On March 23, the DC Historic Preservation Review Board will be holding a public hearing to consider whether to designate the Navy Yard Car Barn at 770 M Street (more popularly known as the "Blue Castle") as a historic landmark, and also to consider nominating it to the National Register of Historic Places. The hearing will be at 10 am, Room 220 South, 441 Fourth St. NW. (Remember, you can always check my Upcoming Events calendar to see what meetings, hearings, and other Near Southeast items of interest are happening.)

The Washington City Paper has a big article about the eminent domain proceedings for the land in the stadium footprint: "Wild Pitch."

In addition to the pictures I posted earlier from the site of the new baseball stadium, there's also new pictures now on my Capitol Hill Tower, DOT HQ, and 20 M Street pages. I've also got a few new shots and some additional information on the project at 801 Virginia Ave. (if you've been past there, you may have noticed that the buildings on the lot have been demolished.)

I hope I didn't jinx things, but on the off chance that construction on the new baseball stadium could actually begin in March (wouldn't that be a hoot?!?), I went for a nice long walk today in the beautiful weather and took what I presume are my final "before" pictures of the stadium neighborhood. The first pictures are of the perimeter of the site, which we'll be able to watch as it transforms from gritty industrial zone to demolished construction site to a stadium. The photos at the bottom of the page are of some of the businesses and buildings that have been the residents of these blocks off South Capitol Street but which will be soon replaced with bleachers, bases, bullpens, and uselessly exorbitant skyboxes. (You've got to take the good with the bad, I guess.) Anyway, enjoy the new photos. UPDATE: Oh, and by the way, I almost got arrested while taking them, as a DC policeman got all tense that I might possibly be photographing the Southeast Federal Center (which I wasn't). Because, you know, it's a government installation, and if I take pictures of it, the terrorists win. It's going to be so much fun having power-mad officers with nightsticks whacking baseball fans for daring to look at the east side of 1st Street. He asked to see my photos, but when I said, "Sure, fine, whatever, I've taken 70 already, do you want us to just stand here and look at the screen?" he got flustered and I took the opportunity to saunter off. (I'll admit I'm really just miffed that I didn't get mistaken for a prostitute, like a co-worker did when walking in the same neighborhood a few weeks back.)

The Washington Times has "Mayor Confident of Lease Approval": "Mayor Anthony A. Williams yesterday said he believes Major League Baseball eventually will sign off on a new lease for the Washington Nationals' new ballpark and that legislation calling for a cap on city spending for the project will not be sent back to the D.C. Council. He said negotiations involving the league and more than a half-dozen city leaders are ongoing but could be wrapped up by week's end." And, once again, it's all about the parking garage: "Private developers are expected to play a key role in covering the cost of the underground parking garage because its construction will allow for retail or office space to be built at street level. By gaining developer commitments to pay for the parking, city officials hope to lessen any fears from MLB that the league will be responsible for cost overruns. [...] The underground parking is estimated to cost $55 million, but only $21 million for parking -- enough for an above-ground garage -- is in the ballpark budget. 'I think the development community will pony up, or we just won't build [underground parking],' said council member Jack Evans."

More posts: parking, Nationals Park