She's a Brick . . . House!
I used to dream about living or working in Washington, D.C. Now, I practically do! It's amazing to me to drive along Washington Blvd and see the monuments staring back at me. It's especially enchanting in the evenings after dark when I see them by spotlight. It's truly a beautiful city with so much to see and do, there is no real reason to ever be bored!
One thing that has amazed me is all the small things that are noteworthy in a day. We all know and love the cherry blossoms, Smithsonian museums, monuments and war memorials. The White House and the Capitol Building are etched in our minds from childhood even if we've never seen them.
What we don't hear about are the beautiful row homes and bits of old neighborhood architecture. One spot along my commute on New York Ave has the best buildings. I don't even mind getting stuck in traffic because I just want to keep looking at the buildings! They are uniquely designed and painted and although they are obviously old, they look strikingly new and clean.
Everything displays such a pop. One afternoon I was driving home and almost ran into a curb when I saw a Corona van parked in front of a particular row. The van was painted all over in bright colors, flavors of Mexico, and the back drop of the brilliantly painted row homes resulted in such an visual explosion that I thought I had finally found the end of a rainbow. These are the things I never would've thought to ask or hope for, and yet I stumble upon their beauty anyhow!
One thing that has amazed me is all the small things that are noteworthy in a day. We all know and love the cherry blossoms, Smithsonian museums, monuments and war memorials. The White House and the Capitol Building are etched in our minds from childhood even if we've never seen them.
What we don't hear about are the beautiful row homes and bits of old neighborhood architecture. One spot along my commute on New York Ave has the best buildings. I don't even mind getting stuck in traffic because I just want to keep looking at the buildings! They are uniquely designed and painted and although they are obviously old, they look strikingly new and clean.
Everything displays such a pop. One afternoon I was driving home and almost ran into a curb when I saw a Corona van parked in front of a particular row. The van was painted all over in bright colors, flavors of Mexico, and the back drop of the brilliantly painted row homes resulted in such an visual explosion that I thought I had finally found the end of a rainbow. These are the things I never would've thought to ask or hope for, and yet I stumble upon their beauty anyhow!
These pictures don't do anything near justice, as they were taken with my phone in haste at stop lights or in parking lot-style traffic jams. I really need to take my camera down there and just roam the streets until I have a good selection of photos. The honest truth, however, is that a street-stupid (girl) walking the streets with an expensive camera is not that great of an idea. Maybe I should do that and wear pig-tails also and dangle money and Apple products from my clothing.
No, I don't plan on putting any money in your styrofoam cup. And wow, Big Ben's liquor sure is a hoppin' place for 9am on Tuesday morning . . .
Thus, until I have a willing victim to act as my companion / body guard, I may be stuck with these stolen photos and the Google results for "Washington, D.C. residential architecture New York Ave" wedged into my Bookmarks folder. [Feel free to tell me if you think my search terms are at fault for a disappointing array of results.]
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