Gearing Up @ 12th & Florida

If you've recently seen police escorts speeding down Florida Ave with semi trucks hauling huge black wrapped boxes you may have watched parts of these massive pre-fab homes on their way into town. Currently there are a couple of stacks over at the 12th & Florida site & more sitting in the big parking lot (the one belonging to Gallaudet that hosts a weekend flea market) at the Florida Market. Both sites are reportedly under 24 hour guard (we did see patrols). Tonight a massive crane arrived at the construction site. Apparently we should see at least some fully assembled buildings by Friday.

A truck parked across from the site (it was dark, so I messed with the exposure so you could see it better).

House parts await pick-up at the Florida Market.




These pieces are the tops of the buildings and look like they are part of a walkout roof-top deck.

Abandon

Florida Ave.

Connor Contemporary's New Home

Apparently I was lying when I claimed not to have any photos of the place. It's just that I can't ORGANIZE my photos. So, here is a old shot of the site (formerly Singletary Auto). 1358 Florida Ave. Here is more info on the gallery.

WP: A Shifting Landscape for Connor Gallery

The Post covers Connor Contemporary's move to Trinidad (roughly one-two blocks from 14th & H).

Major Gallery Moves to Florida Ave

The former home of Nifty Thrift, located immediately west of new gallery.
The news is finally out [Express] (with public confirmation) that Connor Contemporary is relocating from Dupont to the 1300 block of Florida Ave NE. They closed a couple of months back & are currently transforming the space to meet their needs. With a little luck we may see the gallery up and running sometime in spring. The numbers I've heard (I believe the article's numbers only cover indoor space) fall around 12,000 sqft. That includes an outdoor space slated for use as a sculpture gallery and possible staging ground for multimedia events. This is not only the largest visual arts development in the H Street NE area, but huge news in its own right. The 12,000sqft site will (as the Express points out) make this the largest commercial gallery in DC. Huge news. Enjoy!

Photo by Richard Layman (creative commons). The long defunct Quick Stop lies immediately to the east of the new gallery.

District to Pay $1.2 Million in Hit and Run

The District, without admitting wrong doing, has agreed to pay $1.2 million to the family of two young children killed by a driver who ran a red light at 12th & Florida Avenue. The man had been involved in a drug transaction a few blocks down the street when police arrived and he subsequently sped off in his car hoping to elude police. After hitting the children the driver, Eric Palmer, jumped out of his car and fled on foot. He was apprehended nearby and later claimed that his brakes had failed. The accident took place September 11, 2004.

WP: Deadly Fire on Florida

Here's more information from the Post on the fire that killed an elderly woman on Florida Avenue early yesterday. The fire was at 1260 Florida Ave.

Sometime I Feel Old

Florida Ave & Orren.

Get Your White Christmas Here

Fire @Black Super Market Guts Store

Pre-fire shot of the building.
Fire Damage to the upper floors was not visible through windows, though I'm sure there will be significant damage to the floor of the 2nd floor unit because the ceiling of the store appeared to be destroyed. The fire started around 4am when no one was in the building. The shop was completely destroyed. The fire burned appears to have burned most intensely near the east facing window with signifigant damage also visible on the southern wall. The cause of the fire is not yet known. No one was was harmed in the fire. A crew is working on boarding up the windows and plans to move into the basement with flashlights to look at the electrical situation. The store's owner, who is also the owner of the building, said he was insured, but he had lost many personal items in the fire. He has worked at the store for decades and he used to display some photos there, including a shot of President Clinton visiting Union Station, and an old (circa 1910) photo of a previous store located in the same space. The owner, Walter, had just finished a renovation of the building earlier this year. The Black Super Market is located at the corner of 13th & Florida.

A pre-fire shot of the window where the fire burned most intensely.