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The Lincoln Theater on U Street in Northwest DC has been a cultural landmark for over 90 years with performers like Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and more recently, Alicia Keys. After a period of financial insolvency, the theater has a new operator with concerts scheduled for September and October.

The Lincoln Theater opened in 1922 as a 1,200-seat music venue for those who were not allowed to perform in segregated concert halls. But the theater started to decline during the 1968 race riots and was eventually boarded up for renovations in 1983. In 1994, the theater reopened under the management of the U Street Theater Foundation, who often relied on funding from the city. 

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) took over in January…

The DC Homestead Deduction went up earlier this year. When we last wrote about the tax benefit in 2012, it was $67,500. But now the DC Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) has increased the deduction to $69,100.

Periodically, OTR will increase the DC Homestead Deduction based on cost of living adjustments. For historical reference, the deduction was $60,000 in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, it increased to $64,000. 

The DC Homestead Deduction benefits District residents who own and occupy property. It helps save you money in two ways -- by reducing your annual tax liability and providing a cap on the assessed value of your property.

The latest increase in the DC Homestead Deduction will reduce the annual property tax bill of qualified owners. It works by…

DC Public Libraries have come a long way in the past decade. Circulation has tripled since 2006 and 14 branches have been rebuilt or renovated. 

Two of the new libraries, William O. Lockridge/Bellevue and Francis A. Gregory Neighborhood Libraries, won Royal Institute of British Architects International (RIBA) awards this year for architectural excellence. But not all DC Public Libraries libraries are brand new structures; some are housed in beautiful historic buildings including the Petworth and Mount Pleasant Libraries, which were recently renovated. After the fire in 2007, the historic Georgetown Library was completely renovated, which also allowed for the addition of more space. Construction is currently underway at the historic Northeast…

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company has been leasing their space at 641 D St in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Northwest DC since 2005. But now they are the proud owners of the 30,000-square-foot facility.

Woolly Mammoth was founded in 1980 and is known for innovative plays that defy convention. They just completed their 33rd season including some new plays that transported us to the diverse locations of Africa, North Korea, Disneyworld, and Zucotti Park. This summer, Woolly Mammoth welcomes back The Second City for performances of America All Better!! July 9 through August 4.

The theater company’s facility is on the ground and underground floors of a large apartment complex with 428 units near the Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter Metro station,…

Takoma Theatre Apartments is a project that has proposed restoration and adaptive reuse of the historic Takoma Theatre at 6833 4th Street in Northwest DC. The plan calls for apartment homes with ground-level flex space.

The original Takoma Theatre was built to show movies, but also included a community forum, two stores, and a suite of offices. The two-story brick building was completed in 1923 at a cost of $60,000. In 1929, the Takoma Theatre became one of the first neighborhood theatres to show movies with sound. The theatre was acquired by Warner Brothers in 1935, but closed in 1980. The theatre reopened as a live performance venue in 1983, but closed again in 2002.

With the new proposal, various parts of the original Takoma Theatre will remain to…

DC bocce is alive and well with various leagues -- DC Bocce League, Capital Bocce, and DC Bocce Ball League. Bocce is a simple ball toss game that doesn’t require extreme athletic prowess. But it’s not just for old Italian men anymore. In fact, it’s become quite the social sport for a younger generation.

DC Bocce League started in 2004 with 50 players on 10 teams and has grown to over 2,500 players. They have various divisions for the summer in DC, Virginia and Maryland. The Virginia divisions meet on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays in Arlington, while the Maryland division meets in Bethesda on Thursdays. There are DC divisions Monday-Thursday evenings at locations such as Vinoteca, Black Jack, NoMa, Capitol Hill, Columbia Heights, and Dupont…

Progression Place is a new mixed-use development at 7th and S Streets in Northwest DC. This location is in the Shaw and LeDroit Park neighborhoods, adjacent to the Shaw-Howard U Metro station. The project includes office, retail, and residential space.

The Offices at Progression Place at 1805 7th Street is a LEED-Silver certified modern building with a mostly glass facade.  The building has 47,000 square feet of office space to rent and an underground parking facility. The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) plans to make this building their new national headquarters.

The 7th Flats at Progression Place is the residential portion of the project at 1825 7th Street. This building will house 205 new access-controlled apartments that are slated to deliver…

DC parks are the 6th best in the nation, according to the ParkScore Index. The index was created by the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit organization working to create and improve neighborhood parks. The city that took the top spot was Minneapolis, but the second best, New York City, only beat DC by 2 points. Boston, Sacramento, and San Francisco tied for third place at just one point higher than Washington, DC.

The ParkScore Index is based on three factors:  park access, park size, and service and investment. This year, the survey looked at the 50 largest US cities to determine the final rankings.

ParkScore Index found that the median DC park size is 0.67 acres and that parkland makes up 19.7% of the city. That park size garnered the city…

The Neighborhood Farm Initiative is hosting a Spring Open House on Saturday, June 8. The free event will feature a workday, workshops, and a potluck at the Fort Totten, Mamie D. Lee Garden in Northeast DC.

The Neighborhood Farm Initiative is a non-profit organization interested in creating a community of people interested growing food on a small scale in the city. They hope to improve underutilized public green spaces with gardens where the community can get their hands dirty.

The event on Saturday will allow visitors to volunteer in the Neighborhood Farm Initiative’s demonstration garden from 9 AM to 11 AM. The organization will supply garden tools and gloves, but be sure to wear clothes you can get dirty. After getting your hands in the soil, it…

A Trinidad neighborhood home has once again set another record high sales price. We told you about a Trinidad record of $552K back in March, but that old record was shattered by a new high of $926,000 in April.

The record setting Trinidad neighborhood home is located on Florida Avenue in Northeast, just one block east of Galludet University and two blocks from shopping, dining, and entertainment on H Street. The home is a three-level colonial row house with a brick exterior. This property was only on the market for 18 days. It was listed at $898,400, but ended up closing at $926,000 with a seller subsidy of $27,780. 

The Trinidad neighborhood home was built in 1923, but renovated this year. The row house spans 3,000 square feet with six bedrooms (four…