Album 2012 from Jonathan Cohen

Panda-ring to Tourists – Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:30:06 +0000

Jonathan Cohen has posted:

Veteran's Liquors – Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 02:24:05 +0000

Jonathan Cohen has posted:

Vet's Liquors – Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:53:40 +0000

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The Art of Cooking – Beltsville Seafood & Crab, Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:28:32 +0000

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Beltsville Seafood & Crab – Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 13:09:17 +0000

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Korean Wedding Ducks – Beltsville Seafood & Crab, Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 04:51:42 +0000

Jonathan Cohen has posted:

While I was photographing the sign advertising their business, the Korean couple who owned it invited me in to look at the carved mandarin ducks that graced one of the counters.

Wedding ducks have special role in every Korean wedding. They mate for life. In ancient time, a man expressed his wish to get married by bringing a pair of ducks or geese to the family of his bride-to-be. The wedding duck symbolizes three things: peace; many children; no separations.

These days, carved wooden ducks have replaced live birds. Selecting the person who is going to carve a wedding duck is not an easy choice. The person must be honourable and a good friend. Most of all, he has to exemplify the "five fortunes" which hopefully will bless the couple as well. The five fortunes of the carver are: wealth; perfect health; marital happiness; a "good wife"; and many sons. While working with his knife, the carver prays for happiness, peace, prosperity and many children (just as the duck has many eggs) for the bride (Shinbu) and groom (Shinlang). The carver person may not except money for his work. Carving is the matter of honour.

Just before the wedding, the ducks are wrapped with cloths of different colours. Only the neck is left unwrapped. Then they are carried to the ceremony. As soon as the bride arrives she puts the wedding ducks on the table. After the ceremony, the bride and groom bow to the groom’s mother and father two and a half times. Then the groom’s mother throws the ducks to the outspread bride’s apron. If the bride manages to catch them it is believed that she will first give birth to a baby boy. If she does not catch the duck she will have a baby girl.

Traditionally, wedding ducks are kept somewhere in the couple’s house. (In this case, they are housed on a display case in their store.) Their position tells about the status in the relationship. Nose to nose means that the relationship is good, and tail to tail means that husband and wife are quarreling.

Do Not Lean on Doors – Washington Metro Car 6025, Greenbelt, Maryland

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 18:50:14 +0000

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Columbia Heights Metro Station – 14th Street at Irving Street N.W., Washington, D.C.

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 03:11:05 +0000

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DC USA Mall – 14th Street at Irving Street N.W., Washington, D.C.

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 20:14:16 +0000

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Tivoli Theatre – 14th Street at Park Road N.W., Washington, D.C.

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:40:18 +0000

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The Tivoli Theatre was once one of the most opulent movie palaces in the region. Completed in 1924 at a cost of more than $1 million, it was designed by Thomas W. Lamb, a leading theater architect whose designs included the original Madison Square Garden. The Tivoli opened as a block-long, four-story Mediterranean Revival-style building with seating for more than 2,000, including the balcony. It was the largest theater in Washington.

In the 1920s, the Columbia Heights neighborhood was considered to be one of the most fashionable and desirable areas of Washington with dozens of fine shops, as well as a highly developed theater district. The opening of the Tivoli marked the peak of commercial success in Columbia Heights. At its opening, the Tivoli was dubbed "the Temple of the Arts." The Washington Post hailed it as a "magnificent addition to the real showplace of the District" and said the Tivoli was "an institution of which the entire city of Washington ought to be proud and ought to support."

During the 1968 riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., the neighborhood was burned and ransacked, but the Tivoli was left intact. As the neighborhood continued to deteriorate, business dwindled. In 1976, the theater was closed and boarded up. In the quarter century during which it lay vacant, the building suffered from neglect, extensive vandalism, and severe water damage due to a leaking roof.

Nonetheless, in 1985, the theater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After
over 25 years closure, the Tivoli benefited from a revitalization of the Columbia Heights neighborhood. In 2005, the Tivoli was reopened after an almost six year renovation. The Tivoli is now the home of GALA (Grupo de Artistas LatinoAmericanos) Hispanic Theatre, a local non-profit committed to sharing Hispanic culture through the arts. GALA currently uses the former balcony and there is mixed retail and restaurant use in the rest of the building.

Art Deco Nouveau – 14th Street at Irving Street N.W., Washington, D.C.

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 21:48:47 +0000

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Jam – Columbia Road at Harvard Court N.W., Washington, D.C.

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 03:51:20 +0000

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National Baptist Memorial Church – Columbia Road at 16th Street N.W., Washington, D.C.

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 13:14:03 +0000

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Pillars of the Church – Columbia Road at 16th Street N.W., Washington, D.C.

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 02:21:29 +0000

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"The Parable" Statue – Columbia Road at 16th Street N.W., Washington, D.C.

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 18:12:16 +0000

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The Parable is a public artwork by American artist Jimilu Mason, located at The Festival Center – an evangelical ministry – at 1640 Columbia Road, N.W. in Washington, D.C. The bronze sculpture shows a man seated on a large cinder block and at his feet is a carpenters square. Dressed in only a shirt and pants, his shirt sleeves are rolled up above his elbows and his collar is open. His face wears a beard and mustache and his feet are shoe-less. His arms reach out in front of him, and he looks as if in conversation. According to the sculptor, Jimilu Mason, the sculpture "represents a Christ... teaching that there is more than brick and mortar to building a city. The leaders must be good servants."

El Gavilán – Columbia Road near 16th Street N.W., Washington, D.C.

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 23:30:38 +0000

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The Potter's House – Columbia Road near 16th Street N.W., Washington, D.C.

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 13:49:25 +0000

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Chief Ike's Mambo Room – Columbia Road near 17th Street N.W., Washington, D.C.

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 05:21:55 +0000

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The Cheap Stuff – Columbia Road near 17th Street N.W., Washington, D.C.

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 02:57:20 +0000

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Three Macaws and a Liquor Store – Columbia Road near 17th Street N.W., Washington, D.C.

nobody@ipernity.com (Jonathan Cohen) — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 18:33:55 +0000

Jonathan Cohen has posted:

The three bright parrots overlooking Columbia Road symbolize the ethnic diversity that characterizes the neighborhood – the birds are native to Central and South America, Africa, and Asia. Artist G. Byron Peck initially planned the mural to celebrate the vibrant Latino Adams-Morgan community, featuring two parrots with an Aztec relief to honor the rich tropical forest and ancient Indian civilization. Latino culture also is represented in the work by a Mexican deity signifying renewal and rebirth – perhaps an allusion to community healing after ethnically charged riots in the neighborhood two years earlier. A Polaroid image of children from a variety of ethnic backgrounds anchors the mural in the here and now.