It's a Beautiful Day in my Neighborhood

Earlier this week I attended a happy hour for the community newspaper I write for, Voice of the Hill.

The paper has just undergone a major shift in ownership, as a company that owns several other neighborhood papers in DC purchased Voice of the Hill from the original owner/creators this past spring. The couple that started the paper five years ago are wonderful, diverse hill denizens -- they also own and operate a theater on H street (my friend from school is the Artistic Director of their resident company), have their own graphic design and printing company, and happen to be the people who instigated my trip to West Virginia this spring.

The Hill can be a pretty incestuous place. But in a good way.

Anyhow, I started writing for them about a year after I moved here, and have always been so glad I happened upon the outlet. A good friend of mine at the time was the assistant editor. At the time, they were just looking for people who would meet deadlines (or at least come relatively close. "Relatively" being the operative word.)

Writing for the paper has given me a sense of community that I have never really had. Anywhere. I can tell you quirky stories about long time Hill business owners, or idiosyncratic Hill characters, or random Hill destinations -- like the Farmer's Market on H Street or the American Legion post in SE.

The Happy Hour was a nice time. It was great to see the couple that owns the paper, who I hadn't really seen since Berkeley Springs, and also to put faces to names I've only seen in print for the last three years. It took place on Barrack's Row, which is an amazing example of recent DC Development projects, and one that, in my opinion, has been handled quite well. The 8th Street corridor, which was relatively bare and sketchy when I first moved here, is now - almost - a destination spot. They have managed to avoid having major chain anything's (restaurants or shops) move in, and it seems to have maintained a pretty grassroots, localized merchant base. Something that other developing areas (think Chinatown/Penn Quarter) have absolutely NOT managed to do.

The question of gentrification is a sticky one. I am not of the belief that all development is bad. A neighborhood where people shop and eat and play is always, in my book, better than one with deserted storefronts or dollar store after dollar store. I do not want to see long-time residents pushed out. So it is finding a balance between progress and sterilization, growth and overhaul, that is the challenge for urban developers.

It is, always, interesting to watch what is happening in this neighborhood.

There is actually an interesting article on page 44 of this month's issue (you can scroll down in the pdf), discussing future plans for a building on 8th Street SE, that for years has been a church but was originally built as a movie theater and vaudeville house at the turn of the century. Restauranteurs tried to get their hands on it as soon as the building went up for sale, but now it looks like the neighborhood has nixed that idea.

The plans outlined by the VOTH writers are extremely attractive -- a sort of performing arts center/theater/arts space, to work in conjunction with (not in competition with) the already existing CHAW.

Another group developed the idea of a mixed-use
venue that allowed for a variety of arts to use the
space as needed. Representatives from Capitol Hill
Arts Workshop were in attendance and discussed
their need for new performance space to allow for
the continued growth of their very popular Catalyst
Theater Company, Films on the Hill, and over-subscribed
programs for children and emerging artists.
Parker Jayne, a longtime Hill resident and theater
expert, put some considerable thought into the
project. He suggested that the space could function
very much like a budget Millennium Stage, the popular
performing arts space located in the Kennedy
Center. He envisions the theater hosting 360 events
a year;every night of the week to drive pedestrian
traffic to Eighth Street. Patrons would be able to
come to the theater on a whim to be entertained.
The space would be rented by emerging professionals
and experienced amateurs for a low fee. Many
small theater companies, choral societies, and performance
groups have the skills to put on marvelous
performances, but lack the financial resources to
own a performance space. The theater would not
discriminate against artistic mediums and would be
open to theater groups, musical artists, film clubs,
and dance troupes. Jayne commented that with the
high degree of maintenance given to the building
by the People's Church that the theater is ready to
go for a show tomorrow night!

I love the idea. It is a great location, and I really think the Hill could support another theater space. And if this did happen, then maybe my friend S and I would finally start the theater company we always talk about starting.

The other thought was an independant movie theater, which would also be stellar.

It's exciting. I hope one of these comes through, and that we don't simply end up with a gigantic book store or family style restaurant.