by Lee Armfield Cannon As I turned the corner into the photography studio, a pair of eyes on my left immediately caught my attention. On the wall hung a photographed portrait of a girl, perhaps 13 or 14, wearing a deep burgundy dress and a single strand of pearls. Her face is a swirl of […]
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Harvest time at the Sedgwick Street community gardens
by Marjorie Rachlin Early fall means harvest time at the community gardens on Sedgwick Street. It’s been a good summer despite the heat and drought – tomatoes have done well, and people are picking squash, eggplant, beans, peppers and several exotic vegetables, as well as basil and other herbs. Okra plants, eight feet tall, are […]
Even the brave few who cross Connecticut at Chesapeake think it’s too dangerous
September 2022 update: Early block-by-block concept plans for the Connecticut Avenue safety project include a HAWK signal at Connecticut Avenue and Chesapeake Street NW. Also, DDOT has lowered the speed limit on Connecticut to 25 miles per hour. It’s difficult to measure something that’s not there. But we thought we’d give it a shot. Last […]
The first school in Forest Hills, DC opened 150 years ago
by Ann Kessler I would suspect if you were asked about the first public school to be built in Forest Hills, you wouldn’t answer that it was an African American school or that it was built here in 1866. But that is true, and here’s the story of that long forgotten school. If you look […]
How DC Water repaired a 1908 sewer pipe in Soapstone Valley
by David Jonas Bardin and Marjorie L. Share Hikers did not notice. Nor did nearby homeowners, and it seemed an accident, almost, that anyone did. The amount of sewage seeping from the ground near Soapstone Creek – beyond where the east end of Audubon Terrace meets the Soapstone Valley Trail – was small and intermittent. […]
High-Rise Life: When renters must relocate
by Barbara Cline Did you know that DC renters have the right to request relocation assistance from their landlord if they are displaced by a substantial rehabilitation of their unit? In 2009, a renter in the Connecticut House was undergoing cancer treatments that resulted in a compromised immune system. When mold was discovered behind a […]
The Davenport sidewalk is now complete – with ‘compromises’
by Marlene Berlin The last bit of construction related to the new narrow sidewalk on the 2800 block of Davenport Street is now complete – a beautiful brick retaining wall at 2801 Davenport. According to Paul Hoffman of the District Department of Transportation, the wall cost $56,794 to install. Asked about the choice of brick, […]
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High E. coli levels in Soapstone Creek prompt DC Water warning
by Marlene Berlin This sign posted at the Soapstone Valley trailhead on Albemarle Street (though not on Broad Branch) over the weekend raised a lot of questions in the community and a lot of concerns. DC Water said Sunday that it had to do with a sewer leak, but that it would have more definitive […]
What this old house has taught a Forest Hills homeowner
by Daniel Heath My family’s homes in New England are old and made of wood. Most dated before 1840 and several are pre-Revolutionary. The houses’ legacy included lore about their maintenance, and I have experience with restoration of wood houses required every few generations, from straightening stone cellar walls under a jacked-up structure to replacing […]
What to do when Bambi’s making himself at home in your yard (Hint: nothing)
Judging by some questions we’ve seen on neighborhood listservs lately, it would seem that more people are finding seemingly abandoned fawns in their backyards. Here’s an account of what our Marlene Berlin encountered this time two years ago, when this article first published. I went out on my deck and found myself staring at a […]