Norton Statement on the Fire at Frager’s Hardware Store
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) made the following statement on the fire at Frager's Hardware store yesterday evening.
"Yesterday was marked by deep contrasts. I came home from a rare bipartisan event of fun when Republicans and Democrats went to the Nats vs. Mets game together. I returned to my Capitol Hill home, not far from Frager's Hardware, to find the air pungent with smoke. I first thought of the always helpful Frager's employees, and I am grateful to hear that no one was seriously injured or killed in the terrible fire that engulfed our neighborhood hardware store. I understand two firefighters were injured, and I hope they are well.
"When a store that has been in the same location for almost a century burns to the ground, you recognize that you've lost more than a neighborhood store – what burned last night was a neighborhood institution, stirring emotion not unlike how we felt when Eastern Market burned a few years ago. I will not only miss Frager's on the inside, I will also miss it on the outside, where so many of us went this season for flowers and plants. I believe these fires have occurred on Capitol Hill because it is one of the oldest residential communities in the District, and many of our neighborhood landmarks are valued in no small part because they are still on the ground where they began to build their reputation. Frager's has been a thriving business throughout the era of mega hardware stores. It has thrived because of its service ethic and because neighborhoods like ours need their own stores and amenities tailored to our special needs.
"On the 90th anniversary of Frager's, three years ago, I put my floor remarks congratulating Frager's in the Congressional Record. I am looking forward to another opportunity to go on the House floor to salute Frager's and to say that, like Eastern Market, Frager's will rise again. No fire can destroy a neighborhood institution – not in our Capitol Hill neighborhood."
Published: June 6, 2013