Comments on: Is it Dumbarton St. or Avenue?

By: Dumbarton Really is a Street Not an Avenue «

Dumbarton Really is a Street Not an Avenue « — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:01:38 +0000

[...] moons ago, GM wondered, “is it Dumbarton St. or Dumbarton Ave.”? After searching through maps [...]

By: Bill Offutt

Bill Offutt — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:13:45 +0000

It is NOT Dumbarton – it is Dunbarton since that is what Ninian Beall called it and that’s what on the big stone. And it was Dunbarton Street, as you noted. It’s all a stupid mistake. Beall was captured at the Battle of Dunbar, sent to the New World as a POW, came to Maryland, got rich and used the Georgetown property as a kind of very inside joke.
It was changed out of ignorance and preserved the same way. I guess it’s too late to fix it – damn!

By: Kate Whitmore

Kate Whitmore — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:52:13 +0000

When I was a kid, Scheele’s was on Dumbarton Avenue, so that is what I usually call it, although I know it is officially a Street now.

Nice research! Can you give us some URLs of those maps you used?

By: B G Beall

B G Beall — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:08:31 +0000

“… ad naseum…” ? Not to some of us.

Beall, not Beale, though it seems that quite a few of us do tend to minimize the second l when signing our name.

And I’m sure that you know it is pronounced bell.

By: Google Knows Your Property Lines «

Google Knows Your Property Lines « — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:03:19 +0000

[...] into some quirks in Google Maps’ take on Georgetown. They can’t decide whether its Dumbarton St. or Dumbarton Ave. They see streets that don’t exist. And they can’t place things [...]

By: More Google Maps Silliness «

More Google Maps Silliness « — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:02:35 +0000

[...] Google Maps Silliness Jump to Comments GM has documented several instances of quirks in Google Maps around town. Well here’s one case where [...]

By: Celebrate Georgetown’s Scottish Roots «

Celebrate Georgetown’s Scottish Roots « — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:03:15 +0000

[...] discussed ad naseum, much of Georgetown’s land was once owned by a Scotsman named Ninian Beall. Because of him, [...]

By: Jody McPherson

Jody McPherson — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:41:28 +0000

I believe pattern of the names of DC’s streets is that those that are E/W, beginning with the Mall, have names that are single letters, then words with single syllables, then words with double syllables, then words with triple syllables. Streets that run N/S are numbered.

Thoroughfares that do not fit into this pattern, like Dumbarton, are to be called avenues, places, roads, etc. If Dumbarton fit the pattern, it would be much farther north, after Chesapeake, before Ellicott. As it is, it lies between N and O Streets. I live on Sherier Place, which should be about 51st or 52nd Street.

By: Andy

Andy — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:54:23 +0000

I used to live on Reservoir St – the one block of Reservoir Rd that is east of Wisconsin. Can’t tell you how many cabdrivers tried to correct me when I told them my destination.

By: Andy

Andy — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:53:11 +0000

I used to live on Reservoir St – the one block of Reservoir Rd that is east of Wisconsin. Can’t tell you how many cabdrivers tried to correct me when I told them destination.