Historic photoblog Shorpy recently showed this view of the Corcoran as it was in 1921:

And to show how much the area has changed in the last 90 years since that shot, just this morning Tom got this updated photo of the same scene, from the same spot (kudos, by the way, for getting the angle with such uncanny precision):

A few more windows in the marble walls, and a few more buildings right around the structure, but largely unchanged on the outside. Of course, at one point, we could have had a Gehry Crumpled Metal Corcoran Annex, but for better or worse, that’s probably not going to happen anymore.

The National Cathedral suffered some significant structural damage in the earthquake, with the tops of three of its tower pinnacles falling over, and cracked walls in buttresses and on upper floors. More info from their earthquake press release:

Three of four pinnacles (corner spires) on the central tower have been damaged. Specifically, three “finials” (capstones shaped like fleurs-de-lys) have fallen from them, with more significant damage to two of the pinnacles. Similar decorative elements on the Cathedral’s exterior also appear to be damaged. Cracks have appeared in the flying buttresses around the apse at the Cathedral’s east end, the first portion of the building to be constructed, but the buttresses supporting the central tower seem to be sound.

No individuals were injured either within the Cathedral or on its grounds. Despite some cracks on upper floors in the interior, no damage to the stained-glass windows has been reported. The building has been closed to visitors until further notice.

WNC also has photo gallery of damage, with more photos from The Atlantic Wire.

Hey, Washington, DC was just rocked by an earthquake! The tremor hit at 1:51 PM today, and the earthquake detail page on USGS shows an initial magnitude of 5.8, epicenter near Mineral, VA, somewhere between Richmond and Charlottesville. Twitter is alight with reports of shaking felt from down the Carolinas all the way up to Canada, and as of 2PM the streets around many buildings around Downtown DC are still teeming with people who fled buildings at the initial shock. The source of the earthquake was fairly shallow, just 6 km underground, which explains why the tremor was felt over such a wide area.

Metro is currently limiting trains to 10-15 mph while the tracks are checked for kinks.

Did you feel it? Where were you and what did you do?

Susan Burns of Alexandria, most notable for an earlier assault on a Gauguin painting at the National Gallery, struck again last week, this time attacking Henri Matisse’s “The Plumed Hat.”

According to police quoted in The Smoking Gun:

In full view of a museum surveillance camera, Burns then “slammed the painting against the wall three times, damaging the antique original frame of the painting. No damage to the painting itself was immediately apparent.

Matisse’s “The Plumed Hat” is part of the Chester Dale Collection, currently on view in the lower level of the museum’s West Building.

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That’s Washington Harbour right now, currently underwater due to massive flooding along the Potomac after last Saturday’s heavy rains.

The coastal flood warning continues till midnight tonight. More photos after the jump, courtesy Byron Peebles:

Spotted along Rock Creek Parkway at Virginia Ave NW in Foggy Bottom, this electronic sign warns of impending Constitution Ave. road work, adding “OH JOY” to the projected start date of April 11th. Is this a hacker at work, or just a sarcastic DDOT/NPS electronic road sign copywriter? Either way, it was funny.

Update: No joy. :’-(

The National Christmas Tree, a 48-foot Colorado blue spruce from York, PA planted during the Carter Administration in 1978, was a casualty to the very high winds in the District today.  The tree was split near its base, and felled without injury or structural damage, according to DC Fire EMS and the National Park Police.

No plans are immediately available for the replanting of the tree, or the disposal of the current tree.

An NPS horticulturalist, and National Park Service spokesman Bill Line, are saying that a “successor” tree is ready for planting on the spot as soon as the current tree is disposed of — chipped and mulched, starting today. The tree that fell today was the third tree of its kind on that spot — prior trees had also been blown over in high winds, and the Park Service specifically has advance plans in place for just such an event.

The next tree will be up in time for “next year’s Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony.” Not clear from that if Mr. Line was thinking in 2010 terms and meant to say “in time for the next Christmas Tree Lighting,” or if it’ll take till 2012 to get a new tree into the spot.

More photos after the jump:

The Library of Congress Main Reading Room has been invaded by a Cooper’s Hawk! First noticed Wednesday afternoon, the bird has been flapping about the dome of the Reading Room, and seems to be unable to locate an exit. LoC staff tried getting its attention with a hawk call from a bird-identifying app, to no avail, and they’ve called in Fish and Wildlife to help get the bird out, hopefully unharmed.

Anyone at LoC got updates on the bird situation? And a name?

(Thanks to Abby Brack at LoC for the photos)

We’re hearing of a fire incident near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from DC Fire/EMS Twitter and WUSA9. The memorial wall itself is safe, but a POW/MIA information kiosk (the one that stands along the path between the Vietnam Wall and Lincoln Memorial) was “totally destroyed,” and one occupant possibly injured. The fire seems to have started with the ignition of a propane tank for heating in the booth.

Latest tweet from DC Fire/EMS as of 12:20 AM: Update – Vietnam Vets Memorial MIA/POW Kiosk – totally destroyed – cause under investigation – EMS evaluating 1 occupant

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Update: Foggy Bottom Metro Escalators are open again. Police presence remains. Post reports the “unruly subject” was an aggressive panhandler.

Update from the GW Hatchet: Police activity following an altercation led to the escalator shutdown. An “unruly subject” being escorted from GW Hospital tried to grab someone outside, and the recipient of the grab proceeded to pull a knife, cut the grabber, then escape uncaught.

We’re hearing from the tweets that Foggy Bottom Metro has a police situation going on, possibly a stabbing. Metro escalators are taped off and the line for the still-working elevator goes down the block.

While that’s going on, we recommend that any Metro riders about to use Foggy Bottom walk instead to (or from) Farragut West, or catch the Rosslyn Circulator.

(Pic above is from another Foggy Bottom bottleneck incident but pretty much represents the station’s state nowadays even without police situations.)

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This is my favorite thing about flying back into DC from a trip: the famous River Visual Approach to DCA, the path planes must take to avoid no-fly zones when landing from the North in clear weather. Sit on the left side of the plane during a river visual landing, and you get great views, from the Mormon Temple and the Beltway, down to the Cathedral, right down to Georgetown, the Watergate, the National Mall, Hains Point, and Southwest Waterfront.

When flying in to DC with a chance to reserve seats, pick a window on the left side. Even if you end up doing the less climactic approach from the South, you get a great view of Alexandria and the George Washington Masonic Memorial before touching down. (Conversely, if flying out, get a window seat on the right side of the plane for similar views.)

Bigger video after the jump:

Hey Rosslyn, Georgetown, Dupont: notice anything different transit-wise? As of today, the Georgetown Metro Connection (AKA the “Blue Bus”) has switched over to the DC Circulator (AKA the “Red Bus”). The route and stops are the same, but the buses are different, and now you can use Smartrip. And the really good news is that most of the old Blue Bus drivers have also been moved over to driving Circulators, so they haven’t lost their jobs in the switchover.

One major change to watch out for, however: the Rosslyn stop has moved across 19th St to the Georgetown University shuttle pickup point. That sucks a bit since you now have to cross a street if you’re coming from Rosslyn Metro

More from TBD Neighborhoods.

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Good morning, Georgetown! As promised, construction work is to begin on the Thomas Jefferson Street bridge over the C&O Canal, and the bridge is now closed to vehicular traffic (though pedestrians may still cross as of 9:00 AM).

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DC Fire/EMS on Twitter reports smoke at the Q Street NW entrance to Dupont Circle Metro on the Red Line — also site of this morning’s Escalator Fail. That entrance to the station is now closed and emergency responders are on the scene.

Update: Update from DC Fire/EMS: Dupont Circle Metro – Metro Mechanics on scene – situation under control – Station Open – DC F&EMS clearing scene – no injuries

In the attached video, courtesy Twitterer jaredev (view it larger after the jump) we have people being evacuated from the south station entrance, vaulting over the handrail due to a barricade in the way.

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It’s been a fun (i.e. not fun) morning on Metro, with backups from multiple sick customers on Orange/Blue and Green/Yellow Lines at Rosslyn and L’Enfant Plaza, broken escalators at Dupont Circle, and the standard parade of nonworking air conditioners. Update: Oh, and a switch malfunction at Rosslyn. And a family stuck in the Cleveland Park Metro elevator. Update, 6PM: And an escalator fire at Dupont! Today is the gift that keeps on giving. And by gift we mean not a gift.

For extra enjoyment, here’s a video of people yelling at the Dupont Circle escalators, courtesy wfpman: (after the jump)

Best part is when the station manager says “Use the escalators on the other side of the station,” and the people yell back “Those are broken too!”

As of noon, DC has officially hit 100ºF, according to NBC4. The record to beat is 103ºF. We’re getting close!

To help you stay in a cool state of mind, here are more photos of the White House and Lafayette Park area from right after the February Snowpocalypse:

There. Feel better?

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If you’re aiming to get into or out of Foggy Bottom Metro station on the Orange Line this morning, be warned that at the moment two escalators are closed, and the only open escalator is going up. This, and one broken platform escalator, make getting out difficult, and getting in pretty much impossible (unless you like lining up for the elevator).

Alternatives: Farragut West, or Rosslyn + blue bus or 38B. We have, of course, been here before.

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Is that the White House… by a river? Nope, look again — it’s the Senator’s Park Hotel in Kiev, Ukraine!

Built to closely resemble DC’s own White House, Senator’s Park is “committed to providing visitors with an authentic and luxurious American experience without ever having to leave Ukraine!” There’s even a Barack Obama cutout by the door to make the experience even more authentically American.

(Hat tip to English Russia. Спасибо.)

Getting some buzz about a possible explosion at Farragut West. Latest from DC Fire EMS Twitter:

manhole fire – heavy smoke – 18th & I St NW -PEPCO needed – expect some traffic issues

Manhole explosions are not an unknown phenomenon for summer time in DC.

Latest update from DC Fire EMS:

update- elec feeder line (underground on fire and smoking ) Metro NOT affected, but near a Metro station I st closed btwn 17th & 18th St NW

Traffic is pretty bad around the affected area so if you’re driving, plan accordingly. Or take a break and wait it out.

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We’ve gotten word that a delivery truck has crashed into the Hirshhorn. Driver sustained serious injuries, but not life-threatening. Minor damage to the building; the truck broke through flower pot barriers and hit a window at the entrance, shattering it.

Update from DC Fire/EMS Twitter: update – loaded UPS truck crashed into front entrance of Hirshorn – driver pri 2 – serious – perimeter expanded – expect some traffic closur

More from WUSA9, WTOP, WJLA, FOX5, and Post Now.

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