Green-shingled roof: a DC institution lives on…in the shadow of a shiny megaplex.
The immediate area surrounding DC’s Union Market has witnessed a remarkable surge in population, activity, and energy over the last five years. I deliberately use the word “surge” instead of “resurgence”, because the “re-“ prefix is a misnomer; it implies that the action to which it appends (the “surge”) has happened a second time. But
Storefront movie theaters are icons. So why is it so hard to keep the lights on?
It’s hard to imagine any American town of a certain size—small enough that most would still consider it just a town, but big enough that it probably fits the political classification of a city—that doesn’t have, or at least had, an old storefront movie theater as part of its main street. Everyone knows the type:
Kokopelli: a mascot for Moab?
The earth has revolved around the sun quite a few times since I patronized a restaurant called Kokopelli’s, a little boutique burrito joint on an obscure intersection near Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans, which did not re-open after Hurricane Katrina. (Yep, that long.) Time has relegated this hapless sole proprietorship to such obscurity that there’s
Demo cluster in Alexandria: why tear down respectable homes in a prosperous city?
Alexandria, Virginia, a place I cover frequently in this blog, is a medium sized city of considerable affluence. Sitting directly across the river from the District of Columbia, it predates the founding of our nation’s capital by a good forty years, meaning it never intended to function as a suburb. Neither a national capital nor
Tagging with graffiti: when a critical directional sign gets the “You’re IT!” treatment.
When it comes to establishing a cultural or sociological partition between civic art and graffiti, I recognize that I often have to walk a fine line. After all, I’ve chronicled enough murals on the sides of buildings—some publicly sanctioned, others not so much—to judge when the artistic effort is going to stand the test of
Towamencin Shopping Village: a strip mall, all dressed up for a date, but not a single suitor. (MONTAGE)
I’ve featured more derelict malls and shopping centers than the average reader can shake a selfie stick at. (An apt reference, since the oldest chroniclers of struggling retail—the sites DeadMalls.com and LabelScar.com—haven’t received updates since the popularization of the selfie stick. But they were great sites when I first started blogging!) As far as depressed
Riverfront greenway in Colorado: great place to play; just keep on the straight and narrow.
The Roaring Fork River in central Colorado offers a bicycle and pedestrian-friendly riverfront greenway on one side of its banks…exactly as one might hope from a waterway with such an roaringly evocative name. Or, rather, that City of Glenwood Springs has provided this greenway, which is, again, exactly what one might expect from a pristine
Excess parking in strip malls: is it necessary to build out enough space for Black Friday?
Urban planning, like most disciplines, endures its fair share of fads and passing fancies, many of which the advocates manage to elevate to temporary orthodoxy. And if “temporary orthodoxy” seems like an oxymoron, it shouldn’t require a great deal of introspection to realize that many orthodoxies remain doctrinaire for about a decade. And then they
Washington Walmart winnowing: why would the Waltons want to whitewash the weakness of their windowpanes?
I generally shy from events that are hot off the presses, not only because I’m not a good journalist for breaking news, but because I like things to simmer a bit. My work is less reporting and more empirical analysis. Forming a conclusion before the dust has settled is usually unwise, since the passage of
Dusk to dawn parking restrictions: why so hard to enforce?
I’ve seen some creative attempts to manage and control on-street parking, most of which don’t seem to work as intended, precisely because they’re creative. Regulating how people use the margins in a public right-of-way doesn’t really leave much room for creativity, because, when it comes to conveying that law to the lowest common denominator, creativity
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Green-shingled roof: a DC institution lives on…in the shadow of a shiny megaplex.
The immediate area surrounding DC’s Union Market has witnessed a remarkable surge in population, activity, and energy over the last five years. I deliberately use the word “surge” instead of “resurgence”, because the
Storefront movie theaters are icons. So why is it so hard to keep the lights on?
It’s hard to imagine any American town of a certain size—small enough that most would still consider it just a town, but big enough that it probably fits the political classification of a
Kokopelli: a mascot for Moab?
The earth has revolved around the sun quite a few times since I patronized a restaurant called Kokopelli’s, a little boutique burrito joint on an obscure intersection near Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans,
Demo cluster in Alexandria: why tear down respectable homes in a prosperous city?
Alexandria, Virginia, a place I cover frequently in this blog, is a medium sized city of considerable affluence. Sitting directly across the river from the District of Columbia, it predates the founding of
Tagging with graffiti: when a critical directional sign gets the “You’re IT!” treatment.
When it comes to establishing a cultural or sociological partition between civic art and graffiti, I recognize that I often have to walk a fine line. After all, I’ve chronicled enough murals on
Towamencin Shopping Village: a strip mall, all dressed up for a date, but not a single suitor. (MONTAGE)
I’ve featured more derelict malls and shopping centers than the average reader can shake a selfie stick at. (An apt reference, since the oldest chroniclers of struggling retail—the sites DeadMalls.com and LabelScar.com—haven’t received
Riverfront greenway in Colorado: great place to play; just keep on the straight and narrow.
The Roaring Fork River in central Colorado offers a bicycle and pedestrian-friendly riverfront greenway on one side of its banks…exactly as one might hope from a waterway with such an roaringly evocative name.
Excess parking in strip malls: is it necessary to build out enough space for Black Friday?
Urban planning, like most disciplines, endures its fair share of fads and passing fancies, many of which the advocates manage to elevate to temporary orthodoxy. And if “temporary orthodoxy” seems like an oxymoron,
Washington Walmart winnowing: why would the Waltons want to whitewash the weakness of their windowpanes?
I generally shy from events that are hot off the presses, not only because I’m not a good journalist for breaking news, but because I like things to simmer a bit. My work
Dusk to dawn parking restrictions: why so hard to enforce?
I’ve seen some creative attempts to manage and control on-street parking, most of which don’t seem to work as intended, precisely because they’re creative. Regulating how people use the margins in a public
Recent Comments
Recent Comments
- on Streetery of Wheaton Mall: a dining concept that pedestrianizes a garage?: “yeah, the outdoor versions seem to work better. They’re more visible and less contrived. About 2,000 feet from the mall…” Sep 25, 22:19
- on Streetery of Wheaton Mall: a dining concept that pedestrianizes a garage?: “Seattle’s equivalent in the Ballard neighborhood has lasted. Covered, outdoor eating works in our temperate but rainy climate. I love…” Sep 25, 20:36
- on Architectural forensics in Takoma Park: what was the original use of that cool little corner building?: “Thanks for the confirmation, Rich. Yes, the drive-in window definitely looks like an add-on. The original bank dated from a…” Sep 24, 13:22
- on Architectural forensics in Takoma Park: what was the original use of that cool little corner building?: “That part of the building was a bank where I had my first savings account, and kept the money I…” Sep 22, 18:53
- on Drive-thru pharmacy: a tactic to prevent merchandise shrinkage…by shrinking?: “yes sad day in the hood 😂” Sep 17, 23:10
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