Smiley’s House is Gone
4 Nov
One of the many jobs I had while in college was helping my boyfriend (at the time) deliver the Washington Post early every morning. Our route was in the Shaw and Logan Circle neighborhoods between 9th and 13th Street. We started each day at 3 a.m. By 5:30, we would be on 11th Street where we would see a man in his probably in his 60s that lived on 11th Street near P Street. He would be taking out the trash but it appeared that he was going to work. He greeted us with a smile every morning. We called him Smiley.
On Saturday after the tutoring session at Shaw Junior High I was driving on 11th Street. I noticed that Smiley’s house and the one next to it are being replaced by a four-story building. As that was many years ago, I don’t know what ever happened to Smiley and his wife, who we would see occasionally. But I wonder. Were they not able to keep up with the property taxes due to increased property values? Did they pass on leaving their house to their kids who then sold it? Did their house get condemned by the District government? (I remember it wasn’t in the best shape back then.) Or did they simply realize that the value of their house had increased drastically, sell it and move to the suburbs?
At any rate this is merely one example of what is going on all over the District and other cities across the country. Some call it revitalization or urban renewal. Others call it gentrification. My thoughts are mixed on revitalization. As I have an affinity for old houses and buildings, I am glad to see old houses, buildings and neighborhoods preserved. And it seems that crime in those neighborhoods is reduced. But poor people who probably owned their houses outright as well as renters are displaced.
Truth be told at 11th and P Streets, NW, I saw change coming even back then in the early 90s. About six townhouses across the street from Smiley’s house were renovated back then. And several brand new townhouses went up at 12th and M Streets, NW. I guess the people who moved into those were the earlier comers. Although more drastic change would occur after the building of the new convention center on Mount Vernon Place, NW.
Shaw in the 90s was all hustle and bustle. There were people outside no matter what hour – drinking, shooting the breeze, going to the carryout, etc. There was an open air market for pretty much anything you can imagine. Even though there was the crime, I felt safer with all those people outside. Now no one is outside and even during the day it seems like a ghost town – well, not all of Shaw but definitely that one block of 9th Street between O and P Streets. To me that is scary.
Now there’s the new convention center on Mount Vernon Place between 7th and 9th Streets and a brand new building full of expensive condos at 9th and M Streets. The apartment building on 12th Street between O and P Streets that I refused to enter after the first time I went in there to deliver that one newpaper seems nice and serene. I see more greenery that I remember back then and many of the houses seem to be very well maintained. The rowhouse where I lived for a short time at 9th and O seems brand new even though, it was falling apart back then. At 10th and M Streets, NW, there are bikes and Vespas chained up even at night. I remember when a bike frame would be the only thing remaining chained up after being stripped of all loose parts.
I get emails on a weekly basis from various condos at various stages of construction in the city. Despite the higher cost of living, I love the urban environment and would love to move back to the city. I want to walk to work and walk to get groceries. I would be willing to get rid of my car as well. But if I move into these new/renovated digs, wouldn’t I be contributing to the mass displacement of poor people?
I continue to have conflicting views on revitalization but I hope it has worked out for Smiley and his wife.
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