Barrack's Row on 8th St, SE, Washington, DC

Metro Plaza - Library Focus

The S.E. Library, one of two Carnegie libraries on Capital Hill (along with the NE  Library on 7th St., NE), can be thought of as the "head" or focal point of the park and should be linked physically and visually to the Metro Plaza and the other parks. Workshop participants like the potential of pulling people into the library as they are passing through the Metro area.

The space is currently barren and uninviting -- a thoroughfare with no place to sit, little shade and poor lighting. At present, trees separate the park from the library with no focus on this lovely and historically significant building that rises above the Plaza. The focus on Metro somehow relegates this to  a pass-through.

One workshop participant suggested that this Metro plaza should be a surprising and wonderful place to emerge when coming out of the subway station. To make this a reality, changes could include alterations to the pedestrian circulation system to open up the corner and link to the library.
It was also suggested that there may be ways that Capitol Hill's two Carnegie libraries could cooperate to promote reading through exhibits, lectures in the Metro Plaza.

Recommended Changes:

• Link library to park both physically and visually.
• Focus the plaza on books and learning. Hold used book fairs and market new products for children. Celebrate local writers.
• Build a diagonal path through the space since that is how it is used to get to bus and Metro.
• Install better lighting that is well-designed and inviting.
• Provide seating in the area.
• Shade is required, perhaps through  trellises and even some forms of bamboo.
• Provide a gazebo, carousel or a bandstand for music - John P. Souza is from this neighborhood and perhaps the plaza is a place to celebrate that part of DC's heritage.
• Place classy, book-themed benches throughout the plaza.
• Install a playground to meet needs of the local daycare group and many young families on Hill (there was some disagreement about this since the plaza has a travel function as well). Many of the same elements appeal to people of all ages.
• Install a water feature -- a fountain with a literary theme.
• Invite vendors, perhaps from the Eastern Market area, to have kiosks here to sell food. Provide tables and chairs.
• Work with the Newseum on some special events to be held in this plaza.
• The newspaper boxes are a jumble and need some organizing design.
• The signage for the area at the Metro needs improving.
• Because of the number of buses, there needs to be very clear information on bus routes, etc.
• Screen Pennsylvania Avenue with trees to give some sense of enclosure to the plaza.
• Work with B.I.D. on litter control and frequent trash removal.
• Local stores surrounding the park should somehow be linked to its future use -- Kinko's, Radio Shack, Starbucks, CVS, etc.
  

Metro Plaza - 8th Street Edge

Participants liked  the openness and the opportunity to encounter "uncanny" people. But the area is more of a "pass through" than a real place.  While the current sidewalks along 8th Street are serving as  cafes, there is no extension of this activity into the park.

Recommended Changes:

• Treat this as a gateway entry to Barracks Row as well as to the Capitol.
• Install a marker to point to the Marine Barracks and the Navy Yard.
• Provide a map of businesses and some history of the area.
• Introduce any banners or other decorative features that become emblematic of 8th Street.
  

Neighborhood Park - 8th Street Northbound Bus Stop

The  bus stop is uncomfortable; however, it is accessible and has good visibility  and a nice view of the flowering tree at the corner of the school yard.

Recommended  Changes:

• Create more shade.
• Do a better job of maintenance and litter control.
• Demark the area with flower pots.
• Locate historic  markers, banners, etc. as recommended above to link area to 8th Street and Barracks Row.
• Install more comfortable benches.
  

Neighborhood Park - Interior

The Park offers good access and link to Metro through the park. While it is desirable to have  benches, the benches are not well maintained. The place looks seedy and uninviting upon closer look.

Recommended Changes:

• Needs a clear tie with the  surrounding neighborhood.
• Add a playground to attract children  and serve many young families now on Hill.
• A sculpture (similar to that at Lincoln Park) or water fountain could make this place a real standout.
• Are the plantings here  appropriate? The roses look nice, but are there more kid-friendly plants that could be used?

Hines Middle School

There are several simple modifications that can be made to improve the visual quality of Hines Middle School. The banner citing the school for educational achievement has been up there for many years and is faded. The red door needs to be painted. The door is used as an exit, but it looks very uninviting. The main entrance on 8th Street is equally unattractive. There is an evident lack of maintenance with many weeds. The windows, with their extensive wire coverings, contribute to a fortress-like quality.

Recommended Changes:

• Spruce up the exterior with paint. There may be a wall suitable for a fine mural that the kids could paint.
• Get a new banner or get rid of the old one. It detracts rather than adds to the neighborhood.
• Draw the school into the adjoining open spaces with art displays.
• Repave the sidewalk around the school. It now feels like pedestrians are passing a wasteland, not a special place. 
• Remove the chain-link fence. It is one way to open up access to the school.
• Involve the school in some community gardening, both on school grounds and potentially in the neighborhood park across the street.
  

Conclusions

• The interrelated set of open spaces, institutions, and functions in this particular location -- near the Market, the Metro and bus lines -- should be viewed as a tremendous local asset.
• The school should be viewed as a major institution and user of the spaces rather than as a source of problems.
• Pennsylvania Avenue is currently a speedway and needs major traffic calming around the Eastern Market area, beginning at 9th Street. Cars need to slow down and driver's expectations need to change as cars approach the Capitol. This could help with the hazardous conditions now in front of the school where kids routinely dart in front of on-coming traffic.
• As plans proceed to redevelop these areas, there should be a formal neighborhood involvement process  providing opportunities for place analysis and recommendations (as in this workshop) to develop an innovation and integrated plan that both reflects neighborhood needs and values and also solves problems with the existing spaces.