The latest from the 11th Street Bridge Park Project

From our friends at the 11th Street Bridge Park Project:

We were so thrilled with the presentations we heard from the four design competition finalists last week at our "Meet Your Designers" event, we wanted to share them with you too. Looking forward, we're excited to announce a series of Twitter campaigns for all of our dedicated followers to keep up to date on our progress and have a little fun at the same time. Keep on reading to learn more about each of these developments and how you can get involved!

NEW! Find Finalists' Presentations Online

June 10 was an important day in our design competition timeline. Our four final design teams gathered for an all-day briefing with city officials, economic advisors, and representatives from the National Park Service to gain a thorough understanding of the area around the 11th Street Bridge Park site. Visit our blog to get a behind-the-scenes scoop on this meeting. The day concluded with the four teams presenting their work and design approach to nearly 100 community members. Weren't able to make it? No worries! All of their presentations are now posted right here on our website.

Touring the Anacostia River

Monday night, we were invited to give a tour of the 11th Street Bridge Park site, but this time on a boat! Near Southeast Community Partners gathered approximately 30 nearby residents and representatives from the Anacostia Watershed Society, Federal City Council, Anacostia Riverkeepers and Living Classrooms to engage folks with the Anacostia River - a key goal of the 11th Street Bridge Park. It was a beautiful evening, tons of fun and we ended up building more champions for the project.

Coming Up: Twitter Campaigns 

We're almost at the end of our first summer Twitter campaign, which highlights the legacy of urban theorist William "Holly" Whyte using the hashtag #hollywhyte. Next week, get ready to take a virtual road trip, as we "travel" around the country visiting sites that--like the 11th Street Bridge Park--aim to transform old or abandoned places into sites of placemaking and community. Curious to know where the majestic place pictured at left is located? Tune in starting on Sunday to find out! We are also getting ready to launch a Throwback Thursdays campaign (popularly known as #tbt) to reflect on the rich history of the Anacostia River and its riverfront communities. If you have any historic images of these areas that you'd like to share, please e-mail them to me at scott@bridgepark.org and include your Twitter handle, if applicable, so we can give you credit!

Staying in Touch!

Hearing from you and making sure you know about our progress are two of our biggest priorities at 11th Street Bridge Park. You're already making that communication possible by joining our email list, and for that, thank you! To keep daily tabs on our work, experience the fun of our Twitter campaigns, and to interact with us online, consider following us on Twitter. We look forward to having you join the conversation!

All the best and hope to see you soon,

Scott Kratz, 11th Street Bridge Park Director