Despite some of the fences going back up this park remains one of my favorite spots when the weather warms up. Above is the ubiquitous photo taken when the fountains go back on. After the jump see some more shots from the park. (more…)
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Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park
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“Dear PoP,
Looks like park and rec recently put fencing back up around the fields in Malcolm X Park. I imagine this is to let the grass grow back, as “team sports” have torn it up pretty good.
My question is, why don’t they put large plant pots, floor beds, etc at varying areas of the field to prevent team sport activities from happening in the first place? There are signs along the park that say no team sports and park police will enforce the rule if they are around, but otherwise we will just end up at this point again after the fencing is removed. I think there should be a couple areas that allow space for soccer and football, but, in other areas, place items that will prevent them from starting and keep the grass growing.”
In happier news it looks like the new bathrooms look close to opening. As someone who walks a lot, public restrooms can be a lifesaver. Of course I hope that park police will have regular patrols to make sure it stays clean.
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Photo by PoPville flickr user JustBurk
Thanks to all the readers who sent this from Craigslist:
So, the title of the post alone should indicate that I am a HUGE fan of 2 things — (1) Having a FUN time in whatever I am doing and (2) the SNOW!
Well, this weekend those two things come together and I am consequently trying to organize a giant friendly snowball fight in Meridian Hill Park.
For those who participated in the giant snow ball fight on U Street earlier this Winter, you know well how much fun was had — and I envision the same thing, minus people throwing snowballs at car and the subsequent scare that occurred when the cop pulled out his gun!
No, this will be different, 2 teams — across the field from each other just pelting away with snowballs. The layout of the park will make this perfect. There are wooded areas, hills, and completely enough room for everyone to have a blast.
Feel free to bring your pets as well as I know last time we did this there were a bunch of doggies there as well!
Saturday at 2:00 PM EST!! Don’t miss it!!!
The fun will start at 2:00 PM EST!!!
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It appears that no crime occured in Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park. However an individual did pass away as a result of falling and hitting his head. Please see the email from CMDR Groomes below:
“Sir…we had a male who was extremely intoxicated and left a club…he fell and hit his head and was able to get up and walk towards his home which is near malcolm x park…he eventually was found by his roommate in park and park pd handled incident and male was taken to medstar….eventually he was pronounced……no crime or assault…abra is being asked to investigate what actions club took when they put out such an intoxicated patron and their lack of calling the ambulance when he fell…..”
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Sadly, the city has not yet responded to my queries about this incident. Perhaps it is because it is an ongoing investigation. I’ll be sure to update when they do respond. I received the following email late this morning from a reader:
“I can confirm that there was some sort of incident at Meridian Hill Park early Sunday morning. My friend, who was last seen by other friends at 12:30am Sunday morning getting into a cab in Dupont to go home, was found in very bad shape (head and neck trauma, blood loss) at MHP at 4:30am. I’m hesitant to reveal any more details because (a) at this point everything I know is second hand — a mutual friend of ours told me all of this, and (b) there is a police investigation right now and I don’t want to compromise it.”
UPDATE Please see an update here. No crime according to MPD.
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“Dear PoP,
Have you heard anything about why the fountains are drained at the bottom of meridian hill park?”
This is very odd. I thought they didn’t drain the fountains until October or November. But I saw some piping so maybe they’re just fixing it.
And sadly it seems there is more bad news to report. I received three emails saying that there was police tape around the park Sunday morning. Of course there was just a stabbing at the park July 25th. DCist received a tip that blood was seen. The emails I received only said that there was police tape seen. So I’ve sent out queries to try and find out what happened. I’ll update as soon as I get the word.
UPDATE No crime according to MPD. Please see update here.
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Thanks to all who wrote in with this great update. We can check this Horse’s Ass Award nomination off the list. This weekend folks were enjoying the area playing frisbee, soccer and just lounging around.
For the weekends it seems like the space is probably best used for soccer and frisbee passes rather than full on games so more folks can enjoy the space. It looks great!
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“Dear PoP,
When are they gonna take down the fence around Meridian Hill Park? The grass there looks to have grown in nicely and the people want to play some soccer.”
This is a great question as the grass seems to be perfect. Anyone know what the parks department is waiting for?
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“Dear PoP,
My partner and I are looking for a good DC spot to host our wedding reception. We’d like a place that can seat about 325 people (with room for dancing) and is not fancy. Something like a YMCA, a high school, or a community center could be perfect, as long as it has a really large open space. Have you run across anything like that in your explorations of our city?”
Hmm, I’m thinking a wedding at Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park could be pretty awesome. Anyone know if that is possible? If you are looking for indoors you might want to check with the folks at EL Haynes Charter School. They have a nice new gymnasium. Anyone else have any good “not fancy” wedding spot suggestions for somewhere in DC?
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OjO Latino is a series by Néstor Sánchez Cordero. This week features “The return of water at Malcolm X / Meridian Hill Park … and some broken noses as well”. Néstor says, “Images are around, the secret is to catch them at the right moment and with the right light…”
Broken noses after the jump. (more…)