Lise Howe, Realtor and Attorney Licensed in DC, MD and VA

The city of Washington DC lost a famous man last month, when Ben Ali, the 82 year old founder of Ben's Chili Bowl at 1231 U Street, NW died on October 7. Ben's Chili Bowl has been feeding hungry Washingtonians chili, half smokes and fries since 1958. The sweet potato pie and red velvet cake are not to be missed! However, Ben's Chili Bowl is more significant than just as a chili joint. It is a significant part of the history of Washington in the second half of the 20th century.

Ben's Chili Bowl is located in an old building with high-arched ceilings, character, and plenty of history. Built in 1910, it first housed a silent movie house called the Minnehaha Theater. Later, Harry Beckley, one of D.C.'s first Black police detectives, converted it into a pool hall. It became Ben's Chili Bowl in 1958. It was an exciting time on the U Street corridor, which was then known as "Black Broadway." Top performers could be found playing sets in clubs along the corridor, as well as eating and just "hanging out" at Ben's.

It was not uncommon to see such stars as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Nat King Cole, Redd Foxx, Dick Gregory, Martin Luther King Jr., or Bill Cosby at "The Bowl." Since Ben's is right next to the Lincoln Theater, it has always been a great late night spot to catch a snack, and the stars performing there were happy to stop by Ben's too.

In 1968, following the assassination of Martin Luther King the area around the U Street corridor erupted in riots. Although the whole city seemed closed down, Ben's remained open. Stokely Carmichael of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which was located across the street, obtained special police permission to allow Ben's to stay open after curfew to provide food and shelter for activists, firefighters and public servants desperately trying to restore order. After the riots, the area was in shambles.

Still, Ben's continued to serve an eclectic crowd of regulars throughout the 1970s. A high point had to be the press conference that Bill Cosby held at Ben's in September of 1985, to celebrate his number one rated show, thrusting Ben's into the national limelight. Not bad for a chili joint!

With publicity like this business started to improved but then in 1987, five years of construction began on Metro's Green Line. U Street in front of Ben's became a 60-foot hole in the ground. Even though it was almost impossible to reach the restaurant, Ben's decided to stay open with only two employees serving Metro workers and faithful regulars each day.

Ben's has received a diverse set of well deserved honors. Councilmember Jim Graham named the alley adjacent to Ben's 'Ben Ali Way;' Ben and Virginia were inducted into the D.C. Hall of Fame (May 2001); and in 2004, Ben's won the prestigious Gallo of Sonoma 'America's Classics' Restaurant Award from the James Beard Foundation.

Ben's Chili Bowl has been featured on CNN , Oprah, Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, CBS Sunday Morning, Good Morning America, PBS, the Food Network, the Today Show, the Travel Channel, and stories in Washingtonian, Gourmet, Southern Living, The Washington Post, and The New York Times and Ben's is now recognized world-wide as a "must go" place to eat when visiting Washington. Sure enough, President Obama made a stop at Ben's to try the hot dogs and chili fries.

U Street is flourishing now as a wonderful neighborhood of upscale condos and lovely Victorian townhouses, and Ben's is a famous and important component of the Washington DC. If you would like more information about DC homes, just give Lise Howe a call at 240-401-5577. She will be glad to help you!

Logan Circle is now one of the best areas in Washington, but it wasn't always the case. Logan Circle is a recently restored community, filled with urbanites, restaurants, and the best Whole Foods in the city with a colorful past. Now it is a gracious neighborhood with upscale condos, beautiful Victorian townhomes and newly constructed apartment buildings.

Did you know that Logan Circle itself wasn't always known as Logan Circle? Until 1930 Logan Circle was named Iowa Circle. Finally, in 1930 Congress passed a Law changing the name of Iowa Circle to Logan Circle in memory of Civil War General and Senator John A. Logan (D-IL). The General had lived (very briefly) at #4 Logan Circle during 1885. A statue was commissioned in his honor in 1891 and was formally dedicated in the center of the Circle by President William McKinley on April 9, 1901. The statute's base was designed by noted architect Richard Morris Hunt, and the sculpture itself was created by artist Franklin Simmons.

If you are looking for a new home in the city, Logan Circle offers a variety of choices. Currently the most expensive home on the market is a condo at 1401 Church Street. Unit 214 is a dramatic loft made by combining two apartments into one to create beautiful entertaining areas! With 12' ceilings, a separate dining room, walls of glass, stained concrete floors, custom Built-ins, and a gas Fireplace. this is a special space for $1,635,000. Unit 214 also has one of the largest Landscaped Terraces in the city with its own DIPPING POOL! Two parking spaces and a separate storage unit come with the condo.

The least expensive condo in the Logan Circle area is a one bedroom unit with approximately 700 square feet in space. 1115 12TH STREET NW #104 is on the market for $259,900. The New Plaza condo building is a classic building from 1937. This spacious unit is between 2 metros and within an easy walk to the convention center, restaurants, and stores.

There are over 40 condos in between these two price points, and if you are looking for a home in Logan Circle or anywhere else in the DC metro area, Lise Howe would love to help you find your dream condo. Just give her a call and start your search now! She specializes in helping buyers, including first time buyers, make the right decision.

Congratulations to the 18 seniors at Whitman High School in Bethesda MD who were recently named National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalists.

Surbhi Agrawal, Sarah Craig Jean-Claude De Sugny

Itai Farhi Perry Green Carolyn Heiman

Eileen Hu-Wang Benjamin Lewis Chelsea Lo

Emily Massey Michael O'Sullivan Emily Savage

Susannah Savage Melissa Schnure Dylan Symington

Sawyer Symington Rachel Umans Yuqian Zheng

Whitman High School is located at River Road and Whittier Blvd. in Bethesda, Maryland. Built in 1962 and recently completely renovated, the school is home to 1936 students in the 2009-2010 school year. It offers 24 AP classes and numerous honors classes.

87% of the Seniors attend 4-year colleges while an additional 9% attend 2-year colleges. More than 76% attend college out-of-state, and some foreign students return to college in their own country.

The diverse student body draws from more than 40 countries. The school web page states that 76% of students are white, 5% are African-American or Black, 7% are Hispanic, 12% are Asian American.

The homes in the Whitman school district range in price from one bedroom condos in the low $300,000s to a $10,750,000 single family home designed by Robert Gurney, the architect. This 10,000 sf contemporary on Wissioming Road features walls of glass, euro kit., glass bridges, elev, infinity pool,heated floors, and 5 car garage.

Whitman High School is a fabulous school with an active student body and proud parents. If you are looking for a new home in the DC metro area, you should definately consider the neighborhoods that are within its boundaries. For information about homes in the Whitman HS cluster or any other homes in Chevy Chase or Bethesda Maryland, please call Lise Howe at 240-401-5577.

Did you know that the Bethesda Trolley Trail connects Bethesda and Rockville for bicyclists, runners and pedestrians. It links North Bethesa/White Flint, the National Institutes of Health, the Woodmont Triangle, office towers in downtown Bethesa, and the Capital Crescent Trail.

The Bethesda trolley system has a long history. After the Civil War, American's cities needed new transportation systems to prosper and grow. First the major rail lines were built to connect American cities with one another. Then, smaller electric streetcar and trolley lines were built to connect Washingotn with its outlying areas. In 1890, the Georgetown and Tenallytown (the original spelling of Tenleytown) Railway Company operated trolley lines along Wisconsin between High Street in Georgetown and the DC line.

At about the same time, the Tenallytown and Rockville Railroad extended the line north to Bethesda at Alta Vista. At the end of the line, they built Bethesda Park, a Victorian era "trolley park" to encourage people to use the line on weekends and evenings. By the summer of 1893 it was a very popular amusement park, with roller coasters, a dance hall, and a hotel. In the fall of 1896 Bethesda park was destroyed by a hurricane, and the park closed, never to reopen.

In 1897 the two railroads merged and by 1900 they had extended all the way to Rockville. The Washington Railway and Electric Company acquired the merged railroads in 1902 and later became part of the Capital Transit. The Rockville trolley line ceased operation in 1935, leaving just gas powered buses as the only mass transit until the Metroline Red line opened in 1984.

Now the original trolley right of way lands are a much beloved Bethesda Trolley Trail. You should definately check it out!

I just came back this evening from a fundraiser for cystic fibrosis. My daughter has cystic fibrosis, and I have tried to raise money for research to find a cure for this deadly genetic disease because of its impact on my family. However, until tonight, it really was a "condition" that "affected" my daughter, but didn't really "touch" my family because she is still very healthy. We are truly blessed in her good health.

However, tonight at the fundraiser I met two mothers with children with CF - one mother has a son who is 25 and very frequently seriously ill as a result, and the other, a young mother in a panic because her two children both have CF. Then, I met a mother whose 15 year old daughter died two years ago from CF. This mother spoke eloquently and painfully of never having the chance to teach her daughter to drive, never having the time to buy her a prom dress, never having the chance to see her dance at her wedding, and never having another chance to hold her and love her and kiss her goodnight. I have a 15 year old who is learning to drive. I have a 15 year old who wants to go shopping. I love my 15 year old and I love to kiss her goodnight.

There are thousands of worthy causes in the world. There are causes to save children, to rescue whales, to foster lost Shar-peis and bring rabbits or bee hives to farmers in Sri-Lanka. There are people working for world peace, to bring education to young girls in Afghanistan, and to slow global warming. EACH cause is valid. EACH cause needs your help. BUT.... You can only save one piece of the world. Pick that one piece that you care about and try to save it. Lend your voice to that one cause and make a difference.

Each of those causes, children in need, homeless puppies, AIDS patients, polar bears on a melting ice floe, and tsunami victims, needs your help. You can't save them all, but you can save one. What are you going to work for? Who are you going to try to save? You are so blessed living in this country, enjoying the freedoms that we do, and having the career that we all love. Pick something and give back.

ACTIVE RAIN HAS SO MANY VOICES AND SO MANY PEOPLE. CAN"T WE PUT OUR VOICES TOGETHER AND CREATE A CHORUS? A RAINBOW OF GOOD WILL AND HOPE? We don't have to agree on the cause - just go out individually and make the effort for something that matters to you. No approval needed - no commitment - no promises. Just the effort and the change.

Think of it as "Paying it Forward."