by Marlene Berlin Mayor Vincent Gray presided over the official opening of the reconstructed Linnean Stream and the “daylighted” Broad Branch Stream last Saturday, October 18th. Nature also put on a show. The event took place under blue skies and a bright sun that perfectly showed off this spectacular project by DC’s Department of the […]
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Where (and how) the stormwater flows into Soapstone
by David Jonas Bardin Have you ever wondered which storm sewers drain into Soapstone Creek – and where from? This District Department of the Environment (DDOE) map shows five areas – totaling 404 acres – from which rain is collected by storm sewers and flows to outfalls in Soapstone Valley. Red marks five sewershed boundaries. […]
Fun with maps
We can’t decide which we love more: Old maps that show our neighborhood as it used to be, or new maps that tickle our funny bone. We stumbled upon these recently and thought you’d enjoy them as much as we did. DC neighborhoods in 1937 We enjoy the skewed perspective of this 1937 DC neighborhoods […]
Marjorie Rachlin’s Backyard Nature: Garden colors don’t entirely fade in September
by Marjorie Rachlin Most gardens wind down down in September weather but there’s still colorful bloom in Forest Hills yards. We’ve got everything from “weed” plants native to the Americas to banana “trees” that came here long ago from Asia. Natives in the back In my back garden, I grow a number of hardy native […]
The physicists next door: Men on the moon
by Ann Kessler A remarkable illustration of the movement of National Bureau of Standards (NBS) physicists into the Forest Hills neighborhood in the 1920s can be found in the 2900 block of Brandywine Street NW. Three houses on that block were occupied by NBS physicists, more specifically spectroscopists, in the 1920s and the following decades. […]
An overgrown sidewalk and a bureaucratic jungle
by Marlene Berlin What does it take to tame a jungle encroaching on the 3100 Brandywine north sidewalk? Navigating a bureaucratic jungle. Last September, Jan and Jack Buresh took matters into their own hands and attacked the growth themselves. They again offered their services this year, but ANC Commissioner Sally Gresham would have none of […]
Solving the mystery of the chalk and powder markings around the neighborhood
by Marlene Berlin Many stories begin with “Once upon a time…” Mine always seem to start with my morning walk. So, this should sound familiar to you by now. Last Friday, as I was to begin my morning walk into Soapstone Creek, I saw it – a small pile of lavendar-colored powder right in front […]
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History: The schools for boys at Connecticut and Upton, part 1
by Ann Kessler The Edmund Burke School, which has occupied the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Upton Street for more than 40 years, wasn’t the first school at that spot. It wasn’t even the second, or third. First there was the Army and Navy Preparatory School (later known as the Swavely School) from 1906 to […]
UDC Student Center taking shape
David Jonas Bardin provided these photos showing the progress at the UDC student center under construction at Connecticut and Van Ness Architect’s rendering: View from Calvert Woodley (4339 Connecticut): Views from Firebirds Café terrace balcony: Views from third floor walkway outside Building 39: UDC is aiming for a spring 2015 occupancy date. You’ll find the […]
A Rock Creek that really makes songbirds sing
by Steve Dryden Though Rock Creek National Park contains large tracts of wooded areas, overall, the tree canopy and layers of understory have been shrinking in recent years. A new initiative, Rock Creek Songbirds, is restoring habitat in the park and adjacent neighborhoods for the wide range of resident and migratory songbirds, including the wood […]