"Improved lighting for selfies" activated on Bethesda Lane at Bethesda Row (Photos)

A contractor has completed installation of new lighting above Bethesda Lane at Bethesda Row. Property owner Federal Realty has promised the new fixtures, which replace the iconic stringed light bulbs above the pedestrian street, will provide "improved lighting for selfies." They resemble the ring lights popular among YouTube creators and Instagram and TikTok influencers, but whether the effect is the same from above the subject as it is straight ahead is debatable. Other work around Bethesda Row continues, including replacement of pavers on Bethesda Lane, a sidewalk project on Elm Street, and a new fountain plaza outside Anthropologie.

NEW LIGHTING INSTALLED AT FRIENDSHIP HEIGHTS METRO STATION (PHOTOS) #WMATA #DC

Commuters found a brighter atmosphere at the Friendship Heights Metro station this week, as WMATA installed new lighting.

Whether it is new and improved is up to your individual opinion. As an unabashed fan of Harry Weese's design concepts, I have always been satisfied with the architecture and atmosphere of the subway system since my first ride decades ago. Whatever reduction in light has occurred since then, based on my reading on the topic, has been more the result of dirt buildup on the surfaces of the station interiors, light fixtures, and from dirt blown in from the tunnels. The indirect lighting has always been a distinctive feature, and critical to the overall design concept. Improvements should be consistent with that original design, not subvert it.

I'm far from the only fan of that design, as the recent uproar over Metro's plans to "update" the system's stations demonstrated. Weese was recently recognized for his Metro designs by AIA, which gave him its 25 Year Award. Like Earo Saarinen, Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer, Weese managed to turn utilitarian infrastructure into an art form. An experience.

The station designs are (we soon may have to say, "were") distinctive, elegant, modern, and - frankly - make most other systems look cheap and tacky by comparison. Some people want to water it down, and make it more like the bland stations elsewhere. To each his (or her) own, I suppose. Apparently, being a fan of the old design and "Metro brown" has somehow become an unforgivable political statement to some.

A political statement? So be it. The best art usually is controversial. Tacky is, well, just tacky.

But for Metro to make cosmetic updates a top priority when trains still can't run automatically, and stations are still being shut down on weekends, and workers still aren't safe, and escalators don't work, and...etc., is definitely not the best use of resources and time.

WESTFIELD MONTGOMERY MALL ADDS UPSCALE LIGHTING, SEATING AREAS

The common spaces throughout Westfield Montgomery Mall are getting an upscale boost. New lighting fixtures and furniture are making a more inviting space for shoppers.  Here you can see for yourself the latest of the many improvements Westfield has been making over the last year at the Bethesda mall:

3 BETHESDA METRO CENTER RENOVATIONS BEGIN (PHOTO GALLERY)

TWO OF BETHESDA'S

TOP BUILDINGS PUT

ON A

NIGHTTIME SHOW

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row

Renovations are now underway at 3 Bethesda Metro Center.  The building - and neighboring Newlands Building - are two of the best architectural designs in the DC area.  Impressive in the daytime, both come into their own after dark.  Heavy moisture in the air last night - ahead of electrical storms moving into the area - heightened their already-dramatic lighting.

A beam of light points to scaffolding at
the top of 3 Bethesda Metro Center [left];
the Newlands Building is at right

Close-up view of scaffolding

Another scaffold at upper right corner

Believe it or not, you can
still enter the building
despite the police tape

Protective canopies have been installed
over street-level sidewalks

This is the company doing the work

BETHESDA U.P. RESTORES VETERANS PARK FLAG LIGHTING

U.S. FLAG

FLYING AGAIN

TUESDAY NIGHT

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

The U.S. Flag illumination problems in Bethesda's Veterans Park I reported here Monday morning, have been corrected.

Tuesday, 8:30 PM

Workers from Bethesda Urban Partnership fixed the lighting, and by last evening, the Stars and Stripes were flapping over Veterans Park once again.

Earlier Tuesday, I received a Twitter message from Bethesda U.P. that said the lighting for the flag was going to be fixed, and in the meantime, the flag would be raised in the morning, and taken down by dark.

So I was surprised to find the flag - properly lit - already flying over the park last night.

Bethesda U.P. released photos showing workers in action Tuesday.

Bethesda U.P. workers repair flag display
lighting at Veterans Park Tuesday
[Photo: Bethesda U.P.]

Kudos to Bethesda U.P. for addressing this matter, and I highly recommend everyone stop by and see the flag in its fully-lit glory after dark.  But if you can't, I've posted a photo above.

BETHESDA VETERANS PARK FLAG UPDATE

Last night, the American flag in Veterans Park was lowered and removed before dark.  As I reported yesterday, the flag had been flying in darkness recently, in violation of the U.S. Flag Code.

Veterans Park, Tuesday evening

While taking the flag down is the appropriate course of action, in the event no illumination is possible, this is not the ideal solution.

Is there a wiring or bulb issue?  If so, this should be resolved as soon as it is feasible to do so.  I'm glad that the flag is now (hopefully) going to be treated properly, and hope it will be raised again during daylight hours today.

But Veterans Park should not be left in substandard condition indefinitely.  We have a setup there to illuminate the flag and veterans memorial at night, and we ought to use it.  The park is a public space, and should be inviting to the public around the clock.  And with the monument and flag illuminated, it is also an inspiring place.

As the richest town in America, it's incumbent upon us to aim a bit higher than this.  If parks aren't going to be maintained in working order, taxpayers may start demanding a refund of the taxes they've paid for that very purpose.

BETHESDA'S VETERANS PARK IN VIOLATION OF U.S. FLAG CODE AGAIN

FLAG, MEMORIAL

FALL INTO

DARKNESS AGAIN

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

The display of the U.S. flag in downtown Bethesda's Veterans Park is again in violation of federal law, which requires that flags flown at night be illuminated.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Last night - and by my recollection, other recent nights - the flag was flying in total darkness.  You may remember that the flag, and memorial to Bethesda-Chevy Chase veterans killed in action over the last century, had been unlit at night this year until I pointed this out publicly. Within a week, lighting was restored.

This is how it's supposed to be done
July 2012

Once the lights were back on, I reported that many people were now stopping at the memorial, and reading the inscription to themselves or their children.  In other words, Veterans Park was again serving its original purpose - preserving the memories of community members who made the ultimate sacrifice, for the cause of freedom.

Beyond that, the park has been more active and welcoming at night with the lights on.  Active and inviting public spaces are a major part of the successful urban environment in Bethesda and elsewhere.  Why shouldn't this park be all that it can be?

With that context, I am perplexed as to why the park has gone dark again recently.  If a bulb has burnt out, or wiring has failed, the flag must then be lowered at night, and raised again in the morning.  But if the lights are working, they must be on every night.

This isn't just my advice as a onetime Bethesda Cub Scout.  It just happens to be the law.

U.S. Code, Title 4, Section 6a, to be precise:

"It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset...However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed 24 hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness."

Oops.

As you can see in the photo, this was not the case last night.

Perhaps some feel this is not a big deal.  I do realize that when the weather turns colder, the fountain turns off for the winter.  But the flag and memorial should remain lit year-round.

This is just a matter of respect, and civic pride, if nothing else.  What if an Iraq War veteran - now a traveling businessman - is staying at the Doubletree Hotel, and takes a walk down Woodmont at night?  Upon reaching the park, he finds the veterans memorial and flag in darkness.  Is that the message we want visitors to take away from Bethesda?

It's flat out embarrassing, and I hope most people reading this feel the same.

And in the case of the flag, it just happens to be against the law.

Time to turn the lights on.  Again.

IS NEW WOODMONT AVENUE PEDESTRIAN DETOUR DANGEROUS AT NIGHT? - BETHESDA ROW CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

UNLIT WALKWAY

COULD ATTRACT

TROUBLE

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

The Woodmont Avenue road closure project created a pedestrian detour alongside The Seasons apartments, for those trying to reach Crescent Plaza or Leland Street on foot from Bethesda Row.

View down pedestrian detour towards Bethesda Avenue.
The only light here is from the camera's flash.  Note
bushes where assailants can hide and wait

Pedestrians emerge from dark walkway here
on Woodmont Avenue

But when the sun goes down, the pathway is unlit.  The prospect is not appealing to those walking alone.  There are even shrubs that potential assailants could hide behind in the dark.  The situation will get even worse, when construction of The Flats walls in the western side of the path.   Essentially, the path will be a dark tunnel.

Daytime view of pedestrian detour

"It made sense at the time, but..."

When construction of The Flats begins here,
the path [running between the fence and
the building] will become a tunnel

That block of Bethesda Avenue can be desolate even on busy evenings at Bethesda Row.  Shouldn't the developers light that walkway, if they aren't planning to already?

VICTORY FOR BETHESDA VETERANS: NIGHT LIGHTING RESTORED AT VETERANS PARK MEMORIAL

Mission accomplished:  After raising the question last week as to why the lighting at the Veterans Park memorial has been off at night for as long as 2 years, I am pleased to report that it has been restored as of last night.

June 24, 2012

July 2, 2012

Not only are the "dancing waters," as David Letterman would call them, illuminated again, but for one night, our urban park has once again come to life.

Instead of shadowy figures slumping in the dark, the crowds were larger, there was much more energy in the area, and less of the after-hours-we're-closed ambiance the park has projected for too long.

Most importantly, the primary purpose of the park - a memorial to Bethesda's soldiers killed in action from World War I to the "Gulf Wars" - has once again taken center stage.  Monday night, I saw many people standing at the memorial and reading its inscription.

I just have to wonder, what took so long?

Why were the night lights off in the first place?

And much like the scandal of the new Bethesda Post Office, where were the members of the county council?  Why does it take a post by a citizen blogger to get things done, when we're paying these folks $100,000 a year?

It appears their lack of familiarity with downtown Bethesda also extends to its veterans' memorial.

I'd be willing to bet that at least half of our carpetbagger council has never even been to Veterans Park.  Heck, I doubt half of them even know it's there!

But then again, this is a council that includes members like George Leventhal, who infamously declared in 2010 that Bethesda had no 5 star restaurants, and that he had to go to Fairfax County to dine out.  And the same council that handed Wheaton's Veterans Park over to a for-profit developer - with no requirement that it be replaced by a new memorial!  An outrageous insult to veterans for which they were never held accountable by local media.

Our elected officials talk a good game about veterans, much like they talk about farmers, jobs, traffic gridlock, and the poor and "vulnerable."  But as I always say, don't listen to what they say; examine what they actually do.  And on each of these topics, you'll conclude their efforts haven't amounted to anything.

They have a veteran-related TV show, but they don't have a problem leaving a veterans memorial dark indefinitely.

The lights are back on, and I invite the county council to stop by and discover Veterans Park, and pay their respects.

IS NOT LIGHTING THE VETERANS PARK MEMORIAL DISRESPECTFUL TO VETERANS?

LIGHTS OUT

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

One thing that concerns me as summer begins, is the darkness at downtown Bethesda's Veterans Park.  As previously lit in the past, the fountain memorial to Bethesda soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice was visually impressive, and animated the park as a public space after dark.

July 2010

June 2012

After all, Veterans Park is not just a place to hang out or eat lunch; at its heart, it is a memorial.

Out of sight, out of mind, as they say.  If the memorial is hidden in the darkness of night, how is it reminding visitors of those sacrifices?  You're free to hang out there and enjoy life, because someone else gave theirs so you could.

I also wonder if the flag is adequately lighted at night, as well.  Technically, an American flag flown at night should be properly illuminated.

Is the unlit fountain a cost-saving measure?  Is the lighting malfunctioning, and in need of repair?  Given the unwise spending increases - and massive tax increases - approved by the Montgomery County Council, it would be hard to justify a cut in the lighting of a veterans memorial.  And a troubling statement about misplaced priorities.

It's time to turn the lights back on at Veterans Park.

BETHESDA / NW DC

CRIME WAVE

UPDATE

Has the Park Bethesda Ski Mask

Gang Reemerged on DC Side of Line?

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

The January 19 Park Bethesda armed robbers remain atop Bethesda's "Most Wanted" list.

No incidents fitting their description (3 robbers using firearms, wearing ski masks, assaulting and robbing victim of property) are found in the Montgomery County Police official crime report.

However...

Let's check SpotCrime's unofficial report:

Assault, 5000 block of Dalton Road, Bethesda, 3/24/12

Robbery, 4200 block of Connecticut Ave. NW, DC, 3/28/12

***Armed Robbery, 4000 block of Connecticut Ave. NW, DC, 3/28/12

According to SpotCrime:

Metropolitan Police Department officers reported an armed robbery "at gunpoint" at 2:01 PM on Tuesday, March 28. Suspects described as 2 black males, who fled the scene and are still at large.

This sounds somewhat like the ski mask gang, fits their m.o. of operating near Metro stations on the Red Line (Van Ness, in this case), but there are only two robbers mentioned. And there is no specific mention of them wearing masks. Is this a different group, or have they lost their Third Musketeer?

Were they the same guys who committed that second robbery on Connecticut that same day? That second incident (above) does not mention "armed" but it is reminiscent of how the ski mask gang struck on Wisconsin Avenue one night, the victim escaped, and then they struck again just a few blocks south.

It's a waiting game at this point. Certainly, there were no armed robbery incidents reported in nearby NW or Bethesda for several weeks. No official information on this incident is available, which is strange, because the SpotCrime source for this says the robbery was reported by MPD units.

No crimes of any kind were reported in the Westbard Sector this past week. Police remain on patrol in the area.

Nothing's changed at the Westwood Shopping Center; large portions of the parking lot were pitch black again for the entire week, as of last night. Park Bethesda residents must brave the darkness to walk over to the Giant or Rite Aid, as Capital Properties - for reasons still known only to them - simply refuses to activate full lighting on the property at night.