Massive Transformation: 1010 Massachusetts Avenue, NW

Luxurious urban living is but a few months away at Ten Ten Mass, the 14-story, 163-unit condominium building located at 1010 Massachusetts Avenue NW that will soon be home to Downtown’s newest residences. Faison and RCP Development anticipate a June 2007 delivery for the 185,000-square foot, $76-million project. The development is located conveniently nearby the bustling Downtown restaurant, retail, cultural and entertainment center -- two blocks from the Convention Center, four blocks from Metro Center Station and seven blocks from the Verizon Center, bordering the Logan Circle and Shaw neighborhoods to the north.

Most Ten Ten Mass condominiums have great views and excellent natural light. The project already has attracted buyers for 70% of the one- and two-bedroom condominiums. All owners will enjoy floor-to-ceiling windows, as well as a rooftop pool and 169-space underground parking garage. The project also will include a 9,000 square foot neighborhood restaurant and outdoor café facing Massachusetts Avenue.

This exciting new project will bring increased energy, life and style to a corner that just two years ago contained a 35,000-square foot office building and adjacent surface parking lot. To become a part of the Ten Ten Mass transformation or to view recently unveiled model units, visit www.TenTenMass.com or contact the sales office at 202.682.0202.

Click above photo to view my ongoing Ten Ten Massachusetts Avenue photoset which not unlike Q-14 or Metropole will document the construction process.

Info excerpted from Downtown BD Newslettter and Update dated 04 April 2007.

OBA Building at 6 and F designed by German architect Albert Goehner

At 600 F Street, NW, stood the OBA (Oriental Building Association) Federal Savings & Loan Association that was founded in 1861 as a "German" bank; the building, now closed, was designed by Albert Goehner.

Goehner also designed the landmark-designated building at 423–425 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, which originally built in 1902 as the Kingman, the name later was changed to the President Monroe Apartment Building.

OBA remains the oldest savings and loan association in the nation and in 2003 moved a few blocks to 700 7th Street NW. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

As part of a larger fraternal organization, the association allowed individuals and small businesses in this German dominated neighborhood to pool resources and offer credit. The OBA exemplifies the historical importance of the District's immigrant self-help organizations and business relationships.

I began photographing the OBA Building in late summer 2004, focusing more on the Banana Republic billboard displays pasted to the west side of the building, facing the MCI Center. And, if my photographic memory and collection is correct, it was in November 2004 that the renovation process began. See my Time Changes project which was launched in February 2005 that depicts a photo taken on Veterans Day, 11 November 2004, of the OBA Building at the beginning stages of its redevelopment.

Christopher Janney's "Horn Section" ... weaves a path through Hyattsville history

During my day trip last April to the Hyattsville Arts District I happened upon "Hyattsville Horn Section: An Urban Musical Instrument", an interactive performance sculpture, designed and created by Christopher Janney.

Located on the grassy area at the corner of Farragut and Rhode Island Avenue in front of the County Service Building in the City of Hyattsville, anchoring the Hyattsville end of the Gateway Arts District corridor, the Hyattsville Horn Section: An Urban Musical Instrument creates a "sonic portrait" of Prince George's County.

Composed of 5 colorful independent 9ft horn instrument forms spaced so people can walk among them, a map of the County is embedded in the instruments. A series of "hand plates", when touched, illuminates and the instruments play a sound or group of sounds from a "sound bank" -- representative of a combination of environmental, historical and melodic sounds significant to the County and its impact on the region.

A County-specific riddle is engraved on a stainless steel plaque at the center of the sculpture. When the riddle is deciphered and "hand plates" are touched in the correct pattern, the instruments will play a saxophone "short" in reply. The sculpture is lit from dusk to dawn.

Installed in the Spring 2004 and dedicated 23 June 2005, interactive performance sculpture is lit from dusk to dawn.

Mr. Janney combines more than 20 years of background in architecture and jazz music to create performance sculpture. A M.S. in Environmental Art from MIT, B.A. in Architecture and Visual Arts from Princeton University and having studied at the Dalcroze School of Music in New York - his interactive, musical and colorful works can be seen in public places ranging from public libraries, the Miami International Airport, and in the New York City Subway.

Visit his website at www.janney.com. Click photo to view my Hyattsville Horn Section: An Urban Musical Instrument by Christopher Janney photoset. See photo at Hyattsville MD at Yahoo-Travel.

Sefton's "Raze Permit List" @ DemolitionDC.org

Created and produced by Peter Sefton and Amy Sefton, the "Raze Permit List" is intended as an informational aid to the historic preservation community and others interested in tracking changes in the cityscape. It is a photo-catalog of Washington, DC buildings for which "raze permit applications" have been filed or for which the DC Historic Preservation Office has received a "raze letter" for sign off.

Although it contains a few earlier entries, this list essentially begins with the July 4, 2003 on-line DC Register. It primarily catalogs residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. It does not include sheds, residential garages, or utility structures such as switching stations or park buildings.

The list is based primarily on records produced by various DC Government agencies, and may contain errors or omit information. They suggest verifying all information with the authoritative source. For more information visit www.DemolitionDC.org. Or email Peter Sefton and/or Amy Sefton at psefton@comcast.net.

Also, check out their Victorian Secrets of Washington, DC and Near Southeast: A Neighborhood Passes ... sites.

When clicked the above photo, taken by Elvert Barnes on Labor Day Sunday, 3 September 2006 which depicts the beginning stages of the demolition of the 1100 block of F Street, NW (north side) - will link to an ongoing photoset and historiographic project that will chronologize the redevelopment of the block in a similar way as does my 1101 New York Avenue project which began in the fall of 2004.

Hecht's (Window Displays) Historiographic Project

I have photographed the window displays at the Hecht's downtown WDC store since January 1993 when looking forward to Bill Clinton's Presidential Inauguration that I took to the streets for the purpose of documenting Inaugural themes. Which is not unlike my J20-05 Inaugural project.

As far as I am concerned streetscape images become historic from the moment that they are taken. Particularly, those of urban areas such as Washington DC where the streetscape changes constantly. So, when shooting the 1993 Presidential Inaugural images, and as is the case with most of my picture-taking, I was cognitive of the potential historic importance of the project.

There are many reasons why a particular image may be considered "historic". Taken over Labor Day Weekend on Sunday, 3 September 2006, the above image records an historic moment in time ... when Hecht's changed over into Macy's.

Though, at the time, I was not aware of the changeover, when a few minutes later, at the corner of 13th and F Street that a family of Mid-Eastern descent inquired if I knew the location of Macy's ... the significance of the red stars would soon come to light.

Pointing north on 13th Street, I responded "I don't think there is a Macy's in downtown DC. But, if you walk one block north you'll find Hechts. Which, I believe, has now closed for the day".

Thanking me, they'd head north. A few more seconds would pass before I'd remember that the red star was Macy's logo. By that time, the family was just a few feet from the corner of 13th and G Street where they, too, could see Macy's red stars displayed in the windows of Hechts.

Hecht's (Window Displays) Historiographic Project will feature historic images that I've taken, in years past and prior to September 2006, of the window displays of Hecht's Department stores. Most of which will have been taken of the Hechts, then, located in downtown DC on G between 12th and 13th Streets. Which is now Macy's at Metro Center.

I regard these 3 September 2006 Hecht's - Macy's images as historic because they capture the end of an era as well as a new beginning. As are my Storehouse series taken over Columbus Day Weekend of the Storehouse on 14th Street at Logan Circle during a Going Out of Business Sale.

Apartment Zero @ Penn Quarter

Each Labor Day weekend I will canvas the city photographing, capturing, documenting and recording store window displays. Which not only reflects the individual store's fall campaign but also sheds light on upcoming trends.

This past Labor Day weekend was no exception as I treked across M Street in Georgetown, along 14th Street through Logan Circle, on F and G Streets downtown and down 7th Street in the Penn Quarter area. Which is when and where I'd begin my Apartment Zero project.

Owned and operted by Douglas Burton and Christopher Ralston Apartment Zero is located at 406 7th Street, between F and E Streets in NW WDC. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, Apartment Zero's hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 11 am to 6 pm Sundays, 12 to 5 pm.

Contact by phone at 202-628-4067. Fax at 202-628-4069. Email info@apartmentzero.com.

Chinatown's Friendship Archway designed by architect Alfred H. Liu

A traditional Chinese gate designed by local architect Alfred H. Liu, the Friendship Archway, was dedicated to Chinatown in Washington DC in 1986 . The colorful, $1 million work of public art includes 7 roofs up to 60 feet high, 7000 tiles, and 272 painted dragons in the style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Erected to celebrate friendship with Washington's sister city of Beijing, it was hoped the arch would reinforce the neighborhood's Chinese character. According to the plaque next to the arch, it is the largest such archway in the world. Read more at Wikipedia.

Click photo to view Friendship Archway ongoing photo project.