On this sad day in Capitol Hill, a welcome
Hi -- we're Jason and Shannon, and like most other residents of Capitol Hill, we were devastated to wake up this morning and learn that Eastern Market had been gutted by fire. Throughout the day, we stayed glued to the news in an attempt to see what the leaders of DC and Capitol Hill were saying would happen to the Market, and were cautiously optimistic to read that most everyone wants to rebuild, and rebuild quickly. Of course, this is Washington, DC, and that's where we're being cautious -- cautious in hoping that politics won't get in the way of efforts to get rebuilding plans underway, cautious in believing that an interim solution will be implemented that can help both the vendors and the neighborhood residents keep their relationships alive, and cautious in thinking that the immense presence Eastern Market serves in the Capitol Hill community will help speed a common-sense cleanup and reconstruction process along to completion.
Marc Fisher has a nice column about the fire at the Washington Post website, and there's been good coverage of the disaster from most of the DC weblogs as well. For those who haven't seen the damage to the Market first-hand, we took a few pictures this evening of the still-smoldering (and flaming!) remains, and there are a ton more available from others on Flickr. For those who want to donate to a fund specifically targeted to the displaced Eastern Market vendors, the Capitol Hill Community Foundation is accepting contributions (you have to specifically designate that your donation is for “Eastern Market: Keep It Going”). DC Council rep Tommy Wells is trying to set up a town hall for later this week, and nobody's sure yet what will happen to the vendors who set up outside the Market on weekends, or whether this weekend's annual Market Day will still take place.
Other links:
- Mayor Fenty's statement, including an announcement of a press conference that will be held tomorrow at the Market
- DC (nonvoting!) Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton's statement on the fire, vowing to work with Congress to find the resources needed to keep the Market running
- “Beloved Eastern Market, Library In Georgetown Ravaged by Fires” from The Washington Post
- “Amid Shock, Vows to Rebuild Eastern Market” from The Express; also, some video from the same source
- The Washington CityPaper has a good report “On the Scene at Eastern Market”
- The Voice of the Hill is collecting your Eastern Market memories