This isn't exactly surprising, given the highly mixed feelings Ward 8 residents have expressed about the prospect of streetcars rolling over the 11th Street Bridge into their community. But I was still struck at a couple of meetings in Anacostia last night by how little positive anticipation there seems to be for something that has [...]

100 Bryant St. N.W. in Bloomingdale, which was bid up to
$380,000 in a January Auction.

Back in January, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) held an auction for some 30 vacant homes and properties around D.C.
Sure, most were slummy—boarded up windows, austere yards, watermarked brick—but buyers recognized the few jewels, and in [...]

Just like they did on H Street back in August, the D.C. Department of Transportation is now laying down tracks in Anacostia. The trains on this line are expected to be up and running by 2012.
Starting today, traffic by the intersection of South Capitol Street and Firth Sterling Avenue, will be subject to a half [...]

Wires galore power San Francisco's streetcars–the overhead lines currently aren't allowed in D.C.
A few tracks have already been laid down on H Street. And Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells says the first streetcar installed in the District will run there rather than in Anacostia, as previously thought.
Still: don't plan on hopping on a streetcar to the [...]

In late August, constructions crews temporarily closed down sections of H Street NE so streetcar tracks could be laid down, prompting a number of people–like me–to go "Huh? What? Streetcar? Since when?" Or as one commenter to put it:
"I’m sorry, but how on earth does this make sense? It’s not going to connect to Union [...]

This morning's Washington Post reports on street closures on H Street NE.*
Why? The corridor is getting a streetcar, and tracks are being installed as we speak  (or more precisely "write," or, likely in your case, procrastinate at work.) 
The online comments on this story are priceless:
"Another avenue for crooks, murders, rapists to get around town."
"...Who gives a [...]

Meads Row
As indicated earlier, a few groups on H Street are thinking about applying for a historic district designation on that corridor.
Yesterday I reached David Holmes, a vice chair of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6A. Holmes' group along with the Capitol Hill Restoration Society applied to make "Meads Row" on the 1300 block of H [...]

After a day of phone tag, I finally caught up with Tim Dennee, a staff reviewer for the Historic Preservation Review Board.
Yesterday, I wrote about Dennee's decision to not recommend a set of H Street Rowhouses for a historic landmark designation.
His reasoning (in an extremely itty, bitty nutshell): They weren't that special. For more, see [...]

The battle over the Third Church of Christ, Scientist is finally over. But the supply of ridiculous preservation stories in D.C. is eternal. Here is the first tale in what we hope will become a series about the fights some people choose to wage.
The Spot: "Meads Row" 1305, 1307, 1309, 1311 H Street NE.
The [...]