The dog park that we take Bowser to (17th, S, and New Hampshire) has been reopened for awhile now after it was renovated at the beginning of the year. For the longest time, I thought that this sign at the corner of the park was accompanying these renovations. And I thought it was a little ridiculous because it’s a huge announcement just for a dog park. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to know what the ‘Recovery and Reinvestment Act’ is paying for, but maybe put more money into the thing itself instead of enormous temporary signage. However, I walked closer to it the other day, and it’s actually there to indicate the re-paving of 17th Street. The project will resurface the street from New Hampshire Ave to Massachusetts Ave and improve pedestrian spaces to the tune of $8.20M.

Welcome, December! A photo of progress. And it looks like one building reaching out to the other.

a long climb, originally uploaded by m hoek.

   
Tomorrow Clark is scheduled to take down the last remaining tower crane from Constitution Square. We had five swinging around for most of the project. I had always intended to climb up to the top (150 feet above terra firma) but had not gotten around to pulling the trigger. As the window of opportunity closed I jumped at the chance to give it a go this morning. The picture above is my view from the bottom level of the garage looking up on my 180′ vertical climb.
   
Very happy I got around to doing it. The views of the city are phenomenal and it was a good “check of the life list”.
Spent a while up top talking Paul, the crane operator. He is from the Caymans by way of Columbia Heights and has been working as an operator for about 12 years now. Paul is a fan of the city, loves living here, but is troubled by the crime that continues to plague the city despite apparent physical improvements. He has seen huge changes in the Columbia Heights neighborhood but still has high hopes for continued improvement. A very nice guy and I’m happy to have been able to chat with him way way up high.
   
Some pics of the view are available here: http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=91138915@N00&q=constitution+square+tower+crane&m=text
   
Info about the project here: http://www.constitutionsquaredc.com/

Early this morning, Matt took me up onto the roof of his current work project, Constitution Square, so that I could shoot some video footage of the DC skyline for my final compositing project this semester. We just missed the beautiful sunrise by about 20 minutes, but I still got some great footage and views of the Capitol, Washington monument, and the NoMA Station Water Tower, pictured above.

Tomorrow, Matt and I are volunteering at the National Museum for the Festival of the Building Arts (FOBA). It runs from 10am to 4:30pm and, from their website , involves the A,B,C’s, and D’s of the built environment: Artisans and Architects, Builders, Craftsmen, Contractors, and Construction Workers, Designers and Decorators. There will be tons of demonstrations, hands-on, and activities for kids. Come check it out if you’re free tomorrow! (red line, Judiciary Square metro)