Drowsier Days of Washington, D.C.

Sometimes when I go to flea marts and various collectors' shows, there are pieces of Washington, D.C. ephemera that I cannot resist to buy. As a teen in the 1960s it was not unusual to visit our sleepy neighbor south of Baltimore on weekend nights because the legal drinking age was 18.   In Maryland at that time you had to be 21-years-old to sit and sip beer or wine on a barstool. So off we would go down route 295 for a night of drinking and getting lost on our way home. That was my first "adult" experience with our nation's capital. I never regarded it as a political hot spot in those days.  It was a town where people lived and worked and played despite having their traffic signals mounted on the side of the intersections. Pairing this experience with countless childhood school bus trips to the museums and monuments, I  regarded DC as a town for fun and shopping which was not Baltimore. And that's how I came to name my collage "Drowsier Days of D. C." It's familiar and it's what I know.

"Drowsier Days of D.C." (24" x 36")  mixed media on board 2014

That's the way I had it in my head until about 15-20 years ago when DC shed its heavy-eyed image with $5 parking lots for the wide-awake cosmopolitan scene with clattering construction sites.

The collage was an instant hit with visitors to my art show booth. There are various restaurants and clubs that represent a particular experience in the memories of many Washingtonians. Streetcar rides to Glen Echo, Griffith stadium or downtown hold a dear spot in the hearts of many. And I have also included some tv shows and personalities that we all tuned in to watch. People love to tell me their stories and I am eager to hear them. I sold the original collage recently, but I have poster size prints in my Etsy shop for sale for those who need to see this on their wall.

Adams Morgan Day - Art on Belmont

This Sunday, September 14,  I'll be exhibiting at Art on Belmont which is part of the Adams Morgan Day Celebration in Washington, D. C. The artists' section on Belmont opens at 10 a.m. while the festival begins at noon. The festival is located on 18th St. NW, between Florida Ave. and Columbia Rd. I am very excited to be showing and selling some of my new work--especially the DC Streetcars. My newest oil on panel is featured below. It's titled "DC Transit Penna & 2nd" and is 24" x 30". Stop by it should be a great day.

Glen Echo - DC Transit Attraction

"DC Transit Glen Echo" oil on canvas (30 x 40) 2014

The ads for Glen Echo which aired during the Captain Tugg show on WTTG-tv channel 5 were as close as I got to this Washington, DC area amusement park. Our parents said it was too far away and besides, we had Baltimore's Gwynn Oak Amusement Park. Well we missed a lot never having visited this splendid playground. It had classier attractions than Gwynn Oak including a  sparkling swimming pool about which I fantasized. So I can visit the park these days in my imagination looking at one of my latest paintings. I can almost hear the streetcar door open and close while the riders are screaming with glee on the big wooden roller coaster.

Like many electric parks Glen Echo gave a welcome boost to streetcar ridership on the weekends. I discovered this clipping in a DC Transit Brochure that I have in my collection. You are encouraged to "take the Number 20 car marked Cabin John anywhere along Pennsylvania Avenue west of Peace Monument" in order to get to Glen Echo. The former PCC operators of this line like to reminisce about hurtling along the streetcar tracks over the  Cabin John Bridge at the nearly top speed of 65 m.p.h.  What a great story they tell.

The park has been preserved in many ways. There are dances on weekends and an active arts organization with exhibits among the range of interests. The streetcar is also memorialized there but no tracks to fly over the Cabin John Bridge exist anymore.

Ding Ding

DC Transit - PCC Streetcars

For almost 100 years the District of Columbia, our nation’s capital, had a very successful streetcar line. The early cars were pulled on rails by horses until the introduction of electric streetcars at a later date. It was a first class operation with a large rolling stock of magnificently maintained PCC cars. I remember my father marveling about DC’s wonderful underground conduit collection (power source for the cars) which meant that the overhead wires were not necessary in the busiest parts of the city. The power was changed to overhead wires farther from the center of town. So when the trolley went out to Glen Echo Amusement Park for example the over head wires were called into service. That meant that the trolley pole was raised to meet the wires suspended from poles on the streets. It was an amazing sight to watch the switch.