RSS FeedHistory on Foot: Knights of Pythias
Have you ever noticed this plaque outside the FBI Building on E street between 9th and 10th Streets? On this site, the Fraternal Order of Knights of Pythias was founded in February 1864. The Knights of Pythias was the first American Order ever chartered by an Act of the Congress of the United States. The Order is an international organization dedicated to the cause of universal peace.
From the Order’s web site:
The Knights of Pythias was founded by Justus H. Rathbone, at the time a clerk in the U.S. Treasury Department.
During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, being advised of the contents of the Order’s ritual and it’s teaching, said: “The purposes of your organization are most wonderful. If we could but bring its spirit to all our citizenry, what a wonderful thing it would be. It breathes the spirit of Friendship, Charity and Benevolence. It is one of the best agencies conceived for the upholding of government, honoring the flag, for the reuniting of our brethren of the North and of the South, for teaching the people to love one another, and portraying the sanctity of the home and loved ones. I would suggest that these great principles by perpetuated and that you go to the Congress of the United States and ask for a charter, and so organize on a great scale throughout this nation, and disseminate this wonderful work that you have so nobly started. I will do all in my power to assist you in this application and with your work.”
“If fraternal love held all men bound, how beautiful this world would be”
-Justus H. Rathbone
Penn Quarter/DC Link Roundup: Heard In The ‘Hood
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Here’s what we were reading recently about neighborhood news in DC. Have something to add? Leave it in the comments!
Tips? Send them in confidentiality to: pqliving [at] gmail.com
Photo above: Sunset over E St NW
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Penn Quarter – Jose Andres’ Think Food Group sells its former Cafe Atlantico and America Eats Tavern building on 8th St NW to Frederik De Pue. It was a great run for Andres in that building and we look forward to experiencing a new concept. [Washington CityPaper]
Downtown – Tom Seitsema’s Fall Dining Guide is out. Many downtown and Penn Quarter restaurants are on the list and Rasika on D St NW tops the heap. Separately, coming soon restaurants including Woodward Table, Minibar, and Daikaya are pinned with opening dates. [WaPo-Fall Dining Guide] & [WaPo Going Out Guide (future openings)]
Penn Quarter – Wagamama, the UK noodle shop, declares that it is definitely not coming to the former Olsson’s Bookstore space on 7th St NW. A likely high rent will demand a high dollar per square foot generating business. Our guess? Another restaurant or the space gets subdivided. [Washington CityPaper] & [PQ Living Olsson’s closing story (2008)]
Penn Quarter – Completion of the full blown buildout of wireless phone and data services for all Metro stations is being delayed until 2015. That said, we’ve been enjoying underground access at the Archives station which was one of the stations added after the initial round of extra wireless deployments began. [WaPo]
Penn Quarter – TEDx Mid-Atlantic is hosting its two day speaker series at the Shakespeare Theatre’s Harman Hall on F St NW. The event will be this upcoming weekend and reception events are planned in the neighborhood. [TEDx Mid-Atlantic website] & [TEDx Mid-Atlantic Twitter]
A Vice Throwback…Neighborhood Gambling Den Operator Convicted
The Washington Post reports that a Chinatown gambling den operator was convicted in federal court this week. This was no DC Superior Court crime as federal statutes were violated due to the operation of gambling machines and money laundering behind closed doors on 6th Street NW and also on H Street NW.
This reminds us of after we moved downtown and learned about the “girls next door” in Chinatown. The neighborhood was a bit more sketchy and a bit more film noir then (the mid-aughts (2000s)). A brothel is difficult to hide, however, and the ladies at 6th and G Streets NW were ultimately kicked out.
The neighborhood has changed substantially for the better since then and we want to say thanks to the residents, businesses, and law enforcement that responded over the years to make that happen. Is this the last vestige of vice in Chinatown/Penn Quarter? We don’t know for sure but we hope so.
Muggles at the Museum
As the daughter of an artist, many of my childhood memories are of being dragged to museums and cathedrals around the World to admire works of art. My Mother would take my brother and I in to the gift shop, have us each pick 3 postcards, and, then, our mission was to find them in the museum. It was a clever trick. Even today, this is often how I start any visit to a museum. One of my favorite things about living in Penn Quarter is the amazing artwork I can visit any time I like, mostly for free.
This Saturday, October 20, Watson Adventures will be hosting a scavenger hunt designed to help kids (and kids at heart) explore and engage with the collection at the National Gallery of Art (Constitution Ave. NW, between 3rd and 7th Sts.). Using the Harry Potter stories as the context, participants will be challenged to find artwork containing characters and scenes similar to those found in the the books. No, Professor Snape will not magically appear in a Whistler painting, but you will discover that there are potions masters, centaurs, mermaids and dragons aplenty.
Happy Hunting!