Several D.C. fire trucks raced to Dottie’s Boutique, located near Eastern Market at 214 Seventh St. SE, to put out a blaze at approximately 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.

According to Tony Dorsey of D.C. Fire and Emergency Services, nobody was injured in the fire. He also said the cause of the blaze appears to be electrical and accidental.

The flames began in a storage room behind the shop before spreading through the building, causing some $20,000 in damage. According to Dorsey, 55 emergency responders were on the scene.

A neighboring deli, Prego, was not damaged, but employees did complain of a strong smoke smell. Representatives from the boutique could not be reached by press time.

Folger Exhibit Examines ‘Marketing Shakespeare’

Starting today, the Folger Shakespeare Library will open a new exhibit as part of its 75th anniversary celebration, “Marketing Shakespeare: The Boydell Gallery (1789-1805) and Beyond.”

“Marketing Shakespeare,” which will run through Jan. 5, 2008, chronicles the development of the 1789 Shakespeare Gallery opened by brothers John and Josiah Boydell. Some of the artists’ works that will be among the 100 items on display include pieces by Henry Fuseli, Caroline Watson, Francesco Bartolozzi and William Blake. The exhibition will feature original paintings, engravings, documents and the published reactions to these works, giving insight into how Shakespeare was viewed at the turn of the 18th century.

John Boydell, a prominent London print-dealer, publisher and politician, opened the 1789 Shakespeare Gallery to the public at a time in England when art collections could only be seen by private invitations. Folger’s exhibit will chronicle the growth and decline of the Boydells’ gallery as well as its role in a growing market for Shakespeare-related goods in the romantic period.

“Marketing Shakespeare” is co-curated by Ann R. Hawkins of Texas Tech University and Georgianna Ziegler, Folger’s head of reference. The exhibition is free and will be open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Folger Shakespeare Library is located at 201 East Capitol St. SE.

D.C. Students Compete in Annual Charrette

Architecture students from four Washington, D.C.-area colleges will compete in an all-day design competition on Sunday at the National Building Museum. The contest will feature students from the Catholic University of America, Howard University, Virginia Tech’s Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center and the University of Maryland.

This is the museum’s 10th annual charrette, or intensive design session. Museum visitors can view the competition free of charge starting at 11 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m.

Each of the five competing teams will consist of one student from each school and will work toward completing a poster board presentation by the end of the day. A panel of five judges will review the pieces and announce a winner the next day. The judges will present their decisions in an award ceremony at the museum on Monday at 5:30 p.m. in an event that also is open to the museum’s visitors.

— Alison McSherry and Leah Carliner