RSS FeedSidewalk Snow Removal: Winners & Losers
While it is true that this past weekend we were blanketed with an uprecedented amount of snow, 24 hours after it stops the sidewalks are supposed to be clear. We list a few of the buildings/storefronts we thought did a particularly good or bad job of shoveling the snow, and we welcome your comments as well.
The Good:
- Bruegger’s Bagels— They stayed open the entire weekend and their sidewalk stayed as clear as possible during the storm.
- The FBI–Sure they’re a government agency, but not all of our similar neighbors were doing as well (we’re looking at you DOJ). The FBI was removing the snow all day Saturday & Sunday.
- 7th Street–The main drag in PQ, while not as clear as the FBI, by Sunday morning you could get by reasonably well up and down 7th from E to H streets.
The Bad:
- West side of 9th Street–Specifically between E & F. From Gordon Biersch to Subway, you couldn’t maneuver on 9th Street easily until Monday morning.
- Weschler’s–We hate to include our favorite auction house on this list, but when all of the snow on E street had been removed, there was still a large icy patch in front of Weschler’s Monday morning.
- Crossings at Penn Ave–Sure the sidewalks of Pennsylvania Ave might have been cleared almost immediately, but what good does that do if your funneling everyone into a single-file line at the crosswalk? You can’t just shovel the sidewalk to a wall of snow at the street. You have to create safe crosswalks too.
That’s our list, who were your winners & losers?
Ghosts Of Garfinckel’s Retail Past Returning To F Street?
If you blinked you might have missed the Washington Business Journal article packed with interesting retail news about Hamilton Square at the corner of 14th and F Streets NW (right side of the above historic photo). Although nothing was absolutely confirmed, it mentioned the prospect of a T.J. Maxx discount clothing retailer taking some or all of the space now occupied by Border’s bookstore. It also provided an update on Roberto Donna’s Galileo III restaurant which should open in January 2010 before Valentine’s Day along the 14th Street side of the building where Butterfield 9 used to be.
The article didn’t give the historical nod owed this building so we thought we would do so here. The whole building used to be the flagship store of Garfinckel’s, an original Washington grown department store, built in 1929. The company was founded circa 1900 and grew through mergers and acquisitions until missteps in a competitive retail landscape brought it to bankruptcy and liquidation in 1990. Garfinckel’s has a fond place in the heart of many native Washingtonians over the age of 30 as the store you went to when you wanted to find a really special or nice gift. (You paid a little more too!) Although not updated recently, a Garfinckels.com tribute website is still running and gives you a further peek into the company and its past. Who knows…maybe the ghost of Julius Garfinckel is still alive and well at 14th and F!
Garfinckel’s, Gone With the Linen; The Pearl of F Street, Where Shopping Had a Touch of Class [WaPo archive]
Photo Credit: DDOT photo archive
DC Link Roundup: Heard In The ‘Hood
UPDATE (12 Noon): Ford’s Theatre will run its two performances of A Christmas Carol today (Dec 20) – one show runs at 2:30 pm and the other at 7:30 pm. Please check the link to the right for details. [Ford’s Theatre]
H Street NE – We really like the cleaner two column look for Frozen Tropics. A hat tip goes out to FT as it’s one of the few neighborhood DC sites that started before we did and got the trend going. Prost! [Frozen Tropics]
14th Street – An 18th century charging of the lines at 14th and U Streets NW yesterday. The weapons? Snowballs. See the video for yourself. [ReadySetDC]
Mount Vernon Triangle – A nice discussion on holiday condo/apartment tipping started by KimFromTheK. [The (Mount Vernon) Triangle]
Chinatown – A shout out to to the Abe Pollin banner that was displayed on the side of the Verizon Center. Thanks again Abe for being a great Washingtonian! [The 42 (Bus)]
Shaw – A new trend in taste combined with an evening out. [ReadySetDC]
Snow Hits Washington DC & Ford’s Theatre Cancels Today’s Christmas Carol Performances
Snow Hits Washington DC (Including The PQ)
The weather forecasters seem to be on the mark and it certainly is snowing at a good clip in downtown Washington DC. A reader sent in the photo you see to the right and you can see that street surfaces are covered and visibility is poor. The latest WaPo report indicates snowfall totals will likely be in the 8 to 16 inch range with 2 to 3 inch per hour snowfall rates developing during the day today. Stay tuned to local media for updates and advisements. Send in your photos to pqliving [at] gmail.com or tag them with ‘pqliving’ on flickr and we’ll pick them up later in the day.
Ford’s Theatre Cancels Today’s Christmas Carol Performances
We received word that Ford’s Theatre is unfortunately cancelling both of today’s performances of A Christmas Carol. More about their refund policy and the cancellation can be found on this web page.