Photo by Joe.
Way back in 2011, I wrote an article about the old Key Theater that stood in the building recently vacated by the Wawa. Writing about old establishments like that often inspires people to share their memories in the comments section. And one individual left such a long and interesting comment that I posted it as its own article several days later: Plucked From the Comments.
That article itself has attracted its own long string of comments, and I’d like to once again pluck a recent one out to make sure everyone sees it. A Mr.LLoyd1964 writes:
I used to work at the Biograph Theater (1967-1996) in the mid seventies and early eighties. Hot Diggity Dog was a hot dog restaurant in a repurposed gas station next door with ample table seating out front. Their fries were oval potato slices which I drowned with malted vinegar that they had in bottles. The place was only open from May 1977 to August 1978. On the other side of the Biograph used to be a club in the sixties called Emergency that utilized the concrete ramp going down under the auto dealership where the Biograph was. People would sit on the ramp and watch shows on a stage at the back of the club, or so I heard. On M between 30th and 31st, Harold’s was a working class deli serving thin sandwiches and chili in a waxed paper cup. In the middle of that block was the Charring Cross, named after a London subway stop, serving Italian food, run by Iranians. A little farther up the block was Kemp Mill records. At 31st and M was Food Mart (Mood Fart to those in the know) that was a small grocery store with great sandwiches. Woolworths did have a lunch counter with circular stools that you could spin around on. Between Wisconsin and Key bridge, a large video game arcade appeared in the mid to late seventies on M street where I parted with many quarters. A bit farther west on M Street was Stetsons, a bar with live jazz music and a small pocket of outdoor seating in the back. At the end of the block near Key Bridge (across from the Cellar Door) was Max’s a dive bar with red and white vinyl checker board table cloths that got damp with beer by the pitcher. Below the C&O canal were abandoned block-long concrete factories that were empty, except for homeless people and curious teenagers like myself. I had heard there used to be a glue factory along the Potomac in Georgetown well before my time.
As always I love to receive comments and personal stories like this, so please consider adding your own below!
The Georgetown Metropolitan 