There's something about being inside the
Eisenhower Executive Office Building that makes me think that I've stepped into the story of American history being made. After all, such meetings are not every day occurrences and I don't get invited that often. But it's the high ceilings, painted walls and columns, mouldings and lighting fixtures that are so elegant and ornate and old and I always get the sense that I'm walking where other really important people have walked before. I like the highly polished waxed marble floor of diagonal black and white squares that you think are going to be slippery but they're not. Shoes always clickety-clack when you walk to the room where you are to meet the President's staff and there's been more than one occasion when I've got lost on the wrong floor or down the wrong corridor before finding out from a passing friendly staffer where I am supposed to be. I've probably been in this building a couple of dozen times over the past 20 years, but each time I am impressed with its grandeur. I don't always remember what the meetings are about or what happened, but I do remember the place. Is that mysterious or what?
On the SE corner of Rhode Island Avenue NW and 9th Street stands this decaying building that you just know is going to get bull-dozed out of history one day. I think they are trying to sell it as it's been painted over sort of to make it look more like one building. It used to be a lot more interesting looking as it had writings and Egyptianesque paintings in bright blue and green painted on its walls. At one point a lot of people lived in the building and it was clearly a religious sect of some sort, with women in full habibs going in and out. But these days you just look at it and say to yourself "that's going to get bull dozed over" one day and a nice new block of brick front condos is going to get thrown up there that won't look a bit like this old building. I wish I had taken a photo of the mural that used to be on the side of the building that had a quote in French that said "bienvenue a Shaw, slum historique" alongside some renderings of Carter Woodson, an African American historic figure.He's the guy known as the Father of Black History, if you didn't already know that! One of his most famous quotes used to be painted on the side of the building too: "We should emphasize not Negro history but the Negro in history..." (see other view of this quote here). But this month is when I finally got to photographing this building and it's the best I could do to capture some local history.Nearby, at 1538 Ninth St NW, is the Carter Woodson home, where there will be the 135th Birthday Anniversary Celebration on December 18, 2011. There is little doubt that history is all around us all the time. And thanks to others for preserving the colorful quotes and images that were on the building previously! 
