Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The Carbarn Versus the Pentacle

A reader sends along this link to a post on The Ruined Capitol that has images of both the Carbarn that used to stand adjacent to the Starburst Intersection, and the Pentacle Apartments that replaced it.

15 comments:

brookland_rez said...

I've never understood why anyone would name an apartment complex "pentacle".

From Wikipedia:

"The words pentacle and pentagram (a five-point unicursal star) are essentially synonymous"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentacle

So are these satanic apartments or something?

Anonymous said...

Kinda wish the Vanished blog had used this more recent photo.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/fat-trel-grows-up/2012/03/14/gIQA6XqZGS_gallery.html#photo=1

dcn8tv said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
IMGoph said...

The guy behind that blog, Simon Jacobsen, is a bit of a hack. He doesn't thoroughly research his posts and makes numerous mistakes, requiring him to either make corrections (which he never acknowledges) or totally pulling posts down.

He once claimed a building was gone, but it just turned out that he pulled up the wrong block on Google Earth. Take that website with a HUGE grain of salt. There are many other actual historians who blog about DC who are much more trustworthy.

East_H said...

^^^ well he's right about this building.

Seeing what used to be there, and also what was done turning a similar car barn just south of this location into unique condos, makes me want to vomit.

mizage said...

I find the site pretty interesting. Who knew that the site of the Safeway in SE used to be occupied the National Capital Brewing Company?

http://www.theruinedcapitol.com/2012/02/14th-and-d-street-se.html

Anonymous said...

@IMGoph: why do you need to call the guy a "hack"? Why not at least mention that this post is interesting and compelling, and approach it from a positive viewpoint?

What are some of the alternative historical blogs you might suggest?

Kyra said...

Anon 2:56 - I hope you were kidding.

Regarding the pics/article: Really? This guy is the spokesperson for the "real" DC? So sad.

Kyra said...

Anon 2:56 - I hope you were kidding.

Regarding the pics/article to which you linked: Really? This guy is the spokesperson for the "real" DC? So sad.

H Street Landlord said...

I can't believe inked hasn't done a post on Fat Trel. Sad.

IMGoph said...

anonymous: I called him a bit of a hack because he is. He doesn't research his stuff well, and he's out to make money off of shoddy research. I don't think that lack of effort deserves reward or praise.

If you want to read some serious, quality, researched DC history blogs, start with Streets of Washington, Ghosts of DC, and the House History Man. Quality stuff written by people who realize that their reputation relies on the accuracy and truthfulness of the stories they tell.

fatty said...

I thought the blog was cool as I'm not much of a stickler for details or research.

The other 3 are very nice

the curious thing about your post is the out to make money part?

make money how? ads? selling the blog?

IMGoph said...

fatty: he says he's developing an iphone app, which is going to cost money to download. he's clearly aiming to make a profit off of it. that's great! i'm happy to see people making money - i love the entrepreneurial spirit. but if it's going to be slapdash, and he's going to try to sell it as "definitive," then i think he needs to be called out until he tightens up the ship.

Tom A. said...

The Pentacle just had its,second or
third shooting in three,
months. How many shootings have there been at the east capitol car barn condos in recent months?

HouseHistoryMan said...

Thanks for the shout out, IMGoph!