Youth Academy and The Raven

On Don Rockwell awhile back I had mentioned I was fantasizing that the Youth Academy on 14th between V and W would be converted into a bar or restaurant.  When I had peeked in, I saw it had tons of character: worn, hardwood floors, old pictures on the wall, a funky interior: the kind of space that’s too often torn down for something more corporate, it seems.

Then I went inside and met Eugene Hughes and felt like a jerk for wanting the space to be converted to a restaurant when it’s so important to kids in the neighborhood.  And, by the way–the space is much cooler than I thought.  The back room is a boxing ring! Go inside after work someday and check out the boxers and the folks gathered round the ring.  In addition, it’s funded by St. Thomas Church as a place for kids to get after school help and to hang out.  When I was there, two guys were tutoring a couple of elementary school girls who lived nearby who I’ve seen before in Meridian Hill Park.

Eugene Hughes is a character, too.  When I met him, he wheeled up in a wheelchair, then stood up to shake my hand and take me on a tour of the pictures (he’s weak from cancer, I believe).  Some things I learned about him: 1) He was a Black Panther.  2) He was Sugar Ray Leonard’s first coach.  3) There’s a picture of him with just about every famous Washingtonian you could ever imagine.   4) He was Washingtonian Magazine’s Person of the Year in the early ’80s.  And, he’s still around and going strong.  Should you pop in, someone will lead you to him and he’ll tell you many tales (many of which I googled and confirmed.)

Before I stopped by, I imagined someplace like the Raven opening a second outpost here.  And while no one is buying the place anytime soon (– as far as I know) Mark from the Raven did mention that they’ve bought a space with character uptown. Any guesses as to where? For those of you who’d rather not make the trek to Mt. Pleasant,  look out for a sibling location coming soon. 

flickr photo by a nameless yeast.