BaancBlog

Dave Salter has an interesting and very readable paper on (alley) stables here. It covers the 150 years of DC since the Civil War, and how stables often became auto repair shops and alley dwellings. Alley dwellings didn't used to be high class abodes. That has changed.

One of the interesting things about looking closely at a few stables in a place like Naylor Court is that you see them elsewhere when you didn't expect it. Dave's paper will, in a way, open your eyes.

The editor posted this yesterday. The pastor of New Bethany sent this to Tom Bell.

Subject: Re: New Bethany Church Parking Lot Alley Gate

To All Concerned,
The email informing you of the desire of the New Bethany Church to open the alley gate to frequent traffic is not true. That gate would only to be used during emergencies. I don't have any plans to engage in a war with the residents concerning exit from a lot during an emergency.
Just a few sundays ago there was an emergency in the Apartment building and the fire department was called to the building for an emergency and persons parked in the lot were not able to exit and some concern was raised by the fire department concerning the exiting from the lot in emergency. I don't know where ms. Salter got her information but that gate is not being replaced for any frequent entrance or egress. That gate was original place there for that purpose before parking was permitted in the alley. For some reason or another, the gate was allowed to become disfunctional. With 10th Street being one way going south, it would make sense for the neighborhood to have a way out of the alley in a fire emergency.
You can believe which ever story you desire but let us engage in an humane discussion concerning the subject before we rush to conclusion. I can be reached @ (202) 462-7282 - Dr. Carson E. Wise, Sr., Pastor of the New Bethany Church.
As a long time resident of the District of Columbia, I am very concerned about the remarks made toward the 'Church'.

Dr. Carson E. Wise, Sr.
Pastor

The concerns about the parking lot have been a matter of concern for several years, but at a low level. However, the editor doesn't know of any members ot the local community who are also members of the church, so there was really no intermediary over the last many years. And one really doesn't call a pastor with various low-level rumors unless there is some familiarity. The pastor wouldn't know the level of concern and might mistake the inquiry.

So thank you Doctor Wise. Could we catch you at a community meeting one of these days? Or maybe at the summer picnic?

Checking through some old bookmarks, I found a 1988 overhead shot of the blocks between N and L, Eleventh and Seventh. It's not the most detailed, and certainly does not have the quality of new images. It does, however, bring back memories.

For orientation, that little red squib is Ninth and M.

Note that the southeast corner of Tenth and M is vacant. No Mount Vernon Plaza. No Whitman. The Royalton, where the Whitman stands now, had been gone for about 10 years. That empty lot is what Peter Sellers walks by in the 1978 movie Being There after having left 937 M Street. And yes, there were barrel fires there, as in the movie. An occasional dead body, too, sometimes from a drug overdose.

The Gas Station From Hell, as we all called it, was still at Eighth and M. There were still row houses on the 1200 block of Eighth Street. It seemed that every few months one of them had a fire call, either for a fire or a drug overdose.

The land between L and M, Seventh and Ninth was essentially open, and used as a parking lot for city employees. After a while, the city put up a chain link fence around parts of it to hold down the car breakins. The norhthwest corner of K and Seventh had trailers for the homeless shortly after this photo, which were removed only when the Convention Center construction started.

I just received this from Tom Bell, one of the founders and proprietors of the Guest Quarters, at Tenth and O Streets. A very good neighbor. It discussed the parking lot seen here on Google Maps. (As an aside, if you look at N Street, you'll notice that there are no cars on the north side of the street. So the photo was probably taken between 12:30 and 2:30 on a Tuesday. The editor could have been a PI for the folks the Pentagon refers to as "up the river".)

Hello All,

We were just informed by [a neighborhood resident] that to our surprise, New Bethany is going to open their parking lot gate to the Naylor Ct alley in order to allow cars to enter and leave frequently. There are several legal, signed parking spaces for residences on the alley side of that gate and at times a number of children play there. The church is obviously using the lot as paid parking as it is. Is what they are about to do legal ? None of us want the increased traffic to the alley and we do not want to lose those legal parking spaces. What can we do as residences to keep this from happening? Somehow some churches [NOT ALL] believe they have special dispensation just because it is a church. Does New Bethany have the right to change legal parking spaces? Do they have permits? Can this be stopped before it sneaks in right under our noses?

Tom Bell

1337 10th Street NW Washington DC 20001-4215

Thanks to Mike Benardo (ANC 2F), we get word that street cleaning looms. The official DPW announcement gives March 23, a Monday. The schedule here says it all.

So, every Tuesday and Wednesday, be sure to check where your car is, if you have one and it's parked on the street. You may have to move it. If you don't, the fine is $35.00, even if the orange street Zamboni doesn't come by and clean the street. Unless it's raining, DPW is very diligent about those tickets.

If you don't understand the above, ask a neighbor. And welcome to Washington.