December 2015 issue pdf

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DECEMBER
2015
Vol. 47, No. 6
®
Since 1968 • Serving Washington D.C.’s Intown Neighborhoods
Shaw Celebrates Small Business Saturday
as Retail Stores and Restaurants Boom
Adams Morgan “Vision” Report Published by
Office of Planning for Public to Weigh in;
Comment Period Extended to February 8th
By Alexander M. Padro*
A
fter decades as a retail desert, Shaw is on
the move, with three-dozen openings
in 2015, more than two-dozen in 2014 and
another two-dozen already scheduled for
2016. The neighborhood recently set two
records, with 20 new businesses opening
in October and November and 15 ribbons
cut for new businesses on Small Business
Saturday, a possible world record.
Shaw’s observance of the annual nationwide Small Business Saturday promotion
on November 28th highlighted this retail
renaissance and featured 15 ribbon cuttings,
including 10 at developer JBG’s new The
Shay (8th & Fla.) and Atlantic Plumbing (8th
& V) mixed-use/residential buildings at 8th
Street and Florida Avenue and 8th and T
Streets, respectively.
The Shaw Small Business Saturday
events began at La Colombe in Blagden
Alley, the first of three stops in at-large
Councilmember Vincent B. Orange, Sr.’s
“Coffee and Tea with the Councilmember,”
a tradition now in its second year. Orange
chairs the DC Council’s Committee on
Cont., SHAW, p. 5
By Anthony L. Harvey
I
photo—Pleasant P. Mann, courtesy Shaw Main Streets, Inc.
Calabash Tea & Tonic owner Sunyatta Amen
greeting Small Business Saturday customers.
Memorial to Father
of Black History
Features Statue,
New Landscaping
By P.L. Wolff
O
photo—courtesy National Capital Parks
The Woodson home on 9th Street undergoing
restoration in preparation for it to be opened as an
historic house museum in 2016.
n a mild and sunny Saturday,
December 5, 2015, the Shaw community dedicated a completely made-over
Carter G. Woodson Park honoring the
memory this revered man who lived and
worked in the neighborhood and is considered to have been the “father” of AfricanAmerican history. The ceremony was part
of observances of the 140th anniversary
of the historian’s birth and the centennial
of the establishment of the association he
founded, the Association for the Study of
African American Life and History.
Construction of the park, located at 9th
Street and Rhode Island Avenue, NW, features the bronze sculpture, completed this
past summer, of a seated Dr. Woodson by
nationally recognized and honored (and
Editorial: Pay to Play
6
Renwick Gallery
“Wonder” Exhibition
& Reopening
Web Phillips Collection
Exhibition Reviewed
Click Here to Read
involved, OP noted, “opportunities for
public input and dialogue over the past
year [which] included: 1) a neighborhood walking tour; 2) a half-day community workshop; 3) a project website;
4) three community office hours events;
5) an on-line engagement forum; and 6)
Latino business outreach through direct
canvassing.”
[Editor’s Note: For our most recent
previous report on this initiative, see
“Office of Planning Soon to Publish
Adams Morgan ‘Vision’ Final Report,”
October 2015 issue pdf, page 1.]
OP’s Vision Framework lives up to
its name with several extremely useful
“frameworks,” first with nine Defining
photo—courtesy DC Office of Planning
Cont., ADAMS MORGAN, p. 3
Cont., MEMORIAL, p. 4
☞ What’s Inside? ☞
2
n a tightly organized
32-page document of text
and graphics, the District’s
Office of Planning (OP)
has crafted a remarkable
document summarizing in
straight-forward, concise
prose the many facets of the
Adams Morgan community,
the desire of that community to strengthen and extend
the many factors contributing to its unique and diverse
photo—courtesy DC Office of Planning
nature, and steps that can
Typical Saturday afternoon view along 18th Street.
be taken to carry forward
into the future just such a
based effort of Advisory Neighborhood
unique, diverse nature. The document is Commission (ANC) 1C called Envision
posted on the OP website, and commu- Adams Morgan.” This, together with the
nity comments are eagerly awaited with ANC’s Herculean efforts at assembling
the ANC having successfully sought an and formally adopting a comprehensive,
extension of the public comment period community-based study regarding the
through February 8, 2016.
redevelopment of the Marie H. Reed
OP noted in the vision framework Community Learning Center, have
introduction that “the catalyst for study- served as building blocks for the OP
ing the Adams Morgan neighborhood sponsored Vision Framework.
was the activism of some residents and
OP concluded its introduction with
civic organizations who requested that the observation that this communitythe District complete a planning analysis wide “planning initiative provided resiand neighborhood roadmap in response dents, local businesses, institutions and
to changes in the area, including new property owners an opportunity to work
development, a shifting retail environ- together on articulating a vision for the
ment, and the desire to preserve and future of Adams Morgan.” The proimprove quality of life.”
cess adopted for achieving this involved
Continuing, OP further observed intensive participation by Adams Morgan
that “the community began these efforts residents and stakeholders in the crein 2012 in the form of a community ation of a neighborhood profile. This
Reader Comments & Submissions
High Heel
Race Fun
Festivities
2015
Click here to
enjoy the photos
courtesy of Phil
Carney.
n
CareFirst: Two Big to Regulate?
n
Ecuadorian Embassy Sustained Significant
Earthquake Damage, August 23, 2011
n
Balancing Neighborhood Retail: The 25%
Rule
n
Reconstructing Historic Holt House
n
When Does My Cast Iron Staircase Need
Attention?
CONTINENTAL
MOVERS
Local & Long Distance
Hauling & Deliveries
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(202) 438-1489
(301) 340-0602
cmora53607@msn.com
www.continentalmovers.net
Page 2 • The InTowner • December 2015
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Founded in 1968 by John J. Schulter
Pepco-Exelon Deal Smacks of Pay to Play
ack in June we addressed this then looming disaster for DC residential (and, for that matter, small business) electric utility ratepayers in this space. Then last month we followed
up, having, as we (admittedly, sarcastically) wrote, been “blindsided by Mayor Bowser’s sudden
about-face by which she and an influential gang of her cohorts –- office seekers who she has
awarded with plum jobs, large donors to her (now suddenly due to overwhelming condemnation closed-down) political action committee, and large contractors trolling for DC government
contracts — [had] conned the PSC into re-opening the case and promising a quick reconsideration.” (See, “Stop Pepco Merger! Once Again, a Clarion Call.”
Further, we wondered, “Could it be that the mayor has engineered this unseemly 360-degree
turn of events so that things are totally greased to overturn the initial rejection?”
Questions, questions indeed. Who was/is really pulling the strings –- who is the éminence
grise behind the screen? Now we may know and if this is truly so, then we have a major problem of potential “pay to play.” We hope we are proven wrong.
What has brought us to this place was Aaron C. Davis’ very disturbing November 30th report
in the Washington Post about the role of former Pepco lobbyist and quintessential Washington
business insider Beverly Perry who Bowser brought on board, as Davis wrote, “the mayor likens
to her own, personal ‘Valerie Jarrett,’ President Obama’s White House confidante.” How pretentious.
Questions have been raised in many quarters around the city about Perry influencing the
mayor to totally reverse her previous condemnation of the deal which, if finally approved will,
reported Davis, “provide a windfall to shareholders of Pepco — as well as to Perry herself.”
Perry, however, has been emphatic that she had deliberately recused herself from any
involvement in discussions or interactions with other administration officials, a claim backed
up by those very officials. And, in fairness, we have to take her at her word unless and until a
contrary scenario emerges.
But this still doesn’t satisfy our serious skepticism in light of the fact that it was well known
that she was a major Pepco shareholder, as summarized by Davis in his Post article:
“Perry owned 47,600 shares of Pepco stock and had an interest in tens of thousands of additional shares through long-term incentive programs when, in 2013, she stepped down from her
role as senior vice president of Pepco, according to federal records reviewed by The Washington
Post. Perry, in fact, is potentially one of the largest individual beneficiaries of the merger.”
Notwithstanding these facts, Perry denied that there would be any actual financial benefit
to her for promoting the merger. As she was quoted in the Post article, “Anything that I would
receive at this point from a merger, I would receive no matter if I worked for the mayor or for
Wal-Mart.”
And yet, as of the end of November, her shares were then worth around $1.2 million – “an
increase,” Davis reported, “of about $300,000, over its pre-merger announcement price. It
would also rise by about $75,000 more when a deal is finalized. Exelon has agreed to pay a
price per share about $1.58 above where Pepco stock closed [on the 30th], according to federal
filings by the companies.”
Even so why shouldn’t a stockholder –- even a very prosperous one –- benefit from an
increase the value of their shares? None whatsoever we respond –- except that when there
seems to be a conflict of interest between the needs of the public and an official who is pledged
to serve that public . . . well, you be the judge!
And in this instance Perry has been judged harshly by ratepayers and good-government advocates who are rightly saying, as Davis reported, that “the proximity of a former Pepco executive
to the government officials in Bowser’s office working to finish the deal [is] nothing short of
nefarious.”
Amplifying on this is the statement by the non-profit Community Power Network’s executive
director, Anya Schoolman, “Pepco and Exelon have always been very confident -- overly confident -- in their dealings with DC on this merger, and we’ve heard it’s because they believed
they had an inside track, someone on the inside. We always believed that was Beverly Perry,”
And so do we, and that, along with all the other reasons that previously had been analyzed
and regarded by the PSC as disqualifying the merger application, should be the nail in the coffin of this deal for once and for all.
Copyright © 2015 InTowner Publishing Corp. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited, except as provided by 17 U.S.C. §107 & 108 (“fair use”).
NEXT ISSUE—JANUARY 8
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For more information on the DC College Savings Plan, please go
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Telecommunications Device for the Deaf), or contact your financial
advisor. An investor should consider the objectives, risks, charges,
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District of Columbia College Savings Trust Program Disclosure
Booklet contains this and other information. Read it carefully before
you invest or send money. An investor should also consider, before
investing, whether the investor’s or designated beneficiary’s home
state offers any state tax or other benefits that are only available to
residents of that state. An investment in another state’s 529 college
savings plan may not offer comparable benefits. The government
of the District of Columbia does not guarantee investments in
the program. Investment involves risk, including possible loss of
principal. The DC College Savings Program is underwritten and
distributed by Calvert Investment Distributors, Inc., member FINRA/
SIPC, and subsidiary of Calvert Investments, Inc. AD10067-201510H
photo—courtesy DC Office of Planning
Mid-20th aerial view of Adams Morgan.
ADAMS MORGAN
From p. 1
Characteristics of Adams Morgan; second,
a set of 11 Values; and third, 17 Goals
organized around five core categories -- also
identified as Ideas).
“Defining Characteristics” are identified
as diversity, arts, culture, vibrancy, architecture, amenities, institutions, brand, and
location.
“Values” are articulated as admonitions
for action, listed as promoting community
diversity; protecting neighborhood character and historic resources; improving public space and gathering places; enhancing pedestrian access to transit options;
strengthening retail vitality and range of
options; celebrating the unique identify of
Adams Morgan and its eclectic, artistic,
and ethnically diverse heritage; improving
communications between business owners and residents; leveraging community
activism and local networks to advance sustainability of the neighborhood; promoting
multicultural and multilingual participation
in building community; supporting and
protecting affordable housing; positioning
Adams Morgan to be a family-friendly and
age-friendly neighborhood with robust amenities.
The 17 “Goals” are organized around
five core categories, namely, “creating great
places; redefining retail; embracing sustainability; strengthening identify through arts,
history, and culture; and bolstering community.”
The remainder of this fascinating document deconstructs the 17 goals as they
relate to one or more of the five core categories. And here the details of these goals as
outlined in this Vision Framework should
result, for example, in lively and informative
responses from many of the most thoughtful and longtime, as well as newly arrived,
Adams Morgan residents eager to see further
modernization of neighborhood facilities
and the creation of new community amenities, plus thoughts and comments from
long-standing property owners and business proprietors -- and newcomers -- and
instructive insights from politically active
stakeholders on the ANC and in leadership positions of civic associations and the
graphic—courtesy DC Office of Planning
Cal 823 | Intowner - Raising Kids | 5x13.75
Business Improvement District.
Creating “Great Places” provides an
immediate pair of examples, beginning with
the admonition that Adams Morgan “initiate a culturally sensitive and age-friendly
redesign and enhancement of Unity Park.”
Controversy abounds regarding the fate of
this strategically located small, triangular
park, generously donated to the District by
the First Church of Christ, Scientist, when
Euclid Street was originally cut through
to Columbia Road, separating that area
from the handsome steps and façade of the
imposing church building.
This reporter first remembers it (in the
1960s and ‘70s) as a “City Beautiful”-style
park, complete with a small bandstand,
photo—courtesy DC Office of Planning
View of Dance Alley behind the west side of 18th
Street looking south from Columbia Road toward
Belmont Road.
water fountains, traditional park benches,
and trees and grass. Since moving back to
the neighborhood in 1990 this reporter has
it become a monotonous hardscape with
an out-of-scale sculpture and lacking the
finishing touches that were promised (e.g.,
a water feature, lighting, and comfortable
seating) when, reportedly, funds available
to the non-profit organization conducting
the Unity Park renovation ran out. The one
successful activation of the park in recent
years -- the Latino themed weekend collection of outdoor food stands featuring central
and south American dishes -- was torpedoed
by self-appointed activists from the business
community, while neighborhood residents
loved it.
[Editor’s Note: This outdoor Office of
Latino Affairs-sponsored food market was the
subject of an extensive -– and largely positive
(despite the negatively couched headline)
-- report five years ago. See, “Unlicensed
and Non-DC Resident Vending in City
Funded Adams Morgan Program Exposed,”
September 2010 issue pdf, page 1.]
A second issue is even more fascinating
to this reporter. Goal number three directs
Cont., ADAMS MORGAN, p. 4
Page 4 • The InTowner • December 2015
ADAMS MORGAN
From p. 3
the conducting of “an audit of alleys in the
commercial district to identify opportunities
for making them cleaner, safer, more attractive and animated in line with the movement towards living alleys.” Adjacent to
this directive is a photograph of a captioned
“existing typical commercial alley,” this
being the narrow alley that stretches from an
unbroken east side of the 18th Street commercial strip and which continues without
a break all the way from Columbia Road
south to Kalorama Road. The other side
of this alley is not commercial, rather it is
entirely residential and supports the occupants of apartment buildings and residential
row houses; it is perhaps the least typical
alley in Adams Morgan and will soon be
overwhelmed by the completion of the construction and subsequent operation of the
enormous (for Adams Morgan) new hotel
and underground parking and commercial
levels now being built behind the First
Church of Christ, Scientist.
By contrast, another alley, one which
had been included on an earlier OP
Vision Framework community tour, led
participants to an actual commercial alley
-- one that bisects the top of the Washington
Heights triangle between Columbia Road
and the west side of18th Street, albeit with
several residential apartment buildings on
Columbia Road -- was not mentioned. This
much wider alley (it’s funnel-shaped and
stretches south to the middle of the north
side of Belmont Road) is named Dance
Alley in recognition of its having been the
rear entrance to the former 18th Street location of celebrated Dance Place’s instructional and practice studio. This same alley
supported such establishments as a frame
and gilding shop, artists’ studio spaces, and
a terrific antique and cast-off furniture store.
The “re-animation” of this commercial alley
was somehow discarded from consideration.
The remaining 15 goals outlined in the
Vision Framework include enhancing existing and creating new gathering places;
creating four retail sub districts, aligning
retailer goals, and reinforcing the collective identity of each sub district; improving connections between retailers and residents; providing technical assistance for,
and support to, existing Hispanic, Asian,
and African-owned and operated businesses;
achieving neighborhood goals for cleanliness, safety, and a healthy environment;
enhancing neighborhood sustainability; recognizing and reinforcing the importance
of maintaining neighborhood character;
reinforcing Adams Morgan’s identity as
a place for arts and culture; establishing
neighborhood gateways at key locations to
delineate Adams Morgan from adjacent
neighborhoods; celebrating and connecting
neighborhood assets; Increase the percentage of units that are subsidized affordable
housing; Expand neighborhood amenities;
improving the quality and accessibility of
existing playgrounds, parks, and green spaces; improving bicycle and pedestrian access
and safety and establishing a more connected bicycle lane network; and improving
public safety and communications with the
Metropolitan Police Department. Other
goals not articulated in the document may
come to mind. Residents, property owners,
and business and institutional constituencies are urged to pass them on.
Serious reviewers of this remarkably crafted, important document will find other
issues with which to enlarge upon, add to,
dissect or disagree with, or to affirm with
enthusiasm -- as did this reporter. It’s that
sort of open-ended document to which
OP would strive for maximum community
support.
Comments and questions should be
directed to OP’s Ward One Planner Josh
Silver at joshua.silver@dc.gov. He may also
be contacted at (202) 442-8816.
Copyright © 2015 InTowner Publishing Corp. All
rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part
without permission is prohibited, except as provided
by 17 U.S.C. §107.
Dupont Circle
Your home for the Holidays!
MEMORIAL
1922. From that location he promoted what
is now known as Black History Month and
From p. 1
published books, journals, and teaching
materials on African-American history and
Washington-based) sculptor Raymond culture; he was also a co-founder in 1915 of
Kaskey. Woodson’s home and office at The Journal of Negro History.
1538 9th Street, NW, was designated a
Woodson also served as a DC Public
National Historic Landmark and placed Schools high school principal and Howard
on the National Register of Historic Places University dean. He died in Washington
in 1950, though the organization he founded continued to occupy the 9th
Street house until the early
1970s.
The park was named
by the DC City Council
in honor of Carter G.
Woodson in 2001 as part
of an effort to draw attention to the plight of the
adjacent Woodson house,
which was vacant and
occupied by squatters at the
time. The house appeared
on the DC Preservation
League’s list of 10 Most
photo—Alexander M. Padro
Endangered Places and
in 1976. It is currently being renovated as the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s
an historic house museum by the National list of the 11 Most Endangered Places
Park Service and projected to be open for in America that year. In 2003, Congress
tours by the end of 2016.
authorized the establishment of the Carter
According to Shaw Main Streets G. Woodson Home National Historic Site,
Executive Director Alexander M. Padro, his and the National Park Service subsequently
organization “is responsible for the ongoing acquired 1538 9th Street, NW and two adjamaintenance of the bronze statue of Dr. cent buildings. Renovation and construcWoodson . . . using funding provided as part tion on the Woodson house and adjacent
of the mitigation of negative impacts result- row houses began in 2015.
ing from the construction of the Walter
E. Washington Convention Center. We’re Copyright © 2015 InTowner Publishing Corp.
pleased to bring the Shaw community & Shaw Main Streets, Inc. All rights reserved.
together to dedicate this monument to such an important
local and national hero.”
Carter G. Woodson was
born on December 19, 1875,
in New Canton, Virginia, the
son of former slaves. A Harvardtrained historian, Woodson
founded the Association for
the Study of Negro Life and
History in 1915. After initially
being housed in offices on
the 1200 block of U Street,
NW, Woodson moved the
association and his residence
to 1538 9th Street, NW, in
photo—Alexander M. Padro
With over 100 retail shops
150 restaurants, and
Countless services
Dupont is the place for the holidays!
jjjjj
First Friday in Dupont
Every First Friday of the month, art galleries stay open late
to feature new art and artists around Dupont Circle.
Go gallery hopping from 6:00-8:00 or so
every first Friday around Dupont!
www.FirstFridayDupont.org
The mission of Historic Dupont Circle Main Streets is to
expand its coalition of neighborhood stakeholders; retain,
expand, and attract a mix of neighborhood businesses;
manage and improve our public spaces; assist independent
business owners; preserve the diverse and historic character
of our neighborhood; and promote Dupont Circle as a
shopping and dining destination.
www.DupontCircleMainStreets.org
Advertisement
Page 5 • The InTowner • December 2015
SHAW
From p. 1
Business, Consumer and Regulatory Affairs,
which has oversight over the government
agencies that support small business development. After paying the tabs of dozens of
customers at the Philadelphia-based coffeehouse’s first DC outpost, Orange and his
team, along with TV cameras moved on
to Calabash Tea and Tonic on 7th Street,
which opened in May and was festooned
with blue and white balloons and decorations, the national “Shop Small” campaign’s
colors.
The entourage then merged with Mayor
Muriel E. Bowser’s team at Compass
Coffee’s new, second location on 8th Street
at The Shay, where even more media were
gathered for Small Business Saturday coverage. Bowser, Orange, Department of Small
and Local Business Development Director
Ana Harvey, business owners and developers
posed for photos under a mural of Compass’
Made in DC logo.
Orange and Bowser moved two doors
north to Lettie Gooch boutique, where the
mayor shopped and bought a top and pair of
earrings. The boutique first opened on 9th
Street in 2006, moved out of Shaw for a few
years, and returned just in time for Saturday’s
event. Orange then joined fellow at-large
Councilmember Elissa Silverman in the
lobby at the Atlantic Plumbing building for
photo—Pleasant P. Mann, courtesy Shaw Main Streets, Inc.
Shown cutting the ribbon at Cherry Blossom Creative are (l-r): Alexander M. Padro, Shaw Main Streets
Executive Director; at-large DC Councilmember Elissa Silverman; at-large Councilmember Vincent B.
Orange, Sr.; Torie Partridge, Creative Director of Cherry Blossom Creative; Shaw Main Streets Board
Chair Gretchen B. Wharton.
the ribbon cutting kickoff.
Ribbons were then cut at design shops
Cherry Blossom Creative and Typecase
Industries and the Foundry Gallery before
moving to The Shay buildings for Riide’s
made in DC powered bicycles, the all-new
Serv-U Liquors, bike and motorcycle garb
purveyors Chrome Industries, Steven Alan
men’s and women’s fashions, Compass
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Coffee, local tailors Read Wall, and Lettie
Gooch. Along the way, the group passed
Washington Project for the Arts’ new gallery, Atlantic Plumbing Cinemas’ six-screen
Landmark Theater, the pop-up Tie Bar,
eyewear icon Warby Parker, Frank & Oak
menswear, technical cashmere mavens Kit &
Ace, about-to-open Glen’s Garden Market’s
second outpost, and several new restaurants
under construction.
A limo van whisked the contingent to the
new Dacha Market on 7th Street, followed
by Convivial Restaurant at City Market at
O, and the final businesses, all at Douglas
Development’s Gang of Three complex in
the 1200 block of 9inth Street: tech policy
shop Development Seed, the newly-relocated and expanded Reformation Fitness, and
Mid-Atlantic cuisine restaurant The Dabney.
The two-hour frenzy of ribbon cuttings
was videotaped and is being submitted to
the Guinness Book of World Records for
verification as the first time this feat has been
achieved anywhere.
Shaw Main Streets, the commercial revitalization and historic preservation nonprofit
that has been guiding the neighborhood’s
revitalization since 20003, sponsored the
world record attempt as part of the annual
effort to encourage residents and visitors
alike to shop, eat and drink local on the day
after Black Friday. Free Shaw Main Streets
reusable shopping bags were also distributed
by participating businesses.
A few days before, Events DC announced
that all six vacant retail spaces at the Walter
E. Washington Convention Center, just
north of Mt. Vernon Square and between
7th and 9th Streets, had been leased, with
four food and beverage establishments, an
exercise studio, and a barber shop filling the
spaces; all are scheduled to open in 2016.
Businesses that opened earlier in 2015
included fitness studios District Pilates and
Shaw Yoga; cafés Piassa EthioCuisine and
Rito Loco; Unleashed by Petco, Red Valet
Cleaners and U Scoot scooter rentals and
sales; bar/restaurants Freedom Lounge
and Noble House; expansions of Chercher
Ethiopian Restaurant, Ivy & Coney, and TG
Cigar Lounge, and a reopened Duffy’s Irish
Pub.
Upcoming openings include some of the
most widely anticipated DC restaurants
in years, including Eric Ziebold’s Kinship
and Metier, Top Chef contestants Kwame
Onwuachi’s The Shaw Bijou and Marjorie
Meek-Bradley’s Smoked & Stacked, Tim
Ma’s Kyirisan, Rob Rubba’s Hazel, Michael
Friedman’s All Purpose, Tiffany MacIsaac’s
Buttercream Bakeshop, and Josh Phillips’
Espita Mezcaleria. 2016 is going to be a delicious year to dine in Shaw!
*The writer, a long-time resident of the Shaw
neighborhood, is also the Executive Director of
Shaw Main Streets.
Copyright © 2015 InTowner Publishing Corp. &
Shaw Main Streets, Inc. All rights reserved.
Historic Preservation, Restoration & Design
DC Historic Designs, LLC provides a wide range of historic preservation and
architectural services for owners and caretakers of historic properties.
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DCHistoricDesigns.com
(202) 596-1961
photo—Alexander M. Padro, courtesy Shaw Main Streets, Inc.
Mayor Bowser meeting with the press outside Compass Coffee.
photo—Pleasant P. Mann, courtesy Shaw Main Streets, Inc.
Councilmember Orange shown with Compass Coffee owners Harrison Suarez and Michael Haft following the cutting of their establishment’s ribbon.
Page 6 • The InTowner • December 2015
Art & Culture
RENWICK GALLERY OF THE
SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART
MUSEUM
Pa. Ave. at 17th St. NW; 357-2531
Daily, 10am-5:30pm
The stars of Smithsonian American Art
Museum’s reopening of its historic landmarked Renwick Gallery building which
houses the museum’s venue for showing
decorative, architectural, and craft arts, are
the three-dozen financial patrons led by
David Rubenstein who provided 50 percent
of the funds for the Gallery’s $30 million
renovation and reopening exhibition -- a
50/50 public/private effort led by the museum’s indefatigable director Betsy Broun.
Also deserving special recognition are the
nine selected artists commissioned to create
new works for the reopening as organized
by Nicholas Bell, the Renwick’s curator-incharge, as well as the architects, construction engineers, and Smithsonian staff who
led the rehabilitation and improvement of
the building itself -- especially in its continuing historic preservation together with the
restoration of previously concealed interior
spaces, the opening of windows and the
further strengthening of the building’s structure, and dramatically improved lighting.
This last was achieved with an innovative
new LED lighting system brilliantly conceived, designed, and implemented by the
Smithsonian’s in-house lighting designer
Scott Rosenfeld.
By Anthony L. Harvey*
The Building
The sensitivity with which window moldings, ceiling structures, and gallery walls
were repaired and reconstructed, dropped
ceilings removed, re-plastered, and elegantly repainted in a lighter palette is apparent
throughout the grand spaces of this outstanding mid-19th century building, designed by
Smithsonian castle and New York City’s St.
Patrick church architect James Renwick for
Washington financier and founder of the
Corcoran Gallery of Art William Wilson
Corcoran to house and publicly display his
art collection.
At the press briefing for the reopening,
Director Broun characterized the building
as a masterpiece -- “one of the first and finest
examples of Second Empire architecture in
the country.” Continuing, she noted that the
building’s “infrastructure has been replaced
or upgraded with the most up-to-date sustainable and energy efficient technologies
available,” that re-pointing the brick and
stone exterior was undertaken, and “customdesigned furnishings for the lobby by metalsmith Marc Mairoana” have been installed.
Rosenfeld’s glowing new LED system
appears to allow for interior lighting to
clearly illuminate all interior spaces with
soft, background light and set the stage to
provide dramatic lighting for the art objects
being exhibited. As described in the press
release: “All lighting within gallery and
public spaces has been converted to LED
technology, a major goal of the renovation. The new lighting system includes a
number of technologies currently unique
to the Renwick and is a landmark advance
in both lighting design and museum energy
efficiency.”
Continuing, the press release noted that
Westlake Reed Leskosky is the lead architectural design and engineering firm for the
project and Consigli Construction Co. Inc.
the general construction contractor. “Both
firms,” the Renwick notes, “are recognized
leaders in work with museums and historic
buildings.”
In addition to federal funds for the public’s 50 percent contribution, project funds
included a grant from the Save America’s
Treasures program administered by the
National Park Service and the generosity of
private supporters of the Renwick’s building
program. In all, the Renwick announced,
Gabriel Dawe, Plexus A1 (2015).
35 individuals and organizations each gave
over $100,000 or more to the project. The
results are dazzling.
The Exhibition
The nine artists commissioned to create new site specific installation works to
celebrate the reopening exhibition, which
is titled “Wonder,” include both nationally
and locally known artists -- and several artists
who should be much better known.
Best known is Maya Lin, landscape architect and sculptor of the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial on the National Mall. Her
Renwick piece, Folding the Chesapeake,
harkens back to the pioneering studio glass
movement in the U.S. of which her father
Leo Villareal, Volume (Renwick) (2015).
Henry Huan Lin was a pioneer. Maya Lin
uses watery green glass marbles and adhesives to create a topographic map of the
Chesapeake Bay watershed, using a gallery
floor and side walls as the ground -- resulting
in another work in her series of explorations
of natural wonders.
Leo Villareal, whose large and complex
rhythmic light sculpture, Multiverse, can
be viewed at the National Gallery of Art,
installed his dynamic sculpture for the
“Wonder” exhibition in suspension high
above the Gallery’s grand staircase. Titled
Volume (Renwick), this new light sculpture
is programmed to never exactly repeat itself
in mesmerizing sequences of the movement
of light down slender icicle style pipes or in
a suddenly break out of panels of sparkling
stars
Tara Donovan, an outstanding graduate
of the Corcoran College of Art+Design
whose work has been widely shown in both
Washington and New York art museums and
commercial galleries, fills a gallery space
with dolomite-style towers of thousands (and
thousands) of white index cards, glued one
to the other and aggressively arranged in a
forest of threatening and mystifying wonderment; her work, which crowds her gallery
space, is untitled.
Chakaia Booker, who Washingtonians
know well from her terrific exhibitions at
the National Museum of Women in the
Arts, characteristically uses the retread and
damaged debris of black vehicular tires as
the raw materials for her powerful works.
For “Wonder,” Booker has created a labyrinth using her familiar black rubber material in a work ironically and humorously
titled Anonymous Donor. Its size and scale
beautifully fits its installed gallery space.
Jennifer Angus, a Canadian transplant,
has created a wonderment for the exhibition
titled In the Midnight Garden. It features
large and strikingly colorful insects from the
exotic (to westerners) climes of Malaysia,
Thailand, and Papua New Guinea. Angus
fills an entire, large pink-painted gallery
with neo-primitive wall displays which
remind me of an imaginary children’s room
in a 19th century Victorian household
enthralled with natural history. Objects and
specimens abound, in cabinets in the center
of the gallery as well as on wall mounts.
Children will love it!
John Grade used half-a-million pieces of
reclaimed old growth western red cedar to
build his fascinating, eco-friendly Middle
Fork (Cascades) new tree, the much larger of
Grade’s two trees in the exhibition. Having
first selected an approximately 150-year-old
hemlock that shares the same age as the
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
Page 7 • The InTowner • December 2015
ART & CULTURE
From p. 6
Renwick building as the model for his old
growth cedar. Grade and his team then
created a cast of the hemlock for a mold in
which to construct the new tree; it is fascinating both in size and in startling visual
impact. Grade’s second, much smaller tree,
Middle Fork (Artic) uses the same technique
employing a stunted balsam poplar of the
same age but from the harsh, rocky Alaska
climate below the Beaufort Sea.
Patrick Dougherty’s installation created
out of willow saplings is titled Shindig, and
here the checklist explanation is right on
the mark. It observes that “Dougherty has
crisscrossed the world weaving sticks into
marvelous architectures.” Continuing, the
checklist states that “[e]ach structure is
unique” with the shaping of saplings serving
to reflect the artist’s sensitivity to the natural
resilience and bending preference of each
of his harvested branches. “Finding the
right sticks remains a constant challenge,
and part of the adventure of the art-making
sends him scouring over the forgotten corners of land where plants grow wild and full
of possibility.” It is the largest of the exhibition’s art works and would be even more
effective if mounted directly above its present first floor gallery in the Grand Salon,
where Janet Echelman’s 1.8 is displayed.
Echelman’s work is concisely described
in the exhibition checklist as consisting
of “knotted and braided fiber with programmable lighting and wind movement
above printed textile flooring.” Continuing,
it asserts that her “woven sculpture corresponds to a map of the energy released
across the Pacific Ocean during the Tohoku
earthquake and tsunami, [creating the
Chakaia Booker, Anonymous Donor (2015).
Fukashima disaster] one of the most devastating natural disasters in recorded history.
The event was so powerful it shifted the
earth on its axis and shortened the day by
1.8 seconds lending this work its title [and]
reminding us that what is wondrous can
equally be dangerous.”
To this viewer, 1.8 is in no way obviously
meaningful as a symbolic representation
of the Fukashima disaster; one need only
compare this conceptual installation art
piece with the actual visual recordings of
Jennifer Angus, In the Midnight Garden (2015).
Janet Echelman, 1.8 (2015).
the disaster’s earthquake destruction and
powerfully obliterating tidal waves, heartbreakingly broadcast over and again by
Japan’s television broadcaster NHK and
repeated throughout the world. Moreover,
the continuing saga of the even greater,
consequent nuclear disaster at Fukashima
and the even larger area directly affected
is as heartbreaking as the immediate wind,
water, and earthquake disasters.
In fact, the magnitude of an otherwise
now empty Renwick Grand Salon itself
simply overwhelms and swallows 1.8.
Moreover, were the aesthetic aura of 1.8
what is claimed, it would hardly serve as an
appropriate backdrop for the interior of the
Grand Salon as an events space in which to
hold private festivities such as weddings and
other celebrations.
Plexus A1, the ninth work of these nine
artists, Mexican American Gabriel Dawe,
is this reviewer’s favorite of the 10 works in
the exhibition. Comprised of thread, wood,
hooks, and steel, it is best described as one
of “Dawe’s architecturally scaled weavings
[that] are often mistaken for fleeting rays of
light. It is an appropriate trick of the eye, as
the artist was inspired,” the checklist asserts,
“to use thread in this fashion by memories
of the skies above Mexico City and east
Texas, his childhood and current homes,
respectively. The material and vivid colors
also recall the embroideries everywhere
in production during Dawe’s upbringing.”
Plexus A1 is brilliantly lighted, with threads
the colors of the spectrum -- including a
sequence reflecting those of the rainbow
flag -- displayed as though the colors are
moving. The arrays of these colored threads
dip and cross in the middle -- the classic
image of swards crossing. It is a beautiful
piece, full of both aesthetic and programmatic narratives.
Three publications accompany the exhibition and Gallery reopening: “American
Louvre, A History of the Renwick Gallery”
by Charles Robertson, “Craft for a Modern
World” by Nora Atkinson, and “WONDER”
by Nicholas Bell. The exhibition continues
for six months.
Copyright © 2015 InTowner Publishing Corp. All
rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part
without permission is prohibited, except as provided
by 17 U.S.C. §107 (“fair use”.)
*Anthony L. Harvey is a collector of contemporary art, with an emphasis on Washington artists. He is a founding member of the Washington
Review of the Arts. For many years he was the
staff person in the United States Senate responsible for arts and Library of Congress oversight by the Senate’s Rules and Administration
Committee and the House and Senate’s Joint
Committee on the Library.
Stunning Paintings from Switzerland
In a beautiful exhibition, reviewed here,
of both famous and, to American audiences, lesser known European art masterpieces, the Phillips Collection has
mounted an exhibition of more than 60
paintings on view through January 10.