POTD: Stakeout

>

This stake suddenly appeared on my lawn yesterday. Those initials, which stand for “Right Of Way,” worry me! Look, I already have a sidewalk.

POTD: Blink And You'll Miss It

>

The rising tide of falling homes continues. These POTD’s were taken less than a fortnight apart.

ICC: Ready, Set, Go! Sort Of.

After fifty years of debate, it looks like the controversy is finally drawing to a close. Construction for the Intercounty Connector is scheduled to begin on Tuesday.>

But, as there are still one or two pesky lawsuits pending (scheduled to be decided shortly after an October 29 hearing), work won’t begin in earnest. According to WTOP:

“We are not going to be turning dirt. It will be mostly putting up signs and erecting a field office for the work,” says Valerie Burnette Edgar, spokesperson for the Maryland State Highway Administration.

The first stretch of work will be on the part of the ICC closest to Rockville, running from I-370 (better known as That Interstate That Doesn’t Go Anywhere Else But The Rio) to Georgia Ave.

POTD: Lovely Frieda

>Frieda’s Cottage at Chestnut Lodge, getting its face lift from Peerless Rockville. (Photo courtesy Rockville Central friend Kari Keaton.)

(Apologies to the Beatles.)

POTD: Emerge

> I thought the green growing through the orange safety netting looked sort of cool.

POTD: I'm Just Waiting On A Friend

>(Apologies to the Rolling Stones.) This pile of dirt has been waiting at Chestnut Lodge for so long, it’s grown its own grass!

Maryvale Park To Get New Playing Field

The City of Rockville is seeking public input on >plans for a new playing field at Maryvale Park.

Built in 1992, the current setup has turned out to have insufficient drainage. According to the city:

The facility was planned to be wet during rain events and dry a few days later which would allow the use of a baseball field and open space for activities. After being saturated, the pond does not drain properly and takes too long to dry out. The efficient use of the pond for activities has never been obtained. Environmentally, the pond has benefits but the park open space is not fully useable due to frequent saturated conditions. Several modifications (grading and underdrain system) over the years to address the saturated conditions have not met expectations.

The new plans will include a smaller stormwater pond, which will ordinarily be at 1.5 feet (growing to 10 feet during large storms). At the city’s Maryvale capital improvements page, there will be a survey lin kto give your input (not yet functioning; check back).

Here is a link to a FAQ about construction start, duration, etc.

What's Worth Saving?

In a quest to visit as many amusement parks as possible, my family spent a day at historic >Knoebels in PA. A highlight of the day was the carousel, because for the first time, I got a chance at the “golden ring”. My entire life I’ve heard of the fabled brass ring. How you would hang off the horse and grab it. As a child, I was always told that it was too dangerous. They just don’t have them anymore. I thought they were all gone. As we went around, the man on the horse in front of me got the golden ring, but if he had missed, it would have been mine. I had a handful of non-golden rings that you throw back at a lion, and never thought it would be such fun.

As I rode all the old & new rides, I spent the day thinking about what is worth saving. Sometimes old things surprise and delight you. Rockville owes a great deal of thanks to Eileen McGuckian, the Executive Director of Peerless Rockville. She recently announced her retirement from the organization she founded more than 30 years ago and she will be missed. Our heritage and history are important and if it wasn’t for her, Rockville would have lost a great deal of character.

So I’ve found myself thinking about the “Pink Bank” where Bank of America is located. They formalized a plan to tear it down and put up a building much like the rest of the new downtown. Don’t get me wrong, I like the new downtown, but does it all have to all be exactly the same from the same era? We lose a sense of place when our downtown is just a development rather than a city that evolved over time. Our pink bank is cool, 60’s cool. The 3D rectangular design is different and breaks with tradition, but it fits with the rest of the architecture as you look up North Washington. It’s just 43 years old and it will be such a waste of resources if it comes down.

KSI is making a choice to demolish but they should recognize how much more impressive this building will be over time. It’s worth having a great example of New Formalism in our downtown. It’s a kind of architecture that people will be pleased to discover and it has very impressive cousins across the country. I’m hoping that the economic downturn will save this building because we might not need the 290 dwelling units. If there’s an opportunity to preserve it, Rockville should take it.

Do you think it’s worth saving or do you want to press the button to bring it down?

6/24/08 Here’s a picture showing North Washington Street with the “Pink Bank” way down at the end of the buildings. I like the way the new buildings mirror its architecture and roofline.

Trees Fall at RMHS

> It was an eerie scene at Richard Montgomery High yesterday. Since school let out, workers are starting the demolition of the area around the old school. Some of the trees were pulled out and left on the pavement, while others stand and await their fate. It looked like giants haphazardly weeded the parking lot. Made me think about how we manipulate our surroundings in large and small ways. When the brand-new high school opens next year, we won’t even be able to tell where the old building stood. All those big trees were just landscaping.

POTD: Hanging Tools

>I promise, no more construction pics for a while. But this just grabbed me. This is from a new hotel being built near Fallsgrove. I am always amazed at the genius of whoever first thought of this remarkable idea to protect all the tools and equipment that must be left overnight at a job site: hang it up!

It always looks precarious to me, though I know the crane is more than strong enough. It reminds me of old Tex Avery cartoons, with anvils and pianos falling on the heads of unsuspecting characters who (of course) miraculously survive.

It also makes me think of backpacking, when you hang food overnight from a tree limb to keep it from bears. Same principle, smaller scale.