How's the view from up there? uploaded to flickr.com by specimenlife
What a month…weather locally took a back seat in the news to weather-related events abroad. The Hill has seen its share of excitement in the past four weeks. We’ve had our streets shut down for elephants, marathons, and the boring old presidential motorcade. We have a new coffee shop on Pennsylvania Avenue (welcome Pound Coffee) and we have new temporary digs for the card and gift treasure chest that is Groovy. We say goodbye to DC Greenworks and soon hello to Pitango Gelato on 7th Street SE.
Fellow People of the Hill (future POTH list serve members), what have we learned this month?
We learned that many of us were less than lucky in the DCPS lottery system. No Publishers Clearinghouse balloons and Winnebago in our neighborhood. Some folks hopefully found out they got their first or second choices. Still less were lucky in the White House Easter Egg Roll lottery. There’s always next year though, right?
We learned that besides Capitol Hill being a power center of the universe, our neighborhood is also a pretty great place to live. WE all knew that already, but the Washington City Paper confirmed our beliefs with their “Best of DC” readers poll. World domination is not far behind.
We’ve learned there is an uptick in crime related to PCP in Hill East. There’s also been an increase in robberies in and around H Street NE in recent days. Hopefully neither is a trend that will sustain itself.
We learned that everyone has their limits, and for our writers and readers that includes a limit on how long we’re willing to wait for our neighborhood restaurants. Really, is a reservation system that difficult?
We’ve learned that the end of March always brings the National Cherry Blossom Festival, and seemingly like clockwork that seems to bring about a snap change in temperatures (Snow? Really?). It also brings cheery pink blooms, festivals, and parades–and more street closures.
There’s much to look forward to in April–the official openings of three new restaurants on H Street SE, regular season baseball, and probably more street closures. Here’s to another fun month on Capitol Hill.
What is happening to DC Greenworks?
Just had to point this out: A Tsunami is not a weather-related event. It’s a geology-related event in which a large amount of water is displaced following a major underwater earthquake. Obviously, it also is a natural disaster, and there have been some other big weather events around the world (a recent typhoon, I believe).
DC Greenworks is due to become Pitango Gelato if all goes well.
Was DC Greenworks that little shop space next to Perregrine?
Yes, DC Greenworks was the plant and flower shop on 7th Street SE next to Peregrine.
Let’s not forget it sold soap and jewelry and lampshades and hats. Stanton/Ken brought it in after leasing to it successfully at the Willard Hotel, they once told me. We will have a story on the plans when the lease negotiations are done. I never saw much happening in DC Greenworks–it must not have clicked with the neighborhood. I am an old Blue Iris fan (now back at E.M.)