March 14 was a miserable day for a run. On top of that, the winter had dragged on so my husband’s hadn’t trained outdoors as much as he had wanted to. But rain or shine, in this case rain and lots of it, the D.C. Rock’n Roll marathon and half marathon was happening, and my husband was running it. And that could mean only one thing for me… I’d be out there cheering. My favourite spot on the route is right across the street from NPR, since that’s an easy marker and it’s close enough to home. After I spotted my favourite runner, I decided to make a detour and swing by the new(ish) Unleashed by Petco store in NoMa on my way home. And that’s when I spotted a bright mural taking up an entire wall above a parking lot at 51 N Street NE. And a whole building wrapped in geometrical shapes right across the street from it. I discovered the N Street Murals Project….
RUBIN: 33 NEW YORK AVENUE NE (VISIBLE FROM ACROSS 51 N STREET)
KYLE HUGHES-ODGERS: 1300 1ST STREET NE
As I found out when I got home that the interesting part about the N Street Murals project is that the urban intervention from these three street artists happened as a result of a collaboration between Art Whino Gallery and The JBG Companies, a real estate investment firm which develops office, residential and retail properties, including many in that part of town. Since NoMa is still strugling to develop its identity as a neighbourhood and attract bars, restaurants and businesses that will make it a weekend destination for those who live nearby I love that this project adds a drab of colour to an otherwise dull block and gives me a reason to want to go visit.
ps: check out pics of Momo’s work in the French cities of Besancon & Niort!
Leave a Reply