Apartment Showcase Blog

Artomatic for the people: Patrons admire photographer Geoff Ault's work at the previous Crystal City Artomatic show in 2007. (ElvertBarnes via Flickr)

It’s back, that sporadic Washington, D.C., area festival featuring artists of all stripes: Artomatic. And I do mean all stripes: visual, music, film, performance, poetry and fashion. That’s more stripes than a tiger … but not as pretty.

This year’s arts extravaganza takes place in Crystal City in Arlington from May 18 to June 24. So the lucky Crystal City-area renter has more than a month to soak up all this art.

I went to an earlier Artomatic held in Southeast, Washington, D.C., and liked it. According to their site: “Artomatic creates community, builds audience and expands economic development by transforming available space into a playground for artistic expression.”

[ Related: Northwest’s Kreeger Museum Takes Art Outdoors ]

And all you mere amateurs out there, you too can participate in Artomatic, as it’s a non-juried event. While it’s too late to register this year, keep this in mind for future festivals. You don’t have to be a dime-store Joan Miró to be part of the fun, either; you can also volunteer.

I know it’s a cliché, but I’ll say it anyway: The best thing about this is that it’s free. OK, maybe one of the best things. But still, free’s free. Because it’s free, they need your support. Here’s another way to support them: Buy some Artomatic gear.

In 2009, the last year the festival was held, Artomatic attracted more than 76,000 patrons who saw the work of 2,500-plus performers and artists. These are huge numbers no matter how you look at it. This year’s partners include the Crystal City Business Improvement District and Washington City Paper.

[ Related: Shirlington’s Signature Theatre Takes Lead Role in Area Arts Scene ]

There will be food and drink here (beer, wine), so you can really make a night of it. Artomatic generally takes place in the evenings and is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. On Fridays and Saturdays it stays open to 1 a.m. As always, check the site for further details.

Another great thing about this event? It’s literally across the street from the Crystal City Metro stop on the system’s Blue/Yellow Line.

Really, this is one of the most unique festivals you’ll find anywhere – and it’s right at your doorstep.

Cellar dweller: With a network of offices and retailers located below the street, Crystal City is a veritable underground city. It's possible for residents to travel to and from work -- with shopping and dining in between -- without ever stepping outside. (Google)

How many neighborhoods have names that remind you of some groupie that Bret Michaels might have had his arm around circa ’86 on the Sunset Strip? Big hair, pancake makeup, high heels … wait, which one am I talking about? All apologies to the truly sweet, nice Crystals out there … but you gotta admit that I’m on to something.

The funny thing about reality is that it can be pretty ironic, too. Culturally, the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington, Va., does its best to live up to the polar opposite image presented by the L.A. music scene of the 1980s. Preppies, hipsters, solidly middle-class and upper middle-class families, and college educated, probable Greenpeace activist types don’t remind me of what you’d see backstage at the Whiskey a Go Go some 25 years ago.

[ Related: Arlington: The Self-Styled Hipster Capital of the Metro Area ]

For good or ill, this entry has little to do with Marshall stacks, stacked hair or promiscuous women with hearts of gold.

Today, we’ll be talking about the Crystal City neighborhood in Arlington. You know, Crystal City and other Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland outliers really owe the capital quite a debt. Not only for the obvious: no Washington, D.C., no suburbs. But also for the 1910 Building Height Act, which, according to this 1994 article from The Washington Post, prohibits any building being higher than “the width of the right-of-way of the street or avenue on which a building fronts, plus 20 feet.”

Further, this law piggybacked a similar measure 11 years earlier that said buildings in the capital “could be no higher than the Capitol Building or other significant government edifices.” This means that Crystal City and the rest of the metropolitan suburbs can go up a bit higher. (But not as high as some would like, as the Federal Aviation Administration reportedly has a height restriction on buildings near the flight path of Reagan National Airport. You can’t win.)

Again, where’s all this discursive yuckity-yuck leading us? It’s leading you, the apartment hunter, to the great neighborhood of Crystal City.

What’s so great about it, you rightly ask? For one thing, being just across the river from the big city, it has two great transportation options.

First, there’s the Crystal City station on the Metro’s Blue/Yellow Line, and the station just to the north, Pentagon City, also on the Blue/Yellow Line. The second (or third) way to get to the capital by rail is by riding the Virginia Railway Express, which has a stop in Crystal City as well. And most of you reading this know you can take the VRE the other way too, all the way to Fredericksburg, Va.

Crystal City is the brainchild of Robert Smith. No, not that Robert Smith (if that doofus created a neighborhood, it would be called Mopey City). This Robert Smith, the recently departed one.

As a young man working for his father in the early ‘60s, Smith had the idea to develop this swath of Arlington land that was a bit rundown. With it being across the river from the capital city, near both the Pentagon and what was then plain old Washington National Airport (at that time, Ronald Reagan was a couple years away from a gubernatorial victory in California), he saw the potential. With a keen eye for marketing or symbolism, Smith placed a crystal chandelier in the lobby of the first apartment building he built there, which he named Crystal House. That set off a run of buildings, each developed in the area by the family business, that were named Crystal something or other, and the rest is history.

Today, the folks at the Crystal City Business Improvement District (BID) claim that the neighborhood is Arlington’s largest downtown. The site also claims “Crystal City is ACTIVE, ARTFUL, ACCESSIBLE, and GREEN.” (Those are their caps, not mine.) We’ll take their word for it.

Not only that, but BID initiated Crystal Green, a program focused on minimizing the environmental impact of the neighborhood’s businesses and residences by a variety of measures. Plus, this whole patch of land is very bike friendly. In fact, they seem to make fitness a way of life around these parts.

[ Related: Crystal City: Get On Your Bikes and Ride! ]

What’s more, Crystal City is a neighborhood filled with restaurants (Morton’s The Steakhouse, Neramitra Thai), coffee bars/eateries (Starbucks, Così, Dickey’s Frozen Custard), apparel shops (Dressbarn, Kelly’s Menswear) …

OK, I’m getting tired of hearing my inner voice expounding the pleasures of this great place. Just come on over, check it out and stay awhile.

Just don’t tell Tommy or Bret. We don’t wanna dirty the place up any more than we have to. Don’t even tell Robert Smith: too much mascara and red lipstick.

A day at the races: Capital Bikeshare machines feature LED lights, three speeds and a convenient rack up front. Plus, stations are open 24 hours a day, so you're never without a ride.

With apologies to Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, Crystal City is becoming pretty well-known as a bike epicenter of Northern Virginia. Think I’m kidding? Check out what a little organization called the Crystal City Business Improvement District (BID) has to say, and I quote: “Crystal City is the region’s leader in bicycle culture.” OK, sounds pretty good so far. “Whether an avid or occasional commuter, a serious competitor, a race enthusiast, or strictly a recreational rider, Crystal City can meet any cyclist’s needs.”

OK, those are strong words. If you’re a would-be bicycle enthusiast or a seasoned rider and you want to rent an apartment in Crystal City in the fair county of Arlington, you probably want proof that this is a bike Mecca. OK. Depending on how anal you are, things either get off to a very good or just plain great start with the news that the League of American Bicyclists awarded the Crystal City BID silver status in their Bicycle Friendly Business program.

[ Related: Arlington: A Perfect Fit for the Health-Conscious Renter ]

Sure, it’s not the organization’s highest designation, but it’s a solid beginning. Let’s see what else Crystal City has to offer bikers.

Number one, the BID is part of Capital Bikeshare, a metro-area program that allows people to share roughly 1,100 bikes at 114 stations in Washington, D.C., and Arlington. If that sounds pretty impressive, it is: In fact, it’s the largest bike sharing program in the United States. There are 110 bikes at 14 stations in and around Crystal City. An annual membership is $75, a 30-day membership is $25, and a 24-hour membership is $5 bucks. (There are fees for trips over 30 minutes, however. Check the site for more details.)

Now you’re talking. What else ya got? There’s the Revolution Cycles City Hub, a bike-sharing program that’s somewhat similar to Capital Bikeshare (one of its partners is none other than the aforementioned Crystal City BID). Only, Revolution is exclusive to the Crystal City neighborhood itself, and you can share a bike (a Trek Allant) for up to three hours at a shot.

Check out this map to see if you or your business is eligible for the program. (Though in addition, Revolution Cycles City Hub is open to partnering with businesses outside that specific area on a case-by-case basis.) Annual fees are $25 bucks, and if you cross that three-hour threshold, the price is a bicycle chain across your buttocks! Ha, I’m sure some of you out there in Cyberville might even like something like that, but alas, take it to San Francisco. It’ll actually cost you an extra fiver an hour for that infraction.

If you keep your bike out all day, the cap is 25 smackers per 24-hour period. But we know you, and you’d never do something like that, right? Plus, if you just want to flat-out rent one, you can (and you don’t have to live here to do it, either). It’s a $20 minimum for the first four hours for the Trek Allant. The higher-end Trek Madone will cost you a lot more. Check out the company’s FAQ page for more information.

All well and good, you might say. But hey there, blogger person, who undoubtedly drives a car, I already have a @#%& bike! So, shut up about bike share this, bike rental that, and tell me more about how I can get around on some trails! OK pal, just dial it down a smidge. There are children reading this blog. Think about the children! OK, you apologize? Great, now we can proceed.

Alright … living in Crystal City gives you access to both the Mount Vernon Trail and the Four Mile Run Trail. In addition, the Crystal City BID has been busy investing in infrastructure to make it easier for riders to commute to work. In 2010, Crystal City participated in the Washington Area Bicyclist Association’s Bike to Work Day, hosting a pit stop in the town’s Water Park. Here is an overall bike map for Arlington County.

So, have I convinced you? You’re sold on the fact that Crystal City is about as bike-friendly as it gets around these parts and you want to move here? Fantastic! So, not to be redundant, get on your bike and ride on over!