2008 State of Dupont Circle

My fellow citizens, Dupont Circle is a neighborhood called to greatness. And as the German poet Christian Hebbel said, "nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion."

Tonight I will review the accomplishments of the past year, along with other changes to the neighborhood.

The greatest center of change was on P Street, where the street itself was torn up and relaid, along with new sidewalks and light fixtures. P Street has a near- ideal mix of uses, with residential towers next to hotels, and a variety of shops and services on the street level, along with some of the city's most renowned restaurants. It is also blessed with a narrow two-lane road, giving it a more neighborly feel than Connecticut Avenue. And the majority of businesses are local, with Starbucks and Subway as exceptions.

As always, the occupants of the street saw many changes. A large project at 20th & P displaced two of the best stores, The Third Day and True Value Hardware. Custom doughnut shop the Fractured Prune closed, but was quickly replaced with Aioli Meditalian Gourmet. DC Hot was replaced with Goody's. 21P was replaced with Café Tropé. Mimi's was rebranded as Stars Bistro & Bar.

Change also came to Connecticut Avenue and its side streets. Famed hangout the Childe Harold closed its doors on 20th Street. Wine bar Veritas opened nearby on Florida Avenue. Five Guys opened a burger joint in the old Dupont Silver space. Studio 2000 closed shop, with the HRC resources center moving into the location. Conner Contemporary, one of Dupont's premier art galleries, announced a move to northeast DC.

17th Street suffered some large losses, as two clothing shops left for new space on 14th Street. Circle Bistro and Universal Gear joined Pop and Redeem in their new neighborhood, creating a cluster of clothing shops. But new life came in as well on 17th St, with Picasso Gallery taking over the old Tapeheadz space. And soon a yoga studio/wellness center will open in the old Pena supermarket. CyberStop cafe freshened up and became Cafe 17.

South of the circle had some changes of note as well. The Written Word closed its Connecticut Avenue store and re-opened across from Whole Foods. Clothing shop Blue & Green opened. Dragonfly closed. Candey Hardware closed. Graffiti closed. Irish pub James Hoban's replaced Cloud. Vapiano opened. And most recently, the AMC Loews Dupont 5 played its last movie.

On 18th Street, Red Onion Records opened, and Peruvian restaurant Inti replaced Caravan Grill.

On U Street, pet shop Companions closed, and was soon replaced was ecology-minded shop Greater Goods. Health Bar was rebranded as Cafe 1612.

A line from a Walt Whitman poem was engraved inside the entrance to the Q Street Metro station.

As always, there was a flurry of activity around 14th and U. Dakota Cowgirl (and Ramrod) shut down. In Whole Foods Market, Izakaya shut down, but will soon be replaced with a mini Raku. FedEx/Kinko's opened up. Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams replaced the old Storehouse shop. ACKC Chocolate cafe opened up. Universal Gear and Circle Boutique opened up. A welcome new store for me especially was The Bike Rack, nestled snuggly on Q Street. Coffeshop Sparky's closed down, but is now home to wine bar Cork. Big Monkey, a comic book shop, opened up. New 2 U closed. Hunted House opened. North of U, chic lounge Marvin opened.

The home of Source Theatre was the subject of much debate, as the theatre company went bankrupt and sold the building to Bedrock Billiards. After a flurry of outside maneuverings, Source was reconstituted and the building is now slated for a major renovation, and will remain a performing arts venue.

On U Street, Rckcndy opened an adorable housewares shop. CakeLove added a cupcake bar. Station 9 replaced Cada Vez. Further east, sports bar Nellie's opened, shortly followed by gay club Town.

Adams Morgan also had a predictable round of changes, the most notable of which were the addition of M'Dawg Haute Dogs and a new outpost for Alberto's pizza. A new bus service, the Rehobus, was started, going directly from Adams Morgan to Rehoboth.

In Georgetown, my prayers came true when we finally got a Le Pain Quotidian, on M Street. This beautiful shop should serve as a model for local entrepreneurs, for 14th Street and beyond. And, proving that God likes Georgetown, my other prayers were answered when it was announced an Apple store would be coming to Wisconsin Avenue. And progress was made on the new Georgetown Waterfront Park, which should be a grand addition to the city, and help connect us to the Potomac River.

Downtown also saw its share of new development, though mostly in the form of national chains deigning to open in our city. Zara, Madame Tousaud's, and West Elm opened in the Woodies building, and hip salad joint Chop'd opened on 7th Street.

As Jane Jacobs said, the point of cities is multiplicity of choice, so all new developments are welcome.

But there is more to life than shops and restaurants. Our public spaces serve to connect us all, and should be functional, clean, and inviting. Dupont Circle has a number of parks, none of which is ready to serve as a model. There has been talk of major improvements to Stead Park, by 17th and P, but no action. The two parks at S and T streets have also seen plans drawn up with no improvements made. Proposals have been made for the small park by 20th & Q, with a new tree the only visible sign of progress. Dupont's connection to Rock Creek Park, known as P Street Beach, is underused and not inviting.

And the park in the heart of neighborhood, Dupont Circle itself, continues to be treated almost as if it were merely a traffic island. Chocked off from the commercial streets by four lanes of traffic, the city's liveliest circle needs our attention. The plantings should be enhanced. The lighting should be designed to charm, not to ward off. The fountain's water flow should be increased. And most importantly, the fountain should be given underwater lights. It is absurd that a sculpture by Daniel Chester French should go unlit at night. I can't imagine such a significant memorial going unlit in Paris. I can't imagine it being unlit in New York. I can't imagine it being unlit in Peoria, or Dayton, or Tampa, or Denver, or Dallas, or Minneapolis, or any city that is able to realize what a treasure it is to have this gift from previous generations, this gift that we neglect, that we fail to capitalize on. Granted Washington is awash in monuments and memorials, the majority of which are similarly dark at night. Paris is known as the City of Light; can't that be a model for how we should treat our treasures at night?

A Maori proverb says "Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you." So we look forward to the new year, and the changes our neighborhood will go through. Party on, and be excellent to each other.

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