As promised, I checked out a DC memorial to the 1970s I notice every time I cross the 14th Street bridge to Virginia. What icon is that? Why, the Crystal City Doubletree’s rotating lounge, of course. In an earlier era it seemed no self-respecting city lacked a rotating restaurant, preferably lodged high up in a […]
DC’s Most Shagadelic Bar?
The Arlington Doubletree Crystal City Hotel‘s Skydome Lounge opened in 1972 and today remains DC’s only rotating restaurant/lounge. A 1998 Washington Post review panned the place as having little “worth mentioning” beyond the view, quipping, “Picture a small town where the hotel bar is the only place to go. A DJ station sits in the […]
Saving DC’s Heurich House
I just uploaded a set of photos of the Heurich House and the Adams Morgan/Meridian Hill area of DC that I took today. The foundation which owns the Heurich House (also known as the “Brewmasters’ Castle,” after the occupation of its builder) is in danger of defaulting to the bank and losing the property. To […]
Michigamua In the News
This story in today’s Michigan Daily has people talking about Michigamua. To my surprise, I recieved a tip about a member via anonymous text message, a first for me. A reader also left this comment on an earlier post: “I was listening to the radio tonight and I heard the debate on Michigamua. My friend […]
Riding the Green Line
I’ve been traveling the Green Line into Prince George’s County quite a bit recently to do research at the National Archives College Park facility. The entire commute takes me around 30 minutes, and I have found the Green Line (with its new trains and sparse reverse commute) quite pleasant. From my house I walk three […]
The Long Shadow
of Marion Barry still looms large over D.C.’s political landscape. He’s been in the news recently, reviving the usual prejudices. Yet exactly who is Barry? How should we judge his legacy? Sam Smith has some interesting reflections about precisely that topic.
ACLU Sues the NSA Over Domestic Spying Program
The headline says it all. And guess who seems to be behind the effort? None other than my friends at the ACLU of Michigan, where I interned in 2002. A number of journalists and organizations, ranging from Christopher Hitchens to Greenpeace, have joined the lawsuit.