Do You Think the Capital Fringe Festival Would Be a Good Fit on Georgia Avenue?
Yesterday, a reader brought an article from the City Paper to my attention that focused on the future of the Capital Fringe Festival (Capital Fringe Web site here). The article is a follow up to one from last spring and collectively they focus on the Capital Fringe’s need to move from the Mount Vernon Square area and find new quarters elsewhere in the District. The article from last week includes Fringe’s “ambitious plans to procure a long-term lease of a 10,000- to 15,000-square-foot new space, which the organization will program year-round.”
The question that was put to me was essentially this: Do you think Capital Fringe would be a good fit on Georgia Avenue?
My initial reaction was sure, why wouldn’t it be? We have good transportation, past surveys of community wants and needs have identified arts as desirable, and (very important right now) our recent developments seem to fill the residential units quickly, but have difficulty filling the commercial spaces at this time. I also think that something like the Capital Fringe could also be an anchor, hub, or destination that would not only promote the arts, but help generate additional foot traffic that in turn would support our existing neighborhood small businesses.
I’ve already begun reaching out to the developers who I know have planned projects on Georgia Avenue to get a sense of their responses but don’t have any news to share on that front. I am interested in feedback from residents. Would this be a good fit for Georgia Avenue? If so, is there an existing building that would be ideal, or would this need to be a goal for a future development project?
Below is a rendering that the City Paper posted showing what the Fringe’s new space could look.
Tags: Arts and Humanities, Development, Georgia Avenue corridor
You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.
Park View, D.C. 
April 1, 2014 at 8:16 am
Absolutely yes. How about the building at the corner of Georgia and Lamont?
April 1, 2014 at 12:22 pm
+1 Completely agree. I walked by there yesterday, the space is pretty big (not sure on exact sq. ft.) and would help act as a hub to link the northern part of Georgia Ave. south of the metro, to the section just north of Howard.
April 1, 2014 at 8:46 am
Why not build it as a part of the Park Morton redevelopment? Or maybe a part of Bruce Monroe park could be a mixed use theater.
I think originally the park wasn’t meant to be permanent so maybe it could be shrunk slightly I support an iconic 15000 square feet theater building.
Or on Otis and Ga Ave. I know there was talk of apartments there by maybe it could be a mixed apartment theater?
April 2, 2014 at 1:04 pm
I definitely agree with your third paragraph, Kent. Such a venue would draw people to our neighborhood and the businesses on Georgia Avenue. I strongly, strongly support this.
April 3, 2014 at 11:15 am
Hey – Julianne at Fringe here 🙂 lets get together and talk about all the possibilities! email me: julianne@capitalfringe.org
April 9, 2014 at 1:23 pm
Fringe would be a fantastic addition to the neighborhood! I’d be thrilled if this worked out.
July 11, 2014 at 7:01 am
[…] I’m particularly happy to see a Capital Fringe event in the neighborhood. Based on feedback I received in April, there was significant support of the Capital Fringe in the community. Below are more details […]