Standing in the shadow of a bombed-out-looking office building with boarded up windows isn't the best atmosphere for the venerable
Tastee Diner to lure customers, but the diner is still operating as normal. I wasn't aware there was any confusion about that fact, but apparently someone thinks there is. A small metal sign has appeared on a utility pole at the corner of Norfolk and Woodmont Avenue, which says, "DINER OPEN DURING CONSTRUCTION." It's a pretty unique, and obviously custom, sign. Next door, the roofless Blackwell Building awaits demolition to make way for the relocated Bethesda Marriott International headquarters.
"The venerable Tastee Diner...is still operating as normal. I wasn't aware there was any confusion about that fact, but apparently someone thinks there is."
ReplyDeletehttp://robertdyer.blogspot.com/2017/04/source-tastee-diner-agrees-to-sell-will.html
And this is news because? Funny Bob the Builder, I was there on Saturday for bfast and it was crowded.
ReplyDelete"Restaurants and stores put these signs up all the time during heavy moribundity around them."
ReplyDeleteYour lack of a plethora of photos to show us this important sign is shocking.
ReplyDeleteRobert, I'm wondering if you know anything about the large hole they've dug nearElm Street and Wisconsin Avenue. The hole has very large metal braces holding it open. It appears they have a large generator or blower, perhaps to blow hot air into the whole?
ReplyDeleteWhy would anyone want to patronize that price of crap? God, is it awful. They should have taken the money and ran.
ReplyDeleteBang-up job by DPS maintaining pedestrian access on Norfolk during demolition.
ReplyDeleteThe large hole at Wisconsin and Elm is the 1305’ deep shaft that is being excavated for six high speed elevators and their lobbies, and one fire stair that will connect the street level, the Purple Line platform level and the new south Bethesda a Metro Red Line mezzanine.
ReplyDeleteActually only two of the elevators and the fire stairs extend up to the street into a glass lobby. The plaza wil also include an escalator and stair to connect the street level and the Purple Line platform level. This component will be under a skylight and a large vegetated roof in the plaza.
The front edge of the canopy facing Wisconsin is rumored to include a Fox5 News electronic LED ticker. Fox5 have signed a lease to move their offices and news studio from Tenley Town to Bethesda. This display is rumored to replicate the live feed of the bottom third of the Fox5 News channel., including stock ticker and news. A bit like a mini Times Square, of course only a lot more republican, which will be a bit odd in Bethesda and Montgomery County.
I actually think a fully restored retro- Diner would be kind of a cool feature of the corner. Clean it up, light it nicely, and clean up the greasy spoon menu and it would be an iconic bit of historic Bethesda. I also think that the Woodmont Grill should add a nicely designed roof terrace with lots of outdoor seating to capture some of the Marriott employee and hotel guest crowd..
ReplyDeleteGood ideas.
DeleteSorry, I meant to type a135’ deep shaft.
ReplyDelete@ 12:37 PM - Norfolk is just fine. Perhaps you meant Cheltenham?
ReplyDelete"Sign posted to promote Tastee Diner amidst Marriott HQ demolition in Bethesda"
ReplyDeleteThat's a road construction sign, not an advertising sign. The red-orange color is your clue.
2:20: That's what's so unique about it - it's a marketing message on that kind of sign. Never seen it used like that before.
ReplyDeleteDoes this mean that Tastee Diner is now part of the MoCo Cartel?
ReplyDelete6:23: The contrarian political endorsements they've made over the years would suggest otherwise.
ReplyDelete@2:15pm: No, I mean Norfolk. Even though it takes that weird jog at Woodmont, it's still Norfolk until you cross Wisconsin.
ReplyDelete@1:51pm: Will that ticker conform with the sign restrictions in the zoning regulations?
ReplyDeleteGood question about the ticker. Most sign ordinances do not allow moving or flashing text, like the kind you see on a stock ticker. I assume a headline new feed would be considered moving or kinetic text. I suppose they could ask for a varainace to allow this activity. It may be related to the size of the moving element as I see lots of sequentially illuminated OPEN signs.
ReplyDelete3:49 AM - We've had this discussion before.
ReplyDeleteGOLDEN CROWN HAIR DESIGN [now closed]
4811 CHELTENHAM DR
BETHESDA MD 20814
NOT "76xx NORFOLK AVE"
Norfolk Avenue ends at Woodmont Avenue on the west side.
Cheltenham Drive begins at Woodmont Avenue on the east side.
How long have you actually lived in Bethesda?
3:51
ReplyDeleteWas thinking the same. The county has very restrictive signage policies, but they did allow all those signs and LED displays in downtown Silver Spring...
@3:49AM: There are no current properties that have an address in the 4800 block of Cheltenham or the 7600 block of Norfolk. Your defunct business registration information does not constitute proof. The county's maps, Google maps, and the state highway administration all refer to this short stretch of roadway as Norfolk. I will go with them, and I've lived here a long time.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think we can both agree that curb lane should be a pedestrian walkway instead of a parking lot for idle tractors. How many other jurisdictions allow the public spaces to be used like that?
Why are you so eager to walk next to a building that is being demolished?
ReplyDelete@2:58pm: I'd like the county to be a little bit more deliberate about ceding public spaces to developers, even on a temporary basis. The conditions on Norfolk are no different than the conditions on Wisconsin, where the state demanded an alternative pedestrian accommodation that's closed when safety concerns dictate. The county should have insisted on the same treatment. In addition, the configuration of the barricades does not feel particularly safe when you're waiting to cross Norfolk on the western side of Wisconsin.
ReplyDeleteThe street sign at Wisconsin and Norfolk clearly reads "Norfolk Ave." Not Cheltenham.
ReplyDelete