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The new entrance to H.D. Cooke on Mozart Place, between
Euclid and Fuller streets. Photo: Mark F. Johnson
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Gage-Eckington School in LeDroit Park to Become Community Park
The Gage-Eckington Elementary School in LeDroit Park is about to become a neighborhood park. Mayor Adrian Fenty and Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham recently announced the start of construction of a community park on the site once the school building has been demolished. The demolition of the very old school should take until the end of the year, and the new park is scheduled to open in June 2010, in time for next summer.
The LeDroit Park, as the new enclave is to be called, will include a picnic area, public space and something welcome to city dwellers, two-legged and four-legged alike, a dog park. The park is also slated to include a children’s garden, running trails, multi-purpose athletic fields and a rain garden. The school, located at the corner of Third and Elm streets, was slated for closure by the DC government because of low enrollment. Closing the school and turning it into a 3-acre park is expected to save the city coffers about $659,000 in fixed costs.
Two Ward 1 Schools Get Renovated
The former Blanche K. Bruce Elementary School is now the renovated home of the Cesar Chavez Prep Charter School. The school, located at Kenyon Street and Sherman Avenue NW, enrolls students in grades six through eight. Chavez also has a Northeast campus, called Parkside (3701 Hayes St. NE) and a campus on Capitol Hill (709 12th St. SE), both of which enroll students in grades nine through 12.
Looking fresh and beautiful for the new school year is the H.D. Cooke Elementary School in Adams-Morgan. The school, located on 17th Street, at Euclid, has a new wing of classrooms that face the rear of the original building, on Mozart Place. Also added are a track and a new playground. Faculty parking is available outside the Mozart Place entrance.
‘All Souls’ Includes those of Animals, Too, as Church Welcomes Pets in Pews
For the second year straight, All Souls Unitarian Church at 16th and Harvard streets welcomed the four-legged, the winged and even the slithering to its annual “animal blessing” on Aug. 30. In honor of Saint Francis of Assisi, who is said to have tamed a fierce and hungry wolf outside of the town of Assisi and welcomed him inside the walls to live in harmony with the people, as the Rev. Robert M. Hardies told the story, All Souls welcomed animals into the sanctuary. “We love our animals as part of our extended family,” he told the parishioners amid the occasional woof and meow, and we want the kindness and mercy of God for them as we do for our human loved ones. Toward the end of the service, in a packed church, those who wanted a blessing on their animals formed two lines, dogs to the right and cats to the left. Hardies and another minister laid hands on animals and/or cages or whatever else, called them by name and blessed them as their proud “humans” looked on. While most churchgoers had a dog, cat or bird, there were other types of animals in attendance, and at least one man had both a dog and a cat. He decided to sit on the side with the dogs while his black cat, Trigger, remained quiet and crated and his chocolate Labrador, Togo, mingled with neighboring dogs during the service.
Greater U Street Parade and Festival: V Street to be Designated ‘Langston Hughes Way’
The block of V Street NW between 13th and 14th will be designated Langston Hughes Way at a ceremony on Sept. 19, which observes the history and significance of U Street as the nation’s Black Broadway. Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham is scheduled to preside over the street name-changing ceremony outside of Busboys and Poets and Eatonville restaurants. Both venues reference Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance. To help observe the occasion, the Greater U Street Historic Foundation will hold a parade with local high school and college marching bands and local and national celebrities. The parade begins at 11 a.m., and the press conference marking the street name change follows at noon. The festival follows at 12:30 p.m. at three separate locations in the U Street area. A special Lincoln Theatre celebration is scheduled for 7 p.m. with a tribute to former `80s sitcom star, Jasmine Guy.
Columbia Heights Day and Adams Morgan Day Festivals
The neighborhood of Columbia Heights, the emerging star of Ward 1, celebrated itself on Aug. 29. The field at the Harriet Tubman Elementary School, located on 13th Street NW between Irving Street and Columbia Road, was the site of the day-long celebration featuring vendors, booths, food, entertainment and the diverse crowds that Columbia Heights, and Ward 1 in general, is known for.
Adams Morgan, which has long been considered the city’s most popular neighborhood for nightlife and entertainment, these days gets a run for its money, especially from Shaw and Mid City. Nevertheless, for the last 30 years, crowds from the entire metro area have been drawn to the neighborhood for the annual Adams Morgan Day celebration. Sept. 13 marks the 31st annual Adams Morgan Day street festival, which means that 18th Street between Florida Avenue and Columbia Road plays host to the city’s biggest block party, full of food, entertainment, vendors of all kinds, music and lots of other visual stimulation. Adams Morgan Day is one of the largest and most popular block parties on the entire East Coast. |
