Engine 6

Could the impending arrival of Buddha Bar trigger serious interest in the engine 6 firehouse space across the street at 400 Mass?


Last month I came across a great example of a historic firehouse transformed into a vibrant space. Jack's Firehouse is a very successful pub and restaurant on Philly's Fairmount Ave across the street from Eastern State Penitentiary. Much of the original mahogany interior, wood plank floors, and even the brass fire pole remain intact in the old building. The large sweep boat suspended overhead also added a great deal of charm.


What will the future hold for our old Engine company?

Google Earth 1999 - part one

The Google Earth tool has a feature that displays historical satellite images from selected points in time. I thought it would be interesting to review images from last decade that pre-date all the new construction development we see today.

Not surprisingly much of what existed in 1999 was surface parking lots. But there are structures visible on many of these sites. Where these vacant buildings or did they host residences or businesses. Feel free to share the 411 in the comments.

Mass Court Apartments:

400 Mass Condominiums:

Meridian at Gallery Place Apartments:

Click on any of the images to enlarge.

Fire house facade at 400 Mass - part 2

My personal opinion is that the firehouse could have been integrated better. See below.



My edited photo is a little sloppy - but you get the drift. Agree? Disagree?

Fire house facade at 400 Mass

Below is a snapshot of the Firehouse facade preserved at 400 Mass.


Do you think the outcome was well done and/or a positive for the streetscape? Will the eventual retail tenant be forced to keep those red firehouse doors or could they be replaced at some point with glass doors allowing for more light to shine in and pedestrians to see inside?

Looking for new voices

Hello, I just wanted to remind our readers that we have a standing open invitation to community members to join our blog. We would love to have a contributor representing each of the buildings in the Triangle. It's also important to us to represent a diversity of perspectives. If you are interested in writing for the Triangle send me an email here.

With a huge influx of new residents in the coming years a neighborhood forum such as this blog and many others can really make a difference in the community!

DCMud interviews Dumont architect Phil Esocoff

DCMud recently interviewed Phil Esocoff, principal architect of Esocoff and Associates. His firm designed The Dumont and 400 Mass buildings in our area. The wavy bumpouts you see on these two buildings are a form of Esocoff signature.

April MVSNA meeting - attended by Mayor Fenty

I attended my first Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association (MVSNA) meeting tonight. The agenda was had a wide range of items ranging from after hours club Sanctuary 84, Shotspotter implementation, DDOT and police issues regarding wrong way traffic and speeding on streets surrounding New York Ave, as well as a Q&A with Mayor Adrian Fenty.



Jeff Parke took meeting notes that you can browse [here]. ANC2C02 leader Kevin Chappel has video of the crime discussion [here].

Really, so much to talk about. I have a feeling many of the large issues will be addressed by the prominent posters on the MVSNA blog over the next couple days. So I'm going to focus on a few police & DDOT items from the Triangle and Mayor Fenty's discussion of the homeless shelters.

400 MASS CVS
Concerns about increased prostitute and gang presence around the the 24 Hour CVS at 400 Mass. Apparently a nearby 24-hour CVS at 1st & K closed down. That closing has displaced some of the late night loitering to this 400 Mass Ave location. The police are aware of the issue and will monitor it closely. From the back of the room I didn't hear what the full plan of action might be. But I did want to bring this up on our blog so our readers would be aware of the issue. Those 2 AM trips to the pharmacy may require greater caution in the short term.

DDOT comments on Mount Vernon Triangle
There was a big DDOT Q&A with Karina Ricks. Much of it focused on the intersections of New York Ave and the residual traffic issues. She did field one question that specifically asked about future improvements to the streets in the Triangle. She stated DDOT would be doing work on L Street along City Vista later this year and that improvements for 4th and 5th streets were slated for 2009.

Mayor Fenty on the Homeless Shelters
During the Q&A with Major Fenty inquiries about both the widely discussed move of the Central Union Mission to the Gales School at 65 Mass Ave as well as the rumor mill about additional shelter sites within the same immediate vicinity. Fenty confirmed that the Gales School had been used as a shelter in the past and was always earmarked to resume that use after renovations to the building were completed.

Members of The Sonata condo association also brought forth scuttlebutt about the park above the I-395 tunnel at 2nd and H Streets NW becoming a site for a construction of a new homeless shelter. It was suggested this information arose from Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells and a Washingtonpost article. Concerns raised included losing scarce green space and impact to the community that increased concentration of homeless services in a radius of a few blocks would yield (such as noise, litter, safety issues). Mayor Fenty went on to explain that the city wanted to reduce the number of homeless shelters rather than build more. The goal is to take a Housing First initiative that will put more of the chronically homeless in transitional housing units spread across the entire city. He admitted his administration may not have done a good job communicating this given how many concerns have been escalated by those who interpret the plan as filling apartment buildings with concentrations of homeless. To ensure that all concerns were addressed fully Fenty offered that the deputy mayor could provide answers regarding the specific park and lots that attendees inquired about for next month's MVSNA meeting.

image from Si Kailian

A New Addition to the Triangle

Please welcome our new writer, MadrigalBlogs, he'll be contributing to the Triangle blog and telling us a little more about his slice of the pie.

We look forward to adding more neighbors who wish to contribute to the blog in the future. If you're interested drop me a line, we would love to be able to represent all of the condominiums in the Triangle!

p.s. If you live at 400Mass, Yale Laundry, The Meridian, or 300 Mass, you are most definitely part of the Triangle community so don't be a stranger!