Holiday Round-Up: Myths, Condos, and Sandwiches at a Gas Station?

As we head into the Christmas break, 14thandyou will be taking a little hiatus as well, mainly to catch up on sleep and sanity. In the meantime, here's a little reading material to get you through the cold (and snow filled?) days ahead:

U Street Girl writes about Fast Gourmet, a new sandwich shop (!) located at the gas station at 14th and W. All of y'all who've been clamoring for a decent sandwich shop in the area, head over there and let us know what you think. U Street Girl seems sold on the Chivito.

WeLoveDC has some fun busting some common DC-related myths. Did people in Georgetown really rise up to keep the underclass out of their neighborhood by scuttling plans for a Metro station there? Did Pierre L'Enfant and other early DC planners have it in for John Jay? Do we have more speakers of foreign tongues than comparable cities? Head over to WeLoveDC and find out.

Remember the Nehemiah Center--the strip mall along 14th Street between Belmont and Chapin that was bulldozed in 2008 to make way for a new mixed-use development? And has been nothing more than a vacant, rock-strewn lot ever since? Well, DCMud is reporting that they're pushing dirt around over there now. While stressing that this does not mean that construction is imminent, it is undoubtedly a positive sign for a long-stalled project.

DCMud also has another hot tip: construction equipment has finally arrived at the 7th and S site of Progression Place (formerly Broadcast Center One).

Further on the development front, DC Metrocentric takes a look at a potential new design for Cardozo High School.

The always-contentious issue of DC's height limit (a great topic for some mythbusting if ever there was one) gets some attention from the City Paper's Lydia DePillis. 30 story office towers in Chevy Chase? Frank Winstead would have a coronary.

Contradicting the notion that it's all doom-and-gloom for the 14th Street arts community, Borderstan profiles Loft Gallery, the latest addition to the neighborhood arts community. (Oh, and don't forget the lighting of the community holiday tree.)

On that note, here's hoping for a white Christmas for everyone (even though I'm hearing that's increasingly less likely).

Back From Holiday: Around the Blogosphere

Hello everyone, and apologies for the lack of updates around here recently. Between the holiday and lots of family-related stuff, there just hasn't been a lot of time for neighborhood stuff. One of the explanations for the recent lull in posts is that Mrs. 14thandyou recently completed her graduate school coursework in elementary education. We're very proud of her, and are thankful that there are people out there like her who are willing to put up with the little brats.


With that aside, we're pleased to bring you some interesting tidbits recently from around what the beloved former senator from Alaska referred to as "the series of tubes":

Borderstan has the story on an arrest and charge in the recent stabbing death of a Silver Spring man on 9th Street. (Also, check out Borderstan's new layout--it's pretty snazzy.)

DC Metrocentric has a great shot of the building at 14th and T that is set to become furniture retailer Room and Board, from its days as an auto showroom. Model Ts for everyone!

U Street Girl has the story about a new deli coming in at a long-abandoned spot at 12th and S streets. Interestingly, the owner appears to be the former head of a DC charter school who did some time for his involvement in a computer theft ring.

D.C. Foodies discovers poutine at ChurchKey. How do the Quebecois say "My arteries have the need of the Drano?"

Should DC relax its height restriction? That is the question posed by DC Mud, who looks at the way other cities--such as Paris--have integrated tall structures into their cityscapes while maintaining their unique skylines. One neighborhood suggested as a potential future home for 40 story buildings is Chevy Chase. 'Tis a mighty shame Frank Winstead is no longer on the ANC in order to protest that one.