Photo by Andrew Leyden

Thanks to Andrew for sending: “Work crews removing a secondary fence at the White House today. Could we soon see access to Lafayette Park once again?”

And the latest from Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton’s office:

“Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) sent a letter to the Capitol Police Board requesting that the public have access to the outdoor spaces of the U.S. Botanic Garden that remained open to the public after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were instituted at the U.S. Capitol complex but were closed after the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Read More

Ed. Note: A few folks have also sent me this Change.org petition against the fence.

Thanks to Claire for sending:

“I’ve seen lots of posts about the Capitol fence (here and elsewhere), but no one seems to be circulating a map of how far the fence actually extends. So yesterday I circumnavigated it and drew one. For scale, that’s more than three miles of fencing. Read More

“Dear PoPville,

We are looking at purchasing a house in Brentwood that is a corner lot – the long side is RIGHT alongside Rhode Island Avenue. There is the usual 3 ft high chain link fence next to the sidewalk, and the current owners put up a 7′ fence the requisite distance back from the sidewalk to block the noise. We’re not a fan of this look and we’d prefer to be able to use the entirety of the yard – that’s why we’d love to buy an end unit! We are not usually fence people; we love being able to chat with our neighbors from the front porch and we generally think tall fences take away a lot of neighborhood charm. Read More

Photo by Phil

“Dear PoPville,

I have a typical rowhouse iron fence around my front yard with one side shared with a nasty neighbor. If she were a regular person, I would simply offer to paint her side as well as mine, or ask how she would like me to do it, but that isn’t going to happen. So my question is – am I “allowed” to paint the sides of the bars and the top rail of the shared fence?”

“Dear PoPville,

Does anyone know why almost the entire Capitol grounds have been fenced off for the past week?”

1525 H Street, NW

Thanks to a reader for passing on from St. John’s Church:

“Dear Parishioners,

In its 200-plus year existence, our beloved church has witnessed history, in its many forms, from our corner of Lafayette Square. That holds true today with the protests associated with the murder of George Floyd and other innocent Black citizens across our country.

We as a parish support the protesters’ fight for an end to systemic racism. As is often the case in these situations, we have also been faced with significant challenges. Our historic buildings have been damaged by fire and graffiti. Individuals have built encampments on the church grounds, pitching tents, cooking on open fires in close proximity to the buildings, and relieving themselves in inappropriate places, resulting in a risk to the health and safety of protesters and others. At times, our staff have not felt safe traveling to and from work, or in their offices.

At its meeting last week, the Vestry discussed the tension between support of the Black Lives Matter movement and keeping our staff and property safe. As a result of that discussion, we met with City leaders last Friday. The meeting was productive, and we came away with a plan to peacefully relocate the individuals camping on our grounds that was based on engaging the protesters in conversation. We did not have the opportunity to finish executing that plan because on Monday the police began clearing H Street, NW. We were not aware they would do this.

After renewed violence on Monday evening, the City contacted us on Tuesday and offered to provide fencing around our buildings. After a thorough discussion, and in consultation with Bishop Mariann, we reluctantly agreed to the fencing. Read More

Photo by Benjamin Allen

Benjamin reports: “Looks like a fence will be going up around the emancipation statue in Lincoln Park.” Read More

1525 H Street, NW

Thanks to Mike for sending: “It seems there’s now a fence around St. John’s church…this seems to me to be all kinds of wrong…” Read More

Photo by ms brown

Thanks to ms brown for sharing photos this morning.

NPR reported last night:

“Police fired chemical agents to clear Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., Monday night after protesters attempted and failed to pull down a huge statue of Andrew Jackson located there.”

More photos from ms brown: Read More

Photo by Molly Ward

Thanks to Molly for sending earlier this morning: “Lafayette Square is open again. Fences still up. Most signs have been removed.”

Ed. Note: Some of the signs have been moved across the street.

Thanks to James and Jasen for sending some photos of other parts of the fence being dismantled last night: Read More