Kim Bender
@kimpbender.bsky.social
DC not Washington | reviving old things
Reposted by Kim Bender
DC People: for your rainy day inside, I wrote about our nosy Federal in-law.
Who made NPS the boss of DC?
Et in arcadia, Hoover?
www.thebirthofacapital.info
October 4, 2026 at 5:40 PM
DC People: for your rainy day inside, I wrote about our nosy Federal in-law.
Neil makes a compelling argument that the site of the “Triumphal Arch h” - which sits on the axis between Robert E. Lee’s ancestral home and the Lincoln Memorial - should actually be a memorial to Emancipation.
www.thebirthofacapital.info/who-came-up-...
www.thebirthofacapital.info/who-came-up-...
Who came up with Memorial Bridge?
The answer should give us pause.
www.thebirthofacapital.info
September 17, 2026 at 6:39 PM
Neil makes a compelling argument that the site of the “Triumphal Arch h” - which sits on the axis between Robert E. Lee’s ancestral home and the Lincoln Memorial - should actually be a memorial to Emancipation.
www.thebirthofacapital.info/who-came-up-...
www.thebirthofacapital.info/who-came-up-...
Reposted by Kim Bender
You heard the lady
![[woman with cornucopia of coins]
INVESTMENT
IN
WASHINGTON-
REAL ESTATE
AND THE
PROFITS THAT COME FROM IT](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:y2z7qjl6m6pqpn3msjo7j55q/bafkreic3lb6ktll7k5btuoqdzdrvxexhpnmpoyetsaakz34x5cztsx6bma)
August 13, 2026 at 8:45 PM
You heard the lady
Reposted by Kim Bender
Truly understated
”The development collapsed in 1909 when the Chevy Chase Land Company refused to release title. Belmont exemplified the ambition of Washington's early-20th century Black community and foreshadowed the coming struggle over housing segregation.”
August 9, 2026 at 2:38 AM
Truly understated
Reposted by Kim Bender
Went to the Memorial Bridge equestrian sculptures today and it’s not a reflecting pool situation, the work was done by top notch craftspeople from The Gilders’ Studio and you can faintly see the gold leaf squares in the last pic. You can hate the expenditure and aesthetic, but it’s the real deal.
August 1, 2026 at 10:29 PM
Went to the Memorial Bridge equestrian sculptures today and it’s not a reflecting pool situation, the work was done by top notch craftspeople from The Gilders’ Studio and you can faintly see the gold leaf squares in the last pic. You can hate the expenditure and aesthetic, but it’s the real deal.
Reposted by Kim Bender
The size of the backlog at most archives I have used is enough for a jobs program itself, and then another to begin to interpret the material.
I say this every six months, but a WPA-style effort of historians to make sources available using all the un- and under-employed historians would change historical scholarship for centuries.
It's so ugh that the Middle English translation of the Mirror of Simple Souls is at present available only in an obscure Italian journal from the late 60s. Is EETS on this?
Anyway here it is as an OCR'd PDF if you want it
1drv.ms/b/c/feb533ec...
Anyway here it is as an OCR'd PDF if you want it
1drv.ms/b/c/feb533ec...
July 28, 2026 at 6:52 PM
The size of the backlog at most archives I have used is enough for a jobs program itself, and then another to begin to interpret the material.
Reposted by Kim Bender
People, including Matt Seaton, love walls, especially the weather-grizzled, lichen-blotched stone walls that crisscross New England. Seaton writes about his decision to quit his day job as an editor at this magazine and become a part-time waller.
The True History of New England 's Stone Walls
Why we love them, and why I build them.
bit.ly
July 19, 2026 at 10:15 PM
People, including Matt Seaton, love walls, especially the weather-grizzled, lichen-blotched stone walls that crisscross New England. Seaton writes about his decision to quit his day job as an editor at this magazine and become a part-time waller.
Reposted by Kim Bender
There’s something for you in the DC archives.
Check out thousands of photos of midcentury D.C.
The District of Columbia Archives has released its largest digital collection of historic photos
51st.news
July 18, 2026 at 1:23 PM
There’s something for you in the DC archives.
Absolutely 100% agree
Ahead of its 250th birthday, I make the case that the greatest work of American art ever produced is made of garbage and was assembled at the behest of God by a Black man working the night shift as a janitor in DC johnpaulbrammer.substack.com/p/americas-g...
America’s Greatest Work of Art Is Trash
Alternative title: FEAR NOT
johnpaulbrammer.substack.com
July 1, 2026 at 2:11 AM
Absolutely 100% agree
Reposted by Kim Bender
Every hometown’s got the ominous megastructure. What is yours?
June 26, 2026 at 12:04 AM
Every hometown’s got the ominous megastructure. What is yours?
Took a detour through the Great American State Fair. Sometimes DC is a mind-boggling city.
June 25, 2026 at 11:21 PM
Took a detour through the Great American State Fair. Sometimes DC is a mind-boggling city.
Reposted by Kim Bender
Many people have been saying that adaptive reuse is the future of architecture... well if you look at billed hours, the future is already here.
www.bloomberg.com
June 21, 2026 at 7:36 PM
Many people have been saying that adaptive reuse is the future of architecture... well if you look at billed hours, the future is already here.
Reposted by Kim Bender
Believe it or not, there's a rich history to the monuments and water features the president is painting.
So, I've started putting together a scholarly bibliography for the design of the National Mall.
It's heavy on my interests, so if you see I've missed something, let me know in the replies! 🗃️
So, I've started putting together a scholarly bibliography for the design of the National Mall.
It's heavy on my interests, so if you see I've missed something, let me know in the replies! 🗃️
A bibliography for Trump's Washington
If you read one book about the city Donald Trump has set out to transform, make it Howard Gillette's Between Justice & Beauty: Race, Planning, and the Failure of Urban Policy in Washington, D.C. It re...
www.thebirthofacapital.info
June 20, 2026 at 7:17 PM
Believe it or not, there's a rich history to the monuments and water features the president is painting.
So, I've started putting together a scholarly bibliography for the design of the National Mall.
It's heavy on my interests, so if you see I've missed something, let me know in the replies! 🗃️
So, I've started putting together a scholarly bibliography for the design of the National Mall.
It's heavy on my interests, so if you see I've missed something, let me know in the replies! 🗃️
Reposted by Kim Bender
RIP Mark Rothko. You would have loved how the hydrogen peroxide bleach is only turning the Reflecting Pool blue around the perimeter
June 16, 2026 at 10:13 PM
RIP Mark Rothko. You would have loved how the hydrogen peroxide bleach is only turning the Reflecting Pool blue around the perimeter
Reposted by Kim Bender
I wrote about how I am boiling detective stories to their bones to make my book as readable as possible—without making it about me. 🗃️
Am I writing a heist story?
A confession of literary larceny.
www.thebirthofacapital.info
May 28, 2026 at 1:12 PM
I wrote about how I am boiling detective stories to their bones to make my book as readable as possible—without making it about me. 🗃️
Reposted by Kim Bender
When your community removes a racist statue, do like Charlottesville and melt that fucker down. Because if you just stash it in storage, it becomes what @artcrimeprof.bsky.social calls “America’s strategic racism reserve” — ready for redeployment.
www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/s...
www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/s...
Statue of founding father who enslaved hundreds installed at Freedom Plaza
Caesar Rodney’s statue was taken down in Delaware during protests in the summer of 2020 because of Rodney’s legacy of enslaving hundreds of people.
www.nbcwashington.com
May 25, 2026 at 4:57 AM
When your community removes a racist statue, do like Charlottesville and melt that fucker down. Because if you just stash it in storage, it becomes what @artcrimeprof.bsky.social calls “America’s strategic racism reserve” — ready for redeployment.
www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/s...
www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/s...
I’m so excited and proud!!
Alex deserves the job and will be a good leader. Congratulations!
Heurich House Museum Names Alex Fraioli Executive Director
The Heurich House Museum’s Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the selection of Alex Fraioli as our next Executive Director. Currently serving as Interim Executive Director, Alex succeeds longtim...
heurichhouse.org
May 11, 2026 at 8:42 PM
I’m so excited and proud!!
Reposted by Kim Bender
Voting rights
You're Gen X. You can bring back one thing from the 80s. What is it?
May 10, 2026 at 8:54 PM
Voting rights
Reposted by Kim Bender
Good interview with Owen Hatherley. His speculation on the background to these projects is not informed but the alternative visions for the city are excellent.
Opinion | Trump’s Architecture Rankles. But Why?
www.nytimes.com
May 8, 2026 at 5:33 PM
Good interview with Owen Hatherley. His speculation on the background to these projects is not informed but the alternative visions for the city are excellent.
Reposted by Kim Bender
It’s a synthetic fantasy about a future along the Potomac River where rising tides, storm surges, and more intense hurricanes don’t exist.
May 2, 2026 at 11:43 PM
It’s a synthetic fantasy about a future along the Potomac River where rising tides, storm surges, and more intense hurricanes don’t exist.
Reposted by Kim Bender
In a democracy, there is something shameful about the security that surrounds its leaders. But Donald Trump doesn't feel any shame.
Me in the Atlantic on the victory of bunker mentality.
Me in the Atlantic on the victory of bunker mentality.
The White House Is a Fortress. It’s Not Supposed to Look Like One.
Trump’s ballroom would contort a design that is supposed to emphasize democracy and openness.
www.theatlantic.com
May 2, 2026 at 11:13 AM
In a democracy, there is something shameful about the security that surrounds its leaders. But Donald Trump doesn't feel any shame.
Me in the Atlantic on the victory of bunker mentality.
Me in the Atlantic on the victory of bunker mentality.
Reposted by Kim Bender
Reposted by Kim Bender
DC History Conference returns to MLK Library.
📅 May 1–2
⏰ 9:30am–5:30pm
Free, two days of talks, storytelling, and deep dives into DC’s past and present. Students, scholars, artists, and neighbors all in one space.
Plan ahead. Register here: https://bit.ly/4tvmGtq
📅 May 1–2
⏰ 9:30am–5:30pm
Free, two days of talks, storytelling, and deep dives into DC’s past and present. Students, scholars, artists, and neighbors all in one space.
Plan ahead. Register here: https://bit.ly/4tvmGtq
May 1, 2026 at 1:04 AM
DC History Conference returns to MLK Library.
📅 May 1–2
⏰ 9:30am–5:30pm
Free, two days of talks, storytelling, and deep dives into DC’s past and present. Students, scholars, artists, and neighbors all in one space.
Plan ahead. Register here: https://bit.ly/4tvmGtq
📅 May 1–2
⏰ 9:30am–5:30pm
Free, two days of talks, storytelling, and deep dives into DC’s past and present. Students, scholars, artists, and neighbors all in one space.
Plan ahead. Register here: https://bit.ly/4tvmGtq