Newsroom
For Immediate Release
Monday, October 02, 2006
Contact: Kelly Rindfusz 703-228-0890 (voice) 703-228-4743(TTY)
Artist Designed Bike Rental Kiosk Opens in Rosslyn
Arlington Partnership Supports Both Small Business and Public Art
ARLINGTON, Va.– Located just across the Potomac from Georgetown and a few blocks from the Custis/Mount Vernon Trail, the Bike Oasis is an ideal starting point for a bicycle tour of Washington, D.C. and Arlington. But that’s not the only thing that sets the Bike Oasis apart from the average bike rental shop. The business is the pilot for a kiosk concept within Arlington’s Small Business Initiative, and also serves as the core of an environmentally conscious public art display.
Launched in September, the Bike Oasis is operating out of a temporary storage unit in Rosslyn that’s been transformed by Alabama folk artist Butch Anthony through a wrapping of his signature “hogwire” technique. In his most recent project, Anthony incorporates salvaged materials from his Alabama home and the Arlington community – including street signs and bike parts – to create a colorful and tactile crazy quilt that’s based on the “green” principle of reuse.
Friday, October 6th will mark the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for this innovative project. Arlington County Board Chairman, Chris Zimmerman will make opening remarks, followed by County Board member Jay Fisette. Stephen Marks, owner of Bike Oasis, and a representative of the land owner, The JBG Companies, also will speak. Artist Butch Anthony will take questions following the ceremony. The event takes place at 1901 N. Moore St. (corner of N. 19th St. and N. Moore St.) from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. It will feature raffle prizes (grand prize is Trek mountain bike), giveaways, workshops on bike maintenance, a demonstration by the artist, refreshments and more!
The project is the first in a series of creative new efforts designed to help the County’s small businesses thrive. “Arlington has a tremendous variety of small businesses, each with its own unique flavor,” said Zimmerman. “They are essential to making the County such an ideal place to live, work and visit, and we’re more focused than ever on helping them do well.”
“Having retail kiosks in major pedestrian neighborhoods – like those you see in so many European cities – creates great opportunities for small businesses,” said Arlington County Board member, Jay Fisette. “The concept is an excellent fit for Arlington, since each of our ‘urban villages’ has a bustling street life throughout the day and well into the evening.”
Seventy-five percent of all businesses in Arlington employ 20 or fewer people and provide 37,000 jobs. Arlington announced its Small Business Initiative this summer, tripling the resources dedicated to small business assistance and helping to ensure its neighborhoods retain the interesting – even “quirky” – character that distinguishes the County from other communities. The kiosk pilot is one of several ways in which Arlington is working to recruit and expand its small businesses.
The Rosslyn bicycle kiosk was funded by The Rosslyn Fund. The project partners include Arlington County, The JBG Companies, Bike the Sites, Rosslyn Renaissance and Rosslyn Business Improvement District (BID).
Bike Oasis is located at 1906 N. Moore Street, just one block from the Rosslyn Metro station and two blocks from the Custis/Mount Vernon trail. (Phone: (202) 842-BIKE x302, Web Site: www.BikeOasis.com.) The Bike Oasis offers Bike and Roll rentals and is operated by Bike the Sites, a guided tour and rental company based in Washington, D.C. at The Old Post Office Pavilion. It’s open Friday through Monday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. through mid-November, offering mountain bikes, performance bikes, jog strollers, and umbrella strollers.
About the Artist: Butch Anthony takes his inspiration from society’s castoff metal parts found in junkyards, backyards or the side of the road. A self-taught artist who hails from Seale, a small town on Alabama’s eastern border, Anthony’s style of work is grounded in rural southern traditions of making do with what the environment provides. Anthony is the proprietor of The Museum of Wonder http://museumofwonder.com.
Arlington, Va., is a world-class residential, business and tourist location that was originally part of the "10 miles square" parcel of land surveyed in 1791 to be the Nation's Capital. It is the geographically smallest self-governing county in the United States, occupying slightly less than 26 square miles. Arlington maintains a rich variety of stable neighborhoods, quality schools and enlightened land use, and received the Environmental Protection Agency's highest award for "Smart Growth" in 2002. Home to some of the most influential organizations in the world - including the Pentagon - Arlington stands out as one of America's preeminent places to live, visit and do business.
