Many moons ago, GM wondered, “is it Dumbarton St. or Dumbarton Ave.”? After searching through maps from two centuries, GM reluctantly concluded that it was probably Dumbarton St.
Well, final evidence has come his way. The blog of the DC Master Address Repository recently featured the above map. It was the official map documenting the switch in street names after Georgetown merged with the city of Washington in 1871. Continue reading
Filed under Around Town
The final touches are being applied to the brand new artificial turf field at Jelleff. It appears that it will be open in time for the fall sports season.
From the photo above, you can see several features of the new field. First of all, it’s got lines for at least four different field arrangements: baseball (in red), lacrosse (yellow), soccer (white), and another smaller soccer field (blue). It makes for a confusing jumble of lines, but representatives from Stoddert Soccer assure GM that that’s no big deal.
Another significant feature is the giant fence. It is huge. But in all honesty, it is inconspicuous and not nearly as ugly as GM feared. Continue reading
Filed under Around Town
GM got back from his week off last night, and while the summer still has a few weeks left in it, with the beach behind him and schools open today GM’s views inevitably turn towards the fall. Although it’s ecologically a season of decay, here in Georgetown it will be a season of renewal. Below, Gm takes a look at the projects definitely likely to come on-line this fall and those that might.
The Definite:
Filed under Around Town
Illustration from pictures from Alicia Griffen and Hey Love DC.
Yesterday’s morning post discussed a neighbor’s ostentatious show of loyalty for Baked and Wired steps away from Georgetown Cupcake’s notorious line of customers. It’s a heated issue around town, and it seems to GM that most Georgetowners come down pretty clearly on one side or the other.
On the Georgetown Cupcake side, you’ve got a couple pretty strong points:
On the negative side of the balance sheet for Georgetown Cupcake:
Filed under Around Town
Seen at the Safeway:
That’s not a typo. At least GM doesn’t think so. What you see there is a locked case of truffles in the Safeway produce section selling for $999.99 per pound.
GM did a quick run through of the store to see if anything came close to this in terms of price. Only a few bottles of wine and champagne topped the multi-hundred dollar range, but nothing close to this. Continue reading
Filed under Around Town
At least two large trees snapped apart during yesterdays heavy storms. In both cases, heavy branches fell onto parked cars, but only one car appeared significantly damaged.
The tree seen above is (or rather was) on 33rd St. just south of P. It simply snapped in two at about 12 feet up the trunk. While the branches fell squarely on the parked car, it appears to have received only a few dents:
The dearly departed tree: Continue reading
Filed under Around Town
Yesterday, Housing Complex writer Lydia DePillis published a thoughtful piece on the ongoing effort of the BID to “rebrand” Georgetown. What she’s talking about is that earlier this year, the BID hired the Roan Group, a professional brand consultant, to advise the BID on the state of brand Georgetown.
While a lot goes into how people throughout the area (and nation) think about Georgetown, there’s only so much that the BID can control. They can’t change the type of stores we have here, for instance, but they can change how those stores are presented, and, more importantly, how they’re perceived. Continue reading
Filed under Around Town
Last Thursday GM came upon what could be the most adorable car accident he’ll ever see. It was a vintage Fiat 500 that had apparently broken lose. According to an eyewitness on the scene, the car was empty as it careened down 30th side-swiping parked cars as it went. It jumped the sidewalk and ended up in the flowerbed as seen above. GM doesn’t know what caused the car to break free, but he suspect a failed parking brake.
In all seriousness, it’s a blessing that nobody got hurt. And it’s certain that the owners of the Fiat, the sideswiped cars, and the flowerbed are unlikely to see anything funny in this scene. But the rest of us can at least get a little laugh out of shots like these: Continue reading
Filed under Around Town
Photo by freakgirl.
Soon Georgetown may be host to just about the most fun national museum in Washington: the National Pinball Museum. A product of one man’s nearly lifelong love of the game, the museum right now is a collection of more than 800 pinball games stored in a warehouse behind David Silverman’s Silver Spring home. Silverman hopes to set up a museum proper in the Georgetown Park mall this summer.
Taking over the space previously occupied by an F.A.O. Schwartz, the National Pinball Museum would be a multifaceted shrine to what is GM’s favorite way to spend a few quarters. The museum would include a theater showing movies about pinball, classrooms and teaching areas, a permanent exhibit on the history of pinball, and, best of all, a rotating collection of playable pinball games. Continue reading
Filed under Around Town
Georgetown is blessed with four major parks within its boundaries: Rose Park, Montrose Park, Volta Park and the Georgetown Waterfront. Together they make up an emerald necklace strung around Georgetown’s historic homes. In GM’s opinion, they are among the top two or three reasons to live in Georgetown.
But which of them is the best?
Rose Park
Photo by Digitaldetection.
Rose Park is located on the eastern boundary of Georgetown between P St. and M St. It is owned by the city and administered by the DC Parks and Recreation department. Of the four parks, it probably has the most interesting history. Located as it is near the center of the historic Herring Hill neighborhood, Rose Park was a treasured resource of Georgetown’s African American population. It was founded in 1918 by the Ancient Order of the Sons and Daughters of Moses to serve the area’s African American children. Throughout its history it was known as Patterson’s Park, Jacob’s Park, or Winship’s Lot. While officially designated for Blacks only, the park was always a de facto integrated park, used by residents of all races.
Today Rose Park continues to be very popular. It offers:
All and all a solid entry. What have the others got? Continue reading
Filed under Around Town
The Georgetown Metropolitan 
You must be logged in to post a comment.