Weekly Washington: Say It Aint So, Central Liquors!
Sunday, October 17, 2010 at 4:10PM 
photo uploaded to flickr by dwfree1967Admittedly, I spend more time in crappy souvenir shops than 99% of Washingtonians, but even I was somewhat disappointed to hear that Central Liquors is moving out to be replaced by the horrible FBI and I LOVE DC T-shirt pushers. Bad enough that the store is no longer there, but now comes word that the iconic sign, a bit of life in a downtown that is all too often sterile, is in trouble. So if you're heading by Ford's Theater (check out We Love DC's review of Sabrina Fair) or the Spy Museum, make sure you take a picture. It might not be there forever. (DCist)
Good news on the First Amendment front. Small demonstrations of less than 25 people on the National Mall will no longer require a National Park Service permit. On first glance this seems like an unlikely bit of common sense from the National Park Service, but no, there was the typical lawsuit forcing their hand. Jeff Ruch of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility sums up my feelings about the Park Service's decision making process: "This free speech imbroglio is another example of Park Service leadership with its head in the sand, waiting to get sued rather than affirmatively addressing issues before they end up in court". Also, fair warning: if you can't muster up more than 25 people for your cause, you better have some pretty good signs before I give a crap about your cause. (WaPo)
The Georgetown Library is reopening after a devastating fire in 2007. It appears that the DC Public Library system has taken advantage of the disaster by enlarging the library space available to the public. While not necessarily on every visitors must see list, I encourage you to poke your head into the building if you're in Georgetown, especially the Peabody Room with it's historic collection of Georgetown items. (DCmud)
Ah, I was already to get fired up about the loss of another piece of our cultural heritage when I read John Kelly's piece in the Post about the closing of Iron Gate Restaurant, the oldest continuously operating restuarant in DC. In buisness since 1923, the iron doors will shut for the last time on October 31st. Of course, then I read the article and it appears that the owner, Nabeel David, has made an art form of being a bad restaurateur. My favorite quote: "I do not believe in creativity. I'm not a fan of creativity. I'm a fan of slow and steady." Not a great attitude if you're going out of business.
The National Law Enforcement Museum had their official groundbreaking this week. Attorney General Eric Holder took part in the ceremony. The Museum is slated to be completed in 2013, and organizers have raised half of the $80 million required. The Museum will be located near the current National Law Enforcement Memorial in Judiciary Square. (WAMU)
Reader Comments (2)
Back in the 60's when Central was on 9th st. that was the place to go for your booze. Price beat all Md. & Va. pricing. They were right next to a bank on the corner of 9th and F. Believe it is now a Marriott. They took in so much money that they had one of those air pressure tubes directly in to the bank to send over the $$$. How cool is that!
Yes, and the police would sit outside Central during Christmas and go after VA cars whose owners were avoiding paying the required taxes in VA. They would follow them to the bridges into VA and the VA police would ticket them--supposedly. Personally, I do not know anyone this happened to.
Is Joe's moving into the old Central site? I heard Joe's Souvenirs was moving somewhere, but the somewhere has yet to reveal itself to me. Joe's at the corner of 10th and F Sts., NW, has closed.