In Search of CO2LED-2

Though it is not uncommon for me to embark on Friday or Saturday Nights photo walks or projects and in the process bring attention to cultural events in the city most of my photography occur during the day or early evening.

However, since in recent years I have found it increasingly more difficult to deal with the heat during the dog days of summer ... this past Wednesday and as I did last August, instead of venturing out into the streets during the day I waited until the sun had almost gone down before heading out to Crystal City ... in search of the CO2LED-2 art installation.

While it would have been much easier for me to have visited the CO2LED installation in Rosslyn I decided to take the train out to Crystal City FIRST and, perhaps, on the way back stop by the installation in Rosslyn. Primarily, because and not unlike my interest in the L'Enfant Plaza which was designed by I. M. Pei, the Crystal City Complex has been on my list for more than a year. That is not to say that Rosslyn is not on my list as well because it is. But, my interests in Crystal City also has a great deal to do with the Crystal City BID.

Not unlike my interests in the Downtown DC BID or Golden Triangle BID.

Arriving at the Crystal City Complex shortly before 8:45 PM and would spend more than an hour ... in search of CO2LED-2. Cognitive that, as a black male, my very presence and, in deed, existence aroused suspicion I was not deterred nor afraid to inquire of folks passing by in the streets, a concierge at a hotel and two policeman who were dining at Chipotle if they knew where the CO2LED art installation was.

When I explained to the policeman that there, eventually, will be three installations but, at this time, only two had been constructed - one in Rosslyn and the second in Crystal City - and that the one in Crystal City was at the south entrance to Crystal City at Crystal Drive and Jefferson Davis Highway ... one of the policeman directed me to walk left (south) along Crystal Drive which would intersect, eventually, with Route 1.

If I had known that the CO2LED-2 installation was almost in Del Ray which is where Del Ray Glass Company is I certainly would not have taken the train to Crystal City. My ex-lover and house mate Greg Willis worked at Del Ray Glass Company for many years. After walking several blocks and south of the to the Potomac Yard Complex I, as a black male, decided to head back to WDC.

While I did not find CO2LED-2, I still regard the trip to Crystal City as a success. Just walking around the complex, at night, without the interference and obstruction of others, provided me the opportunity to get a better perspective of the Crystal City Complex. Which will be to my advantage during my next trip.

As I headed back into the SW WDC and reflecting on the haunting similarites between Crystal City, Rosslyn and the I. M. L'Enfant Plaza Complex, I have a better appreciation and understanding of my interests in these particular urban complexes.

What comes to mind when I think of Rosslyn, Crystal City and the I. M . Pei complex at L'Enfant Plaza are the terms "Desolate - Urban - Metropolis - Architecture".