I first became aware of
The River House Complex in the mid 70's when a military man associated with the Pentagon who I met at one of the bars invited me back to his place.
And while I do not now recall which building he lived in, our sexual relationship would span the course of several years.
So, in recent years, when I have visited the
Pentagon Row Complex which Richard introduced me to in February 2006 ... seldom have I not remembered that first night or the subsequent times, in the 70's, that I visited the
Pentagon man at his apartment at the
River House.
And, it has also been since my February 2006 visit to Pentagon Row that I have contemplated an ongoing project that would explore the River House Complex.
So, on
Friday, 2 May 2008, and while waiting for Costco Photos at Pentagon City to develop some of my
2001 National Police Week negatives (which had never before been processed) ... I took a stroll over to the
Pentagon Row Complex and launched
The River House Complex Exploration Project.
Here is an interesting article at Wikipedia regarding the history of
Pentagon City. And it is also in this same exploration that I came across the December 1995 Washington Post article
River House:Island of Calm in a Retail Swirl by Steven Ginsberg.
While I do not now recall which building 'my friend' lived in, I learned in this exploration the the
River House complex consists of three buildings - The Ashley, The Potomac and The James.
Click the above image to view my
River House Complex and
Pentagon City photosets.
As I strolled along South Joyce Street and snapped pictures of The River House complex and Grace Murray Hopper Park on Friday afternoon, 2 May 2008, I could almost smell the scent of the cherry and dogwood blossoms that filled the air of the River House complex when the morning after my first visit, in the spring of some year in the 70's, that I walked through the parking to my VW Beetle and drove back to my apartment in Hyattsville MD.
Even now, and while I do not know where he is or if he is still alive, whenever I think of him or pass by the River House complex ... I can still smell
the scent of that particular Pentagon man.
During my NoMa Corridor Walk this past Saturday I stopped in at the Artomatic 2008 location at the Capitol Plaza 1 Building situated at the corner of First and M Streets in NE to get a few INSTALLATION photos and video footage.
