Willie Wood Way: A Packers Drive in Redskins Territory

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Willie Wood Way (Photo By: heydayjoe)

Willie Wood Way (Photo By: heydayjoe)

Named for the Hall of Fame safety who played for the Green Bay Packers from 1960-71, Willie Wood Way is the block of N Street NW between First Street NW and New York Avenue NW in DC.

William Vernell Wood (b. 1936) and his family lived on this stretch of road in the 1950s, and Wood played football at the neighborhood boys club before he went on to become a star player at Armstrong High School and a quarterback at USC.

The Trojans were a good fit for Willie (sorry, had to say it). Willie Wood was the first black quarterback in the history of the Pac 12 conference and, though he was not drafted by the NFL – which wouldn’t be ready for its first black quarterback until James Harrison suited up for the Buffalo Bills in 1969 – Wood tried out for the Packers and was signed as a free agent in 1960.

Willie Wood in the 1960s (Courtesy of Green Bay Packers)

Willie Wood in the 1960s (Courtesy of Green Bay Packers)

Willie Wood helped the Packers win Super Bowls I and II, and he holds the record for most consecutive starts by a safety in NFL history. He was also the first black coach in the Canadian Football League.

Wood is truly a football legend, and the street naming in his hometown is a nice gesture for a man known for getting to the ball first. But much like the oft-replaced Stoner Road and Middlesex Road street signs from heydayjoe’s youth, the Willie Wood Way sign is destined to be a decorative trophy in the room of some sticky-fingered teen.

Presidential Inbreeding: Are All U.S. Presidents Related?

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Octopus King - the genealogy of related presidents (Illustration By: Matt Wainwright)

Octopus King – the genealogy of related presidents (Illustration By: Matt Wainwright)

Does anybody else wish we could be done with all Bushes, Clintons and Kennedys? No more Roosevelts, Harrisons or Adamses?

As it turns out, ruling dynasties formed by centuries of incestuous coupling aren’t just for European monarchies. Here in America, we have our own “royal” families, a certain posterity who just can’t seem to keep their posteriors away from the seat of power.

Although no U.S. president has ever been directly related to the president that he immediately follows or who immediately follows him, some have come pretty close:

  • George W. Bush (#43) was the son of George H. W. Bush (#41).
  • John Quincy Adams (#6) was the son of John Adams (#2).
  • Benjamin Harrison (#23) was the grandson of William Henry Harrison (#9).
  • James Madison (#4) and Zachary Taylor (#12) were second cousins.
  • Franklin Delano Roosevelt (#32) was a fifth cousin of Theodore Roosevelt (#26)

The presidential bloodline runs especially deep for our longest-serving president. Genealogists have determined that FDR was related to a total of 11 presidents, five by blood or and six through marriage: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Ulysses S. Grant, William Henry Harrison, Benjamin Harrison, James Madison, Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, Zachary Taylor, Martin Van Buren and George Washington.

But it gets better. In 2012, a 12-year-old girl in California traced the lineage of all but one American President back to King John, who ruled England from 1166 to 1216. King John “Lackland” Plantaganet signed the Magna Carta in 1215, limiting the monarch’s power and helping form the British Parliament. According to the pre-teen, only one president was not related to King John – Martin Van Buren (#8), who has Dutch roots. (He was known as the “OK” president. Seriously.) If her research is true, it appears that all but one of the U.S. presidents are cousins. Kissing cousins. Of related royal bloodlines. Descended from European monarchs. So much for the Revolutionary War of independence…

The Face of the Voice of the DC Metro

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Randi Miller - from singing telegram to car dealer intercom to most heard voice in our nation's capital

Randi Miller – from singing telegram to car dealer intercom to most-heard voice in our nation’s capital

The most frequently heard voice in our nation’s capital isn’t the enunciated clip of Barack Obama or the smoker’s rasp of House Speaker John Boehner. It’s the sultry intonations of Randi Miller, the voice of DC Metro, who also happens to be an auto lease retention manager from Woodbridge, Va.

Randi’s voice is played 33,017 times a day in 86 Metro subway stations spanning DC, Maryland and Virginia. It’s Randi’s voice you hear just before the Metro doors snap shut on your bag with a thud – “Doors closing.”

Randi Miller’s voice was not the first to reverberate throughout Washington’s subway system though. Back in 1996, DC resident Sandy Carroll made a recording in her apartment as a favor to a friend, a recording that was to be the gentle voice of Metro for a decade.

Sandy Carroll - former voice of the Metro (1996-2006)

Sandy Carroll – former voice of the Metro (1996-2006)

In 2006, Metro decided to change its tone by announcing the “Doors Closing Voice 2006” contest to find a new voice for the Metrorail trains. The voice of Sandy had seemingly faded into the background, and Metro needed a more authoritative voice to nudge its passengers along. Anyone over the age of 21 was eligible to compete.

Metro asked each contestant to record two messages in three tones of voice: polite, serious and authoritative. Several scripts were specifically written to deter notorious door-blockers: “One arm. One leg. One briefcase. One purse … can delay everyone.” Another script began with “Jeepers, Batman! Did you see that person just shove their briefcase in the doors?”

The “Doors Closing” contest attracted 1,259 contestants from across the country, some from as far away as Seattle. Metro reviewed the CD submissions and narrowed the field. Of the 10 finalists, all lived in the metropolitan area and half rode Metro regularly. The contestants’ reward for making it to the Top 10: a DC edition of Monopoly.

The stage was now set for a studio showdown. Each finalist recorded new messages in a professional studio near Dupont Circle: a 10-minute recording session under the guidance of a creative director from Arlington’s LM&O Advertising.

Three judges – the head of marketing for Metro, the advertising creative director and a former local anchorwoman – listened to the recordings to select the new voice. On Feb. 2, 2006, Metro announced its winner.

Chosen for the honor of being the new voice of Metrorail trains – and it is only an honor – Randi Miller, like Sandy Carroll before her, didn’t receive a dime for her efforts. Her recording was simply loaded onto a chip and placed in Metro’s more than 950 train cars.

Although Randi’s a lifelong singer who’s delivered singing telegrams, her only previous broadcast experience had been over the intercom at the Alexandria car dealership where she works. But after landing the Metro gig, her vocal career took off. Now her voice can be heard at kiosks in the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History, aquariums across the country and even radio commercials. She’s also used her voice to raise more than $250,000 for charities including Central Hospice, the Duffy Project and the Thomas G. Larbrecque Foundation.

Although she’s an infrequent subway rider, Randi still finds it weird to hear her voice on the trains. “When it first started running on the trains, I couldn’t wait to hear it. I wanted to see how it sounded,” she said. “And it was so annoying to me when I heard it. Maybe because it’s me. Maybe because … maybe just because it’s me.”

TRUMPed! Old Post Office Closes for New Hotel

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A view southwest from the Old Post Office Tower on a gloomy day in Oct. 2013 (Photo By: Matt Wainwright)

A view southwest from the Old Post Office Tower on a gloomy day in Oct. 2013 (Photo By: Matt Wainwright)

Goodbye, Old Post Office Tower. We’ll miss you and your most spectacular views of Washington, DC. See you in 2016.

Today the Old Post Office at 12th and Pennsylvania Avenue closed to make way for the latest glitzy jewel in a certain real estate developer’s gilded empire.

In 2013, the federal government’s General Services Administration signed a $200 million, 60-year deal to rent the building to infamous real estate mogul Donald Trump. The GSA had been paying about $12 million annually to operate the building while collecting only about $5 million in rent. Now, with the operating expenses handed off to Trump, the GSA will collect about $3.33 million a year in rent.

Trump’s daughter Ivanka said her father plans to renovate the Old Post Office into “the finest luxury hotel in the world.” If it’s anything like the glittery Trump establishments in Atlantic City, be prepared to wear your sunglasses inside. Following a $200 million overhaul, this grand old mailroom will reopen in 2016 as the Trump International Hotel.

Old Post Office (Photo By: Matt Wainwright)

Old Post Office (Photo By: Matt Wainwright)

Although your average tourists will not be able to afford a stay at the Trump, they will still be able to go up into the tower to the observation deck when the building reopens in 2016. The National Park Service will retain the rights to allow public access to the wonderful views. And, if we’re lucky, the Donald won’t require black people to present their birth certificates when entering his hotel. Welcome to Chocolate City, Donald!

DC’s first skyscraper, the Old Post Office at 12th and Pennsylvania Avenue opened in 1899. It was the first government building on Pennsylvania Avenue and the first building in town to boast having its own electric power plant.

At 315 feet, the Old Post Office Tower is the second-tallest structure in DC, following the Washington Monument. For those missing the tower’s sky-high views, don’t fret. The Washington Monument reopens on May 12, after years of repairs following the 2011 earthquake that rocked DC.

Here’s a last glimpse of the Old Post Office Pavilion, after the shops and food court had closed forever.

Old Post Office Pavilion in Feb. 2014 (Photo By: heydayjoe)

Old Post Office Pavilion in Feb. 2014 (Photo By: heydayjoe)

DC as Canvas: “Marvin” Mural Brings Architectural Healing

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"Marvin" by Aniekan Udofia (Photo By: heydayjoe)

“Marvin” by Aniekan Udofia (Photo By: heydayjoe)

Artist Aniekan Udofia created his Marvin Gaye mural in DC, “Marvin,” in September 2013 as part of a citywide mural project sponsored by Heineken. This tribute to Marvin Gaye** graces the east wall of 711 S Street NW, just west of the Shaw–Howard University Metro station.

“Art makes a random place a landmark,” says Udofia of street art. To prove it, he’s created new landmarks all over DC.

Perhaps known best locally for his murals and large-scale paintings, Udofia gained national prominence for his photorealistic illustrations and caricatures appearing in urban publications such as Vibe, The Source and XXL.

Though he was born in DC in 1976, Udofia’s parents returned their young family to Nigeria soon after completing their education in the States. Growing up in southeast Nigeria as part of the Ibibio tribe, regarded as the most ancient of Nigeria’s ethnic groups, Udofia was heavily inspired by a local culture blended with American hip hop. He never attended art school, and he never received any formal training. A love of art, music and visual expression keeps his artwork flowing.

He most recently exhibited paintings and custom pieces for the “WAT-AAH! Taking Back the Streets” exhibit at DC’s Long View Gallery. To learn more about Udofia and his vivid street art, click here.

(Photo By: heydayjoe)**[Marvin Gaye was born in DC. He first grew up in a house at 1617 First Street SW and then in his teens relocated to the Deanwood neighborhood, where he attended Cardozo High School in Columbia Heights. At Cardozo, he joined his first band, D.C. Tones.]

UPDATE: As of August 20, 2014, the Marvin Gaye mural is being covered over by construction of a two-unit condo building in the adjacent lot. Artist Udofia says that a new mural is in the works. Details to come…

Cowboy Indian Alliance Rally Ends with a Bang and a Whoop

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(Photo By: heydayjoe)

On Saturday, April 26, at 11 a.m., thousands gathered on the National Mall for the finale of a weeklong protest to reject construction of a transcontinental oil pipeline and protect America’s land and water.

Hosted by the Cowboy Indian Alliance – a group of ranchers, farmers and Native American tribal communities – the “Reject and Protect” protest sought to stop construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The proposed TransCanada pipeline would carry crude oil from the tar sands of Canada’s Alberta province to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Although there were a half dozen teepees and a smattering of Native Americans and aboriginal Canadians in the crowd, the closest thing to a cowboy appeared to be Neil Young – and he’s Canadian. Following a series of speakers, the protesters gathered behind Neil and tribal leaders and marched to the White House to present President Obama with a hand-painted teepee. Since the proposed pipeline would cross an international border, it needs Obama’s approval to move forward. Although the fate of the Keystone XL pipeline has been in limbo for five years, Obama is waiting for a recommendation from Secretary of State John Kerry before he makes his final decision.

Click on the thumbnails below to see shots from the rally and the march.

DC as Canvas: “Higher” by Gaia and Con

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"Higher" by Gaia and Con graces a U Street alleyway. (Photo By: heydayjoe)

“Higher” by Gaia and Con graces a U Street alleyway. (Photo By: heydayjoe)

Commissioned by DCArts in 2010, this backstreet gem appears on the east side of 1017 U Street NW in the alley between Lovely Yogurt and Corte Salon. It’s a relatively early creation by street muralist Gaia, who was still in college at the time, and Con, a graffiti artist.

Now considered a rising star in the art world, Gaia grew up in New York City and is a 2011 graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, where he lives and works. His murals appear on buildings in cities across America as well as Canada, Argentina, Italy, France, the U.K., the Netherlands, South Africa and South Korea.

Earlier this month, Gaia completed work on a wall in Perth, Australia, for the independent nonprofit arts organization FORM. Titled “dementia,” the mural is a “depiction of wetlands fading into a collage of moments from the city of early modern planning to skyscraper development in the CBD.”

Among his many other murals, “Higher” is a modest piece that provides a small taste of his work – and his talent. We’ll continue to showcase this talent by featuring other neighborhood murals Gaia’s created throughout DC. Stay tuned…