This should be at the DC Archives over on Naylor Court, NW because this comes from the DC RLA. And the ‘this’ is a church survey for a previous urban renewal idea of doing a nice big chunk in NW. The best I can tell of what happened with the NW Urban Renewal Area is that it shrank to the NoMa area, and at some point the Shaw School Urban Renewal came to be. Seriously, I’m fuzzy when it comes to all the various urban renewal programs that RLA, with the federal government (NCPC), churned out. There were several, a downtown, possibly a NE, Adams-Morgan, the famous SW, this NW one and Shaw.
Anyway, the little numbered circles in the shown map here of the NW urban renewal area are of the various steeple and storefront churches in 1957. I’m not going to list them all as there are several pages and I don’t want to. But there are a few churches I want to highlight.
Steeple:
#3 Greater New Bethel; #4 Metropolitan; #10 Redeemer Italian Baptist; #13- Shiloh Baptist and #14 Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Storefront Church:
#17 Mt. Sinai Baptist
The survey is basic, with name and address of pastor, ethnic make up, staff, and a few things about the membership I found interesting.
Greater New Bethel, then at 1739 9th St, had a membership of 700, with an average attendance of 350, parking for 25 cars, and 80% of the working members held white collar jobs. None of the members lived in the NW urban renewal area but all lived in DC.
Metropolitan Baptist at 1225 R St had a membership of 3,260, average attendance at the worship service was 1500. Of the working membership 25% were white collar, 30% unskilled manual, 15% skilled and 10% in business. Geographically 40% lived in the urban renewal area, 57% in the rest of DC and 3% in VA. In 1957 it had no mortgage.
Redeemer Italian Baptist, or ‘ok I guess there was a strong eye-talian presence here’. It was at 1200 Kirby St and composed of white Italians. None of them lived in the urban renewal area, 40% were in the rest of DC and 60 % in MD & VA. The membership 125 with 60 showing up for worship services. A majority, 55% were skilled manual laborers, 30% white collar, and 10% in business.
Okay, I’m tired of typing, I’ll pick this up again later.
Month: November 2007
Support Small Businesses
*TOWN HALL MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT*
Small businesses are facing incredible market barriers and bureaucratic
impediments to staying in their longtime locations, expanding into new
sites, or just trying to open a business for the first time.
Please come out and voice your support for small business by attending and
testifying at:
What: Citywide Small Business Tax Relief Town Hall Meeting
Who: MidCity Business Association and Councilmember Jim Graham
Where: Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U Street, NW
When: Tuesday, November 13th, 2007 6:30-9:00pm
Why: To Rally Support and Raise Awareness Regarding the Tax Burdens and
Other Barriers Facing Small Businesses in DC
*
*To pre-register to testify at the Town Hall Meeting please email us at
info@midcitylife. org.*
*Kamal Ali, Owner, Ben’s Chili Bowl
President, MidCity Business Association
The MidCity Business Association and other organizations and advocates
working to support small business development are requesting your immediate
support for the Small Businesses by signing the attached online petition
that calls for relief and resources to support small business in Washington
DC.
———— ——— ———
*DC Small Business – Relief and Retention Online Petition – We need your
support!!!
*
*Please sign the petition at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/mc111307/petition.html
*
It’s 8AM Thursday, do you know where your toy sized dog is?
I’m not sure about the breed, but it wasn’t a bichon frise, and I’m not entirely sure if it was a shih tzu maybe a scotty but it was a little white dog on the 1600 block of 5th St NW without a human around that I met up with on the way to work. It barked at me and walked away (south on the even side of the sidewalk) as I tried to approach it to look at it’s tinkling tags. I walked about 30 feet off my normal route before I turned around and gave up. I’m not going to mess with a dog that doesn’t want to be bothered with me.
Anyway, if that’s your dog, that’s where I last saw it.
Musing thought: DC Should stay out of Real Estate
Not even going to touch the corruption in the Tax Office, but I wonder if a public tarring and feathering, or stocks with rotten tomatoes provided to DC citizens for throwing would be too good….
Anyway, one of the other things brought up in the BACA meeting on Monday was government seizure of property (houses) that were unabated nuisances. Someone pointed out that when the DC government then takes ownership of a property that doesn’t improve matters. The theory is that the city takes over the property and some competent 3rd party, usually a socially acceptable non-profit, will take over and fix up the property (because they usually need work), sell it or grant it to some deserving family, the end.
But the theory doesn’t always work. Sometimes the city just holds on to the property for-like-ever letting it rot from the inside out as vagrants or stray cats use it, occasionally coming by to mow the lawns. Or it does get into a partnership with a nonprofit, and some of them actually get to work and fix up the properties so they are fit for human habitation. And then there are others who can’t get their act together and the house just sits, and rots from the inside out. Or they take their sweet molasses in winter time to fix up the property. Also there is perfectly innocent crap that just happens, like running out of money.
Just selling it off offers no promises either. Buyers could just sit on property like investors have done and continue to do.
So the next time someone comes up with the brilliant idea that the city or government should take ownership of property, know that it sounds great in theory but in years of practice, sucks.
Ye shall know them by their works, or lack thereof.
Bloomingdale Farmers Market not a given for next year
RED ALERT! According to the Eckington Listserv there is some opposition from residents of the little section of the 100 block of R St to the market so, it is not a given for next year. I can’t begin to describe the range of emotions I feel. This market is such a part of my week and a part of my life now. It’s where I run into my neighbors, it’s where I get my seasonal fruit and salad and eggs. The market make the Mari(e) happy, and my heart sinks at the idea of it not coming back in the Spring.
ANC commish Kris Hammond made the comment, “Naturally, residents adversely affected should be heeded; we should be open to alternatives that minimize the negatives.” So people of Bloomingdale and Truxton I know we have the brain power to think of solutions to affected resident’s parking woes. Please don’t let the market be a one hit wonder.
Correction: Not 200 Blk but 100 blk.
Islamic_Way
Once again. Blogger is being a butt. So I post for your entertainment, Islamic Way, which I think is that tiny stretch of road that is the turn off to get on to New Jersey.
BACA and Blogger issues
First, Blogger is taking it’s sweet time posting my post and your comments. I’m guessing this will appear sometime tomorrow morning.
Second, there was a BACA meeting tonight and I may or not post my notes. If I fail to post the notes there are a few things I need to pass along.
202 373-3711 is the police non-emergency number. On my cell 311 does nothing.
Also ever wind up fighting with the 311/911 operator? Well you can ask to speak to a supervisor if the call is going that way…. and when you do and get hung up on, call 202 373-3700 for the call center supervisor.
It’s the 1st Monday of the month so it must be BACA time
From Jim
Neighbors,
Please be reminded that we will be meeting at Mount Sinai Baptist Church tonight from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. To follow-up on our public safety/hate crime discussion of last month, Ms. Brandi King Garcia, Ward Five Community Prosecutor from the United States Attorney’s Office, is coming to talk about their Nuisance Property Program. In addition, Mr. Alton Gadsen and Mr. Karl Millard are coming to talk about the Office of Unified Communications; specifically, how 911 and 311 calls are prioritized and dispatched to communities like ours. Ilyssa Parker, our neighbor and a member of the Board of Directors at the Perry School Community Service Center, will be given some time to talk about this valuable community resource. Further, and independently of her Perry School presentation, Ilyssa wants to share some information with us about the possible establishment of a dog park in the community.
Importantly, Officer Sean Babcock and Officer Danny McCullough will receive awards from the civic association in appreciation of their service to the community and, as usual, Alice Thompson (of the Mayor’s Office of Community Relations and Services) and Ayanna Chase (of Council Member Harry Thomas, Jr.’s Office) will be permitted to share announcements relating to the work of their respective employers.
Hope to see you tonight!
Best,
Jim Berry
Bates Area Civic Association, Inc.
JDB
Blogger is acting up, here's an old map
Okay for some odd reason Blogger is nit publishing something I put out earlier. So I’m hoping to kick it into gear by posting via Flickr. And I figure as opposed to posting an image that’s old, why not scan something new, put it up and let you enjoy. This is a scan of a photocopy I got from the MLK Washingtonia division from their tax assessment microfilm.
Stuff at the DC Archives
Okay there is a lot of history stuff from this weekend with the Washington Historical Conference and an email that went out regarding historic preservation that raised one of my eyebrows.
I was happy to stumble upon the DC Archives desk because the web presence of this part of the DC government is like nil. I had a researcher friend complain that he couldn’t find any information about hours, or contact info to save his life. It’s there, just not terribly easy to find like the Washingtonia collection or the Historical Society’s archive.
The DC Archives is at 1300 Naylor Court, NW (office 202 671 1105, fax 202 727 6076) and off the top of my head they have regular office hours. So they are right in Shaw, not too far from the Convention Center.
At the desk I got a list of the different series the archives has and here are a few highlights:
Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs:
Building/Construction/ Alternation Permits & Plans (1949-1995)Department of Public Works:
Plans of Demolished Buildings (1900-1979)Department of Housing and Community Development
Redevelopment Land Agency Records (1965-1976)
Shaw & H Street Building Survey Forms (1968-1972)
14th Street & Downtown Survey Forms (1968-1974)
Organizational Records, includes annual reports, history, etc (1934-1987)
Not on the list but I think it was confirmed that the records for a department that condemned buildings may be at the archives as well. I’m very interested in those.