From the Crazy Vault / 13.06.2012

Chalk another great find up to GoDCer and Poolesville resident, Jack. Thanks! Do you hang out with your kids in Walter Pierce park? Maybe you played kickball or soccer on the fields there, or take your dog to romp in the dog park. In the 19th century, it was the site of the ghastly (and not uncommon) practice of grave robbing. Jansen, the creepy dude we mentioned in this morning's post was at it again. Early this morning two mounted policemen, F. M. Sullivan...

Faces & Places of Yesterday, Notable People & Places / 17.04.2012

[caption id="attachment_5307" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="The Police live in 1979"][/caption] I had heard that Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland (aka, The Police) had played in Adams Morgan and wanted to do a little research into that. Unfortunately, they weren't a huge band when they played here in 1979, so there was very little on their arrival here. After all, they had only been around for a little over two years. They played the Ontario Theater on Columbia Rd. NW on October 8th, 1979 -- the same place that U2 played...

A Personal Story / 29.02.2012

There were a couple of requests a short while back to do a post on The Cairo, the most famous residential building in the city. You can Google it or check it out on Wikipedia, so no need to do the building's history. I want to dig up the more anonymous stories of people associated with the building. So, here's one that I came across about a guy named Robert Muir. He was the Cairo Hotel's manager back in the 1910s, about a little over 15 years into its existence.
Notable People & Places / 28.02.2012

Yep, that's right. Paul (aka, Bono), Adam, Larry and David (aka, The Edge) rocked the nation's capital in the early 80s. The Irish supergroup was less super back then, playing small (much smaller) venues like The Bayou in Georgetown and The Ontario Theater in Adams Morgan. How incredible would that be? I'm sure someone reading this went to one of these shows. During the first half of the 1980s, U2 made four stops in D.C. (once with a two show night). I was able to dig through old newspapers and come up with some great stuff. The first show in Washington was on December 7th, 1980 at The Bayou on K St. near Wisconsin (where the movie theater is now). This was their second concert in the U.S. after playing the night before at the Ritz in New York. In the December 5th, Baltimore Sun's "Best bets in D.C." section, next to a performance by the National Symphony Orchestra was U2, performing with the Slickee Boys at the Bayou. There is a good post about the Bayou at Georgetown Dish and there appears to be a documentary film in the works.
If Walls Could Talk / 31.01.2012

This is the first in a four-part series of posts covering the colorful homes on Cliffbourne Pl. NW, between Calvert St. and Biltmore St. You've seen these before, the green, yellow, red and blue homes, perfectly complementing each other. I imagine that I'm not the only one curious about the history of the four houses in this rainbow row of historic homes. So dive into the first home ... the one at 2515 Cliffbourne Pl. NW.

If Walls Could Talk / 20.01.2012

This next installment of "If Walls Could Talk" will be the Petworth watering hole, The Looking Glass Lounge. This is one of my favorite places for a Sunday afternoon beer, especially in the warmer months, out on their back patio. I imagine the place will be packed this evening, and now you guys have another interesting conversation topic ... what's the story of the building inside which you're drinking beer? So, let's look into the history of the building at 3634 Georgia Ave. NW. I should also add that two businesses occupy the top floor of the building -- Fission Strategy and Big Window Labs.