C & O Canal
Monthly Archives: August 2011
Real Estate Results Way Down
GM finally got around to crunching the real estate numbers for the first half of 2011, and they’re not good. While the average price ticked up, the price per square foot is down and the volume is way down . Here’s how it breaks out:
- Total Homes Sold:
- First Half 2010: 147
- First Half 2011: 107 (down 27%)
- First Half 2010: $1,377,478
- First Half 2011: $ 1,471,836 (up 7%)
- First Half 2010: $1,242,767
- First Half 2011: $1,307,922 (up 10 %)
- First Half 2010: 9.8% drop
- First Half 2011: 11.1% drop
- First Half 2010: $719.05 $/SQF
- First Half 2011: $685.68 $/SQF
If you’re more of a visual person, here’s how the respective periods compare in chart form: Continue reading
Filed under Real Estate
The Morning Metropolitan
Photo by Jim_Malone.
Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:
- In a move many anticipated, police arrest Violet Drath’s husband for her murder.
- Fight brewing on ANC redistricting council. Non-students want to expand the ANC to 8 and give two commissioners to the campus (in a proposal close to GM’s). The students on the panel want three commissioners, which seems a bit greedy to GM, but that plan’s numbers are a lot closer to the statutory requirements.
- New chef at 1789.
Filed under The Morning Metropolitan
Old Georgetown Theater, Soon to Be Empty, Still For Sale
Way back in 2009, GM reported that the Heon family was quietly trying to sell the historic Georgetown theater building, which they’ve owned since 1949. At that point, the price was quoted at $4.9 million.
Skip to today, and according to PoP the building is still for sale. He was unable to determine the current price.
GM had heard that vendors the National Jewel Center were slowly shutting down business. And now Silverman confirms that all the jewelers will be out by the end of August.
Everyone’s got a favorite candidate they’d like to see replace the Jewel Center. Having the space return as a theater is probably the most common refrain. But GM’s heard ideas ranging from a music venue to a DC location of NY’s Eataly concept.
All these are great, if not likely, ideas. But they ignore the fact that the building is a complete and utter wreck inside. A total gut job is required. And then you have you ask yourself, why even bother? While the decrepit neon sign is a landmark, and its restoration would be great, the rest of the facade is not worth saving. It’s a 1950’s renovation that uses ugly formstone (it’s the fake brick stuff you see all over Baltimore). It’s not historic. What was historic was the facade of the Dumbarton Theater that they destroyed to put up the ugly fake brick veneer:
This was an utterly fantastical church of entertainment. Looking like a mix of a bishop’s mitre and birthday cake, it was a facade completely out of place in Georgetown, which probably made it an absolute magnet on Saturday afternoons. That was something worth saving. But it’s gone. Continue reading
Filed under Real Estate
The Morning Metropolitan
Photo by Eric Patey.
Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:
- Union sabotage on Wisconsin Ave.?
- Between Sweetgreen and this, Georgetown University is turning into quite the start-up incubator.
Filed under The Morning Metropolitan
Not So Long Ago: Wisconsin and Q
Vodpod videos no longer available.
This week for Not So Long Ago, GM once again returns to the Book Hill section of Wisconsin Ave. In particular it is the ragtag Georgetown Cafe location.
Georgetown Cafe was a greasy spoon restaurant that seemed to have its strongest appeal among late night revelers. It wasn’t spotless in 1993, but it sure looked a lot better than it does now (the cafe closed in the last year or so, but it hasn’t changed at all since then). GM understands that the landlord is looking for a restaurant to move in, so if you’re looking for a space, drop GM a line and he’ll put you in touch.
As for the other establishments, on the left in 1993 appears to have been an art gallery. As we’ve seen in some of the other old Book Hill shots, the character of upper Wisconsin as an upscale art/antiques district was not fully in place in 1993. So places like this were sort of forebearers of the Book Hill of today. Although in this particular instance, the space is now occupied by the Dog Shop, not an art or antique shop.
On the right in 1993 was a clothing store with the name “Le Petit Par[something]” (Le Petit Park? Le Petit Paris?). Sometime before 2004, Computers Plus took over this space and continues to operate a computer support shop since.
On the far right, you can just make out the side of Reed Electric, which was torn down in 2007 for the construction of a Commerce Bank (which became TD Bank).
Here are the photos: Continue reading
Filed under Not So Long Ago
The Morning Metropolitan
Photo by JimJam8822.
Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:
- The death of a Georgetowner who was found dead in her home on Friday is now being characterized by MPD as a homicide. Viola Drath was 91 and lived on Q St. just west of 32nd. Very few details are public as of now. What is morbidly coincidental about this tragedy is that it occurred just feet from the last homicide in Georgetown.
- In much less depressing news: GM’s not crazy enough to do this, but people seem to like this boot camp.
Filed under The Morning Metropolitan
Georgetown: In Motion
One more “cinemegraph” from around Georgetown, as inspired by this site.
Sadly for GM, he’s only got a few more days left to his vacation. Check back Monday for a normal posting schedule again.
Filed under Around Town
The Georgetown Metropolitan 
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