Artobserved interview: 50 mural ‘Love Letter’ project by Steve Powers aka ESPO

Lots of friends helping on this huge project. I definitely want to make the trip up and check it out soon.

A Love Letter For You is a concept by Overbrook native Stephen Powers and the youth of West Philadelphia – The project is during the month of August with 40 local and international artists to paint 50 walls between 63rd and 45th street on Market Street in Philly.

Steve Powers- a famed graffiti artist known as ESPO, was born and raised in Philadelphia, and had his first museum solo show in Pennsylvania. In 1994 he moved to New York City. A Fulbright Scholar- Steve Powers painted a project similar to love letter in the streets of Dublin and Belfast, now returning to his hometown to conduct a massive graffiti project carrying the same title. The “Love Letter” is planned to be complete by Labor Day.

Read the interview here.

And check out the project blog here.

Dupont Circle Underground

Below Dupont Circle, but above the Dupont Metro Station is the old Dupont Circle Subway Station. The present Connecticut Avenue running under the circle was built in 1949 as part of the same project that moved the streetcars underground to reduce the impact of the old trolley system on Dupont Circle traffic. The station was a mirror image of the traffic circle above: each train would complete a half-circle in a counter-clockwise direction in the station before exiting. The platforms were also semicircular. This design ensured that passengers could emerge at the appropriate point in the Circle to catch a connecting bus without having to cross any streets. As there are four streets all intersecting at the Circle, there were seven or maybe eight stairwells into and out of the station. The streetcars traveled north-south along Connecticut Avenue and went underground at about O St., N.W. and reemerged at R St., N.W. In 1962 the station was closed when the trolley system was shut down.

Check out the Massachusetts Ave sign on the wall in the background. You’ll see it again in the gallery below.

Developers signed a 20-year lease for the 26,000 square foot remnants of the trolley station in 1993, with the intent to transform it into high-end retail. But by 1995, “Dupont Down Under” opened as a food court. It was only open for 6 months, before the District terminated its developer’s lease. The city evicted the developer for failure to pay rent and other alleged breaches of contract. In turn, the city was sued, challenging the eviction. Any progress on use of the space was put on hold since it was mired in legal battles.

In recent years, the city has looked into using the space for different purposes including, a gym, displaced gay bars from the construction of the baseball stadium and new art galleries.

I was lucky enough to get a chance to check out the old abandoned Dupont Down Under a few weeks ago. It was awesome. It’s hard to believe there is that much space hidden below the circle. Definitely kinda creepy since it’s pitch black without a flashlight and the remains of crackhead and homeless living spaces are still down there. One of the police officers with us said everything was sealed off permanently after they found a dead body in the late 90′s.

Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Then:

Now:

Info from:
The Washington Post
The Washington Times
The Washington Business Journal
D.C. Underground

DC Mayor Fenty is AOAT

Some photos courtesy of Jazirock

Yep, that just happened at the Edgewood Mural ribbon cutting ceremony. When we asked what it meant he replied with a half smile, “All Out All the Time.” His paint of choice was Montana Alien. His can control, ehhh… not bad for a mayor.

Graff/Skate

Mumbo Sauce Sunday

Chicken strips with Mumbo sauce and fried rice, from a late night Georgia Ave spot near the house. I’ve been looking forward to finding a spot like this, with 110 different items on the carry-out menu, so I knew it would be legit. I was weary, but it was really good. Good for me? Most probably not.

For those of you not from the DC area, here is the definition from the Urban Dictionary:

Mumbo Sauce
A reddish-orange sauce made from the unknown. Typically found in carry-outs in D.C. Goes well on chicken wings, french fries and when a lil’ bit drips on your fried rice.

Seems like the ingredients vary across the board. Sweet & sour sauce, BBQ sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, hot sauce, etc.