Sunday, June 15, 2008

Hold Out

Hold out against development

As economic development has changed the cityscape in Washington, many older rowhouses and residences have been torn down to make way for high-rise, high-priced condominium living. Every once in a while, though, someone resists being bought out by developers. A few years ago, the owner of a family business on Massachusetts Avenue did just that. Unlike others, he refused to be bought out, so the developers had to build around his rowhouse. The result is the picture above. Rumor has it, the rowhouse owner is planning to reopen his family's pizza business in the building.

P.S. I'm letting my photography blog get away from me. I'm going to attempt to only post one large photo per day and put the rest in thumbnails, particularly if there's a special exhibit, unusual monument, or new city I've seen that I really want to call to your attention. Also, three days a week I do double posts: Sundays, Mondays, and Saturdays. I certainly have more than enough pictures to continue doing what I'm doing, but I need to focus on getting my professional resume writing and editing business up and running, especially since the bills aren't paying themselves. Darn bills! Besides, as the saying goes, "More isn't always better, Linus. It's just more." (And if you can name the movie that line came from, I'll be very, very impressed.)

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 6/08

10 comments:

NG said...

Prepare to be impressed... or not... because it's one of my all time favorite movies. However, I prefer the original with Audrey Hepburn and My Bogie.

LG said...

I'll bet if they opened a pizza place, they'd make a killing. Maybe I'm just saying that because a slice sounds really good right now.

And I love that movie! I thought the remake was decent, but I'll always love the original.

USelaine said...

It really appeals to the spirit of standing up to bullies we all admire. It also reminds me of a children's book I had, probably called "The Little House" or something, where the urban darkness encroached, etc. A wonderful thing to have spotted and posted.

The Artful Eye said...

Damn those bills. Janet you've been too kind to us for so long with all these wonderful images. This is time consuming. A girls gotta do, what a girls gotta do.

Sabrina- I own the original, never saw the remake.

Here's to the pizza parlour! Love this pic. That would be me. I'd be the one who wouldn't budge creating the great 'pizza by the slice' standoff. I would create a large sculpted potted plant with very tall flowers and place it on my rooftop. I'd want to appear big.:)

Janet Kincaid said...

NG: I'm very impressed! I like the older version, too, because I adore Audrey Hepburn. The newer version was okay if you could take Harrison Ford out of it.

LG: I think it was a pizza place before all the development came along. I'll have to check on that, though. What I do know is, developers offered the family a very, very hefty sum (in the millions) and they refused to be bought! When they reopen, I'm going for a slice. Wanna come along?

USElaine: I have that book, too. It's called, as you correctly remember, "The Little House" and it's by Virginia Lee Burton. I have a copy in my library; I found it a few years ago on Amazon, I think.

Andrea: I know, dammit all! Being an adult can really suck sometimes! Most of my posts for June are already photographed and written, so I'm thinking for July I'm going to back to single photos and try for minimal text. I have so much fun with this blog, though, it's hard. Maybe I should start selling some of my photos and then it would be okay to devote as much photography and text to it as I do. Hm....

LG said...

Yes! I want a slice of cheese, East-coast style so I can fold it up when I eat it.

Janet Kincaid said...

LG: That's the best way to eat it, isn't it? Even if we can't get some from this place, I know one or two places that could serve up the kind of slice you're looking for. How's next Saturday looking?

Maya said...

I love that he didn't sell! Poor little building nestled in between those gigantic ones.

hmmm, that quote sounds mighty familiar.

Bev said...

Peanuts - The Movie.

Janet Kincaid said...

Maya: Me, too! Reminds me of a story out of China where I homeowner did the same thing in Shanghai, I think. I'll have to see if I can find the story. Love your quote. Apparently you've read the same book mentioned earlier in the comments?


Bev: I'll have to check that one out!