On the north end of the U.S. Capitol Grounds, there’s a red brick hexagonal patio with wrought iron ornamentation and a burbling fountain in the center. Michelle Delgado likes to go to that structure—called Summerhouse—to sit sometimes because, she says, “It’s always somehow 10 degrees cooler than anywhere else on a summer day.”

That’s also how she wants her in-the-works digital magazine to feel, so she named it after the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed spot. According to the Kickstarter page that’s funding the project, Delgado’s online publication Summerhouse will cover D.C.’s “DIY and underground culture.”

That means “anything that exists outside of traditional institutions,” says Delgado, 26, the magazine’s founder and editor in chief. (And a disclosure: Delgado has contributed to DCist.) “Any kind of creation that’s happening a little off the grid, or a little bit outside of a formal class or institution or something like that.” In other words, it’s about the concert series hosted in a living room, rather than the orchestral performance at the Kennedy Center, for example.

If funded, Summerhouse will release a package of reported stories from local D.C. writers. (Summerhouse is called a digital magazine, rather than a website, Delgado says, because she plans to release content in batches.) Among the stories in the first issue: a dive into the 13-year-strong circus variety show The DC Weirdo Show; a profile of local R&B duo BOOMscat, and a piece on the queer clothing swap Revel In It. Delgado herself is writing a story about a vinyl record cleaner developed by the director of the Museum of Science Fiction.

“I love these stories of scrappy people who are doing what they can with limited resources,” Delgado says. “But ultimately, I don’t want them to have to stay scrappy. I would love for people to find out about some of the people we’re covering and get involved or donate to their cause or help them find resources.”

Delgado herself is a former Atlantic reporter who spent time working at startups before taking freelance writing full time earlier this year. She’s been working to make Summerhouse happen since 2017, recruiting developers, designers, and a copy editor, and finding contributing writers and illustrators, all of whom are working on a freelance basis. Local newsletter 730DC is helping with promotion.

After about 20 days on Kickstarter, Summerhouse is a little more than $3,100 into its $7,500 funding goal. Delgado says that, if they reach their goal, most of the funds will go toward paying her contributors (most will get a flat rate of $50—“it’s definitely an indie rate,” she says). If funded, she expects Summerhouse’s first issue to be released in October.

Right now, she’s focused on putting the final touches on all the pieces for the first issue. After that, a sustainable future for the magazine remains unclear. Delgado’s vision is to release a batch of 10 stories four times per year, but for now—much like some of the scrappy operations Summerhouse might end up covering—“we’re kind of building the plane as we’re flying it.”

This post has been updated with the correct spelling for Frederick Law Olmsted’s name.