Conference Highlights

I decided not to take any pictures at conference since privacy seems to be such an issue, but I have no excuse for not taking notes. I was lazy. I should have known better. What follows are only a few vignettes from this past weekend. Overall, I left with more confidence in myself, the desire to be a better person, and the resolve to reach out to others, beginning with my family. To me, this was the spirit of the conference.

-Dancing the Barn Dance with the cowboys!!! Need I say more? Yee-owe!

-Gene Robinson received a postcard adorned with a beautiful picture of an altar in England. On the back, an anonymous sender wrote that he had a bullet ready for Gene and his partner. In the face of serious death threats and escalating tensions within the church, Gene received the encouraging words in a letter, "Sometimes God calms the storm around us, and sometimes God lets the storm rage around us and calms our inner soul."

-"If there is nothing else that you remember of what I say it is this: YOU MATTER." -Lani Graves

-Like many, I was surprised and delighted to hear Jonathan Rauch give such personal remarks on marriage. He closed by quoting, "To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish 'till death do us part," and with, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Standing in the Thornton room on the 11th floor, the Capitol building was his backdrop.

-With several other conferences scheduled simultaneously with ours in the hotel, we constantly bumped elbows with other patrons. Tia was in an elevator when a couple of women entered. They were talking, and one said, "Have you noticed all of the gays in this building?" Without missing a beat, Tia reached in the depth of her voice and interjected, "Yeah, IT'S DISGUSTING, ISN'T IT???"

-After concluding her remarks at the Saturday workshop, Carol Lynn Pearson sat down. Nobody stood up to leave, and everyone was silent. Reverence permeated the room. Dana turned to me and said, "Time for the closing hymn and prayer." And that's just how it felt.

-I was impressed with the research and thought that Will Gartshore put into his cabaret. Garments may be an easy target, but to discover the beloved hymn, "Come, Come Ye Saints," and to play it in the background while speaking of the saints' desire for respite in the west was brilliant. And I think he was genuinely serious when he compared P-Town to Salt Lake City! (Actually, he's not too far off when you think about it.)

-"A more perfect onion..." [the opening lines to Mike Kessler's moving talk at the Sunday devotional]

For all you conference goers, let me know your favorite moments. Send an email or make a comment!

Culture on the Cheap

TICKETplace
407 Seventh Street, NW
(between D and E Streets)
Washington, DC
202.TIC.KETS (202.842.5387)

Hours:
Tuesday - Friday: 11:00 am to 6:00 pm
Saturday: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Closed Sunday (Tickets for Sunday performances are sold on Saturday)
Online sales are available Tuesday through Friday from 12:00 noon - 4:00 pm only.

Metro:
TICKETplace is located midway between the Archives (Yellow/Green Lines) and Gallery Place (Red/Yellow/Green Lines--7th & F Street exit) Metro stations.

Theatergoers attending the Conference who have extra time in Washington may want to check out TICKETplace, the half-price ticket seller sponsored by the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington. (Because there is an additional 12% service charge, the actual price of a discounted ticket is 62% of its face value.) TICKETplace offers discounted, day-of-performance tickets to several plays and musicals (and sometimes to concert, opera and dance performances).

The TICKETplace website posts daily the shows for which discounted tickets are available, and in some cases theaters allow you to purchase discounted tickets online without having to actually go to TICKETplace. For example, in checking what is available for tonight (Thursday), I note that at least three well-reviewed plays at theaters accessible by Metro are available: Well at Arena Stage, My Children! My Africa! at Studio Theatre, and A Lesson Before Dying at Round House Theatre. Availability varies each day.

Artistic Diversions

Art lovers attending the Affirmation Conference will find that they have arrived in Washington shortly after the openings of two blockbuster art retrospectives at the National Gallery of Art, located on the National Mall at 4th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, not far from the Hyatt hotel. Admission to the National Gallery is always free, and the museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The Edward Hopper exhibition is the first comprehensive survey of Hopper's career to be seen in American museums outside New York in more than 25 years. Focusing on the period of the artist's great achievements—from about 1925 to midcentury—the exhibition will feature such iconic paintings as Automat (1927), Drug Store (1927), Early Sunday Morning (1930), New York Movie (1939), and Nighthawks (1942).

The J.M.W. Turner exhibition is the most comprehensive survey of Turner's work ever presented in the United States. More than 145 paintings and watercolors reveal the astonishing talent and imagination of this artist—whom Alfred, Lord Tennyson called "The Shakespeare of landscape."

For more information about these exhibitions, I have provided a link to the comments made by one of Washington's most insightful bloggers on the arts. For his comments on the Hopper show, please click here, and for his comments on the Turner show, please click here.

Music lovers may also be interested to know that on a few rare occasions each year, the National Symphony Orchestra plays a Friday matinee concert at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, and this coming Friday, October 5, at 1:30 PM, is one of those occasions. (The early starting time of the concert leaves you plenty of time to return to the hotel long before the Conference activities begin on Friday evening.)

This is the opening weekend of the NSO's subscription season, and they're starting things off with a bang - the program includes a performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Conductor Leonard Slatkin leads the NSO, a quartet of accomplished soloists, and The Choral Arts Society of Washington. You can find more information here.

Guide to the Gay Ghetto

METRO: Red line,
Dupont Circle Metro Stop

I've had requests for more info about DC nightlife. Most of the gay scene is nestled within the borders of Dupont Circle. Most, but not all, and there is much more to nightlife in DC than this small parcel of land. Dupont is a good starting point, and since it's only a few stops from Union Station on the Red Line, it's easily accessible.

The following pages list a few of the amenities this neighborhood offers. I'll continue to add more as time permits.

What Is Dupont Circle?

Axis
Candleman

Club Chaos

D.I.K. Bar (a.k.a. Windows)

Halo

Human Rights Campaign Store

JR's Bar & Grill

Kramer Books & Afterwards Cafe & Grill
Lambda Rising
Marvelous Market
People on the Street
Raku
Teaism
Trio Restaurant

Dupont Circle - A Brief History

Dupont Circle is a traffic circle where Connecticut Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue, New Hampshire Avenue, P Street, and 19th Street converge. One, two, three...yes, that's five streets all at one intersection. These streets meld into two circles; the inner circle is exclusively for travel on Massachusetts Avenue, the outer circle connects all the other streets.

These often congested traffic lanes encircle a park. In the center of the park is a large, white marble fountain, donated by the du Pont family in the early 1900's, that replaced a small bronze statue of Admiral Samuel du Pont. Locals refer to the neighborhood simply as "Dupont," and some of us even call it "the Ghetto."


This once sleepy part of town saw a building boom at the turn of the century. The nation's plutocracy built over 100 mansions along Massachusetts and Connecticut Avenues and Dupont Circle itself. After the Great Depression and World War II, the neighborhood fell into decline and many buildings were demolished to make way for larger office buildings. In the 1970's the gay population began to move into the neighborhood, establishing it as the gay ghetto. This now vibrant part of town teems with boutiques, bookstores, restaurants, bars and clubs.

Kramer Books & Afterwords Cafe & Grill

1517 Connecticut Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Daily 7:30am - 1:00am
24 hours Friday & Saturday
Live Music Wed - Sat Night

Free - check your e-mail at the bar

Raku

An Asian Diner
1900 Q St. NW
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: 202.265.7258

Cuisines:
Fusion/Eclectic, Japanese, Sushi, Thai

Sushi $3 to $10, appetizers $4.50 to $10, entrées $8.25 to $23.

West Virginia Artist

This artist hails from West Virginia. He lives in an art colony and works not only as an artist but carpenter, farmer, plumber, electrician, house maker, janitor...in short, an all purpose handyman. That's what living in part of such a community means, I suppose.

I've seen others from this colony before in China Town. They're harmless, really, but something about their presentation seems off-putting to middle America. What would Tim Gunn say?

Marvelous Market

1511 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036

Mon-Sat: 8:00 am - 9:00pm
Sun: 8:30 am-7:00pm




Mark Furstenburg established the first Marvelous Market in 1990. With a reputation of quality and a market thirsty for premium baked goods, the bakery has grown to an 8-store local franchise. Come here for a wide selection of cheeses, cookies, croissants, pasta, sauces, oils, vinegars, sandwiches and more.

Trio Restaurant

1537 17th St NW
Washington, DC 20036

Sun-Thurs: 8:00 am-midnight
Fri & Sat: 8:00am-1 am

If you need a milkshake, hamburger or fries after dancing a frenzy at Chaos, you can cross Q Street to Trio. I think of Trio more like a diner than a restaurant. The food scores high on comfort and lower on quality. Since it stays open until one in the morning on Fridays and Saturdays, it's a good option for refueling before heading to the next dance floor.

Teaism

2009 R Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009

Hours:
Monday - Thursday 8:00 am to 10:00 pm
Friday 8:00 am to 11:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am to 11:00 pm
Sunday 9:00 am to 10:00 pm
Brunch Sat. & Sun. 9:00 am to 2:30 pm


For affordable, simple, good quality tea and food, Teaism is a local favorite. Sandwiches are unfortunately only served Mondays thru Fridays, but with a menu that includes Bento boxes, you won't be hurting for choices. This is a great place for a small bite on the go or for a "big dish" under $10. Check out their menu here.

D.I.K. Bar (a.k.a. Windows)

1637 17th Street NW
(between Corcoran St & R St)
Washington, DC 20009

Now known as D.I.K. Bar (for Dupont Italian Kitchen), people refer to it by its previous moniker "Windows." Usually an older crowd, patrons at Windows mingle to the lovely tunes of crooner wannabes belting it out on the karaoke machine.

Club Chaos

1603 17th St NW
Washington, DC 20009


I still haven't been to Chaos. I've been told the joint is a favorite among Latinos. The guy holding the stick to the left was frisking people as they entered. I'm not sure when that started, but some might find it a perk.

Candleman

1745 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20009-1108

Hours of Operation:
Monday – Thursday, 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Friday, 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Sunday, 12:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.


Meet the friendly owners of Candleman, Lindsay Cobbs & Don Kirk. They opened shop just a few years ago, and now their business is taking off. They carry specialty lotions, candles, and other home accessories.

JR's Bar & Grill

1519 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Open Daily

JR's is casual and relaxed, nothing fancier than a T-shirt required. If the ground floor is too crowded, you might find room upstairs around the pool table.

Halo

1435 P Street, NW
Washington, DC 20002
opens daily at 5 pm


I'm categorizing Halo in the Dupont neighborhood, although it's technically part of Logan Circle. Still, it's a straight shot from the Dupont Metro and within walking distance at only about 5 blocks away.

Before the DC smoking ban, Halo was one of the few voluntarily smoke free bars (where there any others?). The cool white walls and ceiling reflect the ever changing colors of the LED's and provide the perfect backdrop for the preppy, trendy crowd that gathers here. Drinks are apparently a little pricey here, but the music is typically low enough to hold conversations.

Washington Mormon Chapel

16th Street & Harvard Square, NW
dedicated 1933

[This building is currently owned by Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church]

by Buckley Jeppson

The old Washington Mormon Chapel is described in the American Institute of Architecture’s Guide to the Architecture of Washington D.C. as “one of the most elegant small churches in the city.”

The building, dedicated in 1933, was distinguished in three areas: exterior design, interior design, and works of art. The building is an unusual design for a Mormon chapel in that it was designed to serve as a symbol of the Church in the nation’s capital as well as to provide physical facilities for Church activities.

EXTERIOR DESIGN
Patterned after one spire of the Salt Lake Temple, the building was designed by Don Carlos Young and Ramm Hansen, who also designed the Church Administration Building in Salt Lake City and the Church’s Arizona Temple dedicated five years earlier. The Washington Post wrote that “the church is designed to become a monument to Mormonism in the National Capital, and it will be one of the finest buildings for chapel use that the followers of Joseph Smith have ever erected.”

Utah Senator Reed Smoot appealed directly to Mrs. Mary Henderson, Widow of Senator John Henderson of Missouri to purchase the land. She sold the lot to the Church in 1924. The building was constructed of Utah birds eye marble, a material which has caused maintenance problems in Washington’s damper climate.

INTERIOR DESIGN
The small lot available made it difficult to include all the usual elements of a Mormon chapel. This caused the interior design to be as unique as the exterior. A chapel is the focus of the first floor, with an amusement hall and stage behind. Doors between the two halls allow for a doubling of the chapel’s seating capacity. The plan was innovative, in 1933, but later became the standard Mormon chapel plan.

The building, however, contained two other floors below ground level. Below the amusement hall is a two story gymnasium (to provide enough room to play basketball.) A mezzanine surrounds the gymnasium at the one story level, providing both a balcony for viewing sporting events one story below, and serving as a hall to adjacent classrooms. Directly under the chapel is a Junior Sunday School room and additional classrooms. One floor below, on the lowest level, a scout room, mechanical rooms, and dressing rooms surround the playing floor of the gymnasium.

Contemporary reports claimed that the building was the first fully air conditioned church in Washington, and one claimed it was “probably the first chapel in America to be air-cooled.” The design also provided living accommodations for the Church custodian. All in all, the design provides a remarkable use of a small building lot.

ART
The building also contained many works of art. Thorlief Knapsus’s sculpture of the Angel Moroni (since removed) capped the spire, making it the only chapel in the Church with a statue of the Angel Moroni on top. The building contains a mosaic panel “The Sermon on the Mount,” by Mahonri Young, and stained glass windows depict Utah wild flowers and the Hill Cumorah. The building contains a fine 5,000 pipe organ and for years had an original portrait of Church President Heber J. Grant.

BUILDING DEDICATION
The 1933 dedication of the building was a memorable occasion befitting a temple rather than a chapel. Three thousand people attended. The entire first Presidency (Heber J. Grant, Anthony W. Ivins, and J. Reuben Clark) and five of the twelve Apostles were present. President Roosevelt was invited, but could not come.

BUILDING USE
Tabernacle organist Edward Kimball was called as organist for the Washington Chapel and during the next four years gave more than 1,000 organ recitals. Additionally, tabernacle organists Roy M. Darley and Alexander Schreiner later were called to play organ recitals on the building’s fine pipe organ.

For over 40 years the building served as the symbol of the Church in the nation’s capital. The Washington Stake was organized during a 1940 conference in the building. President Benson served as stake president in the building. Later, Apostle Matthew Cowley was ordained a high priest in the building while being set apart as Sunday School President by Reed Smoot while Cowley was a Washington student. The chapel was the scene of much of the history of Mormonism in Washington from 1933 until 1976.

HRC

Human Rights Campaign
Action Center & Store

1633 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20009
Phone: 202/232-8621
Fax: 202/232-7699

Lambda Rising

1625 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 462-6969
(Fax)(202) 462-7257
www.lambdarising.com

Sun-Thurs 10:00 am - 10:00 pm
Fridays and Saturdays 10:00 am - midnight

Global Warming

Earth over easy, as seen in Axis' storefront window. What this has to do with getting a haircut, I'm not sure. But I like it.

Having My Cake, and Eating It, too

The Love Cafe

1501 U Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
202.265.9800

Monday—Thursday 9am-10pm
Friday 9am-11pm
Saturday 9am-Midnight
Sunday 10am-10pm

You know a bakery is good when the menu begins with "Nothing is fat free." Cake Love uses real butter to bake and isn't afraid to tell you. In fact, that's what makes it so good; the art of baking demands no substitutes. The bakery gave birth to the Love Cafe, and the cafe quickly became a hot spot for locals to gather casually while sipping Lavazza and eating cake. Warren, the owner, has expanded his business to Silver Spring, Maryland, and Shirlington, Virginia.

The Love Cafe recently introduced the Cupcake Bar. You choose a cupcake, choose your frosting, choose your toppings and voilà ! You have an instant custom cupcake. Personally, I can't resist the layered cakes, so I called up my friend Atul and asked if he wanted to meet me at the café.

Atul and I stood in line behind four customers. It was 8:30+ pm and more people were queuing up after us. Waiting in line gave us the opportunity to salivate over the desserts and decide what to order.

"I'm in the mood for something with citrus," said Atul while mentally selecting the lemon tart.

As refreshing the thought a berry tart might be, I was drawn to the chocolate. I was debating between chocolate cake with vanilla butter cream frosting or its counterpart, white cake with chocolate butter cream, but Atul convinced me to inquire about a mysterious looking cake covered in dark chocolate.

"What's in Cynthia's Sin?" I asked the lady taking our order.

"It's a chocolate cake with peanut filling and chocolate ganache." Enough! I was sold.

I expected a thick peanut butter filling, like the inside of a Reese’s peanut butter cup, since I've had other desserts with a similar description ( e.g. the Cheesecake Factory's peanut butter cup cheesecake). The first bite into the creamy interlayer was a surprising delight. It was light and fluffy with an understated flavor; rather than assault your taste buds, the taste of peanuts gradually grew in intensity. Smalls chunks of peanuts in the cream added crunch and texture to counterpose the soft cake.

I tried a bite of the lemon tart. It was reminiscent of a lemon meringue pie without the meringue. The flavor was intense, a bit too intense for me. Perhaps Atul’s tea helped to clear the palate in between bites.

Favorite Building

Washington National Cathedral
(Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul)
Massachusetts & Wisconsin Avenues, NW

1906-1907 Goerge Frederick Bodley
1907-1917 Henry Vaughan; Arthur B. Heaton, superintending architect
1920-1942 E. Donald Robb
1920-1944 Harry B. Little
1971-1973 James E. Godwin, superintending architect
1973-1981 Howard B. Trevillian, Jr., superintending architect
1981-1990 Anthony L. Segreti, superintending architect
1981-1993 Robert Calhoun Smith, superintending architect
1989 EDAW Inc., landscape architects, west front

I'm often asked, "What is your favorite building in DC?" Honestly, I don't know. Do I have to have a favorite? Many think that as an architect I would, and perhaps I should have something handy to say when others inquire.

It's not the subject matter. I simply don't have a lot of favorites. Period. I appreciate many things based on their own merit, not as a comparison. The Library of Congress is beautiful and worthy of a tour. The columns and space of the National Building Museum leave no doubt why this is a favorite Washingtonian space, fit for inaugural balls. I love the history behind this former pension building: the stairs were designed to allow wounded war veterans to ascend them while riding a horse! I have yet to pass the threshold of the Finnish Embassy, but it's green architecture has an aesthetic appeal that even the most rednecked appreciate. These are all relatively grand, public spaces. There are many more humble buildings that could go on my list of laudable structures.

Though I struggle to answer the all too frequent question, I do have a few non-architect friends who immediately respond with, "The National Cathedral."

As the sixth largest cathedral in the world, it is certainly impressive. I love singing in its cavernous space. Your voice reverberates 6-7 seconds long after you've stopped, which makes for muddy but rather enveloping acoustics.

This building is also worthy of a tour. Besides amazing stone- and woodwork, here are some other fun facts:

-Helen Keller's ashes have been interred here
-A stained glass window incorporates a moon stone
-One if the grotesques is formed in the likeness of Darth Vader

I pass this edifice at least twice a day, to and from work. I'm grateful to live near it. I'm grateful to sing in it on a regular basis. You be the judge for yourself; you might discover it's your favorite.