This post is in reponse to a request by my friend Jim to find out “what is going on” with the property shown here located at 2001 14th Street NW, at the intersection of 14th and U. Construction is underway to renovate this building and construct an addition on a neighboring lot. The building was […]
An Introduction to the Manhole Covers of Washington, D.C.
I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about manhole covers recently. I was reminded of the topic at a recent lecture by Dr. Timothy Beatly during a lecture about urban placemaking. He was speaking about ways European and Australian cities create distinctive urban environments. European cities, generally much denser and with higher foot traffic […]
Re-Imagining The Watha T. Daniel Library
Could the site of the closed Watha T. Daniel library in Shaw become home to not only to a new library, but also housing and perhaps even a small store? That’s what Cheryl Cort, Policy Director for the Coalition for Smarter Growth, is suggesting in a provocative proposal being circulated in the community, that I […]
U.S. Transit Ridership Highest Since 1957
I thought this USA Today story I spotted on Planetizen today was interesting. In 2006, U.S. transit ridership in topped 10 billion trips, the highest level of use seen since 1957. Of course, this is puny compared to the historical peak of 23.4 billion trips in 1946, but it’s also much higher than the postwar […]
Wanted: Photos of Google’s Book Digitization Project
I’ve engaged in some speculation before about the size and character of Google’s effort to digitize the nearly 5 million volumes in the University of Michigan library as part of their plan to digitize the libraries of Harvard, Stanford, the University of Michigan, the University of Oxford, and The New York Public Library. I’ve also […]
Shaw’s Buried Stream
Regular visitors to D.C.’s Shaw-Howard University Metro Station will be familiar with the water. Year-round, a soft trickling sound can be heard in the damp station, and sometimes the water visibly flows over the southbound rail bed. In the photo to the right, the flow has slowed leaving a series of puddles. Although the station […]
Catholic City, University Rises in Florida
Ave Maria, Florida is a lot of things. To its developer, it will be a “compact, walkable, self-sustaining” city of 30,000 people. To Ave Maria University, it is home to their new campus, the first major Catholic university constructed in the U.S. in 40 years. To its founder Tom Monaghan, it will be a conservative […]