Silver Spring, Singular

Scenes From the Snowpacalypse

2010-02-06T13:48:00.010-05:00

I hope everyone is surviving the snowpacalypse (or snOMG, Snowmageddon, or my personal favorite, Alex Snowvechkin.) and still has power and heat in their homes. Fortunately I still have both, though apparently just a block away from me there are homes that are blacked out. The heavy snow is bringing down trees and large branches right and left, in many cases knocking out power lines.

Most streets that I have seen still look like crap. My street, which usually receives plenty of attention from county snowplows, has yet to be touched. For lack of anything better to do this morning, I shoveled out my car, though there's no way for me to drive it anywhere even if I had somewhere to go. Tomorrow will be a different story. If this ruins my Super Bowl plans (not to mention the Caps-Penguins game) I am going to be pissed.

Here's what Georgia Avenue looked like at about 10 PM last night as I was walking back from the Metro. The heavy stuff had only been coming down for a few hours at that point, so major streets like Colesville and Georgia were still navigable by regular cars, though it was still probably ill-advised to try it. Traffic was light enough for a soccer match to break out on Georgia just outside the Quarry House.

They already had the heavy equipment out at that point:

As of late this morning, 29 wasn't great - there were a few trucks and SUVs traveling on it, but not much other vehicular activity. Someone had gotten stuck and abandoned their car on the road. A tow truck was trying unsuccessfully to tow it up the hill but then gave up and ended up pushing it backwards down the street.

Just around the corner, a large branch had fallen due to the weight of the snow, blocking off Sligo Creek Parkway completely. A Ford Explorer from Holy Cross Hospital had gotten stuck and was abandoned in front of the roadblock.

Sligo Creek Parkway was passable at some points, but there were more cross-country skiers than automobiles traversing it.

Here's a shot of the DTSS sign at Colesville and Georiga submitted by Lelia C. I imagine not much is open downtown right now, though the Quarry House has vowed to keep their regular weekend hours. Might be a decent place to go to relieve your cabin fever if you live within walking distance. I believe the Giant Food remains open, though pickings are probably quite slim after the stores were ransacked over the past couple days.

So how does your neighborhood look? Got any photos to share? Email them to me or leave a comment with a link to your pics.

UPDATE: Here's a photoset of shots taken today in Downtown Silver Spring by Jeff K.

And a shot of a busy sledding hill at Seven Oaks Park:

Silver Spring News 'N Notes

2010-02-03T08:43:00.013-05:00

Another day, another snowfall. I can't believe that MoCo schools are closed over this. School administration is probably terrified of all the lawyer parents in Chevy Chase/Bethesda. Well, at least it made this morning's commute the easiest I've had in quite some time.

Anyway...

- I'm fully in favor of the planned church/residential/commercial development at Wayne and Bonifant, traffic concerns be damned.

I think this is a huge upgrade from what is exists there now, though some may not agree. The present configuration is a Frankensteinian amalgamation of churches, some of which do have a few interesting architectural elements but taken as a whole are a bit of an eyesore. On the other hand, the converted office building owned by ~~the church~~ another church on the opposite side of Bonifant St. is just ugly. I'm unclear as to how this structure fits in to the plan, if at all. If it happened to get torn down too, that'd be unfortunate...

More on this proposed development can be found at Thayeravenue.com, The Gazette and on DC Mud.

- The church's neighbor, the St. Michael the Archangel school, isn't closing, at least not yet.

- Sticking with the subject of the Wayne/Bonifant area, the county is now looking for a developer to construct residential units adjacent to the new library and across the street from the aforementioned First Baptist development. Presently this space is occupied by a hair salon, a garage, an abandoned house/office and an empty field.

Of course, as the deal involves the Montgomery County Government, there are about 3,000 restrictions, so we'll see how fast this one gets off the ground. Oh, and just wait until "The Community" gets involved...

- This sign in the window of Lizbeth’s Cafe on Georgia Avenue is disturbing. That chicken is far too enthusiastic about its cannibalism.

- The federal stimulus package is paying for a bunch of new traffic lights and crossing signals in downtown Silver Spring.

And now you know… the rest of the Goldberg's story.

2010-01-29T07:24:00.006-05:00

The City Paper's Young and Hungry blog has finally posted has the rest of the story on the Goldberg's Bagel feud. To make a long story short, the Baltimore bagel guy claims exclusive rights to the name "Goldberg's Bagels" in Maryland, but as the Goldberg's name predates his store by quite a bit, this claim is somewhat dubious.

Personally, I'm far more interested in the quality of the bagels than the store's name, and if the Silver Spring Goldberg's bagels are as good as the Baltimore one tested by the article's author suggests, we should be golden:

On the day I drove to his store, Drebin served me a sliced everything bagel with a thick layer of cream cheese in the middle. The round’s crusty exterior crackled when I bit into it, revealing a slightly sweet crumb that was both warm and chewy. It was a terrific bagel, one of the best I’ve had outside New York, and I told Drebin so.

What Goldberg's really needs to distinguish itself on that dreary stretch of Georgia Avenue is a bold bit of programmatic architecture, such as a giant bagel in the mold of the giant Randy's Donuts store in LA. Why not? The Exxon across the street had a giant inflatable cup of coffee on its roof for a time. Exxon could reinstall the coffee cup and it'd be a perfect giant breakfast pairing. Goldberg's needs to talk to the shopping center landlord about getting that done. (Or, even better, for their next location they ought to create the world's first drive-thru bagel.)

Silver Spring's "Best" in This Month's Washingtonian

2010-01-28T21:14:00.004-05:00

Somewhat surprisingly, the latest (February) issue of Washingtonian magazine includes a ten-page "Best of Silver Spring" section. (Though not credited, I did contribute a very very small amount to this endeavor.)

There's a feature story on Crisfield's as well as shorter blurbs about other Silver Spring eateries, including old favorites like Parkway Deli. Of course The General Store is mentioned as one of Silver Spring's best, though based on comments regarding their inclusion in this same publication's "Very Best Restaurants" list as well as reviews on Yelp, this distinction is somewhat questionable. (One of the restaurants mentioned, Cedar Crossing, isn't even in Maryland and there's also quite a few from Wheaton.) There are perhaps a few restaurants that I'd have liked to have seen included on this list, Ghar-e-Kabab being one. There's also sections on shopping and miscellaneous recommendations from locals.

The Silver Spring material isn't presently up on Washingtonian.com, so you'll have to pick up a print edition to read it. If you prefer to accelerate to the death of print media, a PDF of the section has been linked to on the SSSNA website.

Silver Spring News 'N Notes

2010-01-21T12:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day, everyone! I sure appreciate the hundreds of holes they dug in my yard this past week. Did they they misplace all their acorns during the snowstorm? Speaking of squirrels, I haven't seen our neighborhood albino squirrel in ages.

Anyway...

- Thayeravenue.com posted some photos taken at the future location of Joe's Record Paradise. I'm not sure which opening I'm looking forward to more - Joe's or Goldberg's Bagels.

- On the subject of Goldberg's, a posting on the Washington City Paper's "Young and Hungry" blog shines a little more light on the ambiguous relationship between The Goldberg's Bagels in Rockville and the one up in Pikesville/Baltimore. It turns out that while the owners of the two establishments were once business partners, they may not have dissolved their alliance under the friendliest of terms. Sadly, we'll have to wait for next week's post for the conclusion of the story. Bagel feuds FTW!

With respect to differences in taste and quality of bagels from the two establishments, they may be minimal. Both bagelries use dough from the same New Jersey wholesaler. Hopefully the Silver Spring location will open soon so that I might asses the worthiness of their "everything" bagels.

- The proposed Costco in Wheaton would likely be a big draw for Silver Springers who currently patronize the warehouse club's Beltsville and Gaithersburg locations. My membership lapsed a couple years back, but having a Costco so close would make me strongly consider renewing it.

One negative is that a Costco in Wheaton Plaza could exacerbate the already annoying downtown Wheaton traffic, not to mention its potential to make the parking situation at Wheaton Plaza intolerable. Of course, insufficient parking is a Costco trademark... try going to the Alexandria or Beltsville locations during the weekend.

- Following up on an earlier post, it turns out that three Silver Spring restaurants ended up making Washingtonian's Best Restaurants list: Jackie's, Ray's the Classics and... The General Store? Didn't see that last one coming. Kudos to them for making it in their first year.

- Since I've been accused of not posting about the Haiti Earthquake enough, I will take this opportunity to let you know about a happy hour fundraiser for Haiti tonight at Piratz Tavern hosted by the Montgomery County Young Democrats (the event itself is bi-partisan.) The happy hour runs from 5:30-8:30 and features half-price appetizers and $3 and $4 beers. A $5 donation at the door is requested, and Piratz will also donate $1 for each shot purchased.

Photos of the Day

2010-01-13T20:58:00.005-05:00

Here's a couple of reader-submitted photos of recent Silver Spring goings-on I figured I'd share for your viewing pleasure.

First, a car somehow managed to flip over on a speed bump last night on Thayer Avenue. More details can be found on (where else) ThayerAvenue.com.

Photo by John B.

And here's workers removing the last vestiges of Hollywood Video from its erstwhile downtown location.

Photo by MBR.

Silver Spring News 'N Notes

2010-01-07T12:00:00.003-05:00

- RIP Silver Spring Penguin (2007-2010). The ranks of Silver Spring blogs are thinning. Silver Spring Scene remains technically alive, but in not-so-perfect hibernation.

- I've recently switched my car wash loyalty over from the Mr. Wash in East Silver Spring to the Montgomery Hills Car Wash on Georgia Ave. near the Beltway. MoHills may cost a bit more than Señor Wash but they do a damn thorough job, leaving no spots on the car once it dries, plus the interior is included in the price. Last time out, they had nine people simultaneously wiping down my car inside and out once it came out of the wash. I may need to make bagels and a car wash in Montgomery Hills a new weekend tradition. That'd be a hell of a cross-marketing opportunity, if anyone's listening.

- I've changed my perspective on the best way to enjoy a movie at the Regal Majestic (what an unjustifiably grandiose name!). I may gripe about the Majestic a lot, but I do so out of love - the fact remains that I probably still see 90% of movies there. Anyway, my old theory on how to maximize your experience at the Majestic was to only select the "grown-up" movies that wouldn't attract the kiddies. However after recently attending a 3D screening of Avatar, I have revised my strategy.

Rather than trying to see the quiet movies with fancy stuff like "dialogue", one should actually select the loudest movie possible. I've found that at the quieter movies shown in the smaller side theaters, the sound mixing tends to be poor, requiring you to strain your ears just to hear what the characters are saying. If anyone is speaking in those theaters, you will hear every word loud and clear. Unbeknownst to me, perhaps because I always went to the quieter movies, the big theaters at the Majestic (at least Theater 1) have a kick-ass digital sound system and the theater isn't afraid to use it. For Avatar, the sound was so loud I couldn't hear anyone even if they were talking - and that's the way it should be.

As a reminder, another way to significantly improve your Majestic experience is to print out your ticket at home. Sure, it's an extra buck to pre-purchase, but it beats the alternative of waiting in the scrum of the ticket line.

Speaking of intrusive sound sources at movies, according to a recent article on Smartmoney.com entitled "10 Things Movie Theaters Won't Tell You", theaters are letting offenders slide in order not to drive away business:

A major check on theaters attempting to police these and other sorts of audience disturbances is the fear of customer backlash... Movie houses don't want to lose younger audiences-who are primarily responsible for disruptions-by cracking down too hard.

Not sure if this is the case at the Majestic or not - I always assumed they just didn't care.

- No word yet on the open date for Goldberg's New York Bagels, but they do have a flashy new neon sign up in the window.

- The Silver Spring Swings concert series is in danger of being canceled for 2010 due to county budget cuts.

- Congratulations to Jackie's, which again made Washingtonian Magazine's 100 Best Restaurants list. Not sure if any other Silver Spring restaurants made the cut. I'll have to find a print edition, as the full list isn't online yet. Last year, Ray's The Classics and Nicaro were also included. Of course, the present incarnation of Nicaro (or "Newcaro") has little relation to the restaurant honored last year.

"The Great Pumpkin", Explained

2010-01-06T09:33:00.008-05:00

As a follow up to my last post concerning the "Great Pumpkin" water tank mystery, multiple sources have confirmed that the tank long ago sported an orange hue, hence the gourdlike nickname.

The following is explanation provided by C. P. Zilliacus, who, back in the early days of this blog, also identified a mystery building in Four Corners.

At some point in the distant past (1970's?), there was a much smaller water storage tank on this site, which the WSSC dismantled to replace with the structure there today.

The WSSC proceeded to build this "new" tank, and the (unpainted) steel as delivered was an orange color, and as the tank started to assume its shape (I believe the steel was hoisted into place and the joints welded), it did indeed look like a large pumpkin, looming over Montgomery Hills, and during the fall of that year, it was labeled by parties unknown as The Great Pumpkin.

Eventually the entire tank was painted in that baby blue color, and the graffiti was covered over and forgotten by most.

Clearly, the context was lost entirely when the tank was painted its present ugly pale blue shade. If they're not planning on removing the tank anytime soon, perhaps WSSC should do something creative to transform it from an eyesore to a curiosity. It'd definitely create more recognition for Montgomery Hills than those Age of Aquarius banners up and down Georgia. How about painting it to look like a colossal Olmec head or perhaps the head of a gigantic subterranean robot awaiting an interstellar signal from its alien masters to initiate the destruction of human civilization? Imagine an unsuspecting first-time area visitor glancing over at that from the Beltway.

(If anyone can provide a old photo of the water tank in orange, unlimited kudos shalt be bestowed upon you.)

Water Tower WTF

2010-01-01T13:09:00.003-05:00

I was recently having my car cleansed of a inch-think layer of road salt at the Mongtomery Hills Car Wash when I glanced up at the monstrosity of a water tank looming over me and noticed that "THE GREAT PUMPKIN" had been written across it in large letters. The faded graffiti, painted in impressively level block letters, is visible only under close inspection and was presumably added quite some time ago. There is presently no obvious way for a person to access that section of the tank, so I have no idea how someone was able to add this text in the first place.

Do the words "The Great Pumpkin" imply that the silhouette of the water tower looms over the Montgomery Hills neighborhood in a manner similar to The Great Pumpkin over a Charles Schultz pumpkin patch? Or is the tank supposed to resemble a big pumpkin? The explanation of this phrase is not as obvious as the legendary "Surrender Dorothy" railroad bridge graffiti just up 495. (Sadly, now just "Surrender".)

Anyone know the story behind this?

Also...

- Mayorgaistas, rejoice! The coffee house, whose last day in Silver Spring was Thursday, plans to re-open in ~~Takoma Park~~ Takoma, DC in ~~the building that once housed the now-defunct Savory Cafe~~ a space near the Metro station. I should note that like Mayorga, Savory also served crap bagels. Best of luck to them, but if they don't upgrade what many claim to be substandard customer service I don't know if a change of scenery will necessarily help.

- The Washington Examiner has a profile of the SSINO neighborhood of Rock Creek Woods, which is at least technically in Silver Spring. Very interesting houses back there. I suggest taking a drive through the neighborhood sometime to check it out, provided you can find it. (It's not that easy.)

- A Silver Spring man was among the passengers who subdued the "Underwear Bomber" on Northwest flight 253.

- Today's Post has an article on the "Pinball Museum" in Silver Spring yet fails to mention the perfect location for its new home.

Is Goldberg the Silver Spring Bagel Messiah?

2009-12-28T09:38:00.010-05:00

(No, not that Goldberg.)

There is a light on the horizon signaling that the long, desperate days of not having decent bagels in Silver Spring may finally be coming to an end. According to a sign posted on the space on Georgia Avenue that once housed Kirsten's Cafe, the arrival in Silver Spring of Goldberg's New York Bagels is nigh. What an excellent belated Hanukkah present for Silver Spring.

There are already two Goldberg's bagelries located elsewhere in Maryland, one in Pikesville and the other a little closer to us in a strip mall on Boiling Brook Parkway in Rockville. The Pikesville Location has been twice named best bagels in Baltimore by their City Paper, which is certainly a favorable sign. Among other things, Goldberg's bagels are boiled prior to baking, a critical step which many of the places around here that sell so-called "bagels" opt to skip.

Goldberg's New York Bagels, via Baltimore City Paper.

For myself at least, this has the potential to be one of the most important culinary arrivals in Silver Spring for some time. Provided their bagels are up to snuff, I will likely end up patronizing them nearly every weekend. Hopefully the presence of Goldberg's will eliminate the need for me to travel to Bethesda Bagels (the local bagel gold standard, IMO) to get my fix. I suppose the only downside is that this location is a bit of a pain in the ass for those without motor vehicles, as well as for those coming from downtown Silver Spring who would need to make that treacherous left turn across Georgia Avenue.

Silver Spring News 'N Notes

2009-12-17T08:00:00.001-05:00

- I completely missed this news when it was originally announced in October, but Nando's Peri-Peri signed a lease to open up a new location in Downtown Silver Spring. Nando's, "home of the legendary, Portugese, flame-grilled, Peri-Peri chicken", will move into the spot on The Promenade presently occupied by the temporary toy store. No opening date has been announced.

BEWARE! While Nando's U.S. presence is currently confined to the D.C. area, it is actually a WORLDWIDE CHAIN, thus making it evil in the eyes of some. Please boycott accordingly.

- Speaking of worldwide chains, as part of McDonald's new corporate strategy the restaurant across from the Metro will likely soon be offering free wi-fi. At this point, it'd take more than free Internet and McCafé (actually OK) to get me into that particular McDonald's, always high in the running for the Worst Place in Silver Spring™. Of course, if they were to redesign our McDonald's in the manner of this one in Manhattan, I'd be willing to give at least one more shot. Unfortunately, that's not bloody likely to occur.

To my knowledge you can already get free wi-fi in downtown S.S. at Borders, Eggspectations, ~~Mayorga~~, Panera, Starbucks (w/a Starbucks card) and through Silver Spring's official free wi-fi service. Did I miss anywhere?

- A few weekends back, Scientologists were conducting "free stress tests" just outside the exit to the Silver Spring Metro station. How is this legal? Who authorizes them to do this on public property? The county? WMATA?

Fenton Street Market Here to Stay

2009-12-16T16:37:00.004-05:00

Cat vest enthusiasts rejoice! The Fenton Street Market (pictured), which had two trial runs this past fall, was apparently successful enough to justify making it a permanent fixture in East Silver Spring. According to its official blog, the market will now operate every Saturday, with a tentative start date of April 17th of next year. (Presumably it will shut down for the winter months).

Hopefully there will be a healthy rotation of vendors to keep it fresh week-to-week. If its the same people selling the same stuff each Saturday there is the potential for it to get stale.

An Actual Honest to Goodness Retail Win?

2009-12-13T20:41:00.006-05:00

The short list of Silver Spring stores of actual interest me will shortly increase by one. Joe's Record Paradise, a store specializing in vintage vinyl presently located on Gude Drive in Rockville is apparently planning a move to 8216 Georgia Ave. in the imaginary "Ripley District" of downtown Silver Spring.

I haven't been to the Rockville shop, though I will definitely have to check it out on my lunch break this week. Their website is presently "under construction" and doesn't have a whole lot of info on the store. Here's an unofficial description I found online:

A one of a kind record store that has not only CD's, VHS Tapes, DVD's, Posters and other music based goods, but classic vinyl records. From rare and hard to find to the most common titles you can think up.

I am quite looking forward to killing countless hours in this store, and hopefully picking up a few vintage Creedence LPs.

UPDATE: Interestingly, there's a big Silver Spring connection with Joe's Record Paradise. Proprietor Joe Lee is the grandson of E. Brooke Lee, known as "the Father of Modern Silver Spring."

Retail Fail: Hollywood Video

2009-12-12T19:39:00.004-05:00

The retail bloodbath continues...

Wanted to rent a movie at the Hollywood Video in downtown Silver Spring tonight? Sorry, you're short. There's a big red sign posted on the entrance alerting customers to the fact that the location is no longer in operation as of yesterday. A peek inside revealed the shelves have already been stripped completely bare.

Thanks to Netflix, I can't say I was much of a customer, but I had gone there on a few occasions when I needed a movie in a pinch.

What sucks is that they are making people go to up to Wheaton to return their rentals. I think if you had anything rented when they closed, ownership should automatically transfer to you. Or at the very least they should leave the return box open and come collect the returns after a week or so.

Unfortunately, this leaves us with another empty retail space (and a fairly large one) downtown. I guess there have been some glimmers of hope, though - that toy store did move in on Ellsworth.

Friday News 'N Notes

2009-12-11T11:19:00.007-05:00

- Funny literary coincidence that somehow never occurred to me before: Starbucks Coffee and Moby Dick House of Kabob are nearly next door to each other on Ellsworth Drive.

- Big news for lazy people like me out there: Mandalay now delivers. They'll bring you your food for a $1.50 delivery charge provided you live within a five-mile radius. Considering they charge you a dollar fee to get takeout, that's not bad, especially now that winter weather appears to have finally arrived for good. Recall that Ghar-e-Kabab also delivers, and without any added fees. Either of these restaurants easily trumps most other delivery options.

- As mentioned earlier on Just up the Pike, Shorpy.com has some great old photos of Silver Spring. Here's one of a former Masonic Temple/Chevy Dealership/Filling Station that still exists at the corner of Wayne and Georgia Avenues.

If you're ambitious, you can also find some other old S.S. photos by digging around on the Library of Congresses' Prints & Photographs Online Catalog.

Whatever happened to the statue?

- Only somewhat Silver Spring related, but for those interested in this sort of thing, I've started a Flickr pool of Mid-Century architecture (and signs) in the DC area. Silver Spring's representation includes, of course, our Googie dry cleaners.

Get Your Free Pizza (Freepza?) Next Tuesday

2009-12-10T13:32:00.006-05:00

Even though it amounts to the type of free promotion I generally try to avoid, I'll pass this information along since it is a pretty good deal and I realize that everyone is broke and starving these days.

Flippin' Pizza on Georgia Avenue (directly across from Discovery) will be offering everyone free pizza and a soda to celebrate their grand opening next Tuesday.

It the pizza any good? Beats me, but it's free so at least you won't have to spend any money to find out. There's Flippin' Pizza location that just recently opened near my office, but I haven't yet had occasion to try their pizza. Disappointingly, they don't deliver, as their doing so might serve to break the pizza delivery monopoly that zPizza presently holds at my house. (Domino's and Papa John's aren't even in the consideration set.)

Personally, I'm even more curious about Pacci's, the brick oven pizzeria on Georgia, whose opening is steadily progressing.

No Mas Mayorga

2009-12-10T09:02:00.006-05:00

Another unfortunate retail fail to report - the Mayorga Coffee shop in South Silver Spring has announced that it will close at the end of the year. This was the first retail location for Mayorga, which now has a number of locations, most notably at airports.

Admittedly, I rarely patronized Mayorga. When it was new I went a few times out of curiosity, but I've only been there a handful of times over the past couple of years. I've probably purchased more cups of coffee at the Mayorga stand at BWI than from the location in my own backyard. From where I live it wasn't really reasonable to walk, and once they started building all those condos back there, I wasn't really sure where to park. (That and their bagels aren't so hot.)

I generally prefer to brew my own coffee, but when I do go out for a cup o' joe in S.S., it's generally to Highland Origin or the Starbucks on the Promenade (hey, its convenient.) I'm sure Mayorga was far more popular with those who live on that side of town and with kids, who seemed to fill the place on Sunday mornings. But kids don't drink coffee, do they? Perhaps they do these days. It was even visited last year by candidate Obama.

Now the question is what, if anything, will fill that space once Mayorga departs? That location has already been the death of Industrial Photo, and there was parking back then. It might make a good space for a full-service restaurant, though again, the parking situation needs to be resolved for that or anything else to really be viable.

Inaugural Holiday Shop-N-Stroll This Saturday

2009-12-02T15:24:00.005-05:00

Throw your kids in the shopping cart this Saturday and roll on over to the inaugural Holiday Shop-N-Stroll craft fair, scheduled from 10AM-3PM on the Silver Spring Promenade. (That's Fenton Street, noobs.) I expect the event, whose logo appears to be loosely modeled after my wife and I, will be similar to this past May's Handmade Mart, only colder. Conveniently, it will also run concurrently with the regularly-scheduled farmers market, so you can check it out when you go to pick up your CSA box. You'll also get the chance to witness the so-called War on Christmas firsthand when DTSS unveils its "Holiday Tree" on Saturday.

For more details, check out the Handmade Mart blog. You can also view a map of the 50-odd vendors here (PDF).

Want to help out? They are looking for volunteers to assist with setup on Saturday morning. Anyone who volunteers gets a free breakfast as well as a Shop-n-Stroll reusable tote bag. Hey, these days a free meal is nothing to sniff at.

Potential Polish for Parade

2009-11-24T08:39:00.014-05:00

We should probably feel special that Silver Spring (and not Rockville) has the privilege of hosting Montgomery County's annual Thanksgiving parade. As stewards of the event, I think it is our responsibility to strive to make it as entertaining as possible. While viewing this year's parade on Saturday, I made a mental list of things that could be done to enhance the viewing experience. Sure, MoCo's little procession is no Macy's parade, but there are some things that could be done to increase the entertainment value of the event. Some stuff is good as-is, like the marching bands and the various South American dance troupes, but there is certainly plenty of room for improvement.

Here are a few suggestions:

- Better presentation. I think that if an organization wants to be represented in an event of this nature, it really needs to put a little more effort into it then just strolling down the parade route in casual clothes or matching t-shirts. Take the Boy/Girl/Cub scouts for example. Aren't those organizations intended to make kids useful? Put all those merit badges to work. How cool would it be if they constructed a human-scale pinewood derby racer and paraded it down the street? (Did they actually have this and I missed it?) I've personally witnessed useless, drunk college kids construct fantastic floats for parades, so I'm sure that the fine upstanding citizens of our community could pull together to come up with something creative for this parade. An SUV with a stuffed animal on it does not a float make.

- Filters. It seems like any group that submits the requisite forms is allowed to participate. For goodness sake, even proponents of the library pedestrian bridge had dozens of people in the parade (yet they can't cross a street?). Even boring corporate entities such as apartment management companies were represented, even if their contribution amounted to nothing more than a generic balloon with their company logo printed on it. I'm sure they do a fine job scheduling the exterminator and having your sink fixed, but do we really need to see them in a parade? There needs to be someone in charge of quality control that has ultimate authority to give the thumbs down to prospective participants whose participation doesn't enhance the overall experience.

- Zombies. It suddenly struck me as I watched the parade - why in the hell is the Silver Spring Zombie Walk not represented here? Next year, God willing, we shall have zombies in the parade. Hopefully the parade powers-that-be are not too squeamish to allow such a thing. If they come back with the argument that zombies would scare small children, I am going to call BS. This year's parade already included the most terrifying creatures on the planet - clowns.

- More giant cartoon character balloons. What is a Thanksgiving parade without these? I don't know if it fell off a truck or something, but for whatever reason there was a giant Darth Stewie balloon in the parade. What does this have to do with Montgomery County? Absolutely nothing, but who cares? We need more of these. I don't care if they have to use a filthy, patched-up Odie balloon that hasn't been floated since 1986, just get it done.

- A live-action Rickroll float.

- Consolidation. Why have each of county council members spread throughout the parade in individual cars? That's not very "green", now is it? Why not instead have a float featuring a mock up of the county council chamber with all the councilpeople seated together in a simulated council session? They could even argue about the Fillmore or something. Far more efficient and entertaining. Also, if every fire department in the county is going to be represented, why not line up all the emergency vehicles in a row? The way it is now, all the various county fire departments' trucks are interspersed throughout the parade. I could see a more exciting "parade" if I set my house on fire. Why not just put them all together and simulate a ten-alarm fire? Also, more dalmatians.

Well, that's just my $0.02 on the matter. Make me the parade master (there is probably a really cool German word for this) and I'll make it happen.

Pedestrian Struck & Killed @ 16th and Colesville

2009-11-19T13:49:00.012-05:00

Unclear/unsafe pedestrian patterns, reckless driving, jaywalking or a combination of these resulted in the death of a pedestrian who was struck and killed trying to cross 16th Street near the Colesville intersection. It can be quite harrowing crossing 16th near that circle in a motor vehicle, much less on foot. It might be a pain to walk to the nearest crosswalk, but clearly your life might very well depend on it.

(Oddly, while there is no marked crosswalk at that intersection, there is a tiny little sidewalk on the median)

Personally I think the driver, provided he was abiding by all traffic laws in this situation, could also be considered a victim in this situation. I imagine that killing someone with your car would be quite traumatizing, not to mention that in our litigious society this could potentially expose him to a costly lawsuit.

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know one of my biggest pet peeves about Silver Spring are the jaywalkers in the downtown area and the lack of enforcement on the part of the police. The boldness of some of these jaywalkers is staggering, and its surprising that we haven't had a lot more fatal accidents over the years. It can be quite difficult to see people crossing the road in places where they shouldn't be, and now that the evening commute is made in darkness the danger is elevated. Even in my own residential neighborhood, away from the downtown area, I have come close to striking pedestrians wearing dark clothing and crossing unlit roads. By no means is this situation unique to Silver Spring, but that is where as a driver I have had innumerable close calls with pedestrians.

Just recently I was driving in the right hand lane when a pedestrian, while looking right at me, stepped directly in front of my car to start crossing the street, forcing me to swerve quickly to my left. As he was clearly aware of my presence, he was either:

- Stupid.
- On crack.
- Suicidal.
- So arrogant that he believed he could defy the laws of physics and win out in a collision between car and human.

Now I'm not averse to jaywalking myself in certain situations, but I use common sense to determine if there is any danger whatsoever from cars before committing to cross the street.

One thing that could potentially be done to alleviate the jaywalking menace in Silver Spring would be to install (tasteful) metal barriers along the sidewalks on Colesville between Spring St. and East-West Hwy. Openings would be provided only for bus stops. This would necessitate eliminating the limited number of street parking spaces on this stretch of road, though this would have the benefit of opening up two new full-time lanes on some stretches. I think that something of this nature will ultimately be a necessity between Fenton and Georgia once inebriated people begin to funnel out of the Fillmore on a nightly basis.

Putting up this type of deterrent isn't unheard of. In Langley Park, where jaywalking is/was an absolute epidemic, they've erected a fence in the New Hampshire Ave. median to check jaywalkers.

UPDATE: Coincidentally, Montgomery County just yesterday launched a campaign to educate pedestrians about the dangers of jaywalking. Unsurprisingly, more pedestrians are hit on the stretch of Piney Branch Road between Flower Ave. and the PG County line than anywhere else in the county.

UPDATE #2: As someone mentioned, there's actually a sidewalk that goes across the median on that block, up a ways from the intersection with Colesville:

This makes no sense... there's no signage for a crosswalk, no diagonal lines and it's not at the intersection, so this probably wouldn't qualify as being a continuation of the sidewalk along Colesville road and therefore making it a de jure crosswalk... so what is it? Obviously the county needs to do something here to clarify exactly where people should cross the street.

Hump Day News 'N Notes

2009-11-11T15:41:00.008-05:00

- Will the last person in Pittsburgh please turn out the lights? Apparently, even the beggars from Western Pennsylvania are coming to the DC area to find work. I noticed the dude at the Metro station with the electric wheelchair - a mainstay of the Silver Spring panhandling scene - was decked out in full Steelers regalia this Saturday. More than likely, he's just jumped on another team's bandwagon like a lot of ex-Redskins fans around here. Hell, 20 years ago wearing another team's colors would be a huge marketing faux pas for a panhandler, but at this point you're probably going to run across more Steelers fans than Skins fans.

- Greater Greater Washington has an excellent explanation on how the Purple Line will fit into the future transit center.

- The little stand at the corner of Ramsey and Wayne stocks one of the most inexplicable products I have come across in awhile - Che Guevara lanyards. They don't even feature the iconic Che image, they just have the words "Che Guevara" printed on them. Who buys this crap? I guess even Maryland Maoists need something to hold their IDs. Not properly displaying your badge could easily be considered counter-revolutionary.

- The Four Corners GameStop has now opened in the space that formerly housed a mattress store, a pet food shop and, many years ago, a High's. Though I usually try to avoid GameStop like the plague, it is now by far the most convenient place for me to buy a video game should I require one on short notice. If you absolutely have to shop there, here's a handy GameStop survival guide. Seriously, why was this not put in City Place? Oh, that's right - no one will go in there.

American Apparel Window Busted (Again)

2009-11-11T13:20:00.004-05:00

The window of the American Apparel on Colesville has once again been shattered. Was it a victim of another hate crime? A wayward automobile? The askew street lamp may lend some credence to the latter theory.

I was in a hurry when I passed by, so I didn't have a chance to ask. I bet at this point they have the glass company on speed dial.

Silver Spring Propaganda, Circa 1927

2009-11-04T14:00:00.008-05:00

I recently came across this 1927 newspaper advertisement extolling the virtues of purchasing land in Silver Spring, or "Maryland-North-Of-Washington". The ad was placed by the Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce, whose membership, I presume, was at least partially made up of those that owned the land being promoted.

(click image to enlarge)

Of all the reasons given to buy into Silver Spring, this is my favorite:

You can buy property in this desirable territory as reasonably as you can buy in the poorest, undesirable, row-house sections of Washington. (Translation: "Silver Spring: as cheap as the ghetto!")

At 30 cents per square foot, I guess you couldn't go wrong long-term. I imagine the two-year return in 1927 had to be better than investing in the stock market.

Crime Dog Goes Home With Tail Between His Legs

2009-11-02T21:25:00.007-05:00

So now the criminal scum are brazen enough to shoot people on Colesville Road during the peak of evening rush hour?

A 25-year-old man was shot Monday evening in downtown Silver Spring, Montgomery County police said.

The shooting was reported about 6 p.m. in the 8600 block of Colesville Road, near the AFI Silver Theatre and the City Place Mall.

Police said the man told them that he had just left a Gold's Gym in the area when two men tried to rob him on a sidewalk. They said he was shot in a leg, and taken to a hospital.

These guys will get caught. You can't pull that crap at a busy intersection and get away with it. (I've got a C note that says the perps weren't from Silver Spring.)

Be sure to read the comments section of the Post article. This event will no doubt bring out the usual anti-Silver Spring invective. Ironically, this is the same block that McGruff the Crime Dog was patrolling this morning. We don't need McGruff - we need RoboCop.

I've said it before - someday someone will get shot on Ellsworth, sending DTSS down the road towards becoming another Boulevard at the Capital Centre. Now we have a shooting just one block over. Let's hope this is the worst we see.

I blame City Place. Implode it.

UPDATE: Story from Fox 5.

No witnesses? Has the "Stop Snitchin'" campaign affected Silver Spring, too?

UPDATE #2:

Perhaps the innocent victim wasn't so innocent, after all...

A man who was shot and wounded Monday in downtown Silver Spring was attacked as a result of involvement in a possible drug deal and probably not in a random confrontation, Montgomery County police said Tuesday.

More Silver Spring Sign Goodness

2009-10-27T16:00:00.004-05:00

Here's another cool Mid-century sign in Silver Spring. The sign resides over the entrance to the arcade at the Glenmont Shopping Center, located at the intersection of Georgia Ave. and Randolph Rd. (Yes, this may be SSINO and borderline Wheaton, but whatever.)

Contrary to what the sign indicates, there is not actually a bowling alley located here - at least there isn't anymore. I don't recall ever bowling here when it was open, so I dug into it a bit. The bowling alley that formerly resided here was Glenmont Lanes, founded by former New York Giants football player "Tuffy" Leemans, who operated it until his death in 1979. Sadly, yet not surprisingly, the alley closed for good in 2002. Being a proper Maryland bowling alley, it was of course duckpin. I may be mistaken, but I believe the underground alley is now home to a church. These may or may not be photos of the current interior.

"Tuffy's" did live on in a sense until earlier this afternoon by way of its zombie website, hosted by mid-90's time capsule Geocities. Of course, with the plug finally being pulled on Geocities today, the site can now only be found in archived form. The last update appeared to be a league stat sheet from November of 2000. Sadly, the website included no photos of the interior of the alley. I imagine the interior as being a a bit of a throwback, similar to the (amazingly) still-operational White Oak Lanes.

Previously:

More Silver Spring Googie: Miles Glass Sign
Silver Spring Googie (Weller's Dry Cleaners)
A Hidden Silver Spring Gem - White Oak Lanes