More than a few of us took up walking the neighborhood last year to get some exercise and pass the time under shutdown orders. Mark Fitzpatrick did more than that. He turned up a number of hidden historical treasures on his walks around Tenleytown, AU Park, Forest Hills, Van Ness and North Cleveland Park. He […]
This MLK weekend, do something good for the national park in our backyard
Rock Creek Park has been an oasis for many of us during the long months of the pandemic. This weekend is a good time to return the favor. The Martin Luther King Day of Service is usually Rock Creek Conservancy’s second largest cleanup event of the year (after the springtime Extreme Cleanup). This time, a […]
Want to find holiday lights? Head to your nearest “Main Street”
Commercial corridors in this area and throughout the District are decked out in holiday lights and festive displays this month, some in connection with local Main Streets. The lights serve as a beacon to attract customers to small and local businesses, and as a beacon of hope for better times to come. And of course, […]
The 2020 “Shop-Local Workout:” Covid-19 edition
You could call it a Forest Hills Connection holiday tradition. In December 2012, Marlene Berlin combined her love of walking and her enthusiasm for supporting small businesses into our original walking and shopping guide to Van Ness, Forest Hills, Chevy Chase, Tenleytown and Cleveland Park. That morphed into the “Shop-Local Workout,” our annual Thanksgiving week […]
Volunteers needed for rain garden maintenance at Forest Hills Park on Nov. 21
Did you know? Forest Hills Park (at 3200 Chesapeake Street) has two rain gardens. One is tucked alongside the basketball and tennis courts on Brandywine Street. The other is next to the amphitheater across the footpath from the tennis courts. They were installed to help capture and filter stormwater that otherwise might pollute Rock Creek […]
Dig (or donate) now for daffodils later: Help Van Ness Main Street plant spring bulbs through Nov. 8
On a couple of weekends last fall, Van Ness Main Street and neighbors came out for a Connecticut Avenue beautification project. And then we waited. One month, two months, four. At last, the fruits – or flowers – of their labors emerged in the spring. Now, Van Ness Main Street and Master Gardener Kathy Sykes […]
Watch: Peirce Mill’s virtual Heritage Day videos
Saturday, October 10th was to be Heritage Day at Peirce Mill, the National Park Service historical site on Tilden Street near Beach Drive. Like so many other events this year, this Heritage Day went virtual. NPS and Friends of Peirce Mill created videos with demonstrations and tours of the 200-year-old mill. The activities at Peirce […]
On 36th Street, an oasis reopens
In 2013, Margery Elfin wrote about the “secret park” at 36th and Yuma Streets NW (map). She and her late husband Mel enjoyed taking their dog, Emmy, on walks through the pocket park’s shaded paths. But they were concerned that the park had been forgotten by its caretakers. The walkways were littered with broken flagstones. […]
Northwest Neighbors Village virtual speaker series teaches us about birds, brains and our neighbors
We first got to know Forest Hills neighbor David Cohen the way many of us get to know our neighbors: by meeting his dog, Romeo. Soon, we learned that Cohen is an avid wildlife photographer, and that thanks to Romeo, he discovered and started volunteering with Northwest Neighbors Village, or NNV. NNV and other villages […]
Hillwood Museum reopening the mansion and more this week
The District’s now in Phase 2 of reopening, which means lots of changes to operations at businesses and institutions including libraries… and museums. The Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens reopened its gardens on June 2nd. The Phase 2 guidance allows the museum to invite visitors indoors, as long as it takes precautions including capacity limits […]