Washington City Paper: Contents for Mar. 7

The Little Monorail That Could
The cheapest, safest, and most subtle transit solution goes over the heads of Washington-area planners.

Cover Story

Karl Parker earned his way into the monorail hall of fame with a 15-minute movie short. Why Not Monorail? documents the benefits of elevated travel along narrow concrete guideways. It may be the most important argument for this long-overlooked transit technology ever committed to videotape.

But it was with My Own Private Monorail, a more personal work than its sequel, that Parker's vision of Washington-area transit was first realized. In this 1998 film, Parker, 31, chronicles his conversion from harried Beltway commuter to single-minded single-rail devotee. In the climactic scene, Parker is watering the plants in his grandparents' house when he comes across a black-and-white photo of Wuppertal, Germany's eight-mile Schwebebahn, at 102 the oldest operating monorail system in the world.

"I've always known that it was a suspended train, but I suddenly noticed why it was suspended," intones the voice-over. "It was over a river. Apparently, that was all the land that was available at the time for the tracks. Suddenly an epiphany occurred.

"The river...cars...suspension...that's it!" In the film, Parker concludes that the answer is to put suspended monorail along highway medians, and he inserts images of monorail vehicles traveling above the Beltway. A third short film, Monobeam: A Masterplan for Maryland & Virginia, expands the utopian vision even further, showing monorail cars traveling through downtown Silver Spring and along the sides of the American Legion and Wilson Bridges. ... Continued

Issue of Mar. 7 - 13, 2003

News and Features

The Little Monorail That Could
The cheapest, safest, and most subtle transit solution goes over the heads of Washington-area planners.
Cover Story By David Morton
Wet 'n' Riled
The District's model HOPE VI development is a soggy piece of work.
The City By Annys Shin
221 Rhode Island Ave.
2/24/03, 11:38 a.m.
The City By John Metcalfe
Play It Forward
The Mail By Bob Mallery
Bunker Mentality
The Mail By R. Knapp
Sort of Offensive
The Mail By Maria Mason
Share the Land
The Mail By Windy Robertson
Dog for Gambling Commisioner?
The Mail By Beth McCallum
Critical Error
The Mail By Tom Carson
A More Perfect Union
The Mail By Carmella Mazzotta
Corrections
Correction

Columns

As Easy as One, Two, Three, Forfeit
Cheap Seats By Dave McKenna
Dinner Specials
Loose Lips By Elissa Silverman
On a Rollover
Dept. of Media By Erik Wemple
Halfway Empty
City Desk By Annys Shin
Produce Standoff
City Desk By John Metcalfe

Eats

Movies

Noting a Change
Film Review By Mark Jenkins
Objective Truth
Film Review By Arion Berger
Sing, the Beloved Country
Talking Pictures By Mark Jenkins
Tears of the Sun
Film Review By Mark Jenkins
Cradle 2 the Grave
Film Review By Tricia Olszewski

Music

Oddly Inclined
Music Review By Shannon Zimmerman
Bolt Into the Blue
Music Review By Brent Burton
Hearts of Oak
Music Review By Joe Warminsky
Thank You for Giving Me Your Valuable Time
Music Review By Michael Little
In God We Trust
A few of the things we're listening to this week, in no particular order
Music Review By Sarah Godfrey
Berlin
A few of the things we're listening to this week, in no particular order
Music Review By Michael Little
Unloved and Weeded Out
A few of the things we're listening to this week, in no particular order
Music Review By Brent Burton
America
A few of the things we're listening to this week, in no particular order
Music Review By Jason Cherkis
Pigpile
A few of the things we're listening to this week, in no particular order
Music Review By Glenn Dixon
Dialogue
A few of the things we're listening to this week, in no particular order
Music Review By Todd Hitchcock
Early Music
A few of the things we're listening to this week, in no particular order
Music Review By Leonard Roberge

Theater

Cheese and Crackers
Theater Review By Bob Mondello
Sure Shot
Theater Review By Trey Graham

Arts and Events

Midnight Madness
Area movie houses believe they need to cut back on late-night screenings to stay in the black. But does their thinking make any sense?
Arts By Holly Bailey
His Wallpaper Reverie
Art Review By Glenn Dixon
Accumulating Authority
Artifacts By Matthew Summers
Local Contender
Artifacts By Paul Armentano