Picturing The District Of Yesteryear, Online

Ballpark and Beyond is from Jacqueline Dupree's blog on development in Near Southeast Washington, an area between Capitol Hill and the Anacostia River that is being transformed by the construction of the Nationals baseball stadium.

The District Department of Transportation recently added 25 images to its nascent online historical photo gallery, providing decades-old views of locations throughout the city, including two dandy shots of Near Southeast.

One is from 1949, showing M Street at about 10th Street, looking east (before the 11th Street Bridge flyovers were built). The other is of South Capitol Street just south of N, looking south toward the Douglass Bridge circa 1957, showing the raised approach that was demolished this summer.

There are a couple of buildings in the 1957 photo that are still standing, although one of them will be demolished soon to make way for Camden Development's new residential project at 1325 South Capitol St. But I'm surprised to see that the U-Haul building at P Street was once a Lansburgh's department store.

This online archive is part of a project launched by DDOT in 2005 "to identify, consolidate, restore and catalogue an archival collection of historical documents, materials, photographs and artifacts" covering 125 years of bridge construction, traffic, streetcars, tunnels and road widening. The agency estimates that the photograph collection contains more than 25,000 images. Eventually all materials will be made available to the public. To see the photos, go to http://ddot.dc.gov.

Upcoming Council Hearings

With the August recess over, the City Council is swinging back into action, and there are a number of Near Southeast-related hearings scheduled over the next few weeks.

The Committee on Economic Development is having a public oversight hearing on "Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Transition of Projects on the Southwest Waterfront, Hill East, Poplar Point, Canal Park, and Kingman Island," scheduled for noon Oct. 1. The progress of Canal Park (or lack thereof) continues to be of great interest to Near Southeast residents, and perhaps by the time of this hearing there will be some movement on relocating the school buses parked there. There are rumors afoot that the buses could be moved to a temporary lot once a long-term home is secured -- and apparently there may soon be a contract before the City Council approving a permanent lot in Prince George's County.

There's also a Sept. 20 Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary public oversight roundtable on "Capital Projects and Space Needs for Public Safety Agencies," which should touch on plans for a new home for the Metropolitan Police Department and whether the move to the old Post Plant at 225 Virginia Ave. is indeed called off. In August, one day after the Office of Property Management said that the move was canceled, The Post reported that the mayor's office was indicating he had made no decision one way or the other. There's been no announcement since.

Other council hearings over the next few weeks that touch on Near Southeast issues include a Committee on Finance and Revenue public hearing Sept. 26 on B17-0292, "Arthur Capper/Carrollsburg Public Improvements Revenue Bonds Approval Amendment Act of 2007" and a Sept. 24 Committee on Economic Development public hearing on B17-0340, "National Capital Revitalization Corporation and Anacostia Waterfront Corporation Clarification Act of 2007."

Some of these may be broadcast on D.C. Cable 13 and via streaming video at http://octt.dc.gov.

Southwest Waterfront Forum

There will be a community forum on plans for the redevelopment of the Southwest Waterfront, presented by Hoffman-Struever Waterfront LLC and the District, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at Southeastern University, 501 I St., SW.

Jacqueline Dupree, a Post staff member and Ward 6 resident, has been tracking changes in the area since 2003. For updates and links to documents and sites mentioned here, go tohttp://www.jdland.com/dc.