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| Tom Green, "Puzzle," 1987 |
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| Eric Finzi, "Hot and Cold," 2009 |
Mark your calendars: on Wednesday, February 8, six Shaw galleries will host open houses and the Convention Center will offer a rare evening guided tour of its extensive art collection! View the press release here and RSVP/share on Facebook here. A night of arts including a tour of the Convention Center’s art collection and open houses at six galleries(Washington, DC) Today, Shaw Main Streets, Events DC, and ANC2C04 Commissioner Rachelle Nigro announced they will host the inaugural “Shaw Art Walk,” a rare evening tour of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center’s extensive art collection and open houses at six notable galleries. This special event will take place on Wednesday, February 8th beginning at 6:30 p.m.Ralph Brabham, President of the Board of Directors of Shaw Main Streets, noted “Shaw is the epicenter of arts in Washington, DC. Anchored by the Walter E. Washington Convention Center – which boasts the largest public art collection in D.C. – numerous galleries opened in the historic neighborhood in the past decade, all within walking distance of one another. This evening will be a celebration of our rich cultural resources.”The galleries include Civilian Art Projects (1019 7th St., NW), Contemporary Wing (1250 9th St., NW), Lamont Bishop Gallery (1314 9th St., NW), Long View Gallery (1234 9th St., NW), Maruka Gallery and Boutique (1300 9th St., NW), and Touchstone Gallery (901 New York Ave., NW). Galleries will remain open until 9 p.m. for the Shaw Art Walk. Maps and descriptions of the galleries’ shows will be available at each gallery and at the conclusion of the Convention Center tour.The Convention Center tour will start from the Mount Vernon Square entrance to the Convention Center and will last approximately one hour. The tour will start promptly at 6:30 p.m., and participants are encouraged to arrive at the Convention Center at 6:15 p.m.
Following the event at 9 p.m., participants are encouraged to enjoy the art of the cocktail at The Passenger which is located at 1021 7th St., NW.
The National Park Service is proposing to permanently install two exterior interpretive wayside panels in front of the Dr. Carter G. Woodson Historic Site in the Shaw community. The site was named after Dr. Woodson the “Father of Black History” and is located in a heavily trafficked urban community near Rhode Island Avenue, the Washington Convention Center, and several neighborhood schools. The panels will stand on the sidewalk in an unobstructed location in front of the home of Dr. Carter G. Woodson and the future visitor complex area at 1540 9th Street which the NPS currently owns and plans to restore and operate as a staffed park unit with tours and visitor service.
The two panels are to be placed in front of the historic site on the sidewalk, in approximate alignment with the projection of the existing entry stairs. Two alternative locations for the panels are being considered. The first location is centered between the two window bays in front of the Woodson home. The second location is centered between the two window bays in the adjacent NPS property at 1540 9th Street, NW, which would be in between the historic home and the future entrance to the visitor services facility to be located at 1542 9th Street, NW. Because it will be several years before the visitor services facility is opened, the NPS prefers the first alternative, to locate the signs directly in front of the Woodson home, so that there is a more direct and straightforward connection to the historic home.
This project seeks to provide a limited interpretive experience for pedestrians, visitors and the tour groups who visit the site so that they may understand how Dr. Woodson, the Shaw community, and the organization he founded, Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, changed the nation and world. Until the home is completely restored and opened to the public, these wayside panels will interpret the site’s significance. The National Park Service hopes to install the panels between the second week of January 2012 before the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or by the end of February 2012, Black History Month, which Woodson started in 1926.
The proposed flats would take the form of a traditional projecting bay rowhouse. Three stories tall and three bays wide, it would be clad in limestone panels of large coursing dimension. A two story projection bay of limestone and composite panel would provide a balcony space for the third floor. The façade cap is a collection of simple flat runs. At grade, a shallow areaway will provide light and egress for the basement rooms. A small penthouse, setback 20 feet from the front parapet, would provide access to rooftop decks both front and back.See report here (PDF).
Affordable pricing and ample parking 
