There was a serious traffic backup at the intersection of New York and Florida Avenues in the District this morning -- though this was hardly normal rush hour gridlock. more ›

The big traffic pattern realignment at New York Avenue and Florida Avenue in Northeast that was supposed to be implemented on Friday, will now be delayed until June 11 starting around 9 p.m., weather permitting, according to the District Department of Transportation. In case you need a refresher on how the traffic flow will work, click here. more ›

Sad but true: the Post has some great coverage of the closing night at Common Share on Friday. The bar, located on 18th Street NW south of the Adams Morgan strip and just north of Florida Avenue, was one of the cheaper places in the city, with beers going for $2. While there are rumors that the bar may reopen elsewhere, possibly the H Street NE strip, we'll sure miss the inexpensive brew and laid... more ›

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. I'll admit, it isn’t easy for me to talk about crime in the District with many of my friends, particularly those who live in the suburbs or outside the metro area entirely. In the minds of those who don’t often visit, Washington is still the murder capital of the United States, still caught in crack wars, still a place into which one... more ›

This post by DCist contributor Rawn James, Jr. The goal of DCist’s 5 O’clock Meetings column is simple: We let you know about happy hours that you need to know about so you can make the call when your friends get stuck in the endless "but where should we go?" conversation. This week we visited a happy hour that happens only once a week and offers no food specials, but is still worth the trip... more ›

Flickr user IntangibleArts caught some demolition in process over at 14th Street and Florida Avenue NW yesterday. As he notes, the giant Comcast satellite cluster that's been occupying the corner was mowed down to celebrate the announcement for yet another behemoth condo building, joining the many that line 14th from U Street to Columbia Heights these days. However you feel about condos, a little demo is always fun to watch, and you might be able to catch the tail end of bulldozers today — they were still going at it on my way to work this morning, moving the rest of the satellite parts from the corner into the huge mangled mess you see here. more ›

What is it about historic D.C. firehouses that spark culinary ambition? A pair of in-the-works restaurants aim to address this burning question. As Express recently reported, a pre-World War II firehouse in the Bloomingdale neighborhood is slated to become an eatery called EC-12, whose name references the old Engine Company 12 that used to occupy the building. Architects are currently working on building plans, after which developers will be able to apply for a building... more ›

By fashion contributor Rachel Cothran. Find more of her writing and street photography at her web site Project Beltway. In a city where power tends to dictate fashion, instead of the other way around, we wonder: is it possible to see beyond the suits to find some unique styles in the nation's capital? Each week we take a glimpse at style in Washington, presenting a literal and figurative snapshot of Washingtonians looking sharp — and... more ›

If Alexandria officials are to be believed there has already been some impressive upside to their recruitment of the Patent and Trademark Office from the canyons of Crystal City to Carlyle, a neighborhood west of Old Town and north of the Capital Beltway. "We are now the intellectual capital of the world,'' says Stephanie Landrum, acting executive director of Alexandria's economic development office, according to the Washington Post. In addition to the over 7,000 employees... more ›

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood issues. I know that certain, wonderfully stubborn organizations continue to press for an underground tunnel through Tyson's Corner. It's a very sensible thing to pursue, and I don't blame them at all. Still, there are advantages to running your rail above ground, if circumstances permit it. The view, for one thing. Simply by riding the Red Line east three stops out of Union Station, you... more ›

Busy city streets like Columbia Road, Florida Avenue, or Benning Road can sometimes feel like a real-life game of Frogger. With pedestrians crossing at all angles, cyclists zooming past, and drivers dodging delivery trucks, it is a wonder more accidents don't occur among all the chaos. Perhaps city-dwellers have learned to adapt, staying alert and expecting the unexpected. Maybe they are just lucky. However, as urbanization reaches farther out into the metro area, pedestrian collisions... more ›

While we are happy to see cool bands who play D.C. offer up some of their favorite post-show food spots, as +/- did for Pitchfork this week, we'd like to suggest that there's more to life than Ben's Chili Bowl. In fact, much more, in terms of taste and variety. While the institution on U Street was hot long before the "new U" was a part of our vocabulary, and is full of multicultural ambience... more ›

Anyone living within two miles of Dupont Circle couldn't have missed the police lockdown last night. Starting shortly after 9 p.m., D.C. police cruisers took positions along Connecticut Avenue up to the intersection with Florida Avenue, eventually shutting down all traffic — pedestrian and vehicular — without giving an explanation as to why. Two helicopters loudly hovered overhead, while overly anxious police officers screamed loudly at anyone who dared cross the street (a man walking... more ›

With Restaurant Week over, we need another excuse to celebrate. And why not Clinton’s big 6-0? Since he's not too keen on turning the "new 40," we have a duty to live it up for him. DCist proposes a Bill Clinton restaurant crawl on which we'll visit his regular D.C. haunts. Lucky for us, his taste for greasy, down-home grub means we won't need to book many reservations through Open Table. more ›

Last Sunday, Michael Grunwald took to the pages of the Post to discuss, and malign, the District's building height restrictions. His piece is an interesting read, but Grunwald's analysis of how the restriction has affected the city is fairly spotty, as Mark Jenkins notes in a City Desk post from yesterday. For one thing, it's difficult to say that height restrictions have created a space crunch in the city, when for so long so much... more ›

Our readers took some pretty awesome photos of the fireworks celebrations last night, but Flickr user aurelgrooves' two-second exposure of the D.C. cityscape, taken from a roofdeck on Florida Avenue, has a depth and glow to it that reminds me of those freakish Kinkade paintings, but in a good way. Unlike her Flickr buddy icon, which kind of freaks me out in the other way. The photo's EXIF data is here.... more ›

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Perhaps someone is listening to DCist commenters. Local food and other stuff delivery service DCSnacks.com has expanded its delivery area, which now covers most of downtown and Dupont but will soon go as far east as 3rd Street NW and as far north as Kalorama Road and V Street. Looking at their delivery map, available on their FAQ, we notice that they stop just short of a steep hill along 13th Street that climbs from... more ›

Written by DCist contributor Andrew Wiseman. Today, Northwest D.C. is the scene of battles over gentrification and parking. In 1864, however, it was the scene of another kind of battle: an invasion by Southern troops. Fort Stevens, hidden on Quackenbos Street NW between 13th and Georgia, is a pretty unremarkable place. A few steps from the Georgia Avenue Thrift Store and a 70 bus stop, it’s basically a strangely-shaped hill (the fort’s earthworks) with a... more ›

Franklin Foer, a longtime writer for The New Republic, was recently named editor of the venerable political magazine. A fourth generation Washingtonian, he's authored a book called, "How Soccer Explains the World," (which we heartily recommend), and his writing has appeared in a host of publications, from The New York Times to Spin. Mr. Foer was good enough to take a few of our questions, on blogging, city life, and those cursed Chelski footballers. What's... more ›

First, bricks being tossed at bikes, now pellet guns being fired at school buses. What's around the corner for pedestrians? As reported by NBC 4, police said the shooting incident happened this morning right before 9 a.m. at First Street and Florida Avenue in Northwest. No injuries were reported for the four kids on board, who ranged in age from 6 to 9 years, though bus driver Richard Smith was noted as saying that the... more ›

This post was written by Bobby Cox, who blogs at Deaf DC. Gallaudet University is located on Florida Avenue in Northeast. When I first visited D.C. in 1997, an earnest young man described Gallaudet this way: "It's an Oreo! You have the mixed, predominantly black population around the University and a creamy mass of white, deaf people in the middle!" Unfortunately for some, that creamy mass in the middle is ripe for the taking. Among... more ›

After teasing locals for months with a simple sign out front and a bare-bones Web site, de vinos -- a wine shop at the strategically located intersection of 18th Street, U Street, and Florida Avenue NW in Adams Morgan -- finally popped its cork last week with a very soft opening. How soft? "We really decided to open early because so many people were knocking on the door," said Ernesto Martinez, a wine distributor from... more ›

We spend plenty of time complaining about the state of the region's public transit network, be it delays on Metrorail, unpredictable arrival times for Metrobuses, or just too much traffic along area roadways. But at least we don't have to hitchhike to work. Today the Post features an entertaining feature on John Schindel, a Stafford County man whose decade-old DUI conviction has left him at the mercy of fellow motorists to get him to and... more ›

Welcome to the December edition of Three Stars. Tomorrow, we'll be reviewing the Lucky Bastards, and on Friday, we'll bring you coverage of LeJeune. Today, we talk to The Bonapartes, and discuss their new EP. The Bonapartes So, DCist last saw The Bonapartes at an under-the-radar benefit gig in the front room of a Florida Avenue townhouse, where the lo-fi sound setup had our ears ringing and the advertised open bar was a couple of... more ›

Here at DCist, we're not trying to break music news. We're not making an effort to tell you what's going to be driving the indie kids crazy this time next year. But when it happens, well, we'd be lying if we said we weren't pleased. Now for the agenda. Monday: You know that if flakes fall, half of us will be doing our damnednest to stay away from roads, where flurries turn the normally competent... more ›

Written by DCist contributor Rob Birgfeld While stories are often traded about "that guy" who made millions because he was ahead of the real estate curve, few match that of a Brazilian family interested in little more that auto repair. Just one year after riots decimated much of downtown Washington in 1968, Pedro Petrovich opened an auto repair shop on 13th Street, one block north of Logan Circle. Soon after, he moved Petrovich Auto Body... more ›

With the double benefit of a long weekend and sunny skies, area residents return to work with spirits and energy restored. But that feeling may be fleeting -- transportation experts warn that the first Tuesday after Labor Day is often referred to as "Terrible Traffic Tuesday," or T3 for short. Sandwiched somewhere between Manic Monday and T.G.I.F., T3 is the day that workers hit the roads, students at local universities return to campus, and school... more ›

Don't get us wrong, we like public art initiatives. But this DCist (and we know many others) have grown somewhat tired of the animal-themed public art/charity fundraiser displays. We think they may have run their course. Sure, Pandamania and the Party Animals were great ways to showcase the talents of local artists, but in a city that also serves as a world capital, we would hope that there would be a little more investment in... more ›