Meredith Munoz of Pash
@ Fort Reno
Q:What's your song for summer?
A:"'Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before' by the Smiths, hands down."
CAPITOL HILL
Condo: Bryan School Lofts
1315 Independence Ave. SE, #3
» $519,000: A few blocks northeast of Eastern Market, this airy 1,250-square-foot loft condo — housed in a 1906 elementary school converted by Jim Abdo into 20 luxury units — will make creative reuse buffs geek out. Enter through stone columns with the original "Girls Entrance" carved above the door, then head downstairs to the corner unit, a warm space with 13-foot ceilings, some exposed brick walls, cherry floors and Italian granite counter tops. An added perk: The reseller is a handyman builder who made custom upgrades such as a walled-off bedroom nook, tiny wood-burning fireplace and pendant lighting. An open floor plan leaves endless possibilities for arranging (and, er, minimal privacy). Storage unit and uncovered parking spot included. (Listed through Urban Pace Fine Homes.)
U STREET CORRIDOR
Condo: The Flats at Union Row
2125 14th St. NW, #224
» $509,900: This ship-like fortress of a contemporary mixed-use condo building — complete with Yes! Organic Market — is docked a block north of the nexus of busy 14th and U streets. The new 1,135-square-foot condo offers "loft-style" nine-foot unfinished ceilings and exposed ductwork but also a snug pentagon-shaped bedroom and den behind closed doors. If the cove-like den had windows and a bigger closet, the place could be called a two-bedroom. Nearly floor-to-ceiling windows face east and open onto handsome landscaping and an inviting terrace. Residents can grab free coffee from the lobby lounge on the dash out each morning and unwind after work on the eighth-floor terrace, cozied up to the gas fireplace while peering down on the courtyard below. (Listed through PN Hoffman Realty, LLC.)
Written by Express contributor Katie Knorovsky
Photos courtesy Bryan School Lofts, the Flats at Union Row
MONDAY: If you're feeling miserable about our struggling economy and various national crises, you need some Irish poetry. And no one elucidates miserable like the bards of the Emerald Isle.
Check out Eamonn Grennan, an accomplished poet who's reading at the Folger Theatre tonight. His work is heartbreakingly open without being simplistic or ringing false. After the reading, you can meet the author.
» Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE; Mon., May 18, 7:30 p.m., $12; 202-544-7077. (Capitol South)
Photo by Neal Greig
FRIDAY: Calvin Trillin is probably most famous for his work as a political poet. He's published several volumes of rhymed political commentary — and yes, that's awesome.
He's been a novelist and a journalist for decades, and he knows from humor. It's not entirely clear what he has to do with Shakespeare, but nobody should make a fuss because Calvin Trillin is wonderful, and any venue that chooses to bring him to D.C. has our full support.
» Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE; Fri., Feb. 20, 8 p.m., $15; 202-544-4600. (Capitol South)
Photo by Michael Williamson/The Washington Post
MONDAY: If we had been born in the '50s, there is no doubt we would have been another drop in the emotional sea of screaming fangirls diagnosed with "Beatlemania." As fate would have it, we arrived in 1981, forever destined to be a screaming fangirl diagnosed with, er, "New-Kids-on-the-Block-o-mania." Oh, preteen silliness!
Years have passed. While we're all on a first-name basis with John, Ringo, George and Paul, we'll never have the pleasure of witnessing the Fab Four live, unlike the indulgent reunion tour of Jordan, Joe, Jonathan, Donnie and Danny. So we'll salvage what we can to get as close to the band we'll always love but will never see. That could include supporting cover bands like 1964 or Strawberry Fields or popping into to a Harry Benson Beatles retrospective.
As such, there's no doubt we'll attend Richie Unterberger's discussion of his book "The Unreleased Beatles: Music and Film" at the Library of Congress.
» Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave. SE; Mon., Jan. 5, 7 p.m., free; 202-707-5677. (Capitol South)
Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images
EVERY YEAR, the Folger Shakespeare Library honors the birthday of Emily Dickinson, the poet whose reclusive lifestyle and creative use of the dash (among other things) have accorded her a place in the American pantheon of poets.
This year, poet Elizabeth Spires will read from her own work and that of Dickinson, and she'll join the audience at a wine reception for a cake baked from Dickinson's own recipe.
How can you resist? Poetry AND cake!
» Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 E. Capitol St. SE; Mon., Dec. 8, 7:30 p.m., $12; 202-675-0344. (Capitol South)
GOLDEN EARRINGS IN THE SHAPE of eagles beckon from a display case. A framed replica of the Declaration of Independence (with accompanying quill) hangs from a wall. A woven scene of U.S. Capitol on a blanket, dubbed the "Capitol Comforter," lies neatly folded in a corner. It's American patriot heaven. And that's just what's in one of the Capitol Visitor Center's two gift shops.
The 580,000 square-foot facility, which opened to the public yesterday, is dazzling. As visitors descend two escalators to the central Emancipation Hall, the underground level's sparkling marble grandeur is offset by a bright glass ceiling showcasing views of the Capitol dome. An indoor replica of the dome's Statue of Freedom — an exhibit focal point — is a commanding presence in itself, but it's not the only statue that will catch your eye. There are 24 state statues speckled throughout the center, and while all pay tribute to significant Americans, don't expect them all to be made of the same ole white marble.
Colorado's John L. "Jack" Swigert Jr. replica has the Apollo 13 astronaut rocking a replica NASA suit and holding a space helmet, while Wyoming's bronze depiction of Chief Washakie features the Shoshone tribe spokesman in feathered headdress, a spear in his right hand and peace pipe in his left.
The Emancipation Hall is just a taste of what the center has to offer. The real gems are just beyond the Statue of Freedom in the center's Exhibition Hall.
Continue Reading "A Capitol Improvement: Capitol Visitor Center Opens" »
WANT TO SEE the Statue of Freedom up close and personal? Unless you tried scaling the Capitol dome — and we're thinking Capitol Police wouldn't be keen on this — you usually were out of luck. Until today.
It's a lot easier to stroll up to the statue's plaster model in the Emancipation Hall — a part of the Capitol Visitor Center, which opens to the public at 1 p.m. at First and East Capitol streets. The model is one of 24 statues speckled throughout the three-level, 580,000 square-foot underground facility. The visitor center also boasts historical artifacts, although the pine slab where the bodies of presidents Gerald Ford and Abraham Lincoln once rested creeps us out a little bit.
Continue Reading "Go Underground: Capitol Visitor Center Opening" »
KICK OFF CHRISTMAS with this year's lighting of the Capitol Christmas Tree. Join members of Congress, senators and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in the traditional ceremony of lighting up the "People's Tree" -- one that's of the people, for the people and by the people, of course.
Hailing from Montana, this 144 year-old, 78-foot fir tree will be decorated with more than 5,000 handmade ornaments and 10,000 LED lights. Chris Gabrielsen, a 4th grader from Montana, won a statewide drawing and will have the honor of flipping the switch to light the tree.
» West Lawn of the U S. Capitol, Tue., Dec. 2, 5 p.m., free; 202-265-0930. (Union Station, Federal Center SW)
Photo courtesy Office of the Architect of the Capitol
EXPRESS NIGHT OUT is hosting two happy hours tonight at 6 p.m. to help you wind down from whatever exciting election shenanigans you got up to yesterday.
There's free beer (while it lasts) and cheap food. Democrats can throw back Blue Moon, and for Republicans we'll be providing Killian's Red.
Victorious Barack Obama supporters should head to Top of the Hill. If you backed John McCain, 18th Amendment's your bar.
RSVP here to let us know you're coming.
» Top of the Hill, 319 Pennsylvania Ave. SE; 202-546-1001. (Capitol South)
» 18th Amendment, 613 Pennsylvania Ave. SE; 202-543-3622. (Capitol South)
THE HARD-DRINKING, hard-partying scion of an all-important political family is forced to choose between his rough-hewn frat-boy companions and the service to his country he's been groomed for all his life.
No, this is not Oliver Stone's new movie. It's "Henry IV, Part 1," William Shakespeare's third-most-beloved history play, and it's at the Folger Theatre.
In the past, Henry's story has been used as pro- and anti-war propaganda, so we'll see where this one falls on the ideological spectrum. Ah, for the days when succession was decided by blood relationships and not by these silly elections.
» Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE; through Nov. 16, $25-$55; 202-544-7077. (Capitol South)
Photo courtesy The Shakespeare Theatre
Addison Road