The Owl’s Nest has been sold. Listed for sale a little more than a year ago at $10.5 million dollars, the historic home at 3031 Gates Road has been sold for substantially less: $6.86 million. The TTR Sotheby’s listing agent had said the Owl’s Nest would be the perfect home for a diplomat, an ambassador, […]
These plants are climbing and destroying our trees. Winter is a good time to stop them.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… to free some trees from nonnative invasive vines. Winter is a great time to this work, says National Park Service-certified Weed Warrior Kathy Sykes. At one chilly invasive removal event at Reservation 630, she explained to the volunteers that the winter dieback makes it easier to spot […]
Forest Hills Park has a 90-year history of parent advocacy, DIY, and many do-overs
Forest Hills Park and Playground have taken many forms over the years. And it exists today because of the efforts of neighborhood parents and grandparents going back 90 years. Acquiring the property at 32nd and Chesapeake Streets took a federal lobbying effort. Leslie Boudinot Flenner Wright, a neighborhood activist and mother of four, had succeeded […]
Fort Kearny, Battery Terrill, and other Civil War defenses in our backyard
by Gary Thompson During the Civil War, the critical defensive perimeter surrounding Washington passed through the Forest Hills neighborhood. After the outbreak of the war in 1861, and especially in the wake of the Battle of Bull Run (July 21, 1861), the Union Army constructed what would become one of the most formidable defensive systems […]
Albemarle Street reopening is the latest Soapstone sewer project milestone
Now open: Albemarle Street east of Connecticut Avenue, for the first time since a major DC Water closed the section of roadway to vehicle traffic in September 9th, 2024. Tuesday’s reopening was one of the final and largest steps toward completion of the Soapstone Valley sewer rehabilitation project. Last week, road crews repaved and repainted […]
Forest Hills history: More physicists next door
by Adam E. Sieminski The late Ann Kessler wrote an article for Forest Hills Connection in September 2014 titled “The physicists next door: Men on the moon.” Kessler became intrigued when she discovered the unusual number of scientists who once lived on the 2900 block of Brandywine Street NW and nearby. One of the physicists […]
A ‘significant milestone’ in DC Water’s Soapstone sewer project, but completion is still weeks away
The Soapstone Valley sewer rehabilitation project has taken a big and “important step” toward completion. “We are pleased to share that the Soapstone project has reached a significant milestone with the successful [September 26th] installation of Shot #10, the final segment of cured-in-place pipe (CIPP),” wrote DC Water on October 2nd. “This achievement marks an […]
Community service and cool jazz: A day at Forest Hills Park
by Marlene Berlin Last Saturday, September 13th, was a lovely day to be out enjoying one of our neighborhood’s most popular gathering places – and cleaning it up. That’s how the day started for volunteers who pitched in at Forest Hills Park and Playground that morning. Then, a few hours later, jazz musicians performed for […]
Soapstone sewer project latest: Hard work in hard rock, and an “illegal” sewer pipe
by Marlene Berlin In what is being described as tedious and labor-intensive work, DC Water contractors are removing layers of hard rock at the bottom of a manhole they are trying to excavate to 42 feet. They hit the rock at 30 feet and as of August 22nd, were halfway through. The manhole in question […]
Closing the gaps: New sidewalks for Davenport and nearby streets
A DDOT project under way through August 30th is adding the first sidewalks to one side of the 2900-3000 blocks of Davenport Street and nearby segments of Linnean Avenue and 30th Street. DDOT’s Karyn McAlister shared this map of the work area: There have never been sidewalks on either side of these street segments. DDOT’s […]