Then and Now: Washington Snowball Battles

(Click on images for larger versions — left image from Library of Congress; right photo by flickr user zugaldia)

Washington has had its share of snowball battles this season, but they are nothing new. The historic image above documents a snowball battle by Senate pages on the grounds of the Capitol that occurred on January 2, 1925. The image above to the right shows the snowball fight that occurred on Saturday, February 6, 2009, at Dupont Circle amid the historic storm that Washington is still digging out of. Over 2,000 people participated in the Dupont Circle battle.

Park View’s Own Kim Roberts Compiles First Poetry Anthology Focused on Washington

With all the snow that’s been first and foremost in the news — not to mention the lack of newspaper delivery — this gem might have been lost in the shuffle.

Sunday’s Washington Post reviewed Full Moon on K Street, poems about Washington, DC. In describing the book, the Post called it “the first anthology of modern poetry to be wholly for, about and by current and former Washington residents — [teeming] with poets who’ve distilled the region’s lifeblood into verse over the past 50 years” … and we have Park View’s own Kim Roberts to thank.

Roberts has lived in Washington since 1987, with much of that time working out of her home in Park View. Its hard to believe that a work such as this could have been compiled and edited by anyone other than Roberts, an accomplished poet in her own right with a deep appreciation for the city she calls home.

More Snow on Tuesday: Just When You Thought it was Over

The following was just sent out by the Alert DC service. I’m not thrilled that the forecast snow totals have been increased.

UPDATE: National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for D.C., effective noon tomorrow to 7PM Wednesday. All parts of the forecast that were just sent remain the same, except the projected snow totals HAVE BEEN INCREASED TO 10-20″.

The previous Alert DC stated:

The National Weather Service has issued an updated Winter Storm Watch for another winter storm. The storm is currently forecast to arrive around 2-3PM Tuesday, and will last through Wednesday late afternoon. The updated forecast now calls for at least 8″ snow, with over 10″ quite possible. The NWS Storm Prediction Center currently shows a 10-40% chance of the storm generating over 12″. The D.C. Metro area is close to the south edge of this storm, so to some degree the storm totals will depend on the exact path of the storm. Temperatures will start near freezing, but will drop into the mid-upper 20’s during the storm. Wednesday high is 33-36. Winds will be 15-25 MPH with higher gusts. A Winter Storm Warning is highly likely to be issued later today. Please get emergency supplies before the storm strikes, as driving will become even more hazardous after the storm begins. Please also secure all loose objects on your property.

Snow Emergency Lifted, DDOT Planning for Tuesday Storm

DDOT issued the following release today updating residents on where they are in getting the City back to normal.

District Crews Continue to Dig Out
While Looking Ahead to Tuesday Storm
Residential Streets Continue to be a Priority
Snow Emergency Lifted as of 9:30 am

(Washington, D.C.) – Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, along with DDOT Director Gabe Klein, and DPW Director William O. Howland, Jr., assured residents today that crews will continue to salt and plow neighborhood streets as a new snow storm threatens the DC area. The National Weather Service is forecasting 5-10 inches of snow for the District beginning on Tuesday afternoon. Mayor Fenty also lifted the snow emergency at 9:30 am today.

“As our crews head into their seventh shift we are now looking at another large system coming towards the District,” said Mayor Fenty. “Our current deployment is ahead of schedule but this new storm will impact our cleanup efforts. We will continue in the residential neighborhoods today and throughout the week as we anticipate more snow accumulation will need additional attention.”

The District’s deployment plan allows for major roadways to be plowed to pavement within 36-48 hours and those goals have been met as lanes on the majority of the city’s major routes were down to bare pavement on Monday morning. Crews are focusing efforts on neighborhood streets throughout the day today and on Tuesday. Snow team leaders will assess conditions as the new system approaches and preparations on already cleared streets will begin.

Crews were focusing efforts on salting and plowing continuously to clear residential streets within 60 hours of the end of the storm. This new storm system may impact that schedule as crews will need to pull back to main arteries, National Highway System roadways, bridges, and hilly areas to pre-treat in anticipation of more accumulations.

Snowy Views Around Park View

Georgia Ave. View to toward the south from New Hampshire Ave.

In looking around the neighborhood yesterday, things were pretty rough. Many roads were hardly plowed, people who were attempting to drive were getting stuck, and I found one car in the middle of the intersection of Warder and Otis just sitting there with no driver.

The only real way to get around was to walk in the street despite the City’s plea to do otherwise.

Still, there were signs of life. Rock Creek Market and Safeway were open for business. Most surprisingly — largely because it was Sunday — there was even work being accomplished at the CVS site.

So, I thought I’d share some views from around Park View just in case you weren’t able to get out yet.

View east on Rock Creek Church Rd from the 700 block

Construction continues at CVS Despite Snow

Snow Elephant on the 600 Block of Park Road

Snow Totals Around 20″ in Park View

As the snow was winding down, I took a reading in Reservation 321A (the park located at Rock Creek Church Road, Park Place, and old Park Place). While the angle is a bit off in the photo, it read very close to 20″ or just shy of it.

If you took a reading of the snow totals in your area, I’d be interested in knowing what those totals were as well.

In looking at the top ten historically significant snowfalls going into this storm, this one easily will rank at number three if it doesn’t nose out the number two storm.

1. January 27-28, 1922 … 28 inches
2. February 11-13, 1899 … 20.5 inches
3. February 18-19, 1979 … 18.7 inches
4. January 6-8, 1996 … 17.1 inches
5. February 15-18, 2003 … 16.7 inches
6. February 11-12, 1983 …16.6 inches
7. December 19-20, 2009 … 16.4 inches
8. February 15-16, 1958 … 14.4 inches
9. February 7, 1936 … 14.4 inches
10. February 16-18, 1900 … 14.3 inches

Including our current storm, and dropping number ten above (which will no longer be in the top ten), I find it interesting that four of the top ten snowfalls have occurred in the last 14 years.

Blizzard of 1922: Knickerbocker Theater Disaster

While we are still getting snow in the current Blizzard, I thought folks might find this footage from YouTube showing the 1922 Knickerbocker Theater Disaster of interest.

You can read more about the Knickerbocker Theater, and the 28 inches of snow that lead to the disaster, here>>

What may be of interest to Park View residents, the Knickerbocker Theater was design by architect Reginald W. Geare and became one of Harry Crandall’s theaters. Geare also designed Park View’s York Theater for Crandall. In the case of the York the builders were Kennedy Brothers.

Science Saturday: Scientists Keep Water Liquid Far Below Zero Degrees

I know this topic has nothing to do with the neighborhood. In fact, it has nothing to do with the City. All that aside, I really enjoy science news and thought others might too. I won’t promise to make this a regular feature on this blog, but since I generally don’t post on weekends I thought sharing science related articles on Saturday every now and again wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

The news I found interested this week I heard on NPR yesterday. The two key discoveries shared in the story were that a “scientific team found that dust-free water on a smooth, clean surface will drop well below 32 Fahrenheit (zero Celsius) before it freezes” and that “on a positively charged surface, the water freezes from the bottom up, and on a negative surface, the water freezes from the top down.”

You can read a fuller article or listen to the feature from the NPR Web site.

History of Washington’s Movie Houses

For those that appreciate history, here’s a resource you may find interesting — especially if you also have an interest in film, architecture, or biography.Robert Headley’s Motion Picture Exhibition in Washington, D.C. chronicles the people and places that were such an important part Washington movie culture from 1894 to 1997.

For those whose interest in history needs to be more personal or real, included in Headley’s book is a a good overview of Harry Crandall and the theater empire he built in th first part of the 20th Century. Among Crandall’s theaters were Columbia Height’s Tivoli and Park View’s York located at 3635-3641 Georgia Avenue. Today, the former York Theater is home to the Fisherman of Men Church.

You can read a review of this book here>>

MPD PSA 302e Community Meeting Coming to Park View Rec Center

The following message was distributed on area listservs yesterday, and I couldn’t be happier. It will be a lot more convenient to go to the monthly PSA meeting with it just around the corner.

Metropolitan Police Department PSA 302e Community Meeting

Thursday February 11, 2010
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Park View Recreation Center
693 Otis Pl NW
Washington, DC  20009

NOTE: The location has changed. It is now at the Park View Recreation Center, 693 Otis Pl NW.

Come and meet Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers and other members of your community at a meeting of Police Service Area (PSA) 302. Neighborhood crime problems are identified and solutions discussed at PSA meetings.

PSA 302 is being split in half with 13th St NW being the dividing line. East of 13th St NW will be under Lt. Timberlake and west will be under Lt. Munk.

Sponsor: Metropolitan Police Department, Third District

Learn more about the seven police districts

Contact:	Lt. Madeline Timberlake
	madeline.timberlake@dc.gov
	(202) 489-6521