Celebrate Women's History Month, Get Your Irish On, BID Staff Making Moves, and More

DowntownDC Digest

German actress Hedwig Reicher wearing a costume of "Columbia" with other suffrage pageant participants in front of the Treasury Building on March 3, 1913.

PHOTO CREDIT: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

Celebrate Women's History Month,
Get Your Irish On,
BID Staff Making Moves, and More

March 8, 2023

Dear DowntownDC Stakeholder,

Whether it’s a paper day planner or a go-to app, it’s time to pull out your calendar, because we have options to help fill it up this month. Cherry blossoms will be blooming before you know it, there are many arts and culture events to experience, and it’s almost time to dress in green and drink Guinness.

Of course, a number of incredible happenings are planned to honor Women’s History Month, and now is the perfect time to learn about the eight call boxes in DowntownDC that tell the stories of historic women.

The BID also has some news: We now have a new chief operating officer! Get to know Nabavi Oliver. And learn about the new appointed role for Debra Kilpatrick Byrd, the BID’s director of homeless services.

And for this newsletter’s Spotlight features, we introduce you to two great downtown destinations: L Street Hair Station and the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum. Learn about them, share the stories, and visit them for yourself.

As for the DowntownDC restaurants you love visiting, now is your chance to nominate them for this year's RAMMY Awards. Nominate them by the March 31 deadline.

Catch up on all of this, the news, and more in this issue of the Digest.

Celebrate Women’s History Month

From participating in fitness events and honoring women in jazz to celebrating International Women’s Day and seeing musicals about historic women, there is a variety of things to do in DowntownDC for Women’s History Month.

See all the events

What’s In That Call Box? (What Is a Call Box?)

The small, oblong cast-iron boxes on posts that you may come across around the District were used for emergency communications decades ago, and today many of them still stand, offering perfect little homes for public art. This month, we turn your attention to eight of them in DowntownDC, each of which now celebrates a historic woman. Take a look at the list, then work your way around to see them in person.

DowntownDC call boxes honor historic women

Meet Our New COO: Nabavi Oliver

After a nationwide search, the DowntownDC BID is pleased to announce that our own Nabavi Oliver has been selected to serve as chief operating officer. Nabavi has been with the BID since 2017, serving as the director of administration. In his new role, he will provide day-to-day oversight of operations and lead strategic initiatives to support growth and success.

Meet Nabavi

Cheers to St. Patrick’s Day

Whether you’re looking for a bar crawl, traditional music, or a place to find a proper Guinness pour, we have a list of events and places for you to wear green this St. Patrick’s Day (and other days in March).

It’s the luck of the Irish

DowntownDC BID’s Debra Kilpatrick Byrd Appointed
to the D.C. Commission on Poverty

The Mayor’s Office of Talent and Appointments has confirmed Debra Kilpatrick Byrd, the DowntownDC BID’s director of homeless services, to serve among the 19-member District of Columbia Commission on Poverty. The Commission was created in 2020 to study issues surrounding poverty. “I hope to achieve a long-term, sustainable contribution to a city-wide plan that will ensure the advancement of policies and initiatives aimed at elevating the needs of impoverished District of Columbia communities,” Byrd says.

Debra looks ahead to her service on the commission

DowntownDC Spotlight

L STREET HAIR STATION

Clients call this barber shop “a downtown institution” for a reason: Owner Martel Guinyard and his team have been providing regular service here since 2008. “Stylists like Martel keep some services alive, like the hot steamed towel,” a colleague says. “For me, it’s the family environment that we have — that’s something you don’t get everywhere. I learn a lot from him, and the thing about us is, we don’t stop learning.”

1400 L Street NW | Read More

CLARA BARTON MISSING SOLDIERS OFFICE MUSEUM

If people know who Clara Barton was, it’s most likely because of her service as a Civil War nurse and her efforts in the creation of the American Red Cross. What’s less likely is that people know everything that Barton (1821-1912) did before, during, and immediately after the war. In an unassuming building on 7th Street, you can learn the incredible story of this historic woman at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum.

437 7th Street NW | Read More

Nominate your favorite DowntownDC restaurants
for the 2023 RAMMY Awards

Whether it’s a local roundup, lists of national favorites, or James Beard semifinalists, it’s clear DowntownDC has a plethora of fantastic dining options. Here’s another chance to uplift your favorites: Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington is accepting nominations for the five publicly voted categories in the 2023 RAMMY Awards, including favorite gathering place, best brunch, best bar, favorite fast bites, and hottest sandwich spot.