Rosslyn asks if Artisphere is closing

Rosslyn, your non-local news sources are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what they read in non-local news. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Rosslyn, whether they be adult’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, a human is a mere insect, an ant, in her intellect as compared with the boundless world about her, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

No, Rosslyn, Artisphere is not closing. Artisphere exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Artisphere! It would be as dreary as if there were no Rosslyn. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Artisphere remaining open! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your mama to hire men to watch in all streets for signs announcing an Artisphere exihibit, but even if you did not see a sign for a single Artisphere exhibit, what would that prove? Artisphere for months went without signs, but that was no sign that there was no Artisphere. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor adults can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Rosslyn, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

Artisphere closing! Thank God! Artisphere lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Rosslyn, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, Artisphere will continue to make glad the hearts of residents. And the Ode Street Tribune will continue the long tradition of quality newspapers.

Verizon FiOS required to be available for everyone in Rosslyn by June 2016

Under the franchise agreement between Arlington County and Verizon, Verizon is required to make FiOS available to everyone in Arlington by June 2016. According to the Cable Administrator’s Report presented to the Arlington Information Technology Advisory Commission tonight, FiOS currently reaches 92.6% of the County. Buildout is continuing in Crystal City, Barcroft, and Alexandria wirecenters.

Nonetheless, Rosslyn's historically important Westmoreland Terrace Condominiums still lacks FiOS availability.Westmoreland Condos signed a license agreement for FiOS with Verizon in the spring of 2008. Verizon has not followed up on that agreement. FiOS is still not available to Westmoreland residents.

The Ode Street Tribune is investigating this matter further. The Tribune seeks reports from other Rosslyn residents also lacking FiOS service.

Rosslyn on the Potomac

Is it any wonder that many regard Manhattan as Rosslyn on the Hudson?

flag flies high in Rosslyn's Central Place

The center of Rosslyn is the center of America.

Sunday's video

move your body in Rosslyn

This Saturday and Sunday, American Parkour's 10th Annual Beast Coast Jam will bring athletes from all over the world to move around Rosslyn's Gateway Park. The event will also include information and instructions for persons interested in getting into parkour.

Here are some other opportunities for getting moving in Rosslyn:

1. Boot Camp high-intensity interval training. May 27- July 1; July 27 - Sept. 2. Monday and Wednesday, 6pm-7pm and Sat. 9:30am to 10:30am.
2. Yoga Hikes. Saturdays, May 2, 9, 16, 23 + July 4, 11, 18, 25 10:00am - 11:30am.
3. Lava Barre. Wednesdays in May, June, and July, 6:00pm - 7:00pm.

All these events will meet in Rosslyn's Gateway Park.You need to sign up to attend. Follow the link to sign up.

Mark Everson: Rosslyn pivotal to rise of presidential candidate

In 1986, Mark Everson chose to move from Cleveland Circle to Rosslyn. He and his wife wanted an easier commute to their government jobs and a more scenic location to live. Everson's move to Rosslyn led to his impressive government career, first as chief operating officer for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and then Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. Shouldering the crushing responsibility of running these large organizations depends on having a comfortable, enjoyable, and relaxing home life. Living in Rosslyn provided Mark Everson with that home life.

Mark Everson is now a candidate for U.S. President. He has put forward a six-point plan for making America better:

1. Taxes: reform rules so that the majority of Americans don't have to file taxes.
2. Banks: tighten enforcement of laws on banks.
3. National Security: reinstate mandatory national service.
4. Spending: means-test entitlement programs, including social security, to limit growth of debt ratio.
5. Immigration: provide a path to citizenship to everyone here and work to secure borders.
6. Presidency: pledges to serve only one term and seek a constitutional amendment limiting future presidents to one five or six year term.

In a recent interview with the Ode Street Tribune, Mark Everson said that the most important message he wants to send to Rosslyn residents is "Take a look at me. I'm not a political insider. Consider something different."

Rosslyn's importance in the upcoming U.S. presidential election is already beyond doubt. Among announced candidates, Mark Everson and Jim Webb have lived in Rosslyn or currently live in Rosslyn. In the coming year and half before the election, expect other candidates to seek to establish Rosslyn credentials. All politics is local politics, and no locality is more important than Rosslyn.

Draft Rosslyn Sector Plan offers spectacular vision

The Draft Rosslyn Sector Plan is ready for public review. The plan makes clear that Rosslyn's pre-eminent regional position in 1869 isn't merely history. Rosslyn's future will be even more spectacular than its past. Some highlights of the Draft Rosslyn Sector Plan:

1. N. Fort Myer Drive, N. Lynn Street, and N. Kent Street will be converted from one-way to two-way operation. This will also include removing the N. Fort Myer Drive tunnel beneath Wilson Boulevard.
2. The 18th Street corridor will be extended to run from N. Oak Street to Arlington Ridge Road. The corridor will create a new central spine for Rosslyn and feature a host of new public spaces.
3. A riverfront Esplanade will be established. It will be a landscaped, multiuse pathway along Rosslyn’s eastern and northern edges overlooking the Potomac River corridor landscape. It will extend from Gateway Park to River Place and ultimately to the Marine Corps War Memorial.
4. A significant and iconic pedestrian bridge will link a new Esplanade to the Potomac Riverfront near Roosevelt Island.

The Draft Rosslyn Sector Plan is being presented to the Long Range Planning Committee of the Arlington Planning Commission this Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 7pm to 10pm in 2100 Clarendon Blvd., County Board Room (3rd floor). The public is welcomed to attend the meetings.

Rosslyn House was premiere gathering place in 1869

On June 14, 1869, Rosslyn House celebrated its recent opening as a new luxury hotel and dining place. Rosslyn House was located about where Rosslyn's Safeway is currently located. Rosslyn House was under the proprietorship of Messrs. Sykes and Chadwick, who were also proprietors of Washington's prestigious and historic Willard Hotel.  The Washington Evening Star (a newspaper forefather of the Ode Street Tribune) noted the "singular beauty" of the Rosslyn location. It described Rosslyn as offering the finest panoramic views in the region. It reported that Rosslyn House offered "cool, airy rooms" and attracted eminent guests from across the country, as well leading newspapermen and most of the notables of Washington society.

With the completion of Rosslyn's Central Place, Rosslyn will again offer the finest panoramic views in the region. Rosslyn remains a center of newspapers and other media. As for the notables of Washington society today, we Rosslyn residents know who were are.

This important and little known Rosslyn history has been recovered through the work of John Stanton at the Center for Local History in Arlington Public Library. In response to an urgent request from the Ode Street Tribune for information about Rosslyn House, Mr. Stanton found articles about Rosslyn House in the June 15, 1869, issues of the Alexandria Gazette and the Evening Star. The former brief article mentioned that proprietors Messrs. Sykes and Chadwick were "of Williard's Hotel." The latter article is reproduced in full below. The Ode Street Tribune and all true-spirited Rosslyn residents are grateful for Mr. Stanton's important discovery.

From the front page of the (Washington) Evening Star, June 15, 1869:

ROSSLYN HOUSE -- This suburban retreat situated on the commanding eminence at Rosslyn, Va., opposite Georgetown, was "inaugurated" yesterday by a very pleasant entertainment given by the proprietors, Messrs. Chadwick & Sykes. The first thing in order was a stroll about the grounds; and the guests, embracing gentlemen of note from various parts of the country, expressed no little surprise and delight at the singular beauty of the situation. Of the five most sightly points about Washington, Arlingon Heights, Godd Hope, Soldier's Home, Red Bank (or Pole) Hll, and Roslsyn, the latter has perhaps the finest panoramic sweep, embracing as it does the two District cities, the picturesque valley of the Potomac above Georgetown to Little Falls, and the entire circuit of heights in Maryland and Virginian shores making the rim of the Washington basin.

Nature has done wonders for Rosslyn, and art has supplemented all requisite for the enjoyment of visitors seeking a mouthful of fresh air, (followed by something more substantial), at a point not too far distance from the city. The Rosslyn House has been fitted up in the cosiest style imaginable, with cool, airy rooms looking out upon delightful views, and the whole is under the genial and experienced superintendence of Mr. Jame Hendley, late of the Kirkwood House and known all over the country as the prince of landlords. A favorite drive {in horse-drawn carriage} now is that across the Aqueduct bridge to Arlington, returning by the Long Bridge and vice versa, and the  Rosslyn House affords just the desideratum needed in the shape of a "half-way house" for refreshments and relaxation. Among the guests yesterday at Rosslyn were Hon. M.S. Wilkenson of Minnesota; Hon M. Claflin of New York; Hon R. J. Haldeman of Pennsylvania, a full representation of leading newspaper men now in Washington, and most of the notables of Washington society.

Sunday's video

coffee house to save Rosslyn Highlands Park Friday night

An informal community meeting about saving Rosslyn Highlands Park will occur this Friday night at Rosslyn's BeanGood, The Coffee Pub, 1737 Wilson Blvd., at 6:30pm. The agenda:

• Hear an update on planning activities and public hearings
• Share ideas and ambitions for Rosslyn Highlands Park
• Discuss collaboration with Wilson School development and access to school amenities
• Get information, ask questions, get involved and take home a Save the Park yard sign!

In related news, the 9 Songwriter Series will be at Artisphere's Dome Theatre at 8pm on Friday night. If the Highlands Park meeting goes on too long for you to make that show, you could go to Drop Electric & Laughing Man at Artisphere on Saturday night.

Rosslyn white oak continues to florish despite killer mushroom attack

Last year, Rosslyn's famous secret hiding spot at the base of this white oak was filled with a killer mushroom. Mushroom experts offered dire prognostications for the tree. This year the killer mushroom did not return. The tree looks full and healthy. Never under-estimate the vitality of Rosslyn's trees.

see Rosslyn buttercups before mowing slaughter

In the lush, long grass along the Virginia-Rosslyn-Washington multi-user expressway, buttercups are glistening. Take a walk and check them out. Walk to the north gate of Rosslyn's Arlington National Cemetery and following the trail around the wall of the cemetery. The buttercups are plentiful right where the trail curves along the access loop near Memorial Dr.

In past years, mowers have come through and slaughtered the grass and flowers. Kids must better educate adults about the ecological harm of mowing the grass. Just don't do it!

Peyton Palmore left Rosslyn with great memories

Peyton Palmore, a long-time and much loved Rosslyn resident (and also an enthusiastic reader of the Ode Street Tribune), died on December 28, 2014. He was 87 years old. Here's an obituary for Peyton. You can find many warm memories of Peyton in the memory book (click on the link just above Memories and Candles). Here are two small excerpts:

• You, Peyton Lee, were the greatest benefactor a man could ever have. I recall that day in the summer of 1952 when you (covered with poison ivy!) roared into my life. Remember? You had ridden your motorcycle down from Yale to be a counselor at Camp Wakanda, our Winchester, Virginia, Methodist district youth camp, where I was an 18-year-old junior counselor.Your love of Japan was palpable—and contagious.
• Paru-san (Peyton's Japanese name) was a kind, thoughtful, and generous man. Although my family and I only knew him for the last few years of his long life, he made a lasting impact on us. We got to know Paru-san through his volunteer work with our community Japanese language group for children. Paru-san read traditional Japanese stories to the kids and regaled them with tales of life in old Japan. He remembered all the lullabies and fairy tales from his time as a child there. His knowledge of Japan was encyclopedic and his Japanese language perfect.

With his combination of cosmopolitan outlook and practical, fix-it skills, Peyton represented all that's great about Rosslyn. He will live on forever in the Rosslyn Hall of Fame.

Sunday's video

contribute to local transportation development

As a hub of multi-user trails, metro lines, and roads, Rosslyn is a leader in regional transport. You can help to shape transit development plans by participating in the Arlington Transit Transportation Development Plan Update Survey. Make your voice heard!

There's also a trip survey. The purpose:

In order to better identify transit service needs in Arlington, we'd like to learn more about where people travel to and from. Think of a trip that you make on a regular basis that either starts or ends in Arlington. This could be a trip to work, school, shopping, run errands, etc... It can be a trip that you usually drive, walk, bike or use transit for. Using the form below, fill in your trip’s starting location and ending location. ... You can submit as many trips as you like.

Submitting Rosslyn trips will help to ensure recognition of Rosslyn's importance in transportation networks.

Miss Rosslyn's annual party? beer garden on Friday!

In the greater Rosslyn metropolitan area, the only party more important than the White House Correspondents Dinner is the annual Rosslyn City Social on May 14. This see-and-be-seen event is a unique opportunity to rub shoulders with Rosslyn's movers and shakers and power brokers. Unfortunately, RSVPs for the event are "temporarily full." Pressure to get on the guest list is intense.

Important networking and hobnobbing takes place not just at the City Social, but also at pre-event and post-event parties. One such party is a beer garden on May 15 at Rosslyn's Plaza on 19th St. The beer garden will be from 4pm to 8pm. Anyone who knows the Ode Street Tribune's publisher can get an invitation to the beer garden.

Rosslyn workers uphold work-life balance

Many workers in the region remain in their cubicles past the close of the business day. They want to tie down that last piece of business. That's not the Rosslyn way.

When the business day ends in Rosslyn, workers don't hesitate to leave business hanging. The matter can be taken care of on the next business day. That's why what looks like an air-conditioning unit hung in the sky of Rosslyn all last week-end.

Redskins at Rosslyn's SpinFire Pizza Tuesday evening

Rosslyn's SpinFire pizza is having a grand opening celebration this Tuesday night from 6:30 to 8:30pm. Sources have informed the Ode Street Tribune that Washington Redskins players are likely to be at the Rosslyn opening.

To be a professional football player, you have to be fast. When you're really hungry and want a pizza, you want a pizza place that's fast. SpinFire pizza is football-player fast. They make custom pizzas in 90 seconds flat.

Sunday's video

Central Place rising in Rosslyn

Soon Central Place will be protruding skyward in Rosslyn. There's nothing more exiting than a massive erection!