Now in Our 48th Year of Continuous Publication

TheInTownerSince 1968 • Serving Washington D.C.’s Intown Neighborhoods

®

SEPTEMBER2016

Vol. 48, No. 3

Next Issue

October 14

Art All Night Festival Returns September 24th with Seven Diverse Neighborhoods from Northwest to

Southeast Showcasing Visual and Performing ArtsBy Alexander M. Padro*

The District’s annual overnight arts festival is

back this month, with a new focus and programming in two additional neighbor-hoods.

For eight hours start-ing at 7 pm on Saturday, September 24th, “Art All Night: Made in DC” will bring visual and performing arts installations and perfor-mances, including painting, photography, music, dance, sculpture, crafts, fashion, theater, film, lighting pro-jections, poetry and much more to indoor and outdoor public and private spaces, including businesses, in seven of DC’s Main Streets districts.

Inspired by a famous Parisian noc-turnal festival, Shaw Main Streets first presented Art All Night in 2011, and repeated it in 2013. Shaw Main Streets received the Innovation on Main Street Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s National Main Street Center in 2015 for developing the festival. The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) expand-ed the festival, adding Dupont Circle, North Capitol Street, H Street, NE, and Congress Heights in 2014 and 2015.

This year, the Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) is presenting Art All Night,

adding two new DC Main Streets neigh-borhoods, Tenleytown and Van Ness. Shaw Main Streets is organizing the festival on behalf of DSLBD.

New this year is that Washington, DC-based artists, collectives and per-formers will be showcased exclusive-ly. DSLBD is responsible for the new “Made in DC” initiative, and the festival has been rebranded to embrace that slogan. With the exception of invited international artists and a handful of DC expatriates (who were themselves “made in DC”), the festival will be a showcase of the diverse talents the city has to offer. And on three blocks of 8th Street in northern Shaw, the fun will start at 4:00 PM with a pre-party featuring over

25 street perform-ers from the Nuit Cirque Collective, including stilt walk-ers, aerialists, and jugglers, long before the sun goes down.

Each neighbor-hood will offer a range of venues, artistic media and performances. For example, African-American step troupes and Chinese

☞ What’s Inside? Editorial: Why do DC bureaucrats

often give us a hard time? Page 2

jjjjjjOn the Website Pages

Community News Reader Comments & Opinions

Recent Real Estate Sales Restaurant Reviews Washington History

☞ Reader Comments & Submissionsn CareFirst: Two Big to Regulate?

n Ecuadorian Embassy Sustained Significant Earthquake Damage, August 23, 2011

n Balancing Neighborhood Retail: The 25% Rule

n Reconstructing Historic Holt House

n When Does My Cast Iron Staircase Need Attention?

High Heel Race Fun Festivities

2015

Click here to enjoy the photos courtesy of Phil Carney.

Cont.,ART ALL NIGHT, p. 5

photo—Pleasant Mann, courtesy Shaw Main Streets, Inc.

Projections are always a highlight at the Art All Night festival.

Art and Culture

photo—Angela N.

Embassies like Colombia put on a show during last year’s festival.

National Geographic

Museum

“The Greeks: Agamemnon to

Alexander the Great”

Cycladic Figurine

Page 7

DC Residential Front Yards Seen Not Only as Green Gems but Also Essential for Alleviating Pollution

By Larry Ray*

Did you know you can get rebates for “greening” your yard? (30 InTowner Readers were interviewed and only one knew about this program); do you wonder why temperatures are so much higher in DC than Warrenton, Virginia? (For example at 4:30 am on July 11, 2016 it was 60 degrees in Warrenton while at the same time it was 73 degrees in DC.)

DC is blessed with thousands of little front yards and tree box squares.

They could become part of DC’s environ-mental green plans. Trees, shrubs, flowers

and lawns, and landscape features such as paths, decks, patios, driveways, walls, fences and the like often significantly contrib-ute to the character of the neighborhood.

Front yards are private prop-erty — even on L’Enfant plan streets where they are techni-cally not, property owners have legal exclusive use. Thus the design of the landscaping is largely under the control of the property owner.

Among other advantages to transforming front yards and sidewalk squares into eco-friend-ly gems are increasing water flow resulting in less rainfall flowing to the drain system; low-ering city outdoor temperatures

photo—Larry Ray—InTowner.

Beautifully tended front yard at 1200 V Street, NW. Cont., FRONT YARDS, p. 3

Lanier Heights Homeowners Seeking to Thwart Overdevelopment Finally SucceedBy P.L. Wolff

As we reported eight years ago, a proposal by Lanier

Heights residents seeking to put the brakes on what they viewed as a creeping intensification of density by means of building additions to existing row houses for rental or condo units failed. However, the idea of turn-ing the neighborhood into an historic district to accomplish that goal was not accepted by the Adams Morgan Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC-1C) in the face of heavy opposition at the time. (See, “Plan for Lanier Heights Historic District Met With Heavy Opposition, Complaints,” InTowner, November 2008 issue pdf, page 1.)

Now, eight years later, the problem that gave rise to that controversy may have been solved thanks to the decision in July by the

Zoning Commission to rule in favor of a petition to downzone the neighborhood.

This action effectively limits matter-of-right development of single-family detached,

map—DC Zoning Commission case file #15-09.

This map shows the portions of Lanier Heights which the petition-ing neighbors were seeking the support of the ANC for downzoning.

Cont., LANIER HEIGHTS, p. 4

Page 2 • The InTowner • September 2016

NEXT ISSUE—OCTOBER 14Submisions Deadline: Friday, October 7

See pdf archive on home page for 14 years of past issues

Mail and Delivery Address:1730-B Corcoran Street, N.W., Lower Level Washington, DC 20009

Website: www.intowner.comEditorial and Business Office: (202) 234-1717 / email: intowner@intowner.com

Press Releases may be emailed (not faxed) to: newsroom@intowner.comDisplay Advertising inquiries may be emailed to: advertising@intowner.com

Publisher & Managing Editor—P.L. WolffAssociate Editor—William G. SchulzContributing Writers—Ben Lasky, Larry RayLayout & Design — Mina RempeHistoric Preservation— Matthew B. Gillmore

Restaurants—Alexandra GreeleyMuseum Exhibitions—Joseph R. PhelanReal Estate—Kevin McDuffiePhotographer—Phil CarneyWebmaster—Eddie Sutton

Founded in 1968 by John J. Schulter

Member—National Newspaper Association

The InTowner (ISSN 0887-9400) is published 12 times per year by The InTowner Publishing Corporation, 1730-B Corcoran Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20009. Owned by The InTowner Publishing Corporation, P.L. Wolff, president and chief executive officer.

Copyright ©2016, The InTowner Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. Unsolicited articles, photographs, or other submissions will be given consideration; however, neither the publisher nor managing editor assumes responsibility for same, nor for specifically solic-ited materials, and will return only if accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Signed contributions do not necessarily represent the views of this newspaper or of InTowner Publishing Corporation. Letters to the editor and other commentary are welcome. We reserve the right to edit such submissions for space & clarity.

For over 40 years providing neighborhood news and information to our readers in Adams Morgan, Mt. Pleasant and Columbia Heights; Dupont, Scott, Thomas and Logan Circles; Dupont East, U Street, Shaw; Mt Vernon Square and Pennsylvania Quarter.

To receive free monthly notices advising of the uploading of each new issue, send email to office@intowner.com; include your name, postal mailing address and phone number. This information will not be shared with any other lists or entities.

From the Publisher’s Desk...By P.L. Wolff

a clean house

a clean mind

a cleaning service, inc.

satisfaction guaranteed

since 1985

services provided in DC, VA and MD

commercial and residential

licensed, bonded, insured

free estimates

703.892.8648

www.acleaningserviceinc.com

SUBURBAN WELDING COMPANY®

• Repair & replacement of DC-style iron work • Replacement parts for cast iron staircases (new & used)• Custom fabricating of window & door security bars • Tree box fences • Property fences & sidewalk gates

• DC code approved bedroom window security bars • Welding repairs • Specialty iron fabricating

24 hours, 7-day service • Free estimates703-765-9344 • www.suburbanweldingcompany.com

HAND RAILINGS & IRON FENCES ON SALE!

Why do Bureaucrats Insist they Can’t be Wrong?

On September 2nd, the Washington Post had a news story about the mother of a two-year old toddler receiving from the District’s public works department (DPW) a $75

ticket, dubbed Notice of Violation, for “allegedly littering at the end of the alley by her home, on 9th Street NE.” Apparently, the evidence was an envelope addressed to the tod-dler found in a trash bag abandoned at the end of the alley some distance from the rear of the home.

As the article went on to report, since the city’s trash trucks are too large to drive into the alley, the routine is that one of the DPW workers first pulls everyone’s trash bags from their bins and brings them down to where the alley meets the street to await the truck’s arrival, usually within a few minutes. Clearly, the toddler did not do this; nor is it con-ceivable that the parents would do so, given how the DPW crews take care of things — something which should have been known by that area inspector (who obviously is out of touch with the basic responsibilities of the job).

But this known fact apparently didn’t matter to the inspector who mailed the ticket — the envelope that flagged the toddler as a litterbug menace was found and therefore, ipso facto, it made no difference: it was obviously proof that the kid dragged the trash bag to where it was found and that was that. Period. Case closed. Pay up or forever be labeled a scofflaw and neighborhood (even citywide) pariah!

One person interviewed offered this delicious indictment of the total stupidity revealed by that obstinate bureaucrat:

“This is idiotic. What this is basically saying is that if a USPS worker accidentally dropped or purposely threw your mail on the ground, you are responsible for littering. Or if a thief stole a package and threw the packaging on the ground, or if the trash truck driver dropped some trash containing something with your name on it.”

And, that’s the point well-stated. No doubt that in the pile of trash bags waiting to be tossed into the truck which, as all homeowners know from observing how things are done, those DPW crews don’t dilly-doddle, they keep moving on as quickly as they can and often the trucks barely slow down; stuff sometimes gets left behind — we’ve seen it hap-pen.

The inspector should know this; a good inspector would have immediately cancelled the ticket and scrubbed any record of presumed violation. By giving the homeowners such a completely unwarranted hard time is just another black mark and the kind of action that sours the taxpayers on DC government and further contributes to the unfavorable view held by so many that DC government is incompetent, whether justified or not. Frankly, we think it is sad that because of bureaucrats like the one singled out here and those sin-gled out in our editorial last month, all the truly dedicated and conscientious government worker bees get tarred with the same brush.

We should note that this kind of treatment of a law-abiding resident is not something new with this administration. We can trace it all the way back to even before home rule when the District was run by mostly long-time (and largely white) entrenched (and mostly men) petty martinets who felt no responsibility to the disenfranchised residents. I know; I was one of those residents. Unfortunately, much of this culture didn’t magically go away after home rule, even as the bureaucracy’s color became more representative of the citi-zenry.

Even way back during the Sharon Pratt Kelly administration I had a similar experience to that reported here. One day I received a citation for using a metal trash can without a cover. When I called the inspector on the phone (his direct number was shown on the ticket) and explained that this could not have been me since I was using only the city-issued plastic containers and they all had tops and I requested that he come by and take a look for himself, which he said he would do. However, he never did make the effort and when I called to follow up all he offered was to cancel the ticket (which was a good thing), but rather than actually dismissing the action, he offered only to abate — mean-ing only to make or become less in amount, intensity, degree (not a good thing). He just couldn’t go all the way to admit that he was wrong in issuing the ticket in the first place!

Copyright © 2016 InTowner Publishing Corp. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited, except as provided by 17 U.S.C. §107 & 108 (“fair use”).

Page 3 • The InTowner • September 2016

(on July 8th at 6 am it was 9 degrees cooler in Warrenton, Virginia than in DC); greatly helps with the eradication of trash, weeds and even rats; attracts birds, butterflies and bees., all of which are highly desirable.

How can resident accomplish these desir-able outcomes? There are no DC regula-tions involving what residents can do with their front yards. At this point, they could cement or pave over completely. Neighbors do not necessarily advocate for new regula-tions, but would like to create an environ-mentally friendly culture.

Good examples can be seen from Columbia Heights to Dupont Circle to Mt. Pleasant and Adams Morgan and east to North Capitol and throughout Shaw, such as in the lovely garden with lilies at 1331 Park Road; the beautiful wisteria 1001 Otis Place; the landscaping that sets off the new Morton Mews condo complex at the north-east corner of Morton Street and Sherman Avenue; the pretty and well-tended front yard at 1200 V Street; the striking trumpet vines on the rear deck of 1003 Otis Place which can be seen from the street; the well-kept front yard with garden sprays at 3469 11th Street; the beautiful hostas at the corner of 11th Street and Otis Place; the stunning sunflowers at 3463-10th Street;

and the Imperial House condominium’s beautifully maintained from and side spaces at 1601-18th Street, to name just a few of the countless wonderful examples all over.

Unfortunately, there are bad examples, four of which stand out: the Raymond Apartments at 3511 11th Street with its entire front yard cemented; the condoinium

association near Park Road and 13th Street and another near Sherman Avenue which have cemented over their entire front yards; the row house on Otis Place where instead of landscaping the entire front yard is cov-ered with slate.

Historic PreservationAlthough the DC Historic Preservation

Review Board has no direct control over res-idential front yards, the Office of Planning’s Historic Preservation Office has promul-gated landscaping guidelines which remind residents of the value of attractive front and side yards and of how they enhance the overall streetscape:

“Trees, shrubs, flowers and lawns, and landscape features such as paths, decks, patios, driveways, walls, fences and the like often significantly contribute to the charac-ter of a[n] historic building and its neigh-borhood. . . . Traditionally, landscaping, landscape features, and secondary buildings were designed as part of an ensemble along with the main building. This was particu-larly true of large free-standing residential buildings on large lots. Sometimes the land-scape and its features were used to enhance a particular view to or from the main building, or to screen the main building from view. . . . During the first half of the nineteenth century, landscape commonly used native flowers, shrubs and ornamental trees. The plantings were located to add depth to views to and from the main build-ing. When possible, boundary lines were thickly planted to separate a property from its neighbors. . . .

“The design of front yards is one of the most important character-defining features of historic buildings, particularly free-stand-ing residential buildings and row houses.”

Why Create “Eco-Gem” Front Yards?How can residents be persuaded to refo-

cus on the front yards and sidewalk tree boxes to make them “eco gems” contribut-ing to their block, neighborhood and the entire city?

Julia Robey Christian, Public Information Officer at the DC Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE), offers the following advice:

“It’s important for District residents to recognize that while paving their personal home spaces with impervious materials might be easier in terms of maintenance, it can actually harm the overall quality of the environment here in the District. DOEE’s RiverSmart programs educate homeowners about the importance of these green areas for both human health and the health and wellbeing of our native plants and wild-life. RiverSmart programs offer incentives for residents to improve their landscapes through rebates and rewards, making it easier for residents and communities to beautify yards while helping to improve the District’s natural environment.”

Instructive is the information circulated

by the non-profit Casey Trees which is hugely instrumental in assisting property owners and DC’s urban landscape office in maintaining and greatly adding to the tree canopy:

“At Casey Trees we know it’s helpful for people to understand how planting a

tree on their property fits into the larger picture of growing the urban forest. The story of DC’s trees extends back to the

1800s, when tens of thousands of trees were planted. At that time the District’s tree canopy spanned much of the city, a feat which earned the nation’s capital its nickname, the ‘City of Trees.’ But DC’s tree cover soon was in decline. By 2011 DC’s canopy dropped to just over 35 percent.

“Casey Trees has set a goal of restoring DC’s tree canopy, and we’re well on our way to attaining it. By planting trees, educating thousands of resi-dents about the importance of our urban tree canopy, and developing a network of trained volunteers and advocates who are ready to stand up for trees, we’re making progress year after year. . . .”

The “RiverSmart” ProgramAnother way to persuade residents is to

inform them of DOEE’s RiverSmart pro-grams. Of the 30 homeowners interviewed in preparation for this article, only one was

DC Historic Designs, LLC provides a wide range of historic preservation and architectural services for owners and caretakers of historic properties.

DCHistoricDesigns.com (202) 596-1961

Historic Preservation, Restoration & Design

Residential and commercial designs Restorations and rehabilitations Architectural and historic research National Register/Landmark nominations Historic preservation policy compliance

Celebrate Summer Sale ❧ All Items 10-30% Off ❧ July 9-24 , 2016

Dial A Plumber, LLC®Just Say: I Need A Plumber©

• Furnace Repair & Replacement

• Licensed Gas Filter• Water Heater• Boiler Work

• Serving DC• References• Drain Services• Licensed & Bonded

Dial: 202-251-1479 DC’s Plumber’s License #707

FRONT YARDSFrom p. 1

photo— Larry Ray—InTowner.

The plantings at the Morton Mews condominium are an enhancement to the corner of Morton Street and Sherman Avenue.

Cont., FRONT YARDS p. 4

photo— Larry Ray—InTowner.

In contrast to the care taken by the Morton Mews condominium association, the management of the Raymond apartment building on 11th Street simply have added to he sidewalk’s hardscape.

photo— Larry Ray—InTowner.

The Imperial House condominium association takes great pride in its beautifully planted front and side open areas at 18th Street and New Hampshire Avenue.

photo— Larry Ray—InTowner.

A homeowner in the 3400 block of 11th Street shows how to beautify a front yard.

Page 4 • The InTowner • September 2016

WIN UP TO $50,000!

2016 D.C. Lottery

Tickets are not

cancelable.

$5

WIN UP TO $50,000!

WIN UP TO 4 TIMES!

THEIR TEAM

YOUR TEAM

HOW TO WINAdd the total score of each GAME for “YOUR TEAM”. If the total for any of your GAMES is

larger than the total score of “THEIR TEAM”, win the prize shown for that GAME.

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

GA

ME

1G

AM

E 2

GA

ME

3G

AM

E 4

PRIZE

0 6 3 2

3

2 2

3 7

7

0 3

0

1060

$10

$500

$50,000

$5

18

DCL1010 | Community Pubs | Cash Kickoff | Intowner | 4C | 5x13.75

dclottery.com

aware of this program — and she is a real estate agent.

RiverSmart’s primary focus is on reducing storm water runoff that harms the District’s waterways and the Chesapeake Bay. Its programs provide financial incentives to help District property owners install green infrastructure such as rain barrels, green roofs, rain gardens, permeable pavement, shade trees, and more. These practices allow rainwater to stay on site and soak into the ground, where natural processes help remove pollutants.

No matter how large or small one’s green infrastructure project might be, there are opportunities for residents. Some programs offer site evaluations and up-front funding, while others provide rebates or discounts.

Examples include rebates up to $100 to individuals who purchase and plant trees on private residential or commercial property; rebates of $2 per gallon for rain barrels, with a maximum rebate of $1,000; rebates up to $1.25 per square foot of impervious surface treated with landscaping features and rain gardens, with a maximum rebate of $1,200.

There are also incentives to install green infrastructure for homes, communities, and rooftops; property owners. Owners can wait for a storm water audit through RiverSmart Homes or hire their own contractor.

Further, the RiverSmart Communities program offers incentives for condomini-ums, co-ops, rental apartment buildings, locally-owned businesses, and houses of worship seeking to reduce the amount of storm water pollution draining away from those properties. Included are financial and technical assistance for property owners to install ameliorating features such as rain

gardens, BayScaping, pervious pavement, and rain cisterns. 

Other IdeasPredictions are for future extreme rains

and with DC’s continuing urbanization and accelerating diminution of its ecosystems, there are numerous ideas being discussed such as re-thinking sidewalks and consider-ing the benefits of utilizing stones.

For example, new sidewalks and replace-ment sidewalks could be made permeable. One idea is to use duckboards which are slightly elevated wooden slats. These sup-presses weeds but also allow water to flow through. Grass paths might be another option; even gravel sidewalks allow water flow.

As for considering the use of stones, some may see stones these as a nuisance but they can be excellent in gardening as they help the soil to drain. Also, they cool the soil’s surface by absorbing the sun’s heat and help warm the soil at night; stone mulching is catching on with gardeners.

*Larry Ray, an attorney and resident of Columbia Heights, is a Senior Adjunct Professor at The George Washington University School of Law and Senior Trainer with the American Management Association. He is a former multi-term Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in both Dupont Circle and later in Columbia Heights and has also served as President of the North Columbia Heights Civic Association (NCHCA).

Copyright © 2016 InTowner Publishing Corp. & Larry Ray. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited, except as provided by 17 U.S.C. §§107 & 108 (“fair use”).

FRONT YARDSFrom p. 3

semi-detached, and row house heights to a maximum of 40 feet -- 10 feet lower than previously allowed -- and with a rear yard requirement of 20 feet.

The Commission was cognizant of the information contained in the Office of Planning’s March 11, 2016 submitted report which, as was stated by the Commission in its order, “that the main differences between the current R-5-B zoning and proposed R-4 zoning are that the current R-5-B zoning allows multi-family buildings by-right, and allows a taller building height than the R-4 zoning requested by the Petitioners [and] that the Comprehensive Plan pro-vides policy guidance that both supports and does not support the requested more restrictive R-4 zoning designation. The Plan’s Generalized Policy Map describes the area as a Neighborhood Conservation area, suggesting that any new development should be compatible with the neighbor-hood’s existing character.”

In their detailed submission outlining their case to lower the neighborhood’s zon-ing from R-5-B to R-4 filed two years ago with the ANC, 60 percent of the identified 165 affected property owners stated that their “intent is for “a re-zon[ing] of the row home blocks and lots [so as] to curb the re-development of these homes into con-dominiums.” Further, they explained their concerns as follows:

“Lanier Heights’ row houses are being threatened in the last two years, over half-a-dozen single family row houses have been purchased by developers who have built “pop-up” condos, alter-ing existing facades, expanding the higher structure to the backs of lots,

and creating up to eight condominium units. This rapid development is chang-ing the look and character of the neigh-borhood, reducing homes for families, invading privacy, and crowding neigh-boring yards and houses.

“Because of Lanier Heights’ R-5-B zon-ing designation, there is no designa-tion for the maximum number of units allowed on each lot. Because of this, some row homes . . . now have eight units where there was once a single or two family home.

“Re-zoning to R-4 would impose a maximum limit of two units allowed on each lot. The intention of placing this limit is to discourage developers from purchasing single family homes at inflated prices, with the sole purpose of breaking them up purely for profit, while preventing families, with or with-out children, an opportunity to live there. This will enable Lanier Heights to retain its diversity of housing stock and allow the neighborhood to conserve and retain its remaining single-family homes.”

[Ed. Note: For background on what has been a long-running controversy in Lanier Heights, see “Growing Push to Increase Development in Lanier Heights Roils Neighborhood,” InTowner, September 2014 issue pdf, page 1;“Pop-Ups Along Lanier Heights Row House Streets Nixed; ANC to Seek Downzoning,” InTowner, December 2014 issue pdf, page 1.

Copyright © 2016 InTowner Publishing Corp. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited, except as provided by 17 U.S.C. §107.

LANIER HEIGHTSFrom p. 1

Page 5 • The InTowner • September 2016

lion and dragon dancers will perform in Shaw, while the public will be invited to get their Great Gatsby on and dance to jazz in Tenleytown. Ride the H Street streetcar and enjoy saxophone, flute, drum, spoken word and hip-hop performances. Children of all ages can get their faces painted or try their hand at painting and fiber arts.

You can watch a break dancing competi-tion or learn some new moves, from belly dancing to Bollywood. Watch lighting art-ists cast familiar buildings in a whole new light and see new murals unveiled and lit. Crowds will roar as drum corps rumble and

fire performers light up the night. Watch documentaries and listen to local authors and artists talk about their work. Move to the music played by some of DC’s best-known DJs.

There’s so much to choose from. Why not try it all? The party is all free, all night.

“DSLBD is so pleased to present Art All Night: Made in DC this year,” said Ana Harvey, the department’s director. “It’s so exciting to see the crowds on our streets enjoying wonderful art and performances and eating and drinking in these great neighborhoods. I had a great time last year, and I even bought a painting that’s now hanging in my office!”

Many neighborhood businesses will be presenting art installations and live music,

even hosting fashion shows. In Dupont Circle, most of the venues are art galleries and embassies. Public build-ings, like librar-ies, schools and universities, are also becoming temporary art galleries and pe r fo rmance spaces for the night. Some neighborhoods are present-ing the arts al fresco, bringing empty lots to life.

Both established and emerging artists will share the festival limelight. Longtime mayoral photographer Lateef Mangum’s

work will be on view at Middle C Music in Tenleytown, while self-taught artist Charles Visconage’s colorful Pop Art paintings will be installed at Wanda’s on 7th Salon and Spa in Shaw. Many of the artists’ work will be for sale.

“The night is exciting, and the economic impact of the festival is huge,” explained Gretchen Wharton, board chair of Shaw Main Streets. “Hundreds of businesses and artists in these seven neighborhoods

have been looking forward to this night for months. For many of them, it will be the biggest single sales night of the year.”

Art All Night: Made in DC is presented by the Department of Small and Local Business

D e v e l o p m e n t in partnership with Destination Congress Heights, Historic Dupont Circle Main Streets, H Street Main Street, North Capitol Street Main Street, Shaw Main Streets, Tenleytown Main Street and Van Ness Main Streets, with financial support from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities.

For more infor-mation on the festival, visit www.

artallnightdc.com or on the night of the event for the final lineup download the Art All Night DC mobile app from the App Store or Google Play Store.

*The writer, a long-time Shaw resident of and neighborhood advisory (ANC) commissioner, is also the Executive Director of Shaw Main Streets.

Copyright © 2016 InTowner Publishing Corp. & Shaw Main Streets, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Art Galleries Open Late

• Performances at Embassies

• Historic Houses selling Art

• Come paint or draw live!

Visit www.artallnightdc.com

The mission of Historic Dupont Main Streets is to promote, coordinate, and maintain the cultural, economic, and environmental qualities of Dupont Circle to make it an exemplary place to live, work, shop, and play.

www.DupontCircleMainStreets.org

Advertisement

Art All Night: Made In DC

Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016

7:00-12:00 midnight

ART ALL NIGHTFrom p. 1

photo—Pleasant Mann, courtesy Shaw Main Streets, Inc.

Step Afrika's performances last year got everyone on their feet.

photo—Pleasant Mann, courtesy Shaw Main Streets, Inc.

Fire performers like Moksha always stun the audience.

photo—Pleasant Mann, courtesy Shaw Main Streets, Inc.

Youth and adults enjoysx exploring their talents last year as they will this year.

See pdf archive on home page for 14 years of past issues

I’m proud to serve as your Council member. Together we have made DC the

most dynamic city, county, or state in America.

I’m asking for your vote November 8th so that we can keep working to improve our schools, our communities, our Metro system, and our District for current and

future residents.

Evans 2016. Robert J. Kimbel, Treasurer. A copy of campaign’s reports filed with the D.C.

Office of Campaign Finance.

Page 7 • The InTowner • September 2016

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MUSEUM 1145 17th Street NW

202 857 7700 Open Daily 10am–6pm

$15; seniors/students/Military, $12; children 5-12, $10 (under 5, free)

By Joseph R. Phelan*

“The Greeks: Agamemnon to Alexander the Great” *

A beautifully carved marble votive relief of Asklepios the god of medicine lean-

ing on his staff welcomes us as we enter this exhibition which continues on view through October 10th. The noble procession of the god and his children confronting a group of worshippers echoes on a small scale the magnificent sculptures of the Parthenon frieze. This remarkable object is but one of some 550 pieces sent by 21 Greek museums from Athens to Vergina. Washington D.C. is the final stop of this exhibition the most comprehensive in a generation, so visiting the National Geographic this summer is not only your last chance to see this land-mark show but the next best thing to a trip to Greece.

After the classical orektika, we are thrust back thousands of years into a Bronze Age gallery, looking at an object shaped like a frying pan (and so dubbed by archeolo-gists) which depicts a longboat being rowed across the waves. The image deftly suggests the rich and transformative exchange of goods and ideas that occurred between the Cyclades islands and mainland Greece, Crete and Asia Minor. Nearby, our eyes cannot help but lock onto those tall, thin, highly abstract female figurines with folded arms which are among the most iconic of all works of Greek prehistory. Their uncanny simplicity inspired the radical modernist experiments of Picasso, Brancusi and Modigliani.

Moving ahead we are face to face with the astonishing dis-coveries of the 19th century German busi-nessman turned archeologist, Heinrich Schliemann, who after excavating the ancient ruins of Troy in Turkey, made an even more spectacular find in Mycenae in Southern Greece: a series of royal tombs filled with fabu-lous treasure includ-ing several gold funeral masks.

Schliemann jumped to the conclusion he had found the tomb of the leg-endary Agamemnon, the ill-fated king immortalized by Homer in the Iliad who led the Greeks against Troy and was later murdered by his wife on his return home. We know now that the artifacts are much older than the supposed date of the Trojan War; yet so great is the hold Homer’s stories exerted on

the Western imagination that this tomb and its treasure are for-ever branded as “belonging to Agamemnon.” Of the two funeral masks on dis-play, the moon-shaped one is the Mycenaean original; the second, the widely reproduced one of the “handsome bearded” man, is a copy though a historic one.

Throughout the exhi-bition, the panoply of weaponry and body armor from different centuries reminds us that war was a con-

stant preoccupation of all ancient people, and none more so

than the Greeks. There is a wild boar tusk helmet, one that is

striking similar to what Homer describes his warriors wearing in Iliad (10.262). One gal-lery is filled with archaic bronze and gold hel-

mets stuck on poles. Their powerful design

enhanced by dramatic lighting achieves an unnerving effect like being dropped into an ancient pre-quel to Game of Thrones.

Spiritedness, courage and sacrifice are on display in almost every room of the exhibition along with boldness, wit and resourcefulness. Three moments in the life of Achilles are depicted on funerary vases: his education at

the foot of the centaur Chiron; his rage against the corpse of Hector for the kill-ing of Patroclus; and finally,

mighty Ajax bearing the Achilles lifeless body on his shoulders. On a krater fragment there is one of the best of all depictions of wily Odysseus putting out the

eye of the Cyclops, Polyphemus. As is often the case in an exhibition of this size, the smallest item may pack the biggest bang. So

do not miss the small bronze plaque which depicts

Odysseus strapped to the underbelly of a ram as he makes his escape from the giant.

Entering the sec-ond part of the exhi-bition we encounter the Greek love of the beautiful in its most palpable form: a hall

of archaic marble stat-ues of nude young men

and modestly garbed young women. The for-mer, radiating muscu la r m a n l i -ness and

superabundant good health, embody the ideals of the aris-tocracy and served as “role models” for the viewer. The poet Rilke, looking at the torso of a similar statue,

heard the impera-tive: “Change your life.”

At the end of this hallway, we come upon the bust of a bearded hoplite. This is one of those rare stat-utes found on the

Spartan acropo-lis and has long been associated with Leonidas, the valiant Spartan king who died with his men at Thermopylae while defending Greece from the onslaught of the Persian Empire.

With the victory of the Greeks against the Persians,

the exhibition’s focus shifts to the flourishing of Athens.

Over the course of the 5th century, the polis becomes the

home of democracy, drama, com-edy, medicine and philosophy. A sculpture of a young man

might depict an athlete taking off his olive wreath preparing to dedicate it to a god or goddess or

might be a metaphor of democracy itself. The kleroterion which allowed for the ran-dom selection of jurors and other officials reminds us that the democratic mode of selection was by lot. The name of the renowned statesman, Themistocles, appear-ing on a clay shard used in the ostracism vote tells us that even this great statesman was a victim of the democratic will.

Amid the exhibition’s celebration of the Athenian achievements there is an aston-ishing hole in the story. In the fifty years after the Persian Wars, Athens converted the defensive alliance into an empire using the tribute from the allies to beautify the city. Without that tribute there would be no Parthenon on the Acropolis but without that empire there would not have been a world war between Athens and its rival Sparta. Yet neither Pericles, the empire, nor thirty year war that the democracy fought and lost, is mentioned.

Just in time, the two masters of Greek thought make their appearance (though in Roman copies of the Greek original busts) as philosophers of the polis. Listening to Plato’s Socrates propounding the idea of the philosopher-king or Aristotle asserting the political nature of human beings will give visitors some sense of these thinkers’ profound interventions in the life of man-kind. Note to curators: the superannuated translations (Cornford, Jowett) could have been easily avoided.

The rise of political philosophy comes historically in the “twilight of the polis” period, the mid-4th c BCE. The orator Demosthenes warns the Athenians to defend their liberty against a growing menace in

the north. This allows for an ele-gant segue into the galleries

devoted the rise to power and wealth of Philip

of Macedon and of his extraordinary son, Alexander. From the royal tombs of Vergina we see breath-taking myrtle wreaths and crowns of gold. Digital restora-tions of the tomb

paintings allow a peak at some of the

most exciting artis-tic discoveries of 20th

century archeology. Our last image is of Alexander as his official court sculptor Lysippus portrayed him, beardless, lion-maned, dramati-

cally turning his head with an upward aspir-ing glance, eternally scanning the horizon for new worlds to conquer.

Copyright © 2016 InTowner Publishing Corp. & Joseph R. Phelan. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited, except as provided by 17 U.S.C. §107 (“fair use”).

Art & Culture

Votive Relief Offered to Asklepios (in the center of this relief, Asklepios, god of medicine, leans on his staff, around which a snake is coiled. This symbol still represents medicine today) [© National Archaeological Museum, Athens]

Votive Kouros [© National Archaeological Museum, Athens]

Funerary Mask [© National Archaeological Museum, Athens]

Lekythos Depicting Ajax Carrying the Body of Achilles [© National Archaeological Museum, Athens]

Alexander the Great Bust (sculpted shortly after Alexander’s death, this marble bust depicts him in the flower of youth. [© Archaeological Museum of Pella]

*Joseph R. Phelan is a Washington based author and teacher. He is the founding edi-tor of Artcyclopedia.com, the fine art search engine. He has taught at the Catholic University of America and the University of Maryland University College.

*A different version of this article origi-nally appeared in The Weekly Standard.