RSS FeedCentral Liquor Sign Future Uncertain
The Central Liquor sign is one of the most photographed signs in Penn Quarter. Just look at the evidence on Flickr!
The Washington Times has a nice article investigating the fate of the vintage Central Liquor sign hanging above what we have dubbed the new Central Souvenirs shop. For those straight edge PQers not following the topic, Central Liquor moved locations recently from 917 F St NW to 625 E St NW. The landlord of the new space would not allow the iconic Central Liquor sign to be affixed to their building, so the shop owners left the sign behind. It’s now up to the previous landlord to decide the fate of the sign. We’re pretty sure that Central Souvenirs is not going to want anything to do with the old sign, however, the landlord is quoted as saying that it would cost a lot of money to remove the sign. So, while we are expecting the sign to go the way of the Affle Hop, it may be a long time before it is actually removed from the building. Shutterbugs should grab some last pics while they can!
Nerd Alert
We’ve made no secret of the fact that we don’t have cable, so we rely on Verizon’s DSL for our internet access. We signed up back in 2005 for the 3 mbps down/768 kbps up for $30 a month and never really thought about it again. Well not until that 3 mbps down starting being a little too slow for Netflix’s Watch It Now service, Hulu, online games through our PS3, etc.
So in January when Verizon offered an upgrade to 7 mbps down/768 kbps up for $10 more per month, we jumped at it. We averaged 6 mbps down, which was more than enough for our purposes and well worth the extra $120 a year. We probably should have left well enough alone.
But then in September we found out that Verizon had once again upped their DSL network speed, this time to a blazing (well for DSL) 15 mbps down/1 mbps up, again for a $10 a month increase. $50 a month just for internet access? This is getting a little out of hand. 15 mbps download speed is pretty fantastic, and if you add a wireless n router with an external hard drive attached, you can have a pretty nice little NAS in place for a reasonable cost. We were not even sure the higher speeds would be available to us, as seemingly no one commenting on Washington Post tech writer Rob Pegoraro’s blog said the service was available to them.
Well at that point it was a challenge. When we checked on the Verizon website they offered the upgrade in PQ, so we figured why not (aside from our now $50 per month DSL bill)? Three days after placing our order online, we recorded the speeds you see in the image above. Just shy of 15 mbps down, and again just shy of 1 mbps up. It’s been consistanly fast ever since.
We’re still not thrilled about paying this much per month to only get access to the internet. Comcast bundles offer many additional services without costing much more (at least during a special introductory period). But we’ve lived cable free for so many years now it seems a shame to give in. And who knows, maybe in the near future we’ll be getting our internet or TV options from somebody else.
Transformers 3 Filming Near The Penn Quarter
If you’ve signed up for DC’s Alert system, you’ve probably noticed some alerts for street closures due to Transformers 3: The Dark Of The Moon movie filming. We pored through the alerts and found the closures that are most likely to affect Penn Quarter residents. All closures will take place between Tuesday (10/12) and Wednesday (10/13):
Street Closures
|
Where
|
Start
|
End
|
|---|---|---|
| 3rd Street between Constitution Avenue, NW and Independence Avenue, SW | 6:30 pm Tuesday, October 12 | 6:30 am Wednesday, October 13 |
| 4th Street between Pennsylvania Avenue, NW and Independence Avenue, SW | 6:30 pm Tuesday, October 12 | 6:30 am Wednesday, October 13 |
| Pennsylvania Avenue, NW between 3rd Street and Constitution Avenue, NW | 6:30 pm Tuesday, October 12 | 6:30 am Wednesday, October 13 |
Source: DDOT alert
Reminder: Metro Station Closures On Orange/Blue Line This Weekend
Metro is doing maintenance work downtown on the Orange/Blue lines this Columbus Day weekend. Red Line trains will still service Metro Center normally. so plan accordingly. From the press release:
Metro will close the Farragut West and McPherson Square Metrorail stations and there will be no Blue or Orange Line service at the Metro Center Metrorail station during the three-day Columbus Day Holiday Weekend from 10 p.m., Friday, Oct. 8, to closing on Monday, Oct. 11, as the agency undertakes a major rehabilitation and rebuilding project to improve safety, comply with a recommendation made by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and maintain service reliability and a state of good repair. Red Line service will continue through Metro Center. Normal service will resume on Tuesday, Oct. 12.
To help riders get through the work zone, Metro will operate free shuttle buses around the station closures. Customers should build an extra 40 minutes into their travel plans if they need to pass through the work zone. Waits for shuttle buses are expected to be long due to downtown traffic patterns. Customers are advised to avoid the area of track work, if possible.