Posts by John Muller — Contributor
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How the city bought a homeless vet a house
Earlier this summer, Bill Jackson Jr. sat facing the doorway on a bed sheet laid out on the floor of a second story bedroom. He had the house all to himself. Behind him, a window was boarded up, covered with a ragged white door. In the hallway, the second floor banister was covered with bird excrement. Most of the balusters lay broken on the floor over, under, and mixed with chunks of… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Remembering and moving on
Memories stay secure; “Mile-high club” couple triggers scare; Emergency response still muddy; Financial disclosure or erosion of home rule?; Is this development crime-resistant?; Car-free easier and more popular; New MLK road signs confusing; And…. Keep reading…
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New hope emerges for the Historical Society
After nearly a decade of publicized struggles at the Historical Society of Washington, a newfound optimism has emerged that this steward of the city’s past will not itself fade into history. The organization shut down this summer, unable to pay its staff or afford its high electric bills and maintenance of its headquarters, the Carnegie Library on Mount Vernon Square. After… Keep reading…
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DC earthquake history dates back to 1828
It was a close one, but we survived yesterday’s earthquake. Some remember last year’s quake, but did you know that their recorded history in DC goes back as far as John Quincy Adams in 1828? According to the US Geological Survey, Keep reading…
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Many urban dwellers still lack option to live without a car
The Washington region has gotten a “solid return” on its transit investment, but many carless households still lack good access to transit and many more, even in urban areas, don’t have a realistic option to live car-free if they wanted to, according to a Brookings Institution report. Following up on a report released in May that examined the correlation… Keep reading…
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Book review: Capital Losses
Not long after witnessing the demolition of the Hitt House at 1501 New Hampshire Avenue off Dupont Circle in 1970, local historian James Goode began working on Capital Losses: A Cultural History of Washington’s Destroyed Buildings. The book remains a definitive work for both emerging and established city preservationists. Goode began his research in December of 1973,… Keep reading…
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Historic Preservation Review Board vacancies go unfilled
On July 28th, for the first time in nearly two decades, DC’s Historic Preservation Review Board failed to achieve a quorum, and couldn’t hear several cases during its afternoon session. The board had to postpone two cases to another meeting for the following week. Preservationists feel the administration has been inattentive to the importance of making appointments… Keep reading…
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Old Anacostia’s spirit unshakable despite vacant properties
Anacostia waits. With entire half-blocks of its commercial district vacant, many of the remaining occupied buildings serve a plenitude of aid agencies. With nearly a fifth of the historic neighborhood’s residential properties vacant, this area of the city remains an economic dead zone. Although a smattering of small businesses have opened in the past year in Anacostia,… Keep reading…
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Demolition by neglect plagues Anacostia
Residents of Anacostia have been waiting for revitalization to reach their corner of DC, but have found even their own government failing to keep buildings from eroding away. “Welcome to HISTORIC ANACOSTIA” read a sign, with a soft southern sigh, enclosed by yellow caution tape at the foundation of the northwest corner of Good Hope Road SE and Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue… Keep reading…
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Home of the ‘father of black history’ should be restored
Carter G. Woodson is often known as the “father of black history” due to his contributions to African American scholarship. His historic home on 9th Street, NW sits vacant and unused, but the National Park Service owns and could restore it. In 1912 Woodson became the second black American to earn a doctorate from Harvard University. His industrious scholarship… Keep reading…