It’s early today, so this is the view of the inauguration from the POV of the TC.
I find it totally hilarious that there are National Guardsmen hanging out exactly where we had drug dealers only a few years ago. There are guardsmen at the mouth of my alley. There are guardsmen hanging out at the fence where the dealers would lean and the difference appears that the guardsmen have a bigger trash bag. I’m guessing the New Jersey Avenue Dunkin Donuts is the most secure place in the TC.
The crowds are walking down New Jersey Avenue and they are sticking to the sidewalks. They are friendly groups waving or saying hello to the guardsmen, and seriously there are a lot, A LOT, of guardsmen. 
There is parking on the 1600 and 1700 block of New Jersey Avenue. It appears the No Parking signs were removed. Good. These are residences and it’s stupid that the zone came this far north. The 1500 and lower numbered blocks on New Jersey Avenue are free of parked cars, as far as I can see. I did see a few cars (very few) travel north on NJ Ave. Despite the No Buses signs and the National Guard on R Street, I did see a few cars traveling west on R.
I have some of the most boring inauguration parking related photographs on the web in a Flickr set here. Also in the set are some photographs of the Dunbar High School band practicing on the street.
Month: January 2009
Dunbar Band and Guard
This is from yesterday. I captured a National Guardsmen on the sidewalk taking a look at the Dunbar High School band getting a practice in before the big day.
Inaugural WTF?- Military Presence
Maybe you have or have not noticed small bands of National Guardsmen wandering around the street of Truxton Circle and the rest of Shaw. If the vague signage surprise wasn’t enough, the National Guard gets deployed. Some have been hanging out on street corners or the Dunkin Donuts, or the 7-11.
So the only time we’re actually going to have regular foot patrols in the neighborhood is when the Federal government invades?
I hate to be such a downer, because I know a lot of you are just psyched about the whole inaugural weekend with the entertainment, the swearing in, the parades and the balls. However, this other stuff going on, with what looks to be an access restriction on the 200-400 blocks of R Street and the erroneous parking restrictions (now corrected) of the 100-200 blocks of Bates Street NW, seriously concerns me. This is a bad precedent. For one, residential blocks of New Jersey Avenue appear deemed to have charter buses parked outside of peoples homes. Yeah, the city said they wouldn’t do that. As of Monday 1/19 those No Parking signs were still up. Secondly, there has been no warning or information about the restrictions (as far as I can guess) on the 200-400 and 600 blocks of R Street NW. As far as I can tell nothing has been relayed to residents who live in the vicinity, except the placement of the big red and white signs. Now I’d pretty much expect that these signs would be ignored, but with the random groups of National Guardsmen walking or jogging around as far north as LeDroit Park, I guess they would be the enforcers.
The far reaching nature of the security concerns me and I think sets a bad precedent for future inaugurations. It is reaching into residential areas, taking away parking and possibly (we’ll see tomorrow) access. I feel for residents of Capitol Hill who have to deal with this mess more often than we do.
* Note anonymous comments with no ID will get zapped in this post.
Inaugural WTF?-Truxton Circle Lockdown
Please, someone say this sign was erroneously placed. This sign is at 3rd and R Streets NW.
I did find a new map (PDF) at the DC government’s inaugural site that gives the impression that there is charter bus parking up here, which may or may not explain the sign. But if it were for charter bus parking then there aren’t any no parking signs, which makes me think this may restricted to buses (ie excluding cars).
1950s School Map
I also have the High School map and I can’t help but notice that 16th Street is a common dividing line.
This is from “Corning Sets Integrated School Zone Boundaries,” by Marie Smith, Washington Post, July 2, 1954 p. 1, 25-26. It is the proposed school boundaries for schools that were to integrate. Wanna guess what big demographic change occurs east of 16th?
Also I want to mention that when I present stuff from the past, occasionally called ‘history’, I will try to cite it so you dear reader can find the information yourself. History is subject to interpretation, and I bring my own biases. Un-cited, history is subject to being made up.
Scooter Crime
A couple years back there was a huge, huge rash of scooters being stolen. Criminals had gotten so brash as to attempt to scooter-jack people. I don’t know if scooter crime disappeared for a short while, but the reports of a scooter getting stolen in southern part of the TC brought back memories.
On-line on the 5D listserv there was some good back and forth between the person reporting the stolen scooter and the police. Over on the TruxtonCircle.org discussion list TC residents are keeping an eye out for the scooter. In all this a stolen scooter was located but not the one stolen from Hanover St. NW.
So, be on the lookout for a blue/black Kymco scooter, license plate MT6797.
Inauguration Musings- Taking away the mailbox
According to the Post Office they are removing the mailbox at 1633 1st Street NW for the inauguration. Color me confused. Why? And there’s a mailbox at 1633 1st Street?
This ever encroaching inaugural crap into the residental parts is getting stupid.
Inauguration Musings- Inaugural Stuff in Shaw
A- I’m not going anywhere. I’ve told the Aunt and the 1/2 sister that I will be home to receive them and their people should they need a warm safe house between the Mall and Hyattsville. Besides that, I hate cold and crowds.
As I mentioned before with the Aunt, there are several things Shiloh Baptist is doing for Inauguration weekend, and there is a website up regarding that.
For the artistically minded there is the Art of Change at the Warehouse, here’s the press release:
From the press release:
Artomatic, Inc. and Playa del Fuego, Inc. – institutions of the mid-Atlantic arts community – have joined together to create this year’s most distinctive inaugural celebration, The Art of Change (www.artists-ball.org), on Jan. 20, 2009 at 8 pm. With the generous support of Corporate Sponsor Scion (www.scion.com) and location sponsors The Warehouse Arts Complex (www.warehousetheater.com) and Douglas Development (www.douglasdevelopment.com), this event brings Washington, D.C., a unique opportunity to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama as President. Tickets are available immediately for $50 at www.artists-ball.org
Occupying three separate venues on the 1000 block of 7th Street, NW in downtown Washington D.C., The Art of Change will feature visual and performing arts, multiple dance floors, fire dancing and live music. DJs from across the mid-Atlantic region will be spinning an eclectic mix of musical styles on two dance floors, and in The Art of Change Galleries, displaying artworks created for this celebration. The Variety Stage will showcase performances all night long, including live music, comedy, belly dancing and spoken word poetry. And outside, attendees will enjoy fire-dance performances while dancing to up-and-coming DJs in the heated White Tent.
…
In the spirit of community organizing and collaboration that President-elect Obama has come to represent, The Art of Change is being planned in collaboration with a number of supporting organizations. These include DC Burners, Dance Afire, Bethesda Theatre, Cultural Attaché, Washington Project for the Arts, 4&9 Productions LLC, Brightest Young Things, The Pink Line Project, Pecha Kucha , Creative DC, Hungry for Music, Capitol Riverfront BID, and NoMa BID.This collaborative ethic also facilitates social engagement by making us all responsible for the creation and maintenance of our shared culture. We encourage all attendees to contribute by performing, displaying art, volunteering, or donating to make this event a success. For more information visit www.artists-ball.org.
And there are some dining specials in Shaw celebrating the inauguration. Acadiana Restaurant on 9th and New York Ave is having a 4-course menu for $44. A bottle wine for $44 to honor the 44th President. Two Inaugural Cocktails: The Dream and The Spirit ($9), and the regular menu also available. Corduroy plans to be open, and I don’t think they are doing anything special. Same for Vegetate, open with the regular menu. Since these are close to the Secret Service Lockdown, I’m going to suggest if you reserve through OpenTable, bring a printout confirming your reservation, should you get stopped by some out of town constable, to prove (you shouldn’t have to but be on the safe side) you indeed have business in the area.
Mugging at 3rd and R on Monday
I don’t know how I could have missed this, as I don’t remember seeing anything on the 5D Listserv, nor the TruxtonCircle or discussion board. So hat-tip to ImGoph for linking the PoP’s posting on his Bloomingdale blog.
Inauguration Musings- Intra/Inter-city mobility
I was chatting with an older woman who lives in SW and she was planning on visiting an elderly bedridden friend in upper NW to watch the inauguration on TV. Question is, how easy, or hard will it be to get there?
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Spoke with the Aunt. She will be having guests over for the inaugural weekend and Shiloh Baptist is having a slew of activities, some of which they’ll be attending. I asked how was she going to get there. Drive. Well it will be the weekend, and not the day of, so maybe that will work. Asking about the actual day, she’d rather be home, but, she’s got guests. I suggested dropping them off at the PG Plaza station, handing them a map and wishing them the best. No, not an option. She plans to drive in on New York Avenue, and either travel along P or Rhode Island to get to the parking garage at her work not far from Dupont. Yeah, I don’t know how that’s going to work out. I did tell her that the City and everyone else is discouraging car travel and suggesting the metro. Nope, not an option. Argh!