Rosslyn Blog

For an interesting insider perspective on what’s happening in Rosslyn, check out our blog.  You’ll find posts from the Rosslyn Business Improvement District and Rosslyn Renaissance that will provide insight into what’s happening now, and what’s planned for Rosslyn’s 
bright future. 

Sometimes the moon, stars, and planets are all in alignment.
07/28/2009 download magazine here

On March 25, the day before two Politico reporters were scheduled to speak about President Obama’s first 60 days in office at our “Rooms” lecture series, the president called on one of our speakers – chief political correspondent Mike Allen – at his nationally televised press conference. That made it possible to do something that event planners can only dream about: begin our packed lecture the next evening with a video of Mike’s Q & A with the President of the United States.

The audience loved it!

But that’s not all. After this blockbuster opening, Mike and Politico senior political correspondent Martin Cady then engaged in a lively dialogue with the audience that included a discussion of D.C.’s excitement about the president’s willingness to eat at local restaurants in the city. Six weeks later, on May 5, the president and vice president of the United States made national news when they made a quick run to Rosslyn to grab lunch at Ray’s Hell Burger.

Ray’s, which was always busy before, has since moved into a larger space to accommodate the even larger crowds.

But that’s not the end of the story. On June 19, the president returned to Rosslyn again to visit Year Up, an organization that provides training and leadership opportunities for young adults. 

If the president of the United States realizes that Rosslyn is the next hot place, and just can’t stay away, is there any doubt the rest of the world will soon follow?

Cecilia Cassidy
Executive Director
Rosslyn Renaissance/Rosslyn BID

Cha-Cha Challenges
10/03/2008

Life is short. On days when the news headlines can bring worry to Main Street, or to Lynn and Moore Streets, it’s a good thing to recall the fun in our lives. It’s good to take a little time out. The following piece appeared in The Washington Post this past week. Enjoy. And have a good time this weekend. 

Monday, September 29, 2008
Caution: Dip Ahead
Special to the Washington Post by Cecilia Cassidy 

It had been easy to get into the rhythm. I got the turn. I got the spin. But the dip! The dip required a full-body free fall into the arms of my new dance instructor.

For the full article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/28/AR2008092802191.html

Cecilia Cassidy
Executive Director
Rosslyn Renaissance/Rosslyn BID 

Making A Hard Call
09/05/2008

In the 18 years that Rosslyn Renaissance and the Rosslyn BID have been sponsoring the Rosslyn Jazz Festival – now acclaimed as one of the premiere jazz festivals in the region – we have been blessed with glorious weather.  The festival has never been rained out…until now.

And now, cancel it we have. Over the last several days, our Jazz Festival team – comprised of both BID and Arlington County staff – monitored the track of Tropical Storm Hanna.  The news looked dire.  Looking at a high probability of heavy downpour and 25-30 MPH winds, we were forced to consider – for the first time ever – cancellation of the Rosslyn Jazz Festival, scheduled for September 6 in Gateway Park.

We considered other indoor locations, but after consulting with the local police, local weather experts, and national weather sources, we were convinced that it would be ill advised to encourage our audiences to navigate area roads in what is predicted to be a serious storm.

Facing the first cancellation in our 18-year history, our disappointment is shared by our co-sponsors Arlington Cultural Affairs, as well as media partners jazz station WPFW 89.3 FM, andJazzTimes magazine.  And we know from the enthusiasm of our faithful audience over the years, that you will be disappointed, too.

But there’s always next year.  We look forward to seeing you at the 2009 Rosslyn
Jazz Festival.

Cecilia Cassidy
Executive Director
Rosslyn Renaissance/Rosslyn BID 

Back Story
08/25/2008

My first job in the Washington region was at 1111 North 19th Street, in a run-of-the-mill, turquoise-paneled specimen of vintage 70’s architecture.  If you followed the side staircase to a secret unmarked back door on the fourth floor, you could access the rickety skywalk bridge that connected 1111 to the old Waterview building on Lynn Street.  The original Waterview hid another secret – a spacious but weed-infested plaza, with a surprise view of Key Bridge, Georgetown, and the National Cathedral.  At lunchtime, an adventurous worker might happen upon the space and eat a brown-bag lunch there, in the company of no more than a handful of others.

This was in 1980.  The only fast-food place in the neighborhood was McDonald’s.  The closest white tablecloth restaurant was China Garden, then located at 1901 North Moore Street.  I was working as a free-lance newsletter editor for a chemistry association, and the high-level scientists who traveled from around the world to the turquoise building at 1111 complained constantly about Rosslyn’s lack of sophistication.

Flash forward to 2008.  I’ve been executive director of Rosslyn Renaissance since 1992, and I’m at the grand opening of the Hotel Palomar Arlington at Waterview.  Actors from Synetic Theater are performing in the lobby, champagne is flowing, music is playing, the place is packed.  The complex, designed by one of the country’s top architectural firms, Pei Cobb Freed, is 21st century modern.  The hotel's interior feels like New York City.  All dark woods.  Cool.  Hip. Sophisticated.

Suddenly, I realize that I am standing in the very spot where my grungy old newsletter office had been!  It’s as if I’d clicked my heels three times and got plunked down in the new millennium.  This new Rosslyn that is finally coming to be looks and feels a whole lot better than the old one.

And so it is with our means of communication.  In 1980, a monthly, hard-copy, 8 1/2 x 11 newsletter mailed by the U.S. Post Office to our association’s members did the trick. No more.  Today, a good web site – multi-layered, interactive, highly visual, updated 24-7, and FUN – is the only way to convey the news about an organization, or show off the excitement of an ‘Edge City’ such as Rosslyn. 

On an on-going basis, we need to tell the stories behind all these construction cranes in Rosslyn, the expanded worker base, the growing residential population – to say nothing of our bulging events calendar.

So, over the last several months, the entire staff at the Rosslyn BID and Rosslyn Renaissance has invested an enormous amount of time and energy in re-designing and updating our web site. Starting with dynamic night-and-day shots of Rosslyn (by local photographers Steve Uzzell and Jim Coates, respectively), there’s something for everyone. 

Whether you ‘live’, ‘work’, ‘play’, ‘visit’, or ‘build’ in Rosslyn, we hope our updated web site gives you a better perspective and the information you need about what’s going on here.  We’ve also created a way for you to become engaged in the site.  Check out “My Rosslyn”, and send us photos of you in Rosslyn, so we can include the folks who breathe life and excitement into our community.

And then, in case you need a break from the web site and want to see whatever happened to that secret plaza space at Waterview…take a stroll down to 19th and North Lynn.  The open-glass elevator is there for everyone to enjoy that fabulous view from the fouth floor terrace.

Let us know what you think. Be a part of www.RosslynVA.org.

Cecilia Cassidy
Executive Director
Rosslyn Renaissance/Rosslyn BID