30 ★ HillRag | July 2010
Capitol Streets
HillBuzz
By Celeste McCall
Bomb scare
T’was a steamy, late spring evening when Peter and I
set out for an art opening at the Corner Store, our neighborhood cultural center at 9th Street and South Carolina
Ave., SE. The show, “American Political Art,” featured
anti-war paintings and framed posters from the Cold
War and Vietnam era, created by Miriam Zizmor, her art
professor Clayton Pinkerton, and other members of the
San Francisco-based “Group Commentary.”
Miriam’s daughter Karen (who loaned her late
mother’s work for the show) is a friend and neighbor,
and the Corner Store is a few doors from our house. As
we stepped outside, a police officer shooed us back into
our house. Then we noticed police cars, bomb sniffing
dogs and yellow tape everywhere. Apparently, there was
a “dangerous situation” across the street in Eleanor Roosevelt Park, and the block of South Carolina between
Ninth and 10th streets SE was closed off.
Although our street was in “lock-down,” a friendly
officer allowed some neighbors--also en route to the gallery--to proceed to our house. The entire incident lasted
only an hour, and our little group enjoyed an impromptu
party on our patio before finally heading to the Corner
Store. We also found it ironic that a bomb scare had
temporarily kept us away from an anti-war art exhibit,
which we enjoyed immensely. Oh yes, the “suspicious
item” in the park turned out to be an orange foam yoga
mat draped over an empty crate.
Groundbreaking
At long last, the Hill Center broke ground at the Old
Naval Hospital site. At the June 13 event, hundreds of
residents and dignitaries, including Mayor Adrian Fenty,
mayoral candidate and DC City Council Chairman Vincent Gray, Ward 6 Council Member Tommy Wells, atlarge Council Member Phil Mendelson, DC Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, braved 90-plus
temperatures. They cooled off with ice cream and viewed
A Navy Honor Guard salutes the crowd at the groundbreaking for the Hill Center. Photo Andrew Lightman
capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 31
architect David Bell’s renovation plans for
the crumbling, 145-year-old brick structure at 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. After
the Display of Colors, the U.S. Navy Band
presented a lively concert, and the actual
groundbreaking took place shortly thereafter. Construction of the Hill Center–which
will serve as an educational and community
resource for children and adults–should
take about a year, we’re told.
DCLAW helps House of Ruth
DCLAW, the Washington area ladies
arm-wrestling team, flexed their biceps and
declared their “right to bare arms” June 5. At
the zany tournament held at the American
Mayor M. Adrian Fenty, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Chairman Vincent Gray break ground for the Hill
Center. Photo: Andrew Lightman
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32 ★ HillRag | July 2010
Legion Post #8 at 3rd and D
Streets, SE on Capitol Hill,
more than 80 fans cheered
on their favorite wrestlers,
as Silver Spring resident
Kelly Wood (aka “Mommie
Dearest”) took top honors.
Referee was American Legion member and Vietnam
vet Phil Yunger. Competitors--decked out in funny
costumes--were
introduced by Washington actress Kimberly Gilbert and
“Dirty Marty,” a guy who
hosts a female roller derby
league in Baltimore.
The lively DCLAW
competition raised $1,500
for the House of Ruth, a
national, non-profit organization which provides services for abused women and
their children.
We are the District’s
Kitchen Experts
Like you, we love living and working right here in
the District. That’s why we specialize in designing
and remodeling kitchens in the historic homes of DC.
Retiring
Gail Kern Pastor, director of the Folger Shakespeare
Library, has announced her
retirement, effective next
July. In her eight years overseeing the world’s largest
collection of Shakespeare’s
printed works, Pastor has
raised millions of dollars,
acquired rare Elizabethan
documents, and has eased
the historic library into cyber space. (What would The
Bard think?)
In 2002, Pastor helped
rescue 28,000 rare books
when the building, located
at 201 East Capitol SE,
sprang a major leak. Packed
in 900 boxes, the priceless
volumes were shipped to
Amherst College.
According
to
The
Washington Post, Pastor
announced her retirement
a year early because “the institution needs a good year
of transition.” No stranger
to Capitol Hill, Pastor’s sister, Jan Kern, is an accomplished artist who lives with
her husband Tom Grahame
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capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 33