1. Discuss the impact of war on Washington’s history.
2. You are soon to be visited by a friend who knows almost nothing about Washington or its history. She (or he) is eager to learn about the city and is counting on you to be her (or his) guide. So you have to devise an instructive tour—one that goes beyond the usual “monument highlights” to capture a sense of the city’s complex past.
Your task is two-fold.
First, you must decide what is most essential for your friend to know about Washington’s history in order to understand the present-day city.
Second, you must choose five sites for your friend to visit (in your company, of course)—sites that, taken together, will give said friend an understanding of how Washington has evolved through the years and what its notable attributes (characteristics, qualities) were and are. What sites would you choose, and why? Please explain your choices in detail, making clear how each site will contribute to your friend’s understanding of Washington past and present.
3.
Imagine that you are a long-time Washingtonian in April 1865. The Civil War has come to an end and President Lincoln has just been assassinated. This conjunction of events causes you to reflect on your life as a resident of the nation’s capital, where you arrived as a young man (or woman) in 1820. How has the city changed over the course of your life there? What was Washington like in your younger days? How rapidly did it grow and change prior to the Civil War, and in what ways? How did the war itself affect the city? Be as specific as you can in your telling of this story. Plenty of examples will help. These will come primarily from the course readings, which are absolutely essential to a good paper, but your own observations of the city can enter in too.
4. Your assignment: have breakfast or lunch at any of the three restaurants and be an amateur sociologist as you eat.
• For the paper:
Who is sharing the restaurant with you? How much human variety are you seeing? How much social interaction (customer to customer; customer to waitstaff) does there seem to be?
How does the scene at the restaurant contrast (if it does) to the scene at a Washington Starbucks?
When all the world is Starbucked, and places like these restaurants Shop are things of the past, will American cities have lost something valuable? Why or why not?
What did you have to eat? How was it?
The restaurant is ben’s chilli bowl
5. The Eastern Market is located near the Eastern Market Metro station, which is on the Blue and Orange lines. When you exit the station, you’ll be on Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E. Cross Pennsylvania (head in the direction of the Le Pain Quotidien café) and proceed south on 7th Street. The Market is just a block down 7th.
The market’s architect was Adolf Cluss, a German immigrant who designed a great many buildings in 19th century Washington. Eastern Market is the last survivor of the several public markets that were once a feature of Washington life, as they were in American cities generally. There has been an “eastern market” since the late 18th century, though it was originally located a few blocks south of its present location. The 19th century market was similar in many respects to that of today. It housed permanent stalls for regular vendors of meat, fish, poultry and produce, just as the market building does now. It also had outdoor stalls for local farmers, who still come to the market on Saturdays and sometimes on Sundays. What’s new today are the many sellers of arts and crafts, and the huge week-end flea market in the lot across 7th Street.
Take a leisurely tour of the outdoor market, then visit the market building itself. You’ll be seeing a kind of 19th century scene, albeit with 21st century players.
As you survey the scene, ask yourself the following questions:
• What does the Market suggest about ethnic groups and ethnicity in present-day Washington? (Let’s count Afro-Americans as an ethnic group.)
• What is the prevailing mood? Does the market seem to promote sociability? If so, why do you think that this is the case?
• Does the market seem to you to function differently than a supermarket or a mall? How so?
• Do you find the general scene appealing? Why or why not?
You might write this paper as a kind of “local color” feature for a newspaper or magazine. You could address each of the questions above—and anything else, for that matter—without having to follow a question-and-answer format.
6. Sidamo coffee roast and cafe visit:
• For the paper:
What did you have to eat and/or drink? Was it good? (If you visit on a warm day, I recommend the iced mocha.)
Tell me about the clientele. Who’s in the shop with you? Do the customers give you any clues as to the make-up of the surrounding neighborhood?
What’s your judgment as to the likelihood of Sidamo’s surviving? (The failure rate for small businesses is in excess of 50%.)
And what about H Street? What would you predict for its short-term future? Would you invest in property here? Why or why not?
Any additional comments or “local color” would be greatly appreciated.
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