NPS shared several photos, actually - the exterior crack isn't what concerns me, it's all of the rubble on the floor on the inside of the monument:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150263140101389.325256.59420116388&type=1

Not sure if that link will work, but if you go to NPS's facebook page and click through to their photo albums, there are some more pictures.

by Alex B. on Aug 26, 2011 8:54 am • link • report

re Jaffe: what does it mean to say Adams Morgan "got whitewashed by bars and restaurants" ...in 1991? Is Adams Morgan really more "grimy, dangerous and less livable"? I moved here in '89, when Adams Morgan was way ahead of 14th St on the livability scale, but now that 14th St has developed, does Adams Morgan look bad by comparison, or has it truly devolved and gotten worse? Surprised he didn't mention Miss Pixie's also used to be in Adams Morgan. Along with Pixie's, Adams Morgan also used to have the city's best card shop. But did it ever have a "funky feel"? Anyways, I've always thought its density of intriguing bars and restaurants was a good thing, though not sure how to address the scattered late-night weekend shootings and scuffles.

by Michael on Aug 26, 2011 8:54 am • link • report

"'When I opened up here there were hookers and drugs and gun runners,' says Troy, a bright-eyed, energetic guy from upstate New York. 'It has slowly changed, though there's still some vice.'"

What are you complaining about!?!? Thats what you miss?!?

by Confuzzled on Aug 26, 2011 9:06 am • link • report

re: Jaffe; The quote the flummoxed me was his definition of an urban village as a place having "Yum's Carryout, a check-cashing store, Sam's Pawn Shop, an empty lot here and there. They give the place that lovely, disheveled look and edgy feel."

Not sure if he's read any Jane Jacobs, or really understands what makes an urban village. Residents who watch their neighborhood turn from restaurants, theaters and shops into carryouts, check cashing and pawn shops usually do not consider this a herald of better days to come.

If Jaffe means that rents are too high that local businesses are being replaced by corporate chain stores, then he has a point, but clearly he is incapable of making that point.

by BenZ on Aug 26, 2011 9:15 am • link • report

A Walmart can be built of right in the middle of the city, but a five story mixed use building on one of the city's busiest corridors requires all sorts of special permission. The zoning code is truly backwards.

by Ben Ross on Aug 26, 2011 9:26 am • link • report

While I don't miss the blight, I understand some of what Jaffe is saying. All restaurants is not diversity and the loss of places like Ruff and Ready and Miss Pixies really is too bad.

That said, I'm not sure I favor either the kind of zoning Jaffe suggests. This is one of the most central locations in the metro area -- the fact that it is becoming an entertainment area is hardly unexpected. But perhaps Jaffe ought to turn his desire for more zoning on its head and say that there is actually too much zoning, which prevents the city as a whole from developing the kind of diverse-retail neighborhoods with enough residents to create demand.

by norb on Aug 26, 2011 9:44 am • link • report

Is the price for the river taxi fair?

Yes, diesel is expensive. But $18 for a roundtrip? Talk about a milk run. How fast does that boat go? River transit would be a great -- albeit small -- way to relieve congestion. Much like bikes, actually. I think there used to be a ferry between ft. belvoir and the pentagon, and it might even be a good idea again.

by charlie on Aug 26, 2011 10:05 am • link • report

linking to my entry with the words "the reported reform is overrated" completely mis-states my post. The point I was making was based on Barras' thesis about black social capital, that while there is truth to her thesis, her article under-examines the factors which supported Suzanne Wells' (and others) work, which have to do with density in part, social capital definitely, but also the ability to focus on a set of schools and build on pockets of excellence that already existed.

by Richard Layman on Aug 26, 2011 10:13 am • link • report

@charlie

I think those kinds of applications for ferries (i.e. special events like Nats games) are good ones. I don't see it ever being a part of a regular commute, however.

There are two main reasons for this. One is the location of DC's land uses. Because DC was never much of a port, there's not a great deal of intense land use right on the water (though this is changing). The issue with ferries is like that of any other transit mode - how do you deal with the last mile? How do you foster connections?

The other issue is the nature of DC's waterways. There simply aren't many trips where going by water presents an obvious advantage. Other successful urban ferry runs have this (Staten Island, Bainbridge Island), or the ferry is the only option (other islands without bridges in Puget Sound). The DC routes are too indirect.

I think bike lanes have far more utility than the ferries do, however.

by Alex B. on Aug 26, 2011 10:20 am • link • report

@BenZ: That was the quote that got me, too. He's lamenting the possible demise of a carryout that serves low-grade dog food, a pawn shop, a check cashing store, and empty lots? All that's missing is the liquor store with bullet-proof glass that sells singles.

by dcd on Aug 26, 2011 10:39 am • link • report

To 2nd what Alex wrote, the layout is just a bit wrong for DC. East Potomac Island blocks downtown from a good crossing. You either have to go up the channel or get across that park. But if money were no object you could build a dock at National Airport, just west of Hains Point. Then connect that dock with a people mover that goes under the runways to the main terminal.

Then run a ferry from there to Diamond Teague Park. That would serve people who live in the neighborhood or who are heading to the airport going north on the green. It would probably be faster than Metro, but that would depend on headways.

A ferry to Georgetown might also be faster.

But that would be expensive.

by David C on Aug 26, 2011 10:59 am • link • report

American River Taxi is looking at potentially expanding to DCA, National Harbor, and Old Town Alexandria.

I think the constraints mentioned on this thread are applicable, and I would also note that the "no-wake zone" upstream from Memorial Bridge knocks speeds down to 5 mph (IIRC), which adds time to what the river taxi would be able to do otherwise. That will be a problem for trips headed to Georgetown, but not for all routes.

As for the price, I don't think the $9 is prohibitive, as it's considerably less than a taxi ride between those spots, and there's no regular transit that brings a direct route. Having taken the river taxi, it's easily the most relaxing ride across the city.

by Jacques on Aug 26, 2011 11:27 am • link • report

Another WTF on the Jaffe article.

Even at that, most of the remaining grimy 14th St businesses are still around, and I'd say that that area contains one of the most diverse cross-sections of people in DC. I'd hardly call the area 'whitewashed.'

The decreasing amount of affordable space in the area is a completely legitimate issue to bring up, although the editorial ignores that point entirely.

Or is he just complaining about the gayborhood's slow creep eastward?

by andrew on Aug 26, 2011 11:29 am • link • report

A single ride on http://www.chicagowatertaxi.com/ costs $2.

http://www.siferry.com/ is free (Manhattan to Staten Island).

http://www.citywatertaxi.com/ is $10 from Boston airport to downtown.

And most intriguingly, see http://www.nywatertaxi.com/Rides/ikea/ ... the "IKEA Shuttle" runs from IKEA in Red Hook to Manhattan; cost is $5, or free with a $10 purchase at IKEA, plus free on weekends. Wow! Makes me want to build an IKEA on Roosevelt Island :)

by Michael on Aug 26, 2011 12:46 pm • link • report

wrt ferries, also see http://www.nywaterway.com/ERF-Home.aspx which is probably a better model with regard to DC.

Wrt ferries in DC (or water taxis), to make sense, it has to be commuting based to generate large numbers of regular trips.

But the river for the most part is located far away from residential centers and from office buildings (business districts). Therefore the amount of time necessary to get from your origin or destination is so great via river that most of the benefits of using a river taxi are obviated.

It's a cool idea, just impractical because the river isn't well situated for the concept to work.

If Poplar Point gets developed, and then more of the "Capitol Riverfront" district is developed, I can see back and forth water taxi service there, across the Anacostia. Othwerwise, this isn't very sustainable.

by Richard Layman on Aug 26, 2011 4:47 pm • link • report

I hear what you all are saying, and there is a lot of value there, but I have to think that a ferry ride to Mt. Vernon -- or ft. belvoir -- would be far more pleasant than the buses I see in Rosslyn. And no traffic.

Waterfront density: Rosslyn, Georgetown, old town, nationals park (someday?), Bolling, Pentagon, and Ft. Belvoir? Off the top of my head.

by charlie on Aug 26, 2011 5:09 pm • link • report

@charlie

A ride to Mt. Vernon is almost the definition of a leisure trip, rather than a commute trip. There's not enough residential density along the water there to make it work.

That actual connection to the waterfront is key. Rosslyn is close, but it has no connection to the water at all. Georgetown and Old Town do (thanks to their history as ports), but I think that's a limited market for regular transit service.

Bolling to Pentagon is interesting, but they already do that via helicopter. I can't see such a service ever being open to the public, given Bolling's context. Fort Belvoir doesn't have much that's actually near the water - again raising that last-mile issue.

Also, as noted, you can't just have the stuff on the water - but you also need the orientation of the origins and destinations to make sense in relation to the body of water. Old Town to National Harbor makes sense, but the WW Bridge is there, too. Old Town to Rosslyn? Compared to Metro?

The really successful ferries (i.e. commute-based ones) often span much larger bodies of water or make a connection that otherwise wouldn't exist.

by Alex B. on Aug 26, 2011 5:31 pm • link • report

Sad to consider how close Rosslyn is to the river, yet, as noted, it has no access whatsoever. http://www.arlingtonboathouse.org/ seems to be waiting on the NPS (surprise), though I imagine it would be difficult to add room for a water taxi.

And that mess on Rosslyn's eastern flank, between the Iwo Jima and Arlington Gateway Park: wow, both the Custis Parkway and the GW Parkway cut off access to the shore.

Wouldn't it be cool if we could walk from Wilson Blvd to Teddy Roosevelt Island?

by Michael on Aug 26, 2011 10:00 pm • link • report

@ Michael: Sad to consider how close Rosslyn is to the river, yet, as noted, it has no access whatsoever. ...waiting on the NPS ...

And there's the problem again. Since the river is "owned" by DC, MD and the NPS up to the shore, VA is incapable of utilizing the shore. You see that the only place where it can (Alexandria), it does well. The problem with water taxis in Alexandria is that the only connection to transit is through the free shuttle there.

Same thing happens at the Georgetown waterfront. There is no decent connection to transit. I guess the Circulator is an option.

by Jasper on Aug 27, 2011 1:35 pm • link • report

@Jasper

Rosslyn's disconnect has little to do with political boundaries, or even NPS. The geography is reason enough.

Roosevelt Island means there is not reasonably deep water access adjacent to the mainland. Likewise, Rosslyn sits atop a bluff, and the lower elevations are cris-crossed by freeways. These reasons are why Georgetown was the port, not Rosslyn - and that basic, physical geography hasn't changed.

by Alex B. on Aug 27, 2011 2:33 pm • link • report