibilities. Garage Parking and Large back yard Large scale rooms, with 12′ celings. Elevator. Former Home of Greek Legation and the second secretary of the British embassy, George Young.”

You can find more info here and a virtual tour here.

Well, this has def. been a house of the day in the past. Holy cow. Do you think the inside is just as good as the outside? It’s yours for $2,695,000. And I had no idea George Young lived here…

Danny Harris is a DC-based photographer, DJ, and collector of stories. He launched People’s District, a blog that tells a people’s history of DC by sharing the stories and images of its residents. You can follow People’s District on Twitter @PeoplesDistrict, and can read his previous columns here.

“While my parents are Republican, they weren’t raising me to become one. I came to the party on my own. The thing that really provoked me to get political was when Bill Clinton left office. You may remember that as he was leaving, he took a bunch of stuff from the White House that wasn’t his and also pardoned some people who were not that great. As all of this was happening, he got an opportunity to speak at a school by my college and was paid something like $100,000 for the lecture. I thought it was ridiculous that people wanted to pay so much for him while there were all of these ongoing scandals around him. I was annoyed and decided that I wanted to get involved in Republican politics, so I went to work for New Jersey Assemblyman Steven Corodemus. From there, I took a job with the Republican Party in Massachusetts.

“While I was in Boston, I met a woman who is now my wife, and she eventually took a job down in D.C. I followed her here, and got a job as the Executive Director of the D.C. Republican Committee. As a Republican, I thought that Massachusetts was probably the most difficult state party to work in. Somehow, I managed to fall into one that is even more difficult. D.C. has over 70% registered Democrats and we are outnumbered 11-1. If D.C. were a state, it would be by far the most democratic state in the country.

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Yikes, huge rash of iPhone robberies. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this warning but it’s easy to get lax. From MPD:

“Over the weekend, there were at least 4 street-level robberies involving iPhones. In each case, the suspects approached the victim that was either talking or carrying the phone, and snatched it before running away. The robberies occurred in various areas of the Second District, including:

o 1500 Block of 15th Street, NW
o 1200 Block of Riggs Place, NW
o 1500 Block of T Street, NW
o 2300 Block of L Street, NW

We’re seeing folks getting phones snatched away as they walk down the street, or grabbed from tables while sitting at restaurants. Although the vast majority of these offenses do not involve physical harm to the victim, this is a continuing trend that deserves attention.”

And another sad incident from the 2nd police district from MPD:

“The complainant reports between 6:30 pm on 11/11/10 and 6:30 am on 11/12/10, unknown suspect/s stole approximately 175-200 feet of copper downspouts from the front, side and rear of the location, which is under construction. There is no lookout for any suspect/s.”

Whenever I find copy on buildings I always photograph it and when I post it someone always says that it’ll get stolen. But this is the first report I’ve seen of such a theft. And now I’m saddened…