An 18-wheeler traveling down Massachusetts Avenue NW this morning found itself in a bit of a tight squeeze when its driver attempted the underpass at Thomas Circle. more ›

One of the many embassies that lives on Massachusetts Avenue in the Dupont Circle neighborhood, the Uzbekistan Embassy cuts out of the stretch as a Beaux Arts beauty, with limestone balustrades, windows with corbels and guttae. The mansion once belonged to a coal magnate who drowned with the Titanic, and later became the Canadian embassy, now the Uzbekistan Embassy. more ›

According to the Post, a gas leak at 1000 Massachusetts Avenue has forced an evacuation of the headquarters of the Cato Institute. The leak has also closed off Massachusetts Avenue between 9th and 11th Streets NW to vehicular traffic. The building was reportedly evacuated as a precaution. more ›

The Post reports that several buildings along Massachusetts Avenue NW had to be evacuated this afternoon, after a construction crew hit a gas line and caused a high-pressure leak. Authorities have temporarily closed Massachusetts between 9th and 12th Streets NW. Drivers and pedestrians would be best served to avoid the area this afternoon, if possible. more ›

The Edmund Burke statue on Massachusetts Avenue and 11th Street NW is a perfect case for the Revisiting Series. Not only is the face on the bronze statue unfamiliar, but even if a passerby—vehicular or pedestrian—did somehow recognize Burke’s mug (or could catch a glimpse of the “BVRKE” on the base), they would still most likely be curious as to why one of history’s most vocal anti-revolutionaries has been immortalized in the capital city of one of history’s most famous revolutions. more ›

We kid. Kind of. According to the Washington Business Journal, the Uline Ice Arena and the surrounding area may be the next frontier in development in the District. The arena, which is just north of Union Station and hosted the first Beatles concert in the U.S. in 1964, is being looked at by developer Douglas Jemal as the anchor for a new entertainment district along the lines of the popular East End/Verizon Center area. While... more ›

Samuel Gompers is one of those names you vaguely remember from AP U.S. History, along with The Grange and the Know-Nothings. They fit in somehow, but you don't exactly remember why. While he may not be on the tips of people's tongues, he does have a rather large monument on Massachusetts Avenue NW near Mount Vernon Square. Gompers, born in London in 1850, was a major figure in the American labor movement, organizing and... more ›

Say hello to your old friend labor, D.C.-- not that these hearty climbers didn't work hard to scale a rock and capture an oddly captivating shot. Whether you spent the holiday laboring to keep sand out of your bathing suit on the beach or perfectly timing bathroom breaks during a Law and Order marathon at home, we hope you had a nice break. To kick off the roundup with some happy news news, it... more ›

MONDAY The perniciousness of apartheid, as well as its utter inanity, is well distilled in the person of Sandra Laing. While born to white parents, her darker complexion caused authorities to classify her as black at age nine, then white again at age eleven. For people too casually comfortable with discrimination, Judith Stone’s account of Laing’s life, When She Was White: The True Story of a Family Divided by Race [in South Africa], is a... more ›

Another interesting photo is brought to you today by behemoth condo buildings. Flickr user krwaltondc gives the David and Goliath perspective to this little hold-out pizza joint facing down the developing giants on either side on Massachusetts Avenue. EXIF.
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Ouch. For anyone who recently moved into one of the many apartment buildings rising along Massachusetts Avenue between Mt. Vernon Square and Chinatown and read the Post yesterday, it may have been a bit of a shock to find the city's newspaper of record heaping criticism on the developments. In an article gracing the front page of the Style section and titled "The Mediocre Mile," Post writer Philip Kennicott left little debate over what he... more ›

The many neighborhood listservs in the District provide an additional way for members of the community to communicate, share problems, offer advice, and otherwise detail the daily ups and downs of their street, their local park, or their neighbors. The sheer amount of exchanges offer a treasure trove of material, so much so that the City Paper's blog, City Desk, dedicates a bi-weekly feature to it. This gem came across my local listserv today, which... more ›

Being a pedestrian city, DC has its share of pedestrian accidents, with about 3,000 hit a year. The city has been trying to make sure it's safe to walk, in part by installing 1,300 pedestrian countdown signals and starting a pedestrian safety program. However, some of those countdown signals seem to be malfunctioning. A few months ago, I was walking at 16th and U when the countdown signal seemed to skip from about 15 to... more ›

It's somewhat ironic if you think about it -- a celebration of the country's interstate highway system in a train station. But that's where the District Department of Transportation has chosen to mark the 50th anniversary of the interstate highways that helped changed the course of the United States. more ›

WAMU news is reporting that there is a fire at the escalator in Union Station, preventing Metro trains from stopping there. Metro's website is repoting the station as closed. Buses are running from Judiciary Square and New York Avenue into the Station. It doesn't appear as if regular trains or the rest of Union Station is affected at this time. Here's hoping everyone has already left work! more ›

Back around the beginning of the year, Wonkette reported that the men's room over at Media Matters' Massachusetts Avenue office had reached a level of toxicity so outrageous, that the building management felt compelled to take some time out to yell at one of the organization's female employees. This prompted a round of company-wide emails which instructed the men, in no uncertain terms, to get their act together. Sadly, in the three months that have... more ›

Thanks to Wonkette for the tip that a "Stand Up for Denmark!" rally scheduled for lunchtime tomorrow outside the Danish Embassy looks to be a star-studded affair for the wacky world of D.C. political punditry. more ›

TUESDAY Nextbook brings the hot and the hilarious to the DCJCC tonight, gathering Jonathan Ames (Wake Up, Sir), Lynn Harris (BreakupGirl.net, Miss Media) and Neal Pollack (Never Mind the Pollacks) for an “evening of erotic escapades.” The ideal way to get your J-Date in the mood. Tickets are available by calling 888-621-2230 between noon and 4 p.m., or can be purchased online at Nextbook. 1529 16th Street, NW, 7:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY A wise man once... more ›

We didn't mean to, but it seems that we set off an interesting discussion about new names for the city's neighborhoods. As we mentioned this morning, real estate prices in NoMa are fast rising. For those of you unaware of a neighborhood called "NoMa" within the District, it's a large swath of land north of Massachusetts Avenue and east of North Capitol Street, fanning out from Union Station and encompassing a once industrial wasteland that... 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 ›

Driving up Massachusetts Avenue beyond Dupont Circle and Sheridan Circle one quickly comes across Embassy Row -- the expanse of real estate stretching up towards the National Cathedral occupied primarily by the embassies and residences of the many countries that maintain diplomatic relations with the U.S. And while the houses and buildings speak of stately tradition, what happens within may not. Law students at American University's Washington College of Law are taking to the courts... more ›

The scope of Hurricane Katrina's damage just seems to worsen as the days go by -- broken levees multiply, flooding increases, evacuations intensify, the damage remains incalculable. We here at DCist will do our best to provide information on benefits and fundraising events for the relief efforts, so if you have heard of anything or are planning something yourself, please let us know. We have already reported on one benefit occurring tomorrow, and have just been informed of a second: more ›

You all certainly know about Georgetown's Blue buses. Now add another color to the mix: the Red buses. Officially known as the Downtown Circulator buses, we might as well get the unofficial ball rolling and start calling them the Red buses, since inevitably, people in D.C. and tourists alike prefer their transportation options color-coded. Pity the colorblind in our civic ranks. (And should we assume that the July introduction of the Red buses is supposed to be a ploy to get more transit dollars from Red State lawmakers still hammering out the final details on the transportation reauthorization bill on Capitol Hill as they're staring down a potential veto threat from President Bush? We kid, of course.) more ›

That's exactly what you'll see if you frequently come upon Massachusetts Avenue and 20th Street NW. Otherwise, the word "Kossuth," which we read somewhere was pronounced "co-shoot," might not be a familiar one. The word refers to Lajos Kossuth, one of several Eastern European champions of liberty and democracy celebrated within a few city blocks northwest of Dupont Circle, and arguably the most quarrelsome and conflicted of them all.... more ›

Of course. Bike to Work Day, in which this DCist is participating, had to fall on the one day this week where rain is a foregone conclusion. Hopefully a little precipitation won't dissuade area cyclists, though. In this rainy DDOT traffic cam shot of Massachusetts Avenue and Whitehaven Street, it doesn't look that there are many bikers out and about this morning. Did you bike through the rain? Congress Seeks to Overturn D.C. Gun Laws:... more ›

WMATA Plans Extra Rail Service for Saturday. There will be extra trains available before and after Saturday's Wizards and Nationals games, WMATA has announced. Expect crowding in the evening because the Nats play at 7:05 p.m., with the Wizards playing at the MCI Center an hour later. And for the first time, WMATA will run shuttle buses from RFK (at Lot. No. 3) to Union Station following a Nats game ... but only as... more ›

Tomorrow is the dreaded day on which tax returns are due. But for District residents filing at the last minute, the grudging march to the post office is coupled with the indignity of knowing that the 600,000 some-odd residents do not enjoy full Congressional representation. more ›

British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour Party boasts that one of its many accomplishments is that 200,000 more workers are now in recognized trade unions than were in the past -- yet the 630 non-diplomatic employees at British embassies and consulates in the United States may soon be denied that very right. more ›

Today will be partly cloudy with highs in the 40s. If you came to our happy hour thanks for stopping by, if not, go see what you missed! If you're a blogger the MeetUp.com D.C. blogger meetup for March is this Wednesday, and with a couple notable RSVP's already promises to be an interesting time. This weekend we took a walk around Second Street NE and reported on the controversy swirling around the FEC and... more ›

A LONG time ago, some one told me that the large concrete air shaft for I-395, just north of Massachusetts Avenue, is jokingly referred to as the "Nixon Memorial." (It is a large obelisk looking concrete rectangle, with a mural painted on the side.) Do others refer to it as the Nixon Memorial? Or was that just one person's joke? It seems sort of appropriate... more ›