The electric automaker Tesla is planning to open up a shop (dealership?) at 3307 M St., according to plans filed with the Old Georgetown Board. The news was first reported by DC Urban Turf.
Like the former District Donuts building I discussed yesterday, the building is owned by Eastbanc. (And will thus join the long list of Eastbanc tenants that I cannot afford to shop at.) It has been through a lot of different tenants over the past decade, including Duxiania, CB2, and even temporarily the Georgetown library.
Upon first reflection you might think an auto dealership is totally out of place on M St. But it’s actually very much is keeping with the historic character of the street! M St. used to be extremely car oriented. There were a bunch of different gas stations, service stations, and even an auto parts store:
What’s more, on top of a handful of used car lots, there was a full blown Ford dealership. The former (and future) Barnes and Nobles building was purpose built as a car dealership (which explains the large open floor plan with huge windows). Here’s an ad for the dealership from 1963:
So while getting the Barnes and Nobles back at TJ and M is a throwback. Getting a car dealership is an even bigger throwback.
The Georgetown Metropolitan 
You must be logged in to post a comment.