[Indiana]

Here’s my last one, from outside John Burroughs elementary school in NE DC, where I donated “Star Fish,” by Lisa Fipps, “Polly Diamond and the Magic Book,” by Alice Kuipers, and a My Little Pony book.

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The quotation painted on the side of the Little Free Library is by Mary McLeod Bethune: “The whole world opened to me when I learned to read.”

Bicycling opens the world to exploration in a physical way and books open the world through the mind’s eye. Thank you so much for a fun photo hunt that combined the two!!!

[Indiana]

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KidSnowLeopard and I happened upon a few LFLs that were new to us today. Somehow I missed getting both our bikes in the photo, but hers shows up on Strava. She was excited that this one had “Mr. Lemoncello’s Library,” which she borrowed for a reread. 3000ish block of Monroe St NE DC

We didn’t carry a book to drop off with us today, but I know we’ll keep going through Spring and Summer, dropping off books we’ve enjoyed and borrowing new ones.

[Indiana]

3/18/2022 Cool House

So many cool houses! This is possibly DC’s last remaining round house from around the start of the 20th century:
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It was built in Brookland in 1901 by John C. Louthan. He apparently chose the shape to make navigating easier for his wifev who was in a wheelchair. https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/unique_spaces_dcs_roundhouse/6166

I toured it when it was on the market and Brookland House and Garden tour after renovation about a decade ago. Really cool interior, keeping the original lines. https://www.popville.com/2012/01/round-house-nominated-for-a-dc-landmark-building-in-brookland/

[Indiana]

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When I spotted this home in the distance I was hoping it would have a LFL to accompany the St. Patrick’s day decor. Alas it did not, and sadly I wasn’t able to ride before 10pm so no kid today either (she got her riding done in the morning!).

[Indiana]

3/17/2022 Ugly House

I wouldn’t want to call anyone’s house ugly, but boy did the neighbors complain about “ugly” when they learned that the construction project replacing a typical single family home was DC’s first container ship house:

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See it under construction: https://www.architectmagazine.com/Design/construction-begins-on-washington-d-c-s-first-shipping-container-housing-project_o

And see inside: https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/a_look_inside_brooklands_shipping_container_apartments/9023

[Indiana]

3/16/2022 Arts & Crafts

When my daughter saw today’s challenge on the calendar, she exclaimed, “I know exactly where we should go!”:

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I have some Arts and Crafts style houses in my Strava, but these Arts and Crafts projects were cuter.

[Indiana]

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1300 block of Lawrence St NE DC. Left books in panniers at home because I didn’t think it was possible that I had missed any LFLs in this area and have remained too stubborn to check the LFL map. Maybe it’s new or maybe I routinely skip that block… Good selection!

[Indiana]

3/15/22 Mid-century Modern

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Brookland’s Church of the Redeemer Presbyterian was designed by Robert Madison, the first licensed Black architect in Ohio who moved to DC to teach at Howard University. He designed a number of buildings in the area, which I learned about in this Washingtonian article, “Stop Tearing Down Midcentury-Modern Houses!” https://www.washingtonian.com/2021/10/28/stop-tearing-down-midcentury-modern-houses/

I can’t wait to ride the neighborhood and see them better in daylight!

[Indiana]

@Robbie Rob 218187 wrote:

Indiana I couldn’t figure out what they were doing with the roof of that library! Thanks for filling me in. I did see the pond but not any koi. I have difficulty playing some of these games, I feel like I’m invading peoples’ privacy by looking at their property and taking pictures![emoji51]

Sent from my SM-N976U using Tapatalk

I hear you! That’s why I prefer streets and intersections to naming addresses. The LFLs that are street facing are slightly easier on the privacy front. But I couldn’t bring myself to post license plates.

[Indiana]

3/14/2022 Painted Lady

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This Painted Lady has been on the Greater Brookland Garden Club’s House and Garden Tour. The bright colors were chosen with the help of a local artist in homage of the owner’s Southwestern heritage. The full house is my highlighted Strava photo.

[Indiana]

3/13/2022 Brutalist

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The Ariel Rios Federal Building on New York Avenue NE in NoMa was constructed in 2008 with a Brutalist exterior. It houses the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and is banned after an ATF undercover special agent who was killed in action in 1982.

Standing by several Brutalist buildings today made me better appreciate that feeling of permanence evoked by large agglomerations of concrete. I’m not sure if the plants on the ATF building would push it into the territory of so-called eco-Brutalism. Concrete is certainly not the most environmentally friendly construction material, but leads to an interesting effect.

[Indiana]

How funny! I picked that same Little Free Library as Robbie Rob at 9th and North Carolina SE DC today!
I actually was impressed by the living roof with dinosaur figurines roaming the rooftop vegetation! And the house it was in front of had koi swimming around the pond in the front yard beneath a layer of ice! But, yeah, the book selection was not so awesome.

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[Indiana]

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Zoom in on this Little Free Library on Catholic University’s campus and you’ll find not only reading material (not very much there today) and some prayer beads, but a “Divine Mercy Giveaway.”

[Indiana]

3/12/22 Georgian Architecture
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Marist Hall at Catholic University, dedicated in 1900. Damaged in the 2011 Virginia earthquake. Pretty in the snow.

[Indiana]

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1200ish Lawrence Street NE DC
Needs a restocking for all ages.

[Author]

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