Capitol File - 2015 - Issue 3 - Summer - Maggie Michael

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COVER ARTIST: MAGGIE MICHAEL

EMERGING ARTISTS AND CAPITAL CULTURE

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When ornithologist S. Dillon Ripley came to the Smithsonian as its secre-

tary in 1964, his agenda was to liven up “very dull” museums as well as the

little-used National Mall, which he called “Forest Lawn on the Potomac.”

He hired impresario James Morris and folk music aficionado Ralph Rinzler

who would, in Ripley’s words, “Take the instruments out of their glass cases

and let them sing” at the first Folklife Festival, held on the Mall in 1967,

almost 50 years ago.

That Festival, a four-day event held over the Fourth of July holiday, fea-

tured musicians and artisans from around the United States, demonstrating

a variety of Appalachian, Puerto Rican, African American, Native

American, and ethnic European traditions. The Festival drew hundreds of

thousands of visitors, praise from members of Congress, and effusive press:

“Fresh air for the Nation’s Attic,” gushed The New York Times; “A ball on the

Mall,” toasted The Washington Post.

Although the Festival did have its doubters, the public embraced its

spirit as the Smithsonian came alive. The purpose was to illustrate the

diversity and beauty of long-lived traditions still practiced in many com-

munities across the United States, but often ignored or taken for granted.

The Festival expanded to include international artists, and visitors them-

selves participated—as they sang, danced, ate, and ritualized with people

of many cultures.

The Festival grew in popularity and size, especially in the 1976 US

Bicentennial. That’s when I was hired by Rinzler to work with musicians and

craftsmen from India and Pakistan. I was amazed by what seemed like a

party on the Mall given by scholars, and animated by the world’s finest

exemplars of the world’s cultural traditions. For decades, I helped host New

Mexican weavers and New York bagel makers and thousands of others on

the Mall, including the Dalai Lama, and Yo-Yo Ma playing his cello—in

Bermuda shorts—along with musicians from dozens of countries along the

Silk Road. After almost five decades, the Festival has not only inspired a mil-

lion visitors a year, but it has also generated scholarly research resulting in

scores of books and recordings, provided a model for other large-scale pub-

lic presentations, and helped utilize local cultural heritage for positive civic,

economic, and educational purposes around the world. This year’s Festival

takes place June 24–28 and July 1–5 on the National Mall, between Third and

Fourth Sts. NW, 202-633-6440; festival.si.edu. CF

Diverse as Folkfor almost half a century, the folklife festival has made a point of celebrating the country’s

rich and varied cultural traditions, says smithsonian under secretary RichaRd uRin.

The 1974 Folklife Festival featured traditional Native American games like the blanket toss—a main event in the World Eskimo Indian Olympics.

4 capitolfile-magazine.com

FRONT RUNNER

Lamour Crisscut

80Summer’s sizzling resortwear is the perfect passport to island-inspired style.

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4 // front runner

16 // letter from the editor-in-Chief

18 // letter from the publisher

20 // ... Without Whom this issue Would not have been possible

22 // the list

55 // invited

style

28 // monumental style Canali’s new creative consultant,

Andrea Pompilio, plans to step up the

district’s suiting game.

30 // baCk in the saddle Equestrian-inspired accessories

take charge right out of the gate

this summer.

32 // style spotlight Ferragamo unveils a custom footwear

program for men; CityCenterDC gets a

stylish new look from Vince and Louis

Vuitton; Brooks Brothers’ new tropical

and nautical prints; and sunglasses

come full circle for summer.

34 // floral arrangementEverything’s coming up roses for

Washington women who are serious

about their skincare.

36 // aqua-tiCk Swiss water-resistant timepieces

provide sport and style this season.


contents summer 2015

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culture

41 // It’s A HArd rock LIfe

As Imagine Dragons embark on an epic

summer tour, they share the behind-the-fame

struggles that inspire their music.

44 // cuLture spotLIgHt

Cinematic special effects ignite a new staging

of Peter Pan; four outdoor movie series offer

plenty of opportunities for star gazing; the

world’s rarest postage stamp at the National

Postal Museum; golfng for the Tiger Woods

Foundation; and Once and The Book of Mormon

light up The Kennedy Center.

46 // Le dIpLomAte

Ambassador Gérard Araud brings charm,

sophistication, and savoir faire to Washington.

50 // tInker tAILor

HusbAnd wIfe

District elite William and Lynda Webster

celebrate big anniversaries in love and work.

52 // A soLdIer’s best frIend

The organization K9s for Warriors is changing

wounded veterans’ lives, one dog at a time.

46Ambassador Gérard Araud brings a sense of finesse to DC’s politics as usual.

62The Grill Room’s menu gets a sweet upgrade with the arrival of Frank Ruta and Aggie Chin.

66DC bartenders put a new

spin on teatime with tea-infused cocktails.

taste

62 // cApeLLA comebAck

Frank Ruta and Aggie Chin reunite to breathe

new life into The Grill Room at the Capella.

64 // A renAIssAnce

on tHe wAter

Years ago a foodie destination, the

Georgetown dining scene sees rebirth.

66 // teA pArty tIppLes

This summer, tea gets an extra kick with

infusion cocktails.

68 // tAste spotLIgHt

Nick Stefanelli debuts a new Italian concept;

David Guas’s new grill guide; a roundup of

dog-friendly happy hours; and Pennsylvania

6 and Mastro’s Steakhouse hone the art of

American regional cuisine.



O W N D I F F E R E N T . A M E N I T Y R I C H L I V I N G .

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70With her series of abstract paintings, Maggie Michael

finds bold, powerful ways to organize the world around her.



features

70 // Fresh expression

Maggie Michael is making a name for

herself locally and nationwide with her

original approach to abstract art.

By Kriston Capps

Photography by Shane McCauley

76 // sonic boom

To celebrate their 20th anniversary, The

Foo Fighters roll into RFK Stadium on

the Fourth of July with an all-star roster

of guests. For the band, it’s a milestone,

and for Dave Grohl, it’s a homecoming.

By Deborah L. Martin

80 // paradise Found

Inspired by the Caribbean getaway

Baha Mar, Washington women are

embracing the heat this summer with

tropical prints and fowing silhouettes.

Photography by Randall Slavin

88 // big Fish

The shuckers, anglers, trawlers, and

vendors of Main Avenue Fish Market

have become an essential part of DC’s

landscape.

By Amy Moeller

Photography by Melissa Golden

www.jorgeadeler.com . 1-877-915-8967

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ON THE COVER:

Colored Ground Series (Orange): How to Make (Frame) a Black Rainbow by Maggie Michael, 2014, courtesy of the artist

haute

property

97 // THE NEw NEuTRal

Forgoing typical pops of color, a

Potomac home gets prepped for

summer with sophisticated splashes of

fresh pattern and modern texture.

100 // alfREsCO upgRadEs

Local experts discuss how outdoor

sanctuaries provide owners with peace

of mind—and a smart investment.

104 // wEll away

Three retreats provide the perfect

respite from the din of the District.

FreeLy SpeaKING

112 // aN aRTful

TuRNaROuNd

DC’s vibrant cultural scene is inspiring

a new generation of art lovers.

104Deerfield Health Retreat and Spa in the Poconos offers a quick getaway from DC.



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I M AG I N E E N J OY I N G

T H E H O M E B U Y I N G A N D

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With President Obama, The Blacklist ’s Megan Boone, and the First Lady at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner; with Vice President Biden, a longtime advocate for victims of domestic abuse, and his daughter in law Kathleen Biden at The DC Volunteer Lawyers Project’s “Voices Against Violence” event.

elizabeth e. thorp

Follow me on Twitter at @elizabethethorp and on capitolfile-magazine.com

ExhalE. We just finished our spring sprint,

including our White House Correspondents’

Association dinner weekend. A 48-hour dash that

included 10 events, five dresses, three babysitters,

two makeup artists, a VIP meet and greet with

President Obama and the First Lady, one lost

mobile phone, and several bottles of Veuve later, I

can breathe. Speaking of France’s finest exports, I

had the great honor to interview Ambassador

Gérard Araud, head political envoy from France

to the United States. He is a diplomatic breath of

fresh air—outspoken, smart, insightful, and unfil-

tered. Read more about Ambassador Araud on

page 46.

Back to White House Correspondents’ weekend:

Capitol File hosted our second WHCA welcome

reception with British Ambassador and Lady

Westmacott at their private residence. Our cohost

was our recent cover star, Saturday Night Live favor-

ite, and host of the 2015 WHCA dinner, Cecily

Strong. Our VIP guests included Valerie Jarrett,

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, SNL producer

Lorne Michaels, NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, and The

Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus and Lauren

Cohan. All had a bloody smashing time!

I’m excited to put my swollen feet up and enjoy

With Cecily Strong at Capitol File’s WHCA welcome reception at the British Embassy.

the slower pace of summer—relishing meals

alfresco, getting crabs at the fish market at the

Wharf (see our feature on the historic fish market

on page 88), and attending baseball games at Nats

Stadium. In the spirit of this special Arts issue,

when it’s too hot outside, I’ll visit my favorite muse-

ums in Washington: the Sackler, the National

Museum of Women in the Arts, and the National

Portrait Gallery. I will definitely be visiting the stu-

dio of Maggie Michael, our brilliantly talented

cover artist, who earned her Master of Fine Arts

from American University in 2002 and has called

Washington her home ever since. We are all

obsessed with her abstract but relatable use of

color. Read more about Michael’s artistic vision

and the burgeoning DC art scene on page 70.

Cheers to summer!


Letter from the editor-in-Chief

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FROM LEFT: With Mulberry’s Johanan Merino and Washington Nationals wives Heather Zimmerman, Erica May Scherzer, and Erika Williams. INSET: With Kelley Paul and her husband, Senator Rand Paul, at Eno Wine Bar celebrating the release of her new book.

A DECADE AGO, I had two small children, and

my husband and I were working full-time. Weekends

in Washington were just the thing to tire out our kids,

and our favorite destination was the National Zoo. I

would push the stroller up that monstrous hill to get

my exercise in for the day, the kids got some fresh air,

and we all got to enjoy visiting exotic animals. Tai

Shan, the new panda cub, was born that year, and he

captivated DC. Watching him bond with his momma

and hit his milestones was magical.

My kids are older now and our lives are full

of lacrosse and basketball practice, school, and

other teenage busyness. We do not spend as much of

our free time at the zoo or the other wonderful

Smithsonian museums. But this summer, I have

made it a goal to make it to at least one part of the

Smithsonian once per month—to reconnect with the

This summer in the city I

cannot wait to enjoy...

1. Mastro’s Steakhouse just

opened right up the street

from the Capitol File offi ce,

and we cannot get enough of

the seafood.

2. Chamber Dance Project

kicks off its 2015 season June

24. Having never seen them,

I am so looking forward to

experiencing something new

in the city!

3. The exhibition “In the

Light of the Past: Celebrating

25 Years of Photography” at

the National Gallery of Art

(May 3–July 26) honors the

gallery’s commitment to the

art of photography.

// this issue //

ON MY RADAR

1

2

3

Follow me on Twitter at @suzyjacobsdc and visit capitolfile-magazine.com

SUZY JACOBS

PUBLISH ER

magic we found there with our young children, who

were just beginning to discover the world and its

mysteries. And we are also branching out to discover

the performing arts around the city. The Capital

Fringe Festival is celebrating 10 years of bringing

together DC’s creative community. The Festival

begins July 9 and will run through August 2. With

129 groups performing at locations throughout the

city, there will surely be something for everyone.

As we continue to celebrate our 10th anniversary

year at Capitol File, how will you reconnect to the

magic in the world around you? Join me in exploring

the world residing in our backyard!

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18 CAPITOLFILE-MAGAZINE.COM

LETTER from the Publisher

7 7 7 0 N O R FO L K AV E , B E T H E S DA , M D 2 0 8 1 4 @ 7 7 7 0 N O R FO L K

MODERN CONDOMINIUMS IN THE

HE ART OF DOWNTOWN BETHESDA

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Kriston Capps is a critic and reporter. He is a staff writer for City-

Lab, where he writes about housing and other urban topics. He

worked previously as a senior editor for Architect magazine. His

essays and reporting have appeared in The Atlantic, New York

Magazine, The Washington Post, Artforum, Slate, and other publi-

cations, and he reviews art for the Washington City Paper. Capps

divides his weekends between smoking barbecue and visiting

art galleries. He is an eighth-generation Texan, but he hangs his

hat in Washington, DC. He wrote this issue’s cover story about

DC-based painter Maggie Michael (page 70).

Summer in DC wouldn’t be complete without… Cycling

between the National Mall and the local biergarten. District

dining: Fish tacos at the Argonaut or anything that Thai X-ing

is serving. Favorite DC destination: It’s a tie: permanent gal-

leries at the Phillips Collection or the bar at the Black Cat. His

inspiration: Every article written by my friends in journalism.

Favorite artist right now: Sam Gilliam. Best thing about

writing this story: Visiting a new space I’d walked past and

never given a second thought. Most diffcult thing about

writing this story: Letting go and handing it over to my

patient editor.

Richard Kurin is the Smith-

sonian Institution’s under

secretary for history, art,

and culture. He oversees

most of the organization’s

museums and several of its

research and outreach pro-

grams. Previously, he was

director of the Smithson-

ian’s Center for Folklife and

Cultural Heritage. Kurin has

received numerous awards

for his work and written

several books, including his

most recent, The Smithson-

ian’s History of America in

101 Objects. He wrote this

issue’s Front Runner (page

4) about the Smithsonian’s

Folklife Festival.

Summer in DC wouldn’t

be complete without… The

Folklife Festival! (What else?)

A memorable moment at

the festival: The procession

of 25,000 Native people for

the opening of the American

Indian museum in 2004.

Favorite meal in DC: José

Andrés’s tapas at Zaytinya.

Favorite DC destination:

The National Mall. His

inspiration: My family,

Smithsonian colleagues, and

artists from around the world.

Most diffcult thing about

writing this story: Limiting

myself to only a few capsule

descriptions of great events

over the decades.

As an editorial photographer,

Melissa Golden spends her

days bending the laws of light,

space, and time. She shoots

the kinds of things you’re not

supposed to talk about at the

dinner table, like politics, reli-

gion, and money. She shot our

feature on the Maine Avenue

Fish Market (page 88).

Behind the shoot: I watched

a crawfsh make a daring

escape. After managing to get

out of the tub brimming with

his compatriots, he crawled

across ice and squid, made

it to the edge, and threw

himself over. He landed on

his back on the deck. After a

few seconds, he began to rock

side-to-side, gaining enough

momentum to roll over the

edge and into the river, where

I can only imagine he’s living

happily to this day. Summer

in DC wouldn’t be com-

plete without... A rooftop

pool for escaping the mosqui-

toes and tourists. Favorite

DC destination: The Library

of Congress is a magical

place. Favorite meal in DC:

Not in DC proper, but lunch

at the Eden Center is always

spot-on. Her inspiration:

I took all the “Choose Your

Own Adventure” books I

read as a kid to heart. Dream

shoot: An animal sanctuary

for slow lorises.

Based in DC’s historic

Georgetown neighborhood,

Jonathan Timmes specializes

in portrait, food and bever-

age, music, and sport pho-

tography for clients ranging

from Sports Illustrated to The

Washington Post Magazine.

He likes to laugh on set and

inspire the creative risk-

taking process. For this issue,

he photographed “Capella

Comeback” (page 62).

Behind the shoot: The

restaurant had to prepare

for a last-minute VIP party,

so the shoot involved a little

improvisation and a lot of

collaboration. Summer in

DC wouldn’t be complete

without… Catching a game

at Nats Park—hands down!

Favorite DC destination:

It’s hard to call the Holo-

caust Museum “my favorite

destination,” but it’s pos-

sibly the most powerful and

important experience the

city offers. Favorite meal in

DC: Anything and every-

thing culturally authentic. I

love the diversity of the DC

food scene. His inspiration:

Passion, culture, and honesty.

Dream shoot: I’d love to

make a portrait of the Dalai

Lama. What do you do

when not photographing

for Capitol File? I’m a dad.

I may even be good at it.

Kriston Cappswriter

riChard Kurinwriter

Melissa Goldenphotographer

Jonathan tiMMesphotographer


...without whoM this issue would not have been possible // summer 2015

Sofitel Washington DC Lafayette

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Jon Chocklett

Michael Katigbak

Lindsay Reishman

Lizzie Edgeworth Cantacuzene

Olivier Valette

Michelle Giannini

Megan Eichenberg

Jeremy Bernard

Dara McLeod

Jeb Bush

Jake Lefebure

Caroline Adler

Megan Montenaro

Mathilde Thomas

Anne Mahlum

David Ignatius

Jenny Nong

Beau Biden

Misty Copeland

Gregg Pitts

Dmitri Chekaldin

Max Scherzer

Hillary Clinton

Kate Fralin

Gizem White

Brooklyn Mack

Eunice Garcia

Ilya Alter

Joe Lockhart

Erica Scherzer

Johnny So

Carla Dirlikov

Hilary Rosen

Peter Greenberg

Michael Hickey

Iman Butler

Susan Fisher Sterling

Jenny Bilfield

Johanan Merino

Damian Ruth

Maureen Dwyer

Lauren Fisher

Jennifer Sergent

Ryan Zagata

Denise Nguyen

David Carmona

Brian McNair

Jessica Fredericks

Mert Bakan

Chris Dunn

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the list summer 2015

Downtown Bethesda’s

largest luxury

condominium residences

The perfect pairing for

the 29 fnest residences

in Downtown Bethesda:

One of only 219 Master

Sommeliers in the world.

Announcing The Lauren wine room with

on-site Master Sommelier, Jarad Slipp

Sales Center Now Open

thelaurenresidences.com 301.363.7251

5454 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase, MD. Each ofce is independently owned and operated. Equal Housing Opportunity project.

Developed by 1788 Holdings / Persimmon Capital Partners

A Forgotten Mansion Becomes a Dazzling Hotel

The Ivy Hotel, Baltimore

The Ivy hoTel

205 East Biddle Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202 443-503-4501 www.theivyhotel.net

On the corner of Biddle and Calvert Streets, in Baltimore’s historic

Mount Vernon neighborhood, a grand old brownstone mansion

was languishing.

Built for the banker John Gilman and his family in 1889, the

house had long since fallen into disuse. There on the corner it stood,

a totem to days gone by. It was up for sale, its future uncertain.

Then in 2011, at just the right time, two virtuosic Baltimore

families—one in finance, the other in construction—spotted the old

Mount Vernon house. They saw the story of their beloved city in that

one handsome, forgotten edifice.

They worked together for years renovating and re-imagining the

old Gilman mansion to create a truly dazzling Baltimore experience,

a hotel to reflect the renaissance of the Gilded Age in Baltimore,

and the vibrant new city as well. A brownstone wall covered in lush

greenery gave the new retreat its name: The Ivy Hotel.

Deep jewel tones, striking canopied beds, fine art, working

fireplaces and abundant fresh flowers channel the property’s stylish

glamour, all brought into being by local artists and craftspeople.

Much of the original mansion was kept intact—notably, a stunning,

hand-carved staircase lined with stained glass windows. The rest was

carefully re-envisioned with custom furnishings, rich fabrics, and

hand-painted murals. Deeply comfortable, blissfully relaxing,

gorgeous in every respect, the hotel was kept small, to further the

impression of staying in a fine private home. Nine suites and nine

guest rooms each have a sumptuous private bath.

After four years of renovation and renewal, Gilman’s old Mount

Vernon mansion has opened its doors to the public as The Ivy Hotel.

It’s a renaissance not to be missed.

By Erin Garrett-Metz

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Designer Andrea Pompilio brings his inventive approach to menswear classics to Canali.

continued on page 28

In a city full of three-button suits and microprint

ties, every man’s outfit is his calling card, and

the men of Capitol Hill are getting a well-tai-

lored leg up with the opening of Italian

menswear boutique Canali at CityCenterDC.

For more than 80 years, the name Canali has

been synonymous with impeccable Italian

craftsmanship, luxury fabrics, and, most of all, a

unique custom tailoring experience. But newly

tapped creative consultant Andrea Pompilio is

pushing the envelope for the historic brand with

his penchant for patterns and inventive takes on

classic pieces that are so adored by fans of his

eponymous label, which he launched in 2010.

Pompilio’s Canali represents “a unique intersec-

tion between heritage and innovation,” he says.

“It’s the art of tailoring intertwined f lawlessly

with an aesthetic that reacts and caters for

today’s lifestyle.”

In the District, that lifestyle may lean towards

conservative attire, but the designer’s cutting-

edge creativity is impressively wearable. “DC is

full of discerning clients,” says Pompilio,

“gentlemen looking for elegant and understated

Monumental StyleAs CAnAli Arrives At CityCenterDC, the tAiloring titAn’s new CreAtive ConsultAnt, AndreA PomPilio, plAns to step up the DistriCt’s suiting gAme. by lauren bernstein

Designer Andrea Pompilio brings his inventive approach to menswear classics to Canali.

capitolfile-magazine.com 27

STYLE Tastemaker

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clockwise from above:

Canali’s store entrance on I Street NW; the

brand’s calfskin macro zip bag ($2,970); a look from Andrea Pompilio’s

Spring/Summer 2015 collection for Canali.

ways of expressing them-

selves through exquisite

tailoring and premium

quality garments.”

Pompilio’s personal

favorite from the Spring

2015 collection is a vibrant

tangerine nubuck car coat,

but for those who prefer the

understated in their

everyday expressions, the

designer recommends a

well-chosen pocket

square—“never matched to

the tie!”—or a colorful pair

of socks. Ultimately,

Pompilio’s goal when

designing for the modern

man, he says, is “to create

versatile and interchange-

able pieces that combine

craftsmanship, comfort,

performance, and

elegance.”

Such versatility is exactly

what Washingtonians will

find at the 1,600-square-foot

boutique, which is divided

into two spaces—each

dedicated to different

aspects of the Canali

collections, from formal

attire to premium sports-

wear and accessories. The

brand’s emphasis on all

things Italian—the company

regards the phrase “Made

in Italy” as more of a mantra

than a label in a T-shirt—is

appropriately ref lected in

the store’s interior design,

from imported marble and

precious timbers to backlit

etched glass panels featur-

ing the signature Canali

texture, adding a sense of

modernity and lightness to

the space. The boutique is

certainly a jewel in

CityCenterDC’s crown,

alongside such forthcoming

high-end heavy hitters as

Dior, Hermès, David

Yurman, and Louis Vuitton.

But when it comes to

attention to detail, Canali

distinguishes itself with its

made-to-measure tailoring

experience, Su Misura. It

begins with a thorough

consultation with a Master

Tailor focused on the

client’s tastes and needs,

followed by a fitting that

hits upon the cuts and

shapes that best suit the

client’s posture and

lifestyle. Clients then

choose from a selection of

500-plus fabrics and any

number of finishes, from

buttons to belt loops. The

result: a one-of-a-kind suit

complete with each

customer’s name embroi-

dered on the label.

Such a commitment to

distinctive tailoring has

always been at the core of

the Canali brand, and is a

passion Pompilio shares.

“Canali and Andrea

Pompilio have many things

in common, from a love of

fine handcraft and detail to

a determination to achieve

extraordinary quality,” he

says. “It’s any designer’s

dream.” 978 I St. NW;

202-545-6579; canali.com CF

“DC is full of DisCerning Clients—gentlemen looking for elegant

anD unDerstateD ways of expressing themselves.” —andrea pompilio


STYLE Tastemaker

5454 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase, MD. Each ofce is independently owned and operated. Equal Housing Opportunity project.

Developed by 1788 Holdings/IHP Capital Partners

The Quarry Springs Model Residence

open for viewing June 28

The Estate Condominiums at Quarry Springs invite you to come view our elegantly-furnished

model residence – interiors by award-winning designer Jef Akseizer. QuarrySprings.com

T O S C H E D U L E A V I E W I N G , P L E A S E C A L L 202-302-2508

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Back in the SaddleEquEstrian-inspirEd accEssoriEs

takE chargE right out of thE

gatE this summEr.

photography by jeff crawford

styling by faye power

Dapper DressageCrisp, romantic whites

balance out bold browns.

Blouse, Chanel ($7,300). Tysons Galleria, 703-847-

0555; chanel.com. Breeches ($990) and crop ($475),

Hermès. Tysons Corner at Fairfax Square, 703-506-4546; hermes.com. Alare

belt, Max Mara ($335). Tysons Galleria, 703-556-

6962; maxmara.com. Boots, Marc Jacobs ($1,290).

marcjacobs.com. Helmet, stylist’s own

STYLE Accessories


1 2

3 4

Strapped Inrich saddle browns complement

sleek silhouettes this season.

CavalIer ClaSSICSModern accents add a

competitive edge.

BuCkle upSimple, luxurious staples are a summer standout.

a BIt of HardwareSleek metals provide a cool

contrast with supple suedes.

1. Intreccio metal knot clutch, Bottega Veneta ($3,480). Tysons Galleria, 703-442-3138; bottegaveneta.com. Faye medium shoulder bag, Chloé ($1,950). Neiman Marcus, Mazza Gallerie, 202-966-9700; neiman marcus.com. 2. Horsebit bracelet in aged silver and gold, Gucci ($2,150). The Collection at Chevy Chase, 301-986-8902; gucci.com. H Hour watch, Hermès ($2,725). CityCenterDC, 202-789-4341; hermes.com. Lexington graphic sandal, Paul Andrew ($795). Saks Fifth Avenue, 5555 Wisconsin Ave., 301-657-9000; saks.com. 3. High-heel bootie, Gucci ($1,100). see above. 4. Globe Box bag, Valentino Garavani ($2,195). Saks Fifth Avenue, see aboveM

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debut

LittLe

Luxuries

Petite Malle in bordeaux leather and monogram canvas, Louis

Vuitton ($5,200).

CityCenterDC is upping

its style game with Louis

Vuitton’s new location,

offering Washington’s

most fashionable shop-

pers leather goods from

Nicolas Ghesquière’s

Pre-Fall collection as well

as handbags, footwear,

and travel pieces. Heav-

ily infuenced by the

1970s, the accessories

range from the edgy

feel of the Charlotte fat

boot to the feminine

appeal of a gold metallic

ankle strap sandal with a

foral pattern. Customers

can also expect to see

key pieces such as the

women’s Petite Malle in

bordeaux leather and

the new Christopher

PM Epi leather noir

backpack for men—the

perfect adornments for

the season’s style scene.

The new accessories

shop, which opens in

August, offers personal-

ization services including

monogramming and hot

stamping to customize

guests’ favorite pieces.

943 Palmer Alley NW;

louisvuitton.com

need it now

In homage to artisanal craftsmanship, Salvatore Ferragamo

debuts the MTO (made-to-order) Driver customization

program, which allows each customer to personalize the

house’s signature men’s shoe to his tastes. Blending the look

of Ferragamo’s classic moccasin with a driving shoe, the

Driver is available in over 100 permutations, with upper body

colors ranging from classic black to flame red, and sole colors

such as navy and cherry. Customers can also choose

personalized lettering. Each pair is finished with the brand’s

iconic Gancio hardware—symbolizing the wrought iron of

the Florentine Palazzo Spini Feroni—available in polished

gold, brushed palladio, metallic blue, or graphite. It’s the

perfect addition to the worldly gentleman’s wardrobe. 1001

H St. NW, 202-289-6610; driver.ferragamo.com cf

Downtown ChiCVince is bringing its cool, effortless style to

downtown DC. Fans of the label’s modern

aesthetic will be able to shop the frst Pre-Fall

collection from Natalie Ratabesi, the brand’s

newly appointed creative director of women’s

design. Work-appropriate pieces are a major

focus for the CityCenterDC location, provid-

ing the most seamless way to bring any offce

dweller from desk to dinner. 1093 Palmer Alley

NW, 202-730-0157; vince.com

tropiCaL

triumph Classic American clothier

Brooks Brothers is team-

ing up with pattern expert

Reyn Spooner to create

an island-inspired line for

men, women, and children.

The collection fuses Brooks

Brothers’ refned style

with Spooner’s whimsical

reverse-print fabrics for a

relaxed yet put-together

look that is perfect for

summer. 1201 Connecticut

Ave. NW, 202-659-4650;

brooks brothers.com

Drive It Homedistrict men step out in style with

FERRAGAMO’s custom drivers.

Make a throwback statement with round, ’70s-inspired sunglasses.

Oxydo ($98). Solstice Sunglasses, Tysons Corner, 703-918-0391;

solsticesunglasses.com

Etnia Barcelona ($345). Klessman & Rosenblatt,

1800 K St. NW, 202-331-7566; etniabarcelona.com

Gucci ($395). The Collection at Chevy Chase,

301-986-8902; gucci.com

Fendi ($395). Solstice Sunglasses, Tysons Corner,

703-918-0391; solsticesunglasses.com

// on trend // full circle

Steven Alan ($195). Steven Alan, 3319 Cady’s Alley

NW, 202-333-0250; stevenalan.com

32 CAPiTolFilE-MAGAziNE.CoM

Style Spotlight

2- TO 4-BEDROOM RESIDENCES

DESIGNED BY DEBORAH BERKE PARTNERS

CONCIERGE AND AMENITY SERVICES

BY ABIGAIL MICHAELS CONCIERGE

3 .3 ACRES OF LUSHLY-LANDSCAPED GROUNDS

BY MICHAEL VERGASON LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS

SALES COMMENCE FALL 2015

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Floral ArrangementEvErything’s coming up rosEs for washington

womEn who arE sErious about thEir skincarE.

by matt stewart

In the past, skincare treatments and appointments with trained aestheti-cians were considered by many women to be only for special occasions. But today the axiom “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is taken to heart. The fact that women are much savvier about doing right by their derma is ref lected in global skincare sales, which are expected to reach $121 billion by 2016. In a market-place full of products and promises, there are many misconceptions about skincare. “Many women start to take skincare seriously when it is too late,” says Julia Boeminghaus, spa manager at the Four Seasons Washington. “They need to begin no later than their mid- to late-20s. The most important elements of good skincare are to cleanse, exfoliate, and hydrate. Especially here in Washington because we have cold winters and hot summers, so in each season the skin can be put under stress.”

The demand for innovative products, quality ingredients, and measurable results is key for women investing both their time and money into skincare. Since bursting onto the beauty scene in 2006 with a single hair treatment, Moroccanoil has built a loyal following

worldwide. The recently released Fleur de Rose collection is Moroccanoil’s second foray into luxury skincare (the first was Originale) and is composed of six products—a rich body soufflé; a hydrating body butter; a body buff that exfoliates and moisturizes with argan oil; an “on the go” hand lotion; and a gentle cleansing bar. Together, they provide women with a complete skincare regimen. “Today, consum-ers are more knowledgeable about ingredients than ever before,” says Carmen Tal, Moroccanoil’s cofounder. “They are looking for integrity and high performance. Our formulas consist of the finest quality ingredients available [and] offer a complete regimen to help exfoliate, cleanse, and hydrate. I believe those three steps are so important in creating beautiful skin.”

Fleur de Rose is also one of Moroccanoil’s most personal offerings due to Tal’s love of rose. “I worked with a talented aromathera-pist who was extremely knowledgeable about essential oils and fragrances,” Tal shares. “When I told her what I was looking for, she knew exactly where to go with it. We came to realize that it was the damask rose scent that really captured me. Our product develop-ment and R & D teams then worked for several years to develop and perfect the collection.”

According to Boeminghaus, the collection is already a hit at the Four Seasons. “Rose is a very popular scent right now, though getting it just right is a big challenge,” she says. “At the Four Seasons, we have a strong Middle Eastern clientele who loves rose. This will go over very well with women who like the soft, rich aroma of an exotic summer garden.” Moroccanoil Fleur de Rose is available

at Four Seasons Hotel Spa. 2800

Pennsylvania Ave., 202-342-0444;

moroccanoil.com cf

clockwise from top:

With its relaxation lounge and extensive menu of body and facial treatments, the spa at the Four Seasons is the perfect place to cleanse, hydrate, and rejuvenate; Moroccanoil’s Fleur de Rose collection offers a complete skincare regimen; Carmen Tal, cofounder of Moroccanoil.

“consumers

are looking

for integrity

and high

performance.”—carmen tal

STYLE You, Even Better


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AquA-Tickwashington is awash in the latest swiss water-resistant timepieces that

provide both sport and style this season. by roberta naas photography by jeff crawford

Summer in DC means time on the water and a rising

tide of sports with splash. Whether you’re at the

helm of a sailboat, diving for sunken treasure, or

body surfing along the shore, today’s watch brands

are ready to go as deep as you want. Each piece

offers water-resistance plus additional features such

as helium release valves to allow it to remain sub-

merged for greater lengths of time. These pieces can

weather the sea, salt, and sand with gusto while still

looking good on the wrist, making them a func-

tional and fashionable style statement. CF

For more watch features and expanded coverage, go

to capitolfile-magazine.com/watches.

clockwise from top:

From Hermès, this Clipper Sport watch ($4,625) is crafted in titanium and steel with a blue rubber strap. It is powered by a mechanical self-winding movement and is water-resistant to 100 meters. Hermès at CityCenterDC, 944 Palmer Alley NW, 202-789-4341; hermes.com

Cartier’s Calibre de Cartier Diver watch ($8,950) is crafted in stainless steel with an ADLC (amorphous diamond-like carbon)

coating and a black rubber strap. It houses the self-winding manufacture caliber 1904 MC and is water-resistant to 300 meters. Cartier, The Collection at Chevy Chase, 5471 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase, 301-654-5858; cartier.us

From Bulova, this Sea King Limited Edition watch ($1,595) is crafted in titanium and is powered by an automatic movement. The watch has a helium release valve and is water-resistant to 1,000 meters. It is created in a

numbered edition of 500 pieces and is accompa-nied by a certificate of authenticity. Henry’s Jewelers, 1760 Columbia Road, 202-986-0635; bulova.com

Inspired by a watch from 1928, the Hamilton Khaki Navy Sub Auto chrono ($1,995) is crafted in stainless steel and powered by an automatic movement. The 43mm watch is water-resistant to 300 meters. Secrète Jewelry, 1607 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-588-7275; shop.hamilton.com

This Omega Seamaster Ploprof watch ($9,450) is crafted in stainless steel and houses the Omega Co-Axial movement. The watch is a COSC-certified chronometer with a helium escape valve and antireflective treatment on both sides of the sapphire for easy underwater reading. It is water-resistant to 1,200 meters. Omega Boutique at Tysons Galleria, 2001 International Dr., 571-633-9710; omegawatches.com


STYLE Time Honored

American Moments Photographs from The Phillips Collection

June 6 – September 13

The exhibition is presented by Altria.

Generous support is provided by the Share Fund.

Esther Bubley, General Service Department, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York City,

c. 1950s, gelatin silver print, Gift of Cam and Wanda Garner, 2012, The Phillips Collec-

tion, Washington, DC. © Standard Oil (New Jersey) Collection, Photographic Archives,

University of Louisville

Members enjoy free unlimited admission and discounts

1600 21st Street NW Tuesday – Saturday 10 – 5, Sunday

noon – 7, Thursday extended hours 5 – 8:30, closed Mondays

Phone 202.387.2151 www.phillipscollection.org

The Memory of Time Contemporary Photographs at the National Gallery of Art,

Acquired with the Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund

Through September 13

Vera Lutter, Ca’ del Duca Sforza, Venice II: January 13 – 14, 2008, 2008, three gelatin

silver paper negatives, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Alfred H. Moses and

Fern M. Schad Fund. © Vera Lutter, Courtesy Gagosian Gallery, New York

In Light of the Past Twenty-Five Years of Photography at the National Gallery of Art

Through July 26

Organized by the National Gallery of Art

Made possible through the generous support of the Trellis Fund

Roger Fenton, Fruit and Flowers, 1860, albumen print, National Gallery of Art,

Washington, Paul Mellon Fund

National Gallery of ArtAdmission is always free

On the National Mall at Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue NW

Monday – Saturday 10 – 5, Sunday 11 – 6

Phone 202.737.4215 www.nga.gov

Photography’s Finest in the Nation’s Capital

Spend your day in style at theQuicken Loans NationalThe Quicken Loans National, the DMV’s PGA TOUR event, is moving to Robert Trent Jones Golf Club

this summer, July 28 – August 2. Not only will this year’s event feature Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler,

Justin Rose and the world’s best golfers, it will be a summertime escape unlike any event in town. Not

sure how to spend your day at the 2015 Quicken Loans National? Don’t worry, we have you covered.

BEFORE THE

TOURNAMENTBuy your ticket! Visit

QLNational.com for ticket

information.

9:00 AMArrive at Robert Trent

Jones Golf Club in Prince

William County, Virginia.

Need parking? Purchase

your spot at Jiffy Lube

Live in advance and save!

9:17 AMGrab a coffee at a

concession stand and

catch the early round

action at the frst tee.

11:26 AMTime for brunch, right?

Order a Bloody Mary at

the GREY GOOSE Lounge

located on No. 18.

12:14 PMGetting hungry? Enjoy

incredible food from

Ruth’s Chris Steak House

or any number of menu

options around the course.

12:38 PMKeep the fun going in

your private Cabana as

you play tailgate style

games at The Lawn, the

social scene spot of the

Quicken Loans National.

2:04 PMCool off with a drink and

indoor seating to watch

hole-in-one attempts on

the 19th hole and live

coverage of the $1 million

16th hole at the Quicken

Loans Hole-in-One House.

3:01 PMCatch groups fnish

their rounds while sitting

alongside the beautiful

Lake Manassas adjacent

to No. 18.

3:37 PMHead to the Summer

Music Stage at the Main

Entrance for live music

and happy-hour fun to

close out your day at the

Quicken Loans National!

BE A PART OF THE SCENE AT THIS

YEAR’S QUICKEN LOANS NATIONALVISIT QLNATIONAL.COM FOR TICKET INFORMATION

Video games are providing future innovators with the critical STEM skills

they need to succeed in today’s technology-driven workforce and bolster our

country’s competitiveness. The Entertainment Software Association proudly

uses games and game design to engage students on STEM subjects through

programs including the National STEM Video Game Challenge and the

ESA LOFT Innovation Fellowship.

To learn more about these programs and how video games are enhancing

education, go to www.theESA.com.

Today’s video games are changing the way students learn

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It’s a Hard Rock LifeAs ImagIne Dragons embArk on An epic summer tour, including A stop At the verizon center, the bAnd shAres the behind-the-fAme struggles thAt inspire their music. by lisa pierpont

Imagine Dragons rocketed to stardom with the single “Radioactive,” and are looking to consolidate their success with a new album.

Imagine Dragons are no strangers to the

unexpected. The band—guitarist Wayne

“Wing” Sermon, bassist Ben McKee, drummer

Daniel Platzman, and lead singer Dan

Reynolds—did not plan to win a Grammy in

2014 or sell 2.5 million copies of their first

album, night Visions. And they certainly never

predicted they would make history performing

a live song in a Target-sponsored commercial

break during the Grammys, either. (The

production involved a 360-degree screen, LED

jewelry, helicopter shots, and 22 cameras.)

“It’s been one surprise after another,” says

Sermon of their journey thus far.

So when the musician says that the Smoke +

Mirrors summer tour (also the name of their


CULTURE Hottest Ticket

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from left: Bandmates Daniel Platzman, Wayne Sermon,

Dan Reynolds, and Ben McKee play 39 cities in 58

days as part of their Smoke + Mirrors summer tour.

chart-topping sophomore album) will boast “things that have never been done before,” you better believe it. He can’t go into detail—trade secrets and all—but says there will be more lights (“Hundreds!”), speakers, and galactic visual effects on July 6 at DC’s Verizon Center—a tour stop that has them particularly excited.

“DC is great. Our favorite thing about it is the people though,” McKee says. “Our core touring crew is built around three Washingtonians. We basically stole the best sound engineers and techs from the 9:30 Club, and now Scott, Jared, and Erik are out on the road helping us to conquer stages all over the world. I know they’re excited to get back home for a show.”

“Band life may seem glamorous—and it is, sometimes—but we sure didn’t start out that way,” says Sermon, who cofounded the band just six years ago with Reynolds in Las Vegas. Before that, he was studying at Boston’s Berklee

College of Music, where he met McKee. “He was the guy in the front row asking all of the questions,” Sermon says. “I was the one in the back row being quiet.” The pair took to practicing together, along with fellow classmate Platzman. “It’s a given that everyone can play at Berklee,” Sermon says, “but we got along.” When he joined forces with Reynolds to form a band, Sermon picked up the phone and called two guys: McKee and Platzman. “It cannot be overestimated how much you need to like your bandmates. They have to be your family.”

The quartet came up with the name Imagine Dragons—an anagram based on a top- secret group of words that even family members don’t know— and started performing at tiny joints around Sin City. “We’d play four-, five-hour gigs and split the $400 pay between us,” says Sermon. “It was grueling, but we earned our chops.” They also picked up fans, lots of them, followed by a record deal. The Dragons produce a powerful hook,

delivering one haunting yet catchy anthem after another. Each track is laced with Reynolds’s moods, both bright and dark, his voice roaring lyrics of apoca-lypse, dreams, demons, and fame.

“Dan writes lyrics like journal entries,” Sermon says. “They are deep thoughts and extremely honest. He documents the hard stuff—sudden fame, the loneliness of touring. It’s therapy for him. It’s raw, but it’s real. We had no idea we would blow up to this extent. Our music is true to us. We write music that we would be okay with playing hundreds of times, over and over.”

This June to August, the band will perform in 39 cities in 58 days, with barely one day off per week. In DC, they hope to play tourist. “I have a feeling you’ll be able to find us strolling around the National Mall,” McKee says, “or exploring the halls of the Smithsonian.” July 6 at 7:30 pm at the Verizon Center, 601

F St. NW. For tickets, call 202-397-7328,

or visit ticketmaster.com. cf

Best in show

The not-to-be-missed events we’re circling on our calendars.

Seth MacFarlane

coMeS to charM city

The Family Guy creator teams

up with the Baltimore Symphony

Orchestra for a night of singing and

comedy. July 16, Joseph Meyerhoff

Symphony Hall; bsomusic.org

hootie and the

oSborneS

Maryland’s Brothers Osborne

open for former Hootie and the

Blowfsh front man-turned-country

music star Darius Rucker. August

22, Merriweather Post Pavilion,

Columbia; merriweathermusic.com

taylor SwiFt playS

natS par

Those lucky enough to snag tickets

can catch the pop princess as she

shakes into town for two nights.

July 13–14, Nationals Stadium;

washington.nationals.mlb.com

“For our touriNg CreW, We baSiCally Stole the beSt SouNd

eNgiNeerS aNd teChS From the 9:30 Club iN dC. NoW they are

helpiNg uS CoNquer StageS all oVer the World.” —wayne sermon


CULtURe hottest ticket

roundup

ALFRESCO

CINEMAFour outdoor movie series

provide plentiful opportunities

for star gazing this summer.

Union Market Drive-In

Pay homage to the ’80s and

’90s with classics like Pretty

Woman and Jurassic Park,

Fridays at 8 pm beginning

June 5. unionmarketdc.com

NoMa Summer Screen

Dance-filled movies fit the bill

this summer, every

Wednesday until August 12

starting at dusk. nomabid.

org/noma-summer-screen

Capitol Riverfront

Outdoor Movie Series

At Canal Park, this Thursday

night series celebrates

characters whose decisions

shape the world, space, and

time, starting with Back to the

Future on June 4.

capitolriverfront.org

Screen on the Green

Screen on the Green invites

viewers to watch movies

among the monuments on

the National Mall weekly in

July and August.

hbo.com/screenonthegreen

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ONE-CENt WONdERThe world’s rarest postage stamp, the 1856 British

Guiana One-Cent Magenta (pictured), is now on

display through winter 2018 at the National Postal

Museum. Illustrated with a three-masted ship and

the colony’s motto in Latin (“We give and expect in

return”), the stamp is the only major rarity absent

from Queen Elizabeth II’s Royal Philatelic Collec-

tion. 2 Massachusetts Ave. NE, 202-633-5555;

postalmuseum.si.edu

tEEINg OFFThis summer, the DMV’s premier PGA event,

Quicken Loans National, moves to the Robert

Trent Jones GC in Gainesville, Virginia. Hosted

by Tiger Woods, the four-day tournament, which

benefts the Tiger Woods Foundation, invites

120 top golfers globally to compete for the

title and a $6.5 million purse. July 27–August 2;

tigerwoodsfoundation.org

2

A Trip to Neverlandcinematic special effects ignite a new

staging of peter pan.

Threesixty Theatre’s spectacular production of J.M. Barrie’s

Peter Pan, which had its premiere in London’s Kensington

Gardens in 2009, soars into the DC area on June 24 for the start

of its US tour. The one-of-a-kind theatrical experience, which

takes place in a 100-foot-high tent, combines the intimacy of a

theater-in-the-round with eye-popping surround CGI projec-

tions and flying sequences. The tent’s interior, covered with

more than 15,000 square feet of high-resolution projection

space, invites audience members to immerse themselves in the

show’s visual landscape. Through August 16, 1971 Chain Bridge

Road, Tysons Corner, VA, 877-407-8497; peterpantheshow.com cf

1

// can’t-miss moments //

Broadway comes to DC with the arrival of Once and The Book of Mormon.TWO FOR THE SHOW

With an astounding 17 Tony Awards

between them, The Book of Mormon

and Once make their DC debuts in

concurrent runs at The Kennedy

Center this summer. Long on

spectacle and big ensemble numbers,

Mormon lays claim to the Opera

House in June; Once, a moodier piece

set in a Dublin bar and steeped in the

folk music tradition, arrives at

Eisenhower Theater in July. Both

musicals play until mid-August,

proving that theater lovers need not

run off to New York to sample

back-to-back performances of the

best Broadway has to offer. The Book

of Mormon runs June 16–August 16,

and Once runs July 7–August 16. The

John F. Kennedy Center for the

Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW,

202-467-4600; kennedy-center.org

44 CAPITOLFILE-MAGAzINE.COM

culture spotlight

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Ambassador Gérard Araud describes Americans—who sent the French hundreds of

letters in response to the Charlie Hebdo tragedy—as

“compassionate people.”


Gérard Araud, the ambassador from France to the

United States, is the picture of French savoir faire. It

would be a cliché to say if it weren’t so true. When we

meet for our interview—a week after I canceled our

first appointment, owing to a respiratory infection

that made me feel like a Black Plague victim—I am

full of apologies. He dispels my unease with a wink

and a smile, saying, “Are you sure you did not have

too much fun over the weekend, and that is why per-

haps you canceled?”

Yes, the French ambassador is charming. He is

also transparent and forthright, making him a rar-

ity in diplomatic circles (and fun to follow on

Twitter). With the first anniversary of his appoint-

ment approaching in September, Araud sat down

with capitol File to discuss his goals, charlie Hebdo,

and his gorgeous, newly renovated residence.

What are your objectives during your

tenure in DC?

Ambassador Gérard Araud: [In December

2015,] France is going to host a major UN confer-

ence on climate change. My mission is to mobilize

Le DiplomateAs he ApproAches the one-yeAr mArk in his post, AmbAssAdor GérArd ArAud tAlks climAte chAnge, Charlie

hebdo, And whAt mAkes AmericA greAt. by elizabeth e. thorp


culture International Infuence

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the French connectionThe ambassador shares a taste of his American life.

aFter hours:

“[In] Washington—

which is frankly a bit

funny for Parisians—

everything is very early.

The dinners are at 6:30

or 7 pm, which means

that it’s over at 9:30

or 10. I go to bed at

midnight, [so] I have

two hours to read and

write. That’s my relax-

ing time.”

gastronomie:

“I do not want to go to

a French restaurant. I

am living in a French

restaurant! I [recently]

discovered Rogue 24.

It’s very good, because

it’s very different. The

place—and also what you

eat—is very, very creative.

It’s in a back alley; you

have to fnd it.”

French restoration:

“I chose the colors of

the dining room [in the

ambassador’s residence]

against the [wishes of

the] Parisian decorators,

and it was one of the big

fghts in my diplomatic

life. They wanted beige—

I decided on color, and

I like it. I wanted the

house to have a refec-

tion of the French taste

and be a magnet to invite

people in.”

love long-distance:

“My partner’s in DC

now, but we have an

apartment in New

York, and he’s shuttling

between New York and

Washington. He’s a

photographer.”

all the support that we can have on an issue—cor-

porations, the local authorities, the engineers—so I

am traveling a lot, spreading the gospel of climate

change. I am amazed every time I cross the

Beltway to discover how much the Americans,

the real Americans, are committed to fighting

climate change.

the last time you had a post in dc, the first

Bush was in office.

ga: Yes, Reagan, too. I arrived in ’87 in

Washington, and I left in ’91. The city has

dramatically improved. [Back then,] driving to

Union Station, for instance, you really couldn’t

stop. It was dangerous. And now with the

Convention Center, the Verizon Center,

Downtown, it’s trendy. Now 14th Street is the place

to be, but it used to be the street not to cross.

What has been your worst day on the job?

ga: When I was told about the [Charlie Hebdo]

terrorist attacks. The best day was, in a sense, the

day after, when President Obama came to the

French Embassy to sign the condolence book. He

made a very moving message, and we chatted a

bit. It was a very strong signal of the French-

American friendship.

it’s been four months since the attack. how

is France?

ga: The French people must send a clear message

that we are not going to be intimidated. We are a

democracy and a united people. But the long-term

problems are still there. We have had more than

1,400 French people [go] to Syria…. Most of them

are coming back radicalized and trained. As you

go to Paris you will see—[there are] soldiers

protecting synagogues and temples—we are

aware, and we are ready to fight it.

americans, especially people from dc and

new York who lived through 9/11, felt Charlie

Hebdo deeply.

ga: We have been astounded by the American

reaction…. We have received thousands of mes-

sages on the website of the embassy and received

hundreds of letters. I was very keen to answer each

of them…. It was very moving, and perhaps I’m not

used to saying, the Americans are really compas-

sionate people. We the French have felt it.

What have you come to like most about

americans? least?

ga: Americans are positive. No moaning…

whining. You simply say, “Okay, there is a

problem; we can overcome it.” It’s really the root

of American greatness. And the worst trait is your

coffee. [Laughs] The only thing that I will never

adjust to is the American coffee. It is much better

[now] thanks to Starbucks. In the ’80s, the coffee,

it was a sort of syrup.

do you get paltry american vacation time, or

will you holiday during the month of august

like most French?

ga: We have a house in Greece and have gone

there for 20 years. So I’ll stay there for a few weeks

doing—and that’s not American—doing nothing.

Ambassador Araud, photographed in his newly renovated residence. right: The ambassador looks on

as President Obama signs the condolence book following the

Charlie Hebdo attack.

“AMeRICANs ARe PosITIve. You sAY, ‘THeRe Is A

PRobleM; We CAN oveRCoMe IT.’ IT’s THe RooT

oF AMeRICAN gReATNess.” —gérard araud

Americans need activity, I don’t…. My only

activity is to choose which restaurant, and there

are only a few, so the choice is easy.

i follow you on twitter and enjoy your feed.

You are very direct, which is not a very

French trait, is it?

ga: I have been asked by my authorities to have a

personal Twitter account, so the question raised

[was], “What is the use of having an account if it’s not

a reflection of my personality?” I am also trying to

understand this new [social media] culture. So, I’m in

a sense… this Twitter account is a bit of an experi-

ment. I’m really tiptoeing on some red lines. [Laughs]

i find it refreshing!

ga: You’re not the only one—an ambassador,

we’re supposed to be stiff. And as an ambassador,

the job is in a sense the reflection of your personal-

ity. So that’s my personality. I’m from the South, so

I guess it explains a bit of what I’m doing. cf


Culture International Infuence

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Webster say that they “live for Fridays…going to our weekend place [near the Inn at Little Washington] with two dogs and a cat and hiking and fishing, and sitting on the porch drinking wine.”

The DC super agents have a great life. But Judge Webster says, “I still get traffic tickets.” Without missing a beat, Mrs. Webster replies, “Because you don’t read the signs, dear....” cf

If Washington were to have a real “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” a Brangelina-style couple who appear ordi-nary—they get traffic tickets and carry their own groceries—but were really top-of-their-game CIA operatives, it would be Mr. and Mrs. Webster, sans the weapons and assassination orders (I think).

Judge William Webster and wife Lynda, who this year celebrate 25 years of marriage and 10 years of The Webster Group, stand out as one of the country’s great power pairings. Growing up in the suburbs of St. Louis, William armed himself with a law degree and soon found himself ascending as a District Court and then US Appeals Court judge, earning a reputa-tion as a tough-minded, common-sense deployer of the law. President Jimmy Carter made him the third director of the FBI, tasking him with crippling the very active New York mafia scene.

After a decade, President Ronald Reagan moved the judge from the FBI to the CIA, making him the first and only person to serve in both roles. William’s mission was in part to build channels of communica-tion between the two intelligence empires and, in his words, “reestablish the American people’s trust in these institutions…to tell the truth when it could be told and not substitute a lie when it couldn’t.”

Whenever there is national security trouble, William seems to save the day. After the tragic Fort Hood slayings, he led the inquiry commission for the FBI. Today, he chairs the Homeland Security Advisory Council. Lynda says he was so effective in restoring integrity and confidence in the agencies because “the man doesn’t operate in gray—he is black and white ethically…. People know he is being straight with them.”

Lynda herself—the Angelina to William’s Brad Pitt—came to DC from Illinois wanting to join the CIA. William says, “She came fully equipped, pass-ing all the tests including the security issues, except [she] had a childhood health issue they feared might reemerge and break her cover.” She nevertheless found another way to play a role, as head of sales and then marketing for Washington’s historic Willard Intercontinental Hotel—at the time a grand gem that

Tinker Tailor Husband Wifeformer cia and fBi director

william webster and wife lynda

celeBrate Big anniversaries in

love and work. by steve clemons

power pairing

Lynda Webster shares the couple’s favorite pastimes.

dine around:

“When in town, we love

to sit outside at the Chevy

Chase Club. [Our] favorite

restaurants are Cafe

Milano and 1789. We are

big on service, and those

restaurants do it well.”

inspiration point:

“To recharge our

batteries, we seek the

outdoors—Battery Kimble

Park, the National

Arboretum. To recharge our

souls, we head to church.

To inspire or be inspired, we

head to the Mall, especially

the Lincoln Memorial.”

one love:

“We both love tennis. Bill

at 91 still plays two or

three times a week!”

was also a crossroads for spies. “In hotel management she managed to volunteer and be very helpful in the dealings of foreign agents who were prowling around in our city,” the judge says. “Lynda made her own con-tribution to the nation in her own way.”

After her stint at the Intercontinental, Lynda started her own marketing and events firm, The Webster Group, which has raised staggering amounts of money for nonprofits like Save the Children. Having lost a dear friend on September 11, 2001, she also helped raise the $22 million needed for the Pentagon memorial. Her firm was noted by Inc. magazine as one of the nation’s fastest growing companies in 2014. She says that in the beginning if she had known she would be produc-ing events as large as 40,000 people, she “would have hid under the table.” Now on her bucket list is producing events for an Olympics or Super Bowl.

Lynda says that her job is “all about good intelli-gence.” “I like brokering relationships,” she says. “If a friend is passionate about something, I’m delighted to try to connect that friend to something that might fit. I won’t twist arms to get people to just give money to a cause.”

When asked what they do for fun, Mr. and Mrs.


culture Dynamic Duo

If you’re sick in the hospital, you can’t go out to play like

other kids. But at Children’s National, we’re transforming

a 7,200-square-foot gravel rooftop into a healing

garden — to give our young patients and their

families access to sunshine, blue sky, and fresh air.

Sometimes that really is the best medicine of all.

Learn more at

www.childrensnational.org/healinggarden

A place for sick kids to feel a little less like

sick kids.

HONORARY CHAIRS

FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA

MRS. LAURA BUSH

FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON

MRS. BARBARA BUSH

MRS. NANCY REAGAN

MRS. ROSALYNN CARTER

SPECIAL THANKS TO HEATHER AND ANDY FLORANCE

AND THE TEAM AT COSTAR GROUP, INC., FOR PLANTING

THE FIRST SEEDS TO MAKE THIS DREAM COME TRUE.

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A Soldier’S BeSt FriendAs K9s for WArriors prepAres for its AnnuAl DC gAlA, mArine jason haag reveAls hoW the

orgAnizAtion is ChAnging WounDeD veterAns’ lives, one Dog At A time.

Jason Haag—Marine Corps officer, husband, and father—is

comforted by his service dog, Axel, who helps the wounded

veteran on his path to recovery.

The United States is one of the best at building and training young men and

women to fight and win wars all over the globe. That’s what we have been

trained to do from the day we arrived at basic training.

But the one thing—the biggest thing—we hardly ever thought about is how

to make soldiers whole again after fighting these wars—how to help the men

and women who fought so selflessly for our freedom to reintegrate, to turn the

switch off, and to be civilians again.

I am a Marine Corps officer, a husband, and a father. I have dedicated

nearly 13 years of my life to the Corps. I have completed numerous combat

deployments to both Afghanistan and Iraq. I have done this as an enlisted

man and as an officer, an infantryman, and a logistician. I have led men into

combat, and helped defend this country to the utmost of my abilities. But I am

also a wounded veteran, both physically and mentally. Fortunately, there are

people out there who have stepped up to the great challenge of helping soldiers

such as myself: K9s for Warriors helped me heal from my post-traumatic stress

disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), and saved my life.

On the outside, I was a high-functioning, very successful Marine, deco-

rated with combat awards, and promoted consistently. Life from the outside

looked exceptionally good. But inside me and within the walls of my house, it

was terrifying. I was falling apart. After two combat tours, I couldn’t sleep; I

had constant nightmares; I was drinking heavily; I was abusing prescription

pain pills for my injuries. And I was screaming and fighting with my wife and

kids. I was a train wreck outside of work.

After my third combat tour, it got even worse. Everything came crashing

down around me. I’d reached my breaking point. I shut myself off from every-

one: friends, family, fellow Marines. I secluded myself in my basement so I

didn’t have to come out into the world where I didn’t feel safe. I tried to get

help at one of the Behavior Health clinics. I sat there crying my eyes out, shak-

ing, and asking for help, but the front desk told me they didn’t have any

appointments and to come back tomorrow. Is it a wonder we lose 22 veterans

a day to suicide—a veteran every 65 minutes?

Once I finally did get “help,” all they did was throw drugs at me. At my


culture Spirit of Generosity

Charity registerOpportunities to give.

Drive Four the Cure

The 15th annual Drive Four the Cure golf tournament,

presented by the Four Seasons Hotel Washington on

an 18-hole championship golf course, supports cancer

research programs at the Washington Cancer Institute

at Medstar Washington Hospital Center. Prizes will

be given for the top three foursomes, the male and

female closest to the pin, and the longest drive.

When: June 22 at 10 am

Where: TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm, 10000

Oaklyn Dr., Potomac

Contact: 202-944-9163

PeP rally unDer the StarS Gala

Generation Hope, an organization aimed at helping

teen parents in the DC area fnish college, invites

attendees at this year’s gala to dress in their best black

tie paired with college memorabilia. In celebration of

education and the organization’s mission, all proceeds

from the gala beneft Generation Hope.

When: June 26

Where: Georgetown University Hotel and

Conference Center, 3800 Reservoir Road NW

Contact: 202-656-8705;

supportgenerationhope.org

yellow ribbon FunD/army navy

Country Club GolF ClaSSiC

Enjoy a day of golf, cocktails, dinner, and awards at

the eight annual golf tournament of the Yellow Ribbon

Fund, which provides practical support to injured

service members and their families while they’re at

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and

Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, and after they

return to their hometowns. Teams of three can register

for $5,000 and will be paired with a veteran to play

as their fourth.

When: July 13

Where: Army Navy Country Club, Arlington

Contact: Judy Tart, 240-223-1180;

[email protected]

brew at the Zoo

Friends of the National Zoo’s (FONZ) annual

Brew at the Zoo event boasts beer samples from more

than 60 craft breweries and live entertainment,

including games and animal demonstrations. Funds

raised support care and conservation of the National

Smithsonian Zoo and all of its inhabitants.

When: July 23

Where: National Zoo, 3001 Connecticut

Ave. NW

Contact: 202-633-4888; nationalzoo.si.edu

cotics. I have not touched them since.

Now I travel the country and speak on national

television about PTSD and the lifesaving effects of

K9s for Warriors and service dogs like Axel. I’ve

gone from “I” to “We.”

If I had to pick the best thing that the gift of Axel

has brought back into my life, it would be the smiles

on the faces of my wife and children—knowing I’m on

the path to recovery. We are a family again—Axel

included—and we will tell our story a thousand times

if it saves just one veteran. Because you never leave

anyone behind—not on the battlefield, and not here at

home. K9s for Warriors hosts its second annual DC gala in the fall. To learn more, or to find ways to get involved with K9s for Warriors, visit k9sforwarriors.org. cf

lowest point I was on 32 different medications, 12 of

which were narcotics. And I continued to abuse

them—and to drink heavily as well. I wouldn’t say

that I was suicidal. I never thought about putting a

gun in my mouth or driving my car into a tree. But I

had given up. I didn’t care if I woke up or not. And I

do not know how many times I was one pill away

from overdosing.

The system’s therapies, counseling, and drugs

were of little good, and I was a shell of my former self.

Something had to be done, but none of these “treat-

ments” even came close. My family was in ruins; I

hadn’t seen a smile on my children’s faces in over a

year and my wife of 14 years was about to walk out.

At that point, something fairly miraculous hap-

pened. I found K9s for Warriors—a lifesaving,

life-changing organization that provided me with

my service dog, Axel.

He saved my life, no doubt about it. He also saved

my family.

The K9s for Warriors program rescues 95 percent

of its dogs from shelters, and the canines are trained

for three to nine months in the Warriors program.

Axel was two days from being euthanized himself—

so we were both saved.

In 2012, I left my basement, got on a plane to the

Warriors facility in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and

met Axel. For three weeks I bonded with him—learn-

ing all the commands and how to use Axel for my

disabilities, in public, at home, and on an airplane.

You name it—we did it. At the end of the training, we

got on a plane, and I went to my son’s lacrosse game—

it was my first time attending in over a year.

I walked into K9s for Warriors in 2012 on 32 medi-

cations and hopelessly addicted to narcotics. Within

six months, I was down to two medications—both of

which I need for my TBI—and completely off all nar-

“If I had to pIck the

best thIng that

axel has brought

back Into my lIfe, It

would be the smIles

on the faces of my

wIfe and chIldren.” —jason haag

K9s for Warriors held its inaugural gala at the Omni Shoreham Hotel last year. inset: 95 percent of the program’s canines are rescued from shelters before being trained as service dogs.


Join Andrew & Julie Gerstel as a member of the Inova Children’s Hospital Ziai Ambassadors Society

to make a diference in your community. When your child is ill and getting sicker by the minute, you want to get her help

immediately. The Gerstels rushed Jamie to Inova Children’s Hospital in Fairfax — the one closest to them. They had no way of knowing

that a world renowned pediatric neurosurgeon was available, or that the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Inova Children’s is the only unit of

its kind in Northern Virginia, capable of the specialized care that a child needs following an emergency craniectomy. The Gerstels also

couldn’t have foreseen the care from Inova Children’s social workers and child-life services that helped their whole family through Jamie’s

rehab and recovery. Knowing what they know now, the Gerstels are giving back and

helping other families as members of Inova Children’s Ziai Ambassadors Society. You

can help, too, by supporting the research and care of sick children in Northern Virginia.

Z I A I A M B A S S A D O R S S O C I E T YLearn more at [email protected]

“Inova Children’s Hospital didn’t just save Jamie’s life.

They saved our family.”

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Live from DC…Capitol File celebrates 101 years of the

white house correspondents’ association.

In partnership with the Entertainment Software Association and

Mulberry, Capitol File hosted its annual welcome reception at the

British Ambassador’s Residence to celebrate the White House

Correspondents’ Dinner Weekend on Friday, April 24. The 2015

WHCD host, Cecily Strong of NBC’s Saturday Night Live, arrived

in style courtesy of Bentley Tysons to celebrate her Capitol File

Spring issue cover. Ambassador and Lady Westmacott wel-

comed an array of notable guests, including SNL creator Lorne

Michaels, cast members of The Walking Dead, Secretary of Cecily Strong in Mulberry’s Carla textured stretch wool dress at the British Ambassador’s Residence.

CoNTiNueD oN page 56


invited

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HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’

DINNER WEEKEND,

WE SAW A RETURN

TO HOLLYWOOD

GLAMOUR WITH

LAVISH GOWNS

AND DRAMATIC

TRAINS.

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Laverne Cox in Ines Di Santo

Sophia Bush in Monique Lhuillier

Ivanka Trump in Zac Posen

Lady and Ambassador

Westmacott with Rhonda and Michael

Gallagher of ESA

Lorne Michaels and Andrea Mitchell

The Walking Dead’s Lauren Cohan and

Norman Reedus

Amb. Stuart and Gwen Holliday with Amb. Peter Selfridge

Janie Gale and Valerie Jarrett

Bentley Tysons provided luxury VIP transportation.

John and Jackie Mingé

Thomas Roberts and Patrick Abner

Defense Ashton Carter, Valerie Jarrett, Andrea

Mitchell, and Dana Bash and Spencer Garrett, among

others. Partygoers created custom leather bracelets at

Mulberry’s craft bar and showcased their gaming prowess

at ESA’s video game stations as they sipped cocktails by

Diageo and mingled in the ballroom and patio, exquisitely

styled by Syzygy Events International and MultiFlor.

Wendy Adeler Hall and Holly Standefer

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BEFORE AFTER BEFORE AFTER

BEST of DCWashington City Paper

BEST of NOVANorthern Virginia Magazine

BEST of VIRGINIAVirginia Living Magazine

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Hon. Elizabeth Bagley, Sen. Tom Udall, and Meryl Streep

Yo-Yo Ma with Vicki Sant

Don Gummer and Sec. of State John Kerry

Darren Walker and Adrienne Arsht

Mariella Trager and Ginny Grenham

Maureen Orth, Queen Noor Al-Hussein, and

Sen. Chris CoonsCasilda Hevia

Matt Dillon and Roberta Mastromichele

Luke Russert, Liz Vasily, Kevin Swanson, and Brooke Jones

Ann Marchant, Aubrey Sarvis, and Frederica Valanos

REFUGEES INTERNATIONAL HOSTED its 36th annual

anniversary dinner at the Mellon Auditorium with returning host

and activist Matt Dillon. The exclusive awards ceremony and

celebration honored RI’s founder Sue Morton, journalist

Maureen Orth, human rights activist Tun Khin, and Senator

Chris Coons, each of whom has demonstrated extraordinary

leadership and commitment to remedy displacement crises

around the world and improve the lives of displaced people.

THE FOUNDATION FOR ART AND

PRESERVATION IN EMBASSIES

(FAPE) honored cellist Yo-Yo Ma with the

Leonore and Walter Annenberg Award for

Diplomacy through the Arts at the organiza-

tion’s Annual Events dinner and reception at

the State Department in April. Nearly 250

guests, including Jeff Koons, Meryl Streep,

Adrienne Arsht, and Capitol File editor-in-

chief Elizabeth Thorp, joined Secretary of

State John Kerry to celebrate FAPE’s

continued support of the arts.

FAPE AWARDS DINNER

REFUGEES

INTERNATIONAL

Bob Colacello and Jeff Koons


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Sitar Arts Center’s ballet class taught in partnership with The Washington Ballet.

MORE THAN 350 guests and benefactors of

the Kalorama-based arts organization Sitar

Arts Center gathered to fête its 15th anniversary

at the Howard Theatre. Honoring longtime

supporters Greg Albright, Sandra Masur,

Steven Smith, and Capital for Children, the

celebration featured performances by Sitar

students and a silent auction.

SITAR ARTS

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CAPITOL FILE AND MAZZA

GALLERIE celebrated the introduction of

Inova’s new Women’s Hospital during a

special spring luncheon and fashion

presentation led by Neiman Marcus’s fashion

director of women’s accessories, Ana Maria

Pimentel. Cohosts Angie Goff and Elizabeth

Thorp invited guests to learn more about

Inova’s longstanding dedication to women and

children’s health before sitting down for the

spring-inspired luncheon.

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AT MAZZA

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Dr. Alex Naini and

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The Grill Room’s Yukon Gold potato

and nettle gnocchi is tossed with fava

beans and shimeji mushrooms.

Capella ComebaCkFrank ruta and aggie Chin reunite

to breathe new liFe into the Grill

room at the Capella. by nevin martell

When one kitchen door closes, another opens. So it was for

James Beard Award-winning chef Frank Ruta, who last

April unexpectedly shuttered Palena, his revered

restaurant in Cleveland Park. For the next year, gastro

enthusiasts buzzed eagerly about where the one-time

White House chef might appear next. After hosting several

rapturously received prix fixe dinners at Mark

Furstenberg’s Bread Furst, the wandering toque settled

down as the executive chef at The Grill Room inside

boutique Georgetown hotel the Capella.

It may seem like a dramatic shift for Ruta, but the

70-seat space was a perfect fit. “I was hoping to be

somewhere that wasn’t Downtown, but still gets a lot of

traffic,” he says. “And the dining room is beautiful and

just the right size. Of course, you go through the pros and

cons in your head, but after talking with everybody who

owns and manages the hotel, it just made sense.”

Ruta didn’t arrive alone. He brought along his pastry

chef, Aggie Chin, who handled the blue-ribbon baked

goods at Palena. “Her style of dessert is in tune with the way


taste this Issue: Georgetown

clockwise from left:

Executive Chef Frank Ruta and Executive Pastry Chef Aggie Chin; The Georgetowner layers chocolate, marshmallow, and custard into a single throwback confection; The Grill Room’s interior at the Capella. bottom

right: Taittinger Champagne, offered at Capella.

raise a glassWine expert Keith goldston completes the Capella’s lineup.

Keith Goldston, formerly

of Bryan Voltaggio’s

Range, is the Capella’s

new director of wine.

“It’s an opportunity to

be a part of something

special,” he says. “When

you hear other chefs talk

about Frank Ruta, they

do it in hushed tones.”

As for the wine list,

he says, “There’s going

to be a little bit from

everywhere, with a focus

on small, family-owned

boutique producers.

And there will be a fair

number of classics. If

I’m only going to have

one Chianti on the list,

it’s going to be one of the

greatest Chiantis you’ve

ever had.”

One permanent fxture

of the wine program is

the Taittinger Champagne

trolley. For an efferves-

cent evening, Goldston

recommends a stem or

two from the tableside

minibar. Rich with big

berry favors and a crisp

acidity, the Prestige rosé

is a sublime sipper on a

summer’s eve.

I look to cook on the savory

side,” he says. “It’s simple but

elegant, tasty, and creative.”

Their partnership is built

on an even footing that is rare

to find. “I feel like a lot of

times, pastry gets over-

looked,” says Chin. “However,

Frank has a good understand-

ing of what it takes and what

people need to execute it well,

so he has a lot of respect for it.

He always makes sure that we

get the freshest eggs and dairy

in the pastry kitchen, because

he knows every little bit makes

a difference.”

The duo wants to build on

their previous successes rather

than replicate them in their

newest venue, where they also

handle room service and

catering for the private dining

spaces. “We don’t want to

copy Palena,” insists Ruta.

There will be less of an

Italian influence at play.

Instead, the classically-trained

chef will go back to his roots

as he changes the offerings

weekly to spotlight the

seasons. For Palena obses-

sives, there are a few familiar

faces on the menu, each

slightly tweaked. A revamp

of Ruta’s endlessly wor-

shipped burger is here—now

topped with truffled cheese

and a slather of house-made

mayo enriched with garlic

and mustard—as are versions

of his Yukon Gold potato

gnocchi and roasted chicken.

Fans curious about the new

direction of Ruta’s menu can

look forward to elegant

compositions, such as the trio

of suckling pig—roasted loin,

stuffed breast, and braised

shoulder—complemented

with roasted apples and

braised beets.

Chin’s desserts are equal

parts whimsy and decadence.

The early standout is The

Georgetowner, an elegant riff

on movie snacks. To evoke a

candy bar, she lays a dense

chocolate torte foundation,

then builds on layers of cocoa

nib marshmallows, milk

chocolate Bavarian cream,

and caramelized milk

chocolate custard before

topping it with chocolate

tiles, gold leaf, and caramel

sauce. Cracker Jack-style

caramelized Rice Krispies

and buttered-popcorn ice

cream complete the cin-

ematic homage. As if that

weren’t enough, all meals end

with a flurry of her dainty

petit fours—caramels,

macarons, pâtes de fruits,

and chocolate bonbons.

As the pair settles into their

new home, Ruta sees their

work as an ongoing process.

“At Palena, we made every-

thing in house—everything,”

he says. “We made the

vinegar, bread, and charcute-

rie. We’re still trying to figure

out how much we can do

ourselves here.” Operational

concerns aside, the power-

house duo is focused on simply

putting out great food—one

magnificent plate at a time.

1050 31st St. NW, 202-617-

2424; capellahotels.com CF

“the dining room at

the capella is

beautiful and just

the right size. it

just made sense.” —frank ruta


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ORANGE ANCHOR

True to its nautical setting,

Orange Anchor offers up a

panoply of seafood dishes,

such as pepper-crusted tuna

and twin lobster tails in rum

beurre blanc (SHOWN).

THE ALEX

This underground cocktail

lounge turns out fi rst-rate

nibbles, such as the kale

Caesar salad, to complement

speakeasy-inspired drinks

like The Blind Tiger (Wigle’s

Ginever, Pimm’s blackberry

and elderfl ower liqueur, and

maraschino liqueur).

CHEZ BILLY SUD

A fresh monument to French

cuisine, Chez Billy Sud

expands upon classic offer-

ings, such as the duck confi t

(SHOWN), with Basque-tinged

dishes like the spiced lamb

sausage with white beans,

kale, and piquillo peppers.

A Renaissance on the WaterYEARS AGO A FOODIE DESTINATION, THE GEORGETOWN DINING SCENE SEES REBIRTH. BY NEVIN MARTELL

on a fi rst-come, fi rst-served basis.)

“I wanted it to have a nautical,

preppy feel,” says Gardner, who

also owns Second State and Irish

Whiskey Public House. Buoys,

mirrored portholes, and anchor-motif

wallpaper decorate the seaworthy

space. Corporate Executive Chef

Allan Javery focuses on scratch-made

casual American fare, like pan-seared

chicken with brown ale butter sauce

and pecan-crusted trout. To quench

the thirst of sailors and landlubbers

alike, there are nearly 30 rums and a

variety of tropical-infl ected cocktails

available. In keeping with the nautical

theme, beers are only available

in cans and by draught, since the

quickest way to ruin a trip on the

water is with a broken glass on deck.

GOING UNDERGROUNDTo find The Alex (1075 Thomas

Jefferson St. NW, 202-337-0900;

thegrahamgeorgetown.com), a

steampunk-styled subterranean

boîte, you need to go through

the lobby of the Graham hotel

and descend past walls chalked

up with Mad Genius doodles.

The slender, sepia-lit space is

decorated with reclaimed and

repurposed elements designed to

echo the era and accomplishments

of the establishment’s namesake:

Alexander Graham Bell, inventor

of the telephone. The menu is

overseen by fresh-faced Executive

Chef Hassan Artis, who is looking

to make a name for himself at the

boutique hotel. “I want to do home

cooking kicked up a notch,” he

says. The ubiquitous kale Caesar

makes a welcome appearance—not

overdressed, just enough lemony

pep—and there’s a simply done,

pan-seared chicken breast balancing

on plump potatoes roasted just

right. We’re sure Bell would offer a

ringing endorsement. CF

In the not-so-distant past,

Georgetown restaurants focused on

pleasing tourists rather than

foodies. There were notable

exceptions—Bourbon Steak,

Farmers Fishers Bakers, and Fiola

Mare all shine brightly—but they

were outliers. Thankfully, a f lurry of

high-profile restaurant openings has

guaranteed that epicureans will

once again f lock to the recherché

waterfront neighborhood.

THE FRENCH WAYChef and partner Brendan L’Etoile

of Chez Billy Sud (1039 31st St.

NW; 202-965-2606; chezbillysud.com)

considers himself a classicist—most

of the time. “I’m very old-fashioned

in terms of the process for making

a dish and the technique,” he says.

“But when it comes to plating, I

try to be more playful. That way

the food is less stuffy and more

approachable.” Red wine poached

duck egg appears in a nest of sautéed

mushrooms, while duck confi t

arrives coronating a throne of root

vegetables. When the restaurant

opened last October, it showcased

Provençal-style cuisine, but now

L’Etoile is taking more inspiration

from the Spanish-accented Basque

region. Either way, c’est bon!

YUM, YUM, YUM, AND A BOTTLE OF RUMIt made good business sense for

Reese Gardner to metaphorically

dock his latest venture in Washington

Harbour development—but he was

equally motivated on a personal level.

As an avid boater on the Potomac

since moving to the District 15

years ago, the restaurateur opened

Orange Anchor (3050 K St. NW,

202-802-9990; orangeanchordc.com) as

the ultimate waterfront clubhouse.

(Boaters can tie up at the Harbour


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Tea ParTy TiPPles This summer, Tea geTs an exTra kick wiTh infusion cockTails.by kayleigh kulp

The Hanami cocktail at the St. Regis pairs gin with flavors of raspberry and lemon in a fruity concoction that’s perfect for summer.

Drink Me:

Hanami, courtesy of St. Regis

2 oz. gin

1 oz. house-made raspberry simple syrup

½ .5 oz. lemon juice

1 egg white

Lemon verbena dust

Combine all ingredients in a shaker flled with ice.

Shake vigorously and strain into a coupe glass.

Garnish with lemon verbena dust.

For a totally different flavor, St. Regis (923 16th St. NW,

202-638-2626) bartender Andrew Cassedy garnishes the

Hanami, a gin cocktail composed of raspberry simple

syrup, lemon juice, and egg white, with homemade lemon

verbena powder.

And across the way in Chinatown, Daikaya (705 Sixth

St. NW, 202-589-1600) beverage director Jamie MacBain

concocted the Tea Myself & I with Kintaro Japanese bar-

ley shochu, Thai lemongrass and mint syrup, lemon, and

hojicha tea, giving it an effervescent texture with a carbon

dioxide charger. “You get the roasted-ness from the barley

and the refreshing Thai lemongrass notes. You want to

have a second one,” MacBain says. “Tea brings an acidity

and astringency that help balance out cocktails.”

Because there are thousands of tea flavor profiles, bar-

tenders can find one that works with everything from

vodka to whiskey. The Palisades cocktail at 701

Restaurant (701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 202-393-0701)

uses hibiscus and Earl Grey tea with rhubarb bitters and

Leopold Bros. peach whiskey.

Other barkeeps opt to infuse the base spirits with tea.

Ripple’s (3417 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-244-7995)

Caroline Blundell combines a house-infused chamomile

vodka with grapefruit thyme soda and thyme simple syrup.

“The tea flavor is definitely super potent [by infusion],” she

says. Steeping a high quality loose leaf tea—such as local

favorite Teaism’s (multiple locations; teaism.com) Quiet

Evening—in the vodka allows her to simplify her production

process, because she would otherwise source and assemble

several herbs herself to achieve the flavor she seeks.

Meanwhile at El Centro D.F. (1819 14th St. NW, 202-

328-3131) the homemade lemon verbena tea-infused

tequila offers a complex herbal twist in a margarita, which

assistant general manager Mike McDonald says is a subtle

introduction to tea cocktails and is reminiscent “of sitting

on the porch and drinking lemon tea.”

Time to grab a glass and a rocking chair—or rather, a

seat at the bar. cf

Who says you can’t have afternoon tea and happy hour at the same time?

District bartenders are taking advantage of artisanal teas’ myriad flavors to

brighten and liven more summertime cocktails than ever before.

“I don’t think you can get the combination of earthiness and nuttiness from

anything but teas,” says Dante Datta, head bartender at Rasika West End

(1190 New Hampshire Ave. NW, 202-466-2500). “It’s akin to some whiskies,” he

explains. In his Manisha cocktail, Datta combines brewed Darjeeling tea with

bitter Averna liqueur, curry spiced syrup, and lemon juice. Served hot in the

winter and cold in the summer, the Darjeeling variety’s slight tannins, he says,

add a richness that “binds everything together.”


taste Cheers!

THANK YOU CAPITOL FILE MAGAZINE FOR SUPPORTING

SITAR ARTS CENTER’S 15TH ANNIVERSARY CHARITY GALA

HONORARY CHAIRS

Mrs. Nancy Folger& Dr. Sidney Werkman

PRESENTING MEDIA SPONSORPRESENTING CORPORATE PARTNER

SITAR ARTS CENTER ~ 1700 KALORAMA ROAD NW, SUITE 101 ~ WASHINGTON, DC 20009

P: 202-797-2145 ~ F: 202-483-0789 ~ WWW.SITARARTSCENTER.ORG

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SITAR ARTS CENTER ADVANCES THE CRITICAL LIFE SKILLS OF UNDERSERVED CHILDREN AND YOUTH

AND PREPARES THEM FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY THROUGH VISUAL, PERFORMING,

AND DIGITAL ARTS EDUCATION IN A NURTURING COMMUNITY.

// new in town //

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Going SoloNic StefaNelli strikes out on

his own with a new italian concept.

Chef Nick Stefanelli, a James Beard Foundation “Rising Star”

nominee, is opening his first solo venture, Masseria, early this

summer near Union Market. Born and raised in Maryland,

Stefanelli made a name for himself at a number of restaurants spe-

cializing in Italian cuisine (Maestro in McLean, Fiamma in New

York, and Bibiana in DC), where he developed his modern take

on classic Italian fare. The new freestanding space will combine

the industrial look of nearby Union Market and the feel of the

Italian countryside (“masseria” refers to the farmhouses located

on country estates in the Puglia region). Guests can look forward

to coastal-inspired Italian dishes and quaint seating for 60, includ-

ing a courtyard. 1340 Fourth St. NE; masseria-dc.com CF

debut

Fire up the grill with David Guas’s latest.

buy the book

guas’s grill

// roundup // yappy hour ’Tis The season for dining alfresco wiTh fur friends.

Just in time for

summer barbecues,

chef and restaurateur

David Guas, the host of

Travel Channel’s

American Grilled, has

released his latest

cookbook, Grill Nation:

200 Surefire Recipes,

Tips, and Techniques to

Grill Like a Pro

(Oxmoor House,

$24.95). Recipes range

from smoked pork

tenderloin with sweet

and spicy guava BBQ

sauce to Cowboy

cast-iron cornbread

with charred jalapeño-

honey butter. For the

home-cooking averse,

the New Orleans native

also recently opened

his second Bayou

Bakery, Coffee Bar &

Eatery at Hill Center at

the old Naval Hospital

on Capitol Hill. 901

Pennsylvania Ave. SE,

202-664-5307;

bayoubakerydc.com

Summer in DC means dog-friendly happy hours galore. Art and Soul’s (415 New Jersey Ave. NW, 202-

393-7777; artandsouldc.com) Pooch Patio menu, available during lunch and dinner hours, includes the

Happy Puppy, a three-ounce grilled steak, or the Gravy Train beef tips with rice. Piazza Beer Garden (7401

Woodmont Ave., Bethesda, 202-841-9114; piazzabeergarden.com) serves up American and Italian-inspired

fare, craft beers, and dog treats on its outdoor patio (weekdays from 4–7 pm). Mio Restaurant (1110 Vermont

Ave. NW, 202-955-0075; miorestaurant.com) offers Puerto Rican-inspired empanadas and salmon sliders, as

well as complimentary dog biscuits with the purchase of a cocktail.

Downtown ExpansionFrom the team that brought you City Tap

House comes Pennsylvania 6 this summer.

The American contemporary restaurant will

feature a 70-foot bar and regional fare like

lobster rolls (pictured) and monkfsh osso

buco. 1350 I St. NW; pennsylvania6dc.com

stEakhousE staplEsMastro’s Steakhouse opens its second East

Coast location, boasting a menu of premium

steaks, family-style side dishes, homemade

desserts, and unique indulgences, like the

lobster mashed potatoes. 600 13th St. NW;

mastrosrestaurants.com

taste spotlight

68 CAPITolFIlE-MAGAzInE.CoM

Contemporary ballet with an edge...and live music

June 24–28The Lansburgh Theatre

Tickets: chamberdance.org 202.547.1122Harman or Lansburgh Box Offi ces

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To schedule a privatetour, please contact:

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Taylor Properties301.970.2447 (of ce)202.460.7065 (cell)[email protected]

With her original approach to abstract art, Maggie Michael has been a rising star in DC’s art world,

but as she prepares for a major show at the American University Museum,

the painter is due for a broader audience.

By Kriston Capps Photography by Shane McCauley

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M

Over the course of her career,

Michael has established herself

as arguably the District’s

greatest young painter.

aggie Michael can hear the street from her studio. She is working in a new sec-

ond-floor space in one of the few light-industrial zones left in Washington, DC,

a warehouse district that people used to call the Capital City Market. There are

Asian, Latino, and Italian wholesalers spread over several blocks of ware-

houses, selling fruits and meats to ethnic restaurants or provisioning Obama

tchotchkes in bulk.

Nowadays people call this place Union Market,

named for the transformative, block-long market

that opened here in 2012. The revamped ware-

house and its dozens of upscale retail vendors set

the high-water mark for hip commercial develop-

ment in DC. For Michael, 40, it’s a radical change

of scenery from her last space, on tony Capitol Hill,

just a block from the Hart Senate Office Building.

“My other studio was in a carriage house in an

alley. It was very quiet,” she says. “Here I hear

everything. I hear people talking. I hear people

picking up their cabbage in the morning.”

Michael is grateful to be here. She and her hus-

band, Dan Steinhilber—a sculptor who shares

studio space in the ground-level floor of the building

where she works—have cycled between 11 different

studios over the 15 years they’ve lived in DC.

Michael hopes this studio will be her last—but

knows it won’t be.

The city should consider itself lucky she hasn’t

left yet. Over the course of her career, Michael has

established herself as arguably the District’s great-

est young painter. Bar none, she has produced

more and more consistent shows, landing her work

in the collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and

Sculpture Garden, the Smithsonian American Art

Museum, and even the Wilson Building, the seat of

city government.

She hasn’t come by her success easy. Part of the

challenge of working as an artist in DC, even as a

high-profile painter, is keeping up in a city that’s

quaking with change. The gelato factory for

Dolcezza, a fashionable local chain, and the meat-processing plant for Red

Apron Butchery, an upscale DC butcher, both recently set up shop just behind

Union Market, at 550 Penn Street NE. Edens—the developer behind both of

those new buildings—also owns the dilapidated office space two blocks away

where Michael and Steinhilber keep their studios.

Thanks to Edens, the artists will have their studios for at least one year. But

the writing’s on the wall for ramshackle buildings in the District. Still, better

Union Market than Capitol Hill.

“The Hill is kind of sleepy,” Michael says. “It always made me laugh when I

would go outside and I would see politicians. That’s right! They work here. They’re

always wearing their business suits, and skirts with tights—it was a whole scene.

This place feels much better to me.”

MICHAEL kEEPS ONE CORNER of her stu-

dio clear for visitors. Near a window looking out

over busy Florida Avenue NE, she’s set a leather

chair, a vinyl chair, an arm table, and a giant

bell—this piece an artifact from her 2010 show at

George Mason University, “Tattoos of Ships.”

There’s also a mirror set in a painted horse collar,

with the words you are a moving image painted

over it—one of her rare works of sculpture.

Everywhere else is paintings. Canvases over

stretcher bars line every wall. A long flat-file rack

built for art storage couldn’t dream of containing it

all. With so many dozens of paintings in her studio,

it’s hard at first glance to figure out where she paints.

“I’ve always been a very prolific artist,” Michael

says. “That’s partly because I work on more than

one painting at a time. I moved here three weeks

ago, and I lost a lot of time just moving. But in the

last week and a half, I’ve done these paintings,”

motioning to a set of four works in progress on the

floor. “I had to stop unpacking at a certain point. I

could unpack forever. I could organize forever.”

Given the way that Michael works, putting her

house in order would seem to be a simple task.

She’s established several discrete painting series

over the years, which come with titles like

“Clones,” “Icons,” and “Perfect Xs.” She refers to

her paintings, at least the finished ones, with this

scheme in mind: This piece is a River painting;

that one is an Explosion.

With every series, Michael wrestles with a differ-

ent formal innovation. For “Clones,” for example (the first series she showed in DC

back in 2002), Michael poured two puddles of latex paint onto a support that she

then manipulated, by moving and turning it, in order to arrive at paintings that

look twinned precisely. Her vertical “Icons” are her most figurative paintings—

although these abstractions only loosely suggest thighs, hips, and other body parts.

She distinguishes one series from the next by her sense of repetition. Taken

Perfect X Series: Undoing III by Maggie

Michael, 2015.

together, the small, gray “Perfect Xs” paintings

look like Stations of the Cross: dense, devotional

variations on a highly personal theme. The vis-

cous “Clones” paintings are rooted firmly in earth

tones and biomorphic forms. These could be med-

itations on the four humors (sanguine, phlegmatic,

melancholic, choleric). That’s not to say that she is

depicting the humors specifically or even deliber-

ately; but rather, like the ancient Greeks, she is

exploring the elements, tracing the celestial

sphere, and examining the realm between phenomena and noumena.

Michael’s series are never truly complete. New series emerge by the blending

of old ones. In “Colored Grounds and Perfect Xs”—her latest show at G Fine Art,

the gallery that has represented her work since 2002—one new painting took the

form of her older “Clones” series. Yet it also adopted the abrasive, gray, thick

palette of her newer “Perfect Xs.”

Her paintings take a long time to settle. She finished one painting recently that

she hasn’t touched since she was in her last studio, she says. “I feel like I worked

on that painting for nine months, but it only took really two weeks to make,”

Michael says. “I had to think about it long enough to say that it was done.”

WHEN I MEET WITH MICHAEL, she is preparing for a visit of some 30

donors and collectors associated with the San Francisco Museum of Modern

Art. She also has an informal show in the lobby of the local office for Gensler, a

global architecture firm, thanks to a new collector who works there (and bought

a painting from her last show). Her biggest show yet is on the horizon: a mid-

career survey that will occupy the entire third floor of the American University

Museum at the Katzen Arts Center.

“I want to tell a story through each series,” says Sarah Newman, consulting cura-

tor for modern art at the National Gallery of Art, and the curator for Michael’s

show. “I want to show the ideas that are at play, the kind

of formal strategies she’s dealing with, and the back-

ground soup of ideas she’s working through.”

In one sense, she says, Newman associates

Michael’s work with singular midcentury Abstract

Expressionist artists. Of course, painters like Joan

Mitchell, Lee Krasner, and Jackson Pollock are

hard to avoid in any discussion of Michael’s paint-

ings. Yet the “indexicality” of her paintings—the

tactics and texture she introduces through lines of

text, prints of leaves, and stencils of player-piano rolls—are a more direct form

of narrative communication that summons, say, Louise Bourgeois.

“I think about [Michael’s] work as communication,” Newman says.

“Sometimes it’s an utterance. Sometimes it’s this incredibly layered babble,

almost, and you can see the urgency, but it’s clouded in this complex, torturous

form. And then sometimes, you get beacons.”

For her part, Michael is already thinking ahead. Her next goal is to find gallery

representation in LA or San Francisco; the West Coast, she says, is a good fit for

her work, but she has no plans to leave DC. But she’s forever mindful that here, the

next studio is just a notice away, no matter how supportive the developer or owner.

“Artists are always looking for other studios,” Michael says. “If we have an

eye for anything, it’s not necessarily for art—it’s for finding another building.”

Ideally, she says, she’d be living in a church and painting in a fire station. She is

content with a space that has the essentials—electricity and water, that’s really it—

and thrilled that she is working in a studio that is larger than her home. And she’s

excited that her studio is where it is. Artist studios are often the canary in the coal

mine—the sign that an area is on the cusp; but Michael sees her studio (and her

husband’s studio) as adding to the neighborhood’s vibrancy, not anticipating it.

“We don’t have such a consumable product,” she says. “But we’re certainly

part of the spirit of the place.” CF

Part of the challenge of

working as an artist in DC

is keeping up in a city that’s

quaking with change.

The artist in her

Union Market studio.


Colored Ground Series: Grey Crosscutting Silver (Delta) by Maggie Michael, 2014.

Any major city looking to cultivate a thriving art scene

needs two things: artists and buyers. In Los Angeles, it’s

the Hollywood juggernaut that creates the collector base

for LA artists and galleries. In New York, the real estate

and finance sectors are where you’ll find the city’s art col-

lectors. Tech czars amassing their wealth in Silicon Valley

don’t spend much of it on art in San Francisco, but the

hope there is that they’ll come around.

In one respect, today’s gallery scene in Washington, DC,

is standing strong: Its artists produce work worthy of any sec-

ond city in the nation. But political gridlock in the nation’s

capital, coupled with the fallout from the 2010 burst of the

law-school bubble, has hemmed in the market for fine art in

the District at a time of unprecedented growth for the city.

At one point, galleries were ready to ride the wave. In

2003, when the city’s explosive growth was just beginning

to surge, several art dealers moved from the safe enclaves

of Georgetown and Dupont Circle to 14th Street NW,

which was then a former automotive showcase corridor

marked by burned-out buildings and boarded-up win-

dows—the legacy of the riots still very much visible.

Storefront galleries and white-cube spaces—namely

Fusebox, Transformer, G Fine Art, Adamson Gallery,

Hemphill Fine Arts, and Curator’s Office—turned 14th

Street into the heart of the visual art scene.

Each gallery played a different vital role. Transformer,

a nonprofit incubator, held true to the city’s punk and

hard-core music roots, hosting shows by young and

untested artists in a microgallery setting. Andrea Pollan

and George Hemphill, art dealers behind Curator’s

Office and Hemphill Fine Arts, respectively, built spaces

to host their strong stables of local and national artists.

Annie Gawlak—who joined Pollan, Hemphill, and Laurie

Adamson in a gallery building at 1515 14th Street—

STATE OF THE ARTTHE DISTRICT’S ART SCENE HAS BEEN IN FLUX FOR

THE PAST DECADE—BUT IT’S READYING FOR AN

UPSWING. BY KRISTON CAPPS

DC’S GALLERY SCENE COMES ALIVE

WITH FOUR SHOWS THIS SEASON.

RACHEL SCHMIDT

Schmidt imagines cities after some un-

known future apocalyptic event; although

the people are mostly gone, her dense

downtowns—part sculpture, part photogra-

phy, part collage—are far from uninhab-

ited. June 5–July 2, Flashpoint Gallery, 916

G St. NW, 202-315-1305; culturaldc.org

RACHEL FARBIARZ, DEB SOKOLOW,

LAVAR MUNROE

This group show runs the gamut of

draftsmanship, featuring works by Farbiarz

(known for large-scale installations, sculp-

ture, and text-based collages), Munroe (a

painter of rich canvases and installations),

and Sokolow (whose works feature hand-

drawn text and comic illustration). June

6–July 13, G Fine Art, 4718 14th St. NW,

202-462-1601; gfi neartdc.com

WILLIAM CHRISTENBERRY

Christenberry has captured homes and

retailers that have fallen into disrepair in

his native Hale County, Alabama. More

recently, he has turned to sculpture, paint-

ings, and prints to depict a Southern gothic

that is giving way to the creep of kudzu

and memory. June 10–August 1, Hemphill

Fine Arts, 1515 14th St. NW, Ste. 300,

202 234-5601; hemphillfi nearts.com

ALLISON SPENCE, LISA DILLIN

Spence’s “mass” paintings borrow the

comic sensibility and painterly texture of

artists like George Condo. Dillin’s sculp-

tures invoke everyday circumstances in

which humans act just a little more like

animals than they normally do. This show

promises a light touch. June 27–August 1,

Hamiltonian Gallery, 1353 U St. NW, Ste.

101, 202-332-1116; hamiltoniangallery.com

Adamson Gallery shows nationally acclaimed artists such as Chuck Close and Robert Longo, whose Fair Mount Forest is pictured here.

TOP LEFT: whatisaspiralbutareminderthatwecanneverbesocompact by Allison Spence, 2015.


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These five spaCes Give

ConTemporary arT a home in

The DisTriCT.

represented some of the finest artists working in DC.

More and more people arrived to the city over the 2000s,

many of them buyers flooding a housing market marked

by depressed prices and deep supply constraints. (Which

adds up to steeply rising prices.) Even through the 2008

housing crash and the ongoing recovery, the local econ-

omy in DC stayed afloat. The condos kept coming, and

rents kept rising, on 14th Street and several other commer-

cial corridors that had been vacant for years and years. Yet

the collapse in the legal job market has had a lasting impact

on the city’s art scene. Art dealers say that they cherish

their returning clients, lawyers and firms alike; but the

number of galleries that have closed, downsized, or other-

wise adjusted their programs speaks to the fact that the

legal industry has yet to regain its pre-2008 form.

And so, 14th Street is changing again. High-end restau-

rants and luxe-design retailers have popped up all over the

thoroughfare, unfazed. While Hemphill and Transformer

are still there today, most of their peers were forced to move

elsewhere (or move on). G Fine Art and another gallery,

Civilian Art Projects, share a space in a neighborhood

called 16th Street Heights, alternating shows from month

to month. Pollan shuttered her physical gallery space to

focus on a floating model for Curator’s Office. Irvine

Contemporary, Project 4, and other galleries closed with

no immediate plans to reopen.

Despite the tidal changes, DC is still a vital hot spot

for art—and stronger in many respects for having

evolved. Quota, an independent project by Dawne

Langford, a filmmaker, and Avi Gupta, a photogra-

pher, is one welcome newcomer: It’s a roving curatorial

program that showcases work by artists of color (in par-

ticular artists who aren’t making work about color). All

around the city, curators are proving nimble adapting

to a market that emphasizes brick-and-mortar spaces

less and less. Pleasant Plains Workshop and the Wild

Hand Workspace are newer shops that follow different

models for supporting artists; local DIY house spaces

such as Hole in the Sky are too numerous to count and

even harder to find.

This fall, the Washington Project for the Arts, one of

the longest-running arts organizations in the District,

aims to open its new headquarters in the U Street corri-

dor. In addition to offices, the membership organization’s

new home—in a flashy mixed-use building at Eighth and

V Streets NW—will include dedicated gallery space and

a flexible meeting area. Established by arts doyenne

Alice Denney in 1975, it’s been rootless for nearly 20

years; with any luck (and a lease that extends through

2022), the WPA can be a source for continuity in a chang-

ing DC as well as a true resource center for its hundreds

of member artists.

The District has always been unique among cities—it

may be the nation’s capital, but it’s just one of a number

of municipalities in the region: a tiny diamond carved

out into the border between northern Virginia and

southern Maryland. Arts organizations draw funding

from all these different areas, meaning there is no central

well for art but a ring of them, including the Arlington

Arts Center, the McLean Project for the Arts, the Greater

Reston Arts Center, the Bethesda Urban Partnership,

and so on. They’ve helped the area to develop a talented

group of curators and leaders beyond the museums of the

National Mall, each one focusing on a particular niche.

Consider the “Strictly Painting” series at the McLean

Project for the Arts (which runs through August 1) or the

Spring and Fall Solos exhibitions at the Arlington Arts

Center (next up in October).

The District isn’t New York or Los Angeles or San

Francisco—although rents around the city are trending

just as high here. As the city continues to evolve owing to

demographic and economic changes, it will lose some of

its defining features while gaining other qualities. The

same could be said for the District art scene—whose art-

ists, curators, and dealers are still navigating the new

terrain. Today, the art scene is fresher, more agile, and

less reliant on established legacies, and more willing to

experiment with form and format. cf

DCaC

For more than 25 years, the District of

Columbia Arts Center has anchored the

Adams Morgan corridor. A theater, a

venue, and a gallery, it remains critical

as a site where new artists—and per-

haps more importantly, new curators—

can test run emerging work. No other

DC gallery can boast keeping the same

address so long. 2438 18th St. NW,

202-462-7833; dcartscenter.org

aDamson Gallery

Adamson features prints, photographs,

editions, and holograms—yes, that’s

right—by David Adamson, a Tamarind-

certifed master printer. While the gallery

holds fewer exhibitions than others, it

typically features frst-run works by frst-

rate artists, from Renate Aller to Chuck

Close. 1515 14th St. NW, Ste. 301, 202-

232-0707; adamsongallery.com

Transformer

Victoria Reis runs one of the last true

punk holdouts in the District, an incu-

bator that occupies a former alleyway

in an area that’s now among the toniest

neighborhoods in the city. Despite its

small stature, Transformer punches

up, through collaborations with cultural

organizations like the Mexican Cultural

Institute. 1404 P St. NW, 202-483-

1102; transformerdc.org

Civilian arT projeCTs

A gallery that’s had more addresses

than most in DC, Civilian now alter-

nates shows in a shared space with

G Fine Art. Civilian director Jayme

McLellan often draws on music and

human-rights spheres for her activist-

oriented programming. 4718 14th St.

NW, 202-607-3804; civilianart

projects.com

The friDGe DC

One of the funkier performance spaces

in the city, The Fridge is the beating

heart of the city’s alternative-art scene,

from street art and illustration to populist

low-brow and no-brow art. 516 ½

Eighth St. SE, rear alley, 202-664-4151;

thefridgedc.com

from top: With I Hope You’re Happy (2013–2014) at Civilian Art Projects, Dan Tague says he has visualized the 800-pound gorilla in the room

when discussing the fate of displaced Hurricane Katrina victims; a recent Transformer show included Rachel Schmidt’s The Deadliest Catch (2014).


The Foo Fighters (shown here performing in 2014) take over

RFK Stadium for an Independence Day blowout.

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sonic

Boom

from above: Dave Grohl reflects on his rock roots while filming episode two of Sonic Highways in Northern Virginia; another show comes to a close, earlier this year; the much younger Foos take the stage in 2000.

opposite page: “After 20 years, we’re like family,” Grohl says of his bandmates (from

left to right) Pat Smear, Nate Mendel, Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, and Chris Shiflett.

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In the Foo FIghters’ world there Is much to

celebrate. There’s the 20th anniversary of their self-titled first album,

released on July 4, 1995. There’s the continued success of their current effort,

Sonic Highways, which started at number two on Billboard’s Top 200 and

quickly rose to number one on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart upon its

release last November. (The album sold a substantial 190,000 copies in its

first week.) There’s the critical and commercial success of the companion

eight-part documentary directed by front man and newly minted rock histo-

rian Dave Grohl. There’s the fact that none other than David Letterman

counts the Foos as his favorite band and invited the group to be the last musi-

cal guest on his final show in May. And wherever they go, rock ’n’ roll’s best

and brightest want to get on board. When the band rolls into DC in July, it will

be accompanied by many of the musicians featured on Sonic Highways,

including Buddy Guy, Gary Clark Jr., Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and LL

Cool J, among others.

At 46 years old, Grohl is the longhaired, hard-rocking, and passionately

talkative nice guy of the music world. The band is as busy as ever—we sched-

uled our phone interviews around the

European leg of their tour—but Grohl is eager

to discuss the Sonic Highways project and the

way it pays homage to the history that created

him. The founder of the Foo Fighters has never

lost his appreciation for the business that made

him an icon among wildly disparate groups

that range from grunge-rock kids to 40-some-

thing moms and dads. But he is quick to point

out that he is surrounded by guys who also

know their stuff.

“Our band is kind of a group of musicolo-

gists,” says Grohl. “Chris [Shif lett] knows a lot

about country. Nate [Mendel] and I know a lot

about the underground scene. Pat [Smear]

and Taylor [Hawkins] know a ton about clas-

sic rock. And so when we stared choosing the

cities [for Sonic Highways], people would say,

‘Oh what about this guy? What about this

club? What about this studio?’” The complicated project took years to pro-

duce, with Grohl interviewing music inf luencers in each of the eight cities

the band visited, and then writing lyrics to new songs, weaving phrases and

references from the interviews into each to place the song firmly in the city

in which it was recorded. Each song was recorded in a studio that helped

shape the music of the city. When Grohl explained the sequence to the

band, they got on board immediately. Says drummer Taylor Hawkins,

“Dave says, ‘I’m going take sentences from the interviews and write a song.’

And I thought, That seems really difficult. But it’s given him a whole new

way of writing lyrics.”

Sonic Highways is the Foos’ eighth studio album, and after 20 years

together the band members wanted to shake things up. “It used to be that

just throwing your gear in a van was an adventure,” Grohl says, “but after

20 years, you look for ways to change the process and make it more of a

challenge.” The concept came about, according to Grohl, after making his

directorial debut with the documentary Sound City, about the studio out-

side Los Angeles where Nirvana recorded Nevermind in 1991. He was

inspired to make the film when he purchased the Neve 8028 analog mixing

console (one of only four made) from the legendary studio, which was clos-

ing its doors in 2011. Some of the musicians who had recorded there,

including Tom Petty, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, and John Fogerty of

Creedence Clearwater Revival, participated and wrote songs specifically

for the film and recorded on the rare console in a 24-hour period. It was

“ The experiences i’ve had in [dc] seT The

foundaTion for The resT of my life

as a musician.” —DAVE GROHL


music-tech-geek heaven. And from that project the framework

of what would become Sonic Highways was laid.

Chris Shiflett, the band’s lead guitarist, says, “Sonic Highways

became a way to show our love and passion for what we do and

for music history.” Grohl continues, “The whole concept really

came out of trying to explain how these cities seem connected

somehow. Whether it begins with Robert Johnson or ends with

Lady Gaga, it’s all connected by something. If you think of it, it’s

the sonic highways that connect all of these people and places

together.” The cities they chose were relevant not only to the

band members themselves, but to music history as a whole. Of

course, Washington, DC, was a natural choice for Grohl, who

grew up in Northern Virginia.

Grohl began his music career in the nation’s capital, drumming for hard-

core punk bands like Dain Bramage and Scream. Says Grohl in episode two

of the series, filmed at Arlington, Virginia’s Inner Ear Studio, “The experi-

ences I’ve had in this city, from the age of 14, set the foundation for the rest of

my life as a musician. The community, the support, the love that was here in

the DC music scene has carried over into what I do now.” The musician con-

tinues, “The way that the Foo Fighters work now, we’re like family, and we

try to treat everyone that way.”

The result of the Inner Ear recordings, “The Feast and the Famine,” is

perhaps the most evocative of the songs in the series, due in no small part to

the fact that Grohl is writing about his own musical history. The first few

lines include references to the 1968 Chocolate City riots, which followed the

assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and began at the intersection of

14th and U Streets; the Bad Brains and the hard-core punk scene; and

Trouble Funk, a local R&B band that popularized the go-go

style that not only influenced Grohl’s own style of drumming,

but also that of artists like Pharrell Williams, who grew up in the

Virginia Beach area.

Sonic Highways represents the Foo Fighters’ most ambitious

project to date. The tour, which began in December 2014 and

stretches into November, is its longest so far, and as soon as

new dates are announced, they sell out. In true Foo Fighters

fashion, in certain markets the band instituted a “Beat the

Bots” system, where tickets are made available first at the box

office in part to prevent scalpers from buying up all the good

seats, but mostly because Grohl wanted kids to experience the

fun of buying concert tickets the old-school way. The program has had

varying degrees of success, and tickets still wind up in the hands of scalp-

ers and agents, but you have to admire his style. Though many people

connect him with Seattle because of his history with Nirvana, Grohl still

refers to himself as a DC-area musician. Two of the Foo Fighters’ albums

were recorded locally, and episode two of the series is a love letter to that

history. It is no coincidence that the show at RFK coincides with the exact

date of the 20th anniversary of the release of the Foo Fighters’ debut

album. Grohl muses, “There really weren’t too many musicians or bands

that imagined life outside of the Washington, DC, music community.

There was no music industry, there was just this sense of camaraderie;

everyone knew each other.”

The Foo Fighters play RFK Stadium, located at 2400 East Capitol St. SE, on July

4 at 2 pm. For tickets, call 202-397-7328, or visit ticketmaster.com. cf

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Big FishThe shuckers, anglers, Trawlers, and vendors of Main avenue fish MarkeT have

weaThered The sTorMs for 200 years To Make iT an essenTial parT of dc’s landscape.

by amy moeller photography by melissa golden

Clarence Goodman, 60, of Jessie Taylor Seafood, has been selling blue crabs at the Maine Avenue Fish Market for more than 40 years.

opposite page, clockwise from top left: Live crabs, caught locally, are a market mainstay; Patrick Donahue, who started at the market in 1988, left for a few years—“It’s hell on the family life,” he says—before ultimately deciding the work made him happy; crawfish shipped in from Florida and Louisiana; Darius Ethridge joined the Captain White Seafood City team in the spring.


Raw oysters are shucked on site. left: Christine

Givens has been a cashier with Captain

White for 10 years.

opposite page, from left: Kenyon “Kenny” Brown,

who mans the snow crab legs, lives in Salisbury,

but has been making the weekly commute to

Jessie Taylor Seafood for four years; the market

stocks everything from whole fish to fish fillets,

including fish heads.

It’s 6 am and as the rest of the city sleeps, shuffles their kids to school, or clocks their gym time,

the men at Jessie Taylor Seafood stir in the small sleeping quarters behind the storefront barge.

By 7 am, the market is abuzz with workers preparing for the day ahead. They fill the display

cases with bucket-upon-bucket of ice and the first trucks roll in for the day’s delivery.

The dozen or so men on this shift perform the same ritualistic duties for seven straight days, 14 hours a day. Each man has his charge: fish, crabs, oysters, etc. And each falls in every morning like clockwork. Then they get a seven-day break—seven on, seven off. On Monday night, those who live locally will head home for a week-long retreat—though many do their own fishing and crabbing or other odd jobs on the side—but most will pile in vans and head to their families in Salisbury and beyond. The business was born on Smith Island, nestled across the Chesapeake Bay from the mouth of the Potomac, but today, most live on the Eastern Shore.

Donning a long, grayish blond braid and colorful bandana reminiscent of Willie Nelson, Clarence Goodman, 60, is a fixture at the market. He now owns a home in Springfield, Virginia, but he was raised on Smith Island and recruited to work at the market years before he could drive. “Since I was 12 or 13, I was crab-bing and making maybe $35 a day—getting up 3:30 or 4 o’clock in the morning,” he recalls. He’d quit school to help support his family, and one afternoon just days before Fourth of July weekend, he was fixing his bicycle in the driveway when Fil Evans stopped by and asked if he wanted to help out for the weekend. “My mom said, ‘Okay,’ and that was the start of a long, long journey,” he says.

At the time, brothers Raymond Stanley Evans and Filmore Evans were running Jessie Taylor Seafood alongside half a dozen other vendors, and Goodman wasn’t sure how long he’d stay. Over the years, he earned his GED and even toyed with the idea of going to an Iowa college that practices transcendental meditation. In a 1987 Washington Post article, he called the Fish Market gig a stepping stone “to being something…to being able to retire and to living good while I got the life.”

But something about the routine, the culture, and the way of life had stolen a place in his heart. “I fell in love with the public,” he says. “One minute

you’re waiting on somebody very, very nice. The next minute you’re waiting on somebody who’s having a rough day. One minute you’re waiting on somebody who’s got a [lot of money]; the next minute you’ve got somebody who wants some-thing that they can’t really afford. I try to put myself in their shoes, even for a few moments, until that sale’s over. That way my personality kicks in instead of an attitude.” Nearly half a century later visitors ask for Goodman by name, and the business belongs to Stan and Fil’s four sons, with a roster of employees generations deep. When asked if most of the crew is related, Goodman’s reply is simple: “Well, we’re all family.”

By 9:30 am the stalls are set, and breakfast is served. An on-site cook passes around indi-

vidually plated Styrofoam containers of hearty meals easily consumed on-the-go, such as

bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches. This morning at Jessie Taylor’s, it’s eggs and toast with a

patty of corned beef. Goodman recalls when French toast and waffles were on the morning

menu. With full bellies and an even fuller day ahead, everyone prepares for the first real wave

of customers and the rest of the deliveries.

The oldest open-air fish market in the country, this iconic venue began opera-tion more than 200 years ago as a row of seafood and produce vendors along the shores of the Potomac. Over two centuries, it was reincarnated a few times: A new indoor market was unveiled in 1916, but it was demolished some 40 years later as part of a neighborhood renovation. But with each changing of the tide, the ven-dors fought to stay put. Ultimately, in the early 1960s, the city built the concrete pier under the I-395 overpass that still anchors the market today.

In the earliest days of the concrete pier, the “storefronts” were buy boats—ves-sels that played middleman between the docks and the fishing boats in the more bountiful Chesapeake Bay tributaries along the Eastern Shore. For decades, the waterways provided the only access between the Eastern Shore and DC—the first span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge didn’t open until 1952 (the second, in 1973). But as travel to DC by land became more efficient, the boats were phased out,

semi-permanent barges moved in, and the goods began arriving by truck. Thanks

to the expansion and development of highways and bridges, and advances in

mobile refrigeration, the shipment by truck has actually narrowed the time

between when the catch is pulled from the water and when it’s put on the market.

Midmorning another shipment arrives with two dozen bushels of crabs from Delaware for

Taylor’s team. Stan Kiser and Ryan Evans, whose family owns the business, help unload the

truck and chat with supplier Greg James about the vendors that used to occupy the market.

Jimmy’s Grill, the ready-made-lunch stand across the way, James says, is still

there but the Evans brothers now own it. Captain Red’s and a few others are long

gone. One half of the Tilghman Island-based husband-and-wife team at Choptank

River Seafood, James has been delivering to Maine Avenue since 1984. “From

one family to another,” Kiser says, then looks to the bushel baskets. “We could go

through these in four or five hours.”

Decades ago, the market offerings were limited to local crabs, fish, shellfish,

and produce. Today, a lot of the goods are still caught locally, though some are

shipped in from North Carolina or Louisiana when they’re not in season here, or

to keep up with demand. More exotic items are brought in from around the world.

As Washingtonians’ tastes have expanded, so have the offerings on Maine

Avenue. Chilean sea bass, whole octopus from China, and two particularly popu-

lar species of shrimp that are native to the Gulf and Ghana are regularly available.

Almost anything you can imagine can be found at the market or acquired upon

request. “We can pretty much get our hands on anything,” Kiser says.

By lunchtime, visitors are arriving in droves. An eager crowd gathers in front of the raw

oysters. Sam Fisher grabs one off the ice, dips it in water, pries it open, and arranges it on a

Styrofoam plate. The movements are second nature to him. One, two, three, four, five, six

oysters hit the plate and are topped with a lemon wedge. If you blink, you’ll miss it.

“They call me ‘Sam, Sam, the Shuckin’ Man,’” Fisher says with a smile. He’s

been shucking oysters for 41 years, and his son does it, too. The pair did a long stint

in Ocean City, but Sam has spent the last seven years on Maine Avenue. He’s col-

lected 70 to 80 pearls shucking oysters—“maybe 10 really good ones,” he says—but

now that he does most of his shucking directly for the consumer, some lucky ones

walk away with more than a delicious lunch. Hint: He says the prettier pearls actu-

ally come from the clams, not the oysters. Fortunately, he’s got those, too.

Virgo Fish House, the independent fish cleaning station nearby, is grappling

with its own lunch-hour rush as a line forms out the door. “I’m the only minority

owner on the wharf,” says Virgo owner Darryl Jones. He came into the business

more than 20 years ago, encouraged by his former business partner—“not by

birth, but like a dad”—who opened the Fish House in 1960. His business partner

died a few years ago, but under Jones’s direction, the shop lives on.

Over the years, there have been a lot of changes to the fish market, but the fami-

lies at Jessie Taylor and Captain White Seafood City have kept their deeply

planted roots intact. The two businesses are technically three: Fil and Stan Evans

each had two sons, and the two sets of sons split the Jessie Taylor Seafood business

into two identical but independently functioning entities a few years ago. (Fil’s

sons own one seven-day shift, Stan’s sons the other.) At Captain White’s, most

employees are local, and the shifts are flexible. Jessie Taylor and Captain White

are the last remaining outfits on the barge, each having slowly acquired the aban-

doned space as fellow businesses have bowed out, relocated, or retired.

Over the years, there have been a lot of changes to the fish market, but the families at Jessie Taylor and Captain White Seafood City have kept their deeply planted roots intact.


On the far end of the pier, it’s Billy and his wife, Penny—“Miss Penny,” they call her—run-

ning the show at Captain White’s today. While Billy hustles around the market to prepare for

the weekend ahead, Penny shares a few moments to talk about the business.

“When Billy was 15 years old, he started on a picnic table right here,” she says. “Fourteen or 15 hours a day, five to seven days a week.” She beams with pride as she describes her husband’s commitment to DC and to the market that has become a local treasure. Both are from the Eastern Shore, and both of their families have been in the seafood business for generations. It’s what brought them together—they first met more than 30 years ago when Billy bought crabs from Penny’s father to sell at this very market. Today, Billy and his brother Sunny—their father founded Captain White’s—co-own half of the real estate. “We’ve always been about serving the city, and I think we’ve done that,” Penny says. “It’s been a ride.”

By 4 pm, the crew’s lunch of sandwiches and the like is over, and DC’s early risers are

trickling out of the office and lining up at the market. A dozen large male crabs are tossed into

a paper bag; Kiser directs a new customer to a steaming station nearby. A few feet down, a

gentleman behind the counter helps a woman select a fish. One couple orders homemade lob-

ster bisque from Captain White’s.

The history of the place is rich, but largely undocumented. Relatively little has been written about the market’s two centuries, and instead, tales have been passed down orally, generation to generation. As it goes, myths have swirled among the city that surrounds it. The origin of the Jessie Taylor name generates several theo-ries. (Truth: Jessie Taylor isn’t in the lineage—it’s the name of the Evans’ original buy boat.) Some online reviewers gossip that one family secretly owns the entire market and deceives the rest of the city into thinking it’s a group of separately owned small businesses. (Truth: two families, three businesses, plus the Fish House.) That two different, unrelated Evans families have at one time or another owned a spot on the barge only perpetuates the tale. (An Evans family unrelated

to that of Jessie Taylor did a stint as owner of Pruitt Seafood, but the space has since been sold to Captain White’s.)

Rumors of celebrity sightings swirl, too. Rapper DMX and pop star-turned-The Voice coach Christina Aguilera have supposedly been spotted. Kevin Durant, Delonte West, and Jerry Stackhouse are said to love the market. There’s a dollar bill floating around somewhere that Norv Turner signed. According to market lore, Loretta Lynn’s people popped in every time her tour brought her to the District. Today, tourists, politicians, local residents, and restaurateurs (El Rinconcito Café’s Mauricio Arias is a regular) all frequent the landmark—but you’d be hard-pressed to dig up more details. Most on duty are much more con-cerned with what’s being served than who’s being served. Regulars are known by face, first name, and order—not status or profession.

As the tide has risen, so have the stalls. Damp with flecks of dirt from the water below,

Ryan Evans asks a member of the crew to wipe down the newly exposed stall fronts.

The Maine Avenue Fish Market (The Municipal Fish Market circa 1918), was casually called “The Wharf,” but after the official adoption of that name by the $2 billion, 27-acre redevelopment of the land next door, those on Maine Avenue have re-embraced the more explicit “fish market.” Despite some underlying fear of what could happen in the future when the neighboring development opens, the tone overall seems optimistic. If it doesn’t edge them out—and there are still about 15 years left on the market’s lease—the influx of new residents and visitors could prove good for the historic business. (Another rumor says that with The Wharf’s completion, the fish market will move back indoors. No one at the market has heard that one.)

“We don’t know what the future holds,” says Sunny White. “But things like this have a way of working themselves out.” Jones, whose Fish House will move to the other side of the market once The Wharf is complete, is excited. “We’re due for a change.” cf

By 11 am a lunch crowd starts to form at the

market for ready-made options such as soup and

steamed shrimp. right:

Darryl Jones first came to DC in the ’70s to

manage the Eastern Market on Capitol Hill,

but joined Virgo Fish House in 1990.

opposite page:

Stan Kiser, whose uncles own Jessie

Taylor Seafood, makes the trip to Southwest

DC every other week for his seven-day shift.


Know Before

You Go

How to navigate the Main

Avenue Fish Market like a pro.

the basics

location: 1100 Main Ave. SW

hours: 7 am to 9 pm in summer;

closes at 8 pm in winter.

beat the crowds: While

there’s no bad time to go, there’s

a calm at 11 am before the lunch

rush, and at 3 pm before the

after-work crowd gathers.

teachable moments: Don’t

be afraid to ask questions. The

men and women on the barge

are incredibly knowledgeable

when it comes to their posts.

They can tell you everything

from what to look for when it

comes to freshness to how to

distinguish the male crabs from

the females—there are more

ways than you think!

inside captain

White seafood city

ready-made musts: Captain

White’s seafood gumbo is

probably the most seafood-

rich soup on the dock, but the

lobster bisque won our taste test.

backroom secret: If there’s

something you don’t see upfront,

such as wild salmon, just ask.

It’s probably in the back.

nosh with a view: There’s

a small, covered barge around

the corner from the main dock

that has become something of a

makeshift countertop for Captain

White’s customers to take their

lunch. It’s not Le Diplomate, but it

has its own charm.

getting t noW

Jessie taylor seafood

eat like the crew: The Jessie

Taylor team has a particular

way they like their soup. It’s

one part clam chowder, one

part Maryland crab, and 100

percent delicious. If you ask,

they’ll make it for you.

pause to appreciate: Sam

Fisher has created a unique

oyster-shucking technique that

he wouldn’t let us videotape.

It’s transfxing.

don’t leave without… A

hushpuppy from Evans Brothers

Seafood. It pairs perfectly with

the fresh strawberry lemonade.

The history of the place is rich, but largely undocumented. Relatively little has been written about the market’s two

centuries, and instead, tales have been passed down orally, generation to generation.

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ARNOLD, MARYLANDExtraordinary craftsmanship and architecture distinguish this restored 10,000 square-foot home on three acres along the

Severn River. Amenities include pool and private pier. $6,499,000

Represented by: Day WeitzmanOffce: 410.263.8686/Direct: 410.353.0721

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIARich in architectural detail, this stately 4BR/3.5BA Federal residence, circa 1782, is one of the fnest

properties in Old Town. $3,350,000

Represented by: Donnan C. WintermuteOffce: 703.518.8300/Direct: 703.608.6868

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLANDThis English Tudor estate on 20 acres on Chesapeake Bay offers

inviting interiors underscored by fne woodwork. A waterfront guest cottage, patio, and pier enjoy waterside privacy.

$3,995,000

Represented by: Day WeitzmanOffce: 410.263.8686/Direct: 410.353.0721

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLANDA luxurious lifestyle awaits you in this 5BR/4+BA waterfront home designed to take advantage of the water views. The

protected waterfront is only minutes to the Chesapeake Bay. $2,999,750

Represented by: Brent AllenOffce: 410.263.8686/Direct: 410.349.7764

WASHINGTON, D.C.Forest Hills home with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and 2 half baths.

Great room, sun room, and a Chef’s kitchen with eat-in pantry. Spectacular indoor pool with showers. Private garden.

$2,250,000

Represented by: Erich Cabe 202.387.6180/Direct: 202.320.6469

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIAFormer model home offers fne craftsmanship and luxury

amenities, conveniently located near Metro, DC and Old Town. 6BR/6+BA, 4 freplaces, 9 years old.

$2,290,000

Represented by: Susan Gray ChambersOffce: 703.518.8300/Direct: 703.203.9900

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIAStunning 1800+ sq.ft. 2BR/2.5BA condo with 2 Italian-tiled

terraces, East-facing windows and custom hardwoods foors. 5-star amenities include valet parking and full concierge.

$1,499,000

Represented by: Michael SchaefferOffce: 202.387.6180/Direct: 202.491.5910

CHANTILLY, VIRGINIAElegant home on 3-acres features 6BR/6.5BA, exotic

hardwoods, dual sunrooms, veranda off master, kitchen with oversized island and glazed cabinets.

$1,169,000

Represented by: Traci OliverOffce: 703.691.1400/Direct: 703.505.7614

RESTON, VIRGINIAWaterfront contemporary home on Lake Thoreau. Master suite

on main level. Updated kitchen. Dining/living room lead to large deck with lake views. Three gas freplaces. Private dock.

Pontoon boat conveys. $1,250,000

Represented by: Sam and Kathy Scoggin, The Scoggin Home TeamOffce: 703.620.1668/Direct: 703.898.3903

CBMOVE.COM | COLDWELLBANKERPREVIEWS.COM

© 2015 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Operated by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker, the Coldwell Banker Logo, Coldwell Banker Previews International, the Previews International logo and “Dedicated to Luxury Real Estate” are registered and unregistered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The property information herein is derived from

various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verifcation. Any affliation by you with the Company is intended to be that of an independent contractor licensed real estate sales associate.

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Interior designer Erica Burns uses patterns—like the pomegranate motif on

these dining room chairs—to keep neutral

spaces interesting.

It’s hard to imagine this neutral home in Potomac Falls, Maryland, fur-

nished in pastel yellow and sage green, but that is exactly how

Bethesda-based interior designer Erica Burns first found it.

“The color scheme was rather dated,” says Burns. With three kids, the

home “was really worn out. It didn’t feel cheery or bright, but dark and tired.”

Burns set about establishing a palette, but found there were no colors that

both the husband and wife loved. The only agreement was a disinterest in

bright hues, and in the end, the decision to go completely neutral prevailed.

“We settled on greige and ivory and pops of chocolate brown,” says

Burns. “Greige is a great neutral. It doesn’t read yellow and beige, like a tan,

or go too blue or cool, like a true gray.”

With a timeless, neutral palette in play, Burns looked to the current

wealth of patterns, textures, and finishes to create interest, add detail,

and ensure spaces never get dull. The key, she says, is in the mix.

“A lot of people get tired of color,” Burns says. “Neutrals are always on

trend. But in this home, we achieved a fresh crispness through high con-

trast; instead of traditional black and white, we used chocolate and ivory

for a warmer look.”

Burns removed the old sectional squeezed into a family room corner

The New NeuTralForgoing typical pops oF color, a potomac home gets prepped For summer with

sophisticated splashes oF Fresh pattern and modern texture. by charlotte safavi


Haute ProPerty News, Stars, and trends in real estate

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and brought in an English rolled-

arm sofa in chocolate brown, as well

as double armchairs in a window-

pane-checked print and a pair of

quatrefoil-and-dot-patterned

ottomans, with a nubby texture.

“I used the sofa to define the

layout and add balance, so I picked a

darker color for it to contrast against

the off-white paint,” says Burns. “I

also added tape trim, with nailhead,

along its base for interest.”

Adding trim or piping to the edge

or silhouette of furnishings has made

a strong resurgence. In the living

room Burns designed, ivory piping

outlines the greige velvet of reuphol-

stered sofas, and in the dining room,

chocolate brown trim on curtains

“I’m seeIng a lot of fresh takes on

tradItIonal patterns, whIch promIse

to become new classIcs.” —erica burns

A plaid wingback chair rests upon a flokati rug for a contemporary look.

stay neutraltwo local real estate experts weigh in on the value of a subdued palette.

While homeowners often don’t consider

resale when thinking of interior design,

the trend for updated neutrals and the

sophisticated juxtaposition of patterns

has the added beneft of being market

friendly, two local realtors say.

“It’s easier to imagine your family in

a space with neutral, inviting colors,”

says Hans Wydler of Wydler Brothers

(202-600-2727; wydlerbrothers.com).

“[Potential buyers] have a lot less

imagining to do when they’re not worry-

ing about how their furniture will work

in a bright orange living room or a dark,

ornately decorated dining room.”

Variations on the “greige” trend

seem to be quite popular with today’s

buyers, he adds. “The silvers, grays,

beiges, and soft blues mimic the natu-

ral tones found in the sand, waves, and

sun...While this used to be considered

more of a ‘West Coast’ look, it’s not

unusual to walk into a colonial in Chevy

Chase or a Georgetown row home these

days and fnd some ‘California chic’

going on,” he says. “It has a broad

appeal: many more interested buyers,

with a whole lot less staging, less

repainting, less new furniture, and less

upfront time and expenses to prepare a

house for sale—which result in a better

price for the owner and less on the

to-do list for the buyer.”

Ross McWilliams of McWilliams/

Ballard (202-337-7222, 1416 P St.

NW; mcwilliamsballard.com) agrees,

citing the recent shift to a “cool and

modern background for tone-on-tone

interiors” that prove lucrative in resale.

“When placing a home on the mar-

ket,” says McWilliams, “a well-designed

interior with clean, neutral furnishings

will decrease the number of days a home

sits on the market and help the seller

realize his maximum selling price.”

makes their geometric pattern stand

out on a cream background.

“I wanted to create an interior that

was crisp and clean-lined, yet

interesting,” says Burns. “Since I

wasn’t using a lot of color, I had to

focus on the details, as well as layer

in patterns, finishes, and textures.”

Reclaimed wood side tables in the

family room repeat the ottomans’

quatrefoil pattern in their shapely

tops; the square coffee table in the

same space is lacquered white, with a

textured raffia inset. “Lacquer is

popular now, partly because it’s a

safe way to do a trend,” adds Burns.

“You can take a traditional piece of

furniture and refresh it with shine.”

Burns further enlivens the neutral

home with varied materials. She

pairs porcelain, metallic, wood, and

mercury-glass lamp bases with ivory

lampshades. Her occasional table

selection runs the gamut, including

one of Lucite and another of stone

and iron, both in the living room.

But perhaps the biggest strength in

the home’s design comes from the

effortless blending of contemporary

patterns, playing with their different

forms and scales, all while only

working with neutral hues.

“I’m seeing a lot of fresh takes on

traditional patterns, which promise

to become new classics,” says Burns,

who uses linear plaids, over-scale

checks, and playful geometrics

throughout the home. “Just because

a pattern is neutral doesn’t mean it

has to be boring or lack depth. It can

pack as much punch as a bold color,”

she adds.

The dining room began afresh in a

textured Phillip Jeffries grasscloth

wall covering. Although existing

host-and-hostess chairs got reuphol-

stered in petite houndstooth, the

dining chairs are the real design stars.

“I found this crisp, large-scale

pomegranate pattern,” says Burns.

After the fabric was applied to

their backs, the chairs were given

chocolate brown velvet seats. To

balance the strong botanical, the

curtains have a smaller geometric

fretwork and dot pattern.

“The homeowners wanted

timeless pieces, but nothing old-

fashioned. They wanted a casual

feel, nothing stuffy or formal.

Everything I chose, whether fabric or

furnishings, was classic with an

updated look,” adds Burns.

To achieve the right balance in the

dining room, Burns removed the

fussy top off an existing hutch and

created a useful buffet. Instead of a

customary chandelier, she hung

double whitewashed lanterns.

“From the beginning, to keep this

home from becoming overwhelm-

ingly neutral, I wanted to have pops of

interest. This is something ordinarily

done through a bright and contrasting

color, but here we did it with patterns

and materials—and sometimes, the

unexpected.” erica burns, 202-262-

5212; ericaburns.com CF


haute property

The Fleisher Groupw/Long & FosTer reaL esTaTe, Inc.

thef leishergroup

Marc Fleisher www.thefleishergroup.com

202.364.5200 x 2927(O) 202.438.4880(C)

Heart of edgemoor

Spectacular expanSion & complete renovation

cuStom-built by & for acclaimed builder Jim gibSon

deSigned by gtm arcHitectS & Sroka deSign

Bethesda. This truly spectacular home features four fnished lev-els of unparalleled design and workmanship. A dramatic center hall foyer introduces formal rooms with transitional detailing as well as a sensational gourmet chef’s kitchen with expansive adjoining fam-ily room fooded with sunlight. The second foor contains a deluxe master bedroom suite complete with sitting area and absolutely gor-geous bath plus three additional bedrooms, one of which is currently utilized as a convenient exercise room. In addition, the third foor features a unique teen suite with separate sitting room and beauti-ful bath. Further enhancing the home’s broad appeal is a wonder-ful lower level featuring an expansive recreation/game room, a comfortable and informal media room, as well as a complete guest suite and full bath. The breathtaking backyard with southern ex-posure is highlighted with heated swimming pool, privacy screen with mature evergreens, and includes a custom-built and designed covered porch perfect for outdoor entertaining. Offered at $5,650,000.

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Alfresco

UpgrAdesLocaL experts discuss how outdoor

sanctuaries provide owners with

peace of mind—and a smart

investment. by amy moeller

The sweltering heat of the summer has arrived.

To find out how to make outdoor spaces more

enjoyable in the midst of the dog days, Capitol

File assembled a panel of experts—real estate

agents Rick Hoffman of Coldwell Banker and

Piper Gioia of TTR Sotheby’s and Phil Kelly,

chief operating officer of McHale Landscape

Design—at the Washington Design Center’s

rooftop lounge to talk about trends in outdoor

entertaining, and the return on investment.

What’s the new perfect outdoor space?

Piper Gioia: People are making their

backyards more of a vacation spot—a

destination for entertaining.

Phil Kelly: Moving the inside out in a big

way. We’ve been doing a lot of projects

where we’re exceeding the cost of the house,

outside—pool houses, swimming pools,

outdoor kitchens. It’s a lifestyle.

What are some of the more popular

trends in outdoor living?

Rick Hoffman: Fire pits—that’s big all of the

sudden. It used to be chimineas. They’re out.

It’s fire pits and outdoor kitchens—really

creating a living room environment. In

landscaping, people want easy mainte-

nance…. [Fewer] annuals…more sculpted

evergreen and perennials.

PK: Free-form swimming pools with

waterfalls—that’s a trend that’s really gone to

the wayside. Now we’re doing rectangular

pools with automatic pool covers and really

crisp lines. [Also popular are] cocktail or

plunge pools—small pools, three feet deep,

for just plunging and having cocktails. We’re

doing sun shelves quite frequently…. a shelf

in the pool that’s only six or 10 inches deep,

so you have an umbrella, and then chaise

lounges or Adirondack chairs. It’s fantastic.

Deck jets are very popular right now.

RH: I love the deck jets. In Georgetown,

everyone has some water feature in the

backyard. For DC’s hot summers, just the

sound of water makes your backyard feel

cooler. My neighbors have a consistently

flowing fountain, and I can hear it when my

windows are open. It’s such a nice sound.

PK: Acoustical therapy.

Are pools and water features added

value for resale?

PG: A safer bet is a smaller water feature, fire

pit, outdoor living space, or kitchen, because

[pools] seems to be about fifty-fifty. Either

[buyers] want it or they don’t. It doesn’t

necessarily add the value the other things do.

RH: Personally, I love a pool. [But] in the city

even, sometimes people will fill them in. And

[in the suburbs], often people are worried

about their safety.

PG: The safety...the maintenance. But it’s

funny—people will ask, “Is there room for a

pool?” And I’ll say, “Yes! Do you want one?”

And they’ll say, “No.” They want to know

there’s room for it.

What other cooling elements can

homeowners implement?

PK: Pavilion structures with paddle fans.

Fireplaces (right) and minimally designed pools are among today’s most popular outdoor amenities. top: Brokers Rick Hoffman and Piper Gioia catch up at the Washington Design Center’s rooftop lounge.


HAUTE PROPERTY Real Estate Roundtable

We’re doing a lot of [patio] misters.

RH: I saw misters for the first time in Europe, and

I thought it was brilliant. Now it’s much more

common.

PK: You’d be amazed at how quickly that brings

90 degrees down. Retractable awnings—also very

popular now—are built into a pergola structure for

that added shade, but also a decorative element as

well. The architectural umbrellas…. It’s unbeliev-

able how far those have come.

How important is an outdoor space to buyers?

PG: I just had [two] houses in a neighborhood,

and one of the houses had very little outdoor

space—a slate patio. The other had a magnificent

outdoor space. The one with the outdoor space

sold right away, even though the price points were

such that you could put the outdoor space in the

first home and still be comparable. [The buyers]

fell in love with the fact that it was all done—it was

matured, it was ready.

RH: Sometimes people say, “Oh I could do it

myself,” but don’t have a vision. That’s why we

stage houses. In New York, sometimes we’d have

an outdoor space that was somewhat raw, and we’d

bring in a landscape designer to do a design and

put it in the house when we were selling it, so

people could envision it.

PG: I find with new construction, if I don’t have a

landscape plan or something…it’s a huge obstacle. It

used to be that [outdoor space] was customized to

the buyer, and builders tried to stay away from it.

RH: Remember when people wanted a project? It’s

just not the case anymore. Also, think about years

ago when people would accept backyards where

you saw your neighbors. Now privacy is a really big

issue with outdoor space, from a design standpoint.

PK: There used to be trees six or 10 feet tall. Now

we’re planting trees that are 20 feet tall, and they’re

smacked together. The neighbors disappear.

How can homeowners prepare their outdoor

spaces for the market?

RH: For properties with bigger yards, make sure

your yard is as well kept as you can get it. Mulch…

put some color in the yard. With an urban

property, it’s privacy. If you can, create some sense

of it in a small way…even planters with something

tall in them.

PG: If there’s a privacy issue, it’s worth putting in

some mature trees…doing some sort of shading.

Because people will walk right in and right out. But

if it’s not a privacy issue, I would recommend just

cleaning up whatever’s there…. If you start to [do

more with] customization and investment without a

long-term plan, usually it’s money not well spent.

Piper Gioia, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty,

703-963-1363; pipergioia.ttrsir.com; Rick Hoffman,

Coldwell Banker, 516-702-6554; rickhoffman@

cbmove.com; Phil Kelly, McHale Landscape Design,

301-599-8300; mchalelandscape.com cf

“PeoPle are making

their backyards

more of a vacation

sPot—a destination

for entertaining.”—piper gioia

Rick Hoffman, Piper Gioia, and Phil Kelly brave the early-summer heat to discuss trends in outdoor spaces. above: A shaded kitchen, complete with custom cabinetry and a wraparound bar, makes outdoor entertaining a breeze.

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Delivery Fall 2015Upon completion of its two year renovation project, this

notable apartment community will offer the best combination

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All-new unit interiors ◊ Full size washer/dryer

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SouthCathedralMansions.com202.838.3280

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Discovering the Impressionists: Paul Durand-Ruel and the New PaintingThrough September 13

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The Wrath of the Gods: Masterpieces by Michelangelo, Titian, and RubensSeptember 12 – December 6

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Open until 8:45 p.m. every Wednesday and Friday

Wednesdays after 5:00 p.m. and frst Sundays are Pay What You Wish general admission

For a complete schedule of exhibitions and evening programming, including funding credits listing our many generous donors, visit www.philamuseum.org.

Dance at Bougival (detail), 1883, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Picture Fund) Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Prometheus Bound, begun c. 1611–12, completed by 1618, by Peter Paul Rubens and Frans Snyders (Philadelphia Museum of Art: Purchased with the W. P. Wilstach Fund, W1950-3-1)

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clockwise from far left:

Deerfield Health Retreat and Spa is nestled in 14

rolling acres in the Poconos; The Ivy offers

luxe relaxation spaces in a boutique setting; and

Haven on the Lake, with its brand new facility,

teems with ways to unwind, such as the

waterfall hot tub.

Well AwayThree reTreaTs provide The perfecT respiTe from The

din of The disTricT. by elizabeth thorp and amy moeller

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Scheduled to open this summer, The Ivy is an 18-room luxury boutique hotel with on-site spa in the historic Mount Vernon neighborhood. The three-person development team—including David Garrett, who is known for super-luxe retreats such as The Point Resort on Saranac Lake and Twin Farms in Vermont—has reimagined this Gilded Age beauty, which was built as a private home in 1889. With after-noon tea served by the fire and cocktails poured every evening at 6 pm, guests at The Ivy will feel like they’re staying at the home of a posh and generous friend. Room rates start at $475. 205 E.

Biddle St., Baltimore, 443-503-

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The slower-paced summer months are upon us, and there’s never been a better time to take a health and wellness break, whether you seek a weight-loss and fitness retreat, a day spa haven, or a pampering luxury escape....

Climb every mountain

Tucked in the woods of Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, Deerfield

Health Retreat and Spa, the only health retreat within driving distance of the DC area, favors health over hype and laughs over luxe. The spa’s charming

accommodations are appointed with cozy linens and sunny décor, and the daily schedule offers more than 15 classes, from Pilates to kickboxing. The simple, delicious meals keep your calorie intake around 1,600 a day. There are two state-of-the-art gyms, a heated outdoor pool, a gazebo-enclosed hot tub, and a full-service spa that does terrific facials. It’s the perfect place to get bikini-ready or just escape the stress of life inside the Beltway. Three-night weekend rates start at

$935 for single occupancy, and include accommoda-tions, meals, fitness classes, Deerfield’s celebrated hiking program, lifestyle education lectures, and more. 650 Resica Falls

Road, East Stroudsburg,

PA, 800-852-4494;

deerfieldspa.com

la e effeCt

Just about 30 miles northeast of the city in Columbia, Still Point Spa’s mind-body-well-ness retreat Haven on the

Lake on Lake Kittamaqundi combines lakefront luxury with suburban convenience.

Its central location allows visitors to enjoy a little shopping at the Columbia Mall or a meal at one of the many restaurants nearby before taking a break from the day’s errands for a custom massage and rejuvenating facial at Still Point Spa’s newest location. (Guests can even get their grocery shopping completed at the Whole Foods above the spa.) The retreat’s brand new facility also offers more than 16 yoga, Pilates, and barre classes featuring floor-to-ceiling views of the water, an expansive space for lounging by the pool, and on-site child care to ensure your little ones stay occupied just a few doors away. 10275

Little Patuxent Pkwy.,

Columbia, 410-715-3020;

havenonthelake.org


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MASTRO’S RESTAURANT

Enjoy the newest addition to the Mastro’s Restaurants collection of upscale dining in the heart of Washington D.C. Mastro’s offers an unparalleled dining experience for you by combining the highest quality steaks and seafood with exceptional service. Experience the good life in an elegant and energetic atmosphere.

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QUICKEN LOANS NATIONAL

Join us at the DMV’s premier PGA TOUR event at the Quicken Loans National, July 28-Aug. 2, at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Prince William County, Va. Whether you want to follow your favorite player or relax with friends in a private cabana, we have a little something for everyone. With Lake Manassas as the quintessential backdrop, you’re bound to have the ultimate fan experience.

Visit QLNational.com

MERVIS DIAMOND

Voted America’s coolest store, Mervis Diamond Importers is the place for world class diamonds and breathtaking jewelry. Try their amazing anniversary bands on.

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GREENWORKS FLORIST

Greenworks Florist is DC’s premiere source of exquisite floral creations for the Washington, DC social, corporate, and wedding scene for the past 25 years. From small, intimate dinners to large galas and balls we’ll create custom floral designs for each unique occasion while providing dependable service and quality products.

1145 23rd St. NW, 202.265.3335 ext. 14 Visit eventsbygreenworks.com

LANDMARK MUSIC FESTIVAL

Landmark Music Festival 2015 is happening September 26-27 in West Potomac Park. Experience five stages and over 40 artists, including Drake, The Strokes, Alt J, Chvrches, Ben Howard, Chromeo, and many more. And it’s all for a cause to restore our nation’s common ground, The National Mall.

Buy tickets and see the full lineup at LandmarkFestival.org.

Goodstone. The Good Life.

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Vintage made modern.exvotovintage.com

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Irene Roth and Jenny Bilfield

Nicole Prestonand Tamara Tunie

Reginald Van Lee and Fabien Barnes

Dr. Frank Lowe and Amb. Anne Anderson with Madeleine and

Bjorn Lyrvall

Karen Marcou and Victoria Nourse

Nobuko Sasae and Amb. Kenichiro Sasae

chat with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.

Mike and Tisha Hyter with Sandi McCoy

Guests toast WPA at the Marriott Marquis.

Michael Pickrum and Hunter Biden

Vice President Biden speaks against

domestic abuse.

THE DC VOLUNTEERS Lawyers Project honored

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand at its annual Voices

Against Violence awards ceremony at the residence

of the Japanese Ambassador. During the event,

Gillibrand received the Champion of Justice Award

for her leadership in the Senate to end violence

against women.

WASHINGTON PERFORMING ARTS

hosted its annual gala and auction, celebrating

the 40th anniversary of its Embassy Adoption

Program, at the Marriott Marquis with gala

chair Reginald Van Lee and honoree Kaya

Henderson, chancellor of DC Public Schools.

Guests enjoyed performances by several

Washington Performing Arts-supported

groups, followed by dinner and dancing with

live music by The Hot Sardines.

WASHINGTON

PERFORMING ARTS GALA

VOICES AGAINST

VIOLENCE

Nick Schmit and Jenny Brody


INVITED

Guests filled ENO Wine Bar for the book signing.

Samah and Grover Norquist with Sen. Rand Paul

Sen. Roy and Abigail Blunt

Kelley Paul signs her book forWolf Blitzer.

Suzanne and Glenn Youngkin with former Sec.

of Labor Elaine Chao

Diana Oradei and Andrea Gomirato

The Maxalto showroom on M Street NW

Sherry Moeller and Alberto DeMarco

Rosita Calabrese and Michele Giacolone

Moriah O’Brien and Brian Fell

Valentina Troisi and Allix Wright

GUESTS WELCOMED the arrival

of the B&B Italia collection to the

Maxalto showroom at the M Street

location in Georgetown. Real estate

agents, architects, interior

designers, and embassy represen-

tatives enjoyed light hors

d’oeuvres and wine while

browsing the new collection

at the Georgetown studio.

GUESTS OF CAPITOL FILE and Kelley Paul

gathered at Eno Wine Bar in Georgetown for a

signing of Paul’s latest book, True and Constant

Friends: Love and Inspiration from our Grandmothers,

Mothers, Sisters, and Friends. Husband and

presidential-hopeful Senator Rand Paul, CNN’s

Wolf Blitzer, Grover Norquist, and Senator

Roy Blunt were among those in attendance to

celebrate the book’s release.

KELLEY PAUL’S

BOOK SIGNING

MAXALTO

Pamela Sorensen and Liliana Baldassari

Quinn Murph and

Ray Nguyen

CAPITOLFILE-MAGAZINE.COM 109

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Christina Kra and Bryan Nicholson

Valerie and Matt McMurrough

Marcus Truelove and Janet

Schlueb with Andrea and Nathan Fair

Fletcher and Lindsay Gill

Cameron Stanley, Brandon Diaz, Javier Herrera, and Armando Nunez

LUKE’S WINGS HOSTED its annual

Heroes Gala at The Ritz-Carlton,

Washington, DC, honoring 2015 Hero

Award recipient Corporal Ryan Wightman

and 2015 Community Impact Award

recipient Delta Air Lines. Presented by

Lockheed Martin, the event was emceed by

Shannon Bream of Fox News and included

special musical guest Staff Sergeant

Nathan Fair of the United States Army.

LUKE’S WINGS HEROES GALA

INVITED

Pamela Sorensen and Michael Sapienza

Cary Pollak and Barbara Hawthorn

Eddie V’s seafood tower

Jackie Allder, Duane Giglia, and Anne Polk

Laura Deming and Todd Galaida

Rhodalyn Millsand Paul Juergensen

CAPITOL FILE CELEBRATED the grand opening of the new

Tysons Corner dining hot spot Eddie V’s Prime Seafood with a

festive cocktail reception in The V Lounge and Austin Room.

Guests noshed on a selection of the restaurant’s signature

seafood including crab cakes and shrimp cocktails, along with

perfectly roasted beef tenderloin and Scottish salmon. A live

jazz trio set the mood for the evening as guests mixed and

mingled amidst the skyline view revealed by the beautiful

f loor-to-ceiling windows.

EDDIE V’S

GRAND OPENING

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An Artful turnAroundDC’s vibrant Cultural sCene is inspiring a new generation of art lovers.

By Stephanie Cutter

We all know DC’s reputation as a buttoned-

up power center whose denizens would

rather stare at their iPhones than appreciate

the city’s natural and architectural beauty.

Granted, the District may not be the

nation’s “fine arts” capital. But for those who

know where to look, the arts scene here is

actually quite vibrant—and it’s been flour-

ishing of late.

For two decades, I moved back and forth

from political campaigns to the White

House and the Senate without paying much

attention to the city around me. Now that

I’m off campaigns, I’ve finally had a chance

to soak in the scene—and I’ve been

astounded by how much the arts have ener-

gized the capital.

From the edgy art galleries on Ninth Street

to the rocking throwback summer concerts

behind Nationals Park on Friday nights, DC

today is a far cry from its stereotype.

Recently, I’ve been taking my young son to

the Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street,

where we watched two very silly clowns re-

create the charm of the golden age of the

French circus in Pinot & Augustine. And 20

years after my first DC concerts, the Black Cat

and the 9:30 Club are still some of the best

music venues around to catch a live show.

As a member of President Obama’s

Committee on the Arts and Humanities,

I’ve also learned that DC’s arts scene is not

just in Georgetown or on H Street. It’s across

the bridge in Anacostia, and it’s changing

kids’ lives. One of our flagship programs,

Turnaround Arts, has exposed the students

of Savoy Elementary School, once one of

the District’s lowest performing schools, to

intensive arts education resources that have

improved its academics, increased atten-

dance, and reduced its discipline referrals.

Turnaround Arts helped students like

Kechelle, who used to be a withdrawn and

sullen third grader struggling academi-

cally, to join the Savoy Players, the school’s

first performing group, which requires high

grades and good behavior. She excelled at

dancing, and in less than a year, became an

engaged student and class leader. She now

attends the Washington Ballet school—an

unlikely dream just a few years ago.

While I was originally drawn to

Washington by its political allure, it’s the

city’s lively and diverse character that’s

made me stay.

When it comes to the arts, DC has more

than what meets the eye. I encourage my fel-

low Washingtonians to look beyond the

marble and appreciate the scene—if only for

a moment. cf


freely speaking summer 2015

WE ARE PROUD TO WELCOME

JEFF WILSON & DANIEL HEIDER

WILSON & HEIDER I +1 202 333 8410 I +1 202 333 1212 I TTRSIR.COM

GEORGETOWN I DOWNTOWN I CHEVY CHASE I MCLEAN I ALEXANDRIA

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Documents

Capitol File - 2015 - Issue 3 - Summer - Maggie Michael